Chapter 96 - 95: Water Ability

Chapter 96: Chapter 95: Water Ability

"Fish fry?"

The person being asked looked blank. "Never heard of... Oh, right! Our Golden Yuan District does have an artificial lake. Just walk through the district’s main gate and keep going. You’ll see it."

"Who was it that picked that artificial lake area back then? I can’t remember. There might be some fish and shrimp in there."

Huai Yu replied with an "oh" and squatted down again to carefully examine the items on the stall.

The items here were a bit of a mixed bag, looking like they had been cobbled together from some random garbage dump. After examining them for a long while, Huai Yu finally picked up a rusted measuring tape. Her eyes then landed on a small wooden box covered in black grime. "What is this?"

The stall owner perked up a bit. "This? You young girls probably wouldn’t recognize it. It’s an ink marker that carpenters used to use for their work."

An ink marker?

Huai Yu seemed to know what it was. "Is it the kind where you pull the string out, pin the copper nail at the front to the ground, and then pluck the inked string to leave a straight line... Is that it?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The stall owner was quite surprised that someone recognized it. "Have you used one before? Well, it’s not that unusual. These days, people use whatever new or old gadgets they can find, as long as it works. How about it? Do you want it? If you do, I’ll give you a discount."

Huai Yu hesitated for a moment. She only had a little over 800 Contribution Points left, so she wondered if buying this ink marker was a bit unnecessary. However, with this and the measuring tape, it would be much easier to draw out Kuang Biao’s territory in the future. That guy would take a mile if given an inch; she needed to be increasingly strict with his boundaries. She wondered if he would hold back a little after suffering a setback with the two goslings.

With this in mind, she held out the slightly rusted measuring tape as well. "I’ll buy both if it’s cheap enough. I don’t have much money."

The owner clearly didn’t believe her. "You even have a car..."

He lifted his chin, gesturing toward the oversized purple-and-green bangle on Huai Yu’s slender arm. "The shop that makes those used to scam people with acid-washed, resin-filled jade bangles and constantly got fined. Now they’ve found another way to make money... Little girl, you already own a car, so don’t haggle with me over a point or two. Tell you what, 15 Contribution Points for both. Take it or leave it."

He didn’t seem very enthusiastic about doing business, looking rather listless from beginning to end. "Don’t haggle. If you try to lower the price, I won’t sell. Go check out the Pedestrian Street in the city center. A single measuring tape would cost you this much."

Huai Yu was speechless. She actually had some haggling skills. But... the owner was right about one thing. At the Red Victory Trading Market, this measuring tape alone would cost between 18 and 21 Contribution Points.

Huai Yu nodded. "Deal!"

As she paid, she figured she would have to cover the bangle with her sleeve next time. If she didn’t wear it on her arm, she was afraid it would be stolen. But wearing it in the open was too conspicuous; everyone would instantly know she had a car. She pulled her sleeve back down to cover the bangle properly.

With two new small tools added to her woven basket, she continued to browse the stalls as she made her way toward the artificial lake in the center of the district.

The Golden Yuan District was truly massive. It covered an area of nearly 165 acres, and it was filled entirely with these kinds of high-rise buildings. Word had it that it was a real estate project developed when housing prices were skyrocketing. Later, the project stalled and was left unfinished.

However, the artificial lake in the center was the real deal. Someone with a considerable amount of Contribution Points, who had given up on living in the inner city, had directly claimed this spot.

As Huai Yu walked, she figured the person who claimed the lake must have some ability. Otherwise, having such a large lake would be useless! These areas had all been screened by the Defense Army. Just like the pond near the Rose Corridor, the water was clear and the grass was lush, but there were simply no fish.

Before long, she arrived at the artificial lake. Standing by the shore and looking out, Huai Yu was surprised to find green lotus leaves poking out of the water, curled up like little boats!

"Lotus roots!"

She was instantly thrilled and wanted to get closer, but someone called out to stop her.

"What are you doing? What are you doing?! This is private property!"

Huai Yu snapped back to her senses. She saw that a pavilion by the lake was now surrounded on all four sides by thick curtains. Only one side was rolled up and left open, revealing a married couple inside. This pavilion was their home.

The woman was squatting on the ground, mending a fishing net. The man was wearing a pair of boots covered in wet mud; he had probably just come ashore.

Huai Yu smiled apologetically. "I’m sorry. I didn’t expect to see lotus leaves here, so I wanted to take a look... Um, are you selling the lotus roots?"

The man didn’t reject her outright. He just looked her up and down. "We do sell them, but they aren’t cheap. Twenty-five Contribution Points for one seed lotus root. You shouldn’t need me to remove the leaves, right? They usually come with one or two leaves attached."

Lotus roots weren’t a daily necessity. Compared to other crops, their yield was a bit low, and they required a lot of water. Nowadays, seed lotus roots rarely sold well.

Huai Yu pondered for a moment. Twenty-five points was a bit expensive, but considering it was a long-term investment... She turned her head and looked again at the lotus leaves that were just beginning to show their sharp tips. She carefully sensed them.

"The Mutant Value of these is a bit high," she said. "If you can do 18 points, I’ll buy a few more."

Huh?

The man was puzzled. "Are you a Superpower User too? No wonder. Anyone without a Water Ability wouldn’t dare to splurge on something like this..."

His expression actually softened, becoming a bit friendlier. Clearly, even a weak Superpower was still uncommon.

Huai Yu understood what he meant. She smiled sweetly, as if silently acknowledging it, and then asked, "Do you have fish or shrimp? Loaches, crabs—anything is fine."

Since the man had such a large lake, he definitely had more than just this patch of lotus roots. He nodded. "We have them all. Small fish fry are one point each. As for shrimp, loaches, and crabs, you can’t pick and choose, but they’re one point for four."

Huai Yu reached her hand into the lake near the edge and sensed the water. It felt a bit dirty; the Mutant Value was probably somewhat high.

"I’ll give you five points for six fish fry, and one point for five of the others," she countered. "If that works, I’ll take two hundred points’ worth. I also want six seed lotus roots. That will be 300 points in total."

Aside from buying basic provisions like rice, flour, grain, and oil, she didn’t have any specific use for her current Contribution Points. Whether she sprouted beans or foraged in the mountains later on, she would always have a continuous source of income. Therefore, even though Huai Yu could be quite frugal, she was exceptionally generous when it actually came time to spend money.

Huh?

This time, the man was genuinely surprised.

Quite a few people came here to buy fish fry, shrimp, and crabs. After all, every household was trying to figure out ways to scrounge up food. Some people who managed to scavenge a large fish tank, or who had previous breeding experience, inevitably wanted to raise something in them. However, the purchasing power in the Golden Yuan District was limited. Even factoring in the nearby districts, it was rare to see a customer who could be so generous in a single breath.

The man hesitated for a second. The couple huddled together and muttered a quick discussion. Finally, the man stepped back out of the pavilion.

"Deal!" he said. "But let’s be clear upfront—the fish fry here are really small. You should understand this. Fish meat is incredibly popular right now! If they were bigger, they wouldn’t be this price."

A moment later, Huai Yu stared at the fish fry, which were no bigger than tadpoles, and was struck speechless.

If it weren’t for the fact that the male owner had a Water Ability and could attract a bunch just by scooping up a ladle of water, she wouldn’t have even known what to use to catch these things. She couldn’t help but sigh.

"These... are really not big at all."