Chapter 46: A New Companion

The sister on the other end of the call spammed the chat, then bought two barrel of water.

Transaction complete.

The call was disconnected.

The screen returned to Yan Yu’s official marketplace.

Yan Yu and Li Xuemei exchanged glances and sighed simultaneously.

Yan Lao’er cautiously asked, “What’s wrong? Is she really sick?”

It sounded like the woman from the place where it rained for months was ill.

“Sigh!” Li Xuemei said sympathetically, “She’s so pitiful, all alone. When she gets sick, she can only take some medicine and tough it out—she doesn’t even have a sip of warm water.”

“Mom! I’m really scared… I’m afraid that next time, or the time after that, we won’t see her again.” Yan Yu lowered her head, looking dejected.

“That won’t happen. We’ll all be okay,” Li Xuemei reassured, though it was unclear if she was comforting her daughter or herself.

The mother and daughter were shaken.

Yan Lao’er tried to lighten the mood, “Let’s focus on our own troubles first. We’ve traded away so much water, and my pile of charcoal is almost gone—how do we explain this? What if we say an alien landed, took the charcoal, and left us water? You think they’d buy it?”

“We might as well say we met an old man with a white beard or a celestial maiden—ancient folks believe in that stuff more,” Yan Yu muttered.

Li Xuemei took a deep breath, clapped her hands, and said, “Daughter, pull yourself together and keep selling! With the platform backing us, how can we not live well? We need to live better than anyone!”

“Right!” Yan Yu nodded firmly, echoing, “Platform Daddy spoils me, I can’t let it down! I’m going to overcome the drought and turn the tide!”

Yan Lao’er added, “And protect Old Yan! So we can all eat and drink well in the future!”

Through this incident, he had learned a crucial lesson—

Humans cannot live in isolation.

Especially in difficult times, they must stick together for warmth.

“Huh? What did you just call the platform?” Yan Lao’er’s eyes widened.

Yan Yu stuck out her tongue and started humming a nursery rhyme.

Yan Lao’er was both amused and exasperated.

“Mom, should we sell the straw mat too?” Yan Yu had regained some energy.

“Sell it!”

Li Xuemei had come to terms with it—what couldn’t be sold?

“You two hurry up and finish the noodles, don’t just hold onto the bowls.”

Sell everything.

Yan Yu scooped up the remaining noodles, stuffed them into her mouth, and swallowed them down quickly.

Once done, she sold the bowl to the platform—hehe!

With her mouth still full, she continued reporting, “Bowl, 0.5. Straw mat, 8.”

She plucked some grass from the ground and tried placing it on the platform, but there was no response.

“It’s biased! Doesn’t even recognize grass!”

Yan Lao’er swallowed his last bite of noodles. Those were originally meant for the woman struggling through the disaster, but there was no choice—rather than waste them, he had to eat them himself.

As soon as he stood up, Li Xuemei grabbed the small stool he had just been sitting on and handed it to their daughter, along with the bowl.

Yan Yu continued reporting, “Bowl, 0.5. Stool, 8.4.”

“Huh? Why are we selling the stool too?” Yan Yu asked. “What will we sit on when we eat?”

Li Xuemei glanced at the 8.4 price tag and casually replied, “We’ll just make another one. I saw Qi Wu making them quickly.

“It wasn’t even good wood, just scraps from modifying a small table.”

As soon as she said this, Li Xuemei had a sudden realization.

“Wait… weren’t the beds, cabinets, and tables in our house sold for quite a high price?” she asked uncertainly.

This stumped Yan Yu. Back when they first started selling, they had been too excited to pay attention.

The more Li Xuemei thought about it, the more convinced she became. “Look at what we’ve sold today—clothes were cheap, the blankets didn’t fetch much, and those three door curtains were even cheaper. The real money must have come from the furniture.

“If a casually made stool sells for 8.4, then the big pieces must have been worth a lot.”

Yan Lao’er nodded in agreement. “Back in the day, even with no craftsmanship, as long as it was solid wood, it sold for a good price.”

“Next time, let’s test it out,” Yan Yu suggested, glancing at her pitiful balance—it hadn’t increased much. “Dad, Mom, what should we buy this time? Do we still get rice and flour?”

They hadn’t eaten much of it yet. Most of the villagers ate coarse grains, so cooking refined white rice and fine flour alone felt awkward.

Li Xuemei walked over to the spot where Yan Lao’er had been keeping records.

“Let’s buy vegetables first.”

Yan Yu frowned. “Wild vegetables are so expensive—way pricier than regular ones.”

She complained but acted quickly.

“Hemp fabric, coarse cloth, cotton—get them all.”

Yan Yu complied.

“The newly listed brown rice, coarse flour, and red, green, and black beans.”

Yan Yu clicked and clicked.

“Meat and eggs.”

Yan Yu bought, bought, bought.

“We won’t have enough left for bamboo slips, will we?” Li Xuemei said regretfully.

Checking the balance, Yan Yu confirmed, “Nope, we’re out.”

Yan Lao’er straightened up from his packing, stretching his back.

The mother and daughter had enjoyed their shopping spree, but his old waist had suffered for it.

“Ah, looking at all these supplies gives me energy again!” Yan Lao’er threw a left hook and a right hook into the air.

Yan Yu mercilessly teased, “Dad, you look like you’re doing dog paddle—hahaha!”

“What’s wrong with dog paddle? As long as I can swim, that’s all that matters,” Yan Lao’er said proudly, puffing out his chest.

Unlike you two—a pair of landlubbers! Heh heh heh!

Li Xuemei frowned and asked, “Xiao Yu, has the third person arrived yet?”

Yan Yu let out a surprised noise, checked the time, and then looked at the free market icon.

“It’s time… but why isn’t it flashing?”

The third person should be that cool young man.

What happened?

They didn’t have to wait much longer—soon, the free market icon finally started flashing.

Yan Yu quickly clicked in.

On the other side of the video call, however, was a woman also dressed in ancient-style clothing.

A crucial detail—she was incredibly beautiful.

Her eyes were like autumn water, filled with gentle emotion. Her nose was delicate, her lips small, and her figure as graceful as a willow.

Her long, jet-black hair was loosely coiled, with a single wooden hairpin slanted through it.

Yan Yu was stunned—not just because this woman was stunning, but because she seemed to radiate light.

“Little sister, do you have any food?”

Her voice was soft and gentle.

“Yes, yes! Big sister, what would you like to eat?”

The beauty smiled, as graceful as a breeze swaying flowers.

“You take orders? Little sister, you’re quite interesting.”

Her smile faded slightly as she spoke warmly, “Just something simple. But I only have one thing to trade… I wonder if you’d accept it.”

“Big sister, go ahead.”

“I’m in Snake Valley…” She spoke apologetically. “The only thing I can offer… are snakes of various sizes and species.

“Little sister, are you afraid? Would you dare eat them?”

Yan Yu: …

I am afraid. I do not dare eat them!

But… someone in our village probably would.

“Big sister, where are you? Why are you in Snake Valley?” Even the name sounded terrifying.

Yan Yu suddenly realized she hadn’t introduced herself, so she set an example, “Oh, I forgot! I’m from the transmigration novel category, set in an alternate ancient world. Currently in an escape-from-famine arc.”

The woman gave a faint smile. “I’m from the time-travel category, set in a cultivation world. My current cultivation is at the Qi Refining Stage. I accidentally entered Snake Valley and missed my way back. The small world closed, and now I’m trapped here.

“If the platform hadn’t opened… I’d either be swallowed by a snake or starve to death.”