862 First Time Stepping Foot into the Territory, City of Money! Part 2
The distance between the two places was 40 kilometers. A fare of 0.3 exchange points was inexpensive because it was scorching hot outside, enough to numb the scalp of anyone exposed.
The tan-skinned man was pretty young, probably around 24 to 25. Additionally, he had a friendly and humble att.i.tude.
Su Mo returned the paper with a better impression of this unfamiliar Hope City.
“Alright!”
!!
After confirming the deal and the destination, the tan-skinned man turned his head to start the car.
He began to drive the car on the asphalt road toward Luna Town.
Along the way, Su Mo did not pretend to be familiar with the unique things and kept asking questions.
It did not take long for the two to become acquainted.
The tan-skinned man’s real name was Yang Wu, a person who joined the territory in Doomsday Calendar Year 2.
He was only 17 years old when he entered the territory and lacked skills. As a result, he failed to obtain the first wave of welfare benefits and did not have the chance to improve his status.
Therefore, after five to six years in the territory, he only had a residential ident.i.ty but was still working a basic job as a driver.
“I’m content with where I am right now. I’ve already surpa.s.sed ninety-nine percent of the ordinary people of the wasteland with my current ident.i.ty. It’s useless for me to overthink!
“Besides, I get a few customers daily, enough to get by. On top of that, I am even left with some savings. Where else would I find such a comfortable job in the wasteland?”
Yang Wu shouted with satisfaction as the scorching wind blew against his face.
His att.i.tude was similar to the natives of the past who lived in the imperial capital.
Although they did not have prominent family backgrounds or high-paying jobs that others envied, they had surpa.s.sed an ordinary person’s ten years to even a hundred years of effort with just their ident.i.ty and a worn-out house.
“How about you, Mr. Su? You must’ve been a prominent figure to be able to buy an ident.i.ty in Heaven’s Origin,” Yang Wu turned his head and asked curiously.
“Me? I was just an ordinary person lucky to have struck gold.” Su Mo shook his head and turned his gaze to the farmland beside the asphalt road.
Due to the magical plants he had left behind, plus the subsequent harvest from the ents’ territory, Heaven’s Origin’s fields grew very well. The territory was now self-sufficient and even had a certain surplus.
In addition to the imported food, the territory would indeed have a surplus of food to survive the disasters.
“Hmm? Are these people selling watermelons?”
The weather was scorching hot.
Ahead of them, Su Mo noticed a watermelon stand on the side of the road. Seeing the crowd lining up in front, Su Mo could not help but feel amazed.
This was the only road from the train station to Luna Town. Therefore, countless travelers would pa.s.s by this route.
In such hot weather, watermelons were a hot product even though it was slightly more expensive.
Unsurprisingly, before Yang Wu could answer, Huang Xiaojuan and Oreo, who were sitting aside, immediately raised their head with desire when they heard the word “watermelon.”
“Alright. Could you pull over here so that I can buy one?”
Su Mo instructed Yang Wu to park nearby and nimbly hopped off the carriage. Then, he walked straight to the watermelon stand.
“Five hundred grams of watermelon sells for one Origin coin, which is about 0.05 exchange points.
“A seven-kilogram watermelon would cost about 0.75 exchange points… That’s a little expensive!”
For ordinary people of Green Fruit Territory, one point per month was enough to survive one month.
Although the income in Heaven’s Origin was higher, watermelons still were considered a luxurious product. Most people would probably hesitate to even buy one in a few months, except for holidays.
However, Su Mo knew he could not take the exchange points to the real world, so he did not feel bad about spending them.
“That’ll be 0.84 exchange points for this 7.8-kilogram watermelon. I’ll charge you only 0.8 points for it! Thanks for supporting us!”
Compared to the “Origin coin” of the territory, the value of exchange points was much higher as the possibility of devaluation was much lower.
Therefore, after hearing that Su Mo was willing to pay with exchange points, the store owner happily rounded off the amount and even helped to cut the watermelon into slices.
“Mr. Su sure is rich!”
Seeing Su Mo walk back with a bag of sliced watermelons, Yang Wu licked his dry lip while wearing a complicated and envious look.
He recalled the last time he ate watermelon, which was last year.
At that time, watermelons were about to go out of season. Therefore, he finally decided to buy half a watermelon to satisfy his craving.
After that one time, the price had always been an enormous obstacle in front of him. At times when he had enough in his pocket to afford a whole watermelon, he still could not bear to splurge it like Su Mo.
However, his complicated emotions completely disappeared when Su Mo returned and handed him a few slices.
He glanced at the watermelon skin that was icy cold that exuded a whitish mist and the s.h.i.+ny red melon flesh of the fruit.
He gobbled a mouthful into his stomach, and the heat he felt was gone instantly.
A 7.8-kilogram watermelon should have been a lot for three people and one dog.
In the end, Oreo devoured the remaining 4 kilograms plus watermelon under Yang Wu’s envious gaze.
“Mr. Su, you should spend wisely. You need money for everything in the territory…”
Yang Wu restarted the car engine. His att.i.tude was much better than before, and he even began to earnestly share the expenses needed in the territory.
“You’re a newcomer, so it’ll be impossible to buy a house that costs at least hundreds of thousands of exchange points any time soon, even if you have a job right away, right? Plus, there are plenty of regulations in buying a house.
“That means you’ll have to spend a lot to rent a place.
“Let’s not talk about the cheapest house in the city as that’ll cost about five hundred points per month. Even in Luna Town, a single room will cost eighty points per month, which will be nine hundred sixty points for one year of rent!
“After renting a place, you’ll also need money to pay for meals, right? There are two of you with a dog. The minimum expense for food a day is 0.6 exchange points. One year will cost you about two hundred plus!”