Chapter 62 p2
While Ji Yang was taking a nap, the entire base was lively.
Most of the seafood that was brought back was dried goods, so there was no worry that it would go bad in a short period of time. But it still couldn’t stop the enthusiasm of the survivors.
Protein.
Besides tofu and meat, only seafood could provide it. But meat was out of the question. Ordinary survivors couldn’t afford it, and they couldn’t buy it either. There were too many people who wanted to buy meat, just like when vegetables were in short supply before. There was a bunch of people squatting at the stalls every day.
Tofu was relatively cheap, but they were tired of it. The price of oil had gone up, and without oil, many things were not delicious.
Seafood was different. High-quality seafood, with a little steaming, would be delicious. Or you could make soup and add some tofu. You didn’t need too much oil, salt, soy sauce, and other seasonings, and it would be very delicious.
And the most important thing was that it was cheap!
Each person was limited to half a jin, but the price was the same as coarse grain. It could be said to be half-selling and half-giving.
Of course, fresh seafood was different.
That price, the cheapest was several times more expensive than meat.
However, the ones who were snatching these were also the rich.
So, the entire base, up and down, had all gone crazy. By the time it was a little later, the “daoye” had come back, and Xie Muzhi’s courtyard had also welcomed the patronage of many people. The seafood was scarce, and it was not enough to go around. There were many people who were not short of supplies, but they couldn’t get it!
The “daoye” had work to do.
So, the ordinary people had eaten the seafood with their own ability, and the rich had eaten the seafood with a great loss of blood. The government had once again enriched the stock of basic supplies, and everyone was very satisfied.
Except for Ji Yang.
She had been woken up by a certain person who was full of energy after a rest, and she was not in a very good mood. But when she saw the handsome man who had returned to his handsome appearance, her morning temper was gone. For a moment, her heart softened, and she was tired for another two hours, almost missing dinner time.
Fortunately, by the time she went downstairs, the “daoye” had all gotten off work, so she didn’t have to face their undisguised teasing gazes.
After dinner, it was already past seven.
The temperature had dropped, and there was also a slight breeze. In the current climate, it was probably a little hotter than midsummer. Most people could tolerate it. Except for those who were really short of points and couldn’t afford an air conditioner, they basically wouldn’t get heatstroke.
But in the daytime, if you were not careful, it was still quite easy to get heatstroke or even heatstroke.
Everyone had tacitly started to come out at night.
Outside the base, it was fine. It was like the wild. It was dark, and there were no lights. In the base, the solar-powered streetlights would light up the entire base, and the people in the villa area would also run out for a walk.
When Ji Yang was eating, she could still hear the noise from outside, the sound of chatting, bragging, and children playing, and some dog barks.
Xixi was so excited that it couldn’t stop.
As a little dog, Xixi had almost never seen its own kind.
Ji Yang was a little regretful. She should have bought one more dog at that time. Now, seeing it so eager to communicate with its own kind, she thought, why not find a companion for it?
It just so happened that she had also finished eating. Ji Yang thought of taking it out for a walk. “Shall we go out for a walk?”
“Okay,” Xie Muzhi immediately nodded.
Ji Yang took a leash and put it on Xixi. Putting this on meant that it was time to go out. Xixi was extremely happy and immediately ran out with its legs spread. Ji Yang was even pulled and stumbled, and she had no choice but to follow.
Xie Muzhi hurriedly locked the door and also quickly went over, taking the initiative to take the leash. “Let me hold it?”
Xixi immediately looked at him warily. “Woof!”
Xie Muzhi: …
He laughed in anger, squatted down, and rubbed Xixi fiercely. “I’ve fed you so many meals. Are you still afraid that I’ll harm you?”
Xixi’s eyes immediately flickered and it didn’t dare to look at him, but it still firmly snatched the rope over and brought it to Ji Yang, its tail wagging eagerly.
Ji Yang took it with a smile and praised, “Xixi is so good!”
“Woof!” Xixi let out a proud “awoo.” This time, it did not rush out, but walked forward with its head held high. Ji Yang turned her head and saw Xie Muzhi’s resentful gaze. She chuckled, took a step back, and held his hand. “Let’s go together!”
Xie Muzhi was satisfied and followed her.
The lights here were exceptionally dense and very bright. Standing here, with the constant noise of life in her ears, it really felt like a community before the disaster.
After Ji Yang had sighed, she remembered the matter of the little dog and asked Xie Muzhi, “Can you get a dog that’s about the same as Xixi?”
“I’ll look for it,” Xie Muzhi immediately agreed. “There’s also a night market in the base at night. It’s organized by ordinary survivors. Occasionally, there are also many good things. Why don’t we go and see? I heard Luo Laosan talk about seeing cats and dogs for sale before.”
Ji Yang immediately nodded and asked Xie Muzhi to take her there.
—
The night market was on the main street.
It was a long street, almost filling the entire main street, which was too spectacular.
When Ji Yang saw it, she was shocked.
She had been too lazy to come out the previous few times, and Xie Muzhi had also been busy. Occasionally, when they had some free time, the two of them would still be shameless. Today was the first time she had seen it, and there were also dedicated guards here, which showed that the government was watching.
Seeing her like this, Xie Muzhi reminded her with a laugh, “Don’t have too high hopes. Most of them are useless things.”
Ji Yang raised an eyebrow and went over to see.
The stalls were set up very casually. They were basically a piece of torn cloth with some things on them. The lights were bright, and the things could be seen clearly at a glance. Sure enough… they were all useless things.
For example: a calligraphy brush and ink stall, a clay sculpture stall, and all kinds of small and miscellaneous things.
Of course, there were also more practical ones: a handmade stall.
There were all kinds of bamboo baskets, straw baskets, and straw hats.
Whether this kind of thing was useful or not was in the context of the apocalypse where living resources were scarce. Eating your fill was the main thing, and then safety. Only then would you go and do some hobbies. But for Ji Yang, it was naturally different. She lacked nothing, so she felt that everything she saw was useful. These small things, she liked them!
Buy them all!
She was determined to survive for decades. She would always be able to use them.
She decisively spent fifteen points to buy a bamboo basket and let Xie Muzhi carry it. “I’m going on a big shopping spree next!”
Xie Muzhi quickly took out a stack of paper points. “Please~”
Ji Yang was not polite either and directly took it. She first went to buy a calligraphy brush and ink. “Boss, how much for this?”
Although it was called paper points now, most people were still used to calling it money.
The boss said with a smile, “The calligraphy brush is two yuan, and the ink is five yuan. It’s very cheap. They are all good quality. Before the disaster, they would have cost hundreds!”
Ji Yang glanced at it. The craftsmanship was indeed okay, but she was an amateur and was just looking at the fun. She felt that it was okay and took out the points. “This, this, and this… I want them all.”
The boss was so happy that his face bloomed. “A total of one hundred and five. You can just give me one hundred.”
After Ji Yang had paid, she went to the next stall. But in a moment, the stalls here seemed to all know that a god of wealth had come, and she wanted all sorts of miscellaneous things.
As soon as she got close, the stall owners immediately greeted her enthusiastically. “Girl, take a look here!”
“Beauty, I have all good things here. Take a look, a top-brand bracelet!”
Ji Yang was buying one by one when a half-grown child suddenly pounced on her. There seemed to be something whimpering in his arms. Ji Yang subconsciously retreated. In the apocalypse, even children could not be underestimated.
But this time, when the child saw her, he raised his head. Under the light, his thin little face’s eyes looked exceptionally large, and he said with teary eyes, “Can you buy my little cat?!”
Ji Yang was stunned.
The little boy was anxious to promote it and quickly revealed the little ball in his arms. It was a beautiful calico, and it seemed that it had not yet grown up. It was soft, and one of its paws was abnormally swollen, and its spirit was not very good.
“It’s very formidable. It can catch mice at only four months old. If you raise it, it can help you catch mice and cockroaches!” the little boy’s tone was hurried, as if he were afraid that she would dislike it. “It’s just that a bad person injured it, and it has not been well. I have nothing to eat for it, and I can’t catch mice either. Please buy it. It’s really formidable when it’s healthy. It has earned us a lot of points…”
Ji Yang’s eyes lit up. After the extreme heat came, it didn’t mean that the rats and cockroaches had all died out. It was hot outside, and these things would instead drill into people’s houses. If she moved to the base, it would not be convenient for her to take out a chicken to deal with the cockroaches and mosquitoes. That thing was quite noisy.
A cat was a good option.
It was just that she preferred to raise one from a young age. This one was already so big, and it was sick. What if it died after she had bought it…
The little boy looked at her with pitiful eyes. He had been squatting in a corner just now and had heard that there was a god of wealth here who had spent a lot of points to buy a pile of useless things. That was why he had come over. Little Flower was very formidable. Before it was injured, it could catch a dozen mice a day. It only ate half of them, and the rest were all taken by his father to exchange for points.
But even so, when it was maliciously injured by those people and couldn’t catch mice, his father wanted to sell it.
Those who wanted to sell it were all for the meat.
The half-grown cat in his hands seemed to have sensed its owner’s sadness and tried its best to cheer up and lick his hand, letting out a weak “meow…”
The little boy’s tears immediately flowed even faster.
Seeing that Ji Yang had not immediately agreed, he was so anxious that he couldn’t stop. “I’ve asked the veterinarian uncle. It’s just that it hasn’t recovered because it has no food. It can recover on its own if it has something to eat. When it’s better, it can still catch mice! Wuwuwu… it’s really so formidable. Those people just hit it because they saw how formidable it was… wuwuwu…”
Ji Yang was relieved. Seeing the little boy crying even more sadly, she opened her mouth and said, “I’ll buy it. Don’t cry.”
“Really?” the little boy immediately stopped crying, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.
Ji Yang was amused, nodded seriously, and took out two hundred points and handed them over. “Is this okay?”
The little boy subconsciously nodded. Two hundred points was a lot. He could buy twenty jin of sweet potatoes. Those who bought cats only offered fifty points. He still knew how to count these. But he looked at the cat in his arms and was reluctant to part with it. In his hesitation, the people around him were whispering, and some were even persuading the little boy to quickly take it.
He took a deep breath and was just about to reach out his hand.
Suddenly, a hand came over and went straight for the paper points in Ji Yang’s hand.
Ji Yang quickly withdrew her hand, and Xie Muzhi also immediately made a move, grabbing the arm. With a force, he only heard a “crack,” and the person screamed and fell to the ground, wailing, “A son-in-law is hitting his father-in-law! He’s hitting someone! There’s no justice! A son-in-law is actually hitting his father-in-law!”
Seeing that Ji Yang and Xie Muzhi were both looking at him coldly, one was not guilty or afraid, and the other was not moved at all, Ji Anfeng had a bad feeling and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Ji Yang, do you have a conscience? Your own younger brother and sister are starving, and you’re actually spending so much money to buy a dying cat?!”
The crowd, which had already been watching because of the crowd just now, let out a chorus of gasps and discussions when they heard this.
The gazes that were looking over had changed a lot.
Ji Yang was too lazy to answer Ji Anfeng’s question. She directly stuffed the two hundred points into the boy’s arms and took the little cat.
The little cat was immediately scared and tensed its body, wanting to resist.
The boy quickly soothed it by stroking its back. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. This sister will be your owner in the future. You have to be good, eat more, and recover well. When you’re better, you can catch mice for your sister.”
The little cat seemed to have understood. Its watery eyes looked at him with reluctance. “Meow~”
It relaxed its body and lay on Ji Yang’s hand.
Seeing this, Ji Yang smiled and touched it, and only then did she slowly look at Ji Anfeng. “That’s right. I have money and supplies, but I just don’t want to give them to you. I’m not just spending money to buy a dying cat. I’m also going to buy a puppy. May I ask where there are puppies?! If I see one I like, I will buy it directly.”
The people who had just been watching immediately became envious and jealous, and they completely forgot to condemn her.
Ji Anfeng glared at her with a pale face.
A person in the crowd was directly red-faced and shouted, “I have one here!!!”