117 A Kind Madam
After Du Yue was done, she gave her seat to He Xing. It was only when the staff member saw He Xing pull out the same number of cards that they looked at the two again. The staff member was no longer just surprised. Du Yue felt that the staff member might be suspecting that the two of them had done something bad and robbed the base’s vault, which was why they had so many cards.
Fortunately, the staff in the base had all been professionally trained. Even though the staff member was very curious, the process did not slow down at all.
He Xing took his card and suggested to Du Yue, “Do you want to go to the housing rental center?”
Du Yue nodded. “Alright.”
Previously, she had only paid two years’ worth of rent because she wanted to save some contribution points in case of an emergency. Now that she had so many contribution points on her hands, she wanted to extend the agreement for another year.
The housing rental center was not far from the service hall. The two of them did not drive and just walked for a few minutes. Not only did Du Yue extend her rent for a year, but she also put down 1,000 contribution points in advance to pay for the electricity. As for the water bill, it did not matter. The water pipes were frozen hard, and not a single drop of water could flow out. They were basically useless. However, one was worried about water. Snow could be seen everywhere in the base. If they boiled a bucket of it, they could get a small basin of water. Although it was a little troublesome, it was better than nothing.
After everything was done, Du Yue felt her entire body relax. Before the apocalypse, being rich meant being confident. After the apocalypse, as long as she had contribution points and sufficient food and supplies, she could still be confident! As soon as the two of them walked out of the entrance of the rental center, He Xing said, “Let’s go to the supermarket. We have so many contribution points on hand anyway.”
Even though Du Yue was not lacking in anything, she had to accompany He Xing since he had helped her earn so many contribution points. The supermarket was a little far from here, so they could only drive there. Of course, there was more than one supermarket in such a large base. However, the larger the supermarket, the more complete the supplies inside.
He Xing drove to the largest supermarket. It was a rare day that it was not snowing outside. Although the temperature was still as cold as before, it felt a little warmer without the cold snowflakes falling on their faces. Probably because of the good weather today, there was a long line outside the supermarket.
The last time Du Yue came here was when it was extremely hot. It was nighttime, and the supermarket only had one counter open. Now, the supermarket had opened ten counters. With so many counters open at the same time, it greatly reduced the waiting time and also prevented people from getting frostbite while waiting.
“It’s too cold outside. I’ll go and line up first. You wait in the car,” He Xing said.
Du Yue shook her head. “I’m not that pretentious. Let’s go together.” She was dressed in the same number of layers as He Xing, so if He Xing could line up, so could she. The two of them got out of the car and joined a relatively short queue.
Standing in front of He Xing, Du Yue stuck her head out and looked ahead. There were about 20 people in front of them. “What do you want to buy?” Du Yue turned to He Xing.
“I don’t know. I don’t lack anything at home. I just wanted to walk around.”
Just as Du Yue was about to make a comment on that, the person standing in front of her spoke first. “Young man, young lady, it’s not easy to get contribution points at this time. Even if you have savings, you shouldn’t squander them. It’s best to buy some compressed biscuits, crush them, and cook them with rice. It’s flavorful and filling. It’s also more cost-effective.”
Just by listening to the voice, Du Yue knew that the one who spoke was an old lady. Before the apocalypse, who would like to eat compressed biscuits? However, in this era, compressed biscuits had become the most important food after rice. He Xing and Du Yue naturally appreciated this woman’s kind advice.
The two of them nodded and thanked the woman. The speed at which the people in front were buying things was much faster than Du Yue had expected. After about ten minutes, it was Du Yue’s turn. Du Yue had originally come to accompany He Xing and did not have anything she wanted to buy. However, when she walked to the counter, she saw some sweet potatoes and potatoes.
The sweet potatoes and potatoes were smaller in size as if they were malnourished. Seeing Du Yue staring at the sweet potatoes on the counter for a long time, the saleswoman impatiently urged, “What do you want to buy? Hurry up, there’s still a queue behind you.” Du Yue pointed at the sweet potatoes and potatoes on the counter, saying indifferently, “Sweet potatoes and potatoes. Give me five catties of each.”