Chapter 4: We Brothers Come from Gubao Town to Search for Relatives

Her arrival allowed him to escape a disaster, which means he had not yet experienced the harsh realities of society and was just a pampered ten-year-old child.

“Xia Mo.” Originally, he called her Brother Xia, but after the unpleasant incident of the sale, he now simply addressed her by her name.

“Don’t look around; let’s get into the city quickly.”

Xia Mo was pulled along as they swiftly navigated through the crowd of refugees, watching his small face tense up, feeling confused.

Was he scared or just nervous?

“Stop.”

When they reached the city gate, they were stopped by the guards.

Xiao Jingyuan immediately took out the travel permit. “Big brother, we have a travel permit.”

Xia Mo hurriedly showed her travel permit to the guard as well.

This was the checkpoint for the travel permit.

Normally, if you traveled too far from your hometown without a travel permit, you wouldn’t be allowed to pass through the checkpoint. If luck was on your side, you would be sent back home; if not, you might be captured to work as labor.

In times of disaster, there were simply too many refugees; whether being sent back or captured to work was obviously unrealistic.

However, without a travel permit, they couldn’t enter the city and would have to stay outside, where survival in the cold winter was uncertain.

Having a travel permit allowed them to enter the city to buy supplies, find an inn to stay in, and so on.

The guard scrutinized them up and down, checking the authenticity of their travel permits.

“Just the two of you?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you coming from, and where are you going?”

Xia Mo felt a bit speechless; it was clearly written above, yet he still asked. It seemed they were very strict about who could enter the city.

Xia Mo smiled and said, “We brothers come from Gubao Town to search for relatives in Baiyue.”

This was indeed correct, and only then did the guard allow them to enter.

Once inside the city, they noticed there were quite a few people carrying burdens as well.

Xiao Jingyuan suggested, “Let’s find an inn first; otherwise, it will be too late, and we might not find a room available.”

“But we have no money…”

They only had two copper coins left from selling Xiao Jingyuan, which was clearly not enough to stay in a decent place.

“Buns, hot buns!”

Just as the two were at a loss, they heard the vendor next to them calling out.

Both of them suddenly had an idea.

Although it wasn’t yet the peak of high food prices during the disaster year, things were still expensive. A plain bun had risen to two coins, while a meat bun had gone up to five coins. To be honest, these doughy buns were far from the ones sold in convenience stores, but she could first take some buns to exchange for money.

“Let’s buy a basket to carry the buns; Guanyin will surely sell us some buns.”

Since food was expensive, relatively speaking, those non-essential handicrafts were cheaper. They spent five coins to buy a fairly large bamboo basket, and with a thick cloth to line it, they could sell buns.

Finding a spot where no one was around, the two happily took out their jade pendants to make a wish. Xia Mo took all the buns from the electric heating box in the convenience store and packed them into the basket.

Carrying the basket, they began to shout their wares on the street.

“Buns, hot buns! Vegetable buns for two coins, meat buns for four coins.”

One coin less than the store, and soon they welcomed their first customer.

“I’ll take two meat buns.”

One coin less is still money; who wouldn’t want to buy them cheaper?

“Okay, ma’am, please wait a moment.” Xia Mo cheerfully responded, but when she lifted the cloth covering the basket, she was stunned.

Where are the buns?

Xia Mo looked at Xiao Jingyuan in confusion.

Xiao Jingyuan looked back at Xia Mo, equally bewildered.

The lady saw them staring at each other in shock and curiously asked, “Have you sold out already?”

Xia Mo nodded dazedly, “Sorry, aunt, but we really have sold out.”

What else could they say? Could they claim that their buns had mysteriously vanished?

The lady didn’t press them; since they were sold out, she turned to the bun shop not far away.

The two hurriedly made their way into an alley with their empty basket.

“What should we do? You’re the one carrying the basket, and now there are no buns left, didn’t you notice?”

Xiao Jingyuan frowned. “When the lady asked for the buns, they were still there. But when you lifted the cloth, the basket suddenly felt lighter.”

“Ah? Why did that happen?”

“Isn’t it what you asked Guanyin for? I wanted to ask you about it too.”

“I… don’t know either.”

“Why don’t you ask Guanyin and see what this means?”

Xia Mo had a thought and immediately went to the convenience store.

All the buns were still in the heating box; not one was missing.

This convenience store was a bit special; whatever you took, next time you came in, it would be restocked.

She thought: Could it be that if I take things out for too long without eating, they would disappear?

Quickly, she dismissed that thought.

Because earlier, she had taken two packs of beef jerky to eat on the road, and the leftover ones were still in their packaging.

Could it be that the convenience store wouldn’t let her eat the buns?

She tried taking two meat buns out again and handed one to Xiao Jingyuan.

“Let’s eat.”

The two quickly finished the buns, and until the last bite was swallowed, there was no sign of anything disappearing.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Jingyuan said, “I figured it out.”

Xia Mo looked at him in surprise, “Why?”

“Guanyin gave us the buns to prevent us from going hungry, not for us to sell for money. So if we take things out to eat, they won’t disappear, but if we try to sell them for money, they will.”

“Is… that how it is?”

Inside, Xia Mo was complaining that this convenience store had such a big bug.

To verify this guess, she tried it a few more times.

For instance, if she took out milk to sell, it would disappear.

If she took out a lighter to try and pawn it, that would also disappear.

However, when she took a bun to give to a beggar by the roadside, he was able to eat the bun without any issue.

Xia Mo felt a chill inside; it seemed Xiao Jingyuan guessed right—there was a big bug in the convenience store. She could eat or use the items inside for herself or give them away.

But if she tried to sell them for money, that wouldn’t work.

Inside, Xia Mo was stunned.

She had originally planned to open convenience stores in all the major cities of the Great Zhou Dynasty, intending to become a wealthy woman.

Feeling dejected, Xia Mo saw that Xiao Jingyuan had already accepted reality and was counting their copper coins.

Buying the basket cost five coins, the cloth cost two coins, and now they had one hundred and ninety-three coins left.

Every coin counted.

“We can’t stay in an inn now, let’s find a large dormitory instead.”

“Ah? A large dormitory?”

Images of a dormitory filled with men flooded Xia Mo’s mind.

If she were a boy, it would be fine, but she was a girl!

By the time she snapped back to reality, Xiao Jingyuan had already walked ten meters ahead, and Xia Mo quickly chased after him.

“I don’t want to sleep in a large dormitory; why don’t we just make do for one night in that alley we were in earlier?”

“No way, there’s a curfew in the city at night. If they find anyone on the streets, they will be chased away. With the two of us like this, if we get sent outside the city, we’ll definitely get robbed.”