Ch105 Departure for the Market Trading Post
"Who knew this market would be so crowded?"
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Meng Ci dawdled until past one o'clock before finally setting off with Shen Que, carrying the thirty pounds of rats and spiders they'd caught earlier toward Riverside Park.
Seeing the bustling crowd, Meng Ci couldn't help but marvel.
Along the way, they saw people carrying goods, their faces beaming with joy.
Some murmured about finally being able to eat rice or noodles, while others, having caught many animals, discussed with companions what would be the most profitable trades.
The so-called market was actually dozens of tents set up in parallel across the riverside park area, each selling different goods.
Behind each stall stood a row of red-brick warehouses.
From rice and flour to various vegetable seeds, military overcoats, and coal-everything imaginable was available.
Meng Ci even spotted a stall trading piglets.
Intrigued by the piglets, he approached with his goods.
Seated behind the table was a stern-faced soldier in uniform. Behind him, a cage held only five piglets.
"Want piglets? Requirements are on this," the soldier said tersely, pointing to a price list on the table.
Meng Ci flipped through the list and his eyes widened.
One piglet required either 100 catties of rats, spiders, and similar items, or 200 catties of potatoes, or 60 catties of rice and flour...
Such demands were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Moreover, to raise the piglets to maturity, they needed to be fed.
In these apocalyptic times, people couldn't even feed themselves. Where would the food for pigs come from?
No wonder no residents came here.
His storage space held plenty of meat; he didn't need this extra mouth to feed.
Meng Ci could only regretfully bid farewell to the piglet and look at the other items.
Twenty catties of rats for three taels of pork.
Meng Ci shook his head. Not worth it.
Ten pounds of rats for one pound of coal.
Meng Ci shook his head. The coal wasn't essential.
Finally, Meng Ci stopped at a tent selling seeds.
Ten pounds of rats for a packet of cold-resistant vegetable seeds.
Meng Ci flipped through the price list. These seeds were the government's latest research, with a shorter growth cycle than usual-ready to harvest in under twenty days from planting to sprouting.
As for seedlings like chili peppers and eggplants, ten pounds of rats could only buy two plants.
Meng Ci took ten pounds of cockroaches and traded them for two eggplant seedlings.
He wanted to see if these would grow even faster in his personal space.
If they thrived, Meng Ci figured he could trade more next time.
In Meng Ci's mind, eggplant was the most delicious vegetable in the world.
Braised eggplant, fish-flavored eggplant, salt-and-pepper eggplant, sweet-and-sour eggplant...
Meng Ci swallowed hard, already planning a feast of eggplant dishes for when he returned.
He traded the remaining ten pounds of rats and spiders for rice and flour.
Without exchanging for staples, others might discover they possessed edible goods, potentially inviting unnecessary trouble.
Though he no longer had bargaining chips, that didn't stop Meng Ci from continuing to wander around.
Most residents brought rats and spiders solely to exchange for rice and flour, so long lines formed behind these tents.
The other tents, however, seemed deserted.
As Meng Ci wandered, he noticed a sign beside the central tent reading "Official Trading Post."
Behind the sign, a one-meter-wide passage remained open.
Meng Ci wondered: Could there be unofficial ones?
Peering behind the sign, Meng Ci Indeed found another label reading "Unofficial Trading Point," topped with an upward-pointing arrow.
"Shen Que, what do you think they sell at these unofficial spots?" Meng Ci asked.
Several large tents blocked the view behind, obscuring what lay beyond.
Meng Ci wondered if the unofficial trading point hadn't been set up yet.
After all, the two of them had been here for quite some time and hadn't seen anyone come out from there.
Shen Que said, "If you're interested, you can go take a look!"
"Mhm." Meng Ci nodded, then walked in with Shen Que, one in front and one behind.
Passing through the tents revealed a red wall over two meters high. After walking about ten meters, they came upon an open space.
Bordered on both sides by red brick walls over two meters tall, every few steps stood a soldier, hands on their rifle, standing tall and proud.
Opposite them lay another row of warehouses and tents-likely similar to what they'd seen on this side.
The open space in the center, however, surprised Meng Ci with its sheer number of people.
Some held cardboard signs reading "One pack of cigarettes for half a pound of rice or flour."
Others displayed wooden boards inscribed with charcoal: "One condom for a pound of flour or half a pound of rice."
"Hey, boss, I've got a pack of cigarettes here. Take a look."
"Boss, I've got half a sack of salt. Think you'd trade for something?"
Meng Ci and Shen Que strolled around inside. Many people were trading goods, especially condoms-several vendors accepted them.
Meng Ci was puzzled. In the apocalypse, why weren't these people focused on survival? Why were they thinking about sex? It made no sense.
So Meng Ci approached a vendor and began asking questions.
"Boss, I do have a few condoms here."
"But are you sure you have that much rice or flour?"
Meng Ci remembered grabbing quite a few of these items earlier at the pharmaceutical factory; he could spare a few.
The vendor's eyes lit up at Meng Ci's words and he quickly replied, "Of course I do."
"The Zhao family-you know them?"
"Before this bizarre weather, they were the second wealthiest family in M City."
Meng Ci nodded. Most of the Meng Group's shares had ended up with the Zhaos back then, so he was certainly familiar with them.
"The old master of the Zhao family keeps several mistresses in his house. He fears pregnancy might dampen his interest."
"So when he learned of this trading post, he sent several people to barter for condoms."
The vendor seemed intent on bolstering his credibility, spilling the entire story in one breath.
"Brother, if you truly have the goods, trade with me."
"I promise you'll get the best deal."
Meng Ci's face twisted in conflict as he glanced around.
"You grain traders all seem pretty much the same. I should shop around anyway."
Seeing Meng Ci about to leave, the vendor quickly grabbed his arm.
"Hey, hold on, young man."
"I'll give you more!"
"One condom for one jin and one liang of rice. How's that?"
Seeing Meng Ci still hesitating, the vendor upped the offer.
"One jin and two liang of rice."
"Young man, when I got these, one condom was worth two catties of rice."
"You gotta let me make a little profit on this!"
Meng Ci pretended to hesitate for a moment longer before nodding. "Alright."
Hearing this, the vendor nearly jumped for joy.
After all, condoms had been useless for months now. Some people even tossed them into fires, complaining the flames
weren't hot enough.
The vendor never imagined anyone would actually trade for them. He was overjoyed.
"But I don't have the goods on me," Meng Ci said.
"I'll go get them with you," the vendor quickly offered.