Chapter 83: 83, Child from a disreputable family

Ren Xiao Su looked at those piles of shattered cigarette packs and felt a pang of sorrow. Calculating at Wang Fu Gui's shop where a cigarette cost twenty yuan, how much would all these cigarettes be worth?

Moreover, on this street, Ren Xiao Su had roughly estimated there were at least five or six tobacco and liquor shops.

At this moment, Ren Xiao Su converted the prices in his mind, thinking how wealthy humanity before the catastrophe truly was...

In the haste of the moment, Ren Xiao Su hadn't realized that tobacco before the catastrophe wasn't exactly a scarce commodity. Turning his head, he looked at the wine displayed on the wall at the back of the shop. Those wine outer packaging boxes had long since ceased to exist due to lack of plastic protection, leaving only bare bottles.

Some bottles seemed to have shattered into powder on the ground due to the earthquake, while others remained on the shelves. But when Ren Xiao Su casually opened one to check, he discovered the wine inside had long vanished.

He didn't know how much time had passed since the catastrophe, yet the wine in the bottles had all evaporated completely.

Ren Xiao Su muttered: "Didn't the old wineries make their seals better?!"

He disbelievingly shook each of the intact wine bottles again, and without exception, found that the wine inside had already disappeared.

In fact, such wine required specialized preservation techniques and reprocessing to store, such as sealing wax. Otherwise, fifty-year aged wine taken out would often be only half a bottle.

Now the most expensive things in the settlement were tobacco, liquor, and medicine, especially liquor which was outright contraband. But the people in the settlement were rather peculiar - the more prohibited something was, the more valuable it became.

Originally when Ren Xiao Su saw these shops, he thought he had found a tremendous treasure. But now he suddenly realized his fantasies were all nonsense.

Time and catastrophe were like a giant blade, severing the new and old civilizations in one stroke. In Ren Xiao Su's heart, if tobacco and liquor were like this, then medicine need not even be mentioned.

Just now he had even seen a pharmacy and was about to explore it, but now it seemed there was no need to explore anymore.

Ren Xiao Su walked onto the street and began to ponder seriously. What things had no expiration date? Or rather, what had an expiration date that could last for hundreds of years?

He suddenly noticed a shop nearby called Ji Sheng Bao Jian, though Ren Xiao Su didn't enter. After all, in his view, this should be a health supplement shop. But what health supplement could last that long?

He confirmed once again that the Qing Shi Consortium's attention hadn't shifted to his side, and relaxed his heart. At this time, Ren Xiao Su could still hear gunshots from the periphery, which made him very puzzled. That experimental subject was that powerful?

But at this moment he suddenly thought of something... Things that could last for hundreds of years without rotting, weren't they precisely metals?

Ren Xiao Su suddenly turned his head. He had heard Wang Fu Gui say there were gold shops inside the Bastion. Given the vast scale of this city, there must be some!

The previously slightly depressed Ren Xiao Su rekindled his fighting spirit!

Gold was still hard currency in these times. Ren Xiao Su had once curiously asked Zhang Jing Lin why, with Qing Shi Bank issuing currency, they still needed gold as hard currency?

Zhang Jing Lin smiled and answered him: "Because not only Qing Shi Bank issues currency. Perhaps your money works within Qing Shi Consortium's territory, but when you reach other Bastions, it won't work. At such times, something convenient to measure and estimate value is needed to replace paper money."

In fact, currency was also how the Consortiums controlled various refuge Bastions. They let people become accustomed to the convenience of paper money, but how much currency to issue was entirely up to them.

This was the true economic lifeline, one of the fundamentals of a Consortium.

However, Zhang Jing Lin explained: "Now due to currency circulation issues, several Consortiums have formed a Currency Management Committee. Everyone issuing currency has strict regulations, so it doesn't lead to chaos. But now everyone is harmonious, who can guarantee it will remain this way in the future?"

At this time, when Ren Xiao Su recalled Zhang Jing Lin's words, he found him even more remarkable. This scholar's origins were unknown to everyone. Having stayed in the 113th Bastion's settlement for many years.

Ren Xiao Su made up his mind that this time he must observe Zhang Jing Lin carefully upon returning.

He explored toward the direction farther from Qing Shi Consortium, trying to find the existence of gold shops. What if there were leftover gold shops? Wouldn't that make him prosperous?

...

In the backyard of the settlement school, Zhang Jing Lin had just finished a day's lessons and returned to the courtyard. He saw Yan Liu Yuan, who had already stepped out of the house to sunbathe, smiling as he said: "It's about done, right?"

"Mmm," Yan Liu Yuan nodded and smiled: "Thank you, Sir, and Xiao Yu Jie for taking care of me during this time."

At this moment, Yan Liu Yuan's mood was exceptionally good, but it wasn't because of his illness. Rather, he knew that since his condition hadn't worsened, it meant Ren Xiao Su hadn't encountered much real danger at the "lucky" places.

Xiao Yu Jie was carrying a basket and walked in from outside. Seeing Yan Liu Yuan, she exclaimed joyfully: "Liu Yuan, have you recovered? Come inside quickly, don't let the cold wind blow on you."

Yan Liu Yuan smiled charmingly: "Xiao Yu Jie, I'm fine. Don't worry, what shall we eat tonight?"

"I'll stir-fry some eggs and greens for you," Xiao Yu Jie smiled: "I just went to the settlement and got some fat meat, I can render oil to cook for you, let you taste some meat and vegetable dishes."

"Good," Yan Liu Yuan agreed, but as he walked outward, he said: "I'm going out for a bit, I'll definitely return before dark!"

Xiao Yu Jie was about to stop him, but when she turned around, Yan Liu Yuan had already vanished.

She worriedly stood at the school entrance waiting. Zhang Jing Lin thought to himself: Weren't you just preparing to cook? How long are you going to wait? But he felt embarrassed to speak up...

In Zhang Jing Lin's view, both Ren Xiao Su and Yan Liu Yuan, this pair of brothers, were not people who would suffer losses easily. After they left, those who should worry were others.

Just now, Zhang Jing Lin clearly saw Yan Liu Yuan hide the kitchen's vegetable knife in his arms. Which family's child would take a vegetable knife when going out? Could this be a legitimate person's child?

However, Yan Liu Yuan indeed returned before dark. Both Zhang Jing Lin and Xiao Yu Jie had no idea where Yan Liu Yuan had gone. When asked, he simply smiled and changed the subject.

There were three rooms in the school backyard, but one was the kitchen, one was where Zhang Jing Lin lived, and only the third was Yan Liu Yuan and Xiao Yu Jie's room.

At night, Xiao Yu Jie would tidy up Yan Liu Yuan's bedding, while she slept on the ground. It was almost winter now and the ground was cold, but Xiao Yu Jie never said anything.

After extinguishing the kerosene lamp, Xiao Yu Jie suddenly asked Yan Liu Yuan: "Do you think your brother is safe now?"

Yan Liu Yuan replied with a smile: "He must be safe, don't worry."

Xiao Yu Jie was stunned. She didn't know why Yan Liu Yuan was so certain.