Doomsday Grocery Store – CH71

Chapter 71

Xiao Cao’s performance remained very consistent.

After attracting 12 customers and bringing Tang Yu’an 28 experience points and 99 points, her system notifications temporarily ceased.

Tang Yu’an was a bit curious. How could she have attracted so many customers so early? Did they go to the market to set up a stall?

But the numbers…

He recalled that the first time was 13 customers, then 11, and now 12…

Touching his chin, Tang Yu’an mused that perhaps Shi Tou was giving haircuts to the guards? Since guard squads typically consisted of six people.

Hehe, in any case, this was great news!

He looked at his experience bar: Lv8 (20/160).

Smiling until his eyes formed crescents, Tang Yu’an turned to Zhou Qi and said, “Brother Qi, I’ve leveled up again!”

Thinking of something, he glanced at the employee panel.

Xiao Cao’s employee experience had reached Lv2 (17/30). Since the day had just begun, if she could attract another 13 customers, she might level up to Lv3 by evening.

As for Zhou Qi’s employee level, he was at Lv4 (5/50). It felt like she might catch up to him in just a few days.

“Brother Qi, Xiao Cao is about to catch up with you,” Tang Yu’an remarked casually.

Zhou Qi nodded.

“Yes, if she keeps working like this, it’s good news for us.”

Zhou Qi was well aware of his role in the grocery store. He was An’an’s employee but not a real subordinate.

Of course…

He did feel somewhat fortunate that he had awakened an ability. At least he had other uses and avenues for advancement, so he didn’t have to worry about becoming entirely dependent on An’an in the future.

Even though he knew that becoming dependent wouldn’t affect their relationship, Zhou Qi still had his own pride.

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, the parasite that had been dormant for a long time became slightly active.

Zhou Qi furrowed his brows. It was no longer as easy for the parasite to control him as before. As his willpower grew stronger, the parasite found it increasingly difficult to influence him.

Soon, the parasite, not gaining any advantage, once again retreated and hid somewhere within his body.

“Brother Qi, are you feeling unwell?”

Sensing something, Tang Yu’an quickly checked his employee panel, but nothing abnormal appeared.

Zhou Qi shook his head. “It’s nothing now.”

So there was almost something!

Tang Yu’an looked at him with deep concern.

Zhou Qi reached out and touched the top of his head. He wanted to comfort him, but the words that came out were, inexplicably, “An’an, if one day I can’t keep up with you, what would you do?”

Tang Yu’an blinked, initially puzzled, but quickly realized something.

He asked, “Is it because I’m leveling up too fast, and you’re feeling pressured?”

Zhou Qi shook his head.

Looking at him, Tang Yu’an suddenly pouted and said unhappily, “Brother Qi, you promised to take me home.”

He reached out and hugged Zhou Qi’s arm. “If you can’t keep up with me, I’ll just hold onto you tightly, pull you along, and never let go!”

Zhou Qi looked at him and slowly smiled.

“You’re being quite unreasonable,” he said.

Tang Yu’an raised his chin and said confidently, “Hmph! If I really become stronger than you, of course, I can be as unreasonable as I want!”

Zhou Qi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Before he could say anything, Tang Yu’an quickly reined in his playful attitude and changed the subject, “Come on, let’s go find Granny Guo and Kangkang.”

Zhou Qi let himself be pulled along without saying more.

He didn’t know why he had asked that earlier. Perhaps… he was indeed feeling a bit pressured.

After all, as they recruited more employees, the gap between his and An’an’s levels would only widen. On this path, he was destined not to catch up.

*

After securing the grocery store and instructing Wang Cai and Yin Bi to guard the house, they noticed that Yuan Bao had already run off somewhere while they were talking.

Tang Yu’an quickly opened the map to check.

Fortunately, Yuan Bao wasn’t chasing after Brother Chi Hao. Probably after being cooped up in the store for a few days, it was finally letting loose and went out to play.

“Let’s go!”

Casting the Lightness Technique on Zhou Qi, Tang Yu’an skillfully jumped onto his back.

Zhou Qi carried him, swiftly navigating through the ruins with leaps and bounds.

He was even faster than before. Facing the howling wind, Tang Yu’an felt his cheeks sting from the cutting breeze. He quickly buried his face into Zhou Qi’s shoulder to feel better.

And yet, he was talking about not being able to keep up!

Tang Yu’an muttered inwardly but held onto Zhou Qi even tighter.

He was serious; no matter what Brother Qi thought, he was determined to stick with him. No matter what happened in the future, Brother Qi couldn’t leave him behind!

“Brother Qi…”

Amid the whistling wind, Zhou Qi heard the boy’s soft voice. Even though the wind shredded it into fragments, he heard it clearly.

“You are the person I most, most, most want to cherish. Let’s never be apart, okay?”

His voice still had a touch of childlike innocence, but it carried the unique passion and sincerity of youth. To Zhou Qi’s ears, it was the most beautiful and moving words in the world.

In any world, he had always been alone.

Only Tang Yu’an… only him…

“What I said earlier was wrong.”

Zhou Qi’s pace gradually slowed as he spoke softly, “You’re right; we will never be apart.”

Hearing this, Tang Yu’an beamed with joy.

“We have a deal,” he said, poking his head out and pressing his cheek against Zhou Qi.

Feeling Zhou Qi’s warmth, he couldn’t help but nuzzle against him affectionately.

Zhou Qi paused momentarily before responding, “Mm, it’s a deal.”

Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but cheer.

This was the purest promise of youth, and they decided to firmly engrave it into their hearts, vowing to honor it for the rest of their lives.

After a while, Zhou Qi, having sorted out his emotions, asked, “What are your level-up rewards this time?”

Tang Yu’an opened the system panel and shared with Zhou Qi.

“The map has been upgraded! It unlocked the terrain display function.” As he spoke, he operated the system. “If I zoom out the map, I can see the terrain.”

However, unexplored areas were still shrouded in fog. Unless they reached new areas unlocked by customers, its usefulness seemed limited.

“If we’re in the mountains, it should be very useful,” Zhou Qi said.

“Yeah, it is.” Tang Yu’an agreed. “We can also view vertical spaces now.”

It’s the same in tall buildings. Previously, if one person was on the rooftop and another on the ground floor, it would display them on the same horizontal plane, making them seem close. Now, by adjusting the 3D map, their positions became clear.

“Besides the map upgrade, the Telekinesis skill has also been upgraded to Lv7. The range for remote placement has increased from one meter to two meters.”

At this, Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but complain.

“Ugh, it only increased by one meter!” Compared to the previous tenfold increase with each level, this improvement seemed minimal.

“Every inch counts; one more meter is still better,” Zhou Qi comforted.

“True.”

Moreover, this skill improved passively with level-ups, requiring no extra effort, so perhaps it wasn’t worth complaining about.

“We now have two Seven-Day Special Sale Refresh Cards. Should we use one now?” Tang Yu’an asked.

Zhou Qi calculated the timing and shook his head, “The refresh is tomorrow. Let’s wait and see then.”

This time, the quantity should increase significantly.

Since they didn’t have any urgent needs, saving the Refresh Cards for later would make them more valuable.

“Okay.”

As they finished talking, they were nearing Granny Guo’s home.

*

“Kangkang, Grandma is going out. Do you want to come with me?”

Granny Guo looked at her grandson, who was holding a flowerpot, curled up in the corner.

Hearing her words, the child looked at her sleepily, yawning and appearing very tired.

However, compared to half a month ago, his face had noticeably more color, and his cheeks were less sunken. If he hadn’t been holding that flowerpot as soon as he woke up every day, his complexion might have been even better.

Granny Guo felt deeply concerned, but for the first time, she realized how stubborn her grandson’s character was.

“Mm, go out… sunbathe…”

Kangkang picked up the flowerpot and was about to head outside when Granny Guo stopped him.

“Put down the flowerpot,” Granny Guo said sternly.

Kangkang immediately hugged the flowerpot tighter, saying softly, “Brother Tang… will come back…”

“Whether he comes back or not, it’s just a few days!” For the first time, Granny Guo spoke so sternly to her grandson.

As soon as she finished speaking, Kangkang pouted.

The thin child hugged the flowerpot, looked up at her with teary eyes, tears welling up.

Granny Guo’s heart immediately softened.

“You’re exhausting yourself,” she said gently. “Grandma worries about you.”

Granny Guo naturally knew that her grandson, like her, had awakened plant-type ability. If not, she wouldn’t have risked everything to escape that courtyard.

She didn’t want Kangkang to repeat her path; she wanted to give him a broader world and future.

But Kangkang’s state these days made her very worried.

Kangkang lowered his head, leaned close to her, and said, “Grandma… I’m sorry…”

Although he said sorry, he still clung to the flowerpot, making Granny Guo both exasperated and amused.

Just as she was about to persuade him further, a noise came from the window.

“Granny Guo—Kangkang—we’re back!”

As soon as the bright and cheerful voice of the boy sounded, both the grandmother and grandson’s eyes lit up, turning toward the direction of the sound.

A smile appeared on Granny Guo’s face.

She looked down at the child and said, “Your Brother Tang is back. Aren’t you going to see him?”

Only then did Kangkang put down the flowerpot, his short legs quickly carrying him to the outer room. He climbed onto a stone, and as soon as he poked his head out, he saw the two figures he had been longing for.

Brother didn’t lie to him. As soon as the steamed buns were gone, he really came back!

“Brother Tang! Brother Zhou!” Kangkang called out happily.

“Kangkang, we’re back!”

Tang Yu’an told the child to step back a bit, then jumped into the house and picked him up, asking, “Did you miss me?”

“Missed! Missed Brother!”

Kangkang reached out and hugged him tightly, full of attachment. When he saw Zhou Qi, whom he wasn’t as familiar with, he also extended his small hands for a hug.

“Brother Zhou!”

Zhou Qi picked him up as well, his movements quite practiced.

For Kangkang, who had never had playmates, these two brothers who were so good to him were the people he cherished most in the world besides his grandma!

Not seeing them for a few days had been a painful and difficult wait for someone who had lost so much.

Tang Yu’an patted his head. Seeing Granny Guo approaching, he smiled and greeted her.

“Granny~”

Granny Guo responded warmly, quickly pulling them into the house, and looked them over, saying, “You’ve tanned and look stronger.”

They finally looked a bit like wasteland dwellers.

Tang Yu’an chuckled. After taking Kangkang from Zhou Qi, he asked, “How have you been these days? Did anything happen?”

“Anything happen?” Granny Guo shook her head. “If anything happened, it’s only good news.”

Tang Yu’an was taken aback, “Good news?”

Then he saw Granny Guo take a basket and gently pour out its contents. More than a dozen golden potatoes rolled onto the ground.

Exchanging glances, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi saw the joy in each other’s eyes.

“Granny, you managed to grow potatoes?” he exclaimed happily.

Granny Guo nodded, “Yes, from the potato you gave me, I grew these.”

These potatoes were about the same size as the original one. Although the quantity couldn’t compare to fruit trees, but…

“I cooked one to try. It’s soft and glutinous, really filling!” Granny Guo said with satisfaction.

Although it didn’t have much flavor, being able to fill their stomachs was most important. And she added a bit of salt, making it taste even better.

“How did you manage to grow them?” Tang Yu’an asked curiously.

Wasn’t it said that potatoes are neither cold-tolerant nor heat-tolerant? He thought that in such an environment with extreme temperature differences, they might not grow.

“Now is the time to grow them,” Granny Guo explained without keeping him guessing. “I originally wanted to plant them in the evening, but to make the plants grow stronger, they still need sunlight.”

From 6:30 to 9:00 in the morning is the best time to promote potato growth.

Because at that time, the sun has risen, but the temperature isn’t too high, and the humidity is suitable, which is very beneficial for potato growth.

Granny Guo had just figured out this method yesterday.

The potato that Tang Yu’an gave her had several eyes, but in the end, only one sprouted successfully, yielding more than a dozen potatoes.

She originally thought she might fail, but unexpectedly, she dug out so many potatoes.

Given how filling potatoes are, two a day were enough for her and Kangkang.

Moreover, what delighted her even more was that these potatoes had very vigorous vitality. As long as they were in a suitable environment, with a little assistance from plant-type abilities, they would grow rapidly.

Granny Guo felt that with her current ability, she might be able to promote three to four plants at once, yielding at least 40 potatoes a day!

A day’s harvest would be enough for them to eat for twenty days. The key is that after eating them, their stomachs felt comfortable, unlike the sourness after eating fruits.

These potatoes must be high in starch content; she felt they were similar to rice, an excellent staple food.

And since potatoes reproduce vegetatively and not through seeds, they shouldn’t lose their reproductive capacity after several generations, unlike previous plants that failed to bear fruit after four or five generations.

Besides, the part they eat is actually the root, not the fruit…

But she’ll study that slowly later; it’s too early to draw conclusions now.

“I finally lived up to your expectations,” Granny Guo said, leaving one potato as a seed and packing the remaining thirteen into the basket, handing it to Zhou Qi.

[Employee “Zhou Qi” completed a profitable transaction with an old customer, Points +260, Experience +1]

260 points—a great start!

It seems that potatoes, like sweet fruits, are worth 20 points each.

Tang Yu’an immediately smiled brightly.

Seeing his smile, Zhou Qi knew that these potatoes were quite valuable in terms of points. He took out two potatoes and returned the rest to Granny Guo.

“Please continue planting,” he said. “Plant more.”

They didn’t lack food; keeping two as backup seeds was enough. The rest should stay with Granny Guo and Kangkang, whether for eating or further planting, to improve their lives.

Granny Guo was about to refuse when Kangkang, who had been immersed in joy, finally came back to his senses and quickly raised his little hand.

“Me! I have something too!”

Kangkang slipped off Tang Yu’an’s lap, ran to pick up his flowerpot, and then huffed and puffed back.

“Brother, look!”

The child’s big, round eyes looked at Tang Yu’an with full expectation.

He wanted! Brother! To praise!

Of course, Tang Yu’an hadn’t forgotten Kangkang’s green sprout. This plant was worth 1,000 points! He just didn’t expect that after a few days, the green sprout had grown so much!

The originally just-sprouted seedling had grown to a height of thirty to forty centimeters, with full branches and leaves, resembling a miniature version of the mutated lantern grass.

But its appearance showed significant differences from the mother plant.

Not only was it shorter, but even the color of its branches and leaves was different, with a hint of light blue in the deep green. Only the shape of the leaves still resembled the lantern grass.

Moreover, at the top of the branch, Tang Yu’an saw a small fruit.

Such a small lantern grass had already borne fruit!

He didn’t know if it was because the fruit wasn’t mature yet, but unlike the mother plant’s fruit that emitted light, it looked like an ordinary fruit. But both the fruit and the thin, film-like skin had a deeper blue hue.

“It’s grown so big already. Did you promote its growth? Kangkang, you’re amazing!”

Tang Yu’an knew that Kangkang had the ability to communicate with plants, so he must have awakened plant-type ability. It wasn’t surprising that he had the ability to promote growth like Granny Guo.

Kangkang, who had been eagerly awaiting praise, became a bit shy when he was praised.

He placed the flowerpot on the ground and directly picked the only fruit.

“Brother, eat!”

The small fruit lay in his palm, even smaller than his little hand.

Tang Yu’an accepted the fruit and used the Basic Appraisal skill to examine it.

[Do you want to pay 10 points as an appraisal fee to use the Basic Appraisal skill on this item?]

The appraisal fee was 10% of the item’s value, which means… this small fruit was worth 100 points?

Twice the value of the previously glowing mutated lantern fruit?

Momentarily stunned, Tang Yu’an quickly confirmed the payment.

10 points—he could afford it now!

[Name: Unnamed]
[Value: 50 points each]
[Origin: Plane MR176349]
[Description: Second-generation mutated fruit of the mutated lantern grass, continuously emits coolness. After consumption, it can resist high temperatures for a certain period, duration depending on individual physique.]

Reading the appraisal description, Tang Yu’an was stunned again.

At this moment, Kangkang’s childish voice sounded again: “Brother, eat! It’s cool!”

So Kangkang actually knew the effect of this fruit?

Or rather, Kangkang grew this mutated lantern fruit especially for him?

Because among the people Kangkang had contact with, besides him, no one else seemed troubled by high temperatures.

And from the beginning, Kangkang had said that this green sprout was a gift for him!

For the first time, Tang Yu’an was so moved he couldn’t speak, an indescribable emotion welling up inside.

Such a thin, undernourished child had grown this fruit to help him resist the heat!

So Kangkang’s ability could control or influence the direction of plant mutations?

“Kangkang…”

Only then did Tang Yu’an notice that the child’s face showed obvious fatigue. He touched his cheek and couldn’t help but look at Granny Guo.

“Granny, Kangkang, he…”

This involved not only controlling mutation but also promoting growth. Could Kangkang’s thin body handle it?

Granny Guo glanced at her grandson, her eyes showing a bit of exasperation but more of satisfaction. She said, “It’s okay; I’m watching over him.”

She was busy every day making a living and hadn’t had time to guide him, letting him play on his own. Previously, she hadn’t realized that the glowing mutated lantern fruit was actually the result of Kangkang’s intervention.

This time, she finally confirmed that Kangkang’s talent was much stronger than hers.

Now, not only could they eat their fill every day, but they also had coarse rice and potatoes, clean refined salt, and the steamed buns and candies secretly fed to him by the two boys. Kangkang’s body was getting stronger day by day.

Although he still couldn’t compare to how she was at his age, she felt it was just a matter of time.

If it were before, Granny Guo would never have allowed her grandson to use his ability so intensely.

“Go ahead and eat it; this fruit should be helpful to you.” Although Granny Guo hadn’t tasted it herself, she had a feeling.

But Tang Yu’an didn’t eat it immediately.

Although he had been exposed to the sun for days on the road, his tolerance for high temperatures had improved. At this time of day, the weather wasn’t too hot, and they were indoors; he felt comfortable.

“Wait a moment; I brought you gifts.”

Tang Yu’an took out four whole wheat steamed buns and two stuffed buns from his backpack.

He first took out a stuffed bun to give to Kangkang, but seeing his dirty little hands, he handed it to Granny Guo instead, then pulled the child to wash his hands.

“This…”

Granny Guo had seen Kangkang eating steamed buns these days, so she wasn’t surprised. But she didn’t know… there were stuffed buns!

Looking at the white, plump buns emitting a faint aroma of vegetables, she couldn’t help but be stunned.

“Granny, please try it,” Zhou Qi encouraged.

Granny Guo couldn’t resist the temptation, pinched off a piece, and put it in her mouth. As she chewed slowly, her expression became increasingly wondrous.

This was truly a stuffed bun… the soft, fluffy buns with the wheat fragrance from her memories.

“This is so delicious…” the elderly woman said, her voice choked with emotion.

When Kangkang returned after washing his hands, he noticed Granny Guo’s unusual expression and quickly ran over to hug her leg, softly calling, “Grandma.”

Granny Guo looked down at him.

Although her eyes were filled with tears, her expression was smiling.

Kangkang realized that Grandma was so happy she cried!

Then he saw the stuffed bun in Granny’s hand and exclaimed happily, “Stuffed bun! Delicious!”

But then he remembered his agreement with Tang Yu’an.

Wait, didn’t Brother Tang say this was a secret and that he couldn’t tell Grandma?

Kangkang looked at Tang Yu’an.

Tang Yu’an immediately understood his thoughts. He picked up another stuffed bun and said, “This is for you and Grandma to eat. This one is sweet. Thank you for growing such a useful fruit for me.”

Kangkang grinned widely.

Great, Brother Tang was willing to share the secret with Grandma, and now Grandma could also enjoy the delicious stuffed buns!

[You completed a profitable transaction with an old customer, Points +84, Experience +1]

Although Tang Yu’an said he was giving the gifts to Kangkang and Granny Guo, the system still counted it as him completing a profitable transaction.

Watching their interaction, Granny Guo finally accepted the gift gladly.

But she didn’t eat much, only finishing the piece she had pinched off earlier. She put away the remaining buns and steamed buns.

“Why don’t you play with Kangkang for a while? I’ll go out to plant potatoes and be back later.”

“Okay, Granny, take care.”

Before leaving, Granny Guo gave each of them a sweet fruit, earning them another 40 points and 2 experience points.

While Tang Yu’an played with Kangkang, Zhou Qi took the initiative to fetch water for Granny Guo with a wooden bucket.

Although she had potatoes now, Granny Guo hadn’t given up on the rice she had planted earlier. After a few days, the seedlings had grown stronger.

And there were more containers now. The larger the container, the less water it held. It seemed Granny Guo hadn’t abandoned the idea of cultivating drought-resistant rice.

Looking at these lush and thriving seedlings, both Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi felt content.

Speaking of play, Kangkang ran to bring over a bag of mutated lantern fruits.

There were three in total, which had naturally matured and fallen in the past few days.

“Brother, let’s play a game!” Kangkang said excitedly.

Tang Yu’an laughed and took out the three mutated lantern fruits he had taken away when he left last time. Under Kangkang’s amazed gaze, he played the “trading game” with him again, where one mutated fruit was exchanged for one glucose solution.

In the end, he smoothly gained 3 experience points and earned 299 points!

That’s why he really loved coming to Granny Guo’s house. In just a short while, his points had skyrocketed by 429!

^O^