Chapter 244 - The Value Of Food
When Yi Fang had finished picking out clothes for herself and Xiang Feng, Bai Zemin removed the backpack from his back and opened it to reveal its contents as he began to look for the agreed payment for the man in front of him. However, although he did this action without much thought, the surroundings became a bit agitated when the survivors saw the amount of supplies inside the bag.
The amount of food that Bai Zemin brought was simply too much after all. This was the first time these survivors had seen so much food since the apocalypse broke out.
Although people began to mutter to each other while pointing fingers, none of them stepped forward to cause trouble. A person with so many supplies was definitely not someone ordinary inside the base. All of these survivors had already understood that if they angered someone powerful they would simply end up dying worse than cats and dogs.
In fact, finding bodies lying in the gutters was often not a strange sight for these people. Many survivors who directly or indirectly offended people they shouldn't have were found lifeless the next day.
Bai Zemin naturally had his reasons for doing what he did. He ignored everyone's glares and took several packs of instant noodles.
"This is the agreed payment." He said as he handed the packets to the small man.
The salesman gulped audibly when he saw the amount of supplies inside the bag as he took the packages of instant noodles. In his mind he was cursing the young man in front of him a million times.
You have so much food in there but you're haggling a lot with a little shrimp like me? Have you no shame? Thought the man as he watched Bai Zemin close his bag and carry it back to his back hanging over one of his shoulders.
"Let's go." He said calmly with the intention of continuing to look around the stores at the edge of the street. He still had things he needed to buy.
The three women of different ages, two grown and one petite, followed closely behind him.
"Little brother, buy me something!"
"Look over here! I'm sure you'll find something you like!"
"Just 2 packs of instant noodles for this smart TV!"
"Young man..."
...
Many salesmen who seemed desperate to get rid of what was no longer useful to them tried their best to attract Bai Zemin's attention. Some shouted, others even left their stands to try to get noticed. However, he ignored them all and continued to advance forward while keeping his guard up. After all, this was the enemy's base and he had not come with good intentions in mind as well.
About two streets ahead, Bai Zemin finally found what he was looking for and stopped in front of a small stand.
"Boss, how much do you want for these pots and bowls?" He asked as he picked up some cooking utensils and checked the condition they were in.
The man appeared to be an honest man. He was short and somewhat plump, but his beard was unkempt and some fatigue could be seen in his eyes. However, he smiled slightly as he saw that he had a prospective customer, "Young man, the set of pots and a dozen bowls. In total that would be four packages of instant noodles or half a kilogram of white rice."
Food was the most sought after thing these days. Survivors were willing to do basically anything for a bowl of food. Four packets of instant noodles or half a kilogram of rice would be enough for this man to live without worrying about starving for a week if he tightened his stomach and didn't waste.
Bai Zemin did not answer right away and instead pointed to a small carafe with a small furnace sitting onto it after checking the weight, "How much for the small furnace?"
"Considering it is a good cooking tool and easy to carry in this chaotic world, the small furnace is worth three packets of instant noodles or 300 grams of white rice." The man hesitated for a moment before giving his price with an honest expression on his face. He looked at Bai Zemin with some anxiety. After all, a total of 7 packets of instant noodles or 800 grams of white rice was not a small amount.
Bai Zemin thought about it for a moment and realized that the man's price was quite fair. In fact, if it were him he would ask more for the small gas cooker.
"We have a deal then." In the end, Bai Zemin decided not to haggle over the price.
He opened his bag and carefully observed the expression of the man in front of him. The salesman's eyes held surprise, envy, even a bit of bitterness... But not greed; which was extremely rare. The normal thing would be to be greedy for a bag stuffed with food.
To help the man who seemed to be too good to live in this cruel and selfish world, Bai Zemin took out a 1 kilogram sack of rice: "Just keep the rest. Consider it a gift from me."
Bai Zemin was quite simple; if anyone tried to take advantage from him, he would take care of tearing off a piece of their flesh. However, if they treated him honestly, then he was willing to be kind as well.
The chubby man's eyes filled with tears and for a moment he didn't know what to say. With trembling hands, he took the sack of rice and wordlessly bowed deeply.
With this amount of rice, he and his wife could eat for quite some time. If they diluted the rice a little to form a gruel even eating for half a month was not impossible. Moreover, this gruel would be far better than the one given by the government as relief food which basically had no rice at all and was pure water.
Even when Bai Zemin and the three women disappeared into the crowd of people, the man still remained bowed. It was after a full minute that he finally straightened his back, wiped away the tears of gratitude, and packed the few things he had left before going home.
* * *
"Big brother, do you want to play with me? I was a high school student in the past and was among the ten prettiest in my grade! Just a pack of instant noodles and I'll let you have fun for a whole night!"
"Young man, how would you like to have some fun with a mature and experienced woman? Two packs..."
"Little brother..."
...
On the way back, Bai Zemin's group passed by a place where there were many women in revealing clothes who tried to approach him while jiggling their flexible waists. Many of them could be considered beauties even if they were not on the same level as Shangguan Bing Xue and Nangong Lingxin.
These women could not care less if there were already some women alongside the man. From their point of view, any man was a potential customer and they were willing to provide their services just to stop their stomachs from growling.
Of course, Bai Zemin ignored them all and simply continued moving towards his destination.
Yi Fang's expression was casual. She used to disdain such acts. But after being pushed into a corner she finally understood that many times, people were forced to do things they were unwilling to do because of circumstances.
Shangguan Bing Xue had a complex look on her face as she watched all this. Some girls who offered their bodies were even much younger than her, too young to be doing such things. However, life was cruel. She didn't have the power to help everyone either.
Unconsciously, she clenched her fists tightly and her blue eyes flashed with anger. While there were also some prostitutes in the Beginning Village, under the strict rules, all underage women were completely forbidden to sell their bodies and if a man was found having sex with an underage girl he would be decapitated in front of everyone as a warning. With the possibility of having a decent job and with three bowls of gruel every day even for the slackers, no one had the right to complain.
However, in the North Camp, Shangguan Bing Xue had seen that compared to the strict rules and "Bai Zemin's cruelty", this place was a hell.. From the beginning, she did not have much hope for the Chinese government, but her hopes only dimmed to minimum levels after all she saw today.