Chapter 63: There's Always A Bigger Fish

While Chu Guang was talking with the head of the Yu Family, the players were also whispering at the side.

"Do you understand what the administrator said?"

"No!"

"I can understand a little bit. Simply put, one kilogram of coarse salt was exchanged for the skin they brought."

"The kilogram of coarse salt seems to be worth three kilograms of dried meat..."

"Three kilograms of dried meat for seven beast skin? Seriously... Such a rip off! Ten skins can already be exchanged for two guns! He is simply scamming the natives!"

"Tsk! So short-sighted! By the way... How many silver coins are the coats and leather goods that the administrator sells to us?"

"...?"

"?!"

"What the heck?"

These players seemed to have found something really shocking, but Chu Guang didn't take it to heart.

Is what they think of me important? Of course not! If I don’t buy low and sell high, am I really considered an NPC?

Are they the ones who transmigrated to another world? Hmph, if they don’t like it, they’re free to leave the game!

Yu Hu, the second son of the Yu Family, was still making some calculations with his fingers. It seemed as though addition and subtraction was somewhat difficult for him.

A piece of hyena skin was exchanged for one hundred and fifty grams of coarse salt, and a hundred and fifty grams of salt cost three chips on Baker Street. That would mean... They actually traded a hyena skin for three chips!

It’s actually one more chip than if we sold it to Old Charlie... Also, the quality of the coarse salt is a lot better than what they’re selling over there...

At the very least, this isn’t mixed with sand!

After finally figuring it out, Yu Hu turned his head to look at Chu Guang, and said nervously, "How can we accept this? Won’t you be losing a lot if you trade it for this price? Why don’t we stick to one hundred grams? Or... We can even trade for the same price we did here.

Looking at the honest young man in front of him, Chu Guang suddenly didn't know how to react. Looking into the skies, he stretched his hand out and patted Yu Hu on the shoulders.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase win-win?"

"Win... Win-win?"

The outsiders had always spoken in a way they found hard to understand. Yu Hu barely managed to figure out how much the price of a piece of beast skin was, but he was confused again by a phrase he had never heard of before.

The only thing he was feeling was...

That Chu Guang’s expression was really profound!

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "you profited from it, and I also made a profit from our trade. This is a win-win situation."

Yu Hu looked at his father with joy. "Father! Let's sell all the fur to Brother Chu in the future! It will be a win-win situation then!"

"Shut up." The head of the Yu Family obviously thought more, but it was obviously not because of the price.

With his eyes fixed on Chu Guang, the old man mused on his concern, "I understand what you mean, but the mayor will not let us do business with merchants outside. If we are discovered..."

It would be fine if they did it once or twice, but they would definitely be discovered in the long run!

After all, the butchering and tanning were all done on Baker Street. If a fur was gone and was not sold to Old Charlie, it would eventually raise suspicion.

Chu Guang smiled after hearing what he said.

"Am I a merchant? Obviously not. This is where my home is! We are neighbors, and also friends. Is it a problem to visit a friend? Obviously not."

"As for the old leech... ahem, I mean the mayor of Baker Street, it’s fine if he prohibits you from contacting us. You don’t need to take anything out of your home, you just need to bring the prey you caught directly to me.”

“Our people can even help you skin them for free. Cut the meat in front of you, and make sure you don’t miss anything!”

“We will keep the skin when that happens. You can bring the meat and salt back, and if you don’t want to, you can sell them all to me. Not only can you exchange your prey for salt here, you can also trade for grains and dried meat. My prices are definitely better than if you sold to Old Charlie!”

After hearing Chu Guang's assurances, the old man's eyebrows finally smoothed out, and he whispered excitedly, "We can't accept this... We can't let you cut meat for us for free. According to Baker Street's rules, a butcher can have thirty percent of the prey’s meat, so we will also give you the same deal!"

Seriously? Is it really so profitable to open a slaughterhouse on Baker Street?

Hmm... Then again, butchering meat is a job that requires skill.

Chu Guang sighed.

Sure enough, he was still too kind.

"There’s really no need for you to do this."

"Thirty percent is too much, let’s just settle at twenty."

...

Chu Guang didn't want to spend too much time on discussing how to split the meat. No matter what, he would profit from the exchange anyway.

Of course, for scavengers on Baker Street, it was certainly not a loss to do business with him. After all, he was different from those wandering merchants.

Those vampires were more ruthless than leeches, they would even chew your bones after sucking your blood dry. After all, it was still unknown whether they would still be alive tomorrow or not. So who cared about long term business relationships?

As for himself...

What he wanted was definitely not just a few pieces of skin and a few pieces of meat.

If done properly, Baker Street might experience a change in its leadership!

At worst, when both sides had accumulated enough trust, there would be a group of people who would choose to leave their homes and come to take refuge in his shelter.

All he needed was an opportunity.

The two men thanked Chu Guang, finally accepted the coarse salt, and prepared to leave.

However, Xiaoyu, who had been hiding behind Yu Hu the entire time, finally rushed out. She stared at Chu Guang with her big bright eyes and asked suddenly, "Are you coming back?"

Going back?

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

It had been only two weeks, but after Chu Guang heard her question, he felt as though it was a long, long time ago.

Seeing that Chu Guang didn't speak, Xiaoyu continued, "Second brother told me you were not taken away by the hyena, that you are still alive. If you will not go back in the future, he can take me to see you. I want to know if you still need that shack?"

It seemed as though she hadn’t learned how to break down her sentences yet. She wanted to finish telling him everything in a single go.

However, Chu Guang understood what she meant, and was slightly moved.

Originally, the shack on Baker Street was just a backup plan for him. Now that the shelter was starting to expand, he didn’t think that he needed it any longer.

"Have you been looking after it for me?"

"Mhm!" Nodding her head quickly, Xiaoyu raised the tip of her nose triumphantly, no longer feeling as shy as she was earlier. "I promised, so I will help you look after it, and I will never go back on my words. Second Brother said that dust has been piling up on your door frame, so you will definitely not come back. I’ve cleaned it all away!"

"Although the son of the Wang Family always wants to pry open your door secretly when I’m not paying attention, my ears are very sharp! He doesn't dare to hit me, Second Brother had beaten him before."

The more Chu Guang listened, the more guilty he felt.

Although he had never lied to anyone when he was doing sales, he was not above deceiving people from time to time, even taking advantage of people's greed. When encountering such an upright, innocent, and kind-hearted person, he really didn’t have the heart to fool them.

How should I put this...

SIgh...

This is probably the reason why I, who am obviously just as handsome as a movie star, failed to become the top salesman or hook up with a rich woman! I am just too soft-hearted!

"Thank you for helping me look after the house for so long! But I won't need it anymore..."

"You can treat the shack as your coming-of-age gift from me. If there’s anything useful inside, feel free to dismantle and use it.”

Xiaoyu nodded, but she didn’t seem to understand Chu Guang’s words completely. "Aren't you coming back?"

Actually, that was all she wanted to ask.

"Mhm, my companion needs me, I will stay here from now on." Chu Guang said euphemistically.

"Okay." Xiaoyu felt a little dispirited when she thought that there would be no more candies to eat in the future, but she cheered up very soon.

"Thank you for the gift! Then, can I give it to my oldest brother? My home is pretty good, but my second brother needs a bigger house to get married, so he doesn't have to marry too far, and can often come back."

"You don’t need to ask me about things like these. The shack is yours to do as you wish.” Chu Guang stroked her tiny head, took out three lollipops in his pocket and stuffed them into her little hand.

"Take them, these are for you... Remember to tear the wrapping paper before you eat them."

He continued anxiously, "Also, don't just stuff all of them into your mouth, you can only eat one at a time, or all the flavors will be mixed together, and it won’t taste nice."

"Oh, thank you!"

Finally getting the lollipops that she was thinking of, Xiaoyu still went back with her family despite feeling a slight sense of reluctance.

It would get dark in a while, and the monsters would crawl out of those tall and big buildings and go to the streets to hunt for food.

At least, that was what she had been hearing since she was young.

...

In the evening...

The north gate of the outpost was very lively.

A bazaar seemed to have been set up every night and turned into a permanent affair.

Players inserted wooden boards on the ground, engraved with their own identification numbers, and drew a small area, indicating that the region was where their fixed booth was set up.

The people who were here the day before were still there, and no one would mess with anything.

There were not many people in the game at the moment, and they all got into the game because of recommendations from their friends, so most of the players were very friendly and very civilized.

After all, what good was it to hinder others?

Everyone there would be part of the elites in the future. At the very worst, they would only be ranked slightly behind.

If they didn’t work hard to maintain their reputation, how would they be able to face the newbies?

Seeing the players in such an orderly manner, Chu Guang was elated. He simply followed public opinion and placed a sheet of paper in front of the north gate.

- One hundred meters from the north gate will be demarcated as a market. Shelter residents can freely set up stalls and trade with each other.

- The consignment shelf is located in the Shelter Resident Hall, and you need to pay 1 silver coin rent to consign items. If no one is buying your stuff, it will be removed from the shelves after seven days, and the rent can be renewed after removal.

After posting a note, players all ran to check out the announcement. They all cheered after seeing what was written.

"Good job, administrator!"

"Great! Is this an in-game update? The market function is finally out! This is amazing!"

"Does anyone want the fangs of a mutant hyena? The market function is finally available, which means that the equipment enchantment function will not be far from us. If you don’t stock up the material now, it will be too late!”

"Does anyone want mushrooms? Fresh big mushrooms!

Wuwuwu

, please, come buy it, I promise I will never increase the price again, in the future. It will just be 4 copper coins, really!"

"Boss Ya, did your mushroom go to college?"

"Can your mushroom lay eggs?"

"Can you buy it and release it?"

"Can I make Diona spit in my wine?"

"Fuck, you are perverted!"

Looking at the noisy players, Chu Guang had a satisfied smile on his face.

Life was getting better every day.

Also... He also started to notice that it was getting dark earlier...

...

Before dark, the Yu Family returned to Baker Street, but the atmosphere here was a bit different than usual.

There was a cart in front of Baker Street. Next to the cart stood two men wearing animal skin jackets and carrying iron-barreled rifles, and there was an unkempt slave who was wearing ragged clothes.

Old Charlie stood at the gate, negotiating with the man in front, with a flattering smile on his face.

The latter had obvious impatience written on his face, and he spat out a smoke ring on Old Charlie's face. The other man also urged the latter to hurry up.

Before long, Old Walter, the guardian of the settlement, dragged a woman out.

She was wrapped in a robe and her hands and feet were shackled. There were stripes on her ankles and her slightly exposed skin could even make women’s hearts beat faster, let alone men.

Xiaoyu had never seen such a beautiful sister in the settlement. Her bright eyes flickered as they were filled with curiosity and envy.

"Second Brother, who is she?"

Yu Hu whispered, "I don't know, but the old mayor bought her from outside. I heard that she is a clone or something?"

"It’s a clone. Look at her eyes, there’s no soul in them!" The old man obviously knew more. He dragged his son and daughter, and whispered, "Don't make any noise, and don't make eye contact with those people, we will wait for them to leave."

The two followed the old man obediently, hiding in the shadow of the street corner.

The man in animal skins checked the goods, smiled, patted Old Charlie on the shoulder, and gave him a thumbs up.

Xiaoyu soon saw the rude man tying the lady’s hand to the cart before signaling for his companion to leave.

"Second Brother, where will they take her?"

Yu Hu didn't know how to answer. As a man who was experienced in the ways of the world, he could pretty much guess. However, he didn’t know how to phrase the answer to his younger sister.

Whenever winter approached, every household on Baker Street had to respond to the town mayor’s mobilization order and hand in supplies. However, did that mean that the mayor didn’t need to pay tribute to others?

Obviously not.

There was always a bigger fish.

"You are still young, don't ask so much."

"I'm not young anymore," Xiaoyu said, displeased.

Yu Hu chuckled after hearing what she said and rubbed his younger sister's head. "There, there, eat more meat if you think you are old enough, and you can grow taller only by eating meat... What is your plastic stick thing? Is it delicious? Is there any more, can I try it?"

"No! If you want it, you can ask for them from Brother Chu!" Xiaoyu swiftly avoided Yu Hu like an agile fish.

"It's time to go." The old man carefully hid the salt in his arms, then reached out and took off the plastic stick that Xiaoyu had held all the way in her mouth, and threw it into the corner. Regardless of the latter's grievance, he dragged the two back to Baker Street.

Old Charlie glanced at the three of them and didn't say anything. He simply continued to chat with Old Walter next to him in a relaxed tone, as if nothing happened.

"Did you have such a beautiful girl in that shelter before?"

"No, the people who used to live in my shelter were normal people."

"That woman is not normal?"

"There are two types of clones. The first type starts from babies and grows up naturally. They are almost the same as normal people like us. The other types are produced quickly. They stay in a nurturing cabin until they are fully developed, and they are no different from livestock. It’s a diverse category, and there are different uses of such clones and development cycles. You won’t understand even if I told you.”

Old Walter grinned and gave Old Charlie a cigarette. "Anyway, there’s still some time before it gets dark, tell me about it."

Old Charlie sighed and told him about the short and good time he had in a shelter like telling a story.

Xiaoyu also wanted to stop and listen, but her father didn't want her to stay. He pulled Yu Hu and her and hurried home.