The moment things kicked off, it was clear they were aiming big. Jing Shu already felt a little restless, while Fan Jianqiang yawned beside her and muttered under his breath, "Just wait, take it slow." He knew better than to covet any of these treasures. The Imperial Capital was full of hidden masters.
Lao Gong stepped forward and invited the first person on stage, a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit and a felt hat. "Let's welcome Mister Liu."
Mister Liu pointed at the display shelves. "These are three thousand rolls of well-preserved, pure wood-pulp toilet paper. No virtual coins, only food. I want items with a long shelf life. As always, the price depends on quality and rarity. If you're interested, bring your goods to the exchange clerk for assessment."
He used to run a paper-manufacturing business.
It really was a massive offering, and the mountain of toilet paper was genuinely shocking.
Fan Jianqiang looked somewhat disappointed. "If only he'd take virtual coins. But whatever, it's not really a necessity. Splash some water and wipe with a cloth. Worst case, scrape with a rock. Who needs paper?" Still, it'd be nice to have. He couldn't help envying people who could still afford to use it.
Jing Shu was tempted. "I wonder how the exchange rate works, is it expensive?" Her household still had a decent supply, but she needed extra during those days every month, and with so many people at home, it disappeared fast. Besides, things like this would only get rarer as time went on. Might as well stock up.
Song Bin looked uneasy. He didn't know how to price anything here either.
Fan Jianqiang snorted with a touch of disdain. With his status, even he wouldn't use food to trade for toilet paper.
At first, they thought hardly anyone would exchange for something so nonessential during a food shortage, but in minutes, plenty of people walked up with various foods to trade.
Even the guy who'd just sold grilled meat brought a long, skinny sausage to swap for a single roll.
Once a third of the stock disappeared, the crowd slowly thinned. The market was saturated, and by then, Jing Shu had a rough grasp of how bartering worked here.
Mister Liu looked disappointed. Food was getting scarcer.
Jing Shu's mind spun quickly. One roll barely lasted her whole family three days even with careful use. That was about one hundred twenty rolls a year, not counting special circumstances. She had stocked up a lot in the past, but now only half remained. It was only the fourth year of the apocalypse, and nobody knew how long this would last.
Just then, a woman from the Diamond Zone walked up. She wore a black uniform and glasses. After bowing politely, she said, "Our boss wants to buy out the rest of the toilet paper. We'll exchange fruit cans that don't expire. The rate is one can for eight rolls. Are you interested?"
Her family used to run a fruit-canning business.
Mister Liu hesitated. Fruit cans were nice, but they were more of a treat. He couldn't use that many. If it were meat cans, he'd have taken them all without blinking.
He picked up the loudspeaker. "Anyone else still want toilet paper? If not, I'll trade the rest to her."
From a distance, Jing Shu shouted, "Here, here, we want paper!" Then she waved for Song Bin to grab the two black casees and hurry over.
"Holy shit, what the hell are you doing? You're using food to trade for paper? Don't drag my score down," Fan Jianqiang hissed, clutching Song Bin's arm as if losing him would doom him.
They'd told him not to ask questions.
"Silver Membership Zone? Doesn't look like they brought anything valuable."
Mister Liu was disappointed again. Probably another small customer. After calling out a few more times with no response, he finally turned to Jing Shu with a smile. "What do you want to trade? Bring it out so we can evaluate."
He didn't show a hint of condescension.
The woman in black tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear while eyeing the girl wrapped tightly in her oversized cotton coat. Jing Shu looked plain and ordinary, except for that case in her hand. What could possibly be inside? How much food could she bring?
Yes, at first, nobody paid special attention to her. Even Mister Liu regretted offering the paper for fruit cans.
Then a loud boom echoed across the venue, bouncing through the cemetery's natural reverberation.
Every head turned.
"What the hell is in that case? Why's it so heavy?"
People assumed the case itself was heavy, until Jing Shu dropped it with that earth-shaking thud. Even Song Bin's mouth fell open, and Fan Jianqiang froze on the spot.
Jing Shu opened the case, revealing the inner layer.
Inside were two enormous smoked hams, the kind that made mouths water instantly. Black-pig hams.
The perfect curve, the dense, massive meat. The people standing nearest caught the faint salty aroma drifting out.
A collective gulp swept through the crowd.
Instant uproar. Everyone on site was stunned. It was the fourth year of the apocalypse. Frozen meat still existed, but fresh pork was a luxury beyond luxury, and even cured meat was nearly extinct.
Food still existed, but too few people had good food. Only the truly powerful hoarded treasures like these.
But top-quality hams like these, honestly, almost nobody ever brought them out to trade.
Mister Liu completely lost his earlier calm. He circled the ham with wide eyes. Even President Gong came over. The bosses behind the woman in black, the Diamond Zone bigshots, all rushed out.
Lao Gong swallowed hard. "I'm taking a tax cut later. I'm slicing a few pieces for myself."
Mister Liu couldn't stay composed. "How're you planning to trade this ham?" His eyes glistened. He wanted meat cans. This ham was worth hundreds.
Jing Shu casually lifted one ham. "It's a thirty-jin (15 kg) ham, top-quality, perfectly preserved. It can last several more years. How many rolls can I trade for it?"
"I'll buy both hams and give you all the remaining paper," Mister Liu offered immediately.
The loud snap of Jing Shu closing the case rang out.
In that moment, she didn't look like a plain girl anymore. Her presence sharpened and pressed down on Mister Liu like a weight, leaving him struggling to breathe. "It seems Mister Liu doesn't want to do business. There are plenty of people here. I'll find someone willing to trade for what I need."
"Yeah, you can't be too greedy. Lao Liu, come on, can you even eat two hams? Let us have a slice."
"We've got plenty of stuff to trade too."
Mister Liu gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll give you one thousand five hundred rolls for one ham. That's dozens of times more than I offer for any other food. The rest I'll trade for fruit cans."
One jin (1.5 kg) of meat for fifty rolls of paper.
Jing Shu paused to think. Their black pigs at home and the ones in the space were practically overflowing. Grandpa Jing slaughtered several pigs every year. Their home was filled with smoked meat and hams, to the point they were running out of space.
Trading for so much toilet paper in the Imperial Capital was actually a great deal.
Mister Liu grew anxious. Seeing her hesitate made him regret everything. If only he'd added a little more earlier.
===
Beside Xiao Dou, and red nematode, another hook points for me is her 'big black case'. It kind of her own version of Doraemon's pocket.