Ch106 No Way, Must Mark the Master
"Then this deal is off," Meng Ci hastily declared.
In these apocalyptic times, how could anyone with valuable goods hidden at home risk revealing their location to lurking predators?
The vendor realized this the moment the words left his mouth.
"Young man," the vendor quickly grabbed Meng Ci as he turned to leave.
"I spoke out of turn earlier. I deserve a slap-a slap!" With that, the vendor slapped his own mouth several times.
"No, no, I won't go to your place," the vendor said, still smiling.
"How about we set a time and place for the exchange?"
Only then did Meng Ci nod. "Alright."
After a moment's thought, he added, "Tomorrow, same time, right here. Cash for goods."
"Alright, alright!" The vendor nodded repeatedly, even slipping Meng Ci two pounds of rice as a deposit.
Meng Ci accepted it without hesitation.
"Aren't you afraid I'll take your stuff and not show up tomorrow?"
The vendor grinned. "Looking at your face, you don't seem like that kind of person."
"I trust you."
Alright. Since the man trusted him, Meng Ci vowed not to let him down.
The vendor's name was Zheng Yan. Before the apocalypse, he'd been a distributor boss, selling all kinds of alcoholic beverages. He was smooth-talking and had a thriving business.
After the apocalypse, he went to a refugee settlement.
When the government announced they could leave, Zheng Yan chose to stay.
He reasoned that life under government protection was better than wandering the wasteland.
Sure enough, business came knocking within days.
He heard the wealthy district needed runners to exchange supplies and headed there.
Leveraging his gift of gab, Zheng Yan successfully secured the Wel family's business. Moreover, he received two extra ounces of grain compared to others.
After Meng Ci bid farewell to Zheng Yan, matters with Shen Que were also settled.
"What did you buy?" Meng Ci inquired curiously.
Shen Que pulled a keychain from his pocket and handed it to Meng Ci.
"For you."
Earlier, Shen Que had noticed Meng Ci glance at the keychain several times as he passed by.
So when he saw Meng Ci talking business with Zheng Yan, he said he was going to look at other things and swapped out the keychain.
Meng Ci accepted the keychain, feeling touched.
He dared not tell Shen Que that his lingering gaze was simply because the dog-shaped keychain reminded him of Bai Lang at home.
That was why he'd looked at it twice.
"Thank you," Meng Ci said sincerely.
"You're welcome!" Shen Que took Meng Ci's hand and slipped it into his own coat pocket.
With nothing left to do at the trading post, the two headed outside.
"What did you trade for it?" Meng Ci asked curiously.
The mouse, spider, and other items had already been traded earlier.
Shen Que squeezed Meng Ci's hand. "I used a condom."
There were condoms in the spatial pocket that didn't fit Shen Que's size, so when he reached Into his pocket earlier, he'd retrieved one from the pocket.
Hearing this, Meng Ci couldn't help but widen his eyes.
If others found out about this trade, they'd probably gossip behind his back, wondering if Shen Que had lost his mind.
A single condom could have bought a pound and two ounces of rice, yet now it had only secured a keychain.
However, neither Meng Ci nor Shen Que lacked food, so they didn't feel it was a waste.
Before they could leave the trading point, a sudden commotion erupted.
"Hold on, there's something wrong with this!"
"This bag is so light, there's no way it holds a pound of rice." A man in a black down jacket
grabbed the man in the army-green overcoat.
The overcoat man frowned. "I weighed this rice when I got it."
"Don't make false accusations."
"Besides, the goods are already in your hands. Maybe you secretly scooped rice into another bag and are framing me."
"You're the one making baseless accusations..."
As they argued, the two men suddenly started fighting.
Then, two soldiers who had been standing in formation nearby stepped forward and forcefully pulled the two apart.
"No fighting or brawling allowed within the trading area."
"You two, show your credentials. You're banned from entering here in the future."
The man in the black down jacket, who had earlier complained about the scales, protested, "Sir, this has nothing to do with me."
"He's the one shortchanging us, sir! This is all his fault."
"You've got to stand up for me."
The military-style coat vendor also defended himself, "Sir, my goods are absolutely not short-weighted. If you don't believe me,
let's weigh it right now."
The rice in the cloth sack had spilled onto the ground during the fight, scattering everywhere. Weighing it now was impossible.
The two soldiers paid little attention to their dispute. One pulled out a walkie-talkie
"Platoon Leader, Platoon Leader! There's a fight here. Need to file a report."
"Roger that!"
After hanging up, the soldiers each grabbed one troublemaker, silencing them.
The down-jacket guy and the vendor continued bickering, even spitting at each other.
Soon, three figures emerged one after another from the same path Meng Ci and his group had taken earlier.
Meng Ci observed them: the leader was a second lieutenant, followed by two soldiers-one carrying a tablet, the other holding a camera-like device.
They began photographing the two men for documentation.
The lieutenant then declared, "You two have committed the offense of fighting. You are now blacklisted from this trading post and barred from future entry."
The two men protested, but it was futile. Despite their pleas, they were ultimately expelled.
The vendor man was still preoccupied with the rice scattered on the ground, needing to pack it up before leaving.
Meanwhile, the down-jacket man demanded the vendor return his cigarettes.
Meng Ci and Shen Que, ignoring this minor commotion, walked out.
No wonder so many soldiers guarded the perimeter-it was to prevent disturbances.
Only upon exiting did Meng Ci notice a chalkboard-like surface on the red brick wall, its rules scrawled in white chalk.
Rule one: Fighting and brawling are prohibited.
Rule five: Shortchanging customers is prohibited.
Meng Ci mused that perhaps the down-jacket man had acted impulsively, believing the vendor had shortchanged him and thinking he should have sought the soldiers' help.
Now, with the rice spilled on the ground, even if the military wanted to intervene, there was nothing they could do.
Meng Ci didn't see any issue with the lieutenant clearing both of them out at once.
After all, there was no proof of shortchanging, and the down-jacket guy had clearly initiated the violence.
The trading post was just opening; more disputes might arise later.
Therefore, the military's stance should be made clear from the start: no crimes would be tolerated here.
After leaving the trading post, seeing it was still early, the two decided to chop some firewood to take back.
Upon arriving, they found many others already cutting trees.
A moment's thought revealed the reason.
After all, at the trading post, twenty pounds of firewood could be exchanged for half a pound of grain.
Meng Ci and Shen Que still found a tree and began chopping.