Chapter 22 Happy Cooperation
The car finally arrived at the central square of District 50. Before getting out of the car, under Ding Yi's barrage of wet, blinking eyes, Zuo Shan exchanged contact numbers with her and added her as a friend.
This is the first friend she added after transmigrating. The original owner only had one friend on her wristwatch, Qi Yang, but now she has Ding Yi.
When they parted, Ding Yi waved goodbye to her with reluctance. Under her gentle gaze, he was led away by her uncle's hand.
Once they arrive at the district's outpost, escorting the scavengers back to their lodgings is the simplest thing for mercenaries. They can also earn some pocket money on the side, so why not?
Zuo Shan chose Jia Yiming to help with the escort. He was the only one she knew, and although they weren't exactly close, it was still better than the other mercenaries she hadn't even spoken to.
Moreover, when Jia Yiming accepted her low-radiation pine nuts before, his eyes were clear and honest, and he showed no greedy desire to possess them, so she felt relatively at ease with him.
Jia Yiming borrowed a handcart from the group, put her ten burlap sacks on it, and said loudly as she walked, "It's not worth it for you to bring back so many pine cones. If you're short of firewood, you can just pick up some scraps that other people have cut off nearby."
As Jia Yiming spoke, he winked at her, his meaning clear: he was deliberately letting those secretly watching know that the cartload of goods he was pulling was utterly worthless.
"Sir, I've been having trouble sleeping lately. The doctor at the hospital said that the smell released when pine cones are burned can calm the nerves and help me sleep."
There aren't any pine trees around here, so it's perfect timing to go pick pine cones today. Your group has already collected the pine cones, and my sack is empty, so I'll fill it with some pine cones that others don't want and borrow your truck to haul them back.
"If we miss this opportunity, it won't be easy to get pine cones again." Zuo Shan followed his words.
At that moment, the dozen or so spying eyes all disappeared. After all that, they brought back so many useless pine cones. What a waste of their time tracking them!
I originally thought that the huge pile of bulging sacks that I could hire a mercenary to bring back would definitely be full of good stuff. I thought I'd scout the place first, and maybe I could find a chance to rob it later. But...
Jia Yiming mentally gave Zuo Shan a thumbs up. This girl was indeed smart; no wonder she could survive on her own.
He enjoyed dealing with intelligent people, and what he liked even more was that this girl remained calm and composed even after making a fortune, unlike those naive girls who couldn't help but scream and exclaim when they found low-radiation food.
Then, worried about being discovered, she covered her mouth and cautiously looked around, unaware that anyone who paid even a little attention could notice something amiss.
Jia Yiming came from the lowest rung of District 50. He unexpectedly awakened a metal-type superpower, which gave him the opportunity to join the Flying Tiger Mercenary Group. Unfortunately, his superpower level was too low, so he could only be an ordinary mercenary.
However, he still had goodwill towards the scavengers at the bottom of society. Whenever he encountered those foolish girls, he would advise them to sell low-radiation food to mercenary groups to avoid being robbed on their way home.
However, he did not try to dissuade Zuo Shan because he found her to be a very opinionated girl. But he was still worried that she would be robbed, so he reminded her that the mercenary group had a service of escorting people home, and he cooperated with her in this act on the way.
Upon arriving at Zuo Shan's house, before she could even open the door, Jia Yiming casually tossed the sacks from the cart onto the ground one by one.
This is the area of her yard. Although the original wall is gone, there are only a few stones around it, serving as a formal boundary to remind others not to cross it.
But this only protects against honest people, not scoundrels, and is completely useless.
Jia Yiming kindly helped her untie the burlap sack, took out the pine cones one by one, and laid them out neatly to dry in the setting sun.
Zuo Shan transferred 60 silver coins to him. Jia Yiming raised an eyebrow in surprise. Zuo Shan smiled and said, "This is more as a token of my gratitude. It's not much, just a small token of my appreciation. Please don't find it offensive!"
Jia Yiming felt instantly comforted; it wasn't that he was short-sighted and had his eye on those 10 silver coins.
Rather, it was because he had helped those foolish girls many times. Some of them would nod at him when they met again afterward, while others would complain to him afterward, causing them to be sold at a low price and earning less silver coins.
However, this girl with the left fan was not only insightful but also grateful. Even though she herself was destitute and lived a precarious life, she was still willing to give ten silver coins to express her gratitude.
"Let's exchange contact information. If there's a chance to go on a mission next time, I might be able to give you my family member slot, since all my family members are long gone."
"Not only do we have to agree that if you take my spot, you need to give me 20% of all the profits as compensation. Do you think this kind of cooperation is acceptable?" Jia Yiming said.
Looking at the young man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and full lips, Zuo Shan felt a sense of familiarity with the kind-hearted boy next door, and thought to himself that the saying "you can't judge a book by its cover" is really true.
This person appears honest and simple, but is actually shrewd. He is principled, not particularly kind, but also not malicious.
Such people are reassuring to work with; both sides can benefit, yet neither will harbor malicious intentions out of greed.
Thinking of this, she readily nodded: "Okay! But since it's a collaboration, could you waive the escort fee if you escort me home in the future?"
“No problem!” Jia Yiming said, extending his wristwatch to her and quickly scanning the QR code with his left hand to add her as a friend.
Looking at the three profile pictures on her friend list, her drifting heart slowly landed, and she felt a sense of belonging.
She was no longer alone. She had three communication contacts in this world. Although they weren't really friends in the traditional sense, they at least gave her a little peace of mind compared to that old woman who would stab her in the back.
After Jia Yiming left, Zuo Shan sat at the door, holding a slicing knife, and sliced the pine cones into one-centimeter-thick slices, then spread the slices on the ground to continue drying.
The last few gazes that had been secretly following them, still unwilling to give up, finally disappeared completely.
I thought these pine cones were hiding unharvested pine nuts, but they turned out to be useless. There wasn't even a single pine nut shell in sight, let alone any pine nuts.
That poor wretch is really stupid, spending 50 silver coins to transport such a huge pile of useless trash back. Ugh! What bad luck!
The last few who left decided to stop eyeing the poor girl from now on. With her stupidity, what good things could she possibly find?
Only after all the watchers had left did Mao Li reveal himself and say, "Master, hurry up and get rid of these useless pieces of trash. Let's go home and take stock of today's harvest."
"What do you know? These are all useful, not useless trash!"
The pine oil extracted from pine cones is not only edible but also highly nutritious. Dried pine cones can also be used in medicine, possessing properties that relieve coughs, reduce phlegm, alleviate asthma, and reduce inflammation.
"You have no idea how expensive the medicine is on Green Algae Star. With these, I won't be afraid of getting sick when the extreme cold weather comes," Zuo Shan said.
"Master, are you telling the truth? Why is this not recorded in my knowledge system?" Mao Li was immediately shocked.
"The universe is so vast that even the most learned person will always have things they don't know. As a sage on our planet once said: There is no end to learning."
"You still have a lot to learn from your master!" Zuo Shan said with a proud expression.
Suddenly having a know-it-all mechanical prince by her side made her feel immense pressure. Today, she finally had a chance to turn the tables! Yay!
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