Chapter 34 Little one, you'd better be a good boy/girl in the future.

Zuo Shan was unaware of their complex inner thoughts, but she could sense their burning gazes fixed on her.

She decided to buy some things first, so that these people wouldn't look down on her.

The first item she set her sights on was a bottle of cooking oil. The label indicated that it was pressed from rapeseed with moderate radiation. It was a one-liter bottle made of resin with an open top. Once the oil was used up, it would be perfect for making pickles, though it was a bit small.

However, the price is not cheap at all, 1888 silver coins per bottle!

Zuo Shan almost cried. She remembered that when she accompanied her mother to the supermarket, the most expensive olive oil was only 300 yuan per liter!

Okay, this isn't the same world, prices aren't comparable, she has to learn to accept reality.

Although cooking oil is expensive, without cooking oil, it's like not being able to cook. Without cooking, it means her table will always be filled with vegetable mush.

Zuo Shan gritted her teeth and decided to buy a bottle, but after looking at the people around her, she didn't dare to buy it. What if someone was watching her and robbed her on the way?

After much deliberation, she decided to reluctantly give up cooking oil.

Finally, she set her sights on baby products. The supermarket was having a sale on baby products today. A resin baby bottle was only 19 silver coins and came with two nipples. There was also a pretty resin measuring cup for babies that came with a nipple, straw, and lid. It had a capacity of 500 ml and was only 59 silver coins.

Baby bottles can be used for at least three to five years, and measuring cups can be used until the baby is at least ten years old, unless they are broken.

Great, I'll buy them.

After selecting these two items, Zuo Shan also took a fancy to a metal milk pot. It had a capacity of about 1.5 liters, looked sturdy and durable, and cost only 199 silver coins.

That's how it is with shopping sometimes; once you start, you can't stop.

Zuo Shan's gaze never left the baby products. She then took a fancy to a set of baby clothes made of heat-insulating material. The sleeves, collar, and waist were elastic, and the clothes could be worn from birth to one year old. The colors were also various cute macaron colors.

She ultimately chose a light blue outfit, a neutral color that can be worn by both boys and girls.

The baby clothes were ridiculously expensive at 999 silver coins, but considering that she didn't know when she would be able to come back to District 48 again, she still put the items in her shopping cart.

The two sales assistants kept a close eye on her, afraid that she might sneak away with something when no one was looking.

However, they were ultimately disappointed, because Zuo Shan pushed the shopping cart straight to the checkout counter, took out her wristwatch, and readily transferred the money.

Long after she left, people in the supermarket were still whispering, "That scavenger from District 50 is really generous, spending 1276 silver coins on the child in one go!"

"Isn't that right? Although the government gives newborns a one-time reward of 5,000 silver coins, she spent more than a quarter of it on this shopping trip. How will she manage in the future?"

"In my opinion, this is just a case of a penniless person suddenly becoming rich and then completely disregarding everything else."

"But I think this woman is alright. At least she didn't use the government subsidies for her child to buy things for herself. I saw it clearly; her shopping cart was full of baby products!"

...

Zuo Shan hurried out of the All-Purpose Supermarket, her heart aching with the pain of the purchase. Although these baby products were necessities that she would have to buy sooner or later, she still couldn't help but feel the pinch.

"Sweetie, you'd better behave and be good to your mom when you grow up, or I'll cry my eyes out! Waaah!"

As she inwardly groaned, she suddenly realized that she had finally managed to go to the supermarket, but hadn't spent a single coin on herself.

Is this what motherhood is? For the sake of her child, she can drain every drop of her own blood!

However, Zuo Shan was unaware that precisely because she bought baby products, no one followed or robbed her.

After all, in the wasteland, those who dare to risk their lives to rob people are usually after food, and none of the things she bought were edible.

Furthermore, if there are no children at home, these things are completely useless to take back, so it's not worth the trouble.

Moreover, she only bought baby supplies, which led those who were observing from the shadows to mistakenly believe that she actually had no money at all and had only received a one-time subsidy of 5,000 silver coins. Judging from her extravagant spending on baby supplies, she probably had already spent it all.

Otherwise, why would she be wearing a homemade nettle dress, and even her hair was cut by herself, and it wasn't neat at all?

After leaving the supermarket, Zuo Shan casually asked a supermarket employee for directions to Old Wu's convenience store, and then went there without delay.

Old Wu's small shop is located at the entrance of an inconspicuous alley. At first glance, it looks a bit like an old-fashioned general store, except that nothing is displayed in the window and the goods are hidden behind the wooden counter.

Lifting the old plastic mesh curtain on the left, one sees a middle-aged man in his fifties.

The middle-aged man sat behind the counter; he looked quite robust. When she entered, he merely raised his eyelids and showed no intention of greeting her.

"Uncle, do you have any coarse salt here?" Zuo Shan asked. There wasn't much salt left at home, and the supermarket only had fine salt, but it was ridiculously expensive, costing 36 silver coins for 100 grams.

"Yes, but it's sold by weight, 100 silver coins per pound, no bargaining," the uncle said calmly.

"Okay, then give me five jin," Zuo Shan said decisively. This price was almost half the price of fine salt in the supermarket.

She originally intended to buy salt at the Lin family's shop, but now she has decided never to set foot in the Lin family's shop again, and will naturally buy more daily necessities at once.

The uncle's expression softened slightly after hearing her words, and then he pulled out a piece of... salt ore from under the counter.

Good heavens! How could he call this coarse salt? No wonder it's so cheap.

But there are so many places where money is needed these days, so we should save where we can.

"Uncle, this salt...ore of yours, is it poisonous?" Zuo Shan asked cautiously.

"Moderate radiation, non-toxic, do you want it or not?" The uncle immediately lost his patience.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zuo Shan nodded hurriedly, reached out and picked up the slightly yellowish crystal, roughly estimated its weight, then took out his wristwatch and transferred 500 silver coins to him.

The uncle nodded in satisfaction and continued to sit there in a daze.

Zuo Shan asked again, "Uncle, besides salt, do you have any other seasonings for cooking?"

"Seasonings? It seems you're an expert in cooking. I have a mutated fruit here called 'Hemp Ball Fruit,' which has a rather pungent flavor. I just don't know if you can handle it?"

The uncle pulled something out from under the counter that looked like a lychee, and its color was very similar to that of a green peppercorn.

"Uncle, how do you use this?" Zuo Shan asked, suppressing her excitement. If this thing really was a mutated peppercorn, her future meals would be much more flavorful.