Chapter 69
In the end, Tang Yu’an received a total of 26 experience points and 97 points, raising his experience bar to level 7 (101/140).
And all of this happened within just over ten minutes.
Counting, Tang Yu’an found that he had received 13 system notifications, which meant that in such a short time, Xiao Cao had completed transactions with 13 people?
How did she manage that?
At this time of day, the morning market should have ended; it’s unlikely she was out setting up a stall to sell things, right?
Tang Yu’an was very curious, but unfortunately, he couldn’t see what was happening on Xiao Cao’s side. However, he was already certain that Xiao Cao had heeded his advice and successfully exchanged with Hong Li for the protection token.
She’s quite a remarkable little girl!
Tang Yu’an chuckled to himself; even under the scorching sun, he didn’t feel so hot anymore.
They retraced their steps along the path they had come.
“Ahhh—oooo—”
“Ahhh—oooo—”
Suddenly, a strange sound came from a certain direction, startling Tang Yu’an.
“What was that?”
He looked around and suddenly realized they were near the previous fork in the road. The eerie sound was coming from the path leading to the abandoned chemical factory.
The sound resembled the wails of birds and beasts, yet also like human sobbing, making people feel uneasy.
Tang Yu’an looked at the map.
That area was still shrouded in fog; he couldn’t see if there were dangerous creatures in that direction.
In reality, there seemed to be a hazy mist enveloping that intersection, slowly spreading to the surroundings.
“Don’t listen, don’t look.”
Old Li said in a low voice, then pulled them toward the direction of the Desolate city, his steps much quicker than before.
Tang Yu’an obediently followed, but just as they were about to turn the corner, he couldn’t help but look back.
Vaguely, he felt as if there were a pair of eyes watching them from within the mist.
This feeling scared Tang Yu’an into a cold sweat. He quickly retracted his gaze and didn’t look back again as they left.
“Ahh—oooo—”
Not until they had walked a long distance did that unsettling sound finally fade away.
“Grandpa, what was that just now?”
“I don’t know,” Old Li said seriously. “I’ve heard people say it’s a highly venomous mutant creature that lures humans into the mist to kill them.”
“In the future, if you hear such strange sounds, absolutely do not approach; it’s best to leave quickly, understand?”
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi quickly nodded, looking like obedient children who would definitely listen.
Old Li looked at them and sighed slightly in his heart. Although he was still worried they might act recklessly, he didn’t say anything more.
At noon, they didn’t go looking for intact houses to rest in but found a relatively concealed place, and Tang Yu’an opened the Shadow Umbrella.
Because they had deliberately hidden it, Old Li still didn’t know about the temperature control function of the Shadow Umbrella.
He sat under the umbrella, enjoying the coolness, and didn’t forget to remind the two children to keep the umbrella safe and not let anyone steal it.
After resting for half an hour, they set off again.
Around three or nearly four o’clock in the afternoon, Tang Yu’an noticed that system notifications began to refresh step by step again.
[Employee ‘Xiao Cao’ completed a profitable transaction with a new customer, Points +2, Experience +3]
[Employee ‘Xiao Cao’ completed a profitable transaction with a returning customer…]
Huh? Shi Tou and Xiao Cao started setting up their haircut stall early today?
*
Jufeng Town, Guard Station
Shi Tou and Xiao Cao certainly couldn’t be setting up their stall so early; most of the town’s residents had gone into the mountains to find food, and there were few people on the streets.
In the morning, Hong Li had given them a big order, asking them to cut all the guards’ hair and to charge according to their previous rates.
Although some guards were reluctant, this was an order from the Mountain Lord, and they didn’t dare to disobey.
So Shi Tou and Xiao Cao officially set up their haircut stall at the guard station.
Because the guards had their own tasks, in the morning, they only cut the hair of the two guard squads on duty and Captain Hei Xiong.
After cutting their hair, Hong Li didn’t chase them away, so the siblings shamelessly stayed.
They had fruits and mushrooms obtained through transactions, so they weren’t afraid of going hungry, and the guards already knew that the siblings had presented seeds to the lord and made their request.
Since the lord had obtained some new food, the first to benefit would naturally be the guard station—that is, these guards.
So their attitude toward Shi Tou and Xiao Cao naturally became friendly.
In the guard station, the siblings felt an unprecedented kindness. They even played with the dogs for a while, and the guards didn’t chase them away.
In the afternoon, two more squads of guards returned from their shifts, and the siblings began their business again.
The returning guards saw their colleagues sporting strange hairstyles and couldn’t help but laugh. But when they saw that even Hei Xiong’s head was bald, they quickly fell silent.
Hei Xiong, with a stern face, conveyed Hong Li’s instructions to them.
The guards naturally didn’t dare to resist. Compared to the benefits of the guard station, getting a buzz cut and paying a fruit or two mushrooms was nothing to them.
Of course, there were some stubborn ones who thought they could just cut their hair short themselves, so they took a dagger to shave their heads but accidentally cut their scalp, bleeding quite a bit.
Seeing this, others naturally didn’t dare to imitate and preferred to pay some food for safety.
As a result, Xiao Cao successfully attracted 11 more customers, earning 11 employee experience points.
Adding the 14 points from the morning, her employee level smoothly rose to Lv2, receiving a 10-point reward and unlocking a new product—hardwood charcoal.
Xiao Cao knew that “charcoal” was a kind of fuel; there were stalls selling it at the market, and it burned longer than firewood.
If she and her brother couldn’t leave Jufeng Town in the future to collect firewood, this hardwood charcoal would definitely come in handy.
Thinking of this, Xiao Cao smiled with narrowed eyes.
Adding the task rewards from today and the “big order” received from Hong Li, her points had accumulated to 73.
This was a big number that felt unfamiliar to Xiao Cao. Although she didn’t have much concept of it, she knew it must mean a lot.
So when Shi Tou finished cutting the last guard’s hair, the siblings packed up their stall, preparing to leave.
Hong Li kept her promise and assigned a guard to accompany them.
The siblings swaggered out of the guard station, letting the townspeople know that they were now under the protection of a guard.
Of course, Xiao Cao had another purpose. Walking around town with their bald heads was the best advertisement, wasn’t it? When she saw friendly faces, she would proactively explain to them.
Especially those who had houses; spending two mushrooms or a wild vegetable was nothing to them.
And most importantly, she spread the word that the Mountain Lord had ordered her brother to cut hair for the guards.
There were certainly people who were envious and jealous, but with the Mountain Lord’s order, it was sure to deter some people, especially since they had a guard following them for protection.
So those bad guys could only watch from afar; no matter how much they gnashed their teeth, it was useless.
It could be imagined that if they had cut all the guards’ hair, these guards would become living advertisements.
In the coming period, the siblings wouldn’t lack business. Even if they couldn’t attract new customers, it didn’t matter—after all, hair grows back.
Having gotten used to the coolness and convenience of a buzz cut, would people really be able to endure the hot days with long, lice-infested hair?
However, Xiao Cao wasn’t without worries.
After so many transactions, she noticed that the customers indicated in the system prompts fell into three categories: new customers, returning customers, and old customers. To her, they were all the same; she didn’t understand why they were differentiated.
But based on this information, she could basically confirm that the Mysterious Merchant had more than one employee in Jufeng Town.
Due to the employee guidelines, she wasn’t overly worried about her safety, but inevitably felt a bit of pressure.
She absolutely didn’t want to lose the Mysterious Merchant’s favor, nor did she want to be fired. So she would work even harder, making more transactions with more people!
That way, the Mysterious Merchant would value her, just like the Mountain Lord valued Hei Xiong.
*
Tang Yu’an didn’t know what Xiao Cao was thinking. He hadn’t expected that before they even returned to the Desolate city, Xiao Cao’s employee level had risen to Lv2.
His experience points had also increased by 25, bringing his experience bar directly to Lv7 (126/140), and his points balance had broken the 5,000 mark, reaching 5,085.
He could definitely level up again tomorrow!
Tang Yu’an walked with a spring in his step. Unfortunately, he couldn’t share this good news with Brother Qi for now, so he could only secretly rejoice.
Compared to the mountain path, the road home was much flatter and easier to walk.
Because he was in a good mood, Tang Yu’an had the leisure to appreciate the scenery along the way. He silently noted the surroundings, thinking that he could use this when he completed the road repair task in the future.
The sky gradually darkened.
As they were about to enter the path leading to the Desolate city, it was close to eight o’clock in the evening, and the temperature was so low that Tang Yu’an shivered.
After escorting Old Li back home, they declined the old man’s invitation to stay. After leaving his house, they avoided the sight of the two guards, took out the Shadow Umbrella, and concealed themselves.
Once the Shadow Umbrella was out, Tang Yu’an finally felt better.
“So warm…” He lay on Zhou Qi’s back, sighing comfortably.
Zhou Qi frowned with concern but didn’t say much, only saying, “Let’s go home.”
There was still an hour left on the Lightness Technique, enough for them to reach the grocery store.
“Mm!”
Thinking about returning home soon, Tang Yu’an felt joyful. Although his parents weren’t there, there was Wang Cai, Yuan Bao, and Yin Bi, and Brother Chi Hao.
After a few days apart, he missed them quite a bit.
Traveling at night had certain dangers, but with the map and the Shadow Umbrella, it was fine as long as they were just hurrying on.
However, Tang Yu’an noticed that during the days they were away, a few red dots had reappeared around the grocery store, which they had previously cleared.
After finding Granny Guo and the others to trade tomorrow, they should clear them out.
Because he found that one of the red dots was quite close to where they lived. Whether for the task or the safety of the customers, they needed to clear it as soon as possible.
Arriving at their own grocery store, they passed through the barrier to the shop entrance. Looking at the shop they hadn’t seen in a few days, Tang Yu’an suddenly felt an urge to cry.
No place, however good, could compare to his own home.
Tang Yu’an got down from Zhou Qi’s back, and just as he put away the Shadow Umbrella, the previously closed shop door suddenly opened.
Warm light spilled out from inside, driving away the night’s cold.
“Woof woof!”
A little dog stood in the light, wagging its tail excitedly at them.
Then, the orange kitten and the white puppy also ran over.
“Woof woof!” Yin Bi wagged his fluffy big tail, happily charging over and knocking Tang Yu’an to the ground, licking his face all over with slobber.
Tang Yu’an laughed and pushed him away, “Alright, alright, Yin Bi, calm down!”
He finally managed to push away the enthusiastic Yin Bi, only to be greeted by the equally enthusiastic kitten. Tang Yu’an hugged Wang Cai in his arms, rubbing him vigorously. Then he looked at the dignified puppy squatting at the door, wagging his tail at them.
“Yuan Bao, you’ve worked hard these past few days.”
He reached out and petted the little dog’s head.
Yuan Bao squinted his eyes, rubbing against his palm to express his joy.
Chi Hao, who had just finished cleaning, heard the commotion and quickly ran to the door. Seeing the two youths, though tanned, unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Shouldn’t I be the one who’s worked the hardest?” he said, unwilling to accept being overlooked.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Bao turned his head and bared his teeth at him.
Chi Hao immediately quieted down, not daring to snort, and turned his head away.
At this moment, a milky-yellow figure emerged from Tang Yu’an’s pocket, jumping to the ground.
Chi Hao caught sight of it and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
“How many pets do you have? There’s another one?”
The little kitten squinted at him, then turned and walked into the dark night outside. As it ran, its figure grew larger, eventually turning into a pure black, spotless big cat.
It looked back at Tang Yu’an, then withdrew its gaze and ran toward the abandoned parking lot.
Chi Hao: …speechless.
Tang Yu’an was used to Black Pearl’s solitary ways. He was already happy that she had accompanied them on this trip.
“Brother Chi Hao, you’ve worked hard these past few days,” Tang Yu’an said to Chi Hao. “Did anything happen at home?”
Chi Hao forced a smile.
He took a deep breath, then lowered his voice and said, “So, the bear in the warehouse is also your pet?”
Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but be stunned.
A bear in the warehouse? What was that? When did he have a bear in the warehouse?
Chi Hao showed a look of “don’t try to fool me.”
At this time, Zhou Qi had already entered the house to put things away, then rolled up his sleeves and said, “I’m going to make dinner; what do you want to eat?”
“Ah ah ah, can we order?”
Chi Hao immediately forgot his fear, saying honestly that although the steamed buns and dumplings were delicious, eating them for several days in a row had made him a bit tired of them.
He thought of something and quickly said, “The bean sprouts you grew before you left have grown; I picked them and put them in the fridge.”
“Mm, then let’s make stir-fried bean sprouts.”
“Okay, okay.”
Chi Hao eagerly followed Zhou Qi to the kitchen, while Tang Yu’an headed to the warehouse to check on the “bear” he supposedly had.
Before entering the warehouse, he looked at the green plants that had been moved into the house.
They were all growing well, but the branches and leaves were noticeably leaning toward the window. Even the originally upright lucky bamboo was tilting to one side.
Obviously, the window had ample light, so the plants liked to grow in that direction.
It was only now that Tang Yu’an realized—the house was warm!
He was wearing long sleeves and felt a bit hot. It seemed that Brother Chi Hao, this “human air conditioner,” was really doing his job.
Because of this, Tang Yu’an decided that if he completed all five days of daily tasks, he would give him extra points as a reward.
Entering the warehouse, he saw the teddy bear on the shelf, and finally understood why Chi Hao had said that.
“……”
Was it because he had put the teddy bear in the warehouse and scared Brother Chi Hao? Tang Yu’an felt a bit guilty and quickly put the teddy bear into his personal warehouse.
Then his gaze fell on the extra cabinet in the warehouse.
The cabinet was 1 meter long, 0.5 meters wide, occupying very little space, and 2 meters high. He had to stand on tiptoes to touch the top.
Tang Yu’an opened the cabinet door and was amazed by the space inside.
Although he had been mentally prepared, seeing the actual effect was still shocking.
What appeared before him was a small room 5 meters long, 2 meters high and wide, with wooden walls matching the exterior of the cabinet.
The inside was empty, without pre-installed shelves, allowing him to freely store things.
As expected of the “Super Storage Cabinet”!
Looking at the panel data hadn’t felt like much, but seeing it in person gave him a sense of satisfaction.
Tang Yu’an looked here and there, touching everything. After he had seen enough, he came out of the cabinet and found a lock to secure the cabinet door.
He wondered if Brother Chi Hao had gone inside…
But since he only mentioned the “bear” earlier, he probably hadn’t discovered the cabinet’s special nature. Better late than never, he was making up for it now.
Tang Yu’an took the wok from the warehouse to the kitchen, which again attracted Chi Hao’s attention.
He didn’t know whether to explain, so he just glossed over it.
Fortunately, Chi Hao was soon distracted by the dinner Zhou Qi was preparing and didn’t focus on the mysterious wok that had suddenly moved from the kitchen to the warehouse.
Using the remaining half of the rabbit in the personal warehouse, Zhou Qi made stir-fried rabbit meat, soaked some noodles to make egg fried noodles, adding bean sprouts and pickled vegetables—both refreshing and appetizing.
Finally, a wild vegetable and mushroom soup was served. The dinner wasn’t particularly lavish, but it was enough to make Chi Hao’s mouth water.
Each of them scooped a bowl of fried noodles and began to eat.
“This fried noodles is so delicious!” Tang Yu’an ate with his cheeks puffed out, feeling satisfied.
Chi Hao nodded repeatedly, “Zhou Qi, with your skills, you’d definitely do well in the fortress!”
Even though he hadn’t used any special ingredients, the dishes became delicious delicacies in Zhou Qi’s hands, making his mouth water and his appetite open.
As they ate, Chi Hao couldn’t help but feel a bit sad.
“My injury has almost healed; I should be leaving tomorrow,” he said, somewhat downcast.
“Returning to the fortress?” Zhou Qi asked.
“Yes.” Chi Hao forced a smile, then looked at them and asked, “Are you really not coming with me?”
He truly felt that the two children would have better prospects in the fortress.
“There are more people in the fortress; it’d be more convenient for you to do business,” Chi Hao said. “There’s a mall where you can exchange things; you don’t have to worry about the difficulties of starting up at all.”
Zhou Qi, however, had other ideas.
He looked at Chi Hao and asked, “Is salt scarce in the fortress?”
Chi Hao paused, then shook his head.
Although salt was scarce in the wasteland, he hadn’t worried about salt when he was in the fortress.
“Is sugar scarce in the fortress?”
Chi Hao thought for a moment and said, “Sugar isn’t exactly scarce, but for residents with poor conditions, they might only get to eat it once or twice a week or month.”
“What about food?”
“Basically, people can eat their fill…” Chi Hao said, “But food as delicious as yours, definitely not!”
Zhou Qi nodded gently and then said, “We’ll go later when we have the chance.”
The items they could exchange at present, perhaps only fuel and textiles were relatively high-end; the rest were basic living materials, which were scarce in the wasteland.
As merchants, they needed to bring goods to places where they were scarce to get higher returns.
As for the fortress… they’d leave it to Chi Hao to develop for now.
Hearing Zhou Qi’s meaning, Chi Hao was somewhat regretful but didn’t insist.
He sighed, then continued to eat.
After dinner, Zhou Qi didn’t go to rest but went back into the kitchen.
Seeing him busy again, Chi Hao couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing? Need help?”
“Well, since you’re leaving, I’m going to make some steamed buns and dumplings for you to eat on the road tomorrow.”
Chi Hao was stunned and hadn’t had time to say anything when Tang Yu’an, behind him, asked, “Brother Chi Hao, do you like sweets?”
Chi Hao nodded, and the boy took out a black plastic bag, heading to the front of the shop.
He followed and saw him opening boxes one after another.
Inside the boxes were various biscuits and snacks he had never seen before. Tang Yu’an filled a bag and handed it to him, saying, “Take these to eat on the road.”
Chi Hao was moved to tears.
He took the black bag, looked at the biscuits inside, and couldn’t help but ask, “What are these?”
Tang Yu’an answered with a smile, “Biscuits, chocolate, and gummies.”
He knew that during their absence, Chi Hao hadn’t touched the goods in the grocery store. Things were as they had left them, nothing missing.
In fact, when they left Chi Hao to look after the shop, they were prepared for him to help himself to anything he liked.
However, Chi Hao had been disciplined and hadn’t touched anything, which greatly increased Tang Yu’an’s goodwill toward him.
Having been out and about, Tang Yu’an fully realized how precious such qualities were in the resource-scarce wasteland.
Regardless of Brother Chi Hao’s abilities, he was a good person worth befriending.
He hoped he could return safely to Qingmu Fortress and help him do business well, just like Xiao Cao!
Tang Yu’an took out a gummy from the bag, unwrapped the transparent packaging, and handed it to him, “Try it?”
Chi Hao carefully put it in his mouth, and his eyes lit up.
“Delicious!”
He asked, “Did you get this from the mall too?”
Perhaps thinking that when he leveled up in the future, he could also exchange things from the mall, Chi Hao didn’t show any greed when he saw the boxes of biscuits and snacks.
Tang Yu’an nodded naturally, “Yes, I did.”
He was only level 7 now and had unlocked so many things. Candies and biscuits should be available too; after all, these things were quite common in grocery stores.
Chi Hao was excited. After thanking Tang Yu’an, he put the bag away and went to the kitchen to help Zhou Qi.
Whole wheat steamed buns were relatively easy to make. They had left some old dough; after mixing and kneading the dough into long strips and cutting them into pieces, they let them ferment before steaming.
As for the dumplings, they didn’t make too many, just some with sweet fillings and some with wild vegetable and mushroom fillings.
After all, Chi Hao didn’t have a personal warehouse and couldn’t carry too much.
Not until eleven-thirty at night did they finally finish tidying up and prepare to sleep. Chi Hao still laid out his bedding on the floor, while Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi climbed up to their long-missed attic.
“Home is still the most comfortable!”
After taking a comfortable hot shower, Tang Yu’an rolled back and forth on the bed. Zhou Qi sat beside him, watching him with a smile.
At this moment, Tang Yu’an suddenly thought of something. He quickly sat up and opened the system panel.
Then he clicked into a new but unopened feature—Dream Message Bottle.
[Would you like to equip the ‘Dream Message Bottle’ in the main shop ‘Peace Grocery Store’?]
Seeing the system prompt, Tang Yu’an naturally chose to confirm.
[Please select the installation location]
A virtual transparent frame appeared before Tang Yu’an, about the size of two A4 sheets of paper. As he moved his gaze, the transparent frame moved with his line of sight.
When his gaze fell on the bed, the transparent frame turned red, indicating it couldn’t be installed.
When his gaze moved to the wall, it turned into a green “Installable” prompt.
After discussing with Zhou Qi, they decided to install this feature on the wall of the attic, making it more discreet.
As he chose to install, a new system prompt popped up.
[Installation complete!]
A delicate little window appeared on the wall of the attic. Through the window glass, one could see a deep blue sea dotted with starlight.
Beside the window, a glass bottle the size of a milk bottle hung suspended.
[At the current level, you can place one message bottle into the Dream Sea each day, and you can fish once in the Dream Sea each day]
[Today’s available message bottles: 0/1]
[Dream Sea fishing attempts: 0/1]
Just as Tang Yu’an was about to go over to look at this new “furniture,” another system prompt popped up.
[Congratulations! You have triggered the main quest ‘Open a Branch Store’]
