Chapter 123, exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: Were they being played?! ...
"Are they the group of newcomers who arrived yesterday?"
"Judging from their clothes and appearance, they don't seem to be lacking supplies... I heard they even came in a strange-looking big cart yesterday."
The eyes of the disaster victims held both fear and curiosity.
Upon discovering that every villager in Yunlu Village was carrying a large backpack, their eyes lit up, eager to pry open the backpacks and see what good things were inside.
Is it food? Or food? Or perhaps food?
There were also some spies from the four major forces mixed in with the ordinary disaster victims. Their gazes toward Lu Xuan and his group were not only inquisitive, but also filled with a deep-seated resentment than the others. They kept recalling the various meaty aromas that wafted from the house in the east of the city last night.
Glug.
They were treated to lavish meals as soon as they arrived in the city; these people are truly easy prey! Absolutely no skimping on the quality!
The villagers felt uncomfortable being stared at, and seeing Lu Xuan walking forward as if nothing was wrong, they quickly followed.
Li Tie said in a low voice, "Isn't it a bit too much of a commotion for so many of us to travel together?"
Lu Xuan said, "Then let's split up and go in groups of four or five."
Li Tie shared the same sentiment, and he instructed the villagers: "If anything happens, remember to contact us using the communicator or simply sound the alarm."
After agreeing to meet here at noon, the group of about a hundred people quickly dispersed into about twenty small groups, spreading out like fish in water on the trading street.
The attention of the disaster victims on the street, which had been so focused, naturally began to wander.
Only Lu Xuan's family of four, the Li family, and the Zhang family remained in the original location.
The Lu family was in one group, while the Li and Zhang families had their men huddled together and their women in another. Each family found a stall that interested them and began to look around with great enthusiasm.
Lu Xuan didn't rush to change supplies; he simply took his family and the viewers in the live stream for a general tour first.
The street stalls were very simple, with a tattered cloth laid on the ground and all the goods scattered on it.
The supplies were a mixed bag, basically everything that could be bought at the shops and stalls on the street before the disaster, except for food. However, supplies that were not needed during the disaster were ignored, and even after being displayed for a long time, few people asked about the price.
For a moment, Lu Xuan hallucinated the trading area of the post-apocalyptic safe base.
The other three family members looked around curiously, but they weren't in a hurry to exchange anything. However, other villagers nearby found a lot of supplies they wanted.
For example, bowls and plates, pickle jars, and cloth.
After living in the mountains for more than two months, each family had some items that were accidentally damaged and needed to be replaced. With extra supplies, they used them to make pickles, and the original jars at home were not enough and needed to be replenished.
These things, which weren't expensive to begin with, became practically free after the hottest season. A basket of dozens of bowls and plates stacked together cost only three or five coarse flour cakes or half a pound of coarse grains.
Fabric is even cheaper.
A bolt of linen only costs three pounds of coarse grain! Cotton cloth only costs eight pounds!
The women in the village went crazy when they heard about the price; their eyes lit up and they kept saying, "It's so cheap! How can it be so cheap!"
Then they started frantically scrambling to change the fabric.
They chose one of the few fabric shops on the street that was still open. After the disaster, few people came to visit, and the shop was deserted. They might not be able to make more than a few sales all day.
But today, the cloth shop was completely surrounded by the women of Yunlu Village.
Fabric shop owner: The surprise came so suddenly!
The disaster victims who had set up stalls nearby couldn't help but crane their necks to look into the cloth shop. They were astonished to find that each woman carried a bolt of cloth, or even two or three bolts.
Do they really want to buy it, or do they just want to grab the fabric and run?
After calming down from his euphoria, the cloth shop owner also considered this possibility, and his expression became wary as he kept a close eye on the women's movements.
It turned out that they had no intention of leaving at all. After putting the fabric they liked next to them, they went to look at other fabrics. Their brows were full of the joy that women often showed when shopping, and they seemed to have not had enough of shopping yet.
Shopkeeper: ...It seems like you really are here to buy fabric?
The cloth from the cloth shop was naturally not as brand new as the cloth provided by Lu Xuan. After more than two months of improper storage, it had faded to some extent, and some of it was obviously defective before the disaster, with uneven dyeing.
Some of the fabrics were stiff and hard, as if they had been rained on and not properly treated.
But the women didn't mind the quality of the fabric at all, since it was cheap!
It wasn't that they thought the cloth in Lu Xuan's hands was too expensive; it was just that it was too new for them to wear casually. The cloth from the fabric shop was perfect for making clothes that they could wear casually on a daily basis, and they wouldn't feel too bad if it got dirty or torn.
Before long, all the fabrics displayed in the shop were picked out by the women.
Aunt Liu was not satisfied. "Boss, is this all the fabric you have? Don't you have anything else? We haven't had enough to choose from yet."
Without hesitation, the boss replied, "We still have stock, lots more! Just wait a moment!"
The shop's original employees died in the earthquake, and the owner didn't hire anyone else afterward. He hesitated for a moment, but still chose to believe that these women genuinely wanted to exchange their fabrics, so he abandoned the shop and went to the backyard to retrieve the goods.
The disaster victims observing from outside thought they would take the opportunity to run away, but instead they just gathered together to look at the fabrics each other had chosen, muttering, "We have to pick out three or five more bolts later, we might not find such cheap fabric again," and some were discussing what kind of clothes to make for their husbands/sons.
The disaster victims: "..." We don't really understand you newcomers.
The boss quickly ran over carrying a stack of cloth. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the people were still there. After putting the cloth down, he smiled warmly and said, "Please wait a little longer, everyone. I'll go get more."
Before long, the empty spaces in the shop were filled with stacks of cloth, more than before the women from Yunlu Village arrived.
Moreover, at least 30% of the fabric the boss brought this time had hardly faded and looked brand new.
The women were immediately overjoyed. "Boss, you actually hid all these good things! Why didn't you bring them out sooner?" As they spoke, fearing that others would snatch them up first, they quickly reached out and grabbed the ones they had their eyes on.
“Da Xi’s wife, I see you’ve already taken five bolts of cloth. Leave this one for me,” said Aunt Chen, grabbing a bolt of azure blue cloth.
Aunt Liu grabbed the other end of the cloth, her eyes full of determination. "There are many people in our family, five bolts of cloth are not enough. But your family only has you and Chen Rong, so you don't need that much cloth. You can give me this bolt."
The two looked at each other, and there seemed to be silent sparks crackling in the air.
The others weren't much better off. Whenever someone else had their eye on a piece of cloth, they would inevitably have to engage in a heated debate, full of sarcastic remarks.
Cloth shop owner: "..."
As the newly delivered fabric dwindled, the boss was both excited and somewhat worried.
One or two bolts of cloth are indeed not expensive, but ten or eight bolts add up to quite a lot.
Which ordinary disaster victim could afford 30 to 50 kilograms of grain? Or even if they did, how could they bear to use it to buy cloth? Would they not eat?
Before the disaster, he had encountered customers who made impulsive purchases on a whim, and these people often changed their minds when it came time to pay.
If it were a man, he might keep some out of politeness, but a thrifty female customer would say she doesn't want to buy anything and immediately ask for a full refund.
The shopkeeper really didn't want to be disappointed, so before they changed their minds, he stepped forward and, thinking it was casual but actually very deliberate, repeatedly said, "These fabrics of mine used to sell very well. If it weren't for the disaster, I would never have been able to sell them for such a low price. Once things have completely settled down, I wouldn't be able to buy them even if you offered ten times the price."
"Don't be fooled by the slightly faded fabric; the workmanship is absolutely superb. You definitely won't regret buying it."
The women nodded in agreement: "It's definitely a good deal."
As for whether things will remain stable in the future, that's hard to say.
They weren't unaware of the boss's thoughts. Aunt Liu's eyes darted around, and she deliberately said, "Since the boss thinks the price will go back up after a while, why not just wait a bit longer before selling? Even if these materials get old and can't be sold at the original price, they won't be this cheap as they are now. Aren't you afraid you'll regret it later?"
The other women glanced sideways, wanting to hear what the boss had to say.
The shop owner was quite magnanimous about this, laughing and saying, "Even if I lose the goods, I still have silver. Silver isn't worth much now, but once the situation stabilizes, I'll still have silver, and the shop will still be there. I can restock and make a comeback."
Instead of keeping these fabrics that depreciate in value over time, it's better to stockpile more grain.
He estimated that even if things stabilized in the future, he would still develop the habit of stockpiling a thousand or eight hundred kilograms of grain and at least several large vats of water at home.
The high temperatures of the first two months really scared him.
The women exchanged glances, then gave the shop owner a thumbs-up, saying, "The shop owner has good taste." They then continued happily selecting fabrics.
Initially, only six or seven women entered the cloth shop, but later, others arrived one after another after receiving the news, and the number gradually increased to fifteen.
The disaster victims outside were dazed as they looked at the bustling atmosphere inside the cloth shop, as if the disaster had never happened.
Soon, the first few people who had chosen their fabrics came to the counter to pay.
The boss swallowed hard: We've finally reached this point.
The shopkeeper nervously and expectantly tapped the fabrics on the counter, then calmly quoted the old man a price: "Five bolts of cotton cloth, five bolts of linen cloth, and a total of 55 jin of coarse grains or 80% dry grains."
The old woman, Granny Lin, didn't show the slightest sign of regret or remorse. She simply asked, "Can we trade these soybean residue cakes and fruit residue cakes?"
To avoid the shop owner misunderstanding that she was trying to take advantage of him, she even took one of each type of pancake from her bag and handed them to him, saying, "You can try them first. They are made with plenty of ingredients and taste good."
They don't eat these cakes made from grain/fruit scraps left over from processing. Even if they wanted to keep emergency food supplies, there were nutritional supplements to choose from, which they could use for trading now.
The shop owner didn't stand on ceremony with Grandma Lin at all. He took the pancake and took a big bite, and was immediately amazed by the rich aroma of soybeans.
These soybean pulp cakes are actually made entirely from soybean pulp, without any other ingredients mixed in!
You should know that the coarse flatbread sold by the four major powers contains a lot of bran, which is very rough on the throat, but this one is very mellow and fragrant, and it is a pretty good dry food even before the disaster.
The boss took another bite of the fruit pulp pancake, and his expression became even more delighted.
It's sweet!
The fruit aroma was also very strong; he tasted the aroma of apple and pear, with only a slight hint of tartness in the sweetness. The raw materials must have been of excellent quality.
They actually had the heart to squeeze such good fruit into pulp!
What a waste!
The boss felt bad about the waste, but he still ate the whole fruit pulp cake in a few bites.
Finally, he licked his lips, a little embarrassed but also eager, and asked Granny Lin, "Are you really going to exchange these cakes for this? More than forty pounds of them?"
Grandma Lin nodded, "Is that not okay?"
The boss exclaimed excitedly, "Of course! Absolutely fantastic!"
The shop owner immediately offered even more enthusiastic service than before the disaster, taking out a lot of scraps of cloth from under the counter to give to Grandma Lin as a gift, and even giving her two packs of sewing kits.
Grandma Lin was naturally very happy and readily took out the corresponding amount of dry food from her bag.
The transaction was completed smoothly.
The shop owner carefully put the pancakes away and continued to calculate the bill for the second customer.
The women queuing behind also paid with two kinds of cakes, ranging from thirty or forty catties to seventy or eighty catties. The owner became more and more excited as he calculated, his face glowing red, even happier than when he got married.
He didn't expect to make a profit from all the fabrics chosen by these female customers.
Even if he could earn a third, no, even a fifth or a tenth, he would feel that opening the store today was worthwhile.
And what was the result?
These customers are really generous; they bought whatever fabric they wanted without ever regretting it or wanting to return it.
The boss suddenly received over 600 jin of flatbread, as well as about 10 jin of fresh meat and a small amount of cured meat!
Meat was mainly consumed by a small number of people who also chose silk or even satin, which were more expensive than cotton.
But that's not the point. The point is that they actually have meat on them!
After the earthquake, no meat stalls were open in the county, and the surviving residents of the city and the later disaster victims had been without meat for a long time.
The county government and gambling dens, mostly composed of young and strong men, would occasionally go out into the wild to hunt and feast when the weather wasn't too hot, but the meat was so small that there wasn't enough for them to share, let alone for anyone else.
The cloth shop owner used to be a meat lover. After abstaining from meat for more than a month, it's no exaggeration to say that when he was craving meat, he wished he could cut a piece of his own flesh to eat.
The boss was grinning from ear to ear after getting so much meat today.
Overjoyed, the shop owner readily agreed when Aunt Liu and the others discovered that there were still some inferior materials left in the shop and tried to negotiate a price reduction, asking him to sell them at half price or even give them away for free.
"Take it all, take it all, don't be shy!" These are the most famous Gods of Wealth!
The owner also gave them the leftover fabric scraps and needles and thread from under the counter.
In return, Aunt Liu and the others showed the boss vacuum-packed meat and explained the benefits of this type of packaging.
"There's been a lot of rain lately, so even the most durable dry rations won't keep for long. If you're interested, come find us in the east of the city. Our people here will help you pack up all the dry rations, and they'll keep for two or three years without spoiling!"
The cloth shop owner gaped in shock, never expecting they had such a good thing.
However, since it was an object he had never seen before, and besides, he was afraid that he would be robbed on the way to and from the east of the city while carrying a large amount of dry food.
The boss didn't agree immediately, but just smiled and said he would consider it, and thanked him.
The cakes that the women brought out were originally vacuum-packed, but they were opened yesterday in advance so that it would be easier to make change when they were going out to buy things today.
Who would have thought the items were so cheap? There was no chance to get change.
I wish I hadn't demolished it. Sigh.
As soon as the guests from Yunlu Village left, each carrying a stack of cloth, the cloth shop owner immediately closed the shop.
Why keep the store open when all the goods are sold out? I'll just go home and have my wife cook some meat for me!
The women who left the cloth shop huddled together and whispered something. Then, after glancing around, they went into a deserted alley not far away.
A moment later, a dozen people came out empty-handed, but then perked up and continued their stroll.
No sooner had they left than several spies from various factions rushed into the alley.
I expected to see a large quantity of hidden cloth, but to my surprise, the alley was still empty, without a single thing in sight.
Spies: Where's the cloth?
The women then swept through many stalls and a few open shops.
It was a complete sweep.
Anything they felt they could use and that was particularly cheap, they would sell out completely, thinking it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and with their companions sharing the burden.
Baskets, mats, candles, candlesticks, teapots, handmade shoes, combs, bronze mirrors, farm tools, and some not-so-expensive but rather exquisite jewelry...
Every stall owner who received a customer was just as happy as the fabric shop owner.
The supplies brought out by the women were not all bean curd cakes; there were also some wild vegetables and mushrooms that tasted bad and that they had never eaten, as well as wild fruits that they had picked in the wild and that had not been improved by Lu Xuan.
The stall owners weren't picky at all, saying: "We'll accept any food that's edible!"
Other disaster victims who had followed along noticed something was wrong.
How come these women's backpacks seem to be endless? They've already taken out so much food and they still can't take any more out?
But the spies were even angrier.
Whenever the women bought too much stuff and couldn't carry it all, they would find a secluded spot to free their hands before coming out again.
The spies followed them repeatedly, but found nothing.
What kind of sorcery are those vile women using?!
Were they manipulated?! How despicable!
In fact, it wasn't just the women; the young men's desire to buy things wasn't much lower either, and on the other side of the street, they repeatedly infuriated another group of spies.
Lu Xuan led the audience to witness these scenes throughout, making them laugh uncontrollably.
These people are probably starting to question the meaning of life.
Are they stupid? Do they really think those aunties and grandmas would leave their things in an alley that everyone walks through?
[The main reason is that they simply couldn't imagine that a streamer, such an exceptional case, would exist in the backward ancient times, bringing such a miraculous item as a personal space to the villagers.]
[These people are unlucky to run into anyone from Yunlu Village, hahaha.]
...
After watching the excitement, Lu Xuan went to find what he needed.
Viewers were quite surprised, asking, "Does the streamer still have supplies he's lacking?"
Lu Xuan: "Of course."
The audience kept asking what it was.
Lu Xuan didn't rush to answer. He found a stall selling pickle jars on the street and asked the stall owner, "Can you find a bigger one?"
The stall owner hesitated for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "You want a water tank?"
Lu Xuan nodded, "Yes, can you get it?"
The stall owner was puzzled as to why anyone would want to exchange their water tanks. "How many do you want?"
Lu Xuan said, "Take as much as you can. One water vat can provide five catties of dry or coarse grains. If the vat is large enough, you can add a few more catties of grains."
Stall owner: "!"
The other disaster victims eavesdropping nearby: !
A water tank that can't be used for food or drink can actually be exchanged for grain? And five pounds of it at that?
If we're careful, it'll be enough to last ten to fifteen days!
One disaster victim couldn't help but ask, "I can also get water tanks; are you really willing to accept as many as I want?"
Lu Xuan nodded again, "A hundred or eighty is not too many."
The disaster victims stared wide-eyed.
One hundred, one hundred and eighty?
Are you going to eat from a big vat?
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