Chapter 56: Market Changes

When they arrived at the trading spot, Shi Liang recognized them from afar and waved as he jogged over. "Sis, Brother-in-law, you're here."

Gu Pan looked at how freely he was moving and asked, "Are your legs all healed?"

Shi Liang nodded. "All healed, completely fine, don't worry." Then, glancing around to make sure no one was close by, he lowered his voice. "Sis, Brother-in-law, I've got some inside information. The price of milk powder is about to skyrocket—imported baby formula, specifically. I heard many wealthy families didn't stock up much because they wanted the freshest production dates, preferring to have it regularly shipped in by air. Now they're in urgent need of this stuff. If you guys have a channel to get some, grab it. You can trade it for literally anything you want."

Gu Pan looked at Lu Ruisheng, both their eyes glowing with excitement. What didn't they have? Zhuang Jie had prepared so much, and now it was all coming in handy.

She said to Shi Liang, "We actually do have a channel, though we're not entirely sure we can secure any. If there's any news, we'll come find you."

After acknowledging this, Shi Liang let out a sigh. "The rich stay rich, and babies still need to drink imported formula. Meanwhile, the kids in our building can barely afford rice paste. No matter what era it is, there's always a gap between people."

Gu Pan also sighed. "Indeed." Because even after three years, the rich would still exist; true equality between people was impossible.

Lu Ruisheng broke the oppressive atmosphere, pulling a book out of his pocket and handing it to Shi Liang. "I don't have the time to always come and teach you martial arts. This one focuses on sparring and actual combat. Practice it together with Deng Fang. In this apocalyptic world, everyone needs the skills to save their own lives."

Shi Liang took the book and said to Lu Ruisheng, "Thank you, Brother-in-law. We will definitely work hard."

Gu Pan said, "Alright, then we'll exchange a bit more gold, and after that, we have to head back."

Shi Liang said, "Sis, I don't have enough gold on hand. I need to trade with some of my friends for a bit more. Wait for me."

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng followed Shi Liang toward the crowd. They waited at Shi Liang's usual spot while he went off to gather gold from a nearby scalper with whom he had a good relationship.

After quite a while, he returned with the gold. Once the transaction was completed, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng said their goodbyes and left.

The two of them had noticed that the amount of gold circulating on the market was getting scarcer and scarcer, so today they had planned to hit every single spot for exchanges, acquiring just a little bit more than usual.

However, after making the rounds, they only gained an hour and five minutes of space time. Of course, fearing they might draw unwanted attention, they still didn't dare to be too reckless.

Originally, their remaining space time had four hours and thirty-three minutes left until full capacity. Subtracting today's one hour and five minutes, they had three hours and twenty-eight minutes remaining.

Of course, Gu Pan wasn't too worried. With supplies on hand, they could always manage to trade for gold.

Back home, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng entered the space and checked the area where the milk powder was stored. There were a hundred boxes of various stages. It seemed Zhuang Jie had lived a good life in his past life, which was why he knew so much. Gu Pan and the others had known nothing about this in their past lives because they had always lived at the very bottom, struggling daily just to fill their stomachs.

The two opened the milk powder boxes and placed two cans of each stage into a single box. They packed five boxes this way, making future exchanges much more convenient when going out.

The next day, they went to check the transformer room for any marks and ended up spotting a woman whose figure and posture somewhat resembled Li Aixue from room 902. The two followed her and watched as she entered the building controlled by Li Dong.

Everyone was wearing heavy layers now, so Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng couldn't be completely certain if it was her. Moreover, it wasn't convenient to ask the informant they had previously bribed; that person lacked experience, and contacting him too frequently made it easy to expose themselves. Besides, even if it really was Li Aixue, since she was now aligned with Li Dong's faction, they couldn't just march over and demand her. Therefore, they still needed to observe further and figure out a way to deal with her when she appeared alone.

However, if this person truly was Li Aixue, the likelihood of Li Dong being instigated by her increased significantly.

Gu Pan muttered the two names to herself: "Li Dong, Li Aixue—both share the surname Li. Surely they aren't relatives?"

Lu Ruisheng said, "It's not entirely out of the question. Anyway, we've already been cautious enough; even if something happens, we won't be caught off guard."

"That's true. Let's go."

The two returned home and brought the matter up with everyone over the walkie-talkies.

Cheng Yang was filled with anger. "If it really is her, the next time I catch her alone, I'll definitely knife her."

Chen Lang said, "Brother Cheng Yang, we'll go together. She brought those people to attack us last time; a debt like that must be avenged."

Gu Pan had watched Chen Lang grow up, and the boy had adapted to the apocalyptic world very quickly, which was related to the experiences he had shared with his parents before.

Of course, nothing was certain yet; for now, the consensus was simply to remain cautious.

Nowadays, they still went out every day to scavenge for supplies. Although they found very little at this point, as Gu Pan said, they let nothing go to waste in preparation for the future—anything non-renewable would become valuable later on.

Furthermore, Gu Pan had also informed them about the news she recently heard regarding the rising value of milk powder. Since they had visited the supermarkets quite early on, they had managed to get their hands on some milk powder, though it wasn't for infants—just regular formula—and they had hidden it near the mortuary.

Since it wasn't for infants, the price wasn't high yet, so there was no need to sell it off. She told them to keep it all well hidden; after all, they weren't lacking in food for the time being, so there was no need to rush the trade—they could just leave it and wait a bit longer.

That evening, Gu Pan took some firecrackers out of the space and distributed them to several neighbors, telling them to carry them when venturing out alone. If they encountered danger outside, they could light them to signal for help from their teammates.

The next day, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng went to Shi Liang's trading post. Seeing them arrive, Shi Liang hurried over with a light jog and led them to a slightly secluded spot. "Sis, Brother-in-law."

Gu Pan said, "We managed to get our hands on some milk powder, but we aren't sure what it can be traded for. Besides food, what else can that side offer?"

Shi Liang asked, "How much do you have?"

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng couldn't possibly pull out a large quantity all at once and attract unwanted attention, so she said, "Not much, just one box containing six cans of various stages."

Shi Liang said, "That's not a lot. I'll personally contact a buyer for you. I know you don't want to draw attention to yourselves. Don't worry, I guarantee I'll handle this smoothly and won't let you get cheated."

Gu Pan said, "Liangzi, our only goal is stability, not sudden massive wealth. Make sure you don't end up arguing with people over squeezing out extra money—it's not worth it."

Shi Liang looked at Gu Pan with gratitude. "Sis, I know. Don't worry, your little brother's life belongs to you and Brother-in-law from now on; I won't throw it away so easily."

Gu Pan smiled. "Then just make sure to protect yourself." She added, "Just make sure to find out clearly what the other party can offer in exchange. We aren't particularly fond of watches or diamonds."

"I know, Sis likes gold. I'll ask around more today, and you guys can come back tomorrow," Shi Liang said.

"Alright, then we'll come back tomorrow."

Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng bid farewell to Shi Liang and left.

After they departed, Shi Liang returned to the group of scalpers.

A burly man looked at Shi Liang with envy. "Liangzi, how is it that you're always so lucky? You keep running into these noble benefactors who take care of your business and even saved your life. If it weren't for them, there's no telling whether you'd even be dead or alive right now."

Shi Liang nodded repeatedly. "Indeed. If not for them, I really might not have survived. Let me tell you guys, you must all be very careful too—there are way too many desperate people out there right now."

Happy National Day, my dears! I've seen all your requests for updates. Don't worry, even without hitting the official serialization milestones, I'll be releasing double chapters in a few days anyway! I'm going to indulge and enjoy the holiday for a couple more days, and after that, I'll update double chapters whenever possible. Thank you all for your votes, and special thanks to Bubble Water, Pineapple, and Baby for the tips~

(End of this chapter)