Chapter 200: Chapter 167: Highway Intersection
Huai Yu felt saddened as well.
She regretted probing into it, but after a moment of silence, Uncle Zaozi spoke quite candidly. "I used to have two kids, but they both went up to the Wilderness... Little Yu, you can bring out a lot of good things, so you must know quite a few capable people.
"Since we’re on good terms now, if anyone you know goes to the Wilderness in the future, please help your uncle keep an eye out.
"Back when everything was fine, I used to complain that cemetery plots were too expensive. I’d say that death meant nothing anyway, so ashes could be scattered anywhere... But now that I’m older, I actually want to leave something behind as a memorial for my children."
Huai Yu nodded earnestly and solemnly promised, "Uncle Zaozi, I also have someone very important in the Wilderness. Once I’m capable enough, I’ll go there too!
"I’ll definitely keep an eye out for you when the time comes!"
Uncle Zaozi was surprised. After all, Huai Yu looked like a frail and skinny girl; who would have thought she harbored such grand ambitions!
No wonder she dared to live in the Rose Corridor...
His legs suddenly found renewed strength, and he pedaled the bike furiously. "Alright! If you ever need anything in the future, just tell me!
"I might not know many big shots after surviving all these years, but I certainly have plenty of other connections."
Huai Yu didn’t hold back at all. "Then... Uncle Zaozi, do you know where I can buy eggs or piglets?"
Uncle Zaozi was silent for a moment. "...I do."
Before Huai Yu could get excited, he quickly added, "But you can’t afford them, and you can’t buy them anyway.
"Resources are scarce right now. They’re all centrally and scientifically bred at the Animal Husbandry Institute, and for now, they aren’t distributed to private individuals.
"The Institute tightly controls the eggs to guarantee hatching rates. Even the unfertilized ones are designated as special supplies, so it’s not our turn to get them.
"Chicks might be a bit easier to get since there’s a certain mortality rate, so sneaking them out is possible—but they cost 250 points each! The risk is truly enormous. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ
"If you weren’t raising them in the Rose Corridor, it really might not be safe.
"But piglets are a no-go! They’re heavy from the moment they’re born. You might just have to wait. Our country’s livelihood development is progressing quite fast right now, so they might loosen the restrictions in two or three years."
Uncle Zaozi was quite optimistic about it. "Think about it. Compared to the six years of the cataclysm, isn’t life getting better and better now?"
Huai Yu was speechless. It was hard to answer.
Because from the moment she woke up, life had been hard! Now, hearing that she would have to wait two or three years to raise a pig, it suddenly felt even harder.
Amidst their chatting, with the night breeze blowing and the stars twinkling, Uncle Zaozi panted as he rode for another twenty minutes. Soon, a dilapidated highway entrance appeared before them.
"Sigh, this was all busted open by the wild overgrowth of vegetation before. It took a massive effort to clear it out!" Uncle Zaozi explained. "Fortunately, they patched it up enough to allow traffic. Otherwise, we’d have to detour a long way to reach the Wilderness. The national highways are in even worse shape!"
Knowing that Huai Yu had come to broaden her horizons, he chattered away as he pushed the bike. He expertly wheeled it onto the nearby grass, locked it, and then spread his sack out on the side of the road. "Come, take a break. There are no vehicles yet."
Huai Yu had been sitting on the bicycle for over an hour. Even though the seat had been modified, her bottom was still sore.
She sneakily rubbed it and strolled around the area. "Are all these people here for the same reason as us?"
On both sides of the wide highway entrance, many people were sitting or lying down. At first glance, it almost looked like a small market.
The difference was that no one was setting up stalls; instead, they looked more like ticket scalpers queuing up.
Uncle Zaozi nodded. "A lot of people couldn’t find a job they liked, so they come here to try their luck. Over time, they develop a good eye for things and get to know some convoys, so they can still make a bit of money.
"After all, many small convoys—or individuals in large convoys—want to offload their goods quickly to get some points. They rely on these people."
He offered an analogy. "Look at Chen Xing. She didn’t have any experience at first and always thought she could fetch a good price by selling things herself.
"And you’ve seen that pile of junk, right? If she just sold what she collected right here, everyone would swarm in and divide it up. The price wouldn’t be high, but the goods would move fast."
He gestured for Huai Yu to look at the tricycles parked sporadically nearby. They weren’t fueled by gas or electricity; they were just old-fashioned pedal tricycles, prized for their carrying capacity.
Huai Yu stared at them longingly, wishing she could have one too.
But when she carefully considered the distance from the Rose Corridor to the city center, her enthusiasm instantly deflated.
She couldn’t possibly pedal a tricycle full of goods all the way to the city to sell, could she?
Her legs would snap, and it would be pitch black before she even made it to the trading market!
She withdrew her gaze, just in time to hear Uncle Zaozi continue.
"...But she insisted on selling it herself. She never realized that after a trip to the Wilderness, a team needs to rest and reorganize for a long time... All those piles of miscellaneous items in your shed are the tuition fees she paid over the years to learn that lesson."
Uncle Zaozi chuckled at this. "There are quite a few good things in there, aren’t there?"
Huai Yu nodded happily. "Yeah! There’s a spatula, a salt shaker! Also a grater, and some expired dish soap..."
There was a bit of everything, though none of it was of high quality.
Uncle Zaozi had a sharp eye. If those things were to be sold, they’d fall into the category of the most common, easily haggled second-hand bulk goods on the market. The trading process would drag on forever.
But speaking of which...
"Sister Chen Xing has been gone for quite a while too. Will she be back in the next few days?" Huai Yu asked.
Uncle Zaozi silently calculated the time. "The kids she took with her aren’t very old, so she generally wouldn’t be willing to take extreme risks. Logically, she should be back after about a week."
Seeing Huai Yu gazing anxiously in the direction of the station, he quickly added, "But don’t worry. There’s no GPS right now. She can afford a phone, but the signal is always spotty...
"If everything goes smoothly, she might be back in less than a week.
"If they don’t find anything for a long time and their supplies are sufficient, it’s normal to stay out for ten days to a half-month." It was normal, but in reality, small convoys rarely had such a luxury.
If they really stayed for ten to fifteen days, he was afraid...
"Anyway, they’re Explorers!" he said, waving off the thought. "High risk comes with high reward. I brought you here tonight to show you the ropes. When I have time later, I’ll come back and keep watch. I’ll let you know once there’s news."
Huai Yu nodded.
At that exact moment, two beams of headlights pierced through the darkness from the road down by the station.
Huai Yu exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "Uncle Zaozi! A vehicle is coming!"
Uncle Zaozi had already scrambled up from the ground, grabbed his sack, and sprinted forward. After a few steps, he realized Huai Yu hadn’t moved. He quickly doubled back, grabbed her arm, and dragged her along.
It wasn’t just him. The crowd of people who had been lazily sitting or lying around earlier were now charging forward with the ferocity of senior citizens stampeding a supermarket for discounted eggs.
The Defense Army stationed on the other side of the highway entrance had barely waved the vehicle to a stop before the trailing trucks were rapidly surrounded by the mob.
"It’s Zhao Senlin’s team—"
"Whoa! They’ve been gone for over half a month this time, right?"
"Look at all the stuff in the truck bed!"
"Good heavens! They got lucky this trip! I bet they struck it rich—Captain Zhao! Captain Zhao! It’s me, Old Li! We’ve worked together before..."