Chapter 612: Chapter 612

Items Jing Shu was interested in soon appeared: a batch of specialty foods from the Imperial Capital. What made these items particularly precious was that they were all freshly made, such as pastries from Daoxiang Village, Beijing Eight Treasures, and other traditional confections that still existed and were part of this trading round. Since the varieties were the same, over a dozen sellers offered them. Due to the high costs in the apocalypse, their prices were steep, but thankfully, the taste and quality were guaranteed, almost similar to what Jun Bao had given her the previous year.

Jing Shu had always craved these snacks; the unattainable always stirred a desire in her. Ever since she tasted them last time, she could never forget the explosive burst of flavors. The crucial point was that her family couldn’t replicate that delicious taste at home... Annoying, isn’t it? Therefore, as soon as the pastry category appeared, Jing Shu, like a country bumpkin, promptly entered bids for all of them, regardless of whether she had eaten them before.

Even the usually expressionless Tang Tuo looked on, somewhat bewildered, as Jing Shu’s hands flew across the interface, leaving afterimages as she clicked rapidly. She muttered non-stop, "Meat Cake, apple cake, Pine Nut Corn Cake, meat floss roll, matcha cake, Taro Cake, Green Bean Cake, pineapple cake, red bean cake, chestnut cake... Oh, and the famous Beijing Eight Treasures, Fortune Cake, Master Cake, Longevity Peach Cake, wedding cake, silver ingot cake, Crispy Roll Cake, Chicken Cake, jujube flower cake, sachima... I didn’t even get to try them all last time."

Although a small portion of pastries wasn’t as expensive as Zhonghua Cigarettes, when Jing Shu bought them all, they still amounted to a considerable sum. The prices for pastries, originally stable, had just seen the trading channel open when Jing Shu swiftly pre-ordered everything at low prices. Some of the best-selling items quickly went to auction.

However, she followed up on all of them. Since the prices of these pastries were generally stable, there was no need for a frantic scramble. As a result, Jing Shu ended up cornering the entire category by herself.

These pastries shouldn’t be underestimated. One or two might not be worth much, but when Jing Shu had swept up all of them, she discovered they totaled a value of one million.

Her ’big shot’ status was thus confirmed.

Miss Jing’s name quickly became well-known at the trading emporium. Many wondered who this person was, to so impressively sweep away all the pastries. In this apocalypse, where mere survival was a struggle, not many people could spend millions just on pastries.

In the time that followed, Jing Shu showed everyone what true extravagance meant. Whatever caught her interest, she bought, never considering the cost. In her opinion, as long as an item didn’t greatly exceed its intrinsic value, she would bid on it immediately.

No one knew the future trends of the apocalypse better than she did; no one understood more clearly which supplies would become increasingly precious. Of course, people like Tang Tuo made predictions, but Jing Shu, with her cheat-like foresight, possessed far more confidence.

Thus, when encountering scarce goods, Jing Shu disregarded the price and bid aggressively. At such moments, the hand speed she had honed over twenty-plus years of being single truly shone. Given the time limits, she practically wore out the "+" button on the screen, and the results were self-evident.

It could only be described as a huge coincidence: Jing Shu, at this very trading event, stumbled upon a pair of live bamboo rats! Yes, that’s right, a breeding pair of bamboo rats!

Honestly, in her two lifetimes combined, Jing Shu had never eaten a rat. She had, however, seen various movies and shows, and read that farmed bamboo rats were not only virus-free but also delicious, reproduced quickly, and ate almost anything.

This ticked all her boxes for an ideal pet in the apocalypse: 1. The pet itself could be eaten or provide valuable byproducts. 2. It reproduced quickly and was omnivorous. 3. It tasted delicious.

As for combat ability, Jing Shu’s standards weren’t particularly high. To put it bluntly, her Spiritual Spring could already cultivate fat chickens into formidable creatures. So, as long as something had inherent value, Jing Shu would absolutely not pass it up.

Besides, it was already the fourth year of the apocalypse, and such rare, delicious Domestic Poultry could not be missed. Even if her family couldn’t accept them, Jing Shu mused, I can breed the bamboo rats and develop them as a high-end food source for the apocalypse. Newest update provıded by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩

Speaking of combat ability,

Therefore, Jing Shu was determined to acquire these bamboo rats, especially since they were a rare breeding pair. Such an item, even at the trading emporium, would undoubtedly attract many interested buyers. Their price kept climbing, but no one could outbid Jing Shu. She finally secured the reproductive pair of bamboo rats for a price of three million Trading Coins!

Living animals were incredibly scarce in this era.

When the two skinny, dirty little creatures with shifty eyes landed in Jing Shu’s possession, she immediately began to wonder: Would grilled bamboo rat taste better, or braised?

Only children make choices. "I want both," she declared.

"TSK, TSK, it will still take about a month," Jing Shu said, shaking her head with some regret.

"A month?" Tang Tuo was finding it increasingly difficult to understand Jing Shu. Of course, he also didn’t grasp what she meant by "two months." His data clearly indicated that the maximum value for bamboo rats was around two million Trading Coins; a pair of other Domestic Poultry might fetch an even higher price. After all, the market for bamboo rats wasn’t very large, especially among the wealthy.

Jing Shu just smiled and didn’t elaborate. What she regretted was the wait; these two little ones needed to produce at least one or two litters before she could savor their deliciousness, and the thought made her uncomfortably impatient. As for how many Trading Coins she had spent, she wasn’t concerned. To her, such things were mere numbers, far less reassuring than possessing living, reproducing animals in the apocalypse.

A pleasant surprise was that the seller included some bamboo and a breeding guide, as a thank-you to Jing Shu, the wealthy buyer, for driving the price so high.

Bamboo rats don’t exclusively eat bamboo; they are omnivores, easily raised on vegetable scraps and fruit rinds. Nevertheless, Jing Shu planned to plant some of the bamboo provided by the seller in her dimension and on an empty plot at her villa. She’d heard bamboo was a favorite of Giant Pandas, so she decided to plant it first—just in case she could raise a panda someday.

While Jing Shu was silently chuckling to herself, Tang Tuo tapped her shoulder. He then brought over some items from the big data mall, pointed to a particular machine, and said, "This thing has been listed in the mall for a long time. Based on your recent purchases, I think you might need it."