Seeing the message from Lin Yuhan, Ning Xuan guessed that the copper coins must have sold for a decent price. She still had 11 copper coins on hand. Aside from one transaction where she received a jade bracelet, Wang Er Ya had been giving her copper coins for every recent trade—sometimes two coins, sometimes one—so she had managed to accumulate over ten coins by now.
Ning Xuan wasn’t planning to sell the bracelet just yet. If she became less desperate for supplies later on, she could keep it and sell it herself someday to build up some initial capital.
For now, trading copper coins alone seemed enough to exchange for plenty of goods, which should just about cover her needs.
So, Ning Xuan replied, 【Yes, but I need quite a lot of things.】
As long as it didn’t exceed her purchasing power and she could still make a profit, Lin Yuhan was willing to help. She asked Ning Xuan to list her requirements.
After some thought, Ning Xuan came up with quite a list:
【I could use more variety in food. I don’t have the means to cook here, so I need ready-to-eat items like jerky, bread, crackers, or cooked rice. The more variety, the better.
Then, for clothing and daily necessities, I need clothes in styles commonly seen in the 1970s—three sets each of summer, autumn, and winter wear. Also, underwear, in plain, old-fashioned designs that fit the era.
Two cotton quilts: one six jin and one ten jin. For the quilt covers, simple, rustic ones in blue or green will do.
And sanitary pads—one box each of day and night use.】
For the moment, that was all Ning Xuan could think of. She figured it would take time for the other party to gather these items anyway, and since they could trade daily, she could always ask for more later if she thought of anything else.
A while later, Ning Xuan remembered Wang Er Ya. She considered asking Lin Yuhan to prepare baby formula but then reconsidered—formula had a distinct smell, and on their refugee journey, it might attract unwanted attention. Better not risk causing trouble with good intentions, she decided. She’d wait until she could think of a safer approach.
Lin Yuhan agreed to start with the food and sanitary pads, noting that the clothing would take more time to prepare.
She planned to shop online, as it was nearly impossible to find such outdated clothing and quilts in physical stores these days—online shopping was much more convenient.
First, Lin Yuhan went to the supermarket and bought sanitary pads from a well-known brand. She also picked up crackers, pastries, jerky, dried meat, and milk candies. Spotting some fruit, she asked Ning Xuan if she wanted any.
Ning Xuan nodded eagerly—absolutely! Still in survival mode, she had completely forgotten about fruit and hadn’t had any in a long time.
Thoughtfully, Lin Yuhan bought easy-to-eat fruits like grapes and bananas—no peeling needed, quiet to eat, and not too aromatic.
For staple foods, she bought a few boxes of premium fast food, then added sushi and rice balls. Though not as tasty, these were convenient and had less noticeable smells.
Ning Xuan was deeply grateful for Lin Yuhan’s consideration when she received the items.
There were only three trade slots, limiting each transaction to three items, though there was no limit on quantity per category.
So, Lin Yuhan packed all the sanitary pads in one bag, the fruit in another, and the food in a single box—making exactly three items in total. The System counted each outer package as one item.
These items didn't sound like much, but they actually added up to quite a lot, all acquired by Ning Xuan through trading with just two copper coins.
After some thought, Ning Xuan decided to seek help from Lin Yuhan in the modern dimension.
"I actually want to buy some formula milk for a three-month-old baby and feeding bottles, but it's inconvenient to take them out, and I'm worried about the smell. Could you help me find some formula with a lighter scent?"
There happened to be a maternity and baby store near where Lin Yuhan lived. Having just bound with the System that day, she had been in an excited state all day, so she immediately offered to ask the store staff.
At the maternity and baby store, the clerk mentioned they had formula with a lighter taste that was closer to breast milk, though it was slightly more expensive than other brands.
After some consideration, Lin Yuhan first bought a small can of the formula, then purchased three affordable feeding bottles at thirty yuan each.
Returning home, Lin Yuhan sent Ning Xuan a message:
[The clerk said this brand has a very mild taste. I'll prepare it in the bottles here first, so you can take it out and feed directly. That should minimize any smell.]
Ning Xuan was delighted with this solution. Though there would still be some odor, and people who had gone hungry for long periods tended to be particularly sensitive to food smells, the small holes in the bottle nipples should help control the scent somewhat.
Then Lin Yuhan, a woman in her twenties who was neither married nor had children, began carefully preparing the formula according to the clerk's instructions and the directions on the can, using freshly boiled water.
For convenience, she filled all three 160ml bottles to their maximum capacity, reasoning that any unused milk could be stored back in the Warehouse.
This time, Lin Yuhan only charged one copper coin and suggested that if this method worked, she could prepare more bottles of formula during their next transaction.
After receiving the prepared formula, Ning Xuan secretly took it out and tested a drop on her wrist—the temperature was just right, not too hot. The milk scent was indeed very faint with just a slight tang. After tasting a bit, she found it wasn't too sweet and decided it should be suitable.
Ning Xuan then passed the formula to Wang Er Ya, explaining how to use it—essentially just placing the nipple against the baby's mouth for her to suckle.
Seeing such a miraculous and convenient item, Wang Er Ya felt even more grateful to Ning Xuan, offering one copper coin as payment for one bottle of formula.
Though Wang Er Ya originally only had a few dozen copper coins, she had received additional shares from the recent raid on Mountain Bandits, so she could afford to spend two or three copper coins daily now.
Ning Xuan advised her to secretly give the baby a small amount first to check for any adverse reactions before continuing to feed. The empty bottles could be returned during their next transaction.
Fortunately, other people's Systems differed from Ning Xuan's—others were limited to three transactions per day, and their Systems didn't upgrade, remaining connected to only one Dimension.
Ning Xuan's System, however, could be upgraded to connect to multiple Dimensions simultaneously, with the number of transactions increasing as the System leveled up.
After completing the formula transaction, Ning Xuan felt somewhat relieved, hoping that Wang Er Ya and her child would safely survive this famine escape.
It wasn't until bedtime that Ning Xuan remembered—she could actually drink the formula herself to supplement her nutrition too.
This body is truly suffering from severe malnutrition. Recently, while working, she nearly fainted several times. Later, she forced herself to eat more coarse grain pancakes and steamed corn buns, which helped a little—but only a little. She still gets dizzy easily, to the point where she feels unsteady while walking.
Ning Xuan decided to talk to Lin Yuhan again tomorrow and ask her to get some adult formula milk powder. She wouldn’t use a baby bottle; she’d just find a cup to mix it in.
She also needed calcium tablets, iron supplements, vitamin pills, and the like. This body was severely depleted. It wasn’t until she mentioned buying sanitary pads today that she remembered: the original host’s menstrual cycle was also very irregular. She didn’t get her first period until she was 16, and each cycle lasted only three days, with light flow and abdominal pain.
It really felt like all the negative buffs were stacked against her. Recovering her health would probably take a lot of time.
But now that she had connected to the modern dimension, Ning Xuan felt that life was becoming more and more promising.