Chapter 66: Emphasizing Ecological Balance

“Bath towel… It’s here. As for underwear, this small supermarket doesn’t have any. Maybe next time, if I come across some, I’ll save them for you.”

“Toothpaste is fine, but forget the toothbrush. Plastic items are hard to explain.”

Yan Yu: “Mhm, okay.”

“Oh, right—mosquito coils! Do you have any mosquito coils?” Yan Yu scratched her little hand. She had been too focused to notice the bites earlier, but now they itched terribly.

“There are mosquito coils, as well as mosquito repellent floral water.”

Yan Yu: “I want them all!”

The young man turned back to the children’s section. “Do you need this children’s face cream?”

“Oh no, I almost forgot! I need it, big brother. And also one for adults—can you find one without any fragrance?”

The young man paused and asked her, “Which one is fragrance-free? Look at the supply list and tell me.”

Yan Yu: …

It seemed like all the ones she used before had a scent.

She consulted her mother.

Li Xuemei thought for a moment and said, “Ask him if he can find any sunscreen. It’s best for children to use lotion instead of cream.”

Since the weather was hot, lotion was lighter and better suited.

Yan Yu looked at her mother with admiration. As expected, her mother was always thoughtful!

“Is SPF 50 better, or SPF 30?”

“50!”

In the end, they gathered a huge pile of supplies. Even the young man was stunned.

“So much! I doubt we can trade all of it.”

Yan Yu was heartbroken.

Each item had been carefully selected by her and the young man!

“Shampoo, soap, medicinal soap, regular soap, toothpaste, bath towel, mosquito coil, floral water, sunscreen, children’s lotion.” He read them off while removing the regular soap.

“Forget this one. Medicinal soap and regular soap are redundant—you can pick one.”

“Nooo! Big brother, they’re completely different! Regular soap is for laundry, and medicinal soap is for washing the face and hands.” How could Yan Yu explain the necessity of these items for a girl’s daily routine?

Had she really fallen so low that she was no longer worthy of having both medicinal soap and regular soap?!

“You have a water source today, but you won’t always. Keep the medicinal soap—you can wash whatever you want with it.” He removed the regular soap.

The only reason medicinal soap won was because of its name. Since it had the word “medicinal” in it, he figured it must be good.

“Forget the mosquito coils too. Just find some mugwort and burn it.”

“Where am I supposed to find mugwort?” Yan Yu asked blankly.

“Someone must know. Ask around—I remember that ancient people used to burn herbs to repel mosquitoes.”

“Alright, let’s try it,” the young man said.

Yan Yu called out to Sanbao, who walked over and opened his mouth wide.

Then, the family of three placed many bamboo tubes on the ground.

The trade was still getting blocked.

The young man, expressionless, removed the floral water.

“Without proper packaging, it’ll probably lose effectiveness in a few days.”

Then he removed the sunscreen.

“Wear a hat or cover your face.” He always had a solution.

In the end, the final victorious items were: three bottles of shampoo, ten bars of medicinal soap, one tube of toothpaste, two bath towels, and two bottles of children’s lotion.

Yan Yu looked at the items that didn’t make it into the trade and turned her head away.

It hurt.

Why did all of this only trade for four barrels of water?!

So far, the only people connected to the modern world were the young man with abilities and Rain Sister. Rain Sister wasn’t reliable, so that just left this young man—and his demand was so low. Sigh.

“I’m closing the connection—I still need to sell things,” the young man said.

“Same here.” Yan Yu nodded. They both logged out simultaneously.

“I forgot to ask what he had on his shelves…” Yan Yu realized belatedly.

Li Xuemei: “You can ask next time.”

Yan Lao’er sorted through the traded goods. “Let’s have Sanbao drink some more water tomorrow. I think he still has plenty in his stomach.”

Li Xuemei opened a bottle of shampoo and smiled. “Look, it’s just like the kind we used when we were young.”

“Really?” Yan Lao’er took it and sniffed. “It looks the same, but it smells better than what we used to have.”

Yan Yu: “Dad, do you think the stools Uncle Qi made can be sold?”

“Better not—we can’t keep losing stools from our house.”

“What about straw sandals, straw hats, and this backpack Mom made?”

Li Xuemei nudged the bundle by her feet.

It contained various woven straw goods they’d accumulated over time.

Yan Yu shook her head. “If we sell those, how would we explain it? There aren’t many people living around here. If things keep disappearing suddenly, we might scare someone.”

“Sell the two bags I made first.”

That was fine, since they were personal items.

She put them up for sale: the backpack was priced at 9, and the shoulder bag at 6.

Li Xuemei was thoughtful. “These are both made of linen. Linen only costs 6 per bolt. My craftsmanship isn’t great—barely average. If I make them better, the price could go higher.”

“Oh, I also made two pairs of insoles.” Li Xuemei showed her rough work a bit sheepishly.

One pair of insoles sold for 4, so two pairs went for 8.

This result made Li Xuemei very excited.

It turned out that the gap between her and the highly skilled Hu family girl was just a single point!

“Let’s sell a few more pairs of straw sandals.” Li Xuemei pulled out four pairs. “These were woven by Big Sister and are sized for our family members. We can just say ours wore out, so it won’t look suspicious.”

Yan Yu had no objections and quickly sold the four pairs.

Yan Lao’er silently walked beyond the firelight and returned with a piece of deadwood.

“Sell it!”

Yan Yu held back a laugh, her eyes lighting up.

Yan Lao’er: “Name a price.”

“8!”

Whoa!

Even a piece of scrap wood could sell for 8?

Yan Yu felt like she had finally figured out the right way to sell things on this platform.

She stood up and walked toward two nearby trees.

The trees grew very close together. From their angle, the slightly shorter one in the back was almost entirely hidden by the one in front.

She took a deep breath and placed her small hand against the trunk.

Whoosh!

Yan Lao’er and Li Xuemei felt a blur before their eyes.

The tree—was gone!

Yan Yu’s eyes sparkled with excitement in the firelight.

“216! Dad! Mom! I sold it for 216!”

Li Xuemei: “How could it be worth so much?!”

The tree wasn’t particularly large. Maybe because the two trees had grown too close together, the one in front had absorbed most of the nutrients and grown better.

Yan Lao’er spun in place a few times, then looked around with fiery eyes.

At this moment, the trees in his sight were no longer just trees—they were balance, wealth, resources he could freely trade on the platform!

“What’s there to worry about? We don’t have to struggle anymore!” If it weren’t the middle of the night, he would have shouted in excitement.

“Wait a minute.” Suddenly, a big yellow exclamation mark popped up on Yan Yu’s screen.

Curious, she tapped on it.

A message appeared with several lines of text.

She read it aloud:

“Dear Platform User 0037258258, to ensure the sustainable development of each dimension, for every tree you sell, you must immediately plant replacements. The minimum required number is: two. (Potted and transplanted plants are not included in this policy.)”

Yan Yu: So even after transmigrating into a book, I still have to care about ecological balance…

【Please confirm that you understand.】

Confirmed!