Chapter 21: Buy, Buy, Buy

“Dad, go dig up some soil in the yard, quick. I need it urgently.”

At Yan Yu’s command, Yan Lao’er immediately sprang into action.

Priorities had to be clear—this wasn’t the time to ask why.

The young man’s face looked a little better than before, though still somewhat pale. He said stiffly, “Everyone’s time is valuable. If you don’t want to stay connected, just shut down the platform. It will naturally reassign users to prevent wasting others’ time.”

Yan Yu was very polite and nodded repeatedly. “Got it! I’ll be more mindful in the future.”

“Big brother, what’s your situation over there? Can you tell me?”

“Apocalypse category. Global biochemical crisis,” the young man answered succinctly.

Yan Yu was startled and asked, “You mean like zombies?”

Oh no, there were too many movies and novels about that.

A real zombie apocalypse? The horror was beyond words!

The young man pressed his lips tightly together and nodded before adding, “Zombies, mutant beasts, mutant plants.”

“Huh? Does that mean the soil is polluted and can’t be farmed?”

“Not exactly.” The young man glanced at the time and continued, “The soil outside hides insect eggs that are hard to detect. Non-mutated high-quality seeds are extremely valuable, so we can’t take risks. High-temperature sterilization can’t guarantee the complete removal of insect eggs, and strong pesticides would damage the soil’s composition. That’s why soil traded through the free market is safer—it passes the platform’s checks, offering double protection.”

“So, even if the soil I trade over contains insect eggs, they’d be killed, right?” Just like how the platform prohibited trading live creatures.

“This is a mechanism to prevent species invasion.” The young man’s expression remained cold but serious. “Each connected world may seem similar but is actually different. From a macrocosmic view—the size of celestial bodies, structural operations, evolutionary directions of species, technological advancements, and civilization’s understanding—every little difference makes the future even more unpredictable.

“The platform itself doesn’t offer goods that surpass our civilization’s capabilities. However, perhaps considering the extreme survival conditions, it has opened up free trade as an alternative.

“Transactions are balanced based on the principle of equivalent exchange.”

“The soil is here!”

Yan Lao’er carried in a burlap sack. When opened, it was more than half full.

The young man’s expression softened a bit, and he looked less severe.

“Confirm it.”

Yan Yu reached out and tapped on the screen. Two neatly stacked rows of toilet paper lost their packaging but remained standing.

Yan Lao’er casually picked one up—only for the rolls to scatter everywhere.

Yan Lao’er: …

Li Xuemei suddenly cried out, “Xiao Yu, hurry! Buy rice, flour, seasonings, eggs, meat, and vegetables! Quick!”

Yan Yu snapped back to her senses.

Oh crap! She had been so focused on selling that she forgot to buy!

With only one minute left on the countdown—

She unleashed her thousand-character-per-hour typing speed.

Tap, tap, tap!

Buy, buy, buy!

Food, food, food!

After sweeping through everything, she realized rice and flour were still available. She kept tapping, not knowing how many times, until they were sold out. Every food item on the shelf was gone, and there were still ten seconds left on the countdown.

She hurriedly asked, “Mom, should I buy bamboo slips? We might still have enough for them.”

Li Xuemei, flustered but decisive, said, “Buy them.”

Yan Yu checked the time again. At the three-second mark, she tapped to buy three bamboo slips—the final purchase before the countdown hit zero.

The tension finally eased, and she let out a long sigh of relief.

Just as she was about to check her balance, the screen went blank.

Yan Yu: …

Just one glance! Couldn’t she at least check?!

Still, she knew they had made a huge haul this time.

They had bought almost everything useful from the platform’s shelves.

Trying to recall her balance before buying the bamboo slips…

Darn! Her head buzzed—she only remembered it was in the high hundreds but had forgotten the exact number!

“Ah, what do I do? I forgot my balance.” Yan Yu knocked her head, feeling like a mess.

Yan Lao’er chuckled. “Forget it, then. What’s the big deal? You can check next time! Don’t hit your head too hard—it’s still growing.”

Li Xuemei suddenly exclaimed, “Good thing we traded for a teapot and clay pot earlier! Otherwise, the soy sauce and vinegar would’ve been wasted.”

The father and son looked over—true enough.

The soy sauce had claimed the clay pot, while the vinegar had to settle for the teapot. The teapot was too small, so some vinegar had to be poured into a small bowl that once held pig skin jelly.

Everything had been assigned a proper place—well done!

As for the various seasonings, they sat in neat piles like the rice and flour, each standing proudly in its own space.

“These…” Yan Yu pointed at them. “How do we pack them? We don’t have enough bags.”

Li Xuemei was stumped.

They had sold all their fabric and sewing supplies. Otherwise, she could have made some bags.

Yan Lao’er said, “I’ll check the kitchen.”

“Dad, don’t bother. We only have a few bowls and basins in there, and we already used them all. We’ll get caught tomorrow. Oh, by the way, if anyone asks why we cooked dumpling soup at midnight, just say Mom’s unborn sibling was craving it.”

Yan Lao’er burst into laughter. “That’s a great excuse.”

Li Xuemei sighed and accepted it. What else could she do?

“With so much stuff, we can’t explain it to the family. Dad, we need to leave early tomorrow. This white rice and flour, not to mention the milk powder, are all precious now. And those seasonings aren’t cheap either—we need to find a way to account for them.”

Yan Yu then looked at the frozen slabs of pork, chicken, and fish.

She touched them—ice-cold.

“We shouldn’t have bought so much meat. Ugh! I panicked! Just one portion would’ve been enough. Now we can’t store them all, and they’ll go to waste.” Li Xuemei sighed, blaming herself for losing focus.

Yan Lao’er weighed them with his hand. “After thawing, it’s only about a pound. With so many people in the house, it’ll be gone in a day.”

“Dad, have you ever seen chickens sold as just breast meat? Or fish with bones and heads removed?” Yan Yu frowned at the neatly processed meat.

“Ha! Easy fix. Chop them all up and mix them together—who’s gonna tell the difference? Dumplings, buns… I even started preparing the dough earlier, planning to make steamed buns tomorrow. Let’s just make stuffed buns instead. I’ll chop the filling extra fine, and they’ll only know it’s delicious.” Yan Lao’er was full of confidence.

“There’s three pounds total—that’s too much!” Li Xuemei picked up a pound of bok choy. “We can’t make pure meat filling. With vegetables, it’ll be even more.”

Yan Yu thought carefully and made a decision. “Dad, Mom, we’re going to have a lot of stuff we can’t explain. One or two times might be fine, but if it keeps happening, people will get suspicious. We need to keep things to ourselves.

“It’s not about being stingy—it’s just how things have to be.

“Especially with my uncle—he’s the protagonist of this book! He became a high-ranking official and even replaced the emperor. Do you think he’s got an average IQ? Even if the three of us put our heads together, we wouldn’t match him. We should be grateful we can keep this stuff hidden for our own use. If we go offering it to others, we’d just be handing them leverage against us.”

And so, the first trade session on the platform ended.

Yan Yu had made up her mind—hoard everything for themselves!

Perfect! That’s the way to do it!