Doomsday Grocery Store – CH90

Chapter 90 

“You mean, you want to bring A’Lian to live in Desolate City?”

Both Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi were surprised by Tie Jin’s decision. After all, this was the apocalyptic Wasteland. It was already difficult enough for him to adopt a child, let alone take in the child’s mother as well.

Tie Jin nodded, “It’s too inconvenient for me to raise a child alone.”

Ever since the two young men told him yesterday how dangerous it was to leave a child home alone, Tie Jin had been extremely anxious.

He already considered Jin Lili as his own daughter, and simply couldn’t bear the thought of her getting hurt due to his negligence.

So Tie Jin tossed and turned all night thinking about this, unable to sleep.

When he woke up this morning, he had made this decision.

“I heard Old Li say that in ordinary families before the disaster, fathers would go out to earn money while mothers stayed home to take care of the children. I think that’s quite good.”

Tie Jin particularly yearned for the pre-disaster civilization, and he felt this model was indeed not bad.

“It’s just a matter of sharing some food with her. I can earn enough, and if she has milk to feed Lili, she can also eat these potatoes and bird eggs.”

This way both mother and daughter could survive. No matter what, living here would be better than their life in Jufeng Town.

He didn’t need A’Lian to do anything for him. More than the food, Tie Jin cared more about whether Jin Lili could receive better care.

He regarded Lili as his own child, only hoping his daughter could grow up healthy, rather than dying young like most children in the Wasteland.

If Lili’s mother truly could lure away mutant snakes for her, then there was no one more suitable to care for Lili than her.

“Of course, whether she’s willing to come to Desolate City, we’ll have to ask to find out,” Tie Jin said uncertainly.

Desolate City was very dangerous for ordinary people. Even during the day, it was cooler up in the mountains than down below, and this became even more apparent when there were floods.

People living in the mountains, aside from having to be careful of mudslides, were basically unaffected in their daily lives. So even though Desolate City had more food, there were still relatively few people who left Jufeng Mountain.

“That’s fine, that’s fine. You should go ask her then,” Tang Yu’an nodded eagerly. “I believe A’Lian will definitely be willing to come live with you.”

She must be going crazy missing her daughter. How could she possibly refuse the chance to see her daughter again and live together with her?

“We can take care of Lili before you return.”

“Thank you so much!”

If the two young men hadn’t agreed, Tie Jin would have had to ask Old Li for help, but he didn’t really trust that old man when it came to childcare.

The old man could barely take care of himself. In comparison, the two young men seemed more reliable.

“You can stay at my place. Feel free to use anything in my house,” Tie Jin said.

Tang Yu’an nodded, but they probably wouldn’t stay there.

Jin Lili was still small, so they could easily bring her back to stay at the grocery store. After all, Tie Jin’s trip should only take four or five days.

He had a map, so he could check Tie Jin’s location at any time.

Thinking of this, Tang Yu’an took out paper and pen from his backpack, then zoomed the small map to Jufeng Town, and traced the route on the map.

“A’Lian lives in this cave. She was burned by fire and is still recovering.”

“If you ask the guards or passersby about finding a red-haired woman, they should know who you’re looking for.”

When Tang Yu’an took out the paper and pen, Tie Jin stared in amazement, only coming back to his senses when he was handed the map.

“Alright, alright.”

Tie Jin examined the map carefully and said, “An’An, your memory is so good. I know where this cave is, I should be able to find her quickly.”

He carefully put away the map, then saw the young man take out another piece of paper from his backpack.

Tie Jin originally thought this was another design draft, but when Tang Yu’an unfolded the paper, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise.

On this pristine white paper was a portrait, and it was unmistakably a portrait of his daughter Jin Lili!

The little girl’s reddish-brown hair was braided into two plaits, she wore a clean gray dress, and her face, which had gained a bit of flesh, was clean and neat. Because she hadn’t been out in the sun, she was a shade lighter than when Tie Jin had first found her.

Looking at this portrait, Tie Jin felt his eyes grow slightly moist.

“An’An, this… did you draw this?” Tie Jin asked shakily, stunned by Tang Yu’an’s “artistic skill”.

How could it look so lifelike! It was like a perfect one-to-one reproduction!

Tang Yu’an quickly waved his hands, “It was printed using a tool. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but anyway, if you show this picture to A’Lian, she’ll definitely believe you.”

If A’Lian trusted Tie Jin, she would surely come back with him, but Tie Jin’s appearance might cause misunderstandings.

So they needed to minimize the risks.

“Good, good. An’An, you’re so thoughtful!” Tie Jin carefully put away Jin Lili’s “portrait”.

Of course he hoped to convince A’Lian, after all, the round trip from Desolate City to Jufeng Town would take at least four days, and he didn’t want to make the journey for nothing. With this portrait, he’d be more convincing.

Tang Yu’an thought for a moment, then said, “Don’t show this picture to anyone else. I’m afraid it might cause trouble for you.”

If there were survivors from before the disaster, they might recognize it as something printed by a printer.

“I understand!”

Tie Jin nodded. Of course he would keep such a precious item close to his body. Moreover, it was a picture of his daughter, and he privately didn’t want others to see it, as it could be unsafe in the Wasteland.

Then, he took out the finished wok.

“This is the wok I promised to give you. I’ve been making various large items lately, so I haven’t had much time to make metal arrowheads.”

Tie Jin said, “I’ll make them for you when I get back, as payment for helping take care of Lili.”

Tang Yu’an quickly waved his hands, “Uncle Tie Jin, we don’t need the metal arrowheads. This large wok is already very valuable.”

As soon as Zhou Qi took the wok, Tang Yu’an’s system prompt popped up.

[Employee “Zhou Qi” completed a profitable transaction with an Old Customer, Points +275, Experience Points +1]

The value of this wok was slightly less than Zhou Qi’s machete, but very close.

After the two young men’s insistence, Tie Jin finally agreed, feeling warmth in his heart and having an even better impression of them.

At this point, Tang Yu’an said, “Uncle Tie Jin, we don’t need the wok right now. Why don’t you take it to Jufeng Town to trade for things? You can give us a new one when you make it later.”

If Tie Jin was going to support A’Lian as well, he would need more food.

Tie Jin dazedly took back the wok from Tang Yu’an’s hands, clearly not expecting the young man to say this.

He hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and said okay.

[You completed a loss-making transaction with an Old Customer, Experience Points +1]

Because Tie Jin said he had no metal arrowheads to trade, Tang Yu’an wanted to use a loss-making transaction to gain Experience Points.

However, Tie Jin quickly said, “I haven’t seen this kind of wok in the market before. Since it’s the first time I’m bringing it out, I’m afraid it won’t fetch a good price.”

He went to the market to trade things every so often, so he was quite familiar with the market conditions.

Although there had to be a first time to sell woks in the future, he could completely start with the Old Customers in Desolate City.

“Can you ask Granny Guo for me? Still trading for potatoes, how about 15?” Tie Jin asked.

Tang Yu’an’s eyes lit up, “Of course we can!”

Granny Guo was already interested in woks, so there was a high possibility she would agree to the trade.

So Zhou Qi took the wok from Tie Jin again, successfully gaining 275 Points and 1 Experience Point.

This back-and-forth resulted in 550 Points credited!

Tang Yu’an’s eyes crinkled with a smile as he cheerfully asked Tie Jin, “Uncle Tie Jin, when do you plan to set out?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Tie Jin said. “I just decided this suddenly, so I need to prepare first.”

“Alright, we’ll come early tomorrow then.”

“Thank you for your trouble.”

Now that the wok was made, the pressure cooker could naturally be put on the agenda.

Zhou Qi explained the concept of a pressure cooker to Tie Jin, who immediately became interested and pulled Zhou Qi upstairs to discuss it.

Tang Yu’an naturally stayed on the second floor to play with Jin Lili, and also did the “trading game” in passing.

After putting away three crystals, he suddenly remembered the wind crystal he had left in his pocket yesterday. He quickly felt his pocket and found that the crystal hadn’t been lost, which made him sigh in relief.

However, when Tang Yu’an took out the crystal, he noticed…

This wind crystal seemed to have gotten a bit smaller?

He held the crystal up to examine it in the sunlight, unsure if it was his imagination, but he felt the green color inside the crystal seemed to have faded a bit.

Using his appraisal skill to check, he found that the weight had indeed decreased slightly.

Could it be that crystals left in the outside world naturally dissipate? Tang Yu’an was puzzled.

But the crystal felt cool and comfortable in his hand, and he was a bit reluctant to put it back in the Portable Warehouse.

After all, they had quite a few crystals now, so losing one wouldn’t matter much. They could always collect more in the future.

So, Tang Yu’an hid this wind crystal in the inner pocket of his clothes.

This pocket was sewn for him by Brother Qi, and he kept his Lan Hu Tree leaves in it, keeping them close to his body so they wouldn’t get lost.

Perhaps due to the crystal’s properties, when he wore it close to his body like this, he found that not only his chest area, but other parts of his body also had a cool feeling.

Tang Yu’an sighed contentedly.

No wonder he felt it wasn’t as hot today…

This wind crystal was a good thing. He should pay more attention in the future and see if he could collect more!

Meanwhile, Zhou Qi and Tie Jin’s discussion had reached an impasse.

Making the body and lid of a pressure cooker wasn’t difficult for Tie Jin. The challenge was that they didn’t have materials to make the rubber seal.

Only with a rubber seal installed on the lid could they ensure airtight sealing and create a high-pressure environment inside the pot. Otherwise, it would just be an ordinary pot.

In the end, Tie Jin decided to make the lid and body of the pot in his spare time.

Even if it couldn’t be made into a pressure cooker, it wouldn’t be a waste to use it as a regular pot.

“I’ll think of another way,” Zhou Qi said.

He still really wanted to make a pressure cooker. Using a pressure cooker would save both firewood and time. If they could successfully make one, he believed it would be very popular in the Wasteland.

“Alright, alright.”

Tie Jin now had immense admiration for Zhou Qi, as well as trust. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have entrusted his daughter to their care.

After their discussion concluded, Zhou Qi went downstairs to find Tang Yu’an. After saying goodbye to Tie Jin, he first took the wok to ask Granny Guo about it.

Since he was going out, Tie Jin wasn’t in a hurry. He said he could let Granny Guo try it for a few days, and give him potatoes when he returned.

“He’s really letting me try it?” Granny Guo was very surprised when she received the wok. “Isn’t he afraid I’ll use it and not return it, and not give him potatoes either?”

“Would you do that?” Tang Yu’an asked.

Looking at the boy’s clear eyes full of trust, Granny Guo could only shake her head. “Of course I wouldn’t do that.”

If only for the sake of her relationship with these two children, she could never do such a thing.

Perhaps Tie Jin thought the same way.

The trust between them was entirely formed because of these two children.

“Alright, I understand,” said Granny Guo. “I’ll try it out, and during this time I’ll also cultivate a few more batches of potatoes.”

After slicing and sun-drying the potatoes, she found they indeed kept better, and didn’t even need to be stored in her homemade constant temperature box.

This way, she could store more potatoes.

After all, they had all gone hungry before. If she didn’t have to worry about spoilage, the more food stored, the better.

“Okay, we’ll be going then.”

After handing the wok to Granny Guo, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi left.

Kang Kang watched the two older boys leave with some reluctance. He had thought they might come back and play with him a bit more…

After they were gone, Kang Kang hugged his little flower pot and squatted in the corner again.

Gotta grow it quickly! For big brother!

Seeing his enthusiasm, not at all discouraged by the lack of progress, Granny Guo smiled contentedly.

She left her grandson alone and picked up the new wok, pondering what dish to make for lunch.

Before the apocalypse, she used to cook too.

Though her memories were a bit fuzzy now, she could at least cook the food through. As for taste, that would improve with practice.

She quickly made a decision and put down the wok to prepare ingredients.

Perhaps because they had been eating their fill every day lately, not only had Kang Kang put on some weight, but Granny Guo felt much more energetic too, with more strength for daily tasks.

Life was getting better day by day. This was something Granny Guo could tangibly feel.

And it was all thanks to these two mysterious boys from the Fortress…

Whatever reason these children had for coming to Desolate City, Granny Guo sincerely hoped they would be safe and sound, with everything going their way.

On the road, Zhou Qi brought up the difficulties in making a pressure cooker.

“Pot rings? We have those for sale at home,” said Tang Yu’an. “Different sizes too, about two or three of each.”

Zhou Qi nodded. “We can use those as reference to make molds.”

For long-term pressure cooker production, they still needed to find rubber to make gaskets. That was the sustainable way.

“Ah, we’ll have to see about that slowly then.”

The pressure cooker was temporarily impossible, but…

“What about the water purifier?” Tang Yu’an asked. “I collected a lot of pebbles yesterday, can we use these?”

“Yes, we can. A water purifier needs stones and sand of different sizes, plus filter cotton, and ideally some activated carbon too.”

“Can we use charcoal to make activated carbon?” Tang Yu’an asked.

“It should be possible…” Zhou Qi’s voice was clearly hesitant. “But I’ve never done it before, we might need to experiment.”

Zhou Qi thought for a moment, then said: “Charcoal itself has some adsorption capacity. Even if we can’t make activated carbon, simple filtration is still better than drinking that dirty water directly.”

Tang Yu’an nodded. “Then let’s try this afternoon.”

Finally they could spare some time to make a water purifier!

“Okay.”

As they talked, the ten-story building gradually came into view.

The exterior didn’t seem to have changed much at first glance, but Tang Yu’an looked more carefully and soon noticed that the cracks near the ground on the outer walls had clearly disappeared.

He told Zhou Qi what he’d observed.

Zhou Qi sensed for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, the foundation has been reinforced. They’re currently reinforcing the first floor ceiling and the building’s outer walls.”

Although Ba Shi had only mentioned reinforcing the top two floors, perhaps worried the ceiling might collapse while they worked, they had reinforced the first floor as well.

“Woof woof!”

Just then, Big Black Dog ran out from the building, barking excitedly twice.

When it reached Tang Yu’an’s side, it skillfully flopped onto its back, exposing its belly to him.

Alarmed by Big Black Dog’s behavior, Ba Shi came out vigilantly to check, only to see this scene from afar.

Ba Shi was speechless. Ba Tu, seeing this for the first time, asked in confusion: “Brother, is that really your Big Black Dog? It wasn’t switched with another, was it?”

As its owners, they had never seen Big Black Dog act like this before!

Then Ba Tu finally noticed Tang Yu’an and couldn’t help asking: “Is that the pretty boy you mentioned?”

Ba Shi grunted in affirmation.

Then he turned and walked back into the building. “Stop looking, we need to finish in two days.”

Ba Tu glanced at the two boys, then at Ba Shi’s back, but in the end just pursed his lips and went back to reinforcing the load-bearing walls.

After playing with Big Black Dog for a while, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi entered the building together.

Compared to yesterday, the first floor looked much more solid, with cracks in the walls gone.

“Uncle Ba Shi, you’ve all worked hard,” said Tang Yu’an. “We brought some food for you.”

He took out two whole wheat buns and two fruits from his backpack, giving one of each to Ba Shi and Ba Tu, gaining four experience points through the unprofitable trade.

The Ba Shi brothers were visibly stunned upon receiving the food, but accepted it gladly.

After the two boys briefly looked around the house and left, Ba Tu munched on the fruit and couldn’t help saying: “As expected of those from the Fortress, so generous right off the bat.”

Ba Shi picked up the whole wheat bun, carefully sniffed it, then took a small bite.

His eyes brightened slightly as he nodded and said: “Indeed generous.”

Ba Tu couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander, but before he could speak, Ba Shi warned: “Those two kids, we can’t afford to offend them.”

“What do you mean?” Ba Tu asked in surprise.

“You think they can walk the Wasteland at such a young age without any backing?” Ba Shi said, biting into the bun. “I don’t know about the younger one, but that Zhou Qi is clearly no ordinary person.”

“How so?” Ba Tu asked.

“Didn’t you notice how he walks so lightly?” Ba Shi said. “He must be a wind Ability user, and not a low-level one either, to utilize wind elements so skillfully.”

Ba Tu thought carefully and realized it was indeed so.

“Don’t get any ideas about them. Focus on doing a good job, and we can continue trading salt with them in the future,” Ba Shi said finally.

Ba Tu pursed his lips. “Fine.”

Though he had a bad temper and wasn’t too bright, he at least listened to his big brother.

After a while, he couldn’t help saying: “This bun tastes pretty good. Do you think we can get more tomorrow? Can we trade for a few more?”

Ba Shi thought for a moment, then nodded: “We’ll ask tomorrow.”

This thing called a bun did taste good.

When Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi returned to the grocery store, it was just before eleven.

With all the pets in hibernation, the store was eerily quiet. The two felt a bit uncomfortable and could only find things to do on their own.

Zhou Qi filtered the sun-dried coarse salt, while Tang Yu’an continued appraising items in the house.

His Points balance had now grown to 11,575, and because he had found a way to minimize the appraisal fee by volume, he could appraise without any burden.

Having appraised too many times before, he now just glanced at the interface after appraisal before closing it.

This time after finishing an appraisal, just as Tang Yu’an habitually closed the interface and prepared to appraise the next item, he suddenly froze.

Tang Yu’an recalled the image he had just glanced at, and his heart suddenly began to race.

That appraisal result just now…

He hurriedly opened the appraisal catalog, quickly flipped to the latest page, then…

“Brother Qi!”

Tang Yu’an ran to the kitchen holding the appraisal catalog, showing him the page he had turned to: “Quick, look! I found it!”

Zhou Qi, who was picking vegetables, was stunned for a moment. He hurriedly wiped his hands clean, then took the catalog. On that page was written:

[Name: Gold Coin Grass] [Value: 1 Point/piece] [Origin: MR168845 Plane] [Description: Leaf of Gold Coin Grass Plant, medicinal use, has effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting blood circulation…]

“It’s the Gold Coin Grass Mom grew!”

Tang Yu’an’s eyes were red, looking like he was about to cry. “It’s… it’s our plane, it’s become an apocalypse too.”

MR was the abbreviation for apocalypse.

The AI system was telling the truth, their world had entered the apocalypse as well.

“Dad, Mom… and Xin Xin…”

Tang Yu’an’s lips trembled, large tears starting to fall. “Did something happen to them?”

Seeing him cry, Zhou Qi’s heart ached terribly.

He put the appraisal catalog into the Portable Warehouse, then reached out to hug the boy, gently patting his back and saying softly: “It won’t be like that.”

“This world also experienced a terrible catastrophe, but look, Grandpa Li and Granny Guo survived, didn’t they?”

“Uncle Tang and Aunt Tang are kind and virtuous people. Heaven will surely bless them.”

“And…”

Zhou Qi said seriously: “Your luck has always been good. Have you ever thought that this might be your talent?”

Tang Yu’an sniffled. “My… my talent?”

“Yes.”

Zhou Qi nodded. “When you think of good things happening, they always do. But if you think negatively, bad things will come true too.”

Tang Yu’an was stunned. “Is it really that accurate…”

“An’an, don’t you believe me?” Zhou Qi looked at him.

“I… I do believe you! Brother Qi is so smart, what he says must be right.”

“So you need to think in your heart that Uncle Tang, Aunt Tang and Xin Xin can be safe and sound even in the apocalypse, just like Grandpa Li and Granny Guo, okay?”

“This is what you can do for them now.”

Tang Yu’an was convinced by him.

He wiped away his tears, his eyes no longer filled with worry and fear, but only firm belief.

“Right! Dad, Mom and Xin Xin, they’ll definitely be able to turn danger into safety and be alright!”

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