Doomsday Grocery Store – CH38

Chapter 38 – Kang Kang’s Little Green Seedling

Early morning, just as the sky began to lighten.

Tang Yu’an woke up right as Zhou Qi’s alarm went off.

Since it was scorching in the afternoons, they had agreed the night before to get an early start on today’s trading. With this on his mind, Tang Yu’an woke up on the dot. Zhou Qi switched off the alarm and quickly tidied up his bed, tossing clothes at the still-groggy Tang Yu’an and giving his head a quick ruffle. “Get dressed and come downstairs.”

Then, he headed down.

The room below was just as they’d left it the night before. The three little ones were still dutifully stationed at the foot of the stairs, while Chi Hao lay on a padded spot on the floor and woke up as soon as Zhou Qi came down.

“Morning,” Zhou Qi greeted him.

“Oh… morning.”

Watching the younger boy head off to wash up, Chi Hao looked like he wanted to say something but held back.

The night before, he had used up all ten of his points and discovered—much to his amazement—that whatever container he selected, the exchanged glucose would appear in it out of thin air.

The experience was so novel that he had ended up spending all ten points on glucose.

Looking now at the other items on the panel, he felt a deep craving that he couldn’t satisfy with zero points.

How could he earn more points?

Was his only income really the monthly ten points? Wasn’t that far too little? Just unlocking the fuel exchange alone would take fifty months!

So, when Zhou Qi came down, Chi Hao really wanted to clear up his confusion, but seeing that Zhou Qi had no intention of stopping to chat, he could only let it go for now.

Upstairs, Tang Yu’an was looking through his panel.

His screen was once again filled with notifications.

[Employee “Chi Hao” has redeemed 10g glucose with 1 personal point.]
[Employee “Chi Hao” has redeemed 10g glucose with 1 personal point.]
[…]

Ten identical messages!

Was Brother Chi Hao up all night exchanging glucose for fun?

Tang Yu’an quickly scrolled through the messages and stopped at the top few entries.

[Employee “Chi Hao” does not have warehouse access; delivery failed.]
[Employee “Chi Hao” has not activated personal storage; delivery failed.]

[Instant delivery function activated. Select a container to receive goods (touch the container to select).]

Whoa! A new feature!

Tang Yu’an carefully read through the message and, taking out the bag where he stored glucose, tried redeeming a point. Sure enough, the glucose in the bag increased.

Awesome!

Now, even if he was low on storage space or not in the general store, it wouldn’t affect his ability to receive goods!

Tang Yu’an was overjoyed with this bonus that came with hiring Chi Hao.

Great, he thought, I’ll let Brother Qi know about this good news later.

After finishing his morning wash-up, Tang Yu’an was just about to sneak over to Zhou Qi to tell him the news when Yin Bi grabbed hold of his shirt, pulling gently to lead him toward the door.

The scene felt strangely familiar.

Could it be…?

Following Yin Bi’s tugging, Tang Yu’an went to the store entrance and opened the door to peek outside. Sure enough, there was another dead bird left at their doorstep.

Had Black Pearl returned?

Looking at the plum-blossom-shaped pawprints around the bird, Tang Yu’an felt a wave of warmth.

Even though Black Pearl refused to stay at the general store, she still kept them in mind. The thought of this warmed his heart and filled him with enough joy to last the whole day.

“Brother Qi, Black Pearl brought us more food again!”

Tang Yu’an chuckled, then stepped out past the store’s protective barrier—since it wasn’t business hours yet, the barrier was still active.

He bent down to pick up the bird when he heard a faint sound of something landing nearby.

Yuan Bao, who had been yawning in boredom behind him, suddenly went alert.

He darted forward to shield Tang Yu’an, instantly shifting to his larger form, baring his teeth and glaring fiercely ahead.

Tang Yu’an instinctively pulled out his shadow umbrella and happy marble, but when he saw who had made the sound, his expression quickly turned from fear to surprise.

“Yuan?” Hearing the commotion, Zhou Qi hurried out of the store.

He looked up and saw a sleek, black figure leap down from a nearby rooftop, landing smoothly on the ground—it was Black Pearl, who had left the store earlier.

She walked toward them, graceful as ever, paying no attention to the giant four-eyed dog glaring at her. Her cold golden eyes regarded Tang Yu’an briefly.

Just as Tang Yu’an was wondering what she intended to do, the black cat turned away indifferently. Her figure leaped lightly a few times and soon disappeared among the ruins.

Tang Yu’an stared, a little bewildered, as she disappeared from view.

“You okay?” Zhou Qi came over to check on him.

“Mm-hm, all good.”

Tang Yu’an nodded, then patted Yuan Bao, who had shrunk back down to puppy size, in gratitude for his protection. Yuan Bao nudged his hand affectionately before running off to play with Yin Bi. The two dogs ran joyfully across the gravelly clearing in the morning light, even drawing Wang Cai to join in, though her short legs couldn’t keep up. Watching them play, Tang Yu’an felt transported back to the small town of his childhood—until the surrounding ruins brought him back to reality.

Turning to Zhou Qi, he muttered, “Black Pearl brought us a bird, but for some reason she left again. I didn’t even have a chance to feed her…”

Zhou Qi looked in the direction where Black Pearl had disappeared.

“Maybe she came because you didn’t go see her yesterday. She might have been worried about you and wanted to check in.”

Once she saw you were fine, she left.

“Is that so?”

Tang Yu’an’s curiosity shifted to joy, and glancing toward the abandoned parking lot, he said happily, “Then let’s bring her something tasty later!”

“Sure.”

The two of them took the bird back inside. Although Chi Hao had heard the commotion, he hadn’t figured out what had happened exactly.

It seemed like someone these two boys knew had brought them some game?

While Zhou Qi took the bird to the kitchen to prepare, Tang Yu’an sat down with Chi Hao to answer his questions.

“You want to know how to earn points?” Tang Yu’an asked.

“Yes, I do.”

Chi Hao looked genuinely curious and eager to learn.

Tang Yu’an gave him a knowing look and asked, “Brother Chi Hao, do you have a ‘Performance’ section on your panel?”

“Yes, I do.”

Chi Hao had seen it the previous night, but his head was too fuzzy from blood loss to make much sense of it, so he had ended up falling asleep instead.

Even now, just glancing at the text gave him a headache, which was why he decided to ask directly.

“What are your performance requirements?” Tang Yu’an asked.

Chi Hao quickly opened the “Performance” tab and said, “The minimum requirement is ten trades per month and at least fifty points earned.”

Tang Yu’an nodded. “And what’s the commission rate?”

Chi Hao quickly found the relevant information. “Personal points at 5%, purchase points at 10%… What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tang Yu’an explained.

“If you meet your performance goals each month, you receive your base salary—ten points. Any extra earnings earn you commission.”

“For example, if you complete ten trades this month and earn the mysterious merchant 550 points, you get your ten-point base salary plus five percent of the additional 500…”

“So that’s a total of 35 personal points and 55 purchase points.”

Although Zhou Qi was also an employee, Tang Yu’an had directly maxed out his personal points, so there was no need for him to go through this math. But since Chi Hao was technically their first official employee, these requirements had been set up for him.

Chi Hao slowly absorbed the calculation method, then asked, “What’s the difference between personal and purchase points?”

“With personal points, you have complete freedom to use the redeemed goods however you want.”

Tang Yu’an explained patiently, “Goods redeemed with purchase points belong to the mysterious merchant. They’re only for trading purposes. If we use them privately, personal points get deducted.”

“What if personal points drop to zero? Does it go negative?” Chi Hao asked.

Tang Yu’an gave him a long, thoughtful look. So this Brother Chi Hao liked finding loopholes.

But the system had already patched this one.

“If personal points reach zero, the system will confiscate all your possessions to make up the difference.”

Considering how he had started off by spending six fire crystals at once, Tang Yu’an doubted Chi Hao would lack items to confiscate.

Chi Hao frowned. “But how would the system determine what belongs to me? Would it go after things not even on me?”

Tang Yu’an shrugged.

“You’re welcome to try and find out,” he replied, wearing an innocent, well-behaved expression.

Still, since the system had managed to transport them from another world, Tang Yu’an had faith it was capable of enforcing its rules.

Chi Hao fell silent.

Suddenly, he remembered he was still on the mysterious merchant’s turf, so testing the limits like this might not be wise.

Changing the topic, he asked another question. “Can I redeem goods with points anywhere, or only here at the general store?”

If it could be done anywhere, that was overpowered! Who was this mysterious merchant to pull off something like that?

Tang Yuan didn’t give a definitive answer. “It works outside too; we don’t necessarily have to be in the store. But I haven’t left the desolate city, so I’m not sure beyond that.”

So, at least it’s valid in the wasteland?

That alone is pretty remarkable.

Unfortunately, the goods selection in the store was still limited. It was mostly everyday items, with fuel as the only item useful as a weapon.

“All of these items are available in unlimited quantities?” Chi Hao confirmed.

“In theory, you can exchange as much as your points allow. Brother Qi and I haven’t encountered anything out of stock yet.”

Hearing this, Chi Hao’s eyes lit up.

If fuel was available in unlimited quantities, that would be a huge advantage!

Imagine splashing an enemy with fuel mid-battle and setting it alight… Just the thought got his blood pumping!

“Ahem—” Overwhelmed with excitement, Chi Hao began to cough.

Tang Yu’an waited for him to calm down, then poured him a glass of water.

“By the way, if you don’t meet the minimum performance requirements for two consecutive months, you’ll be terminated,” he reminded him.

Chi Hao froze.

If he got terminated… then he’d lose access to the shop and these fantastic abilities. That would be worse than death!

“Understood. Thanks for the heads-up.”

By then, Zhou Qi had finished preparing breakfast and came out of the kitchen. Tang Yu’an went to join him for their meal.

Smelling the food, Chi Hao swallowed but didn’t dare ask for any. Zhou Qi, sensing his need, brought him a serving anyway.

A bowl of porridge and two buns.

It was simple, yet it filled Chi Hao with immense happiness. Perhaps he was just that hungry, but it seemed like he’d never tasted anything so delicious!

“Was this from the store too?” he asked.

“The ingredients were exchanged, and then Brother Qi prepared them,” Tang Yu’an replied with a smile. “It’s delicious, right?”

“Yes, absolutely!”

Chi Hao looked at Zhou Qi with admiration. With cooking skills like this, he could easily thrive even in a fortress.

They finished breakfast quickly.

Since they had started so early, it was only a little after seven by the time they finished tidying up. Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi got ready to head out for trading, while Chi Hao stayed behind to watch the store.

After all, they had just met, so Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi didn’t entirely trust Chi Hao yet.

Before leaving, Tang Yu’an specifically instructed the three little guardians—especially Yuan Bao—to keep a close eye on Chi Hao, not allowing him to leave the store or mess with anything inside.

Yuan Bao looked quite serious, clearly taking in the instructions.

As they stepped out of the store, Tang Yu’an remembered his daily tasks. With his level recently upgraded, the task panel had indeed gained some new objectives.

[Daily Tasks (Resets at 00:00 every day)]
[1. Complete trades (0/2) ]
[2. Restock at the wholesale market (0/20) ]
[3. Use the inventory list function to complete a stock check (0/1) ]
[4. Hold a promotional event (0/1) ]
[5. Complete trades and earn profits (0/2) ]

The number of tasks was the same as before, but now there was a new objective—holding a promotion.

How should they do a promotional event?

Curious, Tang Yu’an clicked on the task details and found an explanation.

[Promotion: An event to boost sales by reducing prices.]

Tang Yu’an quickly shared the task with Zhou Qi and asked, “Brother Qi, we need to do a discount promotion today. Which item would be good to use?”

“Maybe salt or rice, depending on what Grandma Guo wants.”

As their first customer, who helped them break into the market, Zhou Qi’s first thought was Grandma Guo.

Tang Yu’an agreed. Of all the customers they had encountered, Grandma Guo and her grandson Kangkang were the ones with the toughest living conditions, making them ideal for such an event.

Tang Yu’an organized his storage space. Now with seven inventory slots, he had much more space than before and could carry more supplies.

“Alright, let’s go!”

At seven-thirty, they set out, bringing food for Black Pearl first before heading to Grandma Guo’s place to start the day’s business.

By now, Zhou Qi had memorized the route to Grandma Guo’s, needing little guidance from Tang Yu’an.

Even so, Tang Yu’an kept an eye on the map, watching for any dangerous creatures that might appear, just in case.

*

Early in the morning, Grandma Guo had risen as usual to begin her day.

The rice plants in her plastic container were growing well, their leaves swaying gently in the morning breeze, as if spreading a fresh and vibrant energy.

Grandma Guo couldn’t explain exactly what this feeling was, but to her, it seemed like the essence of plant life.

Bathed in this natural energy, her abilities seemed to recover and even gradually strengthen—a unique way for her to cultivate.

Only naturally growing plants release this essence. Those forced to grow quickly through abilities couldn’t provide it.

Kangkang crouched nearby, holding a small pot filled with damp soil. A little green sprout peeked out from it, and he gazed at it with a delighted smile.

After tending to the plants, Grandma Guo noticed the pot of rice porridge on the stove starting to boil.

She hurried over, lifted the lid, and stirred it with a long spoon to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

The pound of rice she had traded from Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi was divided into ten portions, one of which she had used last night for porridge.

Even though it was just thin porridge, it was much more filling than plain soup and tasted better—it reminded her of flavors from the past.

In fact, it tasted even better than her memories.

If only it could be thicker…

Just as this thought crossed her mind, Grandma Guo chuckled. She knew this was no longer a dream. Soon, she would be able to give Kangkang thick porridge.

Not just thick porridge, but fragrant, fluffy rice.

As the rice porridge reached the right consistency, she added chopped wild greens and mushrooms, seasoning it with a pinch of salt.

The aroma soon filled the room.

“Kangkang, go wash your hands and get ready to eat,” she called.

“Okay~”

Kangkang set down his sprout, fetched water to wash his hands, and then got the bowls and spoons for himself and his grandmother, sitting eagerly at the table.

Smelling the porridge, he swallowed in anticipation, eyes following his grandmother’s every move.

Grandma Guo was afraid of him getting burned, so she didn’t let him near the stove, leaving him no choice but to wait obediently at the table.

In no time, Grandma Guo brought over the porridge.

“Dig in.”

She set the thicker, more substantial bowl in front of Kangkang, who hadn’t eaten any fruit this morning and must be starving.

“Grandma, eat!”

He gave her his bowl and reached for hers, carefully pushing his own over despite the heat.

Grandma Guo watched her little grandson’s gesture, feeling a mix of warmth and sadness.

“You’re still growing; you need to eat more.” She tried to switch the bowls again, but Kangkang refused.

“Grandma… works… hungry.”

Though he wasn’t entirely fluent yet, he expressed his thoughts clearly.

Grandma Guo’s eyes moistened.

She was about to say more when the little guy spoke up again. “Brother Tang will bring more good food!”

Then he bent over and started eating the thin porridge.

“They’ve come every day for several days now; I doubt they’ll come today.” Grandma Guo didn’t want to dash his hopes, but she also didn’t want him to be too disappointed.

“They will!” Kangkang replied confidently. “Brother Tang promised!”

Watching him, Grandma Guo felt that, perhaps due to eating nutritious foods or finally getting enough to eat, Kangkang seemed more energetic every day.

Though still thin, she had never seen Kangkang so lively, with such a clear, strong voice.

“Alright then, we’ll wait for them and trade for some good food.” Grandma Guo eventually gave in.

The secret he shared with that young boy was definitely food-related. Even if she knew the two were intentionally helping, she couldn’t refuse such kindness.

She would just have to grow more fruits and mushrooms in return to repay them.

Grandma Guo and Kangkang had just finished their porridge, licking the bowls clean, when they heard a noise from outside.

“Brother Tang is here!”

Kangkang eagerly set down his bowl and ran into the storage room. Climbing up onto a stone, he peeked out of the high window.

The figure he’d been longing to see was indeed there.

“Brother Tang!” he called out again.

“Kangkang, good morning,” Tang Yu’an replied warmly.

Grandma Guo came over, surprised to see Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi standing outside the window. “So early today?”

“Yes. It’s too hot in the afternoon, so we came out a bit earlier.”

It was just past eight; the sun had only just risen, bringing a gentle warmth rather than the harsh midday heat.

Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi climbed into Grandma Guo’s shelter.

Kangkang eagerly tugged Tang Yu’an toward the little sprout he had planted, while Zhou Qi noticed Grandma Guo was getting ready to bring her rice seedlings outside to catch the sun. He offered to help, making it part of today’s daily task.

With Grandma Guo outside, Tang Yu’an and Kangkang could interact more freely.

“Look, Brother!”

Kangkang held up the small pot to show him the tiny green sprout that had just emerged.

“What’s this? Did you plant it?” Tang Yu’an examined the sprout, but with his limited plant knowledge, he couldn’t identify what it was.

“A lantern fruit!”

Kangkang pointed to the corner where a mutant lantern plant grew, then back to the sprout, his small hands gesturing excitedly. “Growing!”

“A new mutant lantern plant?” Tang Yu’an was surprised, but this was good news. Mutant lantern fruits, being both valuable and high in points, were exactly what they needed.

“Kangkang, you’re amazing.” He patted the boy’s head and played their usual “game” with him.

The bad news was that the new sprout had come from one of the fruits they had traded for before.

The good news, however, was—

The original mutant lantern plant now had two more ripe fruits!

With the “trade fruits for water” game, they now had four mutant lantern fruits in total, and Tang Yu’an managed to earn 196 points from Kangkang.

Although he already had over two thousand points, the more, the better!

Tang Yu’an looked at Kangkang with affection and gratitude, then took out a bun from his storage and handed it over.

Kangkang took it without hesitation.

Holding the fluffy bun in his hands, he pointed to the little sprout and said, “When it’s fully grown, it’s for you, Brother~”

Tang Yu’an looked at the little sprout. Acting on a whim, he cast an elementary appraisal skill on it, and—

[Spend 100 points to use “Item Appraisal (Basic)” on this plant seedling?]