They hadn’t felt it much while traveling, but now that they had finally settled down, their stomachs ached with hunger.
Saying that their stomachs were sticking to their backs wasn’t an exaggeration.
Looking at the few pounds of rice and two packs of instant noodles they had left, Ye Qingyun wished she could give her children a proper meal. But with no idea where tomorrow’s food would come from, she didn’t dare be too extravagant.
Gritting her teeth, she took out the tusked rabbit’s heart and made a decision.
“We’ll use the tusked rabbit’s heart to cook porridge tonight!”
Jiang Shu jumped to his feet.
“Long live Mom!! I’ll go get water right away!”
Now that she had made up her mind, Ye Qingyun stopped feeling reluctant and smiled.
“Hurry up! Bring back plenty. I’ll heat some water later so the whole family can take a bath.”
When they had come upstairs earlier, all four of them had noticed the communal bathhouse around the corner.
They had spent years at their settlement, living in constant tension every day, and had never really been able to bathe properly. For someone as clean-conscious as Ye Qingyun, it had been pure torture. Now that she finally had the chance to enjoy a proper bath, there was no way she was going to pass it up.
Jiang Shu gave a military-style salute.
“Your command is my duty, Your Majesty!”
Ye Qingyun laughed and scolded him.
“You little brat!”
After Jiang Shu left, Jiang Zhi turned to Ye Qingyun.
“Mom, I want to go take a look at the base store.”
Ye Qingyun felt that it wasn’t safe for a girl to be wandering around at night and was about to refuse when Jiang Shan spoke up.
“Go ahead. Take the opportunity to check the prices in the base too.”
Since Jiang Shan had spoken, Ye Qingyun said nothing more and simply held out her hand toward her daughter.
Jiang Zhi pretended not to understand.
“What?”
Ye Qingyun snorted.
“Don’t play dumb with me. Hand over the detector.”
Jiang Zhi immediately covered her wristwatch.
“I found it.”
Ye Qingyun’s eyebrows shot up as she planted her hands on her hips.
“You’ve always been a spendthrift. Money never stays in your hands for long. If we let you manage the family finances, we’d all end up starving!”
Jiang Zhi protested,
“Then at least give me ten points as a reward!”
“No chance. Every point that came with that detector is being turned over to the family fund!” Ye Qingyun had always been absolute when it came to managing the household finances.
Seeing that her mother was about to get genuinely annoyed, Jiang Zhi reluctantly removed the wristwatch and handed it over.
Ye Qingyun’s expression softened slightly.
But just as she was about to take it, Jiang Zhi suddenly pulled her hand back.
“Mom, you’ve worked too hard today. I’ll help you keep it safe for one more night. I’ll give it to you tomorrow!”
The moment she finished speaking, she slipped away and bolted out the door.
Ye Qingyun called out, “Hey—!” and chased after her, but by the time she reached the doorway, Jiang Zhi had already disappeared downstairs in a flash.
Ye Qingyun was both annoyed and amused.
“That little brat!”
Jiang Shan laughed as well.
“Our daughter is a lot craftier than that silly boy.”
Ye Qingyun grumbled,
“And whose fault is that? You spoil her too much. That little rascal definitely understated how many points were on that detector. She’s probably off laundering the evidence right now.”
Jiang Shan replied,
“A little cunning isn’t a bad thing. You don’t want both our children to be fools, do you?”
Thinking about how her son was always being tricked by his sister, Ye Qingyun couldn’t help laughing.
“Is that any way to talk about your own child? Be careful, or Dashu will start protesting.”
“As if he’d dare!”
The couple continued cleaning up the room while joking with each other.
After reaching the first floor, Jiang Zhi finally slowed down.
Ancheng Base was enormous, but the residential buildings were packed closely together. Around the outer perimeter ran a ring of metal fencing that could apparently be raised and lowered automatically. Jiang Zhi guessed the design was intended to defend against attacks from airborne mutated beasts.
Residents occasionally hurried past along the roads.
Jiang Zhi made her way to the base store.
The store’s floor was made of concrete. Although somewhat rough, it had been swept spotlessly clean.
A large open area had been left in front of the counters. Several dim light bulbs hung from the ceiling, casting a dull yellow glow.
Jiang Zhi narrowed her eyes and took a moment to adjust before she could make out the layout inside.
Several wooden counters arranged in an L-shape lined the walls, with various goods neatly displayed on top.
Against one wall stood a row of tall shelves packed with an assortment of daily necessities, food products, and agricultural supplies.
In one corner was a dedicated fabric counter. Rolls of cloth were stacked together, most of them dull gray or dark-colored. Only a few bolts were brightly colored, and their prices were just as eye-catching.
Behind the counters was a small storeroom used for holding inventory. Its door was half-open, revealing stacks of cardboard boxes and wooden crates inside.
After a quick glance around, Jiang Zhi noticed that nearly all the products were items produced after the catastrophe. There was a decent variety, but it couldn’t compare to the old days, and prices were completely different.
Items manufactured before the catastrophe were especially outrageous.
Things like pots, bowls, and kitchenware were selling for absurdly high prices.
She moved closer to a glass display case.
Inside were clusters of seeds from some kind of plant. Each seed was about the size of a marble and displayed in wooden boxes, making them particularly conspicuous.
Wait…
Foxtail millet seed heads?
Seeing that Jiang Zhi was interested, the sales clerk introduced the product.
“This is a mutated grain recently cultivated by our base. It tastes similar to rice, but it’s more filling. An adult only needs about a hundred grams per meal. It’s only 15 points per pound.”
The corner of Jiang Zhi’s mouth twitched.
Only…
A room cost just 10 points per day. A pound of this foxtail-grain product would last at most five days if eaten once a day. How could an ordinary family afford that?
Noticing the look of disapproval on Jiang Zhi’s face, the clerk explained,
“All of our coarse-grain products are grown by the base itself. They’re a mix of low-toxin and moderate-toxin crops, so they’re very cost-effective.”
“Although the proportion of low-toxin grain is quite small, consuming small amounts of low-toxin food over a long period can help detoxify the body. In some cases, it can even improve physical constitution. This is already considered a welfare benefit provided by the base for ordinary people.”
Jiang Zhi was somewhat surprised.
Pointing at the dozen or so grains displayed in the glass case, she asked,
“These were all grown by the base?”
She took another look and spotted mutated soybeans, buckwheat, and other crops.
They were all common grains from before the catastrophe. She didn’t expect Ancheng Base to be capable of cultivating them.
Jiang Zhi couldn’t help examining them more carefully.
Among the various agricultural products, all the staple grains were priced similarly except for mutated sweet potatoes. A single mutated sweet potato weighed seven or eight pounds and was correspondingly more expensive.
At 30 points per pound, it cost nearly a third as much as meat. Production was also limited, and all grain products were rationed.
The sales clerk said proudly,
“That’s right. Our base has the best agricultural research of any base out there. When Professor Chen says he’s number one, nobody dares claim to be number two. Production isn’t high yet, but sooner or later we’ll make sure everyone has enough to eat!”
Jiang Zhi wasn’t convinced.
That kind of claim sounded nice, but it was best taken with a grain of salt.
After the catastrophe, the soil itself was contaminated with radiation. Even if crops could be grown, that didn’t mean yields would be high.
Just as Jiang Zhi was about to continue browsing the items in the display case, she heard her brother’s loud voice beside her.
“Ah Zhi! You actually ditched me and came shopping by yourself! That’s too much!!”
Jiang Zhi paused and, sure enough, saw Jiang Shu standing behind her with a red plastic bucket in hand, looking thoroughly indignant.
Jiang Zhi said,
“If you don’t behave and carry water properly, Mom’s going to beat you.”
Jiang Shu snorted.
“Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to secretly buy things!”
“How is it secretly buying things?” Jiang Zhi replied confidently. “Ms. Ye said that since I found the detector, she’s specially rewarding me with 10 points.”
Jiang Shu looked suspicious.
“Since when has Mom been that generous?”
“She’s always generous.”
Jiang Zhi pushed him aside.
“Stop blocking me from shopping.”
Jiang Shu immediately put on a smiling face.
“Ah Zhi, look, hasn’t your brother always been good to you?”
Of course Jiang Zhi knew exactly what he was planning.
She pretended not to hear him.
Next to the staple grain section was another glass display case containing mutated fruits and plants.
Most of them were moderate-toxin items, and the prices were not low. The most eye-catching item was a mutated tomato.
Jiang Zhi’s gaze sharpened.
It was actually a low-toxin item.
She looked at the price…
Her brother was still chattering beside her.
“Ah Zhi, I don’t want much, just five points is enough. Think about it, whenever you messed up before, I always took the blame for you, holy crap! Is that tomato grown from gold coins?! It actually costs 500 points each!”
Seeing Jiang Shu’s country-bumpkin reaction, the sales clerk said helplessly,
“Sir, that’s a low-toxin food item. That price is already heavily discounted. If it weren’t for the recent good yield of tomatoes, you wouldn’t even be able to buy it.”
As if to confirm her words, just as she finished speaking, someone pointed at the palm-sized tomato and said,
“Please pack this for me.”
The clerk immediately smiled professionally.
“Certainly! I’ll pack it right away.”
Jiang Zhi and Jiang Shu watched as a nearly two-meter-tall, heavily built man picked up the gift box and walked away.
The clerk lifted her chin at them.
“See? I told you low-toxin goods are in short supply.”
Jiang Shu clicked his tongue in disbelief.
Someone actually bought that overpriced thing?
But that man looked very different from ordinary people, clearly someone with impressive combat ability.
He leaned toward Jiang Zhi and whispered,
“Ah Zhi, that guy… he wouldn’t be an Evolver, right?”
Jiang Zhi glanced around and saw that everyone else looked perfectly used to it.
She replied casually,
“Probably.”
At that moment, another person rushed in from outside the shop. Seeing the empty glass display, he asked anxiously,
“Where’s the low-toxin tomato that was here just now?”
The clerk put on a professional smile.
“Sorry, it’s already been sold. The next batch of low-toxin produce won’t be available for another week.”
The man immediately panicked.
“But I told you earlier I was going to gather the points! Why didn’t you save it for me?!”
The clerk’s expression darkened.
“Sorry, sir. Our store operates strictly on a first-come, first-served basis. We already informed you that low-toxin items cannot be reserved.”
The man’s face flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead, but he could only mutter,
“I said I wanted it… I just went to gather the points—”
The clerk ignored him and called out toward the back.
Two burly guards immediately came out, grabbed the man by his collar, and threw him out.
The clerk said coldly,
“Anyone causing trouble will be thrown out and blacklisted from future transactions.”
The man, upon hearing this, suddenly broke free from the grip of the two burly guards and dropped to his knees at the entrance, eyes red.
“I wasn’t causing trouble! I just want a portion of low-toxin food! Please, sell me one portion, or if you can’t, at least tell me who bought it! Ah Xu’s toxin level has reached the critical point. If she doesn’t consume low-toxin food soon, she’ll die!”
After speaking, he slammed his head against the ground several times, looking utterly pitiful.
The sales clerk was only a few years older than Jiang Zhi, around twenty-five. In the end, she softened and pointed him in another direction.
“We really don’t have any stock here. If you’ve got connections, try District B. There might still be some there.”
The man looked blank.
If he had access to District B, he would’ve gone already, why would he be stuck here?
He knelt there in a daze for a moment before finally stumbling away like a walking corpse, eyes still red.
Only then did the onlookers around the shop start discussing it with interest.
“Wasn’t that Dali from your self-built district? How did he end up like this?”
“It seems his wife’s toxin levels have reached the critical threshold. He’s desperate to buy low-toxin food to detox her!”
“He didn’t manage to buy it?”
“How could he? Low-toxin food in this shop gets snapped up by Evolvers every time. Ordinary people don’t have that kind of spare money. He already scraped together several hundred points this time, but still didn’t have enough…”
Someone sneered sarcastically.
“Got money to buy land in the self-built district but not to buy low-toxin food? Who’s going to believe that? Maybe he just didn’t want to buy it.”
“You’re wrong about that. He actually treats his wife pretty well. If it weren’t for his in-laws dragging him down and siphoning off his points, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
“I heard he even has a six-year-old son. What a pity, such great strength, but burdened with two dependents…”
“You can’t really say that. He’s not very smart. If not for his wife, he’d already have been eaten alive by the Old Niu family.”
Jiang Zhi listened to the murmuring crowd, lost in thought.
—From what they were saying, low-toxin food can detoxify radiation poisoning?
She thought for a moment, then asked the clerk,
“Hello, may I ask, if it’s low-toxin mutated beast offal, how many points do you sell it for here?”