Ham was a rare treasure now. If you rationed it, you could easily make it last a year.
"Fine." Jing Shu fished out a ham and tossed it to Mister Liu. He dropped to the ground with a thud, hugging it like a baby while grinning like he'd struck gold. President Gong immediately lifted his knife and shouted, "Collect the tax, collect the tax."
Everyone stared with blazing envy. How could this big fool be so lucky? He handed over one roll of paper and walked away with a whole ham.
There was still one massive ham left in the box, and the sight of it alone made everyone swallow hard.
"You see, Lass, we've got plenty of other things over here."
"Lass, I've got tons of canned fruit. Want some?"
"Shampoo and body wash, interested?"
"How about padded jackets? It's getting colder by the day."
In an instant, several people surrounded Jing Shu, excitedly pitching their goods. On the other side, Fan Jianqiang had already gone slack-jawed, muttering "Holy shit" under his breath again and again. "She's supposed to be some country bumpkin seeing the world? She's way too loaded for that!"
At this point in the apocalypse, throwing out two hams was like tossing out a mountain of gold. They were hard currency, plain and simple.
"Easy, what're you panicking for? Let her earn points first. Lass, how should I address you? You don't have a membership yet, right? Want to get one? There are lots of perks." President Gong beamed at her with a motherly smile while carefully holding the tax he'd just sliced off.
"My surname's Jing. I won't get a membership." Jing Shu shook her head. Who knew when she'd ever come back to the capital again?
"Then Lass Jing, who brought you here?"
She pointed at the thoroughly confused Fan Jianqiang.
And just like that,
"Congratulations, young man. You're now a Gold Member. Keep it up, and bring more quality clients like this to the black market. You'll get plenty of benefits."
Fan Jianqiang felt like he was dreaming. He'd struggled for years to barely upgrade to Silver, and he'd only just walked in today. Now he'd been bumped to Gold?
Once everything was settled, President Gong kept smiling. "Well then, Lass, tell us what you need. We'll help you get whatever you want."
Jing Shu hesitated. She still needed plenty of things, and supplies would only get rarer as time went on. As long as it wasn't something her space could produce, she wanted as much as she could get.
But she couldn't just say, "I want everything."
So she tried to be polite. "Why don't you all go first? I'll look around. If I need something, I'll speak up. Is that alright?"
"No problem. Xiao Liu, get Lass Jing a table and a few chairs. Let her sit up there so she can see everything clearly and won't miss anything she wants." President Gong didn't even give her time to object.
"That's, um, not really necessary, is it?" Jing Shu was stunned. Sitting on the main stage with everyone staring at her? That was way too much attention.
"It's perfect. Come on, take a break." President Gong's smile brooked no refusal, and soon enough she was seated in front, in a spot more prominent than the diamond-tier big shots.
Fan Jianqiang was trembling a little. Song Bin, on the other hand, calmly helped Jing Shu tidy away the rolls of paper. He'd long since gone numb.
This seat was too conspicuous. Especially with that ham.
The trading continued according to tradition. The canned-fruit boss and his secretary explained their needs. They wanted to trade their canned fruit for food, blankets, padded clothes, and other supplies. In no time, more than a thousand bottles of canned fruit were gone.
Under the boss's pleading gaze, Jing Shu unwillingly sliced off a tiny bit of ham in exchange for several dozen bottles of peach and lychee cans. She planned to take them home so her family could try something different. That way, bringing out fresh fruit from her space wouldn't look strange.
Then came a big shot who needed a huge amount of cotton and was willing to pay with rice. Jing Shu had stocked plenty of cotton, and her space could grow rice in the future, so she didn't make a fuss.
The capital really had good stuff.
And it didn't let her down. A rich second-generation kid with a pile of medical equipment finally appeared.
He was one of the few diamond-tier big shots who hadn't rushed forward even after seeing her massive ham. He sat calmly inside his barrier.
He really wasn't short on food. Even the ham didn't tempt him. Otherwise, he would've asked about it.
He had a gentle, cultured air about him. His looks were average, but he spoke politely, which made Jing Shu view rich kids in a more favorable light.
"Let JOKER state his request," President Gong announced.
JOKER waved his hand. Two people carried his goods onto the stage. Then he said, "Everyone knows what my family does. These supplies go directly to the authorities, so the quality speaks for itself."
"Ah, Ninth Young Master, we know your family lacks nothing. Food, supplies, everything's top-notch. But your requests are always strange."
"Exactly."
President Gong chuckled. "So, Xiao Jiu, how about taking that last ham? Lass Jing definitely wants your goods. In the apocalypse, lifesaving supplies are always in demand."
JOKER frowned slightly, then smiled. "I'd like to trade for some things too, but with this ratio, neither of us will be satisfied. Besides, I'm mainly here to collect seasonings this time. High-quality ones only. Nothing expired, smelly, or damp."
Good stuff came with high expectations.
The audience groaned. Plenty of people had seasoning left, but this was already the fourth year of the apocalypse. Where were they supposed to find high-grade spice that hadn't gone bad?
President Gong called out repeatedly while showing off JOKER's supplies. "Everyone, take a good look. Don't hide anything. He's from a medical family. Check out these lifesaving supplies."
It wasn't that no one had spices. They either didn't match JOKER's standards, or the ones who had them refused to trade because they were hoarding them for their own kitchens.
Jing Shu's eyes lit up as she looked at the piles of iodine, saline solution, and the real gem, a whole box of concentrated 84 disinfectant effervescent tablets. One tablet could last a long time when dissolved.
She'd bought plenty before the apocalypse, but she'd nearly used them all. The worst part was she hadn't stocked enough 84 disinfectant.
Disinfection and pest control were becoming more important by the day. These supplies were priceless now.
"Ahem. How do you want to trade these?" Jing Shu asked.
JOKER looked up and gave her a polite smile. "Looks like I'm not getting seasonings today. If you want to trade for ham, that works too."
"No, no, we're trading for seasonings. What kind do you want? Oyster sauce? Soy sauce? Vinegar?" Jing Shu asked.
JOKER shook his head with a small laugh. "None of those. I want natural spices. Star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, dried tangerine peel, black pepper, Chinese five-spice, cumin, that sort of thing."
Soy sauce and vinegar were still fairly common, but natural spices had taken a huge hit in production. After years of bad weather, they'd become incredibly rare.
"No problem." Jing Shu snapped her fingers and opened the bottom layer of her box. Every compartment was packed tight with sealed bags filled to the brim with exactly the spices he'd named.