Chapter 92
As soon as Zhou Qi spoke, Tang Yu’an’s attention was diverted. He first took the super printer out of the Portable Warehouse.
It was a square machine, approximately 80 centimeters in length and width, with a unique design that showcased its mechanical parts and panels, giving it a strong sense of technology.
“This printer can create various labels,” Tang Yu’an said, looking at the instructions on the panel and reading the information to Zhou Qi.
[Super Printer]
[Description: Used for creating and printing various labels and stickers, it is a great helper for pricing goods.]
The description seemed plain, but both Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi, who had drawn special items numerous times, did not underestimate it due to its seemingly simple description.
It surely had special features that the two had yet to discover, which justified the term “super.”
“Let’s try making something first,” Zhou Qi said.
“Okay!”
Tang Yu’an fumbled to turn on the printer, and the panel lit up instantly, displaying operational buttons.
[Please select the type of item you want to create]
[1. Label]
[2. Sticker]
Tang Yu’an looked at the differences between the two options.
Labels had no adhesive function, while stickers did. Both types could freely choose size, style, and the printed text and patterns.
“It doesn’t seem that special?” Tang Yu’an frowned.
Zhou Qi also made selections on the panel until the last step—
[Please insert the raw materials for production]
“Do we need to put paper in?” Tang Yu’an took a stack of A4 paper from his printer.
Zhou Qi took the paper, then opened the printer’s lid. Inside was empty, with a large space, and there was no visible paper exit.
He looked at the printer’s raw material box and suddenly had an idea. He exchanged 10 Points for a piece of cotton cloth and placed it inside the printer.
Tang Yu’an watched his actions, blinking in surprise.
Though confused, he did not stop him, knowing that Brother Qi would not act recklessly.
Soon, Zhou Qi closed the lid and pressed the production switch.
[“Sticker – Sticky Note” in production, estimated time: 3 minutes]
Just 3 minutes, that would be quick!
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi patiently waited, and soon they saw the countdown of 3 minutes end.
[“Sticker – Sticky Note” production complete, please take out]
Tang Yu’an hurriedly opened the lid, and inside the printer’s raw material box, the white cotton cloth had transformed into a perfectly square sticky note.
He took it out to examine it.
The material of this sticky note was cotton, looking very sturdy, and the surface felt very smooth.
Tang Yu’an wrote on it with a pen and found that it was not simply cut cotton stitched together, but the material had been treated to make it more suitable for writing.
He thought for a moment, took out a cup and poured water, then tore off the written cotton sticky note and soaked it in the water.
“Wow! The ink didn’t smudge!”
Not only had the material of the cotton been altered to make it more suitable for writing, but it also retained the characteristic of fabric that wouldn’t dissolve in water like paper.
And the ink, when written on it, penetrated into the fabric, making it less prone to smudging compared to ordinary paper.
“Great! Once the notebook is used up, we can use this printer to make more!”
Cotton could be exchanged for a low price, so making notebooks wouldn’t be a burden, and the resulting notebooks would be sturdier and more durable.
If Sister Hong Li needed some, they could sell it to her. In the future, important items like Land Deeds wouldn’t need to be written on Draft Paper.
Zhou Qi nodded, but as he looked at the printer, he had other thoughts.
“Can we use other materials?”
“Like what?”
Zhou Qi glanced at him, then used the Remote Retrieval skill to retrieve some pebbles that Tang Yu’an had picked up for making a water purifier from the warehouse.
These pebbles were about the size of half a palm, not suitable for making a water purification device.
Tang Yu’an looked at the stones he brought out in surprise, uncertainly saying, “Using stones? Is that possible?”
Cotton could be cut, but stones were so hard…
“Let’s give it a try?” Zhou Qi suggested.
Tang Yu’an hesitated for a moment but nodded, “Since it’s a super printer, it must have something special. Let’s try it!”
So, Zhou Qi placed the pebbles into the printer and pressed the option.
[“Label – Card” in production, estimated time: 10 minutes]
Unexpectedly, it really worked!
This time, however, the processing time was longer.
While waiting, Tang Yu’an looked at today’s gains.
Surprisingly, his Experience Points had reached lv9 (176/180), just 4 more points away from leveling up!
Today, the highest contribution still came from Xiao Cao, who had brought in 23 customers, which was fewer than yesterday, but still brought her considerable experience points.
Next was Brother Qi, whose employee level had finally risen to lv5 (2/60).
Tang Yu’an quickly downgraded the Remote Retrieval skill authorization to him, but it was only an increase in distance; to unlock the telekinesis placement function, he would need to continue leveling up.
Chi Hao was still at the bottom today.
He had already left Jufeng Town and had brought in two new customers on his way down the mountain, earning him 6 experience points.
Tang Yu’an felt that, even in the relatively dense Jufeng Mountain, he could only attract so few customers, and he couldn’t expect much on the way back to Fortress.
So, his expectations for Chi Hao had dropped to the lowest; he just hoped he could return safely to Fortress and pave a safe route for him and Brother Qi to Fortress.
After all, he and Brother Qi would definitely need to make a trip to Fortress in the future.
As for the Points balance, it had reached 11675. Looking at the increasing Points balance, Tang Yu’an felt his back straighten.
At least when it came to bathing, they no longer had to be as frugal as before.
Tang Yu’an chatted with Zhou Qi, and when he felt thirsty, he picked up an iced tea to drink. Just then, he heard a ding sound, and the printer finished production.
[“Label Card” production complete, please take out]
Tang Yu’an eagerly opened the printer’s lid and saw a neatly stacked pile of cards inside.
They had really turned stones into cards!
And it wasn’t just a simple cutting of the stones into pieces; they had used those pebbles as raw materials to recreate uniformly sized cards.
Tang Yu’an picked one up to examine it.
The color of this card resembled the pebbles, with a stone-like texture, and it felt a bit heavy, like a small stone slab, with the words “Peace Grocery” engraved on it, written by Brother Qi just moments ago.
“Can the printed text on the card use different materials?” Tang Yu’an asked.
Zhou Qi checked the panel and nodded.
“Wow, that means we can print text on it without ink!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed happily.
While engraving had a nice texture, it wasn’t very visually prominent. If they used different colors or materials for printing, it would definitely be more eye-catching, and perhaps create different visual effects.
He examined the card in his hand and suddenly said, “Brother Qi, do you think we can use the printer to print money?”
“Print money?” Zhou Qi was momentarily taken aback.
“Yes!”
Tang Yu’an nodded, speaking innocently, “Not having money is so inconvenient! Trading becomes such a hassle.”
Bartering was indeed very troublesome; they had to carry everything they wanted to trade. For smaller items, they could hide them in the Portable Warehouse, disguising them with their backpacks.
But for larger items, like Tie Jin’s frying pan, they had to carry them on their backs.
If they had “money” to use, trading and conversions would be much more convenient.
Zhou Qi listened to his ramblings, initially instinctively denying it, but as he thought more, he began to wonder—why not?
Just like the emergence of silver notes, which were first introduced by merchants in ancient times and gradually promoted and developed.
And weren’t they merchants now?
Although the currency system in this world had collapsed due to the great disaster, why couldn’t they establish a new currency system?
Their requirements weren’t high; as long as they could implement it in Desolate City, it would definitely benefit the operation of the grocery store.
Because if residents held the “money” they issued, they would naturally come to them to exchange goods, creating a closer connection.
Moreover, they were about to open a branch, and when they could start operating externally, they could launch the currency together.
Currency, of course, is related to goods.
Currency—serves as a commodity that acts as a general equivalent, while paper money is linked to trust.
Only if customers can exchange the paper money they promote for equivalent goods will they believe in the paper money and continue to use it…
After serious consideration, Zhou Qi nodded, “We can give it a try.”
“Really?” Tang Yu’an’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah.” Zhou Qi nodded, “But we won’t call it money.”
“What will we call it?” Tang Yu’an asked, puzzled.
“Salt notes!” Zhou Qi said with excitement in his tone, “Each salt note can be exchanged for an equivalent amount of salt at the grocery store.”
Salt is undoubtedly the most attractive and valuable commodity in the Wasteland.
“As long as it can really be exchanged for salt, there will definitely be many people willing to hold salt notes,” Zhou Qi said.
There might even be a situation where people would buy salt notes in bulk.
But that was beyond their control; after all, how many salt notes they issued was up to them, and given the environment of the Wasteland, such a situation was still far off.
*
When the branch in Jufeng Town opened, they would promote the salt notes there.
This was still a matter for later; these salt notes would definitely be trialed first in Desolate City, and among their Old Customers.
They already had a certain credibility foundation, and after operating for a while, if customers began to use salt notes as currency, it would prove that the notes had been successfully implemented.
Then the question arose: how to ensure that customers using salt notes to exchange for salt at the grocery store would guarantee their profit?
“Ordinary paper definitely won’t work,” Tang Yu’an said.
Not to mention whether ordinary paper was worth exchanging for salt in Points, the issue of paper durability was already fatal in the Wasteland.
During the day, the temperature in the Wasteland was extremely high, and under high temperatures, paper easily became brittle and deformed. Plus, with disasters like heavy rain, paper was even less viable.
“So the material for making the notes must be waterproof, heat-resistant, not easily deformed, and wear-resistant,” Zhou Qi summarized.
He took out paper and pen, writing down these characteristics.
Fabric is naturally stronger than paper, but it can also be easily torn or deformed, so it’s best to find other materials to replace it.
“Isn’t the material for making salt notes something we don’t need to save on?” At this moment, Tang Yu’an suddenly said, “Because customers use salt notes to exchange for salt, we can earn Points! The more expensive the salt note, the more Points we earn! Although we might incur losses when issuing them, but… losses won’t deduct his Points, and we can still earn Experience Points. Moreover, after completing three transactions, even if we incur losses during issuance, there won’t be any records.”
Zhou Qi shook his head: “If the material is too expensive, we won’t be able to produce it in large quantities, and the value of the salt note itself should ideally be equivalent to or lower than its face value.” Otherwise, customers would be reluctant to exchange it for salt.
“Oh, it does seem to be that way…” Tang Yu’an also took out paper and pen, “1 Point can be exchanged for 10 grams of salt, so… as long as the value of a salt note itself is 1 Point, and the face value of a ticket is less than 10 grams of salt, we can make a profit!”
Zhou Qi nodded, “Then let’s set the exchange rate to 1 salt note for 1 gram of salt, that way it’s easy to calculate.”
The issues encountered while recruiting Xiao Cao made him realize that he must not overestimate the cultural level of the Wasteland people; they might not even know simple addition and subtraction.
“Good!” Tang Yu’an nodded.
This way, as long as customers brought two or more salt notes to exchange with them, they would be able to profit, and the more they exchanged, the more Points they would earn.
“Now, back to the previous question, what material should we use to make the salt notes? I think only metal meets the characteristics we just mentioned.”
But is metal easy to obtain?
Hearing his question, Zhou Qi extended his hand, and with a faint golden-copper glow, a piece of metal slowly formed in his hand.
“Use mutated metal?” Tang Yu’an thought for a moment and nodded, “That seems feasible! Mutated metal can be exchanged from Tie Jin, it has intrinsic value, and it is recognized by the Wasteland people. The printing machine can also set the size and quantity, as long as we control the value of a single metal salt note to be 1 Point, there won’t be any issues!”
“Then let’s make a few to try it out.”
“Okay.”
Zhou Qi took out a mutated metal arrow, which was worth 30 Points and weighed about 20 grams. This means that one mutated metal arrow can make 30 salt notes, with each salt note weighing approximately 0.67 grams.
Zhou Qi placed the mutated metal arrow into the raw material box of the printing machine and then set it up.
[“Label card” in production, estimated time: 15 minutes]
The time increased again, but it wasn’t too long.
Tang Yu’an opened the item list function to organize, while Zhou Qi continued to ponder how to improve the water purification device.
The size of the spring water bottle was definitely insufficient; if they were to make a larger version, it would need to be at least the size of a bucket, with a bucket on top for filtering materials and another bucket below for collecting water.
However, this operation wouldn’t be very convenient; Granny Guo was old, and they still needed to find a way to create a device that made it easy to take in and collect water.
Time passed quickly.
[“Label card” production completed, please take it out]
Tang Yu’an heard a ding sound and hurriedly got up to open the lid.
He saw that the metal arrow had transformed into cards the size of business cards, and he picked one up to examine it.
He found that the metal piece was as thin as a cicada’s wing, and he had to handle it carefully, fearing it might break; after all, it weighed only 0.67 grams and had a relatively large area, making it very thin.
Zhou Qi also took one to observe, then frowned and said, “Let’s redo a batch; it needs to be adjusted smaller.”
Tang Yu’an nodded.
He took out half of the metal piece, then closed the printing machine and reset the card size, continuing to wait.
This time, the time was much shorter; it was done in just one minute.
They tried a few times and finally adjusted the salt note to the size of a coin, achieving the right thickness that wouldn’t easily get damaged.
“I think it should be called a salt coin.”
Tang Yu’an looked at the freshly minted metal coin and said, “Isn’t it too small?” Although it’s convenient to carry, it could also be easily lost.
Zhou Qi nodded, “And it’s difficult to create anti-counterfeiting marks.”
The biggest concern with currency is encountering counterfeits; if someone comes in with a forged coin, the merchant would probably end up losing everything.
If this situation can be avoided, it’s better to prevent it in advance.
“So, we need to create something that others can’t counterfeit no matter what!”
Mutated metal can be directly generated by Ability users, so it is indeed easy to counterfeit; then…
“What if we mix two materials?” Tang Yu’an suggested, “Let’s try using mutated metal and cotton fabric?”
Zhou Qi also thought it was feasible.
Single materials carry risks, but multiple materials would be difficult to counterfeit; even before the disaster, it would probably be impossible to forge.
After all, who would have thought of something like a super printing machine?
Without hesitation, Tang Yu’an exchanged for a piece of black cotton fabric, cut it to a similar size, and then placed it along with a metal coin into the box—
The fewer materials, the shorter the production time.
Sure enough, this time it also only took 1 minute.
Tang Yu’an opened the lid and saw that the cotton fabric and metal coin had disappeared from the printing machine’s box, replaced by a black-golden card lying quietly inside.
He picked up the card and found that it was as soft as fabric, able to be freely folded and rolled, yet it also possessed metallic properties; it couldn’t be torn by hand, and even scissors couldn’t cut through it.
Looking at the scars on the scissors and then at the “metal fabric” in his hand, Tang Yu’an’s eyes lit up.
Zhou Qi handed him a glass of water.
Tang Yu’an then placed the newly made metal fabric into the water, soaked it for a while, and took it out, discovering that the fabric not only hadn’t soaked through but also dried quickly with a gentle shake and a wipe with a paper towel.
So this metal fabric is waterproof!
Zhou Qi then brought a candle, lit it, and held the metal fabric over the flame; it had a high ignition point, and even when close to the outer flame of the candle, it didn’t catch fire.
“The outer flame of a candle is about 500?, so this metal fabric’s ignition point is above 500 degrees, which is completely sufficient for everyday use.”
“Awesome!” Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but exclaim, “It can resist water and fire, ordinary metal scissors can’t cut it, and it looks so good; it perfectly meets our needs!”
This metal fabric is black-golden, presenting a very unique metallic texture, feeling smooth to the touch, and it’s hard to leave marks on it with a pen.
Tang Yu’an was certain that such a material could absolutely not be replicated by anyone in the Wasteland; this is an effective anti-counterfeiting measure.
“The materials are also quite easy to obtain.”
As for the fabric, let’s not mention it; for the mutated metal, they can trade with Tie Jin—if there are no shape requirements, his output should be able to increase.
At that time, they could use salt notes to exchange for mutated metal from Tie Jin, and Tie Jin could then use the salt notes to exchange for salt from them; this way, they would earn Points and experience value twice!
Hearing Tang Yu’an’s words, Zhou Qi couldn’t help but smile.
He shook his head and said, “We’re just getting started; these salt notes can only be introduced in a half-buy-half-give format.”
For example, trading 10g of salt would come with 1 salt note.
People are more likely to accept free items; once they realize that the tickets can indeed be exchanged for salt and are convenient to carry, they will gradually be willing to use them.
It’s just like mobile payments; from the beginning when it was untrusted to the point where even street vendors are equipped with QR codes.
Once people start to see salt notes as a trustworthy currency and use them for exchanges, they will have succeeded.
Zhou Qi didn’t know how long this would take, but since they had thought of it, they should go ahead and do it.
“Let’s make more salt notes.”
“Okay!”
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi discussed other details and finally produced 100 salt notes.
Unlike the first one, they added simple pattern designs to the later ones and wrote the character “salt” in the middle, truly turning them into “salt notes.”
These patterns and text designs can be saved in the super printing machine, so they don’t have to worry about the salt notes produced later not matching this batch.
“Tomorrow, let’s take them to trade with Granny Guo and Grandpa Li; they must have seen money and understand the concept of currency,” Tang Yu’an said.
“Mm.” Zhou Qi nodded.
Tang Yu’an held the black-golden salt note in his hand, feeling an inexplicable excitement in his heart.
They were doing something truly remarkable!
“Brother Qi, should we try making other colors?” Tang Yu’an suddenly thought of something and said.
“Just right, we have three types of salt; we can use black, white, and gray to represent them! The fine salt from the system exchange, the coarse salt from the grocery store, and the sea salt they process themselves, with different qualities, naturally corresponding to different salt notes.”
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and agreed.
“Okay.” He exchanged for gray and white cotton fabrics, then operated the super printing machine, still using the previous parameters.
After waiting for two minutes, they received a white-golden salt note and a gray-golden salt note.
“It really works!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed excitedly, “Tomorrow, I’ll take the white-golden salt note to give to Granny Guo and the others.”
The transactions with Granny Guo, these Old Customers, would all be for fine salt, which is perfectly white, making the white-golden salt note just right!
Zhou Qi also agreed with this arrangement.
So, they produced 100 each of the gray-golden and white-golden salt notes.
They were just waiting to promote them to the Old Customers tomorrow!
*
In Jufeng Town, on the first floor of the Jade Pavilion Inn.
The night was deep, and the temperature at the mountain top had dropped significantly, but inside the shared room, it was warm and cozy.
Shi Tou, having eaten and drunk enough, lay on the bed, drowsily about to fall asleep, when he heard rustling sounds beside him.
“Xiao Cao, why aren’t you sleeping and just tossing and turning?” he asked, his voice muffled.
Xiao Cao turned over to look at him.
“Shi Tou, the order from the Guard Post is finished today…”
Five or six days had passed, and the soldiers’ hair had all been cut into short buzz cuts; the order entrusted by the mountain chief had been completed.
This also meant that they no longer had a stable source of customers.
