The First Order

Chapter 1028: The bizarre black market

A commotion suddenly broke out in Stronghold 144, because a batch of potatoes had suddenly been hauled into the stronghold. The potatoes in the truck were so large they resembled small watermelons.

If the person transporting them in did not personally admit they were potatoes, the stronghold residents would probably not believe it.

At this moment, Zhou Yingxue was seated in the lead transport truck in high spirits as she led the convoy towards the stronghold’s marketplace. This was the mission Ren Xiaosu had assigned her. He wanted her to use these potatoes to resolve the pressing matter of the food shortage in Stronghold 144.

Although Zhou Yingxue was usually so carefree that she did not care about anyone, she still took everything Ren Xiaosu said to heart.

Now that the Potato Shooters had seen a great harvest, she would, of course, want to bring in the first batch of potatoes quickly to claim her contribution.

Wang Yuexi was having a small meeting in his office at the Policy Research Office when his subordinate came to report to him, “Director Wang, that person from the black market is bringing in a large batch of potatoes into the city. She said they’ll be given out to the stronghold residents for free. The potatoes are extremely large. I wonder where she got them from.”

Everyone in the office was stunned. “How big is big exactly?”

“They’re like watermelons,” the subordinate said and gestured. “This is great. The prices of food in the stronghold should stabilize now.”

This was indeed good news for the Northwest where food was becoming scarce.

But Wang Yuexi did not think so when he heard that. He jumped to his feet. “Where’s the convoy now? Quickly, stop them!”

Everyone in the office was taken aback. “Director Wang, what’s the matter?”

Wang Yuexi put on his jacket and rushed outside. “There’s no time to explain. Stop the convoy first.”

“But it won’t be easy to stop that person from the black market. You know her style…”

“Even if it won’t be easy, we still have to stop them.” Wang Yuexi said, “I’m running there right now.”

When Wang Yuexi arrived, Zhou Yingxue was sitting in the truck with a sullen expression. Meanwhile, two Public Order Division patrol cars were parked in front of the truck convoy and blocking their way.

When Zhou Yingxue saw Wang Yuexi coming over, she sneered, “Well done, you must think my master really regards you highly. You even dare to stop our convoy now? Why don’t we go over to my master’s right away and we’ll lay it all out for him? Let’s see who he thinks has more authority here! You had better get out of my way!”

Although Zhou Yingxue was extremely obedient in Ren Xiaosu’s presence, how could a woman who started a black market outside the stronghold be that docile? When Zhou Yingxue first arrived here, some people coveted her black market business, and her as well.

But now, all of those people had disappeared into thin air. Who knew where they had been dumped to become fertilizer for new ground?

Wang Yuexi said in seriousness, “This has nothing to do with who the future commander values. I have my own reasons for stopping your convoy. Even if we have to go to the future commander’s place to sort this out, I’m not afraid.”

With that, Wang Yuexi first had the Public Order Division officers disperse the onlookers before walking over to have a look at the potatoes the trucks were hauling.

Zhou Yingxue raised her eyebrows. “I’m doing this for the good of the stronghold. Don’t you know that my master is worried about the food shortage?”

“I understand you’re doing this with good intentions, but it could still lead to more harm than good.” Wang Yuexi was actually a somewhat proud academic. It was precisely because of his pride that he did not work for a long time back then and was disliked everywhere he went.

But when Zhou Yingxue heard him say that, she immediately turned unhappy. “Tell me, why would my good intentions lead to more harm than good? If you don’t give me a valid reason, I’m gonna have to invite you to the black market for some tea today.”

Wang Yuexi said, “C’mon, let’s head over to the future commander’s place to discuss this matter.”

“It’s fine, I’m here.” When Ren Xiaosu heard that Wang Yuexi had stopped Zhou Yingxue’s convoy, he ran over immediately. He asked, “What’s going on?”

Zhou Yingxue was acting all high and mighty just a moment ago. But when Ren Xiaosu appeared, she immediately put on a wronged look. “Master, didn’t you tell me to plant the potatoes? But when I brought the crops over, he insisted that I’m doing more harm than good. Does he think the potatoes are poisonous or something? By the way, Master, I have another piece of good news. Not only can I plant potatoes now, but I’ve also collected a number of seeds of other crops. Look, the last truck is carrying the winter melon I planted just the day before! But despite all the hard work I did to help Master with the issues our Northwest is facing, someone is accusing me instead…”

Ever since Ren Xiaosu said they were going to make the Northwest prosperous, Zhou Yingxue did not sit idle. For the first time ever, she led her subordinates from the black market to reclaim the wastelands. Then she even offered a high bounty in the black market for people to search for mutated crops, including wheat, sorghum, winter melons, tomatoes, and so on.

Zhou Yingxue’s power to absorb strange seeds had to be used on plants that had already mutated as it did not have any effect on ordinary plants.

This was the first time that such a simple bounty had appeared in the black market. In the past, the payouts were always for missions such as assassinations, selling intel, causing “accidental” deaths, and smuggling goods. But now, the mission pinned right at the top of the black market’s mission board looked extremely out of place.

This was the first time the guys in the black market realized they had such a close relationship with food. Moreover, the reward was also quite high. It was so high the killers who swore to only complete the high-end missions had gone out into the wilderness to search for mutated crops.

The slogan at the entrance of the black market had changed. In the past, it was “Enter not those who fear death.”

But that had now changed to “Tomorrow, care for the crops and vegetables. / Tomorrow, face the sea, flowers blooming in the spring breeze.”[1]

When these words were recited in the Northwestern accent, there was an exceptional sense of sentimentalism.

As a matter of fact, Zhou Yingxue really was not inferior to Wang Fugui and the others when it came to resolving the pressing issues Ren Xiaosu was facing. She was really trying her best.

Now that someone was claiming she was doing more harm than good, Zhou Yingxue could not bear this injustice!

Ren Xiaosu glanced at her. “Speak properly and don’t pretend to be insulted. No one can bully you anyways, and I’ve never seen you like this before either. Don’t be corrupted by all that bad behavior out there. Wang Yuexi, tell me what happened.”

“It’s like this, Future Commander.” Wang Yuexi explained, “You’ve mentioned the potatoes before, but as I don’t understand much about superhumans, I didn’t know the potatoes could be grown so quickly. Before I could make a detailed plan, the potatoes were already brought in. Of course, it’s a good thing that we have these potatoes. I would like to thank Ms. Zhou for her efforts first of all, but we definitely can’t introduce them into the market for free.”

In Wang Yuexi’s opinion, even though this batch of potatoes could keep the price of food suppressed in the short term, it would be a blow to the entire market if their appearance caused some of the stall owners to lose their livelihood and lead to their stock of vegetables and fruits going bad.

Of course, no one would only eat potatoes. They would still buy cabbages if they had to, but it would definitely be a lower amount than usual.

Wang Yuexi continued, “I heard from Ms. Zhou just now that she can plant other crops as well, but I don’t think it’s suitable to do so on a large scale.”

Ren Xiaosu was stunned. “Why?”

“Future Commander, let me ask you a question.” Wang Yuexi said, “If everyone does not need to work anymore to get an unlimited amount of resources for their daily lives, will they be leading an enriching or aimless life?”

[1] The poem’s title describes an ideal location for a home; overlooking the sea, and warm enough that flowers bloom in spring.

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