Chapter 59: The Suit-Clad Vegetable Vendor

The three of them quickly returned to the floating market.

This time, Annan had a clear goal: to find jade.

I’m buying up all the jade on this street!

Your big sister here has to try what it feels like to teleport ten meters in an instant!

But after circling the market once, she didn’t find a single stall selling jade.

On the other hand, Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei managed to trade for quite a few things in no time.

Their needs were much simpler.

“Mechanic” Zhao Ping’an liked to collect all sorts of odd bits of scrap metal—iron rods, forks, you name it, he wanted to haul it home.

And then there were all kinds of snacks and seasonings.

He always remembered his mom’s complaints: last time, he hadn’t stocked up on hotpot base.

So whenever he saw anyone trading seasonings—hotpot base, marinade, spicy stir-fry mix—he’d swap meat for them.

Anyway, they already had plenty of fish and meat at home. The rest was for trading. As long as it could improve their quality of life, he’d make the deal.

Chu Peipei’s needs were even simpler: just the most practical supplies.

Shelf-stable dry food, salt and sugar cubes, basic seasonings, fuel for cooking...

Although, as the market became saturated with aquatic products, crocodile meat wasn’t as valuable as it had been at first, but luckily they still had plenty in stock and managed to trade for a lot of good stuff.

As Annan helped them load supplies onto the boat, she subconsciously scanned her surroundings.

She didn’t spot any jade, but she did make a surprising discovery.

—The fertilizer she’d been thinking about all day yesterday.

On a bustling vegetable stall, there were two big bags of fertilizer on display.

She quickly steered her boat over to the vendor.

The market was full of kayaks, bathtubs, and plastic basins, but a motorized inflatable boat was a rare sight.

Not to mention, this one was loaded with fresh vegetables.

Chives, spinach, bok choy, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers.

Looking around, they were almost all fast-growing crops—things you could harvest in a month or two.

It had been over three months since Linbei City was flooded, and someone still had a boatload of fresh vegetables?

At that moment, the area around the boat was packed with people, all bombarding the vendor with questions.

“Bro, where’d you get these fresh veggies?”

“Is there somewhere in Linbei that isn’t flooded?”

“How are you selling these vegetables?”

The vendor himself was just as eye-catching as his produce.

He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit, with a crisp shirt collar and cufflinks at his wrists.

Annan stared in surprise. Was this some new fashion trend?

Selling vegetables in a suit?

It had been over three months since the disaster, and someone was still dressing so sharply.

The suited man ignored the barrage of questions and simply quoted his prices.

“One jin of vegetables for three jin of coarse grains, or five jin of crocodile meat. If it’s other fish, then eight jin.”

Many people left as soon as they heard the price.

That’s way too expensive!

A jin of vegetables can’t even fill you up, and you have to trade so much food and meat for it.

Might as well go without.

But there were still some big hunters with plenty of crocodile meat who were willing to trade. After all, going too long without vegetables could cause health problems.

So there were still a few people making deals with him.

Seeing that the crowd had thinned out, Chu Peipei quickly seized the chance and pulled their boat over.

Annan, meanwhile, set her sights on the two bags of fertilizer.

“Hi, I’d like to trade for some vegetables.”

“How about the fertilizer—what do you want for it?”

The two women spoke at the same time.

The suited man deftly packed vegetables for other customers as he replied, “The fertilizer is in 50-jin bags, two bags for a total of 100 jin. You can take them both for 10 jin of crocodile meat. As for the vegetables, how much do you want?”

Chu Peipei had already traded for a lot, so she used her last 30 jin of crocodile meat to get 6 jin of vegetables—making sure to pick cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers that would be easy to save seeds from.

That way, she could eat some right away and save the rest to plant on her balcony at home.

Annan cheerfully traded 10 jin of crocodile meat for the fertilizer.

“Do you have any more fertilizer at home? I’ll take it all if you can give me a good price.”

The suited man looked a bit surprised.

People still living in Water City needed that much fertilizer?

Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei were curious too. “Annan, what do you need so much fertilizer for?”

Annan replied, “Oh, I’m growing vegetables at home too.”

Zhao Ping’an teased her, “Growing a few veggies and you need that much fertilizer?”

Of course, Annan wasn’t about to tell him she had a whole field to farm, so she just smiled.

“My gardening skills aren’t great, so I feel better stocking up. Besides, this stuff’s not easy to come by. What if we can’t find it again later? Better to buy more now.”

Zhao Ping’an thought that made sense, so he wanted to buy some too.

The suited man scratched his head. “Actually, I have quite a bit more at home. I could sell you another thousand jin, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Annan immediately said she’d come back tomorrow.

Chu Peipei, seeing this, asked the suited man to bring her some soil for planting as well. She was also curious and asked, “Where do you grow all these vegetables, anyway?”

They’d traded a lot with him, so they counted as big customers.

The suited man answered cheerfully, “I live up in the mountains, so I just grow a few vegetables there.”

In the mountains?

Annan thought to herself, that probably meant he lived in the hillside villa district.

Especially with the way he was dressed... Annan looked at him and said, “I have a question too!”

The suited man saw her serious expression and replied, “Go ahead.”

“Why are you selling vegetables in a suit?”

...

The suited man was a bit at a loss for words, but Annan kept waiting for a serious answer.

Come on! It’s been over three months since the disaster, and someone’s still dressed like a CBD executive, all suited up—how could you not be curious?

That’s some serious self-discipline.

Even more extreme than that beauty in our complex who used to insist on Chanel, an LV bag, and a full face of makeup just to take out the trash.

Even she now just throws on a hoodie and goes out with messy hair.

The suited man looked a little embarrassed. “Honestly, there’s no special reason. It’s just that, aside from suits, I don’t have any other clothes.”

As a key member of the company, the right-hand man to Boss Gu... well, assistant. A closet full of suits was the bare minimum for the job!

“And besides, dressing like this means I’m always ready to meet my boss at a moment’s notice.”

Annan and her friends were stunned.

What kind of ridiculous capitalist is this? Even after a disaster, he has to be ready to meet his boss at any time?

It’s enough to make you laugh and cry...

Annan: Good thing I’m just an unemployed couch potato at home.

There really is no such thing as easy money in this world!

As they were chatting, a loud, arrogant voice rang out from afar.

“Well, Long Cong’an, not only are you farming, now you’re selling vegetables too?”

Annan looked over and saw someone she never expected."