Chapter 47: Trading for Snakes

Yan Yu stared wide-eyed, speechless for a long time.

So high-end?!

Platform Daddy, you’re amazing!

“Then, big sis, what’s on your official shop shelf?” Yan Yu asked dumbly.

The beauty on the other side chuckled, “Every single person who connects with me asks the same question, hehe…

It’s talisman paper, both blank and with unknown symbols drawn on it, brushes, cinnabar, and water…”

“You know how to draw talismans?”

“Just some simple ones, enough to deal with snakes.”

“So you usually just eat snakes?”

The beauty shrugged, “What else can I do? I don’t dare wander far, and besides snakes, no other small animals deliver themselves to my door, so I can only eat them.”

“Are there venomous ones?” Yan Yu asked nervously, cautious.

“Of course there are, but don’t worry, the ones I picked for trade are all non-venomous, ones I’ve eaten myself.”

From the sound of it… you’ve eaten venomous ones too?

Yan Yu introduced all the items on her own shelf, putting special emphasis on the rice, flour, and seasonings.

Sure enough, big sis was very interested.

“What to do? I want to trade for all of them.” She hesitated. “But I have very few small snakes here. The big ones… I’m afraid they’ll be inconvenient for you.”

Big ones? No, no, no! Please keep those for yourself.

“And it’s my first time connecting to an ordinary person’s world, I don’t know if the snakes here will be overvalued and hard to trade.” She sighed, “Let’s try anyway. I want ten jin of rice, ten jin of flour, salt, and cumin.”

Yan Yu nodded frantically, quickly switched screens to purchase the corresponding items, then switched back.

When the two clicked confirm, a problem really did pop up.

Yan Yu: …

Looks like Platform has me pegged today, not letting me profit at all.

Yan Yu didn’t think she had shortchanged the beauty on the other side. She suddenly realized something crucial—this was the cultivation world! Would snakes from there be ordinary snakes?

Definitely not!

So clearly, she hadn’t offered enough.

After discussing with big sis, Yan Yu kept adding: chili powder, chicken bouillon, ground Sichuan pepper, soy sauce, vinegar… pots, bowls, four eggs…

Only then did the trade go through.

The moment the items disappeared, Yan Yu let out a huge sigh of relief.

She had to manage her days frugally too! Luckily, big sis didn’t mind, smiling as she waited for Yan Yu to keep adding things bit by bit.

“If you come across realgar, help me set some aside. I want to test its effect on these snakes,” big sis said with a smile.

{T/N: Historically, realgar (arsenic sulfide) was used in Chinese medicine, art, alchemy, and festival rituals like the Dragon Boat Festival, where it was believed to ward off evil and disease. In Greece, Rome, and medieval Europe, it served as a pigment, poison, and alchemical ingredient. Despite its bright red-orange color, it was always known to be toxic and handled with caution.}

Yan Yu nodded while inching backward.

She wanted to stay far, far away from that giant snake.

So this was what she called “small-sized”???

The beauty laughed nonstop.

“To avoid scaring you, I kept all the snake heads. Don’t worry and eat up, it’s good for ordinary people.”

Yan Yu felt she had to ask clearly. This was extremely important!

“Big sis, is it the kind of Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation? Like sweating out mud all over, or clearing the intestines?”

“Hahahahaha…” The beauty almost laughed herself breathless.

“Relax, neither. For ordinary people, it’ll just strengthen your body, make you feel a bit lighter and more energetic.”

“Oh…” Yan Yu sounded disappointed. “I thought it’d make me stronger.”

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be stuck here. When I get out, I’ll try connecting with other people. Some worlds have evolutionary potions that can boost strength quite easily.”

“Thank you, big sis. I’ve never even heard of any of this.” Yan Yu’s eyes sparkled, feeling like she’d opened the door to a whole new world.

“You’re welcome. Well then, little sis, time’s almost up. See you next time!” The beautiful lady waved at her.

Yan Yu also raised her little hand and waved hard.

“Bye, big sis.”

The screen switched back. Yan Yu looked at her pitiful balance, then at the ten jin of rice and ten jin of flour still hanging on the shelf.

“Mom, should we trade the rice and flour? Last time, the shelf got cleared out, and this time they’ve doubled the stock.”

Li Xuemei gritted her teeth. “Buy.”

Whether this guess was right or not, it was worth trying.

After buying the rice and flour, there was still some time left.

The three of them looked at each other. Was there anything else they could sell?

Li Xuemei hesitated over a few old, tattered clothes. Like the one she sold last time, these were patch over patch. How would she explain to the villagers?

Yan Lao’er kept egging her on, “Sell it, sell it! Why keep it? At this point, we’ve got so much debt, a little more doesn’t matter. Look at me, am I worried? I’m not worried. When people get pushed to the edge, they’ll naturally come up with good ideas…”

Li Xuemei closed her eyes. “Sell. Sell it all!”

Yan Lao’er saw his wife fired up again and quickly played along.

He kicked off his straw sandals and tossed them to his daughter. “Big Bao, sell your dad’s breathable and comfy straw sandals! I’ll go home barefoot. Tell me, do I look cool?”

Yan Yu and her dad were birds of a feather—once they started clowning, there was no stopping them.

“I’ll sell mine too! Dad, you can walk home on the ground, I’ll ride Sanbao back, hahaha!”

“Wife, you shouldn’t be wearing yours either. Come on, sell them all. What are we afraid of? We’ve got plenty of straw shoes!” Yan Lao’er grabbed Li Xuemei’s sandals.

Yan Yu saw this and refused to be outdone. She untied the little headband on her hair and shouted, “Sell—it—too!”

“Hahaha, Dad, how do I look?” Yan Yu’s hair was a wild mess like a little lunatic.

Yan Lao’er clutched his chest like he’d just lost the gold medal. “Respect, respect!”

Li Xuemei: …

So mad she wanted to smack the father and daughter both.

But in the end, she sighed, grabbed some grass, and roughly tied her daughter’s hair back.

Then she clenched her fists and pounded on Yan Lao’er, growling, “Can’t you act proper for once? What kind of father are you? Look at your daughter—completely hopeless thanks to you two!”

Yan Lao’er grimaced and quickly begged for mercy.

His body couldn’t take this anymore—nowhere near as tough as before.

If she kept hitting, he really might collapse.

“What about this water?” Yan Lao’er tried to change the subject seriously.

“Let Sanbao empty its belly and store it.” Yan Yu said cheerfully.

Li Xuemei and Yan Lao’er exchanged glances. That sounded workable.

Yan Lao’er added, “We’ll need to get all the feed out of its stomach first, then let it drink to rinse out.”

Yan Yu gave her dad a big thumbs up. Thoughtful!

Li Xuemei asked, “What about the snake?”

“Sanbao will haul it back.” Yan Yu crept a little closer, peeking—it really didn’t have a head.

“This thing must be at least three meters long,” Yan Lao’er wasn’t too eager to get close either. Who wouldn’t be nervous seeing something this huge?

Compared to it, the snakes sold at the market were generations apart.

“How about we just say we picked it up? All clean and tidy, no one would know, just happened to stumble across it,” Yan Yu suggested.

“No way, no way, that won’t fly,” Yan Lao’er shook his head vigorously.

“Then how about we say you killed it, Dad? Look at your feet—your shoes even flew off! We lost so much stuff too, it all got scattered, haha!”

“How could I have killed it? Look at it—do I look like I could kill that?” Yan Lao’er rolled his eyes. If I had that kind of skill, I’d already be famous!

“Then maybe say Sanbao stepped on it?” Yan Yu suggested quietly.

“The only one here that could possibly take on this snake… is Sanbao.” Yan Lao’er gazed at Sanbao with deep affection and shouted, “Sanbao, you killed this snake! Hear me?!”

Sanbao calmly stared back. Sure, if you say so.

“What about the snake head? Did we toss it?” Li Xuemei asked.

“Of course! It was all bloody and gross,” Yan Lao’er said as if it was the most obvious thing.

(End of Chapter)