Chapter 190: Chapter 190

"Among our group, Jing Shu probably has the best situation. Let’s see what Jing Shu can give. Is she really going to give those two pots of flowers?"

"Giving flowers? Actually, that’s not bad. Su Malie isn’t lacking food. You see, everyone has already given what they could; there’s nothing left."

"What use are potted flowers in the apocalypse? They’re not as useful as something edible. It would be truly embarrassing to give potted plants now. With water available, what can’t you grow?"

"That’s grass, right?" New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novèlfire.net

"Giving grass is even more embarrassing."

Su Malie blinked eagerly at Jing Shu. "Jing Shu, I always feel like you’ll give me something I really like."

Jing Shu pulled out a small mineral water bottle from her pocket and handed it to Su Malie.

"What is it? What did Jing Shu give?"

"I can’t see clearly. It looks like a bottle of mineral water."

"No way! Why would she give something as insignificant as mineral water? After all, her family lives in a villa."

The people around curiously eyed the mineral water bottle; those closer could see a dark mass inside.

Then they heard Jing Shu say, "Lobsters are referred to as ’dragons’ in our north, symbolizing good luck and protection for the home. I’m giving you a pair of crayfish, hoping they will bring you prosperity and safety. This crayfish is about to lay eggs; its ’many offspring bring many blessings’ will surely ensure you wealth and peace."

Su Malie blinked. She had received so many gifts today and had merely smiled in response, but this time, she was genuinely surprised. "Wow, Jing Shu, you really are my lucky star! I was just thinking about eating spicy crayfish the other day, and today you brought me a pair about to lay eggs. I absolutely love you!"

Su Malie jumped up and hugged Jing Shu, incredibly excited. "This is marvelous! From now on, there will be lots and lots of crayfish to eat! Today you’ve given me a pair of crayfish; soon I’ll harvest a whole pond of them!"

At this, the guests at the banquet began whispering among themselves. Nobody expected that someone could still obtain a pair of egg-laying crayfish. Wasn’t that too precious?

Before the apocalypse, everyone had stored a lot of food of all sorts, even some live poultry. But surely, no one had expected an apocalypse, so things like seafood were just frozen goods. No one had thought about breeding live poultry or seafood.

Everyone’s idea had been to store as much food as possible and then just wait for things to return to normal. They never imagined species extinction could happen.

This was the second year of the apocalypse. Seafood and similar items were all from past frozen goods. Most living creatures had died during last year’s drought. Sea creatures had allegedly perished, more than half of them, and the seas were now the domain of rotten corpse insects. Who still had the capability to dive into the sea to catch seafood?

Crayfish and the like—no one seated here had ever seen them before.

"She’s also one of Su Malie’s high school classmates."

"Getting a pair of egg-laying crayfish is no simple feat, especially after a whole year of drought."

What the...? I just casually gave something decent; I didn’t expect it to cause such a stir.

"By the way, Jing Shu, is there anything special I need to pay attention to when raising crayfish?" Su Malie asked, shaking the bottle, where two clumsy crayfish were clasping their pincers inside. She hadn’t been this excited even when she received the little white goose.

You can eat a little white goose only once, but you can eat crayfish many times.

"Before the crayfish hatch, it’s best to use Pure Water. Once they grow up, regular water is fine," Jing Shu explained. "Water with red earthworms in it contains Insect eggs that will devour the crayfish eggs."

"Even crayfish are so delicate now," someone commented.

"We’re not living as well as these crayfish," someone else lamented.

No wonder she was seated in a prominent position closest to Su Malie. The gift she presented befitted her status, and her attire was elegant. Many attendees now regarded Jing Shu as one of their own.

Several people also began to wonder if they could approach Jing Shu to get some more crayfish.

"COUGH, COUGH. Sorry for the delay, everyone. Okay, I now announce that the auction officially begins! Let’s start with the first appetizer. Everyone, please begin your meal," Su Malie said, clapping her hands. The servants quickly brought out the first appetizer.

Many classmates had already salivated quite a bit. Each person was at a seat, and each seat had three small dishes: chilled Enoki mushroom, chilled green vegetables, and sugar garlic—unfortunately, they could only look, not eat.

The meal finally started, along with the first appetizer. Surprisingly, it was a soup, with a small bowl placed in front of each person.

"Cream of mushroom soup," Su Malie announced. "It melts in your mouth, rich and delicious."

Several students gobbled it down like Bajie eating ginseng fruit, swallowing it in one go. The rich, sweet, creamy taste was so delicious it felt like it could scald their tongues.

Even Jing Shu had to give a thumbs up; it was very tasty.

"The first item is a residence on the third floor of Building 21 in Banana District, auctioned by Ah Yu. The starting bid is 1,000 Virtual Coins, or it can be exchanged for food and oil."

Jing Shu’s classmates quietly ate their cold dishes bite by bite. The first item was so extravagant that they couldn’t afford it.

In fact, 1,000 Virtual Coins was a low price; Ah Yu was clearly doing Su Malie a favor. In the end, the residence was sold for 1,200 Virtual Coins.

The second dish arrived on schedule. It was delicately pan-seared silver cod, served on a large plate with a drizzle of sauce. Each portion was only about the size of a palm. Several students wolfed it down in one bite. It was tender and fragrant, and they licked the plates clean of sauce.

"The food is delicious, but isn’t the portion a bit too small?"

"This is authentic French cuisine. The portions may be small, but there’s a variety of dishes."

Looking at the others, they were carefully cutting and eating with knives and forks. Jing Shu finished hers in one gulp and suddenly remembered that she also seemed to have silver cod in her space. It seemed she could pan-fry some when she got back. Frozen food indeed wasn’t as delicious as fresh.

"The second item is luxury vehicles auctioned by Chen Nan, all modified to be bulletproof before the apocalypse. They also come with tracking systems, and some even have hybrid systems. They’re now being sold off like scrap: one for 200 Virtual Coins, five as a bundle for 800 Virtual Coins, and ten for 1,400 Virtual Coins. Alternatively, they can be exchanged for oil and food."

Jing Shu’s eyes lit up. Su Malie had said that Chen Nan’s family used to be luxury car dealers in Wu City. Luxury cars were naturally plentiful. In the apocalypse, vehicles themselves weren’t valued much, but bulletproof features, advanced modified systems, various modified parts, and energy vehicles—these things were still quite valuable.

Jing Shu happened to need a battery and some inverters to install in her RV. She also needed bulletproof glass. Many other modified parts and systems were required; modifying an RV took a lot of components.

Chen Nan was the girl who had given the strawberries. She had a good relationship with Su Malie and was also doing her a favor here. The prices for these luxury cars were very low. Even if the cars themselves were unusable, their good parts could still be salvaged. Energy vehicles were also valuable. Two hundred Virtual Coins was very low, probably cheaper than if Jing Shu were to source the parts herself.

Despite the low prices, barely anyone wanted them. The attendees’ families didn’t lack luxury cars, and those who did lack them couldn’t afford these.

It was like being given a one-million-coin discount coupon for a three-million-coin car; you’d still have to pay two million.

Jing Shu coughed. "Um, I’ll take the bundle of five."