Chapter 035: It's Them

A moment later, Zhou Zhengping and his group had already led everyone into the dining hall.

In the dining hall, several people were waiting. Seeing them enter, they quickly came forward to greet them.

The one leading was Ding Qiurou, who first took notice of Zhou Zhengping. Seeing that he was all right, she felt a slight relief, then turned to the group led by Cao Jingshan and said, "We've prepared some hot soup and hot water. Those who need it can help themselves. If you have your own bowl, use it. If not, we've prepared some bamboo tubes for sale, each costing 2 copper coins."

Providing bamboo tubes for free was not something she couldn't afford, but Ding Qiurou did not intend to start this precedent.

After all, realistically speaking, the number of survivors would only increase in the future.

Who could sustain such a benevolent act using their own profits?

So, although she contacted the residents in the territory who made bamboo tubes to provide them for the new survivors, she made them sell at the normal price.

Once the resident heard they were to sell at the regular price, they willingly took out their stocked goods and even started making them on the spot.

Having experienced the high prices in the previous territory, Cao Jingshan and his group did not find the 2 copper coins expensive at all.

Many people, after hearing this, immediately went to buy the bamboo tubes, and as soon as they purchased them, they went to get their hot soup.

They were all drenched and needed something hot to warm their bodies!

2 copper coins were nothing to worry about.

Seeing how these people seemed indifferent to the cost of 2 copper coins, Ding Qiurou reminded them from the side, "At the dining hall window, there are also steamed buns and white porridge available, a bun for 2 copper coins, a bowl of porridge for 2 copper coins."

Hearing Ding Qiurou's words, everyone immediately dispersed within the dining hall, many squeezing to the window to buy steamed buns and porridge.

Many sat either at the dining tables or on the floor, nibbling on buns and drinking porridge, each person radiating a different kind of glow.

This glow was called... hope.

Even though they didn't fully understand this territory yet, the tip of the iceberg that was revealed so far had already told them that this was a good territory, one worth settling in.

While these new survivors were enjoying their meals, some residents noticed the business opportunity and quickly took action by "setting up stalls" right inside the dining hall.

"I have shirts and shorts here, who needs them? A set for just 99 copper coins, even 1 copper coin cheaper than in the Lord's territory!"

"Home shoes, only 30 copper coins!"

"We also have homemade torches, homemade umbrellas. Although the umbrellas don't completely block out everything like the territory's broad-rimmed hats and cloaks, they're totally fine for sheltering from the rain in the territory."

"…"

Listening to these sales pitches, some people who had filled their bellies hurried forward to start buying.

These prices were outrageously low for them.

And these items were just what they needed right now; they had to buy, buy, buy.

As the rain gear some residents were carrying expired, those who had gone out on tasks also rested in the dining hall, even selling the things they no longer needed.

Seeing the levels of these new survivors, some items they couldn't use might be quite useful for them!

So, in a short amount of time, the dining hall turned into a small trading market, even filled with some haggling voices.

"Can you make it a bit cheaper? I'll take it for 25 copper coins."

"That's too low, 28 copper coins then!"

"Make it 25 copper coins! Look, you can't use this thing anyway."

"Alright! It's yours!"

"…"

Cao Jingshan watching this bustling scene in the dining hall was somewhat bewildered.

Could they have imagined such a scene an hour ago?

No.

Compared to the Canglei Village they had been in before, this place was heaven and that was hell.

"I'm going to buy some clothes to change into." Coming back to his senses and seeing his daughter eating diligently, Cao Jingshan said to his wife, Xu Ximan.

"Go ahead! Being all wet is not good either." Xu Ximan nodded, feeling much more relaxed at this moment. Clearly, the remaining savings they had were enough for them to live comfortably in this territory for a while.

Thinking back, if they hadn't built so much in Canglei Village... it was painful just to think about.

But it was just a thought. No matter what, Canglei Village had sheltered them in the early days. If it hadn't been for Canglei Village, they might have already died outside, and that would have truly been a case of having money but nowhere to spend it!

"Alright."

"Also, how much are the residential properties being sold for here? If they're not too expensive, we should buy them!" After hesitating for a moment, Xu Ximan still spoke up.

Although before coming here they had prepared themselves to move to the next territory without spending a lot of money to become residents and wouldn't spend a lot on buying houses,

the moment they entered the territory and saw such a place, the thought of rejecting their initial plan resurfaced.

This is the irresistible allure that no one could escape.

"Alright, I will ask about it when I return the cloaks," Cao Jingshan agreed with Xu Ximan's suggestion.

Afterward, when Cao Jingshan returned from buying three sets of clothes, he went directly to Zhou Zhengping and Li Xingteng.

He could tell that these two were the territory's official mission, probably having an unusual relationship with the Lord.

"Thank you for your cloaks." Seizing the opportunity of returning the cloaks, Cao Jingshan said to them.

Li Xingteng accepted them and handed the cloak to a soldier behind him.

Cao Jingshan quickly thanked him again.

After the pleasantries, Cao Jingshan hesitated before asking Zhou Zhengping and Li Xingteng, "I want to understand the situation in Hope Village."

Zhou Zhengping and Li Xingteng looked at each other and nodded, "Go ahead! We also want to know what's happening outside!"

"Who is the Lord of the territory?"

Hearing this, Li Xingteng raised an eyebrow, "You have a Lord in your territory?"

"Yes, but our Lord charges high fees because of his status, and there are many people around him. Unfortunately, even after we paid enough money, we couldn't protect our territory," Cao Jingshan said, feeling frustrated.

"It seems we don't really have a Lord in our territory; we get all of our information from the Doomsday Game panel, and the upgrades to the territory seem to occur spontaneously. At least so far, no one has come forward claiming to be the Lord," Li Xingteng directly replied.

Still, Cao Jingshan's words left a trace in his mind.

"No Lord, how is that possible?" Cao Jingshan said incredulously.

Zhou Zhengping and Li Xingteng did not answer.

Cao Jingshan realized there might be no answer to this and decided to observe for himself.

"What about the residential properties? How much do they cost?"

"A Level 1 House can be bought for 6 Gold Coins. As for a two-story building, that's a Level 2 house, which costs 12 Gold Coins," Zhou Zhengping replied. "Apart from buying, you can also rent them. A Level 1 House costs 100 copper coins per day, and a Level 2 House costs 200 copper coins per day."

Cao Jingshan was once again stunned by the prices in Hope Village, "In Canglei Village, a house costs 20 Gold Coins and can only be bought not rented. Although some people buy them planning to rent them out, the rental prices are not cheap."

"Where do those who can't buy live?"

"They just find a vacant lot in the territory to live on," Cao Jingshan replied, "so the entire territory is quite chaotic."

"And the buildings?"

"Our territory was initially a Level 0 village with only two buildings, the Wood Workshop and the farmland. The Wood Workshop sold weapons, and the farmland was used for planting. They just appeared yesterday, and we were delighted, thinking of dealing with Demon Beasts after buying weapons. However, the very night after we bought weapons, our territory was attacked, and many survivors died..." As he recounted this, Cao Jingshan's expression was filled with sorrow—it was a nightmare he would never forget.

That scene, no one would ever want to relive.

"It must have been due to the territory upgrade. Our territory is now a Level 1 village. The night we upgraded, we too faced an attack by Demon Beasts. After surviving that, the territory became what it is now," Zhou Zhengping explained.

"How fortunate," Cao Jingshan said, unable to hold back his sentiment.

"Our territory now has six types of buildings besides the Lord Mansion and the walls, including a canteen, Blacksmith Shop, tailor shop, residential buildings, Heroic Spirit Hall, and a grocery store. You can probably guess the functions of most buildings except for the Heroic Spirit Hall, which is used to summon NPCs. So far, our territory has two local NPCs, one serving as the blacksmith at the Blacksmith Shop and the other as the tailor at the tailor shop. The rain gear we are wearing was made by this tailor," Li Xingteng continued with the introduction.

Sure enough, Cao Jingshan looked completely astonished and surprised.

Li Xingteng patted Cao Jingshan on the shoulder, "Choosing to settle in Hope Village won't disappoint you."

Since he had come, he was now a person of Hope Village, and they would keep him here!

"…Yes." Cao Jingshan nodded blankly.

"Other specific details, you'll understand them in time."

"Yes." This time, Cao Jingshan reacted promptly, his eyes showing a glint of brightness.

Then he thought of Yu Ziming and his group, who had robbed them. They too were heading towards Hope Village; had they already arrived?

He hurriedly said to Zhou Zhengping and Li Xingteng, "Does your territory manage any robberies? Right before you found us, a group of people threatened and robbed us of some Gold Coins. They had arrived at Hope Village before us."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengping's eyes flickered with a sharp light.

Just as they were about to start asking for details, Xu Chengyi, who had been guarding the gate earlier, entered the canteen with a group of people.

Seeing them, Cao Jingshan didn't hesitate to point at Yu Ziming.

"It was them!"