Chapter 16: Exchanging for 1,000 Medium-to-Low Radiation Potatoes

Even though the handsome man had already introduced himself, Second Sister-in-law Shi was still tense all over, refusing to let down her guard.

In this wasteland, you could never tell if someone was human or a ghost.

As a delicate and beautiful woman facing mercenaries who only cared about money, Second Sister-in-law Shi was right to be cautious.

At the same time, she felt grateful that Shi Yuebai hadn’t washed her face for her that morning. The dirt on her face helped conceal her looks.

“Don’t be afraid, Second Sister-in-law,” Yi Zhe said quickly, as if he’d noticed her nervousness. “We came to find you because Aunt Shi is currently with our mercenary group.”

As he spoke, Yi Zhe frowned and glanced at Shi Yao-yao on her back, and at Shi Yuebai, whom she was pushing along.

“I’m sorry, Second Sister-in-law. By the time my men and I arrived, Shi Yi, Shi Er, and Uncle Shi…”

The men of the Shi family had died during a night raid by mutant animals.

Outside the big city, every so often, mutant beasts would gather and attack survivor teams living on the outskirts.

So every survivor group would send people out on night watch.

That night, many people died. Quite a few survivors were mauled beyond recognition by the mutants.

By the time Yi Zhe and his mercenaries arrived, the ground was littered with severed limbs and corpses—a true hell on earth.

After they fought off the mutants and went back to check, they found Mother Shi hiding inside a large metal barrel.

Outside the barrel were three male corpses, gnawed down to the bone.

Since there were exactly three, they figured these must be the remains of the Shi men.

Yi Zhe had been busy leading his men to hunt down mutants these past few days, while Mother Shi had fallen into a coma.

He hadn’t had time to send her home, so she’d been staying with their mercenary group.

Today, he finally got a break and came to inform Second Sister-in-law Shi.

But as soon as he reached the survivor camp where the Shi family lived, he saw Second Sister-in-law Shi in such a pitiful state.

Yi Zhe frowned, unsure how to even begin asking her to take Aunt Shi back.

Everyone in the wasteland knew what it meant for a family to lose all its men.

In such circumstances, life would only get harder for Second Sister-in-law Shi than for most women.

Mother Shi was also pregnant and about to give birth soon.

The burden on Second Sister-in-law Shi was even heavier.

To be honest, given all this, the fact that Second Sister-in-law Shi hadn’t abandoned Shi Yao-yao and Shi Yuebai to escape on her own only proved that Shi Er had married a truly good woman.

The mercenaries following behind Yi Zhe didn’t know what to say either, and everyone fell silent.

Sitting on the flatbed cart, Shi Yuebai made a decision.

“Since my mom is with you, please bring her back to us,” she said. “We’re heading to the big city today to sell potatoes.”

Shi Yao-yao shook her big head and said loudly, “We’re selling potatoes with zero radiation!”

A flicker of surprise flashed in Yi Zhe’s sharp eyes as he looked at Shi Yuebai, now so fat she was like a mountain.

In his memory, Shi Yi’s little sister—the Shi family’s little princess—had been a beautiful, proud girl.

Now, even after being mutated by radiation, she still had the courage to go out. That took real strength.

But her personality hadn’t changed at all—still as stubborn as ever.

Yi Zhe remembered seeing her at Shi Er’s wedding, tagging along with Shi Yi. He hadn’t liked her much back then.

But most rich girls were like that, so he hadn’t thought much of it.

Now, hearing her speak, her arrogance actually gave her a certain decisiveness.

“Potatoes with zero radiation?” Yi Zhe shifted his attention away from Shi Yuebai.

“We’ll buy them. How many points do you want?”

He didn’t take Shi Yao-yao’s words seriously. After his old squad was disbanded, Yi Zhe had formed his own mercenary group, but he still kept tabs on his old teammates—especially Shi Yi, who had been his closest brother-in-arms.

So he knew a bit about the Shi family’s situation.

Shi Yao-yao’s mind had been damaged by radiation; you couldn’t take her words at face value.

Yi Zhe was only willing to buy their potatoes out of consideration for his old comrade’s family.

But when Second Sister-in-law Shi took out two potatoes from her pocket and Yi Zhe’s radiation detector beeped, he and his men were shocked to discover—

There really were potatoes with zero radiation in this world…

They’d never seen such a thing before, and for a moment, Yi Zhe didn’t know what price to offer.

Second Sister-in-law Shi didn’t know how many points to ask for either.

But Shi Yuebai spoke up decisively, “We don’t want points. We’ll trade for 1,000 medium-to-low radiation potatoes.”

Yi Zhe and his mercenaries all gasped.

This proud little girl really dared to ask for a lot.

One mercenary pointed at Shi Yuebai’s mountainous body. “You—!”

Before he could finish, Yi Zhe raised his hand to cut him off.

“Alright, we’ll buy them! But we don’t have 1,000 medium-to-low radiation potatoes on hand. Can we trade for other food?”

Shi Yuebai waved her hand indifferently. “Whatever. Just bring the food and my mom together.”

Now that she’d found a buyer for the potatoes, Shi Yuebai didn’t think it was necessary to make a special trip to the big city.

She instructed Second Sister-in-law Shi, “Let’s go. We’ll keep scavenging.”

“Let’s try to find more bottles and jars today. If we could find some toothpaste, that’d be great.”

Shi Yuebai’s memories told her that the survivors in this wasteland used to clean their teeth with toothpaste and toothbrushes.

She’d never used such fancy things in her life.

Yesterday, in a newly opened scavenging area, they’d found a box of brand-new toothbrushes.

So today, Shi Yuebai was hoping for a bit of luck—to find a tube of toothpaste to try out.

Second Sister-in-law Shi’s legs were trembling. She still hadn’t recovered from Shi Yuebai’s outrageous bargaining.

She instinctively followed Shi Yuebai’s instructions, carrying Shi Yao-yao and pushing Shi Yuebai as they headed toward the new scavenging area.

Yi Zhe looked down at the two zero-radiation potatoes in his hand.

Should he call Shi Yuebai naïve, or generous?

She hadn’t even asked for a deposit—just left so straightforwardly.

Wasn’t she afraid he’d go back on his word, and not only refuse to give them food, but also not return their mother?

“Captain, how should we eat these potatoes?” one mercenary asked, eyeing the potatoes in Yi Zhe’s hand curiously.

It had been five years since anyone had eaten zero-radiation potatoes.

Yi Zhe stuffed the potatoes into his pocket and shot his subordinate a look.

“Eat them? No way. We’ll take them to the big city and sell them to those rich folks.”

“We’ll trade them for 2,000 medium-to-low radiation potatoes—enough to feed our group for months.”

So, how do you all plan to celebrate the holidays?"