The big black dog sniffed at the fragrant rice bowl, his tail wagging so fast it blurred, and dug in without a shred of hesitation.
Shan Nai watched the black dog thoughtfully. “This dog’s probably not ordinary, is he?”
A dog that had survived this long in the apocalypse, maybe he’d mutated too.
“Hm?… I’m not too sure about that either, but Big Blackie really is brave and loyal!”
Song Ze felt a little embarrassed, this little shop owner was good-looking, with a sweet voice, and thinking back on his own actions earlier, he really had been ignorant and reckless, utterly foolish.
Having been busy all morning, Shan Nai felt a bit hungry too, so she grabbed her own dishware from the kitchen, dished herself a rice bowl, and brought it to the checkout counter to eat.
The checkout counter happened to offer a clear view of Song Ze eating.
This guy seemed really hungry, shoveling the rice bowl into his mouth bite after bite, grains of rice sticking to his face and nose, hardly an elegant sight, but it made her own appetite stir just watching him.
Song Ze demolished one serving like a whirlwind.
Whether it was because he hadn’t had a normal meal in three years, he found this tomato-and-egg rice bowl absolutely explosively delicious.
The tomato was faintly sour, savory and tangy, the egg silky and tender, the sauce thick and rich, paired with plump grains of rice, this classic combination was simply sublime, so incredibly good!
Especially with that very first bite, his taste buds trembled, and he nearly welled up with emotion.
Once he finished, Song Ze couldn’t help but order another.
Watching Song Ze eat with such gusto, Shan Nai had already finished her own bowl. “Burp~” She let out a satisfied burp and sipped a small cup of beauty-nourishing fruit tea.
One serving alone was already quite a lot, and he’d eaten two, this big guy’s appetite was really something.
Once done, Song Ze wiped his mouth and slumped back in his chair, satisfied.
All the hardship he’d endured these past few years just to survive seemed to melt away with this bowl of food.
Once he got back, he needed to plan carefully how to save up crystal cores, so he could come eat and shop at the Lucky Supermarket every single day going forward!
Pressing his lips together, filled with fighting spirit, Song Ze led Big Blackie away.
Before leaving, he sincerely apologized once more for his earlier behavior when he’d first entered the supermarket.
Shan Nai didn’t hold it against him, it was his first time, after all, and the system had already punished him. As long as he kept coming back, that was fine.
“Still 300 points short!” Shan Nai finished wiping down the table, her small hand clenched into a fist, her soft cat ears twitching.
…
Song Ze’s hideout was several streets directly behind the Lucky Supermarket.
It was a half-collapsed apartment building, after the earthquake, only half of it remained standing.
“Woof, woof, woof!” Big Blackie suddenly went into a battle stance, barking loudly.
“Who’s there?”
The moment Song Ze reached the second floor, he sensed an unfamiliar presence in his territory. His brows furrowed, and he quickly drew his dagger, on full alert.
“Cough, cough… so there really is someone here. Sorry, I’ll be on my way.”
A figure came stumbling out of the room, and Cheng Xu, steadying himself against the wall, offered a weak apology.
He’d meant to rest here for the night, but since someone was already there, he’d just have to find another room.
He’d been out with his squad a week ago searching for supplies when they were ambushed, he had no idea how the rest of his squad had fared, or whether his wife and son back home still had enough supplies to get by.
He’d been injured too. Fortunately his ability wasn’t life-threatening on its own, but he hadn’t eaten in days and was starting to see spots from hunger.
Song Ze could tell the man meant no harm, seeing how pale and weak he looked, he pulled Big Blackie back by the leg, worried the dog might lunge at him.
“A few streets up ahead, there’s a place called the Lucky Supermarket, selling supplies.” Song Ze said this as Cheng Xu was about to head down the stairs, clutching his bag protectively.
Living in the apocalypse, don’t blame him for having no sympathy. He was just an ordinary person, with limited means.
But tier-one zombies were only going to get scarcer, so he had no intention of sharing his supplies with anyone else.
He remembered that partway through his meal, the little shop owner had chatted with him a bit, saying the supermarket had just opened and asking him, if he ran into any living people, to help spread the word.
Well, this counted as helping her out, Song Ze figured.
Cheng Xu froze for a moment, wondering if he’d misheard.
“A supermarket…?”
“You’ll see when you get there.” Song Ze’s tone was cool and detached, he had no intention of engaging further, and shut the door with a bang.
Cheng Xu shook his head, thinking Song Ze meant there was some store with supplies in it, but he’d already scoured every supply shop near the city entrance when he’d first arrived, there was no way one existed.
He had no choice but to steady himself against the wall and head back out.
By now it was already past two in the afternoon.
The temperature had climbed to around fifty degrees Celsius. Even in light clothing, he was instantly drenched in sweat, and with no water intake, Cheng Xu’s condition was far from good.
Although deep down he hadn’t taken Song Ze’s words seriously, a seed of doubt had still been planted.
As he walked, Cheng Xu found himself, consciously or not, wanting to go check whether there really was a supermarket.
After a grueling half-hour walk, dodging zombies along the way, Cheng Xu actually found the Lucky Supermarket Song Ze had mentioned.
“…How strange, this supermarket wasn’t here a few days ago…” Cheng Xu scratched his head.
“Customer, come on in and take a look~” Shan Nai spotted the customer standing at the door and happily opened it for him.
Cheng Xu, looking utterly bedraggled at this point, his face unshaven and grim, stared blankly at Shan Nai.
What a cute little girl.
He glanced at the shop’s interior, a bit simple, but neat and clean, and couldn’t help brushing the dust off himself before feeling it was appropriate to step inside.
The shop owner was spotless from head to toe, his own state, by comparison, was simply unpresentable.
Cheng Xu was a careful, observant man.
The moment he stepped in, he noticed the shopping notice on the wall, it wasn’t hard to guess that this little shop owner was someone with real power.
Being able to run a supermarket in the apocalypse, with electricity and supplies to spare, was nothing to underestimate.
Unfortunately, he had no crystal cores on him, the only two remaining were with his wife, Yang Liu.
“What counts as a valuable item?” He’d noticed that clause in the notice.
“Rare metals, gold and silver jewelry, that sort of thing works.” Shan Nai thought back to the newcomer reference material in the backend and explained.
Cheng Xu nodded slightly, patting himself down all over, nothing.
Things like rings and necklaces had long since been lost in the early days of fleeing and fighting for survival.
After thinking it over for a moment, he pulled a red string out from around his neck, hanging from it was a fingernail-sized mutton-fat jade peace clasp.
“Would this work…?” Cheng Xu asked, a little abashed.
Shan Nai nodded. “Mm-hm, please place it here.”
【Exchange successful】
【Card balance: 24 points】
The jade clasp was quite small and not worth much, but Shan Nai still beamed with satisfaction, even a mosquito’s leg is still meat, after all! [1]even a mosquito’s leg is still meat (wén zi tuǐ yě shì ròu, 蚊子腿也是肉) – idiom, a tiny scrap of gain is still worth having, however small it looks jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3034098_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3034098_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
“Customer, here’s your membership card. In a moment, a shopping countdown will appear on the back of your hand, no need to be alarmed, just keep an eye on the time.” Shan Nai reminded him warmly.
Cheng Xu let out a breath and took the membership card printed with his detailed information, the whole process felt like a dream.
The peace clasp his late mother had left him, exchanged for 24 points? Thank you, Mom!
He quickly scanned the shelves, mineral water, 6 points, instant noodles, 5 points, chocolate cookies, 10 points.
There was hope now. His wife and son would have food to eat. Even with just 24 points, it was enough to save their lives.
The points were too few, even with the discount, he could only afford two bottles of water and two packs of instant noodles.
After Cheng Xu finished checking out, he also spotted the tomato-and-egg rice bowl at the food counter, but with no points left, all he could do was swallow his saliva in longing.
“Boss, could I get some hot water?”
He obviously couldn’t afford a meal, so with the tiny remainder left on his card after the discount, seeing a water dispenser nearby, he thought that even just soaking a pack of instant noodles would be an enormous luxury these days.
Hot water, huh…
Shan Nai looked at the instant noodles in his hand and recalled having asked the system before about the hot water in the dispenser.
She remembered the system saying that customers who’d made a purchase could buy enough hot water to soak a pack of noodles for just 1 point.
Her supermarket system really was quite thoughtful.
“I understand, there’s still 2 points left on my card, I won’t take it for free.” Seeing Shan Nai hesitate slightly, Cheng Xu quickly held out his cat-shaped membership card.
He understood, in times like these, water was simply too precious a resource.
“1 point is plenty.” Shan Nai said with a smile, taking the card.
Cheng Xu was grateful, he’d long since gotten used to opening his eyes each day to worry over food and water. He had no lunch box or anything of the sort in his bag, so he could only pour the hot water straight into the noodle bag and eat and drink straight from it.
He couldn’t bring himself to eat the whole block at once, only breaking off a small piece, saving the rest of the noodle cake for after he’d finished the broth, carefully packing it away again.
This chicken-broth instant noodles was truly the real deal, the chicken broth flavor was rich and full-bodied, even containing a few chunks of chicken meat and vegetable leaves. The bag was printed with “Specially produced by Lucky Supermarket”, simply incredible.
Cheng Xu suddenly felt like the hard struggle to survive had meaning again. His heart stirred with emotion, and he glanced once more at the food in the dining area.
“Xiao Hang still hasn’t tried this…” he murmured.
Once he found his wife and son, he had to bring them here to eat.
“Xiao Hang?” Shan Nai, overhearing Cheng Xu’s mutter, found the name strangely familiar.
“Oh, my son. Haha, the little guy’s never had tomato-and-egg rice before.”
“A little boy, five or six years old?” Shan Nai followed up.
Cheng Xu’s eyes went wide. “Yes, yes! Boss… what do you mean by that?”
“My supermarket’s very first customer was a mother who came in with a little boy named Xiao Hang, so I remember it clearly.” Shan Nai explained.
“Really? Was that mother named Yang Liu?!” Cheng Xu grew excited, his eyes brightening.
Shan Nai hadn’t caught that detail. “Sorry, I can’t disclose a customer’s information.”
“I’m her husband! We’re…”
References[+]