Chapter 354: Truly at Ease

“Brother Zhang Mu, when do you plan to set off?”

Hachikuju, drinking strong liquor from a big bowl, burped and asked Zhang Mu with a blurry gaze.

As for Qizilbash, he left his own sub-city without saying why, and planned to reunite when the main city auctioned. Hachikuju stayed with Zhang Mu to rest in a small tavern in Ordos City.

Zhang Mu thought for a moment, clinked glasses with Hachikuju, drank it all, and said with a smile, “Brother Hachikuju, you mentioned the Era Sub-merchants hold monthly auctions. The time is approaching, but when exactly? How many days from now?”

Hachikuju, feeling a bit tipsy, scratched his head and said, “It’s probably in five days, yes, five days. Luckily, I informed Uncle Peng before coming out, or I would have to go back to the sub-city to deal with matters before leaving.”

Brother Zhang Mu, let me tell you, the distance from here to Hohhot City is not something we can compare to reaching here from the sub-city. Even with Red Blood’s speed, it would take a full day and night of running, without rest, it would take even longer.

It’s so darn far, and those people are still only holding auctions in Hohhot City, making me rush there every time.”

Zhang Mu remained silent, and after Yuan Rui filled his glass, he clinked glasses with Hachikuju before quietly contemplating.

Considering the time it takes even for Red Blood’s speed, similar to the Obsidian Beetle, which is nearly twenty-four hours, it’s clear how distant the journey is. It’s best to set off as soon as possible, just like Hachikuju said, traveling requires rest, otherwise both people and horses won’t be able to endure.

Wait, Hachikuju mentioned five days earlier.

Counting the days, it turns out that in four days, it will be the day Era Store restocks its goods. Zhang Mu immediately understood the intentions of these Era Sub-merchants. They were planning to collectively empty the Era Store, essentially profiting from both ends.

While Era Merchant tasks kept going smoothly, they were also able to gather a large amount of elemental crystals and beast cores.

When the method to reach second-rank became widely known among first-rank evolvers, the prices of these elemental crystals and beast cores could increase several times or even ten times. It all depended on how many of these items were left due to the honesty of the people.

However, being an Era Sub-merchant, honesty was something that was naturally lacking.

In this world, how many elemental crystals is honesty worth? It’s not worth as much as a full meal. There is nothing to criticize about making money – if he can earn, it means he has the ability and the means. Jealousy cannot affect him, this is the advantage brought by absolute monopoly.

Zhang Mu had considered doing the same thing before. It wasn’t because his conscience kicked in, but because his main focus was on the promotion tasks of an Era Sub-merchant. The profit squeezed from his own people was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and easily subject to criticism. Unless absolutely necessary, Zhang Mu was not interested in doing it.

His only goal now was to achieve the big target of three hundred gold leafs within six months.

The racial competition was imminent. If this opportunity was missed, when the profits and losses of the era transactions gradually stabilized, it wouldn’t just be about earning three hundred gold leafs within six months. Even earning thirty gold leafs would be something to boast about for a year.

“Brother Hachikuju, shall we set off now?”

After contemplating for a while, Zhang Mu turned to Hachikuju and suggested. However, he found that Hachikuju was already too drunk to be fully conscious. He waved his hands repeatedly and said, “No, no, I’ve had too much to drink. I can’t walk straight. I won’t go, I won’t go.”

After finishing speaking, he put his head on the table and fell asleep.

Zhang Mu sighed and smiled, this wine was really strong, it could knock down someone like Hachikuju, who was a strong man from the grassland, and now a second-rank evolver.

Why wasn’t Zhang Mu drunk? Because most of the alcohol in his body was absorbed by his Blood Lotus, leaving just a slight hint of drunkenness on his face but his eyes were clear.

He waved to call the waiter over and asked, “What kind of wine is this that easily knocked down my friend who is a second-rank evolver?”

The waiter thought Zhang Mu was angry, but feeling the pressure from Zhang Mu, he stammered, “This wine is made in-house… City Lord Hachikuju got drunk because he drank too much… It’s not my problem.”

Just then, a delicate hand rested on the waiter’s shoulder, and a voice as pleasant as a bird’s chirp was heard.

“Xiaoli, you can go now, I’ll answer this customer’s question.”

Hearing this, the waiter named Xiaoli nodded, “I’ll go clean the rooms, boss.”

Boss? Zhang Mu was surprised to see that the owner of this small tavern was such a delicate woman.

Without the energy to explore, Zhang Mu didn’t even notice the arrival of the tavern owner, which probably means he’s not very observant. However, without the strength of a second-rank evolver, could this tavern be running smoothly? It would probably have been wiped out long ago.

Who is this woman exactly? Zhang Mu suddenly became interested and examined the newcomer carefully.

Dressed in yellow robes with a flowing cloud-patterned skirt, her dense black hair was elegantly tied up with a phoenix hairpin. Her gentle smile and graceful demeanor made her seem like a woman from ancient poems and paintings. If Zhang Mu didn’t know he was inland, he would have thought he had traveled to ancient southern China.

However, Zhang Mu seemed to have forgotten a terrifying fact – sitting across from him was Yuan Rui.

Seeing that Zhang Mu’s expression was off, Yuan Rui instantly felt jealous. Seeing Zhang Mu lost in thought, she stomped her foot directly and pulled him out of his reverie.

Zhang Mu gasped and calmly said, “My apologies for getting lost in thought. I was simply admiring your unique attire, which is quite rare even before the apocalypse. People from the mountains like me are not used to seeing such elegance, so please forgive me.”

Half of Zhang Mu’s words were for the tavern owner to hear, while the other half was an explanation to Yuan Rui.

Upon hearing Zhang Mu’s words, Yuan Rui released her foot but still looked slightly annoyed at him.

The woman in ancient attire chuckled lightly, her clear voice sounding very pleasant to the ears.

“This guest, there’s nothing strange about it. The lady has always longed for this kind of ancient charm, but society’s restrictions are too great, so she can only keep it to herself.

Nowadays, even though times have changed, the lady can now do what she wants. Planting flowers, running a small tavern, wearing ancient clothes, singing songs, living a more fulfilling life than before.”

Zhang Mu didn’t speak, he just set down his wine bowl, clapped his hands and looked more kindly at the tavern owner, Yuan Rui.

Even in a post-apocalyptic world, everyone lives differently. This picturesque lady in front of him, living well after a change in mindset, although the premise is being strong enough, the key lies in staying true to oneself, not changing the original her.

Even in a post-apocalyptic world, living comfortably.

This is true freedom!

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep