Chapter 7: Department Store

The next morning, everyone got up early. After breakfast, Xia Ning’an gave Lu Zecheng his daily dose of healing agent and told him that she would be going out in the morning and her second brother would come back in the middle of the day.

She filled his army water bottle with water and placed it beside him before leaving for the ox cart.

It took half an hour to get to the county by ox cart, and they left at six o’clock every day.

Their village was about the same distance from the county and the commune, so people usually went to the county to buy things.

Xia Ning’an arrived at the village entrance, paid 10 cents, and got on the cart. There were already several aunties on the cart. It was harvest time, so few people were not working. Usually, people only went out if they had urgent business.

One of the aunties was going to the county hospital to deliver clothes and quilts to her daughter-in-law who had given birth.

“Xia family girl, what are you going to the county for?” an old woman asked.

“Auntie Ma, I’m going to the county to buy medicine for Brother Lu and some nutritional supplements to help him recover.”

“That’s important. How is the boy recovering? The Lu family is really evil.”

“Right? They acknowledged him as their son when he was healthy, but as soon as he became disabled, they cut off all ties. They’re so heartless. Thankfully, he got engaged to you last year. Otherwise, he would be so pitiful.”

All the way to the county, the aunties kept sighing.

Xia Ning’an agreed on a time with Old Niu, the cart driver, and then headed towards the department store.

She looked around as she walked. The road was made of gravel, and when a car passed by, it kicked up a cloud of dust, causing passersby to mutter curses.

She finally reached the department store. It wasn’t a tall building like in the future. It was just a row of dilapidated brick and tile houses. The wall had a slogan written on it: “Develop the Economy, Guarantee Supply.” The sign above the door read “First Department Store.” She didn’t see a second department store all the way here. The entrance was bustling with people.

As she walked through the door, she wasn’t greeted by the fragrant smell of a modern shopping mall. The smell here was indescribable. There was the smell of food, the sour and smelly smell of people who hadn’t bathed, and the smell of meat. It wasn’t pleasant at all. It almost made Xia Ning’an turn around and leave.

The counters were very high, and various goods were placed on them in categories. Some salespeople were busy serving customers, while others were leisurely knitting sweaters at their counters.

There were ropes hanging in the air above the counters and cash registers. She saw a salesperson at the counter clip together a bunch of receipts and slide them over using the rope. She was stunned.

Her stunned expression was seen by some people, who thought she was a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

She really hadn’t seen the world like this.

Xia Ning’an had her father’s 20 yuan in her pocket. She walked around and looked at the goods and prices. She would be able to compare prices easily at the black market later.

“Comrade, please get us two thermoses, two enamel basins, two enamel mugs, two bars of soap, two towels, and five packs of toilet paper,” Xia Ning’an heard two fair-skinned girls say to the salesperson at the counter.

The woman at the counter looked at the two girls with a clear look of surprise. In this era, people rarely bought so many things at once, except when buying things for a wedding. They must be female educated youths who had just come to the countryside.

“A thermos costs eight yuan and four industrial coupons. An enamel basin costs four yuan and two industrial coupons. Soap costs 50 cents and one soap ticket. A towel costs one yuan and one towel ticket. An enamel mug costs 1.5 yuan and one industrial coupon.”

Seeing the two female educated youths buy a bunch of things, Xia Ning’an also wanted to see if she should buy anything. She heard the two female educated youths ask, “Comrade, how much is an iron pot? We want two.”

“A large iron pot costs twenty-one yuan and twenty industrial coupons. But you’ll have to wait a few days. We’re out of stock now.” The salesperson saw that they were buying so many things and was in a good mood.

“How much would it cost if we don’t have enough industrial coupons?” one of the girls asked.

“Iron pots are in limited supply. You can’t buy them without tickets.”

The supply of iron was very limited in this era. Iron products were generally in limited supply.

Xia Ning’an heard this and immediately contacted Bond in the space.

“Bond, are there any new iron pots in the space?”

“There are two. If you need them, I can copy a few more today. There are many stoves in the farm.”

“Okay, then give me as many as you can copy each day. This is a hot commodity here.”

“Anjie, you can buy iron pots from the Foodie System. The system only charges half the price of real-world goods.” Xiaomiao took the opportunity to promote the system. Xia Ning’an really didn’t take the system seriously. It had been a whole day, and she hadn’t traded with the system yet. How would it complete its task?

“You mean, I can buy this pot with system coins, only 10 coins?”

“Yes, Anjie. The system guarantees that the quality is the same as in this era.”

Hearing Xiaomiao say this, she was more inclined to buy iron pots from the system and sell them. After all, the iron pots used in the farm were produced in the future, and the quality was too good. Moreover, in the future, to prevent rust, pots were not made of pure iron.

Thinking about it, Xia Ning’an decided to buy 20 first.

“Xiaomiao, buy 20 pots first.”

“Okay, Anjie. You’ve spent 200 coins, leaving 800 coins.”

After a sound of clinking, her system balance was 800 coins.

She had to make a few more dishes to trade with the system when she went home today. It was good to have money in her pocket.

“Anjie, the pot of catfish stewed with eggplant you made yesterday can be sold to the system for at least 300 coins. You can buy 30 iron pots.”

Wow, the price difference is that big?

This really surprised Xia Ning’an.

“Don’t doubt it. The catfish yesterday was wild. The system will naturally evaluate it as wild game, so the price will be higher. Iron pots in this era are considered backward industrial products, so the price is naturally cheap. No, a dish of stir-fried cabbage can be sold for 50 coins in the system. This iron pot is not even as good as cabbage.”

At this moment, Xia Ning’an felt like she had been struck by a 5 million yuan lottery prize.

She decided to go back and make a few big dishes to trade. It wouldn’t be long before she could achieve a small goal.

Suddenly, she thought of something.

“Xiaomiao, can I trade with the system if I let Bond cook?”

“Yes, but the price of dishes made by machines and robots will be slightly lower because the program is set to have the same flavor, and the taste is not as rich.”

“You’re quite picky for a system.”

“Of course. The system gives different prices for dishes made by different people. Even if it’s very bad, the system won’t give a low price because it’s a special experience. Of course, for a chef like Anjie, the price is relatively high. Professional chefs will get some special material rewards in addition to coins.”

“There’s an algorithm like that? When can I reach the chef level? What are the rewards usually?”

“Anjie, as long as you work hard, you’ll reach the chef level one day. The rewards are usually spiritual materials or some skills to upgrade your culinary skills. However, the vegetables, fruits, poultry, and livestock that grow in your farm are considered spiritual materials because the tap water in the space is spiritual.”

“It sounds like the things produced in my space are very rare!”

“Of course. This is the private property of my favored system.”

“Your system dad is biased.”

“Not really. It’s just that the first few of us have our own treasures.”

“You’re quite proud of yourself.”

Xia Ning’an chatted with Xiaomiao as she walked out of the department store.