novelsite Chapter 219 Seasonings
Chapter 219 Seasonings
Xie Yingtang responded heavily from the other end of the phone, "Understood, Xiaoyan, thank you. We will be careful and contact you again after we are settled." His voice sounded as calm as ever, but the solemnity was still there.
"Okay, stay in touch and be careful," Xu Xiaoyan said before hanging up the phone.
The call ended, and the room fell silent, save for her own long breaths and the soft crackling of the stove. Holding the phone, which was slightly warm from the long call, she leaned back against the wall, which was gradually warming from the smoke rising from the stove, closed her eyes, and sighed softly.
She had given all the reminders she could. Ultimately, everyone must walk their own path. Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao had their own destinies, and she could not decide for them, nor could she predict what choices they would make in these ten days. In this apocalyptic world, giving a reminder was already a favor; the road ahead must ultimately be navigated by oneself.
After a period of intense concentration, she felt a deep sense of exhaustion, but she knew it wasn't time to completely relax yet.
She simply took off her heavy coat and shoes, and lay down on the quilt on the kang (a heated brick bed). The kang beneath her was warmed by the residual heat flowing from the stove, emitting a dry and comforting warmth that gradually dispelled the biting cold brought in from outside. The relaxation of her body made her mind clearer and more active.
In the darkness, she didn't fall asleep immediately. A seemingly ordinary management rule that she had previously overlooked suddenly became clear in this specific situation, like being illuminated by lightning, triggering a completely new line of thought in her mind:
"...After entering the underground city's residential area, one is generally not allowed to return to the surface at will. Personal belongings must undergo security checks upon arrival. Only items that comply with the 'List of Prohibited and Restricted Items in the Underground City' and related management regulations, and are registered, may be brought into the underground city..."
No turning back! Carrying limits! Please submit to inspection!
These keywords, linked together like a chain, point with crystal clarity to an imminent and, for the vast majority of people, extremely harsh reality:
For all the residents who are about to move into the underground city, especially the residents of Zone E who make up the vast majority of the population and have extremely limited living space and carrying capacity, these ten days are the deadline for them to conduct a cruel "final judgment" on all the surface resources they currently possess!
What to bring? It must be the most essential, indispensable, and permitted survival supplies: bedding? A few warm clothes? Tools? A small amount of food that can be stored for a short time? Everyone's allowance is very tight, so we need to be careful with our spending.
What to keep? Those bulky, heavy, or useful but not absolutely necessary items: bulky furniture, excess clothing, large tools, non-emergency food reserves... "Keeping" often means abandoning in disguise, because after ten days the ground facilities will basically be shut down and unattended, so keeping them is equivalent to discarding them.
What to throw away? Damaged and useless items, obviously illegal items, or items of too low value to be worth the effort to carry. This is probably the most helpless and common choice, as evidenced by the increasing "mountains of garbage" in front of homes and alleys.
What are they selling? The fundamental driving force behind the sudden boom in official redemption points and the informal trading market is the attempt to exchange items that are "impossible to take with you" but "still have value" for points that are more convenient and universal.
Many people inevitably need to dispose of a large number of items that are "untransferable" or "non-compliant". Official redemption points are one channel, but their pricing standards and limited recycling categories are destined to fail to meet everyone's needs and cannot reflect the special value of certain items.
So, what about those "non-essential" or "light luxury" items that are not necessary for survival but can greatly improve the quality of life and bring some spiritual comfort in extreme environments? Xu Xiaoyan's eyes suddenly opened in the dim light, a glint of light flashing in them.
Her situation is completely different from that of "the vast majority of people"!
She is eligible for permanent housing in Zone B, which means that she has a relatively stable "safety net" in terms of basic survival – safe housing, stable heating, and basic food rations that can be purchased with points.
Her urgency and anxiety about accumulating points were far less than those of the residents in Zones E and D who struggled for the daily "heating fee" of 0.5 points and were desperate to climb to a higher level.
More importantly, she has a separate storage space that still has room to spare! This space does not take up any physical carrying allowance, is not subject to security checks, and can hold more "non-emergency" supplies of varying sizes and types.
Going forward, the underground city will be a new, closed, and resource-intensive micro-society with limited resources. Once the most basic survival needs are partially covered and standardized by the official system, other aspects of human nature will inevitably begin to emerge.
The pursuit of quality of life, even if it's just a tiny improvement—a touch of sweetness, a wisp of aroma, a slightly different taste, a moment of mental relaxation—can, after the underground city has been operating stably for a period of time, give rise to hidden but real new demands, as well as corresponding gray-area trading spaces.
"Other people's points are for survival, for not freezing or starving to death," Xu Xiaoyan muttered silently in the darkness, her thoughts becoming clearer and clearer like a ship breaking through the fog. "My points... perhaps can, and should, be used to invest in things after 'surviving,' to... improve my life, and even to create a little bit of 'initiative' for the future."
She should take this opportunity to acquire a batch of "non-essential" but high-quality-of-life items, especially... condiments and light luxury food and drinks.
For example: white sugar, brown sugar, rock sugar, honey, malt syrup, butter.
For example: Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, dried chili peppers, cinnamon, bay leaves, cumin, and black pepper.
For example: onions, garlic, and ginger.
For example: various dried fruits, tea leaves, coffee powder, cocoa powder.
Even sauce packets, soup packets, vacuum-packed pickled vegetables or chili sauce...
These things might be considered by many to be utterly useless right now—they take up space, don't keep you full, and don't keep you warm. Given the strict security checks and limited personal space in the underground city, they seem incredibly impractical.
And this was her opportunity! A precious opportunity arising from an extremely short window of opportunity and information asymmetry.
She can use her relatively abundant points reserves to buy these "useless" items that others are eager to get rid of! For sellers, getting a few points is better than having them rot in their hands, being unable to move them, and eventually throwing them away.
She could easily use these pre-stocked, unique "niche resources" to conduct small-scale, private barter or point-exchange transactions within the scope permitted by the dungeon rules.
But the next question arises: how to do it? How to complete this "strategic procurement" efficiently, discreetly, and safely?
Going directly to the trading section of a public forum and posting messages like "Buying sugar, honey, spices, tea..." is tantamount to suicide.
In a time when anxiety over points is sweeping the city and everyone's eyes are bloodshot, any unconventional concentrated purchasing behavior, especially involving "food" or "hedonistic goods," will attract countless investigations, speculations, and even malicious price gouging and ulterior motives.
People will speculate wildly: Does this person know some inside information? Do these inconspicuous items have special value or a huge demand in the dungeon? Should we hoard them too? More importantly, such high-profile behavior is very likely to attract the attention of certain forces, speculators, or pure villains, adding unpredictable risks to her.
We must keep a low profile, disperse, and blend into the crowd.
Xu Xiaoyan picked up her phone again, the screen light illuminating her calm face once more. She opened the base's intranet and entered the chaotic and incredibly active trading section.
With a swipe of the fingertip, the screen scrolls rapidly, and what comes into view is no longer the usual scattered buy or sell information, but a near-panic, waterfall-like frenzy of selling.
The post titles were increasingly direct and anxious, revealing a sense of desperation and hopelessness.
"Selling all my belongings! Points required! Deadline is tonight, or else!"
"We'll be going to work in ten days. Anything we can't take with us, we'll sell for money! We'll practically give it away!"
"Clear everything, clear everything! I need points to save my life! I'll sell anything!"
"The elderly person is moving alone; just give them some furniture, clothes, pots and pans, whatever you see is fine!"
"My child is sick and I urgently need points. I'll get everything sorted out cheaply..."
Between the lines, one can almost see faces contorted with anxiety, and piles of clutter hastily placed in front of the camera or in descriptions, as people just want to get rid of the "heavy burden" they are carrying as soon as possible.
She began to play the role of a patient and discerning "browser" and "bargain hunter," meticulously examining the posts with the most vague titles, the most general descriptions, and the least noticeable details.
"Get rid of a bunch of miscellaneous goods, pay points and you'll sell them."
"Several miscellaneous items, see for yourself."
"Take any useful junk that's being cleared out of the house."
"These are some old items left by the old man. I don't understand them, so I'll exchange them for some points."
These kinds of posts are often the real treasure trove, because the sellers themselves may not even know what's mixed in with the pile of junk they cleared out of their homes, or they don't have the energy to categorize and describe it in detail. They just want to get rid of it quickly and recover as much as they can.
She quickly scanned the vague text and blurry pictures, her eyes keenly scanning the general terms like "broken pots and pans," "old clothes and books," "bottles and jars," and "odd tools" for any clues that might be related to "kitchen," "storage room," or "daily organization." A blurry glass jar outline or a phrase like "some bottles and jars" could all point to overlooked condiment containers.
Once she suspects a post might contain her target item, she doesn't hesitate to click the "contact via private message" button. She casts a wide net, but never expresses a strong desire for a specific item (such as sugar or chili peppers) in any private message, nor does she offer an excessively high price. Everything is just "looking" or "being interested".
She plays an ordinary resident with a slight nostalgia for the past, who is willing to spend a little bit of points to buy some condiments, and perhaps a young person who is not very good at bargaining.
While quietly building her online presence, Xu Xiaoyan knew that the real, high-quality items, which had not been fully filtered and valued by the "market," especially the "family heirlooms" treasured by the older generation and habitually hoarded by housewives, were often hidden in the hands of elderly people and housekeepers who did not often go online or did not trust virtual transactions, and preferred to see the physical items face-to-face, chat a few words, and complete the transaction.
Over the next few days, she planned a variety of offline activities for herself. She no longer engaged in any dangerous activities outside the city and focused entirely on "sweeping" and "absorbing" supplies within the city.
She deliberately chooses different times to go out: early morning, afternoon, and evening. Before each trip, she takes advantage of the space to change into a completely different outfit.
Sometimes she wore a faded, slightly bookish plaid down jacket with dark trousers and a wide-brimmed hat, looking like a student still in school or working in an office job; other times she wrapped herself in a thick old headscarf, wore a bulky, slightly oil-stained dark cotton-padded coat, carried a tattered woven bag, and blended into the crowd of women from the outer city who were busy making a living and whose faces were blurred.
Her destination was near several large and crowded official points redemption points in the outer city, but she never went near the counters with long queues and a somber atmosphere. Instead, she wandered and observed the areas where people spontaneously gathered, talked, waited, or left disappointed.
The atmosphere here is more direct, intense, and informative than the text on the forum. The smells of sweat, dust, the stuffy odor of people gathered together, sighs of disappointment, suppressed anger due to unfair valuations, and occasional arguments that are quickly suppressed... all kinds of sounds and smells are mixed together.
Many people arrive carrying large bags and pulling homemade carts, their eyes filled with hope. After being quickly, mechanically, and critically examined by the staff, they often leave with most of their belongings and a look of dejection, confusion, or anger.
Items that were rejected or for which the price was extremely unsatisfactory were simply piled up on the open ground near the exchange point, or dragged around by their owners, aimlessly searching for the next possible opportunity.
Xu Xiaoyan quietly blended into the noisy and anxious crowd. She observed quietly, her gaze sweeping over faces that were either anxious, numb, or shrewd, and over items that were taken out and put back.
She paid special attention to elderly and middle-aged women who were dressed simply and cleanly, with a look of reluctance and helplessness in their eyes, and whose packages revealed the edges of pots and pans, the texture of fabric, or woven baskets.
They are often the actual managers of household supplies and are more likely to retain some old-fashioned items and eating habits that young people consider "useless".
She patiently waited for the "opportunity" to surface on its own, and then approached, inquired, and completed a small transaction in the most natural and inconspicuous way, in which both parties felt they had "gotten a good deal" or "solved a problem."