Chapter 182: Hello, Want to Feed a Piglet?
"Hello."
"We've hunted a wild boar. Could you arrange for someone to help us bring it in for weighing?"
Arriving at the points redemption center, Meng Ci entered the two-story office building.
The interior was brightly lit, with people moving about.
Meng Ci looked around and then approached a man with a security armband on his arm.
"Certainly!"
The man wore a name tag that read Yang Zhen.
Not only were these security personnel responsible for safety, but they also needed to promptly address customers' needs.
Upon hearing the customer's request, Yang Zhen quickly went to the backyard, summoned five or six other security personnel, and followed Meng Ci out of the office building.
At that moment, Shen Que, with a knife in hand, was leaning against an off-road vehicle, arms folded, eyes closed, resting.
Faced with the people watching them intently, Shen Que showed no fear.
Qie Zi lay on the ground, leaning against Shen Que's leg, eyes fixed on the wild boar, wondering if the wild boar meat would be tasty.
However, its owner had mentioned earlier that this wild boar was meant to be exchanged for points to obtain more meat, so Qie Zi had to hold back.
Otherwise, it would have pounced already.
Bystanders couldn't help licking their lips at the sight of the wild boar on the raft.
Similarly, no one dared to approach and snatch it, as Shen Que was a tall and imposing figure holding a knife.
Furthermore, this was an official government office.
"Comrade Yang, right here."
Hearing Meng Ci's voice, Shen Que stood up straight, abandoning his casual posture.
Seeing the wild boar that Meng Ci and his team had caught, Yang Zhen and his group were surprised and asked where they had captured it.
Meng Ci didn't conceal it and revealed the location.
"Additionally, in that self-built house, we found several other items. We'll need Comrade Yang to check these items later and see if they can be exchanged for points."
"Certainly," Yang Zhen agreed.
He then quietly considered that the place Meng Ci mentioned was indeed as remote as described, a considerable distance from the base.
Without a vehicle, Meng Ci and the others would have found it difficult to reach there, let alone bringing the wild boar back.
Yang Zhen called everyone to assist in carrying the wild boar inside, and shortly after, someone rolled out a scale.
A girl behind the counter emerged with a notebook after completing her task.
As Meng Ci and the others watched, the wild boar was placed on the scale.
It weighed 323 pounds.
One jin of wild boar meat could be traded for three jin of grain, so this wild boar could be exchanged for over 9,000 points.
Shen Que had a considerable number of points on his card, so he transferred all of them to Meng Ci's card.
"Kid, do you want to buy some piglets?"
After the points were transferred to the card, Meng Ci asked Yang Zhen to help him retrieve the other items from the SUV, but unexpectedly, just outside the building, he heard this question.
Meng Ci felt he should respond, given the assistance he had just received, so he asked, "How many points does a piglet cost?"
Yang Zhen, seeing Meng Ci's interest, eagerly shared the details.
"A piglet costs 500 points."
"But once it grows, you can sell it back to the base."
"One jin of meat can be traded for three jin of grain. If you can feed the pig to 200 jin, you can earn 6,000 points."
Before the apocalypse, the authorities protected a batch of livestock.
Piglets, lambs, calves, chicks, and others were all included.
Initially, due to limited numbers, they were raised by the authorities.
During the severe cold period, some animals froze to death.
Only a few livestock survived the extreme cold and, under official care, produced offspring.
As their numbers increased, so did their food requirements.
Therefore, the authorities started selling these young animals.
However, due to the high point requirements and the significant amount of food needed, few people exchanged for them.
Yang Zhen saw Meng Ci exchange so many points today and assumed he could afford to raise a pig, leading him to make the suggestion.
"Of course, you can exchange for more than just piglets; calves, lambs, chicks, and other young animals are also available."
"Recently, the authorities also raised a batch of rabbits, which can now be exchanged."
"Different animals have different point costs; you can inquire at the exchange point for specific details."
Meng Ci wasn't very tempted by the offer of exchanging for these animals.
After all, raising pigs and cows required a lot of space.
Moreover, it was now extremely hot, and if the waste from the pigs and cows wasn't cleaned up in time, it would probably smell terrible.
As for rabbits, Meng Ci already had some.
Before leaving, Meng Ci had left enough food for them, and Liang Xiu would return to check after the earthquake was over, so Meng Ci wasn't worried.
"Do you want to raise some?" Yang Zhen asked expectantly.
Meng Ci shook his head, "No."
"We can barely manage our own survival, let alone take care of livestock."
Yang Zhen wasn't too disappointed by this response, as he had only made the suggestion casually.
After Yang Zhen arrived, Shen Que opened the SUV's trunk, revealing several damaged solar panels.
"Most of these solar panels are damaged. Can you help us see if they can be exchanged for points?" Meng Ci asked Yang Zhen, holding up a solar panel with a missing corner.
Yang Zhen replied, "These can be taken to the second floor, where there are specialists who test and inspect them."
"If they don't affect normal use, they can be exchanged for points, though the points will be fewer than for undamaged ones."
Meng Ci thanked him, and the three of them carried the solar panels up to the second floor.
Unlike the first floor, which was partitioned into many small rooms, the second floor was a large open space.
The floor was strewn with various items, including fans, solar panels, batteries, and more.
Once the items were brought up, they would undergo a preliminary inspection and be assessed for points.
If the customer accepted the assessment, they could go down to exchange for points; otherwise, they could take the items back.
Yang Zhen, who knew the place well, led Meng Ci and Shen Que to a middle-aged man and placed the items he had been carrying on the floor.
"Uncle Zhang, could you help check how many points these solar panels can be exchanged for?"
Meng Ci and Shen Que also placed their items in front of Uncle Zhang.
Uncle Zhang, who appeared to be in his forties or fifties, wore a white undershirt. Despite his simple attire, his demeanor exuded a gentle and refined elegance.
While Uncle Zhang inspected the solar panels, Yang Zhen, in his talkative manner, easily revealed Uncle Zhang's background.
It turned out that before the apocalypse, Uncle Zhang was a college physics teacher who had achieved some success in his field.
Due to his deep commitment to research and teaching, he never married or had children.
However, being alone also meant he had no family ties, allowing him to live with greater clarity.
Meng Ci nodded.
Yang Zhen then added, "They've built a school in the base and will soon start recruiting teachers and students. When that happens, Uncle Zhang won't have to work as hard."
Hearing this, Meng Ci thought of Yun Jingcen and a few others.
Once the school starts operating, they would find teaching much easier than their current jobs.