The sales clerk’s eyes lit up.
“You have low-toxin meat?”
From the side, Jiang Shu immediately denied it.
“How could we? I was just asking.”
The clerk looked a little disappointed, but still answered patiently,
“Generally speaking, low-toxin meat costs 700 points per pound.”
Jiang Shu was shocked.
“So expensive?!”
Then didn’t that mean their family could make a fortune?!
“Of course.” The clerk glanced around, and seeing no one paying attention, lowered her voice and said to the siblings,
“If you ever have any, you can come straight to me. I also buy privately, and we can discuss the price.”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhi guessed that low-toxin meat must be highly sought after in the base.
She didn’t respond. Instead, she calmly pointed at a counter opposite them and asked about a stick made from what looked like the leg bones of some mutated beast.
“I want that. Can you give me a discount?”
The clerk froze for a moment, clearly confused by the sudden shift from food to weapons.
“Sorry, all our items are clearly priced…”
Jiang Zhi cut in decisively,
“50 points. I’ll take it. In the future, if I collect any low-toxin plants, I’ll sell them to you first.”
The clerk: …
That promise sounded exactly like the kind of empty talk shady merchants in the market used.
She was about to refuse when Jiang Zhi quickly slipped a fruit from her pocket into her hand.
The clerk tensed, and seeing that no one was paying attention, quietly tucked it away.
Jiang Zhi said softly,
“Moderate-toxin.”
The clerk couldn’t help glancing down.
It was a golden-yellow fruit, resembling mutated sea buckthorn, and about the size of a fist.
She swallowed unconsciously.
In this era, ordinary people couldn’t afford fruit, and she hadn’t had a snack in a long time.
The stick was made by welding together several different animal bones, resulting in uneven hardness and an ugly appearance. It was originally priced at 100 points and had been sitting in the store for over two years. Most people assumed it was high-toxin and wouldn’t buy it. If not for its sufficient durability, they would have disposed of it long ago.
As customers put it, even a random mutated tree branch picked from outside would be better than this.
The clerk made her decision almost instantly.
“Deal!”
On the way back, Jiang Shu started grumbling again.
“Ah Zhi, why did you even buy that thing? You could’ve just bought a few pounds of buckwheat. At least we’d have a full meal tonight. And you even secretly hid a fruit without sharing it with me…”
Jiang Zhi tapped the ground lightly with the stick, cutting him off.
“Brother, we just scored a bargain.”
Jiang Shu’s eyes lit up.
“Did you find something?”
Since childhood, Jiang Zhi had never been like an ordinary person. When she was young, she could sense certain special things within a radius of about a hundred meters.
According to their father, Jiang Zhi basically had a high-end terrain radar in her brain.
As a child, she often used this ability to pick up money.
After the catastrophe, her ability had further strengthened. Within her “terrain radar,” all living things could be sensed. Those with hostile intent would appear as red warning markers, ordinary plants and animals would appear as green markers, and anything valuable would be marked in gold.
It was somewhat like a map interface in an RPG game.
After the catastrophe, the four of them had relied on this ability of Jiang Zhi’s to survive in their small outpost.
But because this ability was far too abnormal, even though Evolvers enjoyed excellent welfare in Ancheng Base, they had no intention of revealing it.
Jiang Zhi didn’t deny her brother’s words. Instead, she used a dagger to remove the welded metal chains at both ends, leaving only a section of about 80 centimeters in the middle.
“This should be the bone of a mutated wild boar. It’s harder than steel. If properly polished, it’ll be better than the weapons we have now.”
In her mental map, this item was marked in a light gold color, definitely something valuable.
The only unknown was what special effect it might have.
Jiang Shu also got excited. Their family of four hadn’t had a proper weapon for a long time. This bone staff they bought was thick enough and not too heavy, one swing would probably be enough to smash a tusked rabbit’s head.
“So that means 50 points was basically a bargain.”
He was sure that if those people knew it was wild boar bone, they would regret selling it for that price.
Even by that standard, 50 points was already worth it.
Jiang Zhi curled her lips.
“Not just a bargain. Rounded off, it’s basically free.”
She handed it to her brother.
“Here, take it.”
Jiang Shu nearly jumped.
“A-Ah Zhi, you’re really giving it to me?!”
Jiang Zhi chuckled.
“I tested it. Even though it’s high-toxin, as long as you coat it with a protective layer on the outside, it should be fine to use. You and Dad are the main fighters in the family, you need proper weapons for self-defense.”
Prolonged contact with high-toxin items could still harm the body.
Jiang Shu was instantly moved to tears and was about to give his dear sister a big bear hug.
“Ah Zhi!! I didn’t suffer all those years taking the blame for you for nothing, waah!”
Jiang Zhi quickly dodged.
“Go get water. Otherwise Mom’s going to hit you again.”
Jiang Shu happily tied his new find to his belt with a piece of string and went to fetch water from the well next to the low-rent housing.
Jiang Zhi wandered around the area again. After roughly getting a sense of the layout, she slowly made her way back to the room.
Just as she stepped onto the stairs, a strange, indescribably rich meaty aroma hit her.
Residents on several floors began poking their heads out in agitation, clearly drawn in by the smell.
Jiang Zhi had a bad feeling and quickly strode up to the second floor.
And as expected.
A few people were sneaking around in front of their rented room, all craning their necks to look inside. Some of the bolder ones were even pressed up against the crack in the door, trying to see what was going on inside.
Before Jiang Zhi could speak, Jiang Shu, who had just returned carrying water, also witnessed the scene. His eyebrows shot up, and he walked over quickly.
“What are you all doing sneaking around outside my house?!”
A few timid ones immediately scattered.
Some thicker-skinned ones leaned in with grins and asked,
“Brother, are you guys cooking meat? It smells way too good, we can’t help it.”
Jiang Shu rolled his eyes and deliberately said loudly,
“If my family could afford meat, would we still be living here?!”
Hearing that, the man thought it made sense.
“Then what are you cooking? It smells like meat.”
Jiang Shu was momentarily stumped, he had just been talking nonsense, how would he know?
Jiang Zhi pulled him back and glared at the man.
“What does it have to do with you?!”
Jiang Shu immediately echoed,
“Exactly! None of your business!”
The man was about to say something else when Jiang Shan, who was inside, heard the commotion and opened the door.
The aroma spilling out became even more intense.
Seeing the expressions of the crowd in the corridor, Jiang Shan frowned and said to the siblings,
“Come in quickly.”
With his height and build, he was imposing enough just standing there.
Those trying to stir trouble stretched their necks, trying to see what this family was cooking, but Jiang Shan’s broad frame blocked the doorway completely, leaving them with nothing to see.
Jiang Shan said calmly,
“You looking for trouble?”
Years of authority gave him a naturally intimidating presence when he was serious. After a moment of hesitation, the onlookers ultimately didn’t dare cause trouble and left while looking back repeatedly.
Jiang Shu snorted and swept a fierce glance around before going back inside.
Once he entered, he immediately took several deep, greedy breaths of the aroma.
“Mom, my real dear mom, your cooking is still amazing! This smells so good I’m about to lose it!!”
Ye Qingyun scolded him irritably, “Have some shame! Keep your voice down. Still not enough attention from earlier, is it?”
Given their current conditions, they had no spices at all. However, the Ye family had been chefs for three generations, so her cooking skills were exceptional.
As a nurse, Ye Qingyun hadn’t inherited the full culinary tradition, but she was still far better than the average person.
She cleaned the tusked rabbit’s heart thoroughly, leaving no odor behind, and sliced it into fine shreds.
Rice was cooked into a thick porridge. While it was still boiling hot, she turned off the heat and added the shredded meat, letting it finish cooking through residual heat.
Although the tusked rabbit heart was already naturally tender, the rich aroma still came largely from Ye Qingyun’s skill.
Jiang Shu squatted eagerly in front of the small stove, eyes shining as he stared at the steaming meat porridge, swallowing repeatedly.
Unable to watch any longer, Ye Qingyun served him a bowl first.
Jiang Zhi also got a bowl. She took a small sip, and the fresh, sweet flavor filled her mouth.
“Mom, how much of the tusked rabbit heart did you cook?”
“Half of it. Why?” Ye Qingyun clearly hadn’t realized how far the smell had spread.
“Cook all of it,” Jiang Zhi said. “Otherwise someone will definitely try to steal from us tomorrow.”
Ye Qingyun was startled, immediately thinking of something.
Her expression darkened.
“I even sprayed odor remover. I didn’t think even that wouldn’t be enough.”
The odor remover she used was homemade, crushed wild stink grass mixed with water.
It had worked well in the wild, but in the base, its effect seemed to be limited.
Jiang Shu gulped down a large mouthful. It was so hot it burned his mouth, but he still refused to spit it out, forcing it down before speaking.
“Mom, don’t hold back this time. When we went to the shop earlier, we heard that low-toxin plants and animals can help reduce the toxins in our bodies.”
He then explained everything they had learned while eating.
Hearing this, Ye Qingyun sighed.
“Looks like even if low-toxin food is expensive, we can’t sell it all. In this era, having a healthy body is what really matters.”
In their hardest times, they had also eaten moderate- and high-toxin food. Although not often, they still couldn’t afford to be careless.
“I’ll cook the rest too. Let the whole family detox properly.”
Jiang Shan also took a sip of porridge and said, “We still need to buy our own land. This place is full of all kinds of people, it’s clearly not safe enough. If something gets stolen, we won’t even be able to get it back.”
“We’ve just arrived, so we should keep a low profile these next few days. Otherwise we might get targeted.”
Ye Qingyun also sat down.
Over a pound of heart meat was cooked with two pounds of rice and plenty of water. The surface floated with a light yellow rice slurry, carrying a fresh grain aroma. Combined with the natural sweetness of the tusked rabbit heart, the porridge tasted thick, smooth, and richly satisfying.
This time, Ye Qingyun made plenty, and everyone was able to eat three big bowls each.
It was the first time in a long while that they had truly eaten their fill.
Jiang Shu licked his bowl clean, then smacked his lips in satisfaction.
“I wonder if all low-toxin mutated beasts taste this good.”
Even Jiang Shan, who rarely agreed, did this time.
“If we get the chance, we can hunt some mutated beasts to improve our living conditions.”
Ye Qingyun looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she held back.
After finishing the last mouthful of porridge, Jiang Zhi got down to business.
“Mom, Dad, I asked around today. Buying land here costs about 3,000 points per square meter.”
Ye Qingyun sucked in a sharp breath.
“So expensive?!”