Chapter 224, exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: The Villagers' Attack
Yunlu Village.
Several villagers, seeing Lu Xuan heading towards the Lu family residence, jokingly asked, "Lord Marquis, how's it going? Did you get any mutated fruit trees today?"
Lu Xuan, who had just returned from the orchard, had a calm expression.
Since his return, villagers would occasionally call him "Lord Marquis" out of curiosity or because they genuinely felt distant from him, but Lu Xuan remained unmoved by it.
"There's one, and the others will be here soon too."
He has extensive experience in mutation and can basically transform a primitive species into a mutant species within five to seven days.
Although newly grown fruit trees are short-lived and their initial yields are not very high, with a little more time, the yields will eventually increase.
The Lu family.
Lu Chen tugged at Lu Miaomiao's sleeve and pleaded, "Sister Miaomiao, let's have instant noodles for lunch, I want to eat them."
Before Lu Miaomiao could answer, Lu Qing, who was heavily pregnant, said firmly, "Didn't Ah Xuan say that instant noodles are not as good for your health as nutritional supplements? It's fine to try them occasionally. You're a child who is growing, how can you eat them every day?"
The viewers in the live stream who happened to hear this as soon as they entered clicked their tongues in amazement.
[No one can resist the taste of instant noodles, especially children.]
Since the streamer came back, the Lu family has already eaten seven or eight meals, almost one a day. Each time, Lu Chen can eat five big bags by himself, and he's still not tired of it?
"So what? We've been taking nutritional supplements for decades, and we still take them every day."
Do we take nutritional supplements every day because we like them? We just don't have a choice!
[There will be more to choose from now on. Haven't you noticed that the amount of food available on the StarNet Mall has increased significantly recently? The seeds that the streamer is recycling for the Star Alliance are starting to produce more.]
That's right, achieving food freedom is just around the corner!
Due to health concerns, Lu Chen ultimately didn't get to eat instant noodles.
Fortunately, Lu Xuan brought back a newly grown mutated pineapple, which was sweeter than the original variety he had eaten a few days ago, satisfying Lu Chen's craving. After the meal, he couldn't resist taking the pineapple platter to share with his other friends.
After Lu Qing went to her room for a nap with Lu Miaomiao, Lu Xuan sat alone in the living room and opened the live streamer's online store.
Just now, he received a notification that new products had been added to the shelves. When he opened it, he found that crystal cores had indeed been added to the shelves again.
Lu Xuan quickly glanced at the list and, seeing that there were no words related to level seven or eight, casually swept up all the crystal cores on the shelves.
Despite his speed, he only managed to secure less than a third of the total number of items available for sale.
It's clear that besides him, many other streamers from different dimensions are also vying for the crystal core.
He just didn't know if these people were also superhumans, or if the crystal core had some other effect he was unaware of.
While pondering, Lu Xuan looked down and counted the crystal cores he had acquired.
The crystal cores available this time are of a higher grade than the last time. The highest grade is level six, and Lu Xuan managed to snag two. In addition, there are five level five crystal cores, fifty level four crystal cores, two hundred level three crystal cores, one thousand level two crystal cores, and finally three thousand level one crystal cores.
In terms of attributes, the most common is no attribute, followed by the five elements, and then the wind, thunder, ice, and mutated types.
These crystals cost him a total of 44 million points.
After supplying a batch of goods to the villagers who went out to do business, Lu Xuan's already meager points balance was only a little over ten million.
In the seven or eight days since I came back, I've earned an average of five or six million in gifts every day, which has barely brought my total points back to over fifty million.
After buying the crystal cores today, I only have a few million left.
[OMG, the streamer's bank account balance looks so meager compared to before.]
What's so shabby about it? Do you even have millions in savings?
Who kicked me?!
There's no need to feel sorry for the streamer; their estimated earnings in a little over a month will be in the tens of billions.
Now that you mention it... damn, I'm already green with jealousy.
Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow.
So what if you earn 10 or 20 billion?
He worked hard for more than half a month and diligently earned billions of points over the course of a year, but he has already spent it all. Isn't that what he deserves?
Not only his points, but also other data points that increased during this trip were earned through his own abilities.
Lu Xuan opened the backend data and nodded, looking at the two billion online records and the 450 million fans displayed.
Yes, he deserves it all.
At this rate, he should be able to achieve another new milestone by the time he goes to collect the debts.
Lu Xuan stored the level four to six crystal cores in his usual space bead, while keeping the level one to three crystal cores separately. He took out a portion of them and placed them in the general store for the villagers and the ability users from Huo's army to exchange for.
After arranging the crystal cores, Lu Xuan took out the holographic helmet and entered the holographic world.
When I first brought the villagers into the holographic world, it was empty because we couldn't connect to the Star Alliance. Now the situation is different.
Lu Xuan has replaced quite a few holographic helmets.
Huo Jiajun's troops have basically all received one; five thousand have been sold in Fengxian County, and two thousand have been successively replaced in Beijing.
Including the share from Yunlu Village, it comes to just over ten thousand.
There's not much to say about Huo Jiajun and the helmets from the capital, but Ye Feiluan's brain is truly remarkable.
After recovering, they learned what supplies Lu Xuan had given them. Together with others, they set aside the helmets that hadn't been sold much yet, studied some of the helmets' uncommon uses, and then locked in the single-person binding function.
Instead of selling helmets, they started renting them out, creating an ancient-style internet cafe that charges by time, giving disaster victims who can't afford helmets but want to enter the holographic world a chance to play holographic games.
This resulted in the actual number of players being more than double the number of helmets.
At its peak, the number of online players exceeded 20,000, and even late at night when there were fewer people, there were still three to five thousand.
Although Lu Xuan didn't make money from the extra helmets, the profit from the increased number of people spending money on in-game purchases was still considerable.
The premise is that Lu Xuan has enough points.
After going live, Lu Xuan spent some time transferring money to people who came to spend money on in-game purchases, and saw that he only had a few hundred thousand yuan left in his account.
Lu Xuan: It seems I still need to go to the beach again to collect some more points.
Otherwise, it would be awkward if you didn't even have enough points to spend on in-game purchases.
After dealing with the in-game purchase business, Lu Xuan met with other people who had come to talk to him.
This includes Ye Feiluan, Xie Yun, Bai Xuefeng, as well as ministers in the capital and even the new emperor.
In addition to telling him about the growth of the 10,000 mu of crops they had been given, Xie Yun and Bai Xuefeng also mentioned the recent enthusiasm of high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital for various holographic games.
Before the cataclysm, the young masters and ladies of noble families would occasionally hold flower viewing parties and tea parties, but these gatherings stopped after the cataclysm.
After Lu Xuan brought over a large amount of supplies, the flower viewing parties, tea parties, and outings held by various noble families that had almost come to a standstill after the disaster should have been resumed.
But in reality, everyone was so busy playing games that no one had the time or inclination to do anything they were already tired of.
If they really want to get together, they'll do it in the holographic world, with a popular young master or heiress leading the group to play games in the lounge, or they can simply form a team to play games together.
Xie Yun also said that recently, prominent families have been keen to encounter the new emperor in the game, since the new emperor also plays games.
The new emperor kept his ID well hidden, so everyone could only wander around in different games and try their luck.
Lu Xuan was also among those who thought of him.
Others might not know the new emperor's ID, but how could Lu Xuan, who was in charge of spending money on all the players, not know it?
As soon as Lu Xuan logged on, several people came to test his words and find out the new emperor's identity in the game.
The new emperor is Lu Xuan's biggest client at present, so he naturally wouldn't casually reveal the other party's private information. Those who tried to probe him were all dismissed by him with casual remarks.
If they still wouldn't give up after one attempt and kept coming back, Lu Xuan would simply send the other party's information back to the new emperor, letting the latter deal with these people who were spying on the emperor's whereabouts.
In short, with the existence of the holographic world, even though Lu Xuan has returned to the village, he can still learn about the other players' gathering places through these players.
This includes the results of using the evolution fluid that was given out.
From the capital city, and from Luochuan.
Although Luochuan doesn't sell holographic helmets, it has made contact with the capital. Through the new emperor, Lu Xuan learned about the awakening of superpowers there and knew that a surprise awaited him.
·
Early the next morning, Lu Xuan led Li Jing, Li Tuo, Liu Chun, Wei Dayong, and other able-bodied men who had stayed behind out to sea.
The group chatted as they set up their bait and nets.
Liu Chun said, "The first group of people who went out have been gone for two days. I don't know how they are doing now."
Wei Dayong said, "The aircraft is moving so fast, it should have reached the first gathering point by now, right?"
Li Tuo said proudly, "More than that, some people have already finished the first batch of transactions and rushed to the next settlement. Others are already trading with the disaster victims and have encountered quite a few things."
Upon hearing this, the others immediately pressed for details, asking, "What happened? Did the village chief tell you? Tell us quickly."
"Are they in trouble?"
Lu Xuan hadn't specifically asked the village chief about Zhang Chengming and the others' progress, and the people who had gone out hadn't sent any calls for help, so he wasn't quite sure about their current situation either. He couldn't help but glance at Li Tuo.
The viewers in the live stream became even more interested and quickly perked up their ears.
Li Tuo immediately began to speak with great enthusiasm, "Let me tell you—"
·
Let's go back two days.
Meanwhile, the twelve aircraft that departed from Yunlu Village separated shortly after leaving the village area due to their different destinations.
Instead of going to the coordinates provided by Lu Xuan, the Wu family father and son chose to go to an area further north than the original Yunlu Village.
They thought the people over there might continue to receive supplies.
We passed several small gathering places along the way, so we marked their coordinates and planned to visit them on the way back.
After flying for almost two hours, the two finally stopped at a small settlement of disaster victims.
Both father and son were cautious by nature, so they hovered the aircraft at a height that people below couldn't see, and observed it for more than an hour using the magnifying lens they had learned before.
Only after confirming that these people were not driven to desperation by the disaster did they land on a nearby hillside.
They set up sunshade tents and stalls, and took out the goods they brought for trading and put them inside the tents in advance.
Then, they flew the aircraft over the settlement, where Wu Yang attached the dozen or so newly written notices to arrows and shot them at different locations in the settlement.
Arrows flying down from the sky struck the walls, doorframes, or small tables on the street, startling the disaster victims who were hiding in the houses from the scorching heat and causing quite a commotion.
Before long, someone found the paper on the arrow, asked a literate person what it said, and learned that merchants had come to their area.
The note listed some essential supplies and said that some purchases could be made on credit.
The bottom is where the merchants are located, on a hillside two miles to the east.
The contents of the note quickly spread throughout the gathering place.
The disaster victims initially did not believe that there were any traveling merchants.
But the town was lacking too many supplies: food, medicine, and water—all of which were listed in black and white on the note as goods that could be provided.
They were unwilling to give up even if there was only a sliver of hope, so many disaster victims went to the eastern hillside in groups.
After seeing clearly man-made sheds on the hillside from a distance, they finally believed that outsiders had indeed appeared.
As for whether they are traveling merchants, we'll only know after we get to know them.
These disaster victims had encountered bandits before, and many of them were carrying sticks and other weapons for self-defense when they approached.
But when they reached the hillside and saw only two figures, their wariness immediately lessened considerably. However, they hesitated for a moment after discovering that the shed was shrouded in mist.
It wasn't until someone with sharp eyes spotted the white salt displayed in the shed and excitedly rushed over that they were surprised to find that the 'mist' actually emitted a comforting coolness.
"It's so cool!"
The hottest season has begun, and although the North is relatively cooler than the South, the temperature in the vicinity still reaches 35 degrees Celsius.
For the locals, whose summers usually only reach 26 or 27 degrees Celsius, this temperature is quite uncomfortable. Sweat soaks their clothes like rain, their sticky hair sticks to their faces, and their foreheads are covered in sweat, making them look quite disheveled.
The coolness inside the shed made the men, who were suffering from the heat, forget their vigilance and rush in to enjoy it.
Someone looked Wu Cheng and Wu Yang up and down; they seemed to be father and son, and Wu Cheng asked, "Are you really merchants?"
"Where did it come from?"
"Is this really salt? How do we get it replaced?"
What food do you have in your hands? Is it enough to fill your stomach?
What medicine do you have? Can you cure fever?
"How come it's so cool inside the shed? Did you create those clouds around here too?"
"The note says I can pay on credit, is that true?"
Countless questions were asked by the disaster victims, creating a noisy and chaotic scene that made one frown.
Wu Cheng and Wu Yang had anticipated this and patiently answered each question.
“We come from Yunlu Village, which is also a village in the north.”
"We can trade salt, wild vegetables, wild fruits, or any useful supplies. A pound of wild vegetables can be exchanged for a spoonful of salt. We also have enough food to fill our stomachs. As long as you bring enough supplies for trading, you can trade with us."
“We have all kinds of medicines on hand, including medicines to treat fever, stop bleeding, relieve pain, stop diarrhea, and detoxify. They are all inexpensive.”
“The clouds in the shed aren’t clouds, they’re dry ice. It’s very cheap, you can buy some and put it in your home to keep it cool.”
"The seeds that can be bought on credit are of superior quality. The transaction must be conducted by the person in charge of your settlement, and a written agreement must be drawn up."
Otherwise, if the person who owes the money dies in an accident next time they come, they won't be able to find anyone to collect the debt.
Upon hearing the words "improved seeds," the disaster victims became excited. "You have improved seeds?! What kinds of seeds do you have, and how can we exchange them?"
Wu Yang: "We have common grain and vegetable seeds, and the seed yield is very high, so the price is not cheap. Ten catties of supplies can be exchanged for one catty of seeds."
Some people questioned, "I think this summer will be just as dry as last year. Will your seeds even grow?"
Wu Yang remained calm. "Buy more dry ice and put it in the fields to prevent the crops from being scorched. Even if the yield is reduced, it will still be enough for you to eat."
Wu Cheng showed them the water in a large plastic box, saying, "There are no large water sources around here, so you must be short of water. The water we sell, a whole box of which weighs only five kilograms, can be exchanged for any kind of goods."
The disaster victims exclaimed, "!!!" "So cheap!"
They didn't know if the improved seeds were true, but some people still quickly squeezed through the crowd to go back and tell others.
Those who stayed behind eagerly took out the supplies they had brought and began scrambling to exchange them.
The first things they replaced were their scarce salt, water, and dry ice; only then did they consider what they didn't know if the improved seeds could actually be grown.
The 'currency' used to exchange for supplies is mainly wild vegetables and fruits obtained in spring and summer, as well as some dried mushrooms, dried meat, etc.
Some people asked if silver could be used, just to see if it would work. After receiving a positive answer, they took out a lot of loose silver, or even copper coins.
Their purchasing power is certainly not comparable to that before the disaster, but being able to spend it is already a great joy for them.
In addition to the supplies mentioned by the disaster victims, Wu Yang also took out ice packs, bio-clothes, and nutrient solutions.
The father and son did not explain the origin of these magical items in detail. Anyway, the items were there, and they were open to exchanging them or not. If they didn't want to exchange them, they wouldn't force them.
The disaster victims were amazed, but they did not hesitate to take out their supplies to exchange for the supplies.
Regardless of where the goods come from, such good things might only be available once in a lifetime. Let's exchange them first!
Lu Xuan didn't have many points left, so the amount of supplies he could exchange with those who went out to do business was limited. Wucheng and Wuyang couldn't conduct large-scale transactions, and the traded supplies were quickly cleared out.
The first group of people were fine; they managed to buy all the supplies they wanted. Those who didn't were simply short of supplies.
The further along the journey, the more people made a wasted trip, only to look at the empty bags and boxes that had already been sold out and slap their thighs in frustration.
Some individuals believed that the Wu family father and son must still have supplies hidden for their own use, and in a moment of impulsiveness, they decided to collude with others to rob them.
Before the other party could incite more people, Wu Yang took out an alloy crossbow and aimed it at the other party's head, looking at him coldly.
The man intending to rob the victim exclaimed, "!" Cold sweat quickly seeped from his forehead, and his pupils were filled with fear.
Wu Cheng, who was standing nearby, casually took out a miniature bomb that he had specially exchanged with Lu Xuan and threw it into the wasteland in the distance in full view of everyone.
The bomb made a loud bang, creating a crater more than ten meters in diameter and more than one meter deep in the ground.
All the disaster victims on the hillside: "!!!"
Under the power of the bomb, the disaster victims, whether they had any ill intentions or not, instantly became obedient.
Many disaster victims who were reluctant to leave after returning the supplies were frightened and hurriedly ran away.
But some people were really in dire need of supplies, and they were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Some of the older women, who were less able to cope, couldn't help but cry.
Wu Yang reassured everyone, "Don't worry, if you can't buy it this time, you can buy it next time. We'll come back in half a month to a month, and we'll trade regularly thereafter."
"In addition, the capital was unable to send people to provide disaster relief before due to the major earthquake, but recently they have also sent soldiers with supplies to various places to provide disaster relief step by step. Things will get better eventually."
The group of disaster victims immediately became agitated, asking, "Are you really coming back?"
"The government is finally going to provide disaster relief? I thought they had long since given up on us."
The disaster victims momentarily forgot about the lack of supplies and instead began asking about the situation in the capital.
The Wu family father and son did not mention much about the fact that the catastrophe had lasted for many years.
The father and son had very simple attitudes and thoughts.
They're here to do business; they don't care about anything else. As for the disaster, they'll let someone from the capital handle it themselves.
The two continued selling their largest stock of salt and water while subtly gathering information about the settlement.
It's often said that the people of the North are tough and fierce, and that's certainly true.
The town's former mayor was a corrupt man. He survived the earthquake by sheer luck but instead of helping the victims, he took the opportunity to exploit the people even more severely after discovering that the government had not sent anyone to provide disaster relief. He even planned to run away with the spoils he had obtained.
This aroused public anger, and before he could escape, he was eliminated by the disaster victims.
Of course, this conclusion wasn't something the disaster victims openly stated, but rather a deduction made by Wu Yang based on information from multiple sources, and it was pretty close to the truth.
After that, the town was taken over by several respected elders and the headmaster of the private school.
Although resources are scarce and many people died in last year's famine, the survivors are united and are managing to get by.
Now that the Wu family father and son have arrived, it seems things are finally going to get better.
In the afternoon, the village elders and the headmaster, who had learned of the existence of the superior seeds, came in person and exchanged them for a considerable amount of gold and silver, along with a large collection of antiques and calligraphy.
For the remaining amount, as well as the salt and water they purchased for the town's disaster victims, they drew up a written agreement to repay the debt with the harvested grain.
The villagers were hardly convinced that the improved seeds could be harvested in less than two months, but Wu Cheng promised that they would not collect payment until the seeds were harvested, so they signed the agreement.
At this point, the transaction of supplies between the two at the first gathering place was considered complete.
Apart from a few unsuccessful robberies, everything went very smoothly, a great start indeed.
In contrast, Xiong Mao and Ge Yuan were much more unlucky.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you "暮云晚黛" for the +49 nutrient solution.
"wie1219", Irrigation nutrient solution +6
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