I Am Cultivating in the Apocalypse

Chapter 616: Jing Shu’s Little Gua Gua

It was unclear if Master Long was a figure comparable to Qian Duoduo. Jing Shu had heard the name several times tonight but had never seen the person, which was rather disappointing. Although Jing Shu knew that the person called Master Long was in this trading emporium, amidst the vast crowd, he wasn’t as instantly recognizable as Mr. Ma, who stood out like a crane among chickens.

"Alright, I hope to meet this Master Long next time," Jing Shu said after adding Tang Tuo to her contacts.

"You will be interested in Master Long; everyone is interested in him," Tang Tuo declared.

Jing Shu gave a perfunctory smile, muttering softly, It’s not like it’s money, able to be liked by everyone. Even Qian Gula has the ’odor of copper’ associated with it; clearly, not even coins are universally liked.

The auction was nearing its end, to be followed by the process of re-verifying goods and applying traceability codes. After all, for purchases worth several million, thoroughness was essential.

After settling accounts and paying various taxes, Jing Shu’s trading card surprisingly showed a balance of nearly one million! This meant that even after selling her items and making so many purchases today, Jing Shu still had a large amount of Trading Coins left.

Trading Coins were only valid within the eighth-floor trading emporium and couldn’t be used outside. Converting them into Virtual Coin incurred a relatively high service fee, and Jing Shu had no intention of doing so. Besides, she still owed Wu City a lot of money, and frankly, it was better not to have too much money in her account for the foreseeable future.

Big data and surveillance couldn’t easily determine the extent of one’s supplies, but the amount of money one possessed could be checked with a simple inquiry.

The great famine of the fifth year of the apocalypse is approaching. It’s a harsh reality that shared suffering is the only way through.

"So, what can this money be used for?" With her departure from the Imperial Capital imminent, Jing Shu pondered for a moment before a thought struck her. She flipped the card to Tang Tuo. "This card has almost one million on it."

Tang Tuo looked somewhat bewildered at Jing Shu as he took the card.

A net worth of one million was the minimum entry threshold for the eighth-floor trading emporium. It was a substantial sum.

"So?..."

"Isn’t your name Tang Tuo? So, could you... manage this for me?"

Tang Tuo nodded almost immediately, without hesitation. "I’ll require 10% of any profits."

"No problem. Oh, and if you come across any good items, please secure them for me." Jing Shu couldn’t forget all the various organic goods available in the Imperial Capital. To be honest, in Wu City, aside from Qian Duoduo who had the resources to enjoy so many organic fruits and vegetables, hardly anyone else did—except, of course, for her, with her space acting as a cheat.

Jing Shu turned and patted Tan Ke. "He will come every three months to transport some items for me. If there’s anything, just give it to him."

It was fortunate that she had adopted the goose back then, as it provided Jing Shu with a transportation route in the Imperial Capital. Otherwise, she could hardly imagine how one would transport goods over such vast distances in the apocalypse.

However, as the fifth year of the apocalypse approached, food at the lower levels was becoming scarce. It seemed those at the top would also have to start tightening their belts.

Tang Tuo seemed to want to say something more but hesitated before finally asking, "What are your plans for the Dried Blood Mushroom supply?"

After all, how could someone who could suddenly produce ten of them possibly have only ten?

Jing Shu smiled. "There will be news when the time comes; don’t be anxious." I’ll just leave everything to Qian Duoduo. He lives by the philosophy of ’more debts, less worry; more lice, less itch.’ All these attention-grabbing matters can be pushed onto him.

Jing Shu was completely focused on the pets she had bought. She wished she could place the bamboo rats into her space to accelerate their growth, allowing her to savor their delicious flavor sooner.

Furthermore, Jing Shu also planned to move a portion of the feed insects into her space for breeding and accelerated growth. She needed to produce a large quantity of freeze-dried insect feed before the migration.

In short, Jing Shu had a multitude of tasks, far too many to spend all her time here.

So, she hastily bid farewell to Tang Tuo, leaving the rest of the matters in his hands. She would see if this ’custodian’ could truly manage things to such an extent.

Because she had bought so many things this time, including a complete set of freeze-drying equipment—naturally, those who could afford such a setup no longer needed to worry about electricity—Jing Shu and Tan Ke alone couldn’t possibly transport everything.

Fortunately, the considerate eighth-floor trading emporium helped transport everything back.

Moreover, this was only possible because Jing Shu had utilized all the medicine from Wu City that she brought. Otherwise, transporting her mountain of daily necessities, toilet paper, various foods, equipment, and so on would have been impossible. The shipping fees alone would have been substantial. Jing Shu had certainly snagged a great bargain.

The journey there had been bustling, with over thirty Pharmacists present.

The return journey was much quieter. Wang Danai had taken Wu City’s supplies and over half of the Pharmacists, and they were now busy at the factory established in the Imperial Capital. After all, they had to work day and night producing medicine, a task that concerned the lives of countless people across All China and was no laughing matter.

Jing Shu expressed her full understanding and consideration for the Pharmacists’ work, specially using public funds to get Tan Ke to procure some extra food for everyone.

Regardless, Jing Shu had completed her mission in the Imperial Capital. The abundant gains from this visit made her reluctant to leave. Looking at the plane, filled almost entirely with her supplies, Jing Shu felt a profound sense of security.

The black gloves wriggled gently on her hands—silky, shiny, comfortable, and warm.

Wanzi, however, grimaced and hid behind Fat Chicken, clearly wary of Jing Shu’s hands; she could sense something!

Fat Chicken, however, was intently fixated on the item at Jing Shu’s feet. It puffed out its plump chest, striking a pose with wings akimbo like a tigress. Then, deeming its posture unseemly and ungraceful, it quickly changed to another.

It swayed its ample chicken rump, preened its feathers, and struck an alluring pose. It even extended one of its long, elegant chicken legs, blinking its eyes rapidly in a wild hint to Jing Shu.

Jing Shu: "..." It’s just a duck, isn’t it? Is all this really necessary?

Despite Tan Ke’s constant insistence that it was a goose, Jing Shu looked at the palm-sized creature, which had all the characteristics of a duck, and thought, Isn’t it just a little gray duck? Well, perhaps it’s a goose in duck’s clothing, like the Ugly Duckling that might turn into a swan?

That’s right, this little thing was the big surprise Tan Ke had given her, and it truly was a surprise.

If I’m not mistaken, this must be a creature that adapted and evolved after the apocalypse—a mutant, so to speak. Tan Ke hadn’t dared to have its detailed attributes identified because he knew that once an official identification was made, the implications would be clear.

For now, Jing Shu’s understanding of it wasn’t bad; she had simply named it Little Gua Gua. After all, it was only after they had boarded the plane that Tan Ke managed to slip Little Gua Gua to her, appealing to her emotions and reasoning until Jing Shu finally accepted the precious creature.