Doomsday Grocery Store – CH196

Chapter 196

Although Hai Jing had learned basic math, calculations involving numbers beyond two digits were still challenging for him. This was why he had consulted Chi Hao for help earlier, which was also why he expressed his gratitude in the store channel.

Seeing Greenish Blue’s reply, Hai Jing thought for a moment and typed another message in the store channel:

[Cloud Hawk]: Brother Green, can I use points to buy food from you?

With the existence of the trading section, they could exchange goods across thousands of miles.

Guanyu Village now had rice, but if they could also get some meat, it would be even better.

If the meat other employees sold was similar in price to the dried meat in the wholesale market, Hai Jing didn’t mind buying it from them and letting them earn points.

After all, he had learned a lot from the other employees, especially this Brother Green.

Despite being a chatterbox with a sharp tongue but a soft heart, Brother Green was always willing to help as long as you flattered him a little.

Sure enough, not long after Hai Jing sent his message, a reply appeared.

[Greenish Blue]: What kind of food do you want?
[Cloud Hawk]: Meat, any kind of meat will do.
[Cloud Hawk]: I’ll pay 60 points per 500 grams.

Currently, the cheapest meat Hai Jing had unlocked was salted fish jerky and beef, both costing 80 points per 500 grams.

Although his personal points balance was decent, purchases in the trading section required spending personal points, so Hai Jing wanted to save as much as possible.

[Greenish Blue]: You’ll take as much as I can sell?
[Cloud Hawk]: Start with 2.5 kilos. It spoils easily if I buy too much at once.
[Greenish Blue]: Got it. I’ll go catch something for you right now. How about rabbit? Or do you prefer bird meat?
[Cloud Hawk]: Anything is fine, as long as it’s meat.
[Greenish Blue]: No problem!

Seeing Greenish Blue’s reply, Hai Jing couldn’t help but smile.

The thought of being able to acquire food without needing to go out to sea was incredible!

The villagers who had traded for rice from him were all equally joyful. With each person able to exchange for 500 grams of rice every day, it was enough to feed an entire family.

For the past month, thanks to Hai Jing trading rice for salt, no one in the village had died.

Even families who had lost their breadwinners managed to survive, and babies swaddled in blankets were growing up healthy.

Although eating only rice and some seafood scavenged from the beach wasn’t enough to feel fully satisfied, it was far better than starving to death or drowning at sea.

Now that the same amount of salt could be exchanged for more rice, everyone could at least have a full meal.

Who in Guanyu Village wouldn’t feel grateful toward Hai Jing?

Even the few villagers who had harbored ill intentions had been put in check by the rest of the community. They had stopped targeting Hai Jing entirely, knowing that even their own families wouldn’t forgive them if they tried.

After finishing the day’s transactions, Little Hai Lan brought her workbook to her father to have her homework checked. As a reward, she received a small bag of white sugar.

Licking a few grains of sugar, Little Hai Lan’s face lit up with joy. But then, as if remembering something, her mood suddenly dropped.

“Papa, it’s been so long since that great person appeared in my dreams…”

Hai Jing patted her head gently and said, “Child, that’s a god you’re talking about. Gods are very busy. How could they possibly watch over us all the time?”

Little Hai Lan tilted her head and looked up at him. “Papa, do gods really exist?”

Hai Jing recalled the things he had seen on the message board.

The God of Commerce… the Church of the Merchant God…

Such a benevolent deity was someone he was more than willing to believe in.

He nodded and said, “That great person is indeed a mighty god.”

“That god saved Papa’s life. The happiness we have now is all thanks to that god’s blessings. So don’t complain—always keep a grateful heart, okay?”

“Okay! I understand,” Little Hai Lan said with a nod.

She and her father were already living well now. There were so many others in the world who needed help even more. The blessings should go to them first.

After finishing her sugar, Little Hai Lan helped her father prepare dinner.

As night fell, torches were lit all over Guanyu Village. Because everyone had been able to trade for extra rice that day, the whole village was in high spirits, making it particularly lively.

By the shore—

At some point, a few unfamiliar faces appeared near the beach, studying the salt ponds scattered across the area.

Eventually, the leader of the group spoke. “Find out who’s selling the salt.”

“Yes!”

*

Jufeng Town, Store No. 2.

When Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi emerged from the basement, they saw that the Jufeng Grocery Store had been completely rebuilt. The new store was designed exactly as they had requested.

Tang Yu’an knocked on the stone walls and found them to be very sturdy, nodding in satisfaction.

Hearing the sound, the guards stationed outside immediately rushed in. When they saw the two boys inside the shop, they froze for a moment before breaking into smiles.

“Bosses, you’re finally back!”

The basement of the Jufeng Grocery Store was inaccessible to outsiders. Rumors had spread that it led to a secret tunnel, though no one knew where it went.

The fact that the two store owners had disappeared into the basement for days seemed to confirm these rumors. So, when the guards saw the boys suddenly reappear in the shop, they weren’t surprised.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Tang Yu’an said.

“It’s no trouble at all! So, when do the two bosses plan to reopen the store?”

Ever since the flood cut off the roads, prices of goods had skyrocketed—especially salt. People had begrudgingly accepted it at first, but after tasting affordable salt from the Jufeng Grocery Store, who could go back to paying exorbitant prices?

Everyone was eagerly waiting for the store to reopen, and those who had participated in robbing the store before had faced social backlash from the townspeople.

Even though the guards didn’t have solid evidence to arrest anyone, public anger had made life in Jufeng Town increasingly difficult for these individuals.

“Haha, we’ll reopen tomorrow!” Tang Yu’an said cheerfully.

“That’s wonderful news!”

After chatting with the guards for a while, Tang Yu’an escorted them out of the store. Then he and Zhou Qi began inspecting the shop inside and out.

Before long, Xiao Cao and Shi Tou arrived from the Jade Pavilion Inn.

“Little Divine Healer, Shopkeeper!”

“You’re finally back!”

“Yes, yes,” Xiao Cao nodded, then anxiously asked, “Are we starting to sell salt tomorrow?”

“That’s right,” Tang Yu’an replied. After a moment of thought, he added, “You two should move back into the shop. It’s not safe to commute back and forth.”

Once they started selling salt again, the siblings would inevitably attract attention. If they continued traveling daily between the Grocery Store and the Jade Pavilion Inn, it could easily lead to trouble.

“But the soup business…” Xiao Cao hesitated.

She was reluctant to give up their hot soup business, but with salt sales resuming, she and her brother wouldn’t have the energy to manage it in the evenings.

Tang Yu’an presented the plan he and Zhou Qi had previously discussed: “Ask the proprietress if she’d like to take over the business. We can sell her pepper powder for it.”

Xiao Cao froze for a moment, clearly conflicted.

After all, pepper powder was the key ingredient that made their hot soup so popular. Handing it over was a tough decision. But after thinking it through, she nodded. “Alright, I’ll talk to her!”

Although this would reduce the points and experience they earned, selling hot soup couldn’t compare to the profits from selling salt. If the proprietress took over and bought pepper powder from them, it would help make up for the loss.

And they didn’t necessarily have to limit pepper powder sales to the proprietress. They could sell it alongside salt, expanding their customer base and bringing more people into their circle of interests.

It was a win-win situation.

“The Little Divine Healer and Shopkeeper are so smart!” Xiao Cao thought to herself, realizing she still had a lot to learn.

With that, she and Shitou quickly left to discuss the matter with the proprietress at the Jade Pavilion.

After the siblings left, Captain Hei Xiong showed up.

Seeing Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi again, he paused in surprise. The two boys had changed significantly since he last saw them.

Zhou Qi, in particular, was almost unrecognizable. Hei Xiong could hardly reconcile the confident and robust young man before him with the tall, skinny, and scholarly-looking boy from a month or two ago.

It took him a moment to realize he was staring, and he quickly adjusted his demeanor.

While the boys’ changes were surprising, this was a post-apocalyptic world where supernatural powers existed. Strange occurrences were commonplace.

He got straight to the point.

“I’ve already heard from the guards,” Hei Xiong said. “If you need extra hands tomorrow to maintain order, just let me know.”

Relieved that Hei Xiong didn’t question their rapid growth, Tang Yu’an smiled and thanked him. There was no need to explain why he and Zhou Qi had changed so much—what a relief!

Tang Yu’an then brought out a clay jar and said, “Here’s the 50 kilos of salt we agreed on for this month.”

Hei Xiong carefully inspected the jar. After verifying the quality of the salt, he nodded in satisfaction. “Great. I’ll have someone deliver 500 kilos of soybeans for you, then.”

“Thank you!”

Hei Xiong left in a hurry and soon returned with ten 50 kilos sacks of soybeans, which he placed in the room Tang Yu’an had designated.

“How’s Sister Hong Li doing?” Tang Yu’an asked with concern.

“The Mountain Lord is still in seclusion and doing well,” Hei Xiong replied. “Thanks to the flame stones you sent earlier. If you have more, we’ll buy as many as you’re willing to sell.”

“Alright,” Tang Yu’an replied with a nod, though he didn’t take out more flame stones.

Flame stones were primarily reserved for the Desolate City Haven and trades with Ice Rock Fortress, where they were much more urgently needed. For Jufeng Town, Tang Yu’an planned to sell only the older stones with residual heat.

Hei Xiong left the store grinning, carrying 50 kilos of sea salt with him.

[You completed a profitable transaction with a repeat customer. Points +22,500, Experience +1.]

Hehe, everyone wins!

After sending Hei Xiong off, Tang Yu’an took out a Southern Yard storage cabinet and loaded all ten sacks of soybeans into it. With its 100-cubic-meter capacity, the cabinet easily accommodated the 500 kilos of soybeans.

However, Tang Yu’an realized he’d need to find time to reorganize the cabinet’s contents to prepare it for its next upgrade.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qi used his earth-element abilities to reinforce the building structure. But beyond that, there wasn’t much more they could do.

Since the Jufeng Grocery Store was still in its closed state, they couldn’t accumulate store popularity, which meant they couldn’t upgrade the store or unlock more features in the infrastructure system.

However…

Tang Yu’an brought over two metal doors from Store No. 1 and added an extra layer of protection to the front and back entrances.

For the store’s façade, they followed the design of Peace Grocery Store, leaving only one entry door and a small window for interaction.

The window opening in the store’s front was now even smaller than before, measuring only 45 centimeters by 45 centimeters.

When the store reopened, Xiao Cao and Shi Tou would sit behind the window, passing salt and other goods through it. This closed-off design was expected to greatly improve security.

After all, the townsfolk rarely brought large items for trade. If they ever did, those transactions could be handled separately after store hours.

When Xiao Cao and Shi Tou returned, Tang Yu’an gathered them to explain the new operating procedures.

He also handed each of them a dagger made from mutated metal, his expression serious. “These are for self-defense. But you must never use them to bully others, understood?”

“Don’t worry, Little Divine Healer. We’d never violate the rules of the faith!” Shi Tou said confidently, patting his chest.

Tang Yu’an: “…”

Rules of the faith? That’s clearly the employee handbook!

At that moment, Xiao Cao pulled a few small pouches out of her portable inventory and said, “Don’t worry, Little Divine Healer. Sister Lin gave us some itch powder.”

“If anyone dares try to rob us again, we’ll throw this outside. It’ll make them itch until they can’t stand it!”

Having watched the store being rebuilt, the siblings had already taken note of the new window design and thought of ways to handle troublemakers.

“Good,” Tang Yu’an said, nodding in approval. “But above all, your safety is the most important. If anyone tries to rob the store again, head straight to the basement.”

The Jufeng Grocery Store had been fully reinforced, so it was unlikely that anyone could force their way in like before. This should give them plenty of time to retreat.

“We understand, Little Divine Healer,” the siblings replied in unison.

Seeing that they agreed, Tang Yu’an changed the subject. “What did the proprietress say?”

“She agreed! We sold her one pouch of pepper powder—it should last her at least half a month.”

However, the proprietress couldn’t pay for the full amount up front and had only provided some mushrooms as an advance. She promised to settle the rest after selling her hot soup.

“We also told her that since she let us use her space before, we’d give her a head start by selling pepper powder exclusively to her for the next half-month. After that, we’ll make it available to others.”

Tang Yu’an blinked in surprise. He hadn’t even discussed this with Xiao Cao, and yet she had come up with it herself.

“What did she say?” he asked.

“She was thrilled!” Xiao Cao replied. “Even if we sell pepper powder to others later, everyone’s already used to buying hot soup from the Jade Pavilion Inn. The other sellers won’t be able to take too much business away from her.”

Tang Yu’an nodded. Habits were hard to change. As long as the Jade Pavilion Inn maintained the quality of its soup, the townsfolk would keep going there.

“Alright, then get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is reopening day, and it’s bound to be busy.”

“Got it!”

With that, they temporarily closed the Jufeng Grocery Store and used the teleportation array to return to Wasteland Home.

Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi went to reorganize the storage cabinets, while Shi Tou took his sister back to the employee dormitory.

*

“Xiao Cao, don’t feel upset…” Shi Tou said, standing at her bedroom door.

“I’m not upset,” Xiao Cao replied, tidying her bed.

“This arrangement is fine. Besides, selling hot soup really doesn’t earn as much as selling salt.”

She paused, then looked up at her brother. “Brother, did you know that Cloud Hawk’s monthly salary is over 20,000 points?”

Shi Tou nodded; he was aware of this.

Xiao Cao continued, her eyes sparkling with determination. “And he became an employee after us.”

Her fighting spirit flared. “This month, we need to work harder and aim for a salary of over 10,000 points!”

Shi Tou: “…”

He had originally planned to ask if she wanted to go to the chatroom with him for some late-night snacks, but now he quietly closed his mouth, turned around, and went back to his own room.

If they were going to be up at dawn tomorrow, he figured he’d better get to bed early.

*

Room 501.

Tang Yu’an transferred all the soybeans from the Southern Yard Storage Cabinet to the Eastern Ridge Storage Cabinet.

The Eastern Ridge Storage Cabinet had a special effect that preserved the freshness of vegetables. Although soybeans weren’t technically vegetables, the cabinet’s large capacity made it a convenient place to store them. Plus, the residents of Wasteland Home could use the soybeans as part of a balanced diet alongside their staple food, potatoes.

“You need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy, after all!” Tang Yu’an said.

“So the Jufeng Grocery Store reopens tomorrow?” Old Li asked.

“That’s right,” Tang Yu’an replied.

“Then I’ll head over tomorrow to see if you need any help.”

“Thank you!”

After bidding Old Li farewell, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi returned to the Peace Grocery Store to prepare for upgrading the Southern Yard Storage Cabinet.

At Level 3, the cabinet’s internal space would increase to 200 cubic meters—a very practical upgrade!

Zhou Qi made a delicious vegetable soup and placed it on top of the emptied cabinet. Tang Yu’an then summoned the Furniture Sprite Yaya to initiate the upgrade process.

Hopefully, they’d trigger a special effect to enhance vegetable preservation this time as well!

The Level 3 upgrade process took significantly longer than before—an entire week, in fact.

Watching the little sprite diligently get to work, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi didn’t disturb her. They quietly left the storage room.

Just then, a system notification popped up in front of Tang Yu’an.

[Employee “Chi Hao” has completed a profitable transaction with a new customer. Points +1,000, Experience +3.]

“Huh, did Brother Chi Hao already make it to the fortress?”

Tang Yu’an frowned in confusion. Yunqing’s salary cycle hadn’t even reached its conclusion, meaning Chi Hao had left Lanhu Town less than a month ago. How did he manage to arrive at the fortress so quickly?

Tang Yu’an opened the map and scrolled upward to locate Chi Hao.

Sure enough, several green dots surrounded his position. Could this place be Qingmu Fortress?

At that moment, Zhou Qi retrieved Chi Hao’s notebook from their portable inventory and flipped through it to find the message Chi Hao had left behind.

Chi Hao: “Xiao An, Xiao Qi, I’ve arrived at a place called Huangyan Valley and bought a house here. If you ever have the chance to visit, you can use the proof of ownership to stay.”

“Brother Chi Hao bought another house!” Tang Yu’an said excitedly, looking at the note.

Beneath the first note was another message:

Chi Hao: “But this place is much farther than Lanhu Town, so I doubt you’ll be able to make it out here.”

That might have been true before, but now they had an RV!

Tang Yu’an chuckled mischievously and turned to Zhou Qi. “Should we tell Brother Chi Hao that we’ve already been to Lanhu Town?”

Zhou Qi considered it for a moment before nodding.

There wasn’t any harm in telling Chi Hao. At least it would save him from worrying about Lanhu Town, especially since he seemed to have a good relationship with the town’s leader, Yunqing.

Tang Yu’an wrote a reply in the notebook:

An An: “Brother Chi Hao, thank you for buying us another house! By the way, we’ve already been to Lanhu Town. The crisis in Lanhu Forest has been resolved, and Yunqing was even recruited by the Mysterious Merchant to become an employee!”

Shortly after Zhou Qi returned the notebook to the inventory, Chi Hao’s reply came through.

Chi Hao: “Are you talking about Yunqing… Lanhu Town’s leader, Lan Yunqing? He became an employee?!”
An An: “Yep, that’s him! Before we even got to Lanhu Town, he had already been recruited. He even introduced himself to us voluntarily.”
Chi Hao: “…What’s his codename?”
Chi Hao: “Wait, don’t tell me… you’re saying he’s Red as Fire?!”
An An: “Wow, Brother Chi Hao, you’re so smart! ^^”

*

Huangyan Valley.

Chi Hao sat in his newly purchased house, staring at Tang Yu’an’s last message. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring himself to laugh.

Red as Fire is Lan Yunqing? What nonsense was this?!

Thinking back to all the times he’d targeted Red as Fire, making pointed comments and poking at him on purpose, Chi Hao couldn’t help but throw his head back in despair.

Why?!

How did the Mysterious Merchant come up with these codenames? How could Red as Fire turn out to be Lan Yunqing?!

So, did this mean Yunqing was recruited after Chi Hao left Lanhu Town?

Conflicted, Chi Hao hesitated for a moment before finally opening the message board. When he saw activity from Red as Fire in the public channel, he decided to first test the waters in the store channel.

After all, Red as Fire had spoken there before, meaning they had been assigned to the same store.

However, no matter how long Chi Hao waited after calling out, there was no response.

Looking back at the public channel, he saw that Red as Fire was happily chatting with Little Troublemaker. Why wasn’t he responding in the store channel? Could it be… because Chi Hao had antagonized him in the past and he was holding a grudge?

Feeling slightly guilty, Chi Hao couldn’t help but recall Yunqing’s teasing smile.

After some thought, he decided to write in the public channel.

[Greenish Blue]: Red as Fire, I called for you in the store channel. Why are you ignoring me?

After sending the message, Chi Hao anxiously waited for a reply. He didn’t think Yunqing would have recognized him as “Greenish Blue,” but… what if he had?

Seconds felt like years. Finally, a new message popped up on the message board.

[Red as Fire]: I was transferred to another store.

What?! Transfers like that were possible?!

Chi Hao’s eyes widened in disbelief.

What was the Mysterious Merchant thinking, transferring Yunqing to a different store? Chi Hao felt a headache coming on.

[Red as Fire]: Is there something you need? ^^

That little smiley face at the end practically screamed Yunqing’s smug expression.

No way… No way…

Had Yunqing already figured out that “Greenish Blue” was him?

[Red as Fire]: Brother Green?

Critical Hit!

*

Peace Grocery Store.

Tang Yu’an watched the exchange between Chi Hao and Yunqing on the public channel and suddenly remembered that Chi Hao and the Lanhu leader were no longer in the same store.

Yunqing had been transferred to Store No. 5, while Chi Hao remained in the main store.

If they wanted to chat privately, Tang Yu’an could theoretically transfer Chi Hao to Store No. 5. But… even when they were in the same store, the two of them hadn’t really spoken much.

Besides, transferring Chi Hao without a good reason would be too suspicious. It would make things far too obvious.

In the end, Tang Yu’an could only shake his head. After closing the message board, he decided to head to the attic with Zhou Qi to retrieve the day’s drifting dream bottles.

As soon as they climbed upstairs, they noticed that the Dream Drift Bottle’s window was flickering with light. That glow…

One of the bottles from another dimension had returned!

Which bottle could it be? Was it from Corsona? Lang Ze? Or one of the other two dimensions?

Tang Yu’an rushed over, opened the window, and retrieved the bottle from the sea of dreams. But then—

[Warning! Warning! Your Dream Drift Bottle has attracted the attention of a deity. The entity is descending—proceed with caution!]

At the same time, a cold and lazy voice echoed near Tang Yu’an’s ear:

“So, you’re the Mysterious Merchant?”