The antibiotics produced by the refugee shelter were indeed effective; not long after taking one, the eldest brother of the Yu family not only broke his fever but also saw his leg injury's swelling subside and was even able to get out of bed and hobble a few steps.
Grateful beyond words, the two Yu brothers vowed to repay this act of kindness in the future. But seeing that it was getting late, they bid farewell to Chu Guang, and the younger brother helped his older sibling towards the exit.
As he passed by Fang Chang, Yu Hu stopped, pulled a delicate knife that did not seem to be from this era from his bag, and handed it to Fang Chang.
This was a valuable find from his scavenging days.
Then, with a deep voice that did not match his appearance, Yu Hu said,
"You're strong, able to dodge my arrow. But if it were one-on-one, I wouldn't lose."
"Keep the knife safe for me, don't lose it. Next year, we'll spar fair and square. If I win, I'll take it back."
Fang Chang didn't understand what he was saying but guessed from his demeanor that he wanted to give the knife to him as a token of thanks for indirectly saving his relative.
Fang Chang pointed at the knife and then at himself, and seeing the NPC nod, he happily accepted it.
"You're too kind!"
Yu Hu didn't understand what he said either, but seeing that Fang Chang accepted the knife, he nodded and, supporting his brother, departed.
Watching the two disappear behind the large gates of the Outpost Base, Fang Chang fiddled with the knife in his hand and turned to Wild Wind, saying with a sense of awe,
"This Game's attention to detail is just insane. Look at the expressions of that NPC, every frame is intricate, for that alone I'm freaking blown away!"
Wild Wind: "…Did you understand what he said?"
Fang Chang shook his head.
"No, it's not important."
Night Ten joined in with a snicker,
"What if he was planning to betroth the three-hundred-pound Tiger Girl from the tribe to you as a wife, and this knife is the betrothal token?"
"Get lost!"
...
Helping his brother out of the base,
Yu Hu looked back at the wall and said,
"Brother, I told you, he's not an ordinary person. When I urged you and dad to marry Little Fish off to him, you guys disagreed, and now you regret it, don't you?"
Yu Xiong's mood was complicated as he sighed,
"Regret what? He's our benefactor, let's not think about unrealistic things… Besides, I never said I was against Little Fish's matter, and neither did dad."
Yu Hu frowned,
"Then why didn't it happen?"
Yu Xiong reached out and patted his younger brother's head, which was as stubborn as a tiger's.
"You're always thinking of the best outcomes. Have you considered whether he's willing or not? Forget about Little Fish. Look at the girls next to him earlier... all of them coming out from the shelter are clean and pristine, would they even look at you, with your bear-like appearance?"
At those words, Yu Hu became anxious,
"I may be bearish, but Little Sister is not! She was so cute as a child, and even though she's thin now, what does it matter? When we get back, I'll coax her to eat more meat, even give her my share, she'll definitely get healthy."
Yu Xiong almost couldn't hold back a laugh as he glanced at him,
"You're so eager to marry Little Fish off."
Yu Hu grinned broadly, his simple expression belying his clarity of thought,
"Is it up to me to decide? Whether she marries or not, Little Sister will be of age next year. According to the street rules, becoming an adult means being counted as a separate household, requiring one to contribute a share per head. Look at our harvest this year, it's barely enough, what will we do next year when we have to pay an extra share?"
According to the rules of Bet Street, at sixteen you're considered a separate household, and when mobilization occurs every autumn, regardless of marital status, everyone must contribute a full share of supplies.
It's essentially a form of "head tax".
Boys are somewhat better off as they typically start hunting and scavenging with adults at thirteen or fourteen, becoming qualified scavengers or hunters in two or three years - a labor force. For girls, it's more difficult in these chaotic times to fend for themselves at this age, so they often marry early.
The reason Little Fish could live carefree at home till now is primarily that their father can still work, the eldest sister-in-law hasn't had kids yet, and the second brother isn't married—three men in the family who could just about support the household.
If they waited longer, whether Yu Hu married or Yu Xiong added a new child, they'd have no choice but to marry Little Fish off, as heart-wrenching as it might be.
Survival is often a heavy subject.
"…Since she has to marry anyway, better to find her a good family than to suffer with us. Better than living a hard life in our place."
Yu Xiong glanced at the sky, squinting,
"The Wang family's third son is also of marriageable age, and their family isn't bad. Their younger daughter is almost grown up too, perfect for you to marry."
Yu Hu hurriedly shook his head,
"No way, I just can't stand the sight of Wang Defu, he even shoved Little Fish once! I swear he's the kind that'll end up beating his wife once he's married."
"The Li family…"
"Eh, that's not right either, our mother came from the Li family."
Bet Street had only about a hundred households; the problem with a small place is exactly that, you end up circling back to where you started.
Left speechless by the rebuttal, Yu Xiong gave his brother a meaningful look,
"Well, you'd better think it through. If she marries outside, you'll have to fend for your own wife."
"That's no problem. Are you worried I can't get a wife?"
Yu Hu laughed heartily, and after a while, he muttered,
"I just don't want you all to keep worrying about me! Whether I'm good or not is my own business… There's no sense in trading my own sister for it."
...
At dusk, the sky gradually darkened.
The players who had gone out came back to the Outpost Base in succession.
Just like yesterday, many players set up their stalls in the open space inside the North Gate of the Outpost Base, shouting and selling their goods, haggling with customers, creating a hustle and bustle like a marketplace.
"Fresh meat for sale! Fresh squirrel meat, delicious whether fried, roasted, or boiled! 1 Silver Coin each, pick at will, affordable price, great value for money!"
"Who'd buy yours! How much meat can one squirrel even have!"
"Plenty of meat here, mutated squirrels, each one is 2 kilograms! You go buy meat at the grain store, one Silver Coin only gets you six liang. Think about it!"
"No money."
"No money then get lost!"
"…"
"Mutated hyena teeth! Can be used for jewelry! Only one Copper Coin each, only 10 available, first come first served!"
"Who the hell uses that for jewelry, it's hideous!"
"What do you know, what if the Game later develops a jewelry system? Equipment with slots for enchants, this material will definitely go up in value!"
"Fuck, seriously?"
"Seriously! Trust me!"
"Then... give me two."
"Alrighty, hey."
Besides the players selling hunting materials, there were also those peddling trash they picked up from the Wasteland.
Even though it was already the year 211 of the Wasteland Era, if one searched carefully, occasionally one could still find some good stuff that hadn't been taken yet.
Especially in some locked doors and cabinets, or buried under the ruins.
Some alloys with decent anti-oxidation effects could be slightly modified into excellent weapons. For instance, Chu Guang saw a fire axe with its rust-preventive paint still intact being priced at 7 silver coins.
It was indeed worth that price.
But few could afford it.
"Anyone want gold? I picked up a gold necklace, found it while searching through a row of apartments! Only 3 silver coins, can't go any cheaper!"
"Too expensive, 3 silver coins could buy so much food! What do I need your gold necklace for? Can't make it into a weapon or spend it!"
"Give me one, damn it, I can't afford it in real life, might as well indulge in the game."
"Hey, you're such a spendthrift! How are you going to join the top ranks later if you don't accumulate capital now?"
"Bro, are you delusional? This is just a game!"
The hottest stall was still Crow's.
Every time she performed her special feat of eating Big Mushrooms raw, it would draw a round of applause and cheers from the players.
The players didn't just freeload, and the mushrooms at her stall were quickly bought up.
Yesterday it was 3 copper coins per jin for mushrooms, today it had gone up to 4 copper coins, and the stream of players coming to buy was still endless.
In addition, she had made a bottle of Ya Ya's Secret Jam with the berries she picked, priced at only 1 silver coin.
However, sadly, this jar of jam just couldn't be sold.
That greenish hue just looked too uncomfortable.
Next was Xia Yan's weapon shop, although none of the weapons on the shelves priced at hundreds of silver coins were affordable, that didn't stop everyone from coming over to see the beautiful shop owner.
"Shop owner, can you say 'I am Kaili from the heavens'? Just say it once, please!"
"The shop owner is so cold, she doesn't pay attention to us! Definitely because we're too poor! Damn, is this what you call a realistic game?"
"Have you guys noticed? Her gaze towards the Manager is definitely different!"
"Do NPCs already have CP? I ship it!"
"What are you shipping, crazy! The handsome Brother Dawn is obviously my husband, no one is allowed to steal him, wuwuwu!"
"Dream on, what's your favorability rating? How many days have you been laboring? Better not just talk big!"
"What do you think the NPCs do after we log off?"
"...Wait for us to log on?"
"Freaks."
Coincidentally, people always end up thinking alike.
Although she couldn't understand what these players were saying, Xia Yan, with her expressionless face, was thinking exactly this sentence at this moment.
"These freaks..."
Muttering to herself, she glanced in the direction of the sanatorium and then at Chu Guang.
So hungry.
When can we return to the shelter?
Is there still going to be dessert after dinner tonight?
That Chocolate... it's quite delicious...
...
Perhaps it was because of the 20 new people, but today's market was even busier than yesterday's.
Standing in front of the sanatorium, Chu Guang couldn't help but start to imagine, in his mind, what a bustling scene it would be when all 100 players were gathered here.
"Life's getting better," he mused with a smile on his face like an old father.
He was happier than anyone.
After all, to the players this was a game, but to him, it could be the rest of his life.
At that moment, a slight chill suddenly touched his tall nose.
Chu Guang looked up, just in time to see small silvery flecks gently falling down.
He touched his nose, wiped away the cold dampness, and stared at his fingertip, murmuring thoughtfully.
"...Snow? Or hail?"
The temperature hadn't dropped to 0 degrees yet.
To be precise, it should still be between 10 and 15 degrees.
There were no rain clouds in the sky, not even a thicker layer of clouds; twilight was faintly visible on the horizon.
His first guess was that it's probably strong cold air passing through, touching the warm moist updraft on its way, condensing into ice crystals at low altitude... he was just guessing.
This probably wasn't snow, nor hail, but rather a unique climate occurrence in the Wasteland.
However, no matter what, this wasn't a good sign.
Flicking the droplet from his fingertip, Chu Guang secretly sighed in his heart.
"...Old Charlie was right."
"This winter is coming earlier than usual."
Food.
Fuel.
And materials and weapons.
Sigh!
Just thinking about it makes one go bald.
However, joy and sorrow do not intermingle.
In the distance, the carefree cheers of the players could be faintly heard, along with their chirpy, joyful chatter.
There was a new female player who had recently joined the game, looking up at the sky with hopeful eyes.
"It's snowing!"