Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 188 Selling Sea Buckthorn

Wang Xiao nodded repeatedly, his face showing agreement and a hint of embarrassment. "Yeah, Xiao Yan, Lao Xie is right. These extra points should all be yours. It's a bit too much for us to handle."

Xu Xiaoyan looked at them and shook her head. "You can't say that. Without the two of you, I would never have gone out of the city with Lu Hu to that park. Without you guarding the car, in that situation on the first floor, my goods would probably have been stolen long ago, and I wouldn't even have had a chance to go upstairs. We are a temporary team. Although we didn't say it explicitly before, since we are acting together, we should share the risks and benefits together. I will definitely not be polite about what is rightfully mine. For example, the unit price we negotiated. I feel that I have done my best and it is worth the price. But I don't feel at ease taking what is not rightfully mine. There may be opportunities to cooperate in the future. It would be a loss to ruin trust and understanding over a few points."

She paused, noticing the complex look in Xie Yingtang's eyes, and casually changed the subject, pointing to the three remaining trailers beside her. "Alright, stop overthinking it. Quickly decide how much of these sea buckthorn you plan to keep for yourselves and how much to exchange. Hurry up, we need to settle the accounts and leave here as soon as possible."

Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao exchanged a glance and stopped refusing. Their eyes swept over the burlap sacks that carried the weight of their day's hard work and adventure. Wang Xiao scrambled up his trailer, which was piled high like a small mountain, and picked through the top few sacks of sea buckthorn. Finally, he tore off a slightly smaller-looking sack, patted it hard, and announced loudly, "We'll keep this one to try!" as if he had made a major decision.

"This stuff is too sour, I probably can't eat much of it, and it might even spoil if left out for too long. Let's redeem the rest! It's more worthwhile to exchange it for points!" he said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the waitress, then at Xie Yingtang and Xu Xiaoyan, as if seeking approval.

Xie Yingtang didn't immediately respond. He looked at Xu Xiaoyan, his gaze questioning, "Xiaoyan, what about you? How much do you plan to keep?"

Xu Xiaoyan bent down and gently placed the bag of sea buckthorn she had been holding back onto her trailer, piling it together with the other sacks. "I'm selling them all, I'm not keeping any," she said in a flat tone, as if she were just saying that the weather was bad today.

This decision was incredibly simple for her. Her space was piled high with sea buckthorn, far exceeding the quantity of anyone else present. In her eyes, these sea buckthorn were far less direct and useful than points. If she weren't worried about exposing the secrets of her space and causing unnecessary suspicion, she would even have considered finding an excuse to take out a portion of her space and exchange it.

Xie Yingtang didn't ask any more questions and nodded. "Then I'll keep a bag for social obligations too. The old man next door has been very kind to me and Wang Xiao. I'll give him some later." After saying that, he chose a medium-sized burlap sack and placed it next to him.

Soon, under the efficient and professional arrangement of the waitress, the three people's sea buckthorn was weighed, recorded, and points were settled one by one. The readings of the electronic scale jumped, the numbers on the terminal screen accumulated, and each confirmation was accompanied by an increase in points in the chip account.

When the final number was displayed and the waitress gestured that they could check it, Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao could not hide their excitement. Although they tried to remain calm, the light in their eyes and the slight upturn of their lips betrayed their inner excitement.

The three of them pushed their trailers, which were already mostly empty. Their eyes swept over the lone trailer in the corner, and Xu Xiaoyan asked, "Brother Lu, don't you want your trailer anymore? This thing is a pretty good little transport tool in the base."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yingtang's face showed a somewhat amused yet knowing expression. He walked over, squatted down, and studied the structure of the trailer. This type of manual hydraulic trailer was designed with space-saving in mind. He found several buckles and locking devices, and with a few soft "clicks," he skillfully folded up the long handrail of the trailer. The supporting metal frame below could also be folded up. He easily lifted the folded trailer, tested its weight, and then placed it directly on top of the remaining cargo on his own trailer, securing it simply with a rope.

He dusted off his hands and explained to Xu Xiaoyan with a smile, "He was in a hurry to leave just now and sent me a short message on his communicator, saying that he didn't want the cart anymore and that we could do whatever we wanted with it as a way of thanking everyone."

Xie Yingtang shook his head, his tone tinged with a mix of emotion and barely perceptible sigh. "You didn't see him just now. His tone was all high when he texted me. He's usually so frugal, always trying to stretch every penny. But now he's saying he doesn't want this really useful stroller anymore... You can tell he's just really happy this time."

Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but smile when she heard this. She could understand Lu Hu's feelings. In an environment where life was uncertain, suddenly receiving a "huge sum" that far exceeded expectations would have a huge psychological impact and a sense of release. It would lead to some "luxurious" decisions that one would never normally make. She nodded and said, "I can understand."

The three of them said no more and pushed the cart together, rejoining the still crowded people in the lobby on the first floor. However, this time, they were pushing a cart that was mostly empty, and they no longer had the tension of "carrying a treasure". In addition, they had the confidence that came from just completing a satisfactory transaction. Although it was still not easy to move around, their mindset was different.

As they stepped out of the trading center, it was already completely dark outside. Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao, pushing their miscellaneous items and another folding trailer, said a brief goodbye to Xu Xiaoyan at the entrance.

"Xiao Yan, thank you so much for today!" Wang Xiao said sincerely.

"Be careful on your way back," Xie Yingtang calmly instructed.

"You too, be careful," Xu Xiaoyan waved, tightened her mask and hat brim, and pushed her trailer toward the North District.

The snow on the streets, trampled during the day, was now frozen solid, covered with a layer of dirty ice. Although the load on the trailer wasn't as heavy as the sea buckthorn, the combination of exhaustion and the bitter cold made each step feel incredibly strenuous. His strength had been completely depleted during the day, and he was now relying entirely on willpower to keep going.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally saw the small building I was renting. However, as soon as my hand grasped the icy doorknob, that familiar, frustrating sensation returned – the lock was frozen shut again!

Thick, glistening ice shells tightly sealed the keyhole and the joint between the door panel and the frame. She sighed helplessly, having anticipated this scene and even becoming somewhat numb to it. In extremely cold weather, as long as there is a temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, it is normal for the door to leak a little air or moisture.