Ten minutes later, when Lu Xuan emerged, the three wild boar stomachs he had been carrying were gone, replaced by one tael of silver.
He had previously read in some articles that the more “thorns” (tissue growths) found inside a wild boar’s stomach, the more valuable it was. However, after watching other science-based videos later, he learned there was no factual basis for this. Those “thorns” were actually tissue hyperplasia or cysts caused by the wild boar consuming poisonous snakes; there was no evidence that a higher number of cysts increased their value.
Sure enough, when the pharmacy manager saw the stomachs today, he simply priced them based on their size; he didn’t offer any outrageous, high-priced sum just because one of the large stomachs contained cysts.
Still, Lu Xuan was satisfied with earning that extra tael. After all, if he had just sold them as offal—less than five pounds of meat in total—he would have gotten at most forty coins. This was a twenty-five-fold price difference.
With money in hand, Lu Xuan immediately entered “shopping mode.”
He first went to a grain and oil shop, buying fifty pounds each of refined rice and flour, spending three taels. Then, he detoured to the neighboring grocery store to buy five pounds of rapeseed oil and two pounds of salt, spending another four hundred and sixty coins.
While pork fat is fragrant, stir-frying every dish in lard can become overly greasy, so vegetable oil was essential.
In Lu Xuan’s impression, commoners in the ancient world mostly ate animal fat—buying pork fat to render themselves—while vegetable oil was rarely consumed and quite expensive.
However, the produce in this era was far richer than he had realized. Earlier in Baishong Town, he had asked the manager and learned that this was because the current dynasty’s overseas trade was quite developed, introducing many new species from abroad.
This was good news for Lu Xuan; it meant he could satisfy his dietary preferences as much as possible.
Next, Lu Xuan went to the fabric shop and bought one bolt each of cotton fabric in three different colors. He bought two pairs of new shoes for each of the four family members, spending another tael.
Since the fabric shop also sold ready-to-wear clothing, Lu Xuan, wanting to get rid of his patched and slightly small old clothes as soon as possible, bought a dark-colored set. He had the shop’s seamstress adjust the sleeves and pant legs on the spot and put the new clothes on right there.
The tailored clothes had fitted cuffs and ankles, making Lu Xuan look incredibly sharp. Paired with his casual, devil-may-care demeanor, he immediately caught the eyes of the viewers in the livestream.
[The streamer looks so much more handsome after changing his clothes!]
[There’s an ancient saying that “a man depends on his clothes, and a horse depends on its saddle.” It’s really true!]
[The streamer’s features aren’t strikingly handsome at first glance, but they’re very pleasing. The more you look, the more charm you find! Love it, love it!]
Everyone likes a compliment. Seeing the praise in the barrage, Lu Xuan curled his lips before saying, “Handsome comes at a price. This set of clothes cost much more than buying the fabric.”
A bolt of fabric that could make four sets of clothes cost three hundred and twenty coins, but this set of ready-to-wear clothing cost five hundred coins—more than triple the price difference.
For an ordinary family, it was definitely more cost-effective to buy fabric and make the clothes themselves; buying ready-to-wear was purely for the “suckers.”
But so what?
He just wanted to put on new clothes immediately—any problem with that?
In the apocalypse, he never short-changed himself on food or clothing; why start here?
If the money was gone, he’d just earn more.
Afterward, he went to the butcher’s stall to buy some pork belly and ribs, then visited a pastry shop to buy two pounds of sugar and four boxes of pastries, using up the rest of his money.
The viewers in the livestream twitched their lips; the streamer really didn’t leave a single coin behind.
[I feel like I’m looking at myself—the type who spends their whole paycheck in one go—when I see Lu Xuan. Silent crying.jpg]
[Streamer, shouldn’t you save some money for emergencies?]
[Is earning money really that easy… oh, right, it seems really simple for the streamer.]
[…People with talent can really do whatever they want!]
The viewers were envious. In reality, compared to being stingy over a few coins, Lu Xuan’s “spend as you earn” attitude was truly refreshing to watch.
Since it wasn’t their money being spent, they didn’t feel the sting, and it was satisfying to watch. After sighing in amazement, they quickly chanted in unison: Buy it! Buy it hard!
Lu Xuan: …It’s all spent. We’ll talk next time.
Back home, Lu Qing was first surprised by his new image. Before she could finish marveling at it, she was terrified by the hundred pounds of refined rice and flour he unveiled.
“Why buy so much refined rice—!?” Lu Qing gasped, feeling a bit dizzy. “How much silver did this cost!? Given our family’s situation, eating brown rice is fine. With this much refined rice, we could buy enough brown rice to last us an entire year.”
Lu Xuan replied calmly, “Brown rice doesn’t taste as good as refined rice. I can’t eat it.”
Lu Qing was instantly struck speechless.
Refined rice at thirty coins a pound was naturally better than five-coin brown rice—the price difference was right there. They had been eating brown rice for years; why couldn’t he eat it now?
Seeing Lu Qing look as if she wanted to run back to town to return the refined rice for brown rice, Lu Xuan comforted her: “We’ve already bought it, so don’t worry about it. I can afford to support you all; from now on, our family will only eat white rice.”
Lu Qing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What are you talking about? How can we afford that every day?”
There were four of them in total; they needed at least three hundred pounds of grain a year. Eating brown rice would cost less than two taels a year, but refined rice wouldn’t even be covered by ten taels.
Lu Xuan had no intention of dwelling on such small details. He rummaged through the pile of items, pulled out a bag of sugar and a box of pastries, and handed them to Lu Chen, who had been watching him with longing eyes. “Here, take it and eat.”
Lu Chen’s face split into a happy grin. “Thank you, Brother!”
He excitedly opened the box, grabbed a piece, and was about to take a bite when he suddenly remembered something. He held the pastry out to Lu Xuan. “You eat first.”
Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow and didn’t refuse, stuffing the entire piece into his mouth in one go.
Lu Chen’s big, dark, bright eyes went wide with shock, as if saying: “How could you eat it all!”
The viewers laughed out loud.
[Little brother: I only asked you to take a bite, not eat it all! Give me back my pastry! QAQ!]
[The streamer is too mean, teasing the kid on purpose.]
[If you don’t use your kids to play with, there’s no point in raising them. Hahahaha.]
[Reminds me of my childhood being ‘toyed with’ by my mother. Pain mask.]
Faced with Lu Chen’s resentful little look, Lu Xuan didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty. He even intentionally lifted his chin and signaled: “Have another.”
Lu Chen reflexively clutched the pastry box to his chest, but thinking that his brother had bought it, he painfully let go and took out another piece, holding it out to Lu Xuan—though his big eyes clearly asked, “Are you really going to eat it? Really? Are you really going to eat my share?”
The look of cuteness mixed with misery made Lu Xuan curve his lips. He reached out to pinch the boy’s cheek. “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Keep it and eat it yourself.”
Truthfully, for a modern person who had eaten many delicious things, the taste of pastries sold in a small town was very mediocre—the texture was coarse, and they were far too sweet, making them cloying. Even after the resource-scarce apocalypse, Lu Xuan, who had come from a good background, still couldn’t quite get used to it.
Watching Lu Chen savor the pastry in small bites and then share a piece with Lu Qing, Lu Xuan thought that if there were a chance to go to a larger city, he would buy something better for the Lu family to try.
Lu Qing only broke off a small piece to taste it and insisted Lu Chen keep the rest. Her hands gently stroked the bolts of fabric. “Why did you buy so much fabric?”
She had wanted to nag him about the ready-made clothes, but then she thought, the price of the refined rice was much more expensive than a set of clothes. Moreover, the clothes really looked good on her brother, and she certainly couldn’t have made them herself. So, she didn’t mention it further.
Lu Xuan looked at Lu Qing.
Today, she wore a brown dress with wide sleeves held up by straps for convenience. Her hair was coiled high, looking neat and simple.
But no matter how neat, it couldn’t hide the fact that the dress was faded and covered in patches.
Although Lu Qing didn’t voice her approval, her hands couldn’t bear to leave the fabric, and her eyes held a hidden fondness. It was clear that, heartache for the money aside, she really loved the items.
Lu Xuan said: “Our clothes have been worn for years; it’s time for a change. That pale yellow bolt is for you, the navy blue is for me, Brother-in-law, and Lu Chen, and we’ll use the white cotton for inner wear. Find someone in the village with good skills to make them.”
Lu Qing frowned slightly. “I can make them myself; why hire someone?”
Lu Xuan shook his head. “Sewing hurts the eyes. As long as I’m here, we aren’t lacking the labor cost. Let’s find a family in the village struggling to get by; let them earn a bit of extra income.”
When Lu Qing heard this, she felt relieved by her brother’s thoughtfulness and realized it made sense. “Alright, I’ll find someone later.”
After handing the fabric to Lu Qing, Lu Xuan moved the rice, flour, oil, and salt to the kitchen.
He didn’t give Lu Qing a portion to take back separately because he knew her personality—she definitely wouldn’t accept it. Since they often ate together, Lu Qing and her husband, Lei Yan, wouldn’t be missing out.
In the kitchen, Lu Xuan noticed that aside from a new jar of lard, there was a basket of eggs, two pieces of bacon weighing at least four or five pounds each, and a bowl of dark pickles.
He raised an eyebrow and asked Lu Qing: “Who sent these?”
Lu Qing slapped her forehead and explained: “Sister-in-law Zhang and the village chief’s family sent them. You gave them over twenty pounds of meat, and they were too embarrassed to take it for free. I couldn’t refuse, so I accepted them for you.”
Lu Xuan thought for a moment and said: “I happened to buy some extra pastries. I’ll send a portion to the Zhang family and the village chief’s family later.”
In the apocalypse, people were suspicious of each other and indifferent to human feelings. He was long accustomed to not meddling in others’ business and focusing only on his own survival.
But this wasn’t the apocalypse, and there were no zombies. To start a new life, he needed to gradually blend into the local community; some interpersonal relationships still needed to be maintained.
Seeing that he was even considering these social niceties, Lu Qing felt increasingly confident that her brother was truly recovered. She smiled and said: “Both families have taken good care of us; it’s only right we repay them.”
After putting everything away, Lu Xuan prepared to deliver the gifts.
Giving only sugar and pastries felt a bit thin. He decided to take the wild rabbit he had planned to cook for dinner that evening—one for the village chief’s family and one for the Zhang family. It was just right.