Chapter 49 Chapter 49 A night that can’t calm down, temporarily…
After Chang Ruijia returned to the starting place, before she had time to rest for a while, the person she had just given her "business card" to at the market came to her door impatiently.
"Hey, you're really here!" A capable girl saw Chang Ruijia and impatiently came to the trading area in front of her. "I thought you were just kidding me."
"Isn't that the one who just gave me the transaction information?" Chang Ruijia had a very good memory and remembered the girl the moment she saw her. "I was delayed on the way. I just got back a while ago."
She had a profound impact on this girl. A girl who looked smart and capable, her quick and decisive way of moving in and out in the bustling market was particularly eye-catching.
However, everything else is in vain.
What Chang Ruijia remembers most about her is the wide variety of goods on her floats.
It would not be a big deal if the girl opposite was the same as Chang Ruijia, who relied on devouring other people to expand the area of her bed and add a lot of items to the floating objects.
However, judging from the proportion of the floating object's expansion, Chang Ruijia felt that she had not swallowed much at most. This could only be something she had obtained through special means at the market.
Later, after careful observation by Chang Ruijia, she discovered that the girl was very smart and served as an exchange transit station in the market.
Some people's products are not needed every day, but people still have to survive, so girls will exchange the extra items they have in their hands, and wait for the market to demand them in the future, or when new people are interested in those items, and then sell them to make a profit.
As time went by, the items placed in front of her became more and more, and the scale of her responsibilities naturally became larger and larger.
In fact, for Chang Ruijia, it takes great courage to run such a transit station in the market. After all, now is not the time to measure everything with money, and the price difference between exchanging things is not so easy to estimate.
Therefore, Chang Ruijia admired this girl's courage and confidence even more for doing such a thing.
At least if the same thing happened to her, she would not dare to do it directly.
"You said it wasn't something you didn't carry with you. You could have just exchanged it with me." Looking at Chang Ruijia who was about to place the supplies outside, the girl frowned and said, "This back and forth is not enough trouble."
"After all, I'm a newcomer here, and I can't just put everything out there without any preparation. That would be stealing your business." Chang Ruijia smiled and shook her head, looking into her eyes and said.
"Okay," the girl seemed to have accepted Chang Ruijia's reason. She didn't say anything more, but looked at her seriously and said, "I still have a lot of things to do over there, and I can't be away for too long. If there is anything you want to exchange, please do it as soon as possible."
"Okay," Chang Ruijia nodded obediently and took out the things he had prepared at the beginning.
Game consoles, dolls, skateboards, razors...
Looking at the pile of messy things that Chang Ruijia took out, the girl frowned and said, "You really should know that the things in this market are basically estimated according to the needs of the exchanger. So although some things look exquisite, the things they can be exchanged for are not of high value."
Chang Ruijia knew she was referring to things like game consoles and razors, which wouldn't be very useful at sea. While they could fetch a good price if sold to specific individuals who needed them, they were more likely to be left in a pile during normal times. "I understand, but isn't this just about wanting something to fill your stomach?" Chang Ruijia said helplessly.
If Chang Ruijia could exchange a batch of permissions in the system at a rate of three days, she would indeed be able to make some profit by keeping these things in her own hands, but it was still too slow for her.
Moreover, the amount of things accumulated in the crowd over the past three days was too conspicuous. She still wanted to get rid of this hot potato in time to avoid getting into trouble.
Since this girl can survive in the market by relying on such a function, it means that she actually has a backer that others dare not covet, so she will be more adept at this kind of thing.
At that time, whether she exchanges these things with someone who needs them more or uses them for other purposes is her business.
"It's good that you're mentally prepared," the girl nodded, a hint of annoyance flashing between her eyebrows. "Don't agree to exchange the items, then after the exchange, you say I cheated you out of the items."
There are all kinds of birds in a big forest.
This kind of thing is not uncommon for her. There are always people who are eager to exchange for what they need, but later regret it and want to exchange it back.
Since it is a centralized purchase, the price will naturally be lower. There is definitely a difference between wholesale and retail.
"Of course not," Chang Ruijia shook her head with a smile on her face. "What I have in my hand is not something that will only appear for a day. I still want to establish a long-term cooperation with you. How could I do something like that that would go back on my word?"
Looking at the small objects thrown into her hands by Chang Ruijia, the girl did not show any impatience towards these items that were of little use, as if in her eyes there were no useless things at all.
"Everything is good. It just depends on how the owner uses it." The girl said mysteriously, "What's more, once I have accumulated a certain amount of these things, even if there were no other uses at the beginning, they will definitely have other uses."
That's true. Chang Ruijia nodded in agreement. Hadn't she originally thought of using her game consoles like bricks to build a wall around her bed? If she hadn't later found another use for the canopy, she might still be hoarding these items.
"Aren't you going to sell me the remaining things?" Looking at the tire that was particularly conspicuous on the bed, the girl said to Chang Ruijia while packing up the supplies.
"No, no," Chang Ruijia shook her head. "I still have to keep some things to sell, and I still have some use for these things."
"Okay," the girl nodded regretfully. In fact, compared to the things that Chang Ruijia had already allocated to her, the things she left behind were more valuable.
However, it is more profitable to keep it and wait to exchange it for something just right than to sell it wholesale.
Before leaving, the girl turned back to look at the tires in Chang Ruijia's hand and said, "If you feel that the tires on the A side are hard to deal with, remember to come to me to sell them. If you can't, I can give you a higher price."
"Okay!" Chang Ruijia nodded helplessly, not expecting such a knowledgeable girl to be so obsessed with tires. "If the tires can't be moved, I will definitely find you to sell them."
"Remember, my name is Zhang Rui. Don't forget what you said today."
After finally sending Zhang Rui away, who kept looking back, away, Chang Ruijia became even more curious about who might be behind Zhang Rui.
For Zhang Rui, who comes into contact with all kinds of things every day, the desire for tires should not be something that deserves such a serious request, unless this thing can play a huge role for the people behind her.
This speculation was further confirmed when several people came to her stall without even turning their heads and directly asked about the price of tires.
However, seeing several waves of people offering extremely tempting prices in front of her, Chang Ruijia resisted the temptation and did not sell the tire directly.
"I'm sorry," Chang Ruijia said apologetically, "This tire can't be sold for the time being. You can take a look at the other things on display. The fruits are all the freshest."
"No, no, no, I just want this tire," the man in front of the bed looked at Chang Ruijia and said, "Do you think the price is not right? You can offer something you think is acceptable, and I will do my best to meet your requirements."
Seeing the man in front of her insistently wanting the tire, Chang Ruijia shook her head and turned the tire around to reveal the kitchen knife stuck in it. "It's really because of some previous events. The tire is not intact now, so I can't meet your request. If you really want it, you can wait and come back tomorrow to exchange it."
"The tire is flat..." Seeing that Chang Ruijia didn't seem to be faking it, the man could only shake his head in disappointment, "Forget it, I'll come back tomorrow to change the tire. Remember to keep it for me, I made a reservation directly."
"Okay, don't worry."
Pulling the kitchen knife out of the tire again, Chang Ruijia recalled the disappointed expression on the man's face when he left just now. He didn't see this kitchen knife, which was particularly important now, but his eyes flashed like the people around her. It seemed that the tire would play a profound role for them.
After dealing with several people who came forward to inquire about the prices of supplies, and looking at the series of supplies and food in exchange, Chang Ruijia's survival problem, which had been worrying about for a long time, was finally solved in the most basic way.
Even if the monsters in the seabed never reappear in the future, as long as supplies continue to appear in Chang Ruijia's bed, she will definitely not lack the basic things for survival.
However, before Chang Ruijia could feel relieved that her life was settled, another big problem appeared before her when she came to the market.
After a day of traveling, I felt extremely tired and the sky gradually darkened.
But now, looking at the vendors around her who were previously at a basic safe distance in the market, Chang Ruijia couldn't help but become deeply worried about the safety issues she might face after nightfall.
This was the first time she had spent the night in such a large crowd since she discovered her devouring ability. She didn't know what would happen in this unpredictable night.
Seeing Chang Ruijia staring at the sunset in a daze, Xiao Qu beside her couldn't help but remind her, "It's getting dark, why don't you quickly take defensive measures around you? If it gets darker, there will be no light to do anything."
Defensive measures? Although Chang Ruijia knew what Xiaoqu meant, the look in her eyes became increasingly strange.
In a market that is basically crowded like this, what kind of defense measures are needed to ensure that you can spend the night safely?
What's more, they are not like Chang Ruijia, who has a full range of equipment such as night market instruments and camping lights.
Seeing Chang Ruijia's puzzled expression, Xiaoqu almost forgot that this was her first time in this market, so she pulled out a rope from the sea water beside her and demonstrated it to Chang Ruijia while speaking.
"Our trading area doesn't have dedicated patrols to ensure safety like the settlement area, so we must have something that can alert us to danger. This will prevent us from being devoured by others without knowing it."
Then, Xiaoqu pulled out a large piece of retractable fishing line from the wooden sign placed in front of everyone, and took out a bunch of bells from his pocket and strung them on it.
"Although the market managers say the trading area is dangerous, they are not completely heartless. They have even provided the most basic protective equipment."
Shaking the bell that jingled with every movement of the fishing line, Xiao Qu proudly said, "Every night before nightfall, we scatter this homemade warning device over the surrounding sea. This way, even if someone approaches unnoticed at night, it will wake up many people nearby, creating a certain deterrent effect."
Watching Xiaoqu pull out a telescopic pole from somewhere, stretch the fishing line with the bell to the maximum distance around the float, and then clapped his hands and ignored those things, Chang Ruijia said with some understanding, "So, this length is the final safe distance you calculated?"
"That's right!" Xiao Qu clapped his hands and said, "Don't underestimate this thing, even though it's small. Not only will it alert everyone around it when someone touches it, but it's also connected to the market patrol, providing at least a little bit of protection at night."
How could Chang Ruijia doubt the function of this thing? This was simply the warning line she had made using bells in the beginning, and it looked almost the same.
"Although our place is not as absolutely safe as the settled areas, the management of the market has not completely given up on us. It is still safer than being alone at sea." Xiao Qu looked at Chang Ruijia and said seriously.
Having said that, for Chang Ruijia, who is used to living alone, although a person on the sea may face any danger that suddenly appears around him, as long as his personal strength is strong enough, it is more convenient to live alone than to live in a group with all its constraints.
But now they still have to rely on the exchange function of the market to survive, so Chang Ruijia did not refute anything, but pursed her lips and smiled at Xiaoqu.
"Hurry up and pull out the fishing line on your side," Xiaoqu urged Chang Ruijia. It would be really inconvenient to move when it got dark, and if this kind of warning device was not installed, there would be no way to guarantee against the dangers that might occur at night.
"Oh no!" Xiao Qu slapped her thigh and looked at Chang Ruijia in annoyance, "I almost forgot that this is your first time at this market. Haven't you prepared the alarm bell for the night yet?"
"What should we do? Why don't you borrow a few from the others around here?" Xiao Qu anxiously helped Chang Ruijia find a solution. "Everyone has plenty of bells anyway, so borrowing a few won't be a big deal. If you can't bear to do it, I'll go and borrow them for you."
"No need," Chang Ruijia took out the warning rope she had always used. "I've actually exchanged this kind of thing before, so I don't need to borrow it from others."
Seeing the people around her eager to make themselves invisible as soon as they asked to borrow the bell, Chang Ruijia hurriedly showed the bell in her hand.
Although removing one or two bells from a series of bells would not cause any impact, no one wants to joke with their own life. Faced with such a request that may happen to them, they would naturally refuse if they could.
"I didn't expect that you have so many things on you." Xiao Qu looked at Chang Ruijia in surprise, but didn't say anything else.
People who drifted out from the outside sea had all kinds of things in their hands, but in the vast darkness, everyone was equally innocent, so it was completely normal to be careful.
After that, Xiaoqu didn't bother Chang Ruijia anymore. She simply instructed her to put the bell in the most suitable position. Faced with the darkening sky, she quickly shrank back onto her floating object to rest as soon as possible.
At first, Chang Ruijia couldn't understand why Xiaoqu did this. Even if he really believed in working at sunrise and resting at sunset, he wouldn't fall asleep as soon as the sun set, right?
But when she looked up at other people in the market, she found that this was not an isolated phenomenon. The entire market seemed to follow this routine, as if the rest time was so short.
Chang Ruijia scratched her head in confusion, and in the darkness, relying on the fact that others could not see her movements, she put on the night vision goggles at hand, and prepared to use some time at night to do something that she could not show to others.
Because she has to exchange items at the market, Chang Ruijia now has things on hand other than the items she exchanges every day, so it would be best not to go through the trouble of exchanging other items from the system mall.
Once discovered, inexplicable phenomena may occur and it may attract unnecessary covetousness.
Therefore, Chang Ruijia chose to sort out the countless items in the mall and restore some functions of the bed when no one was looking.
But soon, when Chang Ruijia was packing up and preparing to rest like the people around her, an accident happened.
Chang Ruijia was just beginning to feel a little sleepy when she was startled by the sudden sound of a bell in her ear.
"What's going on!"
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Although she didn't quite understand why the warning in her mind didn't come out this time, she quickly grabbed the night vision goggles and looked in the direction where the sound came from.
I don’t know if it’s because there are too many people around. Although I looked around in circles, I couldn’t find where the bell was ringing.
Just when Chang Ruijia was puzzled by the sudden sound, the sound of giggling from the servants around the bed proved that they were indeed awakened by the bell.
"Rui Jia?" Xiao Qu's dazed voice came from the side, as if to make sure she was still in the same place. "Were you also awakened by the ringing of the bell?"
"A little bit," Chang Ruijia scratched her head, feeling a little uncomfortable with the noise. "I was just about to take a break when I suddenly heard the noise."
"It's okay, don't worry." Xiao Qu comforted her, "This kind of noise is common at night."
"After all, the trading area is full of people, and many people who have made enemies during the day will choose to act at night to avoid alerting the patrols. So if my voice is coming from far away, there's no need to be too vigilant."
While Xiaoqu was explaining the science to her, Chang Ruijia did hear a rustling sound around her, followed by a continuous stream of cursing, and then slowly returned to calm.
"Well, I understand," Chang Ruijia said quickly, looking at Xiao Qu's sleepy eyes that were almost unable to open, "Sister Xiao Qu, you should get some rest quickly. I understand after the first experience. I won't do it again like just now."
"Well, you should get some rest early too," Xiao Qu yawned and said, "Sleeping at a time like this means you have to race against time to fall asleep while maintaining your inner vigilance. That's why you have to stretch your sleep time infinitely."
Hmm! Chang Ruijia nodded. If all hopes are placed on the sound of the bell providing warning, then not sleeping too soundly is indeed an important condition for staying safe.
But understanding is one thing, and being able to do it is another.
Throughout the entire night, Chang Ruijia was woken up by the sound of the bell almost every once in a while, and the bell was not always accompanied by silence. More often, there were bursts of smashing, cursing, and shouting.
The sound came again and again. Unlike other people, Chang Ruijia was not familiar with this sleeping frequency. She spent almost the entire night on the verge of falling asleep and being woken up again.
If the bed did not have the function of relieving fatigue, she would not be able to bear this torture when the day came again.
As she watched the sky gradually brighten, Chang Ruijia, who had given up trying to sleep, let out a long sigh. Dawn meant that the chaos of the night would finally return to silence.
Looking at the people around her who were waking up sleepily in the bright light, Chang Ruijia rubbed her body which had not relaxed at all all night. The most important thing for her during the day was to find a way to enter the settlement area.
Although the distance between the two places is not very far, if the noise continues in the trading area, it will still be heard by the people in the settlement area. However, the psychological pressure brought to people by knowing that they are in a safe place and a dangerous place is different.
"Good morning!" Xiao Qu was woken up as the sun gradually rose. Looking at Chang Ruijia who had already packed her things on the bed, she said, "Did you sleep well last night? It's always a little uncomfortable on the first day, but it will be much better once you get used to it."
"I might not be able to get used to it." Chang Ruijia smiled bitterly and shook her head, looking at Xiao Qu helplessly and said, "I might have to find a way to enter the settlement today. I don't want to endure this feeling of fear anymore."
"That's fine," Xiao Qu nodded. "I can see you didn't sleep well last night. If you can get to the settled area, you should definitely leave safely."
After a brief exchange of words, Chang Ruijia saw many people paddling into the trading area and finding their respective trading positions as the sun rose.
Yesterday, when she first entered the market, she actually saw the hustle and bustle of people, but at that time she thought that the market was attractive enough, so there were so many people coming here.
But now, these people should be constantly traveling back and forth between the settlement area and the trading area every day. It seems that more people still choose this "troublesome" method.
Chang Ruijia carefully observed those who had returned to their positions and those who had just woken up from the floating objects. Just from their respective mental states, she could clearly tell the difference between the two groups.
After resting for a long time under the turbulence of the trading zone at night, those who have just gotten up almost all have a sense of irritability hidden between their eyebrows, which is the effect of long-term lack of energy.
Just to avoid problems with uncontrolled emotions in the future, Chang Ruijia felt that she should find a way to get a place in the trading zone.
Having decided that this thing must be completed today, Chang Ruijia had not yet done anything. Just as she had tidied everything on the bed, she ran into the person who was scheduled to exchange the newly appeared tire.
"You're a little too impatient." Chang Ruijia said with a smile as she looked at the man who couldn't wait to change the tire.
"I just can't help myself when I see something I like," the man said with a simple laugh. "I've been looking forward to it all night, so of course I have to get it as soon as possible."
"Okay, okay," Chang Ruijia used all her strength to throw the tire onto the man's floating object. Although she was mentally prepared for the sudden weight, the man almost staggered.
"Okay, thank you, boss!" The man said with a wide grin, stroking the tire that finally appeared in his hand with satisfaction. "If possible, I might continue to exchange tires from you. Boss, if you don't sell the tires, remember to keep them for me."
Chang Ruijia did not agree directly, nor did she explicitly refuse.
After all, she is not a professional tire seller, and it is not her style to push forward possible business just for the sake of an illusory promise.
If she really needs tires, the person will naturally tell her the expected result directly and clearly. Now she just needs to be mentally prepared.
Not taking this matter to heart, Chang Ruijia simply greeted Xiaoqu next to her, then paddled her bed and rushed into the market again.
This time, Chang Ruijia did not wander around aimlessly like she did yesterday. Instead, she went straight to Zhang Rui's stall where she had exchanged a large number of items with her yesterday, and exchanged the things that reappeared on her bed.
Everyone has a certain amount of things in their hands. Exchanging things as early as possible will naturally give them more options. Anyway, he is ready to find a way to enter the settlement area, so he will naturally not give up anything that can benefit him along the way.
However, seeing that the exchanged food seemed to be more than double that of yesterday, Chang Ruijia raised her eyebrows with interest. This was not the same as the "wholesale" price that Zhang Rui had told her yesterday.
Noticing Chang Ruijia's questioning look, Zhang Rui rubbed his hands and laughed, "It's not that I suddenly found that the price of the things I exchanged with you yesterday was a bit higher, so I'm compensating you today."
Really? Chang Ruijia didn't believe it at all.
However, if the value of those things was really as high as she said, she should have come to a conclusion when she saw them for the first time yesterday. Chang Ruijia didn't believe that someone who traded things in and out every day could have made a mistake.
This can only mean that something must have caused her to change her attitude towards herself.
Compared with yesterday's attitude towards a person who made a normal exchange, there is now a sense of trying to do better.
Noticing Zhang Rui's almost fanatical look when he accidentally glanced at the tire while talking to her this time, Chang Ruijia suddenly realized that the person who replaced the tire from her must have a great relationship with the organization behind Zhang Rui, and had achieved some unspeakable progress.
In this case, Chang Ruijia's originally uneasy mood suddenly relaxed.
In the future, when they get along with each other, it is more likely that the other party will try every means to get more tires from her, and then reach a long-term cooperation.
For him who has such a bargaining chip, facing such a flattery, this tiny exchange change is naturally not something he feels unworthy of.
Just as they finished the deal and were about to leave, Chang Ruijia looked at Zhang Rui and suddenly asked, "Boss Zhang, if I want to temporarily join the settlement, do you have any ideas?"
Chang Ruijia felt Zhang Rui's eyes suddenly light up, and as he looked at her, they seemed to be flashing with impatience. "Young boss, are you planning to stay in this market forever? Don't you have any thoughts of leaving for the time being?"
The moment Chang Ruijia heard Zhang Rui's words, she immediately understood who was behind Zhang Rui.
The person who knows her current situation so well and is even happy about her joining the settlement and staying in this market for a long time must be the person who has the closest relationship with this market and should be the manager behind this market.
Come to think of it, having the largest resources to exchange in the market, even if the items obtained in exchange are really useless, you can find a way to incorporate them into the changes of the entire market. Naturally, it is more convenient to have such a channel.
For example, what she had seen last night was the fishing lines and bells that were laid out in the entire trading area on a large scale. If there was no such long-term replacement method, such a luxurious move would not have occurred.
In this case, looking at Zhang Rui's expectant eyes, Chang Ruijia suddenly smiled, "Of course, this market has already given me enough surprises. Facing the mysterious settlement area, I naturally have to do a good job of understanding it, and then decide whether to join this market permanently."
Such a promise would not cost Chang Ruijia anything.
If it could make the market managers who now have something to ask of her more trustful of her presence, then why not do it?
Besides, before the monsters in the sea appeared, she really only had one choice, which was to stay in this market. It would be great to have a more comfortable environment for her to make full preparations for the future.
Even if we take a step back and say that the monsters in the sea reappear, if she really feels the long-lost sense of security in this market, then being able to come back and rest peacefully every night is also a good option to take.
Chang Ruijia thought so, and naturally the managers behind the market would think so too.
And looking back, even if the worst thing happened, Chang Ruijia was just talking and would eventually leave here.
But before she left, they did get some benefits.
They would naturally have no objection to such a thing that has only benefits and no harm.
As expected, as soon as Chang Ruijia finished speaking, Zhang Rui immediately agreed, "That's great. I happen to have some free time, so why don't I accompany you to prepare for the settlement!"
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