Chapter 50
Hu Qian suddenly felt her blood rush to her head. "Shut up! You two heartless bastards! I used to treat you so well..."
Jiang Shu reached out to interrupt her, "No, no, no, don't say that. If you're talking about how it's good that you glare at me for ages even if I eat just one piece of fruit from my older brother, I can't handle that."
Jiang Zhi patted Jiang Shu, "Brother, don't waste time talking to people you don't know well."
Jiang Shu nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes." He took out the bone stick and handed it to Zhu Min, "Miss Zhu, please help me with the test."
These words really angered Hu Qian.
When they heard that Jiang Shu wanted to have something tested, they were about to mock them for not knowing that the testing fee was 5,000 points when they saw Jiang Zhi swipe her card smoothly.
Thinking back to the fact that she had contributed all those points, Hu Qian felt even more upset.
Hu Qian gritted her teeth in resentment and couldn't help but sneer, "They really think everything they find is a treasure."
Jiang Shu rolled his eyes. "At least I didn't spend 120,000 on this!"
"you!"
Jiang Zhi couldn't help but smile to herself.
Her brother is really good at being infuriating.
Seeing that she couldn't win the argument with Jiang Shu and his sister, Hu Qian turned around and continued to cause trouble for the staff, "What are you looking at? Call your supervisor over here, I demand a retest!"
The staff member was initially pleased to see her rendered speechless, but when it was their turn so quickly, they immediately suppressed their anger: "Our testing costs are very high, and unless there is a problem with the equipment, we will not repeat the test."
Hu Qian sneered, "You won't re-inspect, huh? I'm not leaving unless you re-inspect, and I'm going to write a complaint letter!"
At this moment, the person in charge came over and instructed the staff, "Retest her, but if the result is the same as before, Ms. Hu will have to pay the testing fee as usual."
Just as Hu Qian was about to say something, Jiang Shu said, "Don't worry, our former sister-in-law has plenty of money. It's just 5,000 points, she can definitely come up with that."
These words immediately put Hu Qian in a superior position, leaving her unsure whether to respond or not.
She glared fiercely at Jiang Shu.
Jiang Shu gave her a "friendly" smile.
The person in charge smiled and said, "Since Ms. Hu agrees, we will retest it."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Hu Qian had no choice but to swallow her anger and say, "If it really was a mistake in your testing, you have to compensate me for my emotional distress!"
The person in charge clearly had great confidence in his team and equipment, nodding and saying, "Of course."
So the mutated earthworm and the ginger tree bone were sent to the testing room together.
The results will take more than an hour to come out.
During this time, the brother and sister ignored Hu Qian and went downstairs to play in the training room.
Jiang Shu also played the online challenge, but his mental strength was only average among the many mutants in the base, so he stopped at level 28.
When Hu Qian learned that the brother and sister were mutants, her eyes immediately turned red.
I was both angry and unwilling to accept it.
The base allocates a lot of resources to mutants. Even her current husband, the head of the property management bureau in Zone B, has to smile obsequiously when he sees a mutant.
This demonstrates the status of mutants.
Hu Qian couldn't help but think—if she hadn't left the Jiang family back then… she could have benefited from the mutants' fame now…
Once the thought arises, it can no longer be suppressed.
What upset Hu Qian even more was the test results for the mutated earthworm.
When Hu Qian heard that the test results still showed that it was a normal mutated creature, while the test results for Jiang Shu and his sister's bone sticks showed that they were special items, she was completely dismayed.
She exclaimed in disbelief, "How is this possible?! Have you mixed up the results?! How could something they have be a special prop?!"
This time, even the person in charge became dissatisfied. "Ms. Hu, if you still question our test results, please follow the proper procedures. If you continue to talk nonsense, I will sue you for disturbing public order."
"Also, please pay the 5,000 points for the retest. If you don't, I will give the bill to Director Liu."
Hu Qian was furious.
It's not just the frustration of spending a lot of money but not getting what you want, but also the embarrassment of being laughed at by the other party.
But his responsible words successfully held her lifeline. No matter how much trouble she caused outside, she dared not let Liu Shaoyang know, otherwise she would desperately want her monthly allowance.
Hu Qian gritted her teeth and paid the 5,000 points.
My heart is bleeding.
Turning his head, he saw Jiang Shu smiling, and the anger in his heart erupted like a volcano.
"Don't be too smug. If I'm not doing well, do you think Sui Sui and Si Si will be doing well?"
She maliciously wanted to drag the Jiang family down with her suffering, her face contorted in agony. "I'm telling you, if I want, I can take Sui Sui and Si Si away anytime. Then your eldest brother, that good-for-nothing, will live in misery forever!!"
Jiang Shu instantly flew into a rage, "Hu Qian! Don't think I don't hit women—"
Jiang Zhi pulled him over. "Brother, let me do it."
She smiled and slowly said to Hu Qian, "You want to spend another 120,000?"
Hu Qian's eyes widened instantly as she stared intently at the calm and collected face before her. Her facial muscles twitched violently, and she forced out a sentence through gritted teeth: "You guys really did this on purpose!!"
Hu Qian felt as if a fire had suddenly ignited in her heart, burning so intensely that her internal organs ached. She was both angry and furious, wishing she could tear the Jiang family members who dared to scheme against her to pieces on the spot. However, she couldn't find a way to retaliate, and she clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Jiang Zhi smiled and whispered in her ear, "To tell you the truth, we knew all along that earthworm was just a normal mutated creature. If you had begged us back then, we might not have tried to extort you. It's a pity you just delivered yourself to our doorstep... Thank you for improving our family's life."
"Oh, by the way, I do have information about what you want. Perhaps if you beg me, I can give you a discount, 130,000... or 140,000?"
Hearing Jiang Zhi's words, Hu Qian trembled with anger. She suddenly grabbed a cup from the coffee table and threw it at Jiang Shu, but Jiang Shu swept it back.
He shouted, not wanting to let things escalate, "What are you doing? What are you doing? This is a blatant attack! I'm going to have the patrol arrest you!"
Hu Qian gritted her teeth: "Jiang Zhi!! The Jiang family!! I, Hu Qian, will never let you get away with this!"
She tried to make another move, but the institute's security personnel had already arrived.
Hu Qian was firmly supported.
"What are you doing?! Let me go!!"
The person in charge instructed, "Take her out and don't let her come in again. Also, inform Director Liu Shaoyang about what happened today."
After the security personnel responded "yes," they immediately dragged the frenzied Hu Qian out.
"Ginger branches! Ginger trees! And you members of the Jiang family!! You all need to remember this!!!"
Hu Qian's powerless rants echoed throughout the building.
Jiang Zhi felt nothing.
Jiang Shu, who was standing nearby, heard Jiang Zhi's words and asked in a low voice, "Zhi, do you really know where that mutated earthworm went?"
Jiang Zhi: "I don't know, I just said that on purpose to annoy her."
Jiang Shu silently gave a thumbs up: "...Well done."
A woman like Hu Qian is best left to be driven mad.
The person in charge then spoke up, "We apologize for the unpleasant experience you had today; it is our responsibility. The institute will waive your testing fees."
The person in charge then handed the test report to Jiang Shu.
Jiang Zhi exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Can I test one more item?"
The person in charge chuckled.
This little girl really knows how to take advantage of opportunities.
"Can."
So, Jiangzhi handed over the fried cotton aphids that had hatched in the eggshells yesterday, along with the genuine cotton aphids, which she had found in her pocket.
The person in charge didn't say anything.
This time it was much faster than before; the report was ready in just fifteen minutes.
The person in charge handed the two reports to the brother and sister, and also gave the two cotton aphids back to Jiang Zhi.
"These are cotton aphids, right? They're not special items, but low levels of toxins are still rare. It's just that one of the cotton aphids is a bit low in energy. But your wild boar leg bone is very valuable."
Although Jiang Shu already knew that his bone stick was a treasure, he was still overjoyed when he saw the analysis report.
"Leg bone suspected to be from a mutated wild boar. Function: Repels 78% of mutated insects. Remaining energy: 57%."
"Suspected mutant cotton aphid 1, low toxicity, no special characteristics, low energy..."
The following is a series of testing procedures.
I didn't understand Jiangzhi.
But the conclusion was the same as the information revealed by her dashboard.
only……
Jiang Shu asked the question she wanted to ask: "What does this remaining energy mean?"
"There are many types of special items. Apart from edible items that can give humans superpowers, all usable special items will wear out with each use."
Jiang Zhi thought to herself, "Just as I thought."
She had previously sensed that these golden items had usage restrictions, and recently, as her mental strength increased, she could feel the reduction in their use more clearly.
What surprised her was that the base's instruments could detect things so accurately.
Jiang Zhi was somewhat envious. She estimated that she would have to wait until her mental strength improved further before she could reach the same level as the base's detection equipment.
Jiang Shu had no idea what his sister was thinking.
He said with a pained expression, "My bone staff only has 57% energy left? Isn't there any way to recharge these special items?"
"It's not impossible, but it's not worth it right now," the person in charge said with a smile. "We've done experiments and found that we can inject mental energy into special items, but even if a level 3 mutant injects all their mental energy into it, it won't increase their energy by much."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu recalled how his younger sister had previously infused pangolin scales with spiritual energy.
—Why does it seem like Ah-zhi had it so easy back then?
He suppressed his doubts.
Then Jiang Zhi asked the person in charge, "Do you have any special items here that have run out of energy and are no longer usable?"
The person in charge said, "Yes, there are some, but not many. Most of them were used by Professor Yan for experiments."
Upon hearing this, the brother and sister immediately said in unison:
"Isn't that too wasteful?"
"Isn't that such a waste?"
The two exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away guiltily.
The person in charge was taken aback, then chuckled, "You may not know our Professor Yan, but in fact, many of the base's useful auxiliary tools are his creations. There's no such thing as a waste when it comes to his work."
Jiang Shugan coughed.
That's not what they meant, of course.
The reason it's considered wasteful is because they all know that ginger twigs can "charge" these special substances.
Jiang Zhi: "Can we take a look at those special props that were scrapped?"
Guan Qi, the person in charge, hesitated for a second before saying, "We need to report to Professor Yan first. Please wait a moment."
Guan Qi made a phone call, and the person on the other end readily agreed after hearing that it was Jiang Shu and his sister making the request.
He also said, "Try to meet their needs."
This sentence made the person in charge look at the two of them with new respect.
Everyone in the research institute knew that Professor Yan was stern and unsmiling, and no one knew that these two siblings were so special that Professor Yan took such good care of them.
Guan Qi ended the call and said to the brother and sister in a gentle tone, "Come with me."
Soon, the two followed Guan Qi and took the staff elevator to the mezzanine on the third floor.
The room where the discarded special props are kept is not large, only two or three hundred square meters.
The interior was just like a large Walmart supermarket from the past, with shelves stacked high, and iron racks neatly arranged, densely packed with all sorts of things.
Jiang Shu opened his mouth wide.
"Are these all scrapped special props?"
Guan Qi: "Not entirely. Only a small portion are scrapped special items. Most of them are things that mutants brought back from the wild, and we don't know the details of yet. They are all waiting for Professor Yan's team to study them."
Jiang Shu breathed a sigh of relief—he knew it! When did special props become so worthless?
The passageway was only one meter wide, with metal racks on both sides. The shelves were crammed full of items of different sizes, each with a sign hanging underneath. Jiang Zhi glanced at them and saw that each sign had its origin written on it.
For example, on her right, at eye level, was a strangely shaped root with the words "Strangely shaped root, from a mutated willow tree in the former Jiangnan District" written on it.
There are countless examples like this.
Jiang Zhi scanned the dashboard in her mind and found that 99% of the items here were nothing special, with only a few emitting a golden light.
It seems that when a special item is depleted of its energy, the dashboard will not display a warning.
Jiang Zhi casually asked, "Manager Guan, have you tested all these things?"
“No,” Guan Qi said. “Detecting mutated organisms is too costly. If we tested everything here, the cost would be comparable to the resources allocated to the mutants.”
Jiang Zhi smiled but didn't say anything.
Guan Qi: "We've arrived."
He pointed to the items on a small bookshelf-like shelf in the corner, "These are all special items that have been scrapped. If the bone in your hand is scrapped, you can bring it here and exchange it for some points."
The brother and sister looked over and saw at least dozens of discarded special items.
There are dried flower coasters available. According to the description, you can automatically refill your cup simply by placing the container on them.
Honeycomb candles are hexagonal, honeycomb-shaped yellow candles stacked in a pyramid shape. They burn just like old fluorescent lights and can illuminate a space of 200 square meters without obstructing any obstacles.
There are also mutated butterfly wings, which allow for low-altitude flight after use.
...
The two were dazzled by the variety of discarded special props.
But Jiang Zhi quickly realized that most of the items here were for daily life, and there were very few special items for wilderness assistance.
On second thought, it makes sense. After all, the more you use it, the easier it is to deplete its energy.
Special items for daily life generally last longer.
Jiang Zhi withdrew her spiritual energy and asked calmly, "Manager Guan, could you sell us a few items from here?"
Yes, that's the real purpose of ginger.
Who would just want to take a look?
Since we're already here, of course we should take some good stuff with us.
Guan Qi was about to refuse, but then he remembered what Professor Yan had told him, and immediately swallowed his words of refusal.
What would you like to buy?
Jiang Zhi had her eye on something placed high up that could amplify attacks by three times—a mutated trumpet flower.
This morning glory isn't very big, and it looks about the same as before, making it perfect as a prop.
They didn't have many offensive tools, but with this trumpet flower, their safety in the gathering area would be basically guaranteed.
However, this morning glory flower looked somewhat withered after losing its energy.
Guan Qi: "What do you need this for?"
"I just wanted to keep it as a souvenir."
Guan Qi looked at her with a complicated expression.
Times have changed, but young people these days still don't understand the importance of saving money.
"Alright, you can take the 500 points."
Jiangzhi happily handed him a few cents.
Then he gave Jiang Shu a wink, and Jiang Shu immediately understood and said, "Manager Guan, since my sister has bought one, I want to buy one too. Let me pick one out."
Guan Qi: ...Are these two siblings here to buy goods?
Guan Qi remained silent for a moment, then said, "You choose."
At Jiang Zhi's suggestion, Jiang Shu picked out a mutated tortoise shell.
After use, it can generate a protective shield with a size of two meters. The strength and size of the shield can be adjusted according to the user's mental strength.
If this thing were in Jiang Zhi's hands, it could be considered a divine weapon.
After transferring the money, Jiang Zhi smiled and pointed to a package of mutated sheep droppings and a package of soil in the next container, "Manager Guan, could you sell these two to us while you're at it?"
Jiang Zhi's real target was the mutated sheep; the soil next door was just a random choice to cover up her true intentions and didn't possess any special abilities.
Jiang Zhi wondered which mutant was so perverted as to cut off a whole sheep's genitals.
But this thing is undoubtedly a good thing.
"Beep—Golden item detected: mutated Saanen dairy goat's [item/item], which can continuously produce goat milk, and eating it can enhance immunity."
The sheep in front of me was limp and wrinkled, with dried brown blood streaks on its skin. Its genitals were shrunken and looked very greasy. As soon as I got close, a strong smell of mutton hit my nose. Not only did it look bad, it also tasted bad.
Guan Qi was a little curious: "Why did you decide to buy this? It was brought back by the exploration team a while ago. It's coated with a preservative for preservation, and it's highly toxic, so it can't be eaten."
I originally thought they would take it back to eat.
Jiang Zhi said, "Manager Guan, you misunderstood. I only bought it because I was curious. I haven't been shopping in a long time, and when I saw something I liked, I wanted to buy it."
...Do you have such a strong taste?
Guan Qi glanced at her hesitantly, then finally said, "I can only sell you this one more item; it's against the rules to begin with."
Jiang Zhi was very happy and said with a smile, "Thank you, Manager Guan!! We'll treat you to something delicious next time!"
Guan Qi thought about the siblings' preferences and smiled, "Maybe when there's a chance."
*
After seeing Jiang Shu and his sister off, Guan Qi reported the matter to Professor Yan.
After hearing that the two had bought three items, Professor Yan said, "Send me the materials for those four items."
Jiang Zhi and her brother were unaware of this turn of events after they left, but even if they had known, they wouldn't have cared.
Even the most advanced detection equipment in the base can't detect her secret, so there's nothing to be afraid of even if Professor Yan senses something is wrong.
The problem is that the base has found out that Jiang Shu's mental strength level is higher than his physical mutation level, which is causing some trouble.
Who knows, Professor Yan might come knocking on our door again later.
Jiang Zhi couldn't tell whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Others didn't know, but the brother and sister did.
Jiang Shu's mental strength improved so quickly entirely thanks to the training program that Jiang Zhi devised for him.
Every night, Jiang Shu would use the mutated tree fern he had previously picked in Collection Area No. 8 to practice his mental strength.
Compared to today's practice in the mental training chamber, Jiang Zhi felt that neither the efficiency nor the quality could compare to practicing with mutated creatures.
However, practicing with mutated creatures is also very dangerous.
If Jiang Shu hadn't had Jiang Zhi, a powerful spiritual expert, protecting him back then, he might have been defeated that time.
Jiang Zhi: "Brother, what if the people from the research institute come looking for you then—"
Jiang Shu had an incredibly good attitude: "Hey, let them look for me. If they ask me questions, I'll answer them. At worst, I'll just say I don't know."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi still said, "We should still talk to Mom and Dad about this."
She hadn't forgotten the superhuman who could detect whether someone was lying.
The brother and sister chatted as they returned home.
As soon as I stepped across the threshold, I saw a small truck parked in front of my house.
Jiang Shu spotted Ning Tao in the driver's seat and Chen Xuan in the passenger seat and exclaimed happily, "Azhi, our mole pelts have arrived!"
Sure enough, the next second, Chen Xuan got out of the car.
Jiang Zhi quickly greeted him, "Captain Chen!"
Chen Xuan laughed and said, "What a coincidence! I was just wondering what I would do if you weren't here."
Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "It's okay even if we're not here, our family is here."
After exchanging a few pleasantries with smiles, Chen Xuan instructed her team members to unload more than thirty mole skins from the vehicle.
Jiang Shu quickly called out all the women who were in charge of the household.
"Mom, Aunt, Second Aunt, please come out and help!"
Ye Qingyun had been wondering if Hu Yang from the exploration team had come, but it turned out not to be him. He quickly came out with Wu Xiu and the others.
Upon seeing the pile of mole pelts on the ground, they were all taken aback. "Big Tree, what is this...?"
Jiang Shu was about to speak when his younger sister interrupted him: "Mom, these are mole skins we ordered. They can make a lot of winter clothes."
Chen Xuan overheard this and immediately looked at Jiang Zhi with amusement—even she herself didn't know when she had become a mole skin seller.
When Ye Qingyun heard that the items were purchased, he didn't dare to ask too many questions in front of these mutants. He could only move the items back with his family.
After Jiang Shu carried the last large mole pelt back into the house, Chen Xuan said, "These mole pelts have all been processed for you. Although they are highly toxic, they can still be worn for a long time."
Jiang Zhi knew that it would cost a lot of money for her to have it processed, so she thanked her and said, "Thank you."
Chen Xuan smiled, got into the car, and rolled down the window before leaving. "You guys are hoarding these mole pelts, do you know something about it?"
Jiang Zhi feigned ignorance, "What?"
Chen Xuan smiled and shook her head, then closed the car window and drove away.
After everyone left, Jiang Zhi's smile faded.
Yesterday, the minimum temperature dropped by three units again, and even the base store started to limit the purchase of food, which is not a good sign.
This proves that they are not far from winter.
Jiang Zhi returned to the courtyard, where Ye Qingyun, Yuan Ying, and Xu Na discussed what clothes they could make from the mole skin and how many to make.
Not counting the large mole skin, there are thirty-seven smaller ones.
If you're making coats for the men in your family, you need three mole skins for each man. There are seven men in the family, so you'll need 21 mole skins.
Women need to be smaller, so two and a half sheets are enough; you'll need 15 sheets.
The remaining slightly larger piece was used to make dishes for Jiang Sui and Jiang Si, which were just the right size.
Grandma Jiang touched the leather, which was much smoother after the treatment, and smiled, "This leather feels really comfortable; it would make a great coat."
Wu Xiu was a little worried. She didn't know how to sew, and what if she accidentally ruined it?
Yuan Ying smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. Nana is very skilled. Just follow her instructions. Maybe we can even have some leather left over to make a couple of knee pads for Mom."
Grandma Jiang is getting on in years, and her joints won't be able to withstand the cold winter.
Grandma Jiang couldn't stop smiling at her daughter-in-law's filial piety. "Why are you worrying about an old woman like me? The children are more important."
As they were chatting, Ye Qingyun saw Jiang Zhi walk in and asked, "A-Zhi, how many points did you spend to buy these hides?"
Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Actually, we helped them out, and they gave it to us."
The women all hissed in unison, as if they had been hit by a giant pancake from the sky.
Ye Qingyun looked at his daughter suspiciously: "So many things, and you actually gave them to us!?"
Jiang Zhi touched her nose: "We helped each other out..."
Jiang He, who was doing carpentry nearby, laughed and said, "This is a good opportunity to make more coats, otherwise I'm really afraid I won't be able to work in the winter."
Jiang Shu: "Second Uncle, you must be staying indoors chatting in the winter, why would you do any work in this cold weather!"
Ye Qingyun gave him a symbolic slap, "You brat, do you think everyone is as lazy as you?"
Jiang Shu shrank back and muttered, "Where am I lazy? I'm very diligent..."
Ye Qingyun snorted and ignored his son, happily stroking the mole skin in his hand.
So many pieces of leather, and they're free! Just thinking about it makes me happy.
Jiang Zhi said, "Mom, now that we have money, let's buy some mutated fruits and stock up."
Ye Qingyun: "Didn't we already buy them? The previous mutated tomatoes are still locked in the cupboard. We'll eat them together later when everyone in the family is here."
Jiang Shu pouted, "Mom, my sister was talking about fruit."
Ye Qingyun glared at him, pretending to pinch his ear, "What? Aren't tomatoes fruit? Then you'd better not eat them tonight!"
Jiang Shu quickly replied, "I was just saying it offhand, please just ignore it."
As he spoke, Jiang Shu quickly shrank back and walked over to Jiang Jun, pretending to help. His intuition told him that he should stay out of the way at this time.
He muttered to himself, "Honestly, even though I've become a mutant, my mom still pinches my ear at home..."
Ye Qingyun rolled his eyes, about to say a few more words, when he suddenly froze and shouted, "Big Tree! What... what did you just say?!"
Jiang Shu was taken aback by Ye Qingyun's strong reaction and stammered, "I... what did I say? I just said you like me pinching your ears..."
"No, not that sentence!"
Jiang Shu looked at Jiang Jun and asked, "What did I just say?"
Jiang Jun laughed and said, "You've become a mutant."
Jiang Shu slapped his forehead, "Right! I said I've become a mutant, Mom—"
Before Jiang Shu could finish speaking, the entire Jiang family exclaimed in unison, "Big Tree, you've become a mutant!?"
Jiang Shu was startled, thinking something had happened. "Yes, yes, not only me, but Azhi has also become a mutant."
After the initial shock, Ye Qingyun couldn't help but grin foolishly. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked urgently, "What about the gene collapse your uncle mentioned earlier... are you alright? How are you feeling?"
Upon hearing this, everyone held their breath, waiting for the two to reply.
Seeing this, Jiang Shu said, "Don't worry, we're both in great shape. The old man at the research institute finds it unbelievable."
Only then did everyone dare to smile.
Grandma Jiang held the hands of the brother and sister and said happily, "Heaven has opened its eyes! Our ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke!"
In the eyes of modern people, mutants are rarer than getting into Tsinghua or Peking University, and their family has produced two of them at once—it's like their ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke.
Jiang He said with a smile, "This is a great thing for our Jiang family. We should definitely prepare a couple of hearty dishes to celebrate today!"
Yuan Ying rolled her eyes at him, "Do you even need to tell me?"
Jiang He laughed.
Ye Qingyun hugged the brother and sister, grinning from ear to ear, but still stubbornly insisted, "As long as you are healthy, whether you are mutants or not is not important!"
"Let's have a nice meal tonight to celebrate."
When it comes to food, Jiang Shu gets excited.
"Mom, since we're celebrating, how can we forget about fruit? Let's go stock up on some mutated fruit!"
Ye Qingyun pinched his ear in annoyance, "Do you think you're a rich kid? You want to eat fruit? We haven't even achieved food security yet, and you want to eat fruit?"
"Ouch, ouch, Mom, be gentle—" Jiang Shu cried out, "Don't we still have over 200,000 yuan? What's wrong with buying some fruit?"
Jiang Shu shouted while frantically winking at Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi had no choice but to say, "Mom, if winter comes, we don't know if the mutated plants outside can withstand it. It would be best if our family could stock up on some mutated fruits, firstly to improve our diet, and secondly to supplement our vitamins."
This last sentence hit the Achilles' heel of Ye Qingyun and his generation.
What's the most important thing in this world? Health, of course!
After discussing it, Ye Qingyun and the others agreed that Jiang Zhi was right. They released the ginger tree, clapped their hands, and said, "Then we'll have Awen find someone to collect some of them later."
"Mom, my second brother hasn't come back yet. This matter should be handled as soon as possible. I'll take care of it in a bit."
So proactive?
Ye Qingyun looked at her sweet little darling with suspicion.
"Mom, don't you trust me? I'm not my brother, I'm not greedy."
Ye Qingyun was completely convinced.
Back in the shed, Jiang Shu, handing tools to Jiang Jun, grumbled, "You brat! You're using me as a shield again!"
Jiang Jun smiled and said, "Just ask her to buy you more of the fruits you like."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu was overjoyed: "As expected, it has to be the eldest brother!"
Ye Qingyun relented and said, "Alright, how many points do you want?"
Jiang Zhi: "Twenty thousand—"
Before Ye Qingyun could speak, Grandma Jiang said, "So much? Ah Zhi, fruit isn't a necessity, is it necessary to buy so much?"
Jiang Zhi knew the old lady was distressed: "Grandma, fruit is much more expensive than regular grain. Those mutated tomatoes we bought at the base store today cost quite a bit."
Grandma Jiang felt even more distressed when she thought about it. "Does that mean that even 20,000 points won't buy much fruit?"
Ye Qingyun was also heartbroken; the family had just received some money, and it was already gone again. "You silly girl, you really do want to spend money recklessly as soon as you have a little bit in your hands. We don't even have enough food to eat."
"Qingyun, let's not talk about the child. We need to continue stockpiling food and some fruit too. We don't want to have to spend several times more points to buy it when the temperature drops," Wu Xiu said generously as she transferred the money to Jiang Zhi. "Your aunt gave me this money. Azhi, don't listen to your mother. Use the money when you need it."
Ye Qingyun sighed helplessly, "Sister-in-law, just spoil her."
Wu Xiu originally intended to put the points from the mutated earthworm into the public account, but Ye Qingyun didn't allow it.
When Jiang Shan was working on the exploration team, he heard that there was a material that could be made into prosthetics. When a person was put on the body, they could not only walk normally, but also walk without wearing down the broken part.
When Ye Qingyun learned of this, he told Wu Xiu to keep the points and buy them when the base store started selling them.
Originally, Wu Xiu found the mutated earthworm, so it was perfectly reasonable for her to keep it.
So now that the other party has taken out 20,000, no one can say anything more.
Jiang Zhi was touched and said, "Thank you, Auntie."
"Oh, don't thank me. If it weren't for you, our earthworms wouldn't have sold for so many points. Even Ma Yanhong next door looks different."
Wu Xiu was referring to the incident where Ma Yanhong's nephew cheated Hu Qian out of 30,000 points.
Ye Qingyun curled her lip, "Of course she's happy. She's made so much money with us, it's really a bargain for her."
No sooner had Ye Qingyun finished speaking than a cry rang out from outside, “Stop! Stop! What right do you have to arrest my nephew?! It’s a willing buyer and a willing seller, how is that illegal?! I’m going to sue you!!”
The voice was all too familiar. "Is it—Ma Yanhong?"
The group looked at each other in bewilderment, and then one by one they ran outside to look.
—It really is Ma Yanhong!
Three or five guards were seen standing in front of Ma Yanhong's house.
"Let me go!" Ma Yanhong's nephew yelled as the guard twisted his arm, blood still smeared from his mouth. "My brother is a mutant! How dare you treat me like this?! I'm going to file a complaint against you!"
Ma Yanhong was also pulling at him from the side, her voice almost shaking the heavens: "Damn it! My nephew is doing business honestly, he hasn't done anything wrong, and you're arresting people randomly. Let me tell you, my son is a mutant. If I just say a word to him, all of you will be finished!"
The lead guard sneered, "I'd like to see which mutant is so powerful that you can kill us all with just a word."
Upon hearing this, Ma Yanhong's husband's face darkened. His son's future was at stake, and he wouldn't let his wife ruin it.
He slapped Ma Yanhong across the face, yelling, "What nonsense are you spouting! What does this have to do with our son?! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll make you regret it!"
After doing all this, Ma Yanhong's husband smiled apologetically at the guards and said, "I'm sorry, gentlemen, my wife is being unreasonable. Please don't take it to heart. Just do what needs to be done."
Her husband's words calmed Ma Yanhong's anger, but seeing her nephew's miserable state, she straightened her back and said righteously, "What do you mean, 'what should we do'?! My nephew is innocent! Go ask the people around here, who doesn't know that Director Liu's wife bought this from us? We offered a price, and she was willing to buy it. Why are you saying we're overcharging?! If you keep arresting people like this, we'll sue you for abusing your power!"
Ma Yanhong's nephew, Ma Hongbin, struggled and said, "That's right! Everyone saw it! I'm doing business legitimately, you have no right to arrest me!"
Ma Yanhong's husband didn't want to get involved, but not wanting things to get too ugly, he smiled ingratiatingly at the guard and said, "You see, what has my nephew done? He should at least tell us so we know what's going on..."
The guard said expressionlessly, "We received a report from Ms. Hu Qian. First, she reported that you were disrupting the market and reselling goods. Second, she reported that you were swapping special props that should have belonged to Ms. Hu. We need to take you back for investigation on either of these grounds."
"Currently, after investigation, it has been found that Ma Hongbin did indeed engage in market disruption. According to the base's regulations, any resale of any item requires registration with the property management bureau and payment of a 10% tax. We have not found any record of Ma Hongbin paying the relevant taxes."
The base does have this rule, but in reality, most people don't follow it. Everyone is so poor they can't even get enough to eat, so who would bother paying this tax?
Therefore, most people choose to barter or find a middleman on the black market to resell the goods.
This way, even if both parties are dissatisfied, they won't be able to find the original owner.
However, Ma Hongbin's high-profile approach to the matter, coupled with his greed and failure to honestly register and pay taxes with the property management bureau, gave Hu Qian an opportunity to take advantage of him.
Upon hearing this, Ma Hongbin angrily shouted, "Nonsense! This is all nonsense from that bitch Hu Qian! If she didn't want to buy my things in the first place, she shouldn't have put on this begging act!"
The head guard didn't care about any of that.
"If you have any complaints, you can go back to the patrol office to discuss them."
He then gestured to his subordinates to take the person away.
This time, Ma Yanhong tried to stop him again, but her husband pulled her aside and whispered a warning, "If you cause any more trouble, we're getting a divorce! You'll be living with your family on your own from now on!!"
Ma Yanhong was immediately put in her place and dared not cause any more trouble. She could only watch helplessly as her nephew was taken away by the guards while cursing.
The base has a rule that if someone is caught evading taxes, they will be fined 100 times the amount owed.
In other words, not only will the nephew have to hand over all of the 30,000 yuan he originally earned, but he will also have a record of tax evasion.
It will be much harder to trade on the black market or become a middleman in the future!
This is tantamount to blocking all of his nephew's escape routes.
The thought of her family's precious child being taken away by her filled her with resentment, and she berated the culprit.
"Heavens above! How am I going to explain this to my family! That damned Hu Qian! That whore who's been ridden by a thousand men, I'll tear her mouth apart! If you can't afford it, don't buy it, don't try to act rich here—"
As he finished speaking, seeing the Jiang family members watching the commotion, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if grasping at a last straw. He shouted to the guard who hadn't gone far, "Wait a minute, guard! What if they're inflating the price? They're the ones who sold it to my nephew! They sold it for 90,000 points!!"
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