Vegetable Business

"You are really idle."

Wang Jianguo was rarely awake at this time.

As a former steel plant director managing a shelter of more than 2,000 people, there were countless things he needed to worry about every day.

After so many days, especially watching the supplies in the warehouse decrease little by little, he was already feeling exhausted. And he was online now not for chatting.

"Who has fresh vegetables? Can you sell me some?"

"I want to use them to boost morale in the shelter."

Not every shelter had the ability to grow vegetables on its own.

Not to mention the electricity needed to maintain plant growth lights in the underground world, which was a considerable burden for ordinary shelters.

Even the most basic planting space was not necessarily available in many shelters.

For underground shelters, where every inch of land was valuable, resources were not used to grow vegetables but rather to cultivate more efficient food sources such as voles, earthworms, and mushrooms.

Furthermore, quite a few shelters couldn't even raise voles and earthworms.

They survived purely on the food and canned goods they had stored before the apocalypse, hoping the surface environment would return to normal soon.

"Vegetables are hard to get."

"I have a few kilograms of fresh cabbage here. How about you, Old Wang? Just exchange it for a 50A battery."

A shelter director who was somewhat familiar with Wang Jianguo spoke half-jokingly.

"Why don't you go and rob someone for a 50A battery?"

Wang Jianguo was so angry that he almost jumped up. Even if fresh vegetables were rare in the current environment, it was impossible to sell them at such a high price.

A large-capacity battery could save lives at critical moments. Even the dumbest person wouldn't trade it for just a few bites of food.

"I also have some lettuce to sell."

"One kilogram of lettuce for ten kilograms of cement or other goods."

Su Wu, who had been silently watching the screen, interrupted at the right time.

"Really?"

"Brother Su, how much do you have? When I built the shelter here, I had a lot of cement left over."

Anyone who could build a shelter must have had some cement left.

Unlike official deep shelters, these ordinary shelters usually didn't have the ability to continue large-scale construction in the apocalypse.

Many people didn't mind trading some of their excess cement for precious fresh vegetables.

"About 500 to 600 kilograms, and we can produce about 70 kilograms every day in the future."

Su Wu made a rough estimate and reported a number.

In his hydroponic farm, the lettuce with the shortest growth cycle had already matured. Many lettuce leaves had grown quite large.

By picking only the outermost leaves and retaining the core, he could produce about 70 kilograms of fresh vegetable leaves daily.

"So much."

"Then I'll exchange 100 kilograms first. By the way, do you still want steel?"

Five or six hundred kilograms of lettuce was very tempting for Wang Jianguo.

But after all, it was a luxury in the apocalypse. It was fine to eat it occasionally, but using it as a daily meal would be too wasteful.

Suppressing his impulse, Wang Jianguo rationally calculated his cement inventory and cautiously proposed a transaction amount.

"I'll buy steel too, but the price won't be that high. One kilogram of lettuce for ten kilograms of steel."

Compared to the severe shortage of cement, Su Wu's demand for steel wasn't as urgent.

Of course, this was also because Jianghe City had become a ruin after the storm.

Before the buildings were destroyed, it was difficult to collect steel due to clear property rights. But now, with most structures collapsed, home appliances, air conditioner units, and countless crushed vehicles lay scattered across the ground. Much of it could now be considered ownerless.

Under these circumstances, Su Wu only needed to return to his old profession as a scavenger. He wouldn't lack metal resources for a long time.

"Is that so? Then I'll exchange it for cement."

"I remember you have a truck that can drive automatically. Please help deliver the goods. The freight is negotiable."

Wang Jianguo's shelter didn't have specially modified vehicles. With the surface temperature exceeding 70 degrees, sending people out was too risky. He preferred to pay extra for delivery rather than pick up the goods himself.

"Okay, the freight will be calculated based on the price of 10 kilograms of lettuce."

Su Wu had no objections. One party had to handle transportation anyway, and if he took on the job, he could make extra profit.

And just as Su Wu and Wang Jianguo were negotiating,

the lettuce production figures revealed in their chat, the relatively low price, and the integrated paid delivery service attracted the attention of many night owls.

The rich second-generation Zhuang Gongzi was the first to jump in.

"I also want 50 kilograms of lettuce. I'll pay with cement."

"We can cooperate long-term. I'll buy a batch every half a month."

Only when something is lost do people truly cherish it. Zhuang Gongzi's craving for fresh vegetables was no less than his past appetite for gourmet delicacies.

"I'll take 20 kilograms. Can I pay with white wine?"

Another private shelter director, who wasn't very familiar with them, offered white wine—a universal currency in the apocalypse—for exchange.

It wasn't that his shelter lacked cement, but he had little left. To prevent running out in the future, he was reluctant to trade it.

In the apocalypse, many seemingly insignificant items could become invaluable when needed.

Therefore, any private shelter owner planning for long-term survival had to learn to be a proper hoarder.

"That's fine. If you're interested, send me your address and transaction amount in a private message."

"I'll start delivering after the city roads are fully cleared the day after tomorrow."

Su Wu accepted all offers. For him, selling vegetables was nearly a zero-cost business. As long as he could trade them for resources, it was pure profit.

In just over half an hour,

Su Wu received inquiries and transaction requests from seven or eight shelters.

Not only did he clear out his entire stock of five to six hundred kilograms, but he also secured orders for the next week.

During these transactions, through casual conversation, Su Wu gradually learned about the current state of many private shelters.

He gained a clearer understanding of the world that had just entered the apocalypse.

At present, the surface environment was indeed harsh, and underground living conditions were far from comfortable.

However, in terms of survival pressure, most people weren't facing an immediate crisis.

The rich resources and industrial technology inherited from the pre-apocalyptic era ensured that there wouldn't be a large-scale food shortage for at least one to two years.

Maybe people couldn't eat well or eat enough,

but in extreme cases, just a few bottles of vitamin tablets and vacuum-packed rice could sustain a person for a long time without nutritional deficiencies.

Of course, having resources didn't mean they were evenly distributed.

If a shelter manager controlling most of the resources was greedy and stingy enough, it wasn't impossible for people to starve to death in his shelter.