Cheng Shuili shook her head, forcing herself to stop these negative thoughts.
She stood up and paced back and forth inside her upgraded vehicle.
The interior of the Tier 3 electric shopping cart was already quite spacious, enough for her to move her body freely.
The induction cooker in the kitchen area flickered with a standby blue light, and the fridge emitted a low hum. These were proofs of her lead over other players and evidence of her improved living conditions.
Cheng Shuili took a deep breath, opened the chat page, and deleted 【Strawberry Hard Candy】 from her friend list.
This was the norm; she had to get used to it early on.
Cheng Shuili didn't use the induction cooker yet; she didn't have a pot compatible with it, so she was still using the small electric cooking pot she had found earlier.
It was still convenient for simply heating up a prepared meal.
As the foil food packet unfolded in the boiling water, Cheng Shuili stood to the side, browsing the Trading Channel.
【Keke】: Three compressed biscuits for one bottle of mineral water. Send the trade directly!
【Eat Pomelo or Not】: I found a strawberry seedling in a chest. Does anyone need it? Private message me!
【Wan Yi】: Does anyone have a fridge? Help! I need to store some things. You can bring your requests to trade, or I can provide you with several meals—fresh ingredients, handmade!
【Panda】: What is the person above talking about? A fridge? Providing meals? Have you all entered the electrical age already?
【Xu Lingqi】: Big shot, please have some mercy. I'm still sleeping out in the wild. I don't want much, just one meal from you! Big shot Wan Wan, please!
Interesting.
Cheng Shuili opened a private message with 【Wan Yi】.
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: I have one. Let me see your food.
The other party quickly sent over several pictures: stir-fried potato shreds with green peppers, braised pork that looked perfectly marbled with a golden glaze, and stir-fried dried tofu with hot peppers that had been thickened with starch.
This meant this person had not only found all these ingredients but also a complete set of kitchen seasonings—they even had starch.
This was amazing; this person was practically a God-sent chef!
【Wan Yi】: [Image] There's also steamed rice, plenty of it. It's just that the space I need might be a bit large. Can I see what your fridge looks like?
Cheng Shuili felt a jolt. She looked at the prepared meal heating in the pot, then at the steaming rice sent by this person.
A lot had happened today, but it was indeed only the fourth day!
A God-sent chef!
These four words popped into Cheng Shuili's mind, and she instantly understood this person's value.
She had to build a good relationship; this had to be a long-term cooperation. In this world, eating was of paramount importance.
A Sword of Damocles hung over everyone's head; death could strike at any moment. If the food was also terrible—mineral water and compressed biscuits with multivitamins every day...
Cheng Shuili: "..."
Just thinking about it made her want to die.
No time to waste. She immediately took a photo and sent it to 【Wan Yi】.
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: It's quite big, and I don't have many needs for it, just chilling some drinks at most. If you need it, we can cooperate long-term.
Cheng Shuili sent the message, silently praying this person was reasonable.
If this person was insatiable and greedy, wanting everything, Cheng Shuili wouldn't cooperate for long, even if they could cook delicacies.
The reply came quickly; they seemed to be waiting.
【Wan Yi】: It's a bit bigger than I imagined. It can meet my needs.
【Wan Yi】: I'll need to hand the ingredients over to you for you to store them. Big shot Crow, you won't run off with my ingredients, will you? What if I give you my stuff today and can't reach you tomorrow?
Cheng Shuili stared at the message from 【Wan Yi】, her finger hovering over the screen.
The concern was reasonable. In this dog-eat-dog world, trust was scarcer than food.
The prepared meal in the pot bubbled, the foil packaging rolling in the boiling water, emitting a cheap spicy scent. She suddenly lost her appetite.
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: I understand your concern. How about this: for our first cooperation, we start small? Put a few essential ingredients with me first, and I'll provide you with items of equal value as a deposit.
Cheng Shuili wasn't a philanthropist. This kind of necessary investment to build trust was fine, but she wouldn't take a loss!
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: But the part about providing meals you mentioned earlier has to count.
The other party didn't reply for a long time. Cheng Shuili couldn't help but send another message.
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: No more meals?
【Wan Yi】: That's fine, of course. One more mouth to feed is no problem. I just... uh, the illusion shattered a bit. I thought a big shot like you, Crow, would be the type who wouldn't want to waste time eating and would just gnaw on compressed biscuits every day while racing against time.
Cheng Shuili: "..."
【Wan Yi】: And you were quite fierce when you were cursing people out in the Regional Channel before. I thought you'd be hard to get along with, but I didn't expect you to be so reasonable.
【Wan Yi】: No need for a deposit. I don't have much storage space anyway, and I trust you.
【Wan Yi】: I've taken a screenshot. If you really run off with my stuff, I'll expose you in the Regional Channel. Unless you never want to trade again, you probably wouldn't do that.
Cheng Shuili: "..."
Why did she feel a bit speechless yet also a bit touched?
Regardless, the deal was struck.
"You have received a gift from player 【Wan Yi】: Eggplant x2, Tomato x5, Radish x3, Potato x8..."
Cheng Shuili was silent. Besides these, there was fresh meat—a piece of pork weighing about three pounds—and an unprocessed fish.
Cheng Shuili really wondered if this person was cheating. Where did all this stuff come from?
She had a sense of boundaries; even if she found it strange, she wouldn't ask. After all, trust was hard to come by.
【Wan Yi】: You know how to store these, right? Meat goes in the freezer, vegetables in the crisper. If possible, it's best to pack the vegetables separately before putting them in.
【Wan Yi】: Tell me a day in advance what you want to eat. I'll see if I can make it. If you come across any fresh ingredients, just contact me, and I'll cook them for you for free.
Cheng Shuili nodded to herself, feeling like a major issue had been resolved.
【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Is there any dinner for today?
"You have received a gift from player 【Wan Yi】: Stir-fried Dried Tofu with Hot Peppers x1, Steamed Rice x1."
Cheng Shuili stared at the two plates of food that appeared out of thin air on the dining table. Steam and aroma wafted into her nose.
She instinctively swallowed, her throat bobbing.
The glaze on the stir-fried dried tofu shimmered with an amber glow under the light, garnished with green and red pepper slivers and a few white sesame seeds on the edge. Beside it, the bowl of rice steamed gently, the grains plump and translucent—countless times more enticing than the compressed biscuits she had been gnawing on these past few days.
She pinched a piece with her fingers, feeling the slight heat. She hurriedly stuffed it into her mouth. The moment she bit down, the savory glaze exploded in her mouth.
Rate on N.U.
