Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 23

The barcode scanner passes over the gold ornaments Ye Zhou left, and after a brief moment, they disappear without a trace.

Ye Zhou is careful. He doesn’t exchange all the gold ornaments for money; instead, he keeps some in storage.

After exchanging for handguns and bullets, he still has 1.3 million left in his account.

At this point, a hint of regret crosses his mind. If these gold ornaments are sold at modern prices—considering they are antiques—they could fetch over 10 million.

In this era, jade, calligraphy, and paintings hold more value. After all, gold and silver aren’t widely circulated among the lower class, who trade goods using bartering or copper coins. Gold, a rare metal that can be used as currency, circulates primarily among the upper class. Gold ornaments are thus exclusive to the nobility. For the upper nobles, exquisite jade, calligraphy, and paintings are seen as the most valuable things to invest in, while gold ornaments aren’t as highly regarded.

However, since these ornaments aren’t particularly valuable in this world, perhaps they would be more appreciated in another?

Ye Zhou remembers what Sarah said about her world, where human nobles don’t lack gold and silver, but their craftsmanship is poor. Maybe he can make a profit by reselling the ornaments there?

“There seems to be a horse in the system’s cargo section,” Ye Zhou mutters to himself as he sits in front of the computer.

Zou Ming walks up behind him. The two now share the same living space, so they’ve become quite familiar with each other. Ye Zhou deliberately forgets about Zou Ming’s origins, as it doesn’t matter much—there is a contract in place, and Zou Ming’s past doesn’t concern him.

After all, whether someone is good or bad depends on the environment they are in. Ye Zhou doesn’t dwell on it. Obsessing won’t help—he’ll only make himself miserable.

“One hundred thousand for a horse…” Zou Ming is at a loss for words when he sees the price.

Ye Zhou isn’t bothered by it. “There’s still over a million in the account. Six horses would cost 600,000. We can afford it. Water and food aren’t expensive either.”

Though the horses are costly, the reason for that is clear. These are adult mares, race-grade horses.

Ye Zhou isn’t into horse racing, but he knows that the best horses are usually mares. Mares are faster, more stable, and have better explosive power than stallions. The finest racehorses, worth thousands of gold, are mares.

At least the system has some conscience. If the horses were of poor quality, Ye Zhou might be tempted to smash the computer in frustration.

“Even with the cost of water and food, we’ll still make a profit of nearly 400,000.” Ye Zhou isn’t greedy. “That’s still a lot. I never would have dared to dream of such a profit before.”

After entering the amount, Ye Zhou presses the purchase button, leans back in his chair, and pats his legs. “It feels good to have money in the account.”

Since he realizes that he can’t return to the original plane even with enough points, Ye Zhou has pinned all his hopes on making money. The more money he earns, the more weapons he can buy and the more things he can unlock.

The safer he becomes, the longer he can live—and the greater his chances of eventually returning home.

He has earned so much, but the only two planes he can jump to are strange ones. Though the computer hasn’t given him any hints, Ye Zhou suspects that only two planes can be unlocked at a time. He needs to visit those two planes before new ones become available.

Ye Zhou isn’t about to throw himself into an unprepared battle.

At least this plane is similar to ancient China, a world he is more familiar with. He needs to prepare here before jumping to another world.

He only has one life, and he can’t afford to gamble with it.

“Those things are probably from good families.” Wu Yan looks at the small bag of gold jewelry Sarah gave him. He feels that these items are hot potatoes. Turning to Chen Liu and the others, he says, “We’ll give them back when the time comes.”

Chen Liu can’t bring himself to claim that Yang Zhi and the others are good people. He purses his lips and mutters, “Brother Wu, maybe I shouldn’t go…”

He is still haunted by his encounter with Yang Zhi and the others, and his moral compass has been shattered. That night, he has a nightmare, dreaming that Yang Zhi and his group skin him and turn him into a pool of rotten flesh.

Wu Yan doesn’t go easy on him: “They’re your mess!”

Chen Liu trembles. “They weren’t like that before…”

As they converse, Cao’er’s mother approaches and glares at Chen Liu. She then speaks to Wu Yan. “You shouldn’t have let Chen Liu go! Familiar faces don’t inspire fear. Wait after dark, then shine the immortal lantern on them. Let’s see if they still doubt The Lord Immortal.” Cao’er’s mother has come to understand that Wu Yan is the leader among the men. After several struggles, she finally realizes that she can’t replace Wu Yan’s role, and her attitude toward him has softened considerably. “Take Cao’er with you when you leave, and I’ll give you some advice.”

Everyone is taken aback, and Wu Yan whispers, “Auntie Li, Cao’er is a girl. It’s not convenient for her to travel with a group of grown men like us.”

Cao’er’s mother isn’t concerned about her daughter suffering. After all, The Lord Immortal is there to protect her. If anyone dares harm Cao’er on the journey, they’ll be doomed. No one understands The Lord Immortal’s power more than her.

“I only have this one daughter,” she sighs. “While I’m here, I can look after her. But once I’m gone, who will protect her?”

Wu Yan replies, “Even if you’re not around, Cao’er can still stay here and do chores.”

Cao’er’s mother shakes her head. “She’s too timid and indecisive. If she doesn’t toughen up, I won’t be able to protect her for long. Take her outside. Don’t coddle her. Let her make her own decisions and endure hardships.” A mother’s earnest heart shows in every word. Divide these up.”

Cao’er’s mother hands out items from a plastic box. She has helped Ye Zhou with his problems, and in return, he has given her many things.

Among the items are a crystal ball that can sing, a gold-plated doll, and a variety of small trinkets. These are all gifts Ye Zhou has given her when he notices she desires them. Of all the people here, Cao’er’s mother has the most assets.

Others would never consider spending their wages on such things, instead opting to buy food and clothes.

“Why did you decide to let her go with us?” Wu Yan asks, curious, as he eats some dried meat.

Cao’er’s mother gazes at the distance, where Cao’er is weaving grasshoppers with Sarah. Her eyes soften as she replies, “Sarah may be a demon, but she’s still a girl. She’s seen a lot and isn’t afraid of anything. Even if Sarah goes far away, her parents won’t have any worries. Parents can protect their children for a time, but can they protect them forever? Besides, marriage is tough these days. If Cao’er remains unmarried for life, will she spend her days in the supermarket, too afraid to leave?” She looks at Wu Yan. “You have a daughter, too. You understand.”

Wu Yan nods slowly, thinking of his own daughter. Though she is still a baby, he feels certain that she will step into the world of immortals one day.

If this is true, she will no longer be an ordinary girl. She will never be the uneducated village girl of the past. He understands what Cao’er’s mother means, and he agrees: daughters need to stand up.

If his family can raise an Immortal, it will bring great honor.

Wu Yan takes the golden doll from Cao’er’s mother, and the others follow suit, taking some items as well. Cao’er’s mother smiles, her expression finally relaxing.

“If you have daughters, don’t fear their suffering. In the past, parents hoped their daughters would marry into good families, but nowadays, that’s no longer a guarantee.”

Others nod thoughtfully. “What Aunt Li says makes sense. But my daughter is still young. I’ll let her join us when she turns twelve.”

“My daughter was a great tree climber back in the village. I used to worry about her falling and getting hurt, but now I see that tree climbing is a skill.”

“My daughter used to learn embroidery, but she wasn’t very good at it. She once embroidered mandarin ducks, but they looked nothing like ducks. Maybe I should let her learn to climb trees from your daughter.”

Cao’er’s mother beams with pride. “I know you all care for your daughters.”

Back in the village, daughters aren’t valued. Parents raise girls mostly for labor, then marry them off for a bride price. What happens to them afterward isn’t their concern.

After all, land, money, and energy are limited. Parents focus on the sons who can carry on the family line. Who has the time or resources to care for girls?

But these men haven’t abandoned their daughters in a time of crisis. That means they truly care.

That’s why she asks if they can take Cao’er with them.

“That Sarah—is she really a demon? She looks like a foreigner to me,” Wu Yan asks curiously as he chews dried meat.

Cao’er’s mother answers seriously, “Leech demon. She says she has to drink blood to survive. These days, she’s been eating with us and only eats blood sausage.”

“She really looks strange. Why does she have such a high nose?” someone remarks.

“And her eyes are weird too. They’re red.”

“Monsters in the storybooks don’t look like that.”

Cao’er’s mother says, “She lives in the demon world and doesn’t know what it’s like here.”

These days, Cao’er’s mother grows a lot bolder. She thinks she’s no longer afraid of Sarah—nor any demons at all, for that matter.

The men say, “I hear male demons are all monsters with blue faces and fangs. Only female demons look human.”

“Just because Sarah is a good monster doesn’t mean all monsters are harmless.”