Chapter 44 – You Are The Boss, Why Didn’t You Say So Earlier?!
To his surprise, the mutant lantern fruit, which he had listed at ten times its original price, actually sold!
And for 500 points!
Tang Yu’an was shocked—are other merchants from different dimensions really this wealthy?
Unfortunately, the system only showed the time of sale without revealing the buyer’s identity, and there was no private messaging feature on the page. He really wished he could chat with this generous customer.
Tang Yu’an quickly withdrew the points. After the 10% fee, he received 450 points.
With this, his points balance rose to 3,224, breaking the three-thousand mark once again!
Wow, if he rounded up, it was like getting two packs of cold medicine, one Basic Restoration Potion, and an extra 50 points for free today!
Awesome!
Seeing the empty item slot, he quickly listed the last mutant lantern fruit at the same maximum price.
He still had four more from Kang Kang, so he could trade with him later.
As Zhou Qi listened to Tang Yu’an sharing the good news, he retraced their route from the previous day for their morning trades.
Their first stop was Grandma Guo’s house.
Since they were leaving for the town the next day, Tang Yu’an worried that the mutant lantern fruits might spoil, so today he didn’t play the “trading game” with Kang Kang.
After all, if each fruit could sell for 500 points, he’d feel heartbroken if they spoiled!
So, he traded four whole-wheat buns with Kang Kang, getting all the mutant lantern fruits in exchange and earning a total of 192 points—each whole-wheat bun was valued at 2 points.
Though the buns were a bit scratchy going down and weren’t as tasty as the finer flour buns, they weren’t hard to eat.
“While I’m gone for the next few days, eat just one each day,” Tang Yu’an instructed Kang Kang.
With the warm weather, these whole-wheat buns stored better than filled buns, so it didn’t matter if Grandma Guo noticed them.
“Keep them in a cool, airy spot, and if they’re too dry, soak them in water before eating.”
Kang Kang listened carefully and nodded, a bit puzzled.
Today, Tang Yu’an had given him a big soft steamed bun with sweet filling, which had quickly become Kang Kang’s favorite. His appetite had grown a lot too—where he used to feel full after eating half, now he could easily finish more than half.
“Brother won’t be able to visit tomorrow, so you need to be good and listen to Grandma,” Tang Yu’an said, patting Kang Kang’s little head.
Kang Kang understood this.
“Brother… isn’t coming?” His eyes instantly filled with tears, looking pitiful and heartbroken.
“I’ll come back in a few days; Brother has some things to do,” Tang Yu’an patiently explained.
Kang Kang sniffled but didn’t throw a fuss. Instead, he pointed to the little green sprout at his feet and said, “When it grows big, I’ll give it to Brother!”
He said this with emphasis, making his intention clear.
Tang Yu’an understood immediately and laughed. “Alright, I’ll come and get it. We already agreed on this, so don’t worry!”
Kang Kang stopped tearing up but still seemed down.
Tang Yu’an said, “When I come back, we’ll play the fruit-trading game again.”
Each mutant lantern fruit could fetch him 49 points. While this was less than selling them directly on the system’s page, he could still exploit this daily “bug” for steady points, and he wasn’t about to give up on that.
He looked up at the mature mutant lantern plant and said, “By then, another one or two fruits should be ripe, right?”
Kang Kang nodded. “Mm-hmm! They will be.”
“Hahaha, that’s perfect!”
Meanwhile, Zhou Qi had finished a trade with Grandma Guo, earning about forty points.
The potato he’d given her yesterday hadn’t shown any growth yet, but perhaps by the time they returned from the town, there’d be good news.
With the day still cool, they said their goodbyes and left.
Kang Kang hugged his little green sprout, standing beside Grandma Guo and reluctantly watching them leave. Once they were out of sight, he looked down at the sprout in his arms.
It had grown much taller since yesterday.
It would bear fruit… for Brother…
Kang Kang’s expression turned determined, and he ran back inside with the sprout, off to do something unknown.
*
Next Stop: Old Li’s House
When they arrived, Old Li was just as they’d seen him yesterday, sanding and assembling wood pieces.
He seemed to have grown accustomed to the two boys visiting daily to make trades, so he’d already prepared items for them—two grass baskets and an animal pelt.
It appeared that after his injury healed, Old Li had gone hunting again.
As an experienced hunter who dared to approach the outskirts of the abandoned city, catching small animals was still manageable for him.
“This pelt can be useful at night.”
In the wasteland, the temperature difference between day and night was significant. The days were scorching, but at night it felt like stepping into a freezer. Animal pelts were in high demand.
That said, since it was just a common rabbit pelt, it was only valued at 20 points by the system.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi didn’t mind at all. Out here in the wasteland, if there was one thing they lacked, it was clothing suitable for all seasons.
Especially Zhou Qi, who’d left all his clothes in his original world and now had to wear Tang’s father’s clothing, which didn’t fit well. The sleeves or pants were either too short or too tight.
Luckily, Tang’s father’s clothes were mostly loose and stretchy, so they worked for now. Now that Old Li had provided some animal pelts they could use for clothing, they were glad to have them.
Though they couldn’t wear them during the day now, the temperature wouldn’t stay this hot forever. Once it cooled down, they’d be able to put the pelts to good use.
“We’ll come by a little earlier tomorrow.”
“Yes, try to leave at dawn and aim to reach the town by the afternoon the day after.”
After setting the next day’s departure time, Zhou Qi led Tang Yu’an out and headed to Lin Zhen’s place. They completed a trade with her and then went to Tie Jin’s house.
When they arrived at Tie Jin’s, he was just finishing feeding breakfast to Jin Lili.
“Haha, I’ve really gotten the hang of making egg custard now! Little Lili loves it,” Tie Jin said cheerfully. “Yesterday, I went to see Old Li and asked him to make a wooden comb for me; it should be ready by tonight.”
As he led the two boys inside, he continued, “Old Li told me you’re planning to go to the town with him tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Tang Yu’an nodded. “Uncle, is there anything you’d like us to bring back for you?”
Tie Jin chuckled, “Actually, there is!”
He reached into the pouch on his waist, pulled out five metal arrowheads, and handed them to Zhou Qi. “Can you check if there’s anyone selling pre-apocalypse clothes in town?”
“I remember there are usually stalls in town that sell pre-apocalypse items, so there should be some selling clothes.”
He rubbed his hands, adding, “See if you can find something suitable for Lili. Just bring back a set, and you can keep the rest of the arrowheads as a tip for your help.”
Mutant metal arrowheads were consumables and held value in the town as a form of currency.
Zhou Qi accepted and asked, “Any specific requirements?”
“Something that’s in decent condition, not too worn-out.”
Lili’s current “dress” was essentially a piece of cloth with three holes cut out for her to wear. Originally, Tie Jin hadn’t thought much of it, but after seeing Tang Yu’an wash her face and hands and braid her hair into a neat, beautiful style yesterday, he’d started feeling differently about her clothes.
Besides, with the high temperatures and limited water supply, he couldn’t use precious water to wash her clothes even if he wanted to.
So Tie Jin figured it’d be better to just get her a new outfit. He’d been scouring the ruins recently, hoping to find some clothes left from before the apocalypse.
After a moment, Tie Jin added, “Even adult clothes will do. A little alteration should make them wearable.”
“Understood.”
Noting that the system notification hadn’t appeared, Zhou Qi thought for a moment and clarified, “So, to confirm, you’re giving me these five metal arrowheads, and I agree to bring back a set of clothes for Lili. Is that right?”
Tie Jin found the phrasing a bit odd, but it seemed correct. “Yes, that’s right.”
[Employee “Zhou Qi” has completed a transaction with a familiar customer and earned 150 points and 1 experience point.]
A quick 150 points, just like that.
Then Zhou Qi pulled out a pound of millet.
“What’s this?” Tie Jin asked, curious as he looked at the yellow grains he’d never seen before.
“It’s a type of grain,” Zhou Qi explained. “You can cook it with water into a porridge-like consistency, which is good for Lili.”
Tie Jin’s eyes lit up.
“You can serve it with the egg custard so she doesn’t have to eat just custard every meal,” Zhou Qi added.
“Good idea.”
Tie Jin fully agreed. Bird eggs were hard to find—only Lin Zhen seemed to have a reliable source. When he looked himself, he often spent half the day without finding a single nest.
So Zhou Qi split the pound of millet into two trades with Tie Jin.
At Tie Jin’s request, Zhou Qi then demonstrated how to cook millet porridge.
Since it was cooked in an ordinary pot, it took a while, but Tie Jin was patient. After all, working with metal required a slow, steady approach.
Tang Yu’an, however, couldn’t help thinking about getting a pressure cooker.
Maybe it’d be worth asking Uncle Tie Jin to make one; a pressure cooker would save a lot of fuel and would likely be popular in the wasteland.
Finally, the millet porridge, soft and sticky, was ready.
Tie Jin tasted it and found it bland but smooth and easy for a little one to eat.
“If you find it too tasteless, you can add chopped wild greens to cook with it,” Zhou Qi suggested. “Or fruit, but make sure it’s cooked until soft.”
Tie Jin nodded eagerly, “Got it!”
Then Zhou Qi handed him a blueprint, asking if he could make a machete.
Tie Jin’s eyes lit up as he accepted the pristine sheet of paper. “Is this… the kind of paper Old Li was talking about, the kind you can write or draw on?”
Zhou Qi nodded.
“Understood, I’ll get it done.”
Clearly impressed by Zhou Qi’s resources, Tie Jin carefully folded the blueprint along its creases and stowed it safely, now showing a subtle respect for the two boys.
With that, Zhou Qi and Tang Yu’an took their leave.
Since Lili had already fallen asleep after breakfast, they didn’t see her. But they weren’t required to gain new customers for today’s tasks, so it didn’t matter.
Now that they’d said their goodbyes to all their regular customers, Tang Yu’an’s points balance had reached 3,682.
Returning to the general store, they began preparing the stuffed buns and plain buns.
*
By evening, everything was ready. Tang Yu’an even spent 100 points to get 2 liters of milk for the fridge and reminded Chi Hao to complete the daily tasks.
Chi Hao, watching Tang Yu’an casually exchange for two large bottles of milk, felt a pang of envy.
But he was confident that once he healed and returned to the fort, he’d earn even more points than this!
After washing up and heading to the attic, Tang Yu’an lay in bed, too excited to sleep with the thought of going to town tomorrow.
Then he remembered something he hadn’t done today.
The Lucky Wheel!
Tang Yu’an quickly sat up, opened the shade umbrella, and said to Zhou Qi, “Brother Qi, I haven’t done my spin yet.”
Zhou Qi nodded, curious to see if Tang Yu’an would win something good today.
Tang Yu’an rubbed his hands together, performing a little preparation ritual before nervously pressing the spin button.
The Lucky Wheel spun around, and as the pointer slowed to a stop, a system notification popped up:
[Congratulations! You have obtained the special item “Sadness Marble.”]
When Tang Yu’an took out the marble, Zhou Qi paused, unsurprised by Tang Yu’an’s continued luck.
“Brother Qi! I got another marble!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed, reading the description of the Sadness Marble.
[Sadness Marble]
[Description: A peculiar marble that brings sadness!]
[Status: Bound]
The familiar description and format made him chuckle.
“Sad… Sadness Marble?” Zhou Qi stammered, a rare hesitation in his voice.
He was clearly recalling the ten minutes of overwhelming happiness caused by the Happy Marble.
“Yes.” Tang Yu’an nodded, then took out the Happy Marble as well.
Like the red Happy Marble, the Sadness Marble was a pale blue, almost radiating a slight melancholy.
“Do you think this one might make people cry?” Tang Yu’an guessed.
Zhou Qi eyed the marble, swallowing nervously. He was about to reach for it to test the effects when Tang Yu’an quickly put both marbles away.
“We’ll test it on someone in the town instead.”
Or perhaps on some mutant creature they’d encounter; he certainly wasn’t planning on using it on Zhou Qi.
“If the Sadness Marble really makes people cry, and it’s as strong as the Happiness Marble, we’ll have another powerful tool!”
Tang Yu’an lay back down, already fantasizing about the possibilities.
“I wonder what would happen if you used both marbles on someone at the same time?” he mused.
Would they feel both happy and sad, or would only one effect work?
Zhou Qi: “…”
That thought sounded a bit terrifying.
He pursed his lips. “Sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow.”
“All right…”
Tang Yu’an closed his eyes, expecting to stay awake from excitement, but he quickly drifted off.
He slept soundly through the night.
The next morning, Zhou Qi’s alarm went off half an hour earlier than usual.
Outside, it was just beginning to lighten. They had promised Old Li to leave early, so they’d gotten up a bit earlier than usual.
Tang Yu’an struggled to wake up, and by the time they’d washed up and finished breakfast, it was only six o’clock.
He checked the sales page and saw that the mutant lantern fruit he’d listed yesterday hadn’t sold yet. But that was pretty normal.
Big spenders were rare, and foolish ones were even rarer.
He took the item down and then relisted it to extend the sale period for another 24 hours, just in case he forgot while they were on the road and it got returned to his storage.
Luckily, today’s daily task didn’t require gaining new customers, which was good news.
Since they’d packed everything they could the night before, Tang Yu’an only needed to give the three little ones a pep talk, especially Yuan Bao.
He had considered bringing Yuan Bao along, but after seeing how Wang Cai and Yin Bi handled Chi Hao, he decided to leave Yuan Bao behind.
Besides, Yuan Bao had been doing a great job of keeping an eye on Chi Hao, which reassured him.
“Make sure he doesn’t leave the store,” Tang Yu’an instructed Yuan Bao.
As long as Brother Chi Hao stayed in the store without outside contact, their risk would be minimized.
“And make sure he feeds you milk every day, waters the plants, and, most importantly, keeps the store clean.”
Today’s cleaning had already been handled by Zhou Qi, so it’d be up to Chi Hao for the next few days.
“As for food and drink, he can take whatever he wants.”
Yuan Bao listened to Tang Yu’an’s detailed instructions, nodding solemnly as if it truly understood everything.
There was nothing else he could do but trust it now.
They were talking just outside the store, but Chi Hao, who had already been woken up by the noise, could hear every word.
He smirked to himself.
He could understand the kids wanting him to stay in the store and even assigning a pet to monitor him.
After all, in the wasteland, it was unreasonable to expect anyone to take in a stranger without a trace of caution—this was just as true within the fort.
But…
Assigning a little puppy to watch over him? Were they underestimating him?
If he wanted to leave, was this little pup going to stop him? Even if the other two joined in, he could easily deal with them!
Of course, Chi Hao kept these thoughts to himself, because…
“Brother Chi Hao, here are the buns we promised.” Zhou Qi put two large bags of buns in the fridge to keep them fresh.
“And I made a few pancakes with the leftover dough and filling. They’re in the kitchen. You can eat them if you get hungry today.”
“Thank you, thank you,” Chi Hao replied, nodding eagerly.
He hadn’t expected to get more treats today! So what if they were underestimating him a little? It was worth it.
*
At around six-thirty, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi were ready to leave.
This time, Chi Hao insisted on seeing them off at the door, handing them the token he’d promised the day before.
It was a piece of mutant metal he’d forged from the metal arrowheads the kids had given him.
Since he didn’t have a mold, the shape of this metal piece was somewhat uneven and irregular, with a rough, bumpy surface. But the shape of an arrowhead was still discernible, giving it a unique, almost rustic charm.
On the surface of the metal piece was a deep red mark, resembling a fiercely burning flame.
“This contains my aura,” Chi Hao said. “If you run into trouble, take this to the head of Jufeng Town. She’ll help you.”
“What does the town’s leader look like?” Tang Yu’an asked curiously.
Chi Hao shrugged. “She’s a woman with the same red hair as mine. Her name is Hong Li.”
Tang Yu’an looked at his red hair for a moment, unable to resist asking, “So, what’s your relationship? Why would she help us?”
“Little kid, why ask so many questions?” Chi Hao waved them off. “Now, go on. The sun’s coming up.”
“All right, we’re off.”
“Mm-hmm, stay safe.”
Chi Hao watched the two boys walk away until they were out of sight. Only then did he take the time to inspect his surroundings.
This was actually his first time outside since being brought back to the store.
The dim, early morning sky and the chilling breeze reminded him of the night he’d woken up after his severe injury.
Soon, he recognized the area in front of him—it was where he’d regained consciousness that night, right?
And beneath his feet…
Chi Hao looked down, then glanced up, observing the two buildings leaning together. A look of confusion crossed his face.
He clearly remembered these two buildings and the triangular area beneath them that used to be completely empty. So, why was there now a general store here?
*
Once they were out of Chi Hao’s sight, Tang Yu’an put the whole-wheat buns he was carrying into his portable storage, then used his lightening technique on Zhou Qi.
The lightening technique now lasted up to 9 hours, meaning it would wear off by about 3 p.m.
However, Old Li probably wouldn’t want to walk continuously for that long; they’d take a break around midday. If they managed their time well, they could stretch it until nightfall.
When they arrived at Old Li’s house, the old man was already sitting at the door waiting for them.
It wasn’t even seven yet, and the sky was already brightening, carrying a faint hint of heat.
“You’re here,” Old Li greeted as he stood up.
“Good morning, Grandpa Li.”
Old Li looked them over, noting how their previously clean clothes were now dirty and worn, their fair skin smudged to a dark color. He nodded approvingly.
Then he focused on Tang Yu’an’s smile for a moment before suddenly saying, “When there are outsiders around, don’t smile.”
His white teeth stood out even more against his darkened face.
“Oh…”
Tang Yu’an obediently closed his mouth.
Seeing him lower his head in disappointment, Old Li coughed lightly and pulled something from his backpack.
“Here, take this.”
Tang Yu’an blinked. Old Li was handing him a crossbow—a small one made from the familiar wooden pieces he’d been working on these past few days.
“For me?” Tang Yu’an accepted the small crossbow, surprised.
“Yes, it’s yours.”
With that, Old Li turned around, used a large stone to block his door, and said, “Let’s go. We have a long way to travel today, so stick close to me.”
“Grandpa Li…”
Tang Yu’an was about to offer something in return when he was cut off.
“The crossbow’s a gift; no trade needed.”
Old Li paused, then looked at Tang Yu’an uncertainly, “You know how to use it, right?”
Tang Yu’an looked at him with an innocent expression, clearly not knowing.
“That’s fine, I’ll teach you later.” Old Li adjusted his bag and said, “Let’s go.”
Despite his age, Old Li moved with remarkable agility. Without the lightening technique, Tang Yu’an wouldn’t have been able to keep up and had to rely on Zhou Qi carrying him.
They soon set off on a winding, rugged path, heading toward Jufeng Town.
*
Outside the general store, Chi Hao looked around for a long time, still questioning his memory.
So he decided to walk over to the open area and check.
But as he took a step forward, a sharp bark rang out.
“Woof woof!”
Yuan Bao ran up to him, baring its teeth and glaring at him with a fierce warning.
Chi Hao looked down at the little puppy blocking his way and couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t actually think I’m afraid of you, do you?”
After a day and night of rest, he felt much better than the day before, so… Chi Hao raised his hand, summoning a small flame above his palm.
He had meant to give the little puppy a scare, but—
The puppy stepped back a few paces, and as it retreated, its body began to grow larger and larger.
Chi Hao’s smug expression shifted to one of shock as he found himself forced to look up.
He stood there, stunned, watching the tiny puppy that had once lapped milk from a bowl transform in an instant into a massive four-eyed hound, its cold, unblinking eyes fixed on him.
With a soft pop, the small flame in Chi Hao’s hand extinguished.
HAHAHAHA XDD