Chapter 46 - 45: Pen and Paper

Chapter 46: Chapter 45: Pen and Paper

Zhou Qian stood at the camp entrance, watching the skinny girl with her woven basket carefully mount the bicycle. He couldn’t help but smile as she steadied herself before finally pedaling slowly away.

Once she was gone, a few people nearby couldn’t resist crowding over.

"Captain Zhou, what good stuff did the little girl give you this time? Share the wealth, right?"

"Shoo, shoo, shoo!" Zhou Qian waved the plastic bag at them to drive them off. "I haven’t even settled the score for all the Zaozi you guys ate last time! Do you have any idea how much flour costs nowadays?"

He darkened his face, but none of them were buying the act.

Even the logistics officer squeezed in. "Oh, look at you being a cheapskate! If I hadn’t acted fast, could you have exchanged the goods for her so smoothly?"

"Exactly! I even ran errands for you!"

"Hey, is this roasted flour? I heard they used to eat this while marching in wars over a hundred years ago. Times were so much harder back then—a mouthful of roasted flour, a mouthful of snow..."

"Let us have a taste! We won’t eat it dry! I have a bottle of purified water. We can boil it and mix it into a paste..."

"Wow, you guys really have quite the stash of treasures! What’s the Mutant Value on that purified water?"

"Do you even have to ask? It’s purified water, so the value is exactly 4.5! It’s sweet!"

Surrounded by his team, Zhou Qian allowed himself to be half-dragged back inside with the roasted flour.

Inside the testing room, they opened the plastic bag, immediately met by a rich, wafting aroma of wheat. The group took a sniff and started placing bets.

"I’m guessing below an 8."

"A bit conservative, aren’t you? It’s a 7! Definitely a 7! I’ve had a 9 before, and it was quite different from this."

Zhou Qian took a sniff himself, dead certain. "It’s a 6! Absolutely a 6! The best on the market right now is an 11, right?"

"Yeah, and even our special internal supply is only a 9!"

Brimming with curiosity and anticipation, the group watched the testing device power on. The green number on the display was blindingly conspicuous:

[3]

"Fuck..." someone muttered. "Why is it a 3 again? I remember those pine nuts she handed in at the very beginning were also a 3."

"Ha ha ha ha! And here you thought the poor girl was pitiful, Zhou Qian. It’s obvious she’s from some major family out on a training excursion."

"Tch! It wouldn’t go that far. No matter what kind of training, they’d never send her to the Rose Corridor... I remember on our first mission out, she was hiding in a tunnel."

Zhou Qian snorted. "Even a broken ship has a few good nails left! Maybe she just has some incredible relatives. She’s already riding a bicycle, and you guys are still worrying about where she gets this stuff."

He paused, then sighed. "Why am I always taking such good things from her?"

He had actually thought he was helping her out this time, but roasted flour with a Mutant Value of 3...

Oh, well!

Recalling Huai Yu’s sweet "big brother," Zhou Qian waved his hand magnanimously. "Where’s that purified water? Hurry up and boil it, let’s have a taste of this roasted flour. Oh, right—do you guys want to add sugar or salt?"

"Neither, right? Aren’t both the salt and sugar contaminated?"

"I think we should add a little. Otherwise, eating a bland paste is just a waste of good food..."

Everyone chimed in at once, creating a lively commotion.

Meanwhile, Huai Yu had already wheeled her bicycle back to the treehouse.

It was rare for her to return while the sky was still bright. She happily organized her belongings, immediately taking out the solar lamp and placing it at the head of the bed next to the Rose.

Even though there wasn’t much sunlight these days, just having the lamp here meant that illumination was just around the corner.

Three nesting stainless steel basins went next to the kitchen knife and cutting board. The rope was stored in her storage bag for future use. The pen and paper were set by the bed, ready to be carried with her from now on—wait!

She flipped open the notebook and jotted down the things she needed to buy:

[Duvet Cover] [Small Satchel]

For small items like a pen and paper, having a satchel would be much more convenient. She couldn’t just stuff everything into her woven basket.

Next was the "defective" thermos. It was indeed defective—after turning it over and over, Huai Yu finally found a single scratch on its base. Thinking of Zhou Qian, she couldn’t help but smile again.

The lighter was also tucked away as a spare, and the umbrella was left by the door. Then, she hung the drying rack and clothes on a tree vine... Wow! Looking around, the once completely empty room was actually starting to take shape.

Huai Yu quietly admired her home. Noticing that the fire in the brazier hadn’t completely died out since she left, she added some dry grass and thin twigs. Soon, flames were dancing once more.

Even with the door curtain pulled back, the temperature inside the room rose rapidly. She poured out about a pound of soybeans and soaked them straight in water.

Although she kept the fire going constantly every day, it was difficult to raise the temperature of the damp ground. Just like last time, if she wanted the bean sprouts to grow heavy enough to tip the scales, it would take at least five or six days.

For these next five or six days, Huai Yu didn’t plan on returning to the trading market. She stood at the door, her gaze settling on the distant Sanqing Mountain.

Now that she had lard, if it didn’t rain tomorrow, she was going into the mountains to pick wild greens to eat!

As for this afternoon...

She would first try her hand at a hot-water dough and make herself a soft, sweet pancake! She had eaten roasted flour paste with a little oil and felt perfectly fine. After surviving on nutrient solutions for half a month, her stomach should be able to handle a single pancake, right?

Just as she was pondering this, the PITTER-PATTER of rain started up outside again. Huai Yu couldn’t help but sigh. She briskly carried her two new buckets outside.

On second thought, there wasn’t much water left in the large red bucket either. She might as well pour it into a basin and set the bucket out to collect another full load. After all, she had no idea when the rain would stop. The swollen pond was now murky with mud and would likely take days to settle. It was always better to stockpile more water.

The rain wasn’t heavy, the PLOP PLOP of droplets hitting the buckets sporadic. Huai Yu decided to ignore it. Instead, she took out her newly acquired basin, washed it, and carefully grabbed a handful of flour.

She paused, then grabbed another handful.

Clapping her hands clean, she stopped what she was doing and went to the head of the bed to dig out her pen and paper, earnestly jotting down: [Spoon].

Then she added: [Baking Soda] [Yeast] [Eggs] [Rolling Pin]...

Why was the list of things getting longer and longer? And about the eggs—she hadn’t seen a single one for sale after wandering the entire market. The next time she went, she would have to ask Boss Tang about it.

She thought for a moment. Having nothing else to write down for now, she went back to wash her hands again.

The kettle rested on the stove top, slowly heating up. Huai Yu had practically zero ingredients, so she merely added a tiny bit of sugar to the flour. Estimating that the water was hot enough, she picked up the kettle and directly began scalding the dough.

She felt a bit dazed as she poured the water. It had been so long since she last did this; she was a little out of practice. Fortunately, muscle memory prevailed. Her chopsticks stirred rapidly, and she quickly formed a basin full of dough flakes.

Perfect!

She tossed the chopsticks aside and began kneading continuously, occasionally shaking her heat-reddened fingers.

The scalding hot water activated the sweet aroma of the flour. With every knead, her anticipation for a fragrant, sweet, and soft pancake grew, her mouth watering more by the second.

At this moment, not even the PITTER-PATTER of the rain outside could dampen her spirits in the slightest.