Natural Disasters Strikes: I stockpiled like crazy!-Chapter 217: Snatching Customers (2)

"Dad, look… food." His son pointed at the biscuits, candies, and noodles on the mat.

"Xiaobao, Dad has no more money. We'll come back here tomorrow." The father's voice was full of guilt as he started to turn away, but then his eyes caught the sign on Nanzhi's stall: We accept authentic jade and spars.

Jade?

He thought he might have misread it because he was so hungry, but no—those words remained clear in front of him!

He cautiously approached Nanzhi and Lin Weihao's mat, took out the jade, and asked, "Are you accepting this?"

[The jade is worth at least 40 Tier 0 spars!]

Nanzhi pretended to examine the jade, her face serious. "Yes. This jade can be traded. It's worth at least 40 Tier 0 spars. Tell me, what do you want?"

He didn't understand why these people would want the jade, but he and his son were starving. His mind couldn't think of anything else!

"I want… are you really selling them for jade?" The father licked his chapped lips.

"Yes." Nanzhi nodded and began to explain the prices.

His eyes reddened. "Then please, give me biscuits, noodles…"

"Dad… candies… candies…" Xiaobao tugged at his father's sleeve.

The candies were cheap, so the father bought them too.

Lin Weihao wrapped everything they asked for in a plastic bag.

Even as the father began eating, he couldn't believe the supplies were real.

The seller a meter away, who was selling alien beast meat, was watching them and overheard their conversation about the prices of the goods.

His first thought was that he might it was his ears playing tricks!

Or perhaps these people were selling expired or moldy goods?

A packet of biscuits for only three Tier 0 spars?

A single packet of noodles for four Tier 0 spars?

One liter of water for five Tier 0 spars?

A one-kilogram bag of cornmeal flour for five Tier 0 spars?

A bag of dried mushrooms (250 grams) for seven Tier 0 spars?

A can of ham for five Tier 0 spars?

In the midst of his disbelief, another customer approached Nanzhi's stall.

It was Dai Yun. She had intended to secretly help the father and son, but instead, she witnessed how the father had been able to trade jade for real supplies!

It smelled suspicious!

She guessed the supplies were probably moldy or expired, but when she took a closer look, she was stunned.

These items looked far better than what the other sellers inside the temple had—and their prices were at least ten times cheaper!

Dai Yun, being a girl who liked to collect pretty things, had a collection of jade rings and a pair of jade earrings in her bag. Her brother often scolded her for collecting useless trinkets.

But now, she was glad she hadn't listened to him!

Looking at the milk- and chocolate-flavored biscuits, as well as the water, she fished out a small chest. "How much are these? Can I trade them for biscuits?!"

Nanzhi's eyes sparkled with delight as she saw the jade jewelries inside! Oh, a rich customer! ƒrēenovelkiss.com

When the neighboring seller saw the bags of supplies in Dai Yun's hands, he couldn't sit still and started checking them out!

The other sellers in the back alley quickly took note of it too!

Soon, a small crowd gathered. Lin Weihao enforced order, and the people became more honest.

"Give me noodles!"

"I want water!"

"Don't push me! Sir, please look at this jade! How much is this worth?"

Back inside the trade hall…

"Give me a bottle of water," Liu Ming said to the seller.

"Here. It's fifteen spars," the seller replied lazily.

Liu Ming froze with his hands in his pockets. The veins in his temples throbbed. "Wasn't it just ten spars yesterday?!" Apart from water and medicine, they also needed to buy gasoline. The spars he had earned today wouldn't be enough to cover everything they needed.

The seller explained with a lazy shrug, "The mission to the crystal water facility failed this morning, and the water supply in the base is running dry. That's why the prices went up. I'm not forcing you to buy. If you don't have money, try the 'other water' instead."

The "other water" was the slightly green lake water.

Liu Ming was furious. What kind of explanation was that?! He wasn't foolish enough to believe it! Everyone in the base knew about the base leader's forcible capture of water-based awakeners!

Dai Rui patted Liu Ming's shoulder to stop him from getting angry.

The markets, malls, and shops near the base had already been looted empty by the base. If they wanted to find water, they'd have to go further out, where Tier 2 alien beasts roamed.

And the small lakes and ponds were either polluted or guarded by beasts as well!

The Crystal Water Facility, the only one supplying water for the whole of Jade City before the apocalypse, was located far away!

But what gave these greedy people the most confidence was the strength of the base leader's right-hand man.

That was why, despite the outrageous prices, no one could rebel. They could only grit their teeth and endure.

With a single wave of that man's hand, anyone could be disposed of.

Liu Ming suppressed his anger but still reluctantly bought the water, as everyone in his team had only had three sips the entire day. He handed it to Dai Rui to keep safe.

Dai Rui covered the water with a clean cloth as though it were something precious before putting it inside his bag. Liu Ming also bought the gasoline.

He passed by the stall selling medicine, but the prices were thrice as outrageous. The team's spars weren't enough, so the two decided to head out later, sacrificing their rest to hunt more.

As they made their way to the side exit to find Dai Yun, they were stunned to see how crowded it had become. They could barely squeeze their way out.

Dai Yun appeared beside them and explained what was going on.

The two didn't believe her at first because it sounded too good to be true, until they saw her eating a chocolate-flavored biscuit. "It's delicious."

Half an hour later, Nanzhi heard someone ask. It was Liu Ming.

"Do you have medicine for claw wounds?" he asked.

"Can you describe the wound a little more?" Nanzhi inquired.

Liu Ming's eyes brightened. He was happy to hear that the seller had medicine and quickly explained Wang Bo's injuries in detail.

Nanzhi took out two small plastic bags—one with a green mushy paste inside and the other with different dried plants.

(A/N: I don't know if you can see the italics if you read in the app? Or are there no italics?)