Chapter 57: Northern Plateau
After entering, she found that the so-called store was actually a very small supermarket, which was divided into two rooms. There were three or four rows of shelves in the inner room, half of which were empty. The counter was placed horizontally in the partition between the inner and outer rooms, with another empty shelf, blocking the customers from walking in.
A sturdy man wearing only a vest was leaning on a recliner next to the shelf on the inside of the counter. Since no one was going to the counter to exchange items, he looked quite leisurely. His eyes were drooping as if he was resting, but his sight quietly swept over every customer who came in to trade.
After this simple arrangement, the shelves in the inner room have become a shop-like business as in the early years. No matter what the customers want to buy on the shelves, they must ask the store staff for the information and pay for it before the other party will take out the items and place them on the counter.
The money in circulation now is various materials.
The outer room was slightly larger, with windows against the wall, but they were all closed at the moment, with no air circulation. As soon as she entered the room, she smelled a strong fishy smell.
She looked sideways and saw a lot of people gathered outside. They were the ones who had just walked into the store before her and were now scrambling to exchange the things in their hands for other things.
There were two men busy there, one was collecting and checking the supplies, and the other was wearing rubber gloves. After his companion checked the supplies and reported the approximate number that could be exchanged, he bent down and took the fish from the pile of fish at his feet.
There were a lot of fish, all piled on the thick plastic sheet against the wall. Those fish should have been caught from the Qing River not long ago. She only recognized crucian carp, carp, catfish and perch. Most of them were dead after passing through. There were also a few that were still bouncing on the pile of fish, with their cold eyes open and their mouths opening and closing, as if they were making their last struggle.
The fishy smell she smelled when she entered the door came from the pile of fish.
Shu Fu was standing far away and wearing a mask, but he already felt that the fishy smell was a bit unbearable. However, the person who came to buy the fish seemed to not feel anything and was not even picky. He handed over the things, took the fish, put it in his pocket, and turned around and left impatiently.
She found that the items these people used to exchange for fish were varied, including usable tools and knives, watches and small electrical appliances, and even expensive and valuable items such as gold rings and bracelets.
The gold ring was quite big, and the woman showed a reluctant expression when she handed it over. But after the other party checked and counted the number, it turned out that she only got two fish in exchange.
The woman who came with the gold ring to exchange for the fish also brought a boy of about ten years old, who was obviously brought along to help carry the fish.
The fish in Qing River looked quite big, with carp weighing from four or five catties to eight or nine catties. The boy was very happy to hear that he could exchange for two fish.
He opened the nylon bag in his hand that he was going to use to put the fish, and kept calling the man holding the fish "uncle" in a flattering manner, saying that there were other people at home and that his sister also liked to eat fish, so he asked him to take a bigger one.
The other person took a look at the boy, picked out two fish weighing about 9 kilograms and put them into the nylon bag in his hand. Finally, he picked up a sea bass weighing about 1 kilogram from the corner, saying that this sea bass was too small and no one else wanted it, so he gave it to him.
The three fish weighed down the nylon bag so heavily that the boy could not lift it. He thanked his mother and called her for help.
The woman walked over quickly, took the bass out of the nylon bag and put it into the bag in her hand and asked the boy to hold it. She tied the nylon bag containing the two fish tightly, then gritted her teeth and lifted it up.
Two figures, one big and one small, stepped out of the shop and walked quickly into the rain.
The people who were exchanging fish cleared out, and Shu Fu was the only one left in the outer room. The tall and thin man who was checking the supplies looked at her, his eyes passed over her mask, and then fell to look at the black plastic bag in her hand: "Exchange fish?"
"No." Shu Fu walked over and opened the bag. "I want to exchange the fish for something else."
There was a sea bass and a white fish in the bag. The small one weighed less than two kilograms, and the big one weighed four or five kilograms. They were very ordinary.
When the man saw that there were fish in the bag, he took it and poured it directly onto the pile of fish on the thick plastic sheet. Then he raised his hand and pointed at the counter blocking the shelf, asking her to ask for the thing herself.
At this time, a few more people came outside to exchange fish. The two people outside were busy again. Shu Fu walked to the counter and said to the sturdy man on the recliner: "Excuse me, do you have sanitary napkins?"
The man frowned and said in a rough voice: "Do you think I have it here?"
Shu Fu was not in a hurry and continued to ask: "Do you have AA batteries?"
"Yes, but you can't exchange even one section of those two fish!"
No matter when or where you go, batteries can be considered relatively important supplies. However, this town still has electricity, and most electrical appliances can be recharged. She guessed that batteries were not very important supplies, but she didn't expect that she couldn't even replace a battery.
The gap between buying and selling is too big. It seems that some supplies in this town are also in short supply.
"Can you get some clean water?"
"I can only give you 100ml." The man said, stood up and walked towards her, holding out his hand and asking her for the container.
Shu Fu took out a used, slightly wrinkled mineral water bottle from her backpack and handed it to the other person, who took it and bent over to get some water. She then saw that there was a water dispenser next to the counter, with a bucket of water on it. It looked quite clean, but she didn't know what kind of water was in it.
The man quickly filled the bottle with water and handed it back to her. Sure enough, it was only one-fifth full, not a bit more.
Shu Fu didn't say much. She took it, tightened the lid, put it back into the backpack under her raincoat, turned around and walked out.
She has completed the store check-in task, and all that’s left is to wait.
The task of 20% of the basic progress bar is not that simple as I thought.
She didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later, on the street next to the store, she noticed someone following her.
**
There were two of them, wearing front-button military green two-piece raincoats that were easy to move around in.
They seemed to be specifically staying near the store to watch people, so she was able to walk into the town without being noticed before entering the store, but was immediately followed when she came out of the store. But she didn't understand, a lot of people just came out of the store, everyone was holding bags of fish, and there were even mothers and children who looked easier to attack.
Why don't these people stare at others, but only at her?
On the other hand, if the order in the town was really that bad, it would be impossible for that mother to go out alone with her ten-year-old child to exchange supplies. Isn't that just waiting to be robbed?
Therefore, the people who are targeting her at this moment should not be after supplies.
So - are you targeting her?
But she was wearing a mask, and her face was darkened with fragrance-free BRUNETTE foundation. She also used an eyebrow pencil to draw a lot of pockmarks on herself. She never showed her face the whole time. How beautiful must she be to attract people's attention with just a pair of eyes?
Shu Fu stopped in front of a residential bungalow along the small street. The door of the bungalow was being opened from the inside. A man and a woman wearing raincoats and carrying bags came out. They seemed to want to go to the store to exchange their goods.
Shu Fu took two steps forward, greeted the other party, and tried to start a conversation.
The woman recognized Shu Fu's voice and knew she was also a girl. She had already stopped and responded, but the man seemed to notice two people staring at Shu Fu not far away. He frowned immediately and hurried away with his female companion.
The female companion asked a few questions in confusion at first, but then, probably noticing the two people following them, she stopped talking and left quickly with the man.
The residents here knew the two people who were following them, but at the same time they were wary of them and did not dare to interfere in their affairs.
The two men obviously understood that they had been discovered by Shu Fu, and they walked over directly: "Where do you live? Why haven't I seen you before--" Before one of them could finish his words, he saw the person in front of him wearing a mask suddenly turn around and run away. Without any hesitation, he rushed into the rain, ran to the street corner, turned a corner, ran into the alley and disappeared.
"Oh my god!" Another person reacted and hit his companion with his hand, "Why don't you chase him!"
"Why are you hitting me? You didn't even react!" The man fought back unwillingly. The two of them chased after each other around the corner while cursing at each other.
The road was slippery due to the rain, and they didn't believe that a girl could outrun them. This town was their world, so how far could the other girl run alone?
The two people who were thinking this way ran into the alley one after the other. The one running behind was hit on the back of the neck just a few steps into the alley.
Shu Fu, who was lying in ambush among several bags of garbage and cardboard boxes, had taken off her raincoat that was in the way. She was still wearing a mask, her eyes were cold, and she was holding a crowbar in her hand. When the other party reached out to grab her, she quickly took two steps back.
She didn't hit the other person's back of the head directly because she had just arrived and didn't want to cause any death, which would cause more trouble later.
The man did not fall to the ground immediately. Instead, he cursed and forced himself to rush towards Shu Fu.
Just like in many previous simulated battles with Han Lan, Shu Fu dodged the attack, waited for the right moment to hook and twist the opponent's wrist, and used the force of his rush to throw him over his shoulder.
"Fuck..." The man only had time to utter a sound before he was thrown heavily into the rain.
At this moment, the other person running in front had also reacted. He ran too fast and rushed to the front. Now he was still many steps away from Shu Fu. Seeing that she raised the crowbar and was about to hit her accomplice again, he shouted anxiously and threw the iron rod in his hand towards her.
The iron rod hit Shu Fu's shoulder accurately, then bounced off the ground with a clanging sound.
At the same time, the crowbar in Shu Fu's hand also fell down. After two hits, the man was completely unconscious.
Shu Fu turned around and looked at the man who threw the iron rod at her. Her eyes behind the mask were calm and there was no trace of pain at all.
"Damn it!" The man got angry and bent down to take out a folding knife from his rain boots, not intending to hold back any longer.
Shu Fu didn't hesitate. She quickly picked up the backpack she had thrown next to the garbage dump, took out the nail gun under the cover of the backpack, and aimed it at the person who came.
The man obviously recognized what it was. He cursed and braked quickly. He braked just as fast as he had run when he rushed over.
But it was too late. The nail gun in Shu Fu's hand had already started firing. The man subconsciously put his hand up to cover his face. The next second he let out a strange cry as two straight nails pierced into the palm of his hand. He cried for his parents in pain.
At this moment, several hurried footsteps were heard from the street outside the alley, and there was a female voice that Shu Fu had heard not long ago: "It should be nearby!... Yes! I confirm that it is someone from Malaysia! Deputy Captain Chen, hurry up, that girl is alone..."
In just a few words, the voice arrived at the entrance of the alley.
Shu Fu's mind raced, and he analyzed the situation in a few seconds. He then put the nail gun into his backpack, stepped back toward the wall, and instantly removed his protective shield.
Without that layer of protection, the heavy rain instantly enveloped her entire body, and the newcomer also stepped into the alley at this time.
At this moment, the alley was littered with messy garbage and cardboard boxes. A tall man stood abruptly in the middle, and a slim girl was leaning against the wall. She was soaked all over, and her raised slender arms were still shaking obviously, but she still held the crowbar tightly to protect herself and did not let go.
The situation couldn't be clearer. The leading deputy captain Chen was furious and stepped forward to kick the man: "What's going on! Are you causing trouble in our territory again? This is the nth time this month! Are you planning to start a fight?"
The man didn't know whether he dared to dodge or failed to dodge. He was hit hard and spoke with a distorted tone of grievance: "Deputy Captain Chen! It's not us who are causing trouble! It's us who have been tricked!"
"Wu Zhong, what are you talking about!" Deputy Captain Chen pointed at the slender figure leaning against the wall, who was staring at him in a daze, and kicked the person in front of him again, "She plotted against you two? Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"You are——" Wu Zhong retorted with his neck stiff, and then he was besieged by several people behind Deputy Captain Chen.
The group of people didn't want to listen to his explanation at all. The situation was right in front of them. The other party had repeatedly caused trouble in the neighborhood they were responsible for, but they didn't get angry and just treated him as a ketty!
Someone took over the task of teaching the girl a lesson. Deputy Captain Chen said, "Be careful. We have to return the girl to Malaysia after teaching her a lesson." Then he turned to the girl leaning against the wall and said in a gentle voice, "Are you okay?"
Shu Fu looked at the other person. Because of the fight just now, the other person's rain hat had slipped back a little, revealing his very short hair.
She felt a little emotional. The last time they met, he was recommending a new bracelet from a certain brand to her. He said that they should all buy the same model together and that it would be a waste not to wear a bracelet on such a beautiful wrist.
But now, the other party cut her hair like a boy.
The two people's eyes met. Because they were close, Deputy Captain Chen saw the other person's eyes clearly. After being stunned for a moment, he suddenly became surprised and happy: "...Xiao, Xiao Fu?"
Shu Fu felt the vibration on her wrist, pulled down her mask a little, wiped her eyes which were a little hard to open due to the heavy rain, and smiled at the girl in front of her: "Long time no see, Chen Fa."
Chen Fa immediately turned around and shouted "raincoat", and someone immediately picked up the raincoat that had fallen to the side.
She took it and put it back on Shu Fu. When her hands touched her cold and wet clothes, she didn't know what she was thinking about, but a fierce look appeared on her face again. She turned around and glared angrily at Wu Zhong who was trying to get up from the ground.
A moment later, Shu Fu was half-hugged by Chen Fa and taken away from the alley. In the alley behind them, Wu Zhong's aggrieved scream was heard again: "Why are you hitting me again! Hey, Chen Fa, you psychopath, don't really think I'm afraid of you! Oh, oh, oh... Stop hitting me, I'm scared, really scared... We really didn't plan to take action, we just wanted to see where she lives..."
Shu Fu: ...
"Don't worry about it. I will take care of this matter." Chen Fa seemed to sense something, patted Shu Fu on the back, and took her to quicken the pace, saying, "You got caught in the rain, go back and take a shower. You can't get sick here now..."
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