Chapter 94
When Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi arrived at Granny Guo’s house, she was cutting potatoes.
Last evening, she had harvested two more potato plants. Although they were small, she managed to dig out a basket full, about forty to fifty of them.
She planned to cut these small ones into strips and stir-fry them for lunch using Tie Jin’s frying pan.
Yesterday was her first attempt at frying Potato Slices, and it was naturally a failure because she forgot to add oil. In the end, to avoid waste, she had to add water and boil it into a pot of potato soup.
Although it didn’t taste great, it was quite filling.
Later, after figuring out the key points, she rendered some fat from the meat she had traded with Old Li, and when she stir-fried it again in the evening, it was indeed a success.
Even though she still hadn’t mastered the heat control, Granny Guo found joy in the process.
Besides planting, she discovered that cooking was also such a delightful thing—perhaps it was because of the abundance of resources that she had the mind to ponder how to make food delicious.
In the morning, she had also tried stir-frying wild vegetables and mushrooms, finding them fresh and tasty. Moreover, without adding water, the muddy taste was gone, and it was truly delicious.
Kang Kang also enjoyed it very much, saying he wanted to eat like this in the future.
Granny Guo was thinking that if the two boys came over today, she could invite them to have lunch together when she heard Tang Yu’an’s energetic greeting, which made her smile.
Kang Kang, hearing the commotion, had already put down the flower pot and quickly ran towards the source of the sound.
Today, the two boys didn’t come in through the ventilation window, which puzzled Granny Guo. Then she saw Zhou Qi entering the house, placing down the basket, and inside the basket—was a little red-haired girl who looked quite young.
“……”
She stared in surprise at the little girl.
The girl had her hair tied up, wore a small cotton dress, and her little face was clean, with round, bright eyes that were quite endearing.
“You picked up a girl?”
“No, she’s Jin Lili, the one I mentioned to you before, Tie Jin’s daughter.”
Tang Yu’an explained, “Uncle Tie Jin went to Jufeng Town and won’t be back for a few days. He entrusted Lili to us to take care of her before he left.”
Granny Guo then nodded in realization.
Even though she understood the situation, she was still surprised by the trust relationship between Tie Jin and the two boys.
In a daze, she felt as if she had returned to before the disaster, when people still had trust in each other and could, to some extent, entrust important matters to one another.
Could such interpersonal relationships really exist in the Wasteland?
Kang Kang’s small hand gripped the basket as he looked down at Jin Lili, his big eyes filled with curiosity and amazement.
This was the first time he had seen another child, and one even younger than himself.
He couldn’t help but reach out, gently poking Jin Lili’s cheek with his finger, then quickly retracting it.
Jin Lili had already woken up.
Having just cried, there were still tear stains at the corners of her eyes, and her face and nose were red. She curled up in the basket, looking a bit scared at the unfamiliar surroundings outside.
“Don’t be afraid, Lili.”
Tang Yu’an patted the little girl’s head, “This is Kang Kang; you can call him brother. You two can play together in the future.”
Kang Kang blinked his eyes.
Wow, he was going to be a brother!
Then Tang Yu’an looked at Kang Kang and said, “Kang Kang, this is Lili. Can you play together in the future?”
“Okay!”
Kang Kang nodded eagerly, his small hand gripping the edge of the basket, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Jin Lili.
Aside from the earlier moment when he couldn’t resist poking Lili’s cheek, the little boy didn’t make any other moves that might scare her.
The two children looked quiet and shy, and the scene of them huddled together was quite harmonious.
Tang Yu’an then pointed to Granny Guo to introduce her to Jin Lili.
“Lili, this is Granny Guo…”
Jin Lili slowly calmed down, raising her little head to look at the old woman.
Although Tie Jin had taken good care of her, she was still small and thin, which made Granny Guo feel a bit more pity for her.
“Little dear, don’t cry anymore.”
She reached out to wipe away her tears, “Are you hungry? Granny will make you some potato porridge, okay?”
Since she was still using Tie Jin’s frying pan and the family wasn’t short on food, Granny Guo became generous.
Jin Lili looked at the kind and gentle expression of the old woman, feeling her goodwill, and her sad and anxious heart gradually calmed down.
She nodded her head.
Seeing her respond, Granny Guo smiled.
“Alright, you can play with Kang Kang for a while. Granny will go make some food for you.”
Granny Guo stood up, and seeing her grandson staring at the little girl with wide eyes, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Kang Kang really needed a playmate; perhaps they should interact more with Tie Jin in the future.
After all, he was the kind-hearted man who had adopted a daughter and took such good care of her, so he must be trustworthy.
Granny Guo went to cook the potato porridge.
Zhou Qi followed her and then took out a simple water purification device to show her.
Granny Guo’s drinking water usually needed to be left to sit for a while, allowing the mud and sand to settle at the bottom before taking the upper layer of water to drink.
Although it wasn’t crystal clear, it was better than drinking muddy water directly.
However, as the weather got warmer, it became more difficult to fetch water, and soon they might have to drink muddy water.
Hearing Zhou Qi say they had made a water purifier, she was immediately intrigued, and then she saw the simple device Zhou Qi had brought out.
“Will this work?”
Through the transparent plastic bottle, she could see the stones and sand inside, along with a layer of black substance that she didn’t know what it was, which made Granny Guo skeptical.
“Look.”
Zhou Qi scooped up the muddy water from the bottom of the bucket and slowly poured it into the top of the purifier.
Soon, water began to seep out from the small hole at the bottom, dripping into the bowl he had prepared to catch the water.
Watching the already very clean water in the bowl and the yellowish muddy water at the top of the purifier, Granny Guo couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
She could feel that Zhou Qi hadn’t used any Ability.
So, was it really this filter that made the muddy water so clean?
However, the water that seemed completely drinkable to her was still not satisfactory to the young man.
“If we had activated carbon, the effect would be even better,” he said, “I will continue to improve it later; for now, just make do with it.”
Granny Guo quickly shook her head, “This is already very good.”
Zhou Qi smiled and didn’t insist, planning to wait until he achieved better results to discuss it further.
“This one is too small; I’ll make you a bigger one.”
“Alright.” Granny Guo smiled with her eyes squinted, “I’ll trade you Potato Slices for it, or do you want something fresh? Are these too small?”
She picked up the small potatoes she had planted last night, hesitating a bit.
Zhou Qi shook his head, “The small ones taste better.”
“Then these?”
“Okay.”
So Granny Guo continued to make potato porridge, while Zhou Qi went outside to find some clay. After wetting it with water, he shaped it into a cylindrical form, sealing the bottom and making a pipe-like outlet on the side.
Then he used his water Ability to extract the moisture from the clay, baked it, and finally used earth reinforcement techniques to harden it.
In this way, a relatively tall and sturdy clay jar was completed.
Having the Ability made things much more convenient.
Zhou Qi laid cotton at the bottom, and after compacting it, he covered the outlet with a layer of cloth.
Since he didn’t have gauze of this size, if he wanted to unlock and exchange it, the cost would go up. Zhou Qi thought of using cotton cloth, which also had filtering properties.
After laying the cotton cloth, he added crushed charcoal.
As the sun rose higher, Zhou Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead and then took out the sand he had prepared yesterday from his Portable Warehouse.
This sand had been separated by the system and was cleaner than washed sand.
He thickly layered the sand in the clay jar, covered it with cotton cloth, added a layer of small stones, and then laid another layer of cotton cloth before carrying the clay jar back to Granny Guo’s house.
After adding various materials, the clay jar was quite heavy, but he lifted it easily.
His physique was continuously strengthening, and his strength was increasing day by day.
Inside the house, Granny Guo had already made the potato porridge and was preparing to feed it to Jin Lili. Seeing him return, she quickly handed the porridge to Tang Yu’an to feed and then stood up to greet Zhou Qi.
“Is the water purifier ready?”
She looked at the clay jar Zhou Qi brought in, full of wonder.
This jar was clearly newly made, and its shape didn’t resemble the remnants from before the disaster that she had found. Although it wasn’t as beautiful, it was practical.
Moreover, Zhou Qi had dirt marks on his face and clothes, which showed that he had just made it.
She didn’t expect him to have such skills!
“It should be about ready,” Zhou Qi said, “Let’s add some water and try it out.”
He placed the clay jar on a stone and then set an empty wooden basin under the outlet.
“Okay.”
Granny Guo brought over a bucket of water, scooped up the muddy water inside, and poured it into the clay jar.
The clay jar was opaque, so they couldn’t see what was happening inside, but fortunately, after a while, water finally began to seep out from the outlet.
“Drip, drip—”
Although the wooden basin was already dirty, the water droplets that dripped in were clear.
Granny Guo reached out to catch the water, washed her hands clean first, and then cupped her hands to taste the water.
“What clear water!” she exclaimed joyfully.
Although there was still a hint of earthy taste, compared to what they had drunk before, it was nothing at all.
As long as they boiled the water before drinking, they definitely wouldn’t get sick from the water quality.
Granny Guo stuffed the remaining half basket of potatoes into Zhou Qi’s hands, saying excitedly, “I won’t say thank you; if you want potatoes or fruits in the future, you can come to me.”
[Employee “Zhou Qi” completed a profitable transaction with an Old Customer, Points +315, Experience Points +1]
Seeing the notification, Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but smile.
He had also completed a “trading game” with the two children, earning over five hundred Points with the Mutated Lantern Fruit.
Another bountiful harvest!
Tang Yu’an smiled at the two little ones. Under his comfort, Jin Lili finally managed to believe that Tie Jin hadn’t abandoned her, and her mood improved.
Taking advantage of Granny Guo being distracted by the water purifier, he secretly slipped some milk for her to drink, and of course, Kang Kang didn’t miss out either.
“It smells so good…”
Kang Kang hugged the milk box, unable to resist taking big sips.
Soon, the two children finished a box of milk and then started eating the potato porridge.
The two children were particularly well-behaved, only opening their mouths when the porridge was brought to their lips. Even though they were very eager for food, they did not reach out to snatch it.
On the other side, Zhou Qi’s conversation with Granny Guo came through.
“Granny, we don’t need so many potatoes.” Zhou Qi returned half of the potatoes to Granny Guo.
Granny Guo was about to decline when she heard him say, “By the way, do you need salt?”
Her eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded, “Yes, I do.”
The salt she had exchanged before was almost used up, and she had originally planned to trade for a bit more with the two boys, but she didn’t expect Zhou Qi to bring it up first.
“How much do you want to exchange?” Zhou Qi asked, “Do you still want refined salt?”
Granny Guo was a bit surprised and asked, “Do you have any other salt besides refined salt?”
“Yes.”
Zhou Qi took out the coarse salt that was originally from the Grocery Store, packed in a jar, pretending to take it out from his backpack without it seeming out of place.
This coarse salt had also been processed with modern techniques, its color was quite white. Although it couldn’t compare to refined salt, it was still rare in the Wasteland.
“How do we trade for this salt?” Granny Guo asked joyfully.
Zhou Qi took out the spoon he had used at the market in Jufeng Town, scooped half a spoonful, and said, “This half spoon is worth 1 large potato or 2 small potatoes.”
One spoon is 10 grams, so half a spoon is 5 grams.
This was more expensive than what they sold at the market, but the situation back then was special; they didn’t calculate too much in order to quickly earn Experience Points.
Now that they were going to sell it long-term in the store, they naturally had to adjust the prices, so they wouldn’t differ too much from the prices in the Wasteland.
After all, 5 grams of coarse salt was worth less than 1 Point, while a large potato was about 20 Points, and a small potato was around 10 to 15 Points, which was still a good deal for them.
Granny Guo nodded; compared to 1 gram of refined salt for a fruit, this coarse salt was much cheaper, so she naturally wanted to exchange for the coarse salt.
In the end, Granny Guo used the half potato that Zhou Qi had returned to her to exchange for 6 scoops of coarse salt.
Zhou Qi successfully earned 282 Points and 1 Experience Point, along with over 20 potatoes of various sizes.
Granny Guo looked at her jar of salt, which was almost full, her eyes filled with the joy and happiness of a bountiful harvest.
With so much salt, if she saved it, it could last her a month! The key was that it was safe and reliable to eat.
At that moment, she saw Zhou Qi pull out several exquisitely crafted rectangular cards from his backpack. She curiously glanced at them and recognized that they were printed with the word “salt.”
“Granny, these are salt notes. You get one for every scoop of salt you buy.”
“When our store opens, you can use the salt notes to exchange for salt; five tickets can be exchanged for half a scoop of salt.”
To make calculations easier, they decided to measure everything in scoops, as not many people in the Wasteland understood grams, and most had no concept of it.
Zhou Qi said, “Please keep the salt notes safe and don’t lose them.”
Granny Guo blankly accepted the salt notes. They looked like metal cards but were soft to the touch, with a gray-gold color that had a silvery feel.
Soon, she reacted.
“Your store?” Granny Guo looked at Zhou Qi in surprise.
Zhou Qi smiled and nodded, “Yes, we are planning to open a Grocery Store in Desolate City. We’ve already found a place, and it’s being reinforced.”
“That building is in this neighborhood, Grandpa Li helped us find it. When we open, you’re welcome to come and exchange for things.”
Granny Guo stared blankly at the boy’s smile. The information he shared was overwhelming, making it hard for her to process.
Opening a Grocery Store in Desolate City?
With these supplies and channels to obtain more, why not go to Jufeng Town? There, the foot traffic is high, and the potential profits would be greater, wouldn’t they?
However, Granny Guo ultimately didn’t ask these questions.
From her interactions with the two boys, she had begun to understand their personalities. Perhaps they were kind and innocent, but they also had their own ideas.
Since they had made their decision, it was not something she could easily change.
Moreover, these two children had not been to Jufeng Town, so having made this choice, they must have their own concerns and reasons.
She could no longer understand, and it was indeed not appropriate to say much.
“What will you sell at the Grocery Store?” Granny Guo asked.
“Salt will be the main item for now,” Zhou Qi said, “We may add other things later.”
Granny Guo nodded; she knew these two boys had a stable source of supply, but selling salt in Desolate City—wouldn’t that be too dangerous?
Although it was good for the residents of Desolate City, those who lived there were mostly Ability users.
What if they set their sights on them?
Facing Granny Guo’s concerns and reminders, Zhou Qi nodded, “Don’t worry, we will find a way to solve this problem.”
With the protective barrier in place, there was no need to worry at night. As for during the day…
They could let Yuan Bao and the others guard the place. Now that they had a building, they had enough space to move around and could revert to their normal forms.
With three mutated creatures guarding a building, those who might think of robbing or stealing would have to weigh their own strength, right?
Of course, they would also need to dispel customers’ fears of Yuan Bao and the others.
How to do that would need to be planned out later.
Seeing his confident demeanor, Granny Guo couldn’t help but remind him, “Safety is important.”
“We know.”
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Qi took out two platinum salt notes, “These colored salt notes can be exchanged for refined salt. You’ve exchanged for quite a bit before, and these two are to supplement you.”
“No, no, no.”
Granny Guo waved her hands repeatedly; she had already received too many things from them and felt embarrassed to continue asking for more.
“Granny, please accept them.”
Zhou Qi looked at her earnestly and said, “As long as you use these salt notes more, it would be the best help for us.”
“Besides salt, they can also be exchanged for other things.”
Granny Guo was taken aback and looked at the two different colored cards in her hand.
Memories from before the disaster slowly surged in her mind; these salt notes looked so much like…
“Currency?” Granny Guo exclaimed, “Are you planning to issue currency?”
Zhou Qi thought to himself that it was indeed the case; anyone who survived from before the great disaster could quickly grasp the concept of currency.
“Is that feasible?” Granny Guo asked.
“It’s just for auxiliary use in transactions at the Grocery Store,” Zhou Qi said, “Don’t you think bartering is a bit inconvenient?”
This was indeed…
But it was unavoidable; after all, only the supplies in hand were real. Currency and bills were intangible and couldn’t be eaten.
Almost everyone thought this way in the wasteland; it was a regression of civilization, but it was a necessity for survival.
In the face of natural disasters, who cared about civilization? It was difficult to change such thoughts in a short time.
However, since Zhou Qi and the others had salt, if they could truly keep their word and had enough strength to protect themselves, then perhaps they could really make it work in Desolate City.
Granny Guo thought for a moment and said, “In any case, I can’t take your things for free.”
The brown rice seeds and potato seeds were all given to her by these two boys. Even though she had offered something in exchange, the benefits she received were too great.
With such a favor, it would be too shameless to continue taking their things for free.
“I’ll take the salt notes, and I’ll exchange them with fruits.” Granny Guo took out several fruits from the cooler, giving Zhou Qi eight in exchange for one salt note each.
[You have completed a profitable transaction with an Old Customer, Employee Experience Points +1]
After seeing the system prompt, Zhou Qi said, “You don’t need to give me so many.”
1 gram of refined salt = 1 ordinary fruit = 1 small potato = 1/4 scoop (about 2.5 grams) of coarse salt.
According to this conversion formula, Granny Guo gave him 8 ordinary fruits, which was worth 8 grams of refined salt or 20 grams of coarse salt.
And Zhou Qi only gave Granny Guo six gray-gold tickets and two platinum salt notes, which was naturally not equivalent.
Since they were preparing to introduce salt notes as currency, maintaining relatively stable prices was very important. They themselves had to adhere to it.
Granny Guo was already a bit confused after hearing that series of formulas.
Finally, she heard him say, “Either I can return the fruits to you, or I can exchange more tickets with you. Which do you prefer?”
She understood this sentence.
Granny Guo decisively said, “Salt notes, I want salt notes!”
Since she had taken out the fruits, there was naturally no reason to take them back.
“Okay, then these fruits can be exchanged for 2 white-gold salt notes and 15 gray-gold salt notes. I’ll supplement the rest for you.”
He took out 9 more gray-gold salt notes and handed them to Granny Guo, saying again, “When our store opens, you can use these salt notes to exchange for salt.”
Granny Guo looked at the salt notes in her hand and suddenly felt it was incredible.
Because she finally realized—does this count as Zhou Qi using salt notes to buy these 8 fruits from her?
These thin cards, worth 8 fruits?
Before today, she would definitely have thought it was impossible, but thinking about it…
If she could really exchange salt with the salt notes, then these dozens of salt notes would be equivalent to one and a half scoops of coarse salt plus 1/4 scoop of refined salt.
The value was indeed equal to that of 8 fruits.
Moreover, she also saved space in the cooler, not having to worry about the fruits rotting if she couldn’t finish them. In the future, if she wanted to exchange for salt, she could just take these salt notes to exchange, without needing to carry fruits in the heat.
Granny Guo suddenly felt an urge to exchange for a few more salt notes!
But after thinking about it, she held back.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Zhou Qi and Tang Yu’an, but there were too many uncertainties in the Wasteland. What if they had to leave the Desolate City for some reason and couldn’t open the store?
It was already hard to understand why these precious boys could stay in the remote and dangerous Wasteland.
Granny Guo carefully stored the salt notes and then said, “I wish you a smooth opening.”
“Thank you.”
Zhou Qi smiled slightly; their salt note plan had finally taken a successful step forward.
However, during the recent transaction, he suddenly realized that this plan was still too simplistic and had obvious flaws. The original idea might need some adjustments.
