Chapter 19: The Sister with Plenty of Credit

Yan Yu and Li Xuemei whispered a few words to each other. “I do have clothes here,” Yan Yu said, “but they’re in an ancient style, I don’t know if you’ll be used to wearing them. As for medicine… even if I traded it to you, you wouldn’t be able to brew it easily, they’re all herbs. Eating them is fine, though. We still have some leftover bone broth at home; it’ll be quick to heat up.”

“Bone broth? That’s wonderful! I haven’t had hot soup in ages. Water is also very precious. Although it’s been raining constantly outside, that water isn’t drinkable… We can only drink barreled and bottled water. If I couldn’t buy water and food on the platform, I would have given up long ago…”

Li Xuemei sorted through her clothes. The winter padded clothes weren’t needed for now, so they could be traded out first. She thought for a moment, then said to Yan Yu, “Xiao Yu, ask her what’s in her shop.”

Yan Yu asked as instructed, and the woman opposite replied truthfully:

“Umbrellas, raincoats, rain boots, swim rings.
Bottled water, milk, eight-treasure porridge, sausages, canned fish, luncheon meat.
Hand warmers, plastic bags.”

Yan Yu’s mouth watered as she listened. It was completely different from her side. So, in a modern-setting disaster scenario, the platform would stock ready-to-eat items instead of raw materials… But what the heck were plastic bags for?

“Why are there plastic bags?” Yan Yu asked curiously.

“They’re all large black plastic bags; they can hold a lot of things, they’re moisture-proof, and others can’t see what’s inside. Very practical,” the woman said with a smile. “The platform also buys back all sorts of items. The system sells them for 0.2 each and buys them back for 0.01. Don’t laugh, but what I sell the most of are plastic bags.”

Yan Yu: …
You’re amazing, sister! Even in such a miserable state, she’s still contributing to environmental protection!

“I saw an outdoor charcoal stove for boiling water in your supplies. What’s it like?”

The woman turned around to search, pulling out a two-handled charcoal burner and a ceramic pot from a black plastic bag. “It’s this. Take a look, can you use it?”

Yan Yu’s eyes lit up. She had thought there was only a charcoal burner, but she didn’t expect there to be a ceramic pot too. This was far too convenient.

The woman thought for a moment, then turned and rummaged around again, bringing over a clay pot. “I traded for this before, when the situation wasn’t so serious. I could still find things to burn, like charcoal and alcohol blocks. The small pot for boiling water, the large pot for cooking porridge and noodles, and it could also dry wet clothes and blankets incidentally. But now… they’re all useless.”

She plucked up her courage and said, “If possible, I’d like to trade for your thin padded jacket and the blanket on the ground.” She had fallen in love with that blanket at first sight, but she knew how expensive a cotton quilt would be in an ancient setting. If she didn’t have something of equivalent value, she’d be too embarrassed to ask. But she wanted it so badly! Her blanket had been stolen, and in such a damp and gloomy environment, after just two nights, she was already feeling a bit unwell. If this continued, she would get sick.

“If I trade it to you, won’t you need it anymore? What if the platform stocks charcoal for you later?” Yan Yu asked while consulting with Li Xuemei.

“I have stainless steel ones,” the woman said. “These things are also easy to trade for now.”

Li Xuemei felt it was a bit of a loss; never mind how miserable the woman opposite was, their family wasn’t having it easy either. Yan Yu thought her mother was right, so she scrolled through the supply list and stopped.

“Sister, you want bone broth, and a padded jacket, and a blanket. These alone aren’t enough. The previous uncle told me that we must follow the platform’s exchange rules, otherwise the transaction cannot be completed. I see you also have a barrel of corn oil and a can of milk powder. With these two, I’ll have my dad make dough drops to put in the bone broth for you, and add an egg. What do you think?”

Dough drop soup? And with an egg!
Slurp!

The woman opposite took out the 4 liters of corn oil and the stage three infant formula. She only hesitated for a moment before agreeing to the trade.

Yan Lao’er, who had just sneaked in two large iron wheels like a thief, had barely taken out a handful of brown rice and a few pieces of coarse salt, and didn’t even have time to catch his breath, when he took the egg Yan Yu had bought for the hefty sum of 0.5 and was ordered to make dough drop soup. As soon as he heard it was for milk powder, Yan Lao’er wiped his face and rushed straight to the kitchen.

If it weren’t for the milk powder, Yan Yu would never have paid such a high price or taken such a big risk. Waking up in the middle of the night to heat the bone broth could be explained as being afraid the soup would spoil overnight. But for the dough drop soup, she could only blame her innocent younger sibling in her mother’s belly, saying they were craving it…

“Sister, besides plastic bags, what else have you sold on the platform?” Yan Yu wanted to understand the platform better, not just her own, but others’ as well. Since everyone’s platform was different, she couldn’t just consider what she could get from the other world; she also had to factor in the constantly updating shelves on the other side.

“The platform accepts almost anything, as long as it’s clean. It doesn’t matter if it’s not new, just clean.” This was the rule she had deduced. “For example, clothes: wet, worn, or stained didn’t matter. But… if they were contaminated with germs, it definitely wouldn’t accept them.” This was a truth she had pondered for a long time before understanding. It was also why she stayed away from crowds and lived alone. Too many people were sick; in the same environment, it was hard not to get infected.

“It accepts tools and utensils of various materials, as long as they aren’t rotted or damaged by soaking, they can be sold.”

Yan Yu thought for a moment, widened her eyes, and asked, “Then, sister, don’t you have a lot of credit?”

The woman smiled shyly and nodded gently. “Yes, I’ve sold quite a bit. But I later found that the platform could only guarantee my survival. Only in the Free Market could I exchange for things I wanted more. So, whatever I find now, I’ll hold onto it for a bit,” she said, looking to see if anyone wanted to trade with her.

“Items on the shelves should also be exchangeable, right?” Yan Yu asked.

The woman was stunned for a moment. “Oh, right!”

Yan Yu seized the opportunity to promote: “Sister, look, this pork skin jelly was made by my dad. It’s so delicious! The last uncle wanted it, but I couldn’t bear to trade it to him. Sister, wouldn’t it be wonderful to eat pork skin jelly while drinking dough drop soup?! Just one can of luncheon meat, and the pork skin jelly is yours to take home immediately.”

The woman opposite was amused and nodded. “Then let’s trade.”

Yan Yu’s screen swished and switched to the platform interface. The other side must have switched out to buy luncheon meat.

Yan Yu held the basin of pork skin jelly, waiting happily. Then she saw the Free Market start flashing again. She clicked into it, and the sister opposite now held a can of luncheon meat. Unlike Yan Yu and the uncle, her luncheon meat—came with packaging.

The two people clicked to confirm. The pork skin jelly in Yan Yu’s basin disappeared, and the square luncheon meat appeared in the basin. The woman opposite was also very experienced; she had already prepared a stainless steel basin beforehand, perfect for holding the pork skin jelly. She shook the still-sealed but empty box and said, “The platform also buys these back, 0.5 each.”

Yan Yu: This is worth one of her eggs.

Although the disaster world was terrible, with similar backgrounds, the platform’s regulation wasn’t so strict; not requiring packaging was one example. If it opened once every half a month, trading for enough food and water could truly ensure one wouldn’t go hungry.

(End of chapter)