I Am Cultivating in the Apocalypse

Chapter 770: All-In

She wanted to cry but had no tears. They had only told her to come and set a price, not to set a price for cigarettes! How could I possibly decide that? And looking at the banner on this transport vehicle, the brand name is already out there. Are they planning to sell these all over the country in the future?

Zhao Qian stammered, "Ah, this..."

Jing Shu said opportunely, "I have brought two types of cigarettes this time. One is the ordinary unfiltered kind, tentatively priced at 30 Virtual Coins a piece, and the other is the premium soft filter type, tentatively priced at 80 Virtual Coins a piece. You can use this as a reference to set the price, but we will still trade goods at this value on our side."

Zhao Qian’s mouth twitched. She understood the domineering implication behind those words: You’ll consider my suggestion, but you’ll stick to your own plan regardless.

If that’s the case, what’s the point of setting a price at all?

"So, should I make a call to the higher-ups?" Zhao Qian asked.

"Please do."

As Zhao Qian was making the call, Hao Yunlai puffed out more and more smoke rings, explaining the different sensations of the cigarettes, making everyone anxious and itching to try them.

Jing Shu then brought out stamped test reports and stated, "These two types of cigarettes have 300 times fewer carcinogens compared to regular pre-apocalypse cigarettes. They are extracted from purely natural dark substances, with no other chemical additives. It can be said they contain almost no carcinogens at all. The absorbability has increased fivefold, and while the taste is a bit milder, the aftertaste is infinitely rich and aromatic... Later on, we will also introduce a few different flavors..."

The crowd murmured. Who the hell cares about health when smoking anyway?!

We want the strong stuff! As strong as it gets! MAX, understand?!

Just as the crowd was about to jump out of their skins with anticipation, Jing Shu smiled and waved at Wanzi.

Wanzi, not caring about the details, wiped his hands clean on his waist before pulling out a mini version of the cigarette, no longer than a pinky finger, from the Hulk’s mouth. He handed one to each person and expertly lit their cigarettes.

Then Jing Shu said, "Visitors are guests. Regardless of whether you trade or not, today everyone can try a cigarette for free. It’s okay if you don’t buy; we mainly want everyone to taste our cigarettes and give some feedback."

"The boss is generous!"

"There are free cigarettes to try over there! Everyone, hurry and get one!"

"Really? Everyone gets one? Is it okay for a worker like me?"

"Yes, everyone can have one, even temporary workers."

With a buzz of excitement, Jing Shu’s cigarettes drew in more people, even attracting quite a few big bosses from the surrounding area. In this apocalypse, selling cigarettes meant something significant, and the astute bosses understood this better than most. Naturally, they had to come and see for themselves. If they could get their hands on reasonably priced cigarettes, selling them elsewhere for several times the profit was a no-brainer.

Once the Tick-derived cigarette burned, it became even more mellow. The initial taste was fresh, followed by a lasting, velvety richness, leaving a more lingering aftertaste than ordinary cigarettes. Just a few puffs stirred up endless daydreams in the seasoned smokers. For a moment, it wasn’t so noisy anymore; everyone was savoring this new cigarette experience.

A light wave of nicotine hit the nostrils, traveled up to the top of the skull, and after circulating, their entire bodies seemed to become somewhat dazed... Some even felt like they were floating.

But the strength of the cigarette was lacking. After smoking it, there was a feeling of dissatisfaction, a craving for more, one puff after another, growing more and more insatiable.

"This cigarette is incredible, even better than I imagined."

"Such a tiny cigarette, and even a heavy smoker like me hasn’t finished it in five minutes... This..."

"The key is the price. Nowadays, where do you find something this affordable? Cigars have been driven up to who knows how much a piece!"

"With such a low price, can you keep up with the supply? Boss, I suggest buying up all these cigarettes in a clearance sale."

One of the bosses exclaimed, "Quickly contact Da Zuo! Gather three million in commodities for me. Even if we pay triple the price today, we have to get a batch!"

The bosses who had smoked were all shocked. Such good quality yet so cheap, it’s practically a steal! Wait... could this turn into an auction on the spot?

Many of the bosses had already secretly instructed their subordinates to start tallying up their goods, ready to snatch a batch no matter what, then sell it at a high price later.

Thirty Virtual Coins might be ten to fifteen days’ worth of food money for those at the bottom level; perhaps they couldn’t even save up thirty Virtual Coins in a month. But for regular employees, they could easily afford a few every month; smoking for a minute or two each day was completely within their means.

For the bosses addicted to smoking, smoking dozens a day was no problem. They wouldn’t have to hold cigars worth hundreds of Virtual Coins in their hands every day, pretending to be cool without daring to finish even one.

Zhao Qian soon returned and said, "They said upstairs there’s no problem."

Jing Shu smiled, but before she could speak, the crowd below erupted.

"I’ll trade all my 200,000 Virtual Coins’ worth of soybean sauce! No one better compete with me!"

"Soybean sauce, get lost! I’m taking all 600,000 Virtual Coins’ worth of soap!"

"Do you even have a clue what your soap is made from? This boss definitely needs our nutritional paste! 100,000 Virtual Coins’ worth for 100,000 tubes, as many as you have! You must need to feed a lot of people to make cigarettes, right? This much nutritional paste can support a whole factory, no problem, and the price is a steal!"

"Give me a break! That nutritional paste is made from the scraps of mutated cockroaches. If you’d at least used some of the nutritious protein from the cockroaches, it wouldn’t taste so disgusting! What a heartless merchant!"

"Enough talk! We’ll take all your cigarettes for ten million Virtual Coins market price and 10 tons of ground vegetables! And we can continue to cooperate in the future! Ground vegetables, you understand, right?"

As soon as ground vegetables were mentioned, the surroundings fell quiet for a moment, then various curses erupted.

"Shameless! The government actually using such good stuff to compete with us for business! And those 10 tons are probably one or two years’ entire yield, right?"

"Is the competition this intense now? I was hoping to trade for some ground vegetables to make stuffed buns; they’re incredibly fragrant."

"Make some ground vegetable soup back home, add a little meat, and it’d be unbelievably delicious."

"Oh well. Looks like there’s no chance this year, and probably not next year either."

Jing Shu raised an eyebrow. Just as she was about to ask what this prized item was, Zhao Qian provided an explanation:

"This ground vegetable only grows on the surface soil within the radiation range of the Artificial Sun. Although it’s wild, it still requires careful manual labor to push aside the soil and pick out the thin, black-skinned pieces one by one. Direct consumption is toxic; it must be dried before it can be used in cooking.

It has a delicate fragrance, a tender yet resilient texture, and is rich in nutrients, almost enough to meet an adult’s daily needs. It’s an exclusive product of the Chuanshu Town Government. The output is mostly consumed internally, distributed as employee benefits. Only a very small amount is released for trade each year. It seems this year they want to trade for cigarettes to use as employee benefits."

In this apocalypse, having vegetables with a consistent yield is already very difficult. I didn’t expect the Chuanshu Region to be so blessed with talent and resources, with so many good things. To think they can even have a steady output of wild vegetables near the Artificial Sun! Unfortunately, Wu City has nothing like it.

Jing Shu waved her hand, signaling everyone to quiet down. She said with great satisfaction, "Alright, everyone, no need to rush. We’ll take all the ground vegetables."

A wave of disappointed murmurs passed through the crowd. Then, Jing Shu’s voice rang out again:

"We’ll take all the soap."

"And we’ll take all the soybean sauce too."