Chapter 87 - 86: Too Embarrassing

Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Too Embarrassing

Huai Yu wasn’t lying; she genuinely wanted to study it.

Hearing the term "Ancestral Mutation" for the first time, she wanted to test her Purification Ability on it. But... as for why she had paid 160 points for it, could she admit it was a spur-of-the-moment impulse?

Facing Boss Tang’s astonished gaze, she had to keep a straight face and firmly repeat, "I just bought it for fun."

This excuse sounded much more plausible than her previous claim about studying it. Boss Tang clicked his tongue, sighed, and finally gave up pressing the matter.

However, she soon realized just how inexperienced she was. Compared to the ensuing items—like "Mutated Flavored Yogurt" or "Mutated Six-Legged Chicken Drumsticks"—a little bit of Ancestral Mutation barnyard grass was truly nothing worth mentioning.

She finally understood why Uncle Zaozi could safely sell his chicks, while the people exhibiting here had been arrested. This was just too wicked! How dare they call something yogurt and sell it when its mutation direction was *Staphylococcus aureus*?! And the Mutated Six-Legged Chicken Drumsticks weren’t from a chicken with six legs. Instead, the drumsticks were split into six segments because they had been infected by mutated spiders!

In comparison, mere goose eggs with a Mutant Value of 31—a common mutation with no specific direction—were barely worth noting.

If anyone was truly frustrated, it was the people attending the auction today. Many had come hoping to score a bargain. Who would have thought they would sit around all afternoon only to be presented with these hazardous monstrosities?! If they actually bought and resold this junk, how could they ever show their faces in public again?

"Bah!" The crowd cursed grumpily.

It was only then that the third person finally took the stage. He was a tall, thin middle-aged man who looked like a bamboo pole. His naturally drooping eyebrows gave him a look of perpetual misery just by standing there. To be frank, he was the extreme opposite of Boss Tang, making him quite recognizable.

"This is my buddy, Gao Ming," Boss Tang said. "Though his brain doesn’t work too well, and the things he does are rarely brilliant.

"I mean, look at what he’s selling! He even got himself arrested for it."

Boss Tang’s complaints were entirely justified, because the first item Gao Ming brought out was rather difficult to describe.

[Mutated Orchid]

The orchid’s leaves were quite elegant, and its blossoms were wonderfully fragrant, but... Boss Tang was speechless. He couldn’t fathom why something that only wealthy, well-fed families would be interested in was brought to this trading market. Was it because Gao Ming’s connections weren’t solid enough?

The orchid was a rare breed, so its starting bid was 188 points. There were indeed people in the audience interested in acting as middlemen for it. But 188 points for an infamously delicate orchid...

Forget it.

The second item left everyone even more speechless.

[Special Pet: Mutant dung beetle]

Boss Tang looked like he was about to explode! He couldn’t understand what kind of brain would choose to resell such a thing! If reselling those other weird items made people look down on you, did he think reselling a dung beetle would earn him any respect? Even if someone gave him this Mutant dung beetle for free, he wouldn’t take it!

Was growing to a larger size a mutation advantage? Was its ability to roll dung balls with its front legs instead of its hind ones supposed to be some incredible skill? And Gao Ming had even shouted these traits out loud, looking as regretful as if a precious pearl had been cast into the dark.

He was furious!

Even Huai Yu was deeply shocked. She couldn’t quite comprehend what kind of rich family would want this as a pet.

After pondering for a moment, she whispered, "Are you supposed to keep it in the toilet? So that every time you finish, it can roll it away? But what if you have diarrhea?"

Aside from that, she genuinely couldn’t think of any other use for this dung beetle.

Her question was so earnest that Boss Tang had no answer. He could only shoot daggers at his disappointing buddy, growing angrier the more he thought about it!

By the time the auction ended, everyone in the conference room was in a daze. Even the police officer guarding Gao Ming stood there, at a loss for words for a long time. Finally, he just patted Gao Ming’s shoulder. "Work hard when they assign you your labor duties! Read more books in your free time, and don’t do this again next time."

He was advising him with genuine sincerity, a faint trace of pity mixed in his eyes. If Gao Ming hadn’t been completely unable to produce a disability certificate, the officer would have seriously assumed the man’s intelligence was below average. They had arrested three people in total, and one of them was selling this kind of garbage. Wasn’t it entirely normal that not a single item of his got a bid?

As the crowd dispersed in twos and threes, Huai Yu lagged far behind. Before long, she saw Boss Tang emerge with two goose eggs stuffed in his pockets.

"These goose eggs are 58 points each. Little Yu, just give me 100."

Having squatted through the entire afternoon, Boss Tang clearly felt embarrassed too. He was in low spirits until Huai Yu patted the straps of her basket.

"Do you want some bamboo shoots?"

Bamboo shoots?!

Boss Tang instantly perked up. "Fresh? Freshly dug? Oh, why didn’t you say so earlier! Bamboo shoots turn tough really quickly. We’ve wasted a whole afternoon for nothing; they won’t be fresh anymore."

"I dug these up this morning, so they wouldn’t have been completely fresh by now anyway," Huai Yu thought, smiling brightly.

However...

"Mutant Value of 13," she stated concisely.

Boss Tang was just as swift and decisive. "Let’s go! To my shop. I’ll give you 18 points a catty!"

As they walked toward the shop, he explained, "The mutation effects from the last heavy rain have gradually subsided, and the exploration teams have recently brought back items with a Mutant Value of around 15.

"Because of this, there’s no longer a massive gap in quality for something with a Mutant Value of 13, so the market price hasn’t skyrocketed.

"Still, fresh mountain produce like bamboo shoots is very rare. So, 18 points per catty, and I’ll take all of them."

Boss Tang was as straightforward as ever. Huai Yu really liked doing business with him!

She nodded. "Okay. Do you also want some Bamboo Heart Tea? The Mutant Value is also 13.

"But having tried it, I feel it offers even better value for money than the bamboo shoots."

Once brewed, the tea was a bright yellowish-green. It carried a slight sweetness on the palate, making its trace amount of contamination barely noticeable. Moreover, it was refreshing and crisp. With this tea, even the otherwise mediocre local water became much easier to swallow.

Therefore, upon entering the shop, Huai Yu generously handed a small packet of tea leaves to Boss Tang.

"It doesn’t matter if you buy it or not, I just wanted to give you a sample to try, Boss Tang."

Boss Tang didn’t stand on ceremony. He happily accepted it, quickly boiled a kettle of water, and selected a few Bamboo Heart Tea leaves to steep in a clear glass.

"Let me see—oh! This smells really fragrant!"

Truth be told, he had been craving a good cup of tea. Unfortunately, in this era where most people were just barely meeting their basic food and clothing needs, tea was considered a luxury. He could afford to drink some aged tea from time to time, but as for fresh tea leaves, he probably wouldn’t see any for the next couple of years.

After waiting a moment for the water to cool, Boss Tang took a small sip and savored it carefully. Then, he came to the exact same conclusion.

"It really is quite sweet and clear, and the aroma is strong enough. It even makes the water taste crisp and smooth. One hundred and eighty points a catty. If that works for you, I’ll take it all."