Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 87

It is easier to invite a god than to send him away.

Claire stays without hesitation. The large gems are left behind, and the ordinary gems are continuously exchanged for countless precious crafts and paintings, including a portrait of the former king. This portrait uses a large piece of parchment, and the pigments are rare mineral pigments that the painter has spent most of his life collecting from all over the world.

Just this one painting costs most of the gems.

The painting’s collector is Claire’s father-in-law, the Duke who has inherited the throne since the country’s founding.

In addition to the gems, Claire also prepares a lot of gold and other valuables, but these aren’t exchanged for gems. Instead, Claire has them moved from his own territory. Compared to Claire, Ryan is practically a pauper.

Ryan regrets inviting Claire, but it’s too late to undo it now. He can only watch the knights come and go from the stone house and endure Claire’s lectures.

“A god will never think we’ve offered too much,” Claire says smugly, showing Ryan the portrait. The former king in the painting looks pale and stiff, but to them, it is already a captivating and outstanding piece.

The colors are bright, and the pigments haven’t faded over the years. Even if the painting itself isn’t valuable, the pigments alone are worth a fortune. Mineral pigments are rare, and having so many different colors is even rarer.

“You only want what Lord Moon God needs, but Lord Moon God can get whatever He wants. Will Lord Moon God lack meat? Lack fruit? But these are offered every year at the church sacrifices.”

Claire feels smarter than Ryan as he lectures on, and Ryan can only listen in silence, feeling humiliated. After all, Claire is his uncle, with a higher title and more wealth, leaving Ryan with no grounds to argue.

Ryan even thinks, maliciously, that it would be better if Lord Moon God doesn’t accept Claire’s offerings.

The glass bird isn’t brought out to exchange for treasures. Both Claire and Ryan are reluctant to part with it, so they team up to deceive Kurt, telling him that the treasures now being transported to the stone house are exchanged for the glass bird. They claim these items will be dedicated to Lord Moon God.

Kurt has no choice but to swallow his anger in silence, not receiving anything in return.

Both Claire and Ryan leave themselves a way out. If the Moon God leaves without taking them along—leaving them immortal and excluded from the temple’s blessings—then with that glass bird, they can still live lives far better than before the Moon God ever appeared.

By then, Kurt will be the only loser.

While the three of them plot in the stone house, Kane has completed most of his tasks on the mountain.

The slaves clear the wasteland quickly, likely because they have more food than before and a place to rest. Their speed exceeds Kane’s expectations, and they’ve already finished sowing, now waiting for the harvest.

Kane also receives a batch of chickens and ducks from the Moon God. He has the slaves build a chicken coop to house the chickens, while the ducks roam freely. Kane selects more than a dozen slaves to take care of the chickens and ducks.

Perhaps because the chickens are sent by the Moon Goddess, they not only grow quickly, but also lay a lot of eggs.

A hen can lay two eggs a day!

Although Kane has never raised chickens before, he knows that most hens lay only one egg per day, which is considered good. Most hens lay two eggs every three or four days, not every day.

Every morning, the slaves’ first task is to collect the eggs.

Since they have no place to trade the eggs, most of them are consumed by the slaves themselves.

“It’s said that we’ll be having egg custard tonight.” The slaves gather together after work, drinking water and chatting.

They have become accustomed to drinking clean water. No one wants to drink from ponds or mud pits anymore. They hadn’t noticed the strange taste before, but now they find it unpleasant.

“We’re having potatoes tonight.” One of the slaves speaks with a bit of regret, “I still prefer sweet potatoes. Potatoes have no flavor.”

“Lord Kane says he’ll trade for some salt soon.”

Because Kane has been open with them, the slaves now feel a bit like the masters of the house. They discuss the price of salt, convinced it is more valuable than gold.

“I heard that one live chicken can be traded for only this much salt.” A slave gestures with his hands, sighing. “No wonder they never added salt to the porridge before.”

“Lord Kane says that without salt, people wouldn’t have the strength to work. No wonder I feel stronger now than before.”

“I heard that raising sheep requires feeding them salt.”

“Then we weren’t even as good as sheep before,” another slave says, and though they sigh, there is a light of happiness in their eyes.

They feel reborn. When Lord Kane first declares that they will become free people, they are terrified and unsure of how they will survive. But now they discover the benefits of freedom. They don’t have to be whipped, sleep together like livestock, or work tirelessly all day. They find joys beyond just survival.

Though they don’t know what others think, they are no longer willing to return to their old lives as slaves. They have only been free for a month or two, but it feels like they can no longer remember what it was like to be slaves.

Or perhaps, they never thought about it back then.

They are numb puppets, too tired to think, let alone talk. They only ever look forward to the next bowl of porridge.

Kane sits aside, talking with Ira. He is too busy to handle everything on his own, so after observing for a while, he asks Ira to become his assistant.

“My Lord asks me to build a temple.” Kane’s voice wavers with uncertainty.

Lord Moon God’s original instructions are for Kane to build a supermarket. Kane knows what a supermarket is: it’s the temple where the Moon God lives, full of everything.

Ira quickly responds, “That’s a good thing! If you build the temple, you’ll be a priest, and the Moon God will never abandon us!” Ira’s smile is so wide it nearly reaches his ears.

Kane quickly corrects, “You’ve never seen a temple, so you don’t know how magical it is! How could we build something like that?”

Kane describes the temple to Ira in great detail.

Ira listens carefully, and the more he hears, the more his eyes shine with longing. The temple is described as a vast building, filled with layer after layer of shelves, stacked high with things they have never seen before. Unlike the empty temples in myths, this temple is a place that stirs people’s deepest desires.

Countless foods and items—things that have only ever existed in their imagination—would be on those shelves, easily accessible to all. Even the wealthiest king wouldn’t know where to start when faced with such a temple.

Kane sighs. “That’s why I’m worried.”

Ira pauses for a moment and then says, “Maybe Lord Moon God means we just need to build a place for shelves? Just make it bigger? Lord Moon God knows everything. He must understand that we have nothing to put on the shelves,” Ira whispers.

Kane blinks in realization, his mind clearing. “You’re right, Lord Moon God knows everything!”

He stands up, pointing to an empty space. “This place would be perfect! But since it’s a temple, it must be built from stone.” Kane frowns. “We’ll need more manpower.”

Building a stone house is very different from building a wooden house. They don’t have adhesives and can only rely on the weight of the stones themselves to fit them together. Therefore, the stones cannot be broken or fractured; they must be whole, large stones. To make them fit tightly, they must be polished into squares.

Whether it’s polishing, carrying, or stacking, a lot of manpower is required.

With their current workforce, it will take at least two or three years to build a large stone house.

Kane doesn’t have that much time. He wants to present the house to Lord Moon God, and ideally, it should be finished within six months. So, his only option is to bring in more manpower.

However, if he wants to find more slaves, he must discuss it with Ryan. Kane has no connections and doesn’t know where to find merchants who buy and sell slaves. By working through Ryan, he hopes to establish some future connections.

After making arrangements for Kane, Ye Zhou doesn’t visit the cliff as often. He plans to go up once a month, preferably around the fifteenth of each month when the moon appears rounder, which is more suitable for the role he plays.

Occasionally, Ye Zhou asks Zou Ming to bring something to Kane, mostly involving seeds and farmyard manure.

Ye Zhou has learned the last time he visited that there is no fertilizer in this place. The soil is becoming poor and thin. The people here have devised a solution—taking breaks. They plant one piece of land in a given year and let the previous plot rest to recover its fertility. However, there are lazy individuals or places where land cannot be reclaimed easily, so the soil is deteriorating and yields are getting lower. Without intervention, starvation will follow.

Today, Ye Zhou is heading to the cliff again.

Except for the dimensional box, Ye Zhou carries nothing.

They walk without any burdens but are still well-prepared. Not only do they have more suitable tents, but there are also various convenient foods.

Inside the dimensional box, the time for all items is stagnant. There is no air or oxygen in the space, and even fresh food doesn’t spoil. Cao’er Niang has even cooked a pot of tomato-flavored hotpot for them to enjoy on the road.

Ye Zhou is highly satisfied with the dimensional box, more so than with the protective shield. He has spent a long time at Luoyang Base before receiving the protective shield, but here it is essentially useless, leaving Ye Zhou feeling a little disappointed.

He consoles himself, believing he will eventually find a dangerous plane where the shield will be useful. But this comfort doesn’t quite ease his disappointment, as he truly doesn’t want to encounter danger.

After reaching the cliff, Ye Zhou uses a drone to send a message to Kane.

The black drone has a strange design. It flies steadily, carrying a sealed letter. As soon as it appears, it captures the attention of all the slaves. Those working in the fields look up, staring at the flying object in fear, not recognizing it as anything other than a bird.

Someone shouts, and the slaves begin to scatter, attempting to flee into the woods.

Kane immediately shouts, “Don’t run! Don’t go into the woods! This is Lord Moon God’s pet! It’s here to deliver a message!”

Many slaves don’t hear Kane’s words and have already fled into the woods. A dozen or so slaves, however, are slower and, upon hearing Kane’s shout, hesitate and stand frozen.

The drone hovers in front of Kane. He takes the letter gently, opens the envelope, and reads it quickly. A relieved smile spreads across his face. “Lord Moon God is coming tonight.”

The slaves immediately cheer, “Great!”

“Lord Moon God is coming again!”

The slaves hiding in the woods, hearing the cheers, begin to come out. Although they don’t fully understand what has happened, they know there is no danger, so they return one by one.

Upon learning that Lord Moon God is coming that night, the slaves are overjoyed, as if they have drunk wine, and embrace each other in celebration.

They no longer see their lord as the true master but feel that the Moon God is their true master, and they, the Moon God’s people.

“We should build a statue for Lord Moon God!” one slave shouts excitedly. “Let everyone look up to the Moon God!”

“We should dedicate everything we have—our souls included—to Lord Moon God!”

“I am only willing to be the servant of Lord Moon God! My children, and my children’s children, must all serve Lord Moon God!”

They shout, and Kane, moved by their enthusiasm, shouts along with them, “Yes! We must build a statue for Lord Moon God! Even if Lord Moon God doesn’t come again in the future, we must make sure everyone knows His true face!”

Even though the Moon God’s current form is just one of His countless faces, it should still be immortalized, so that future generations remember this benevolent and great God.

Kane continues, “We must also build a temple for Lord Moon God! A temple!”

The slaves respond with loud cheers.

Hiding behind a tree on the cliff, Ye Zhou: “……”

He ducks his head in embarrassment, feeling utterly mortified. A statue… seriously?

What will they think once they discover there is a continent across the sea, full of people who look just like him? And if one day, another plane merchant comes to this world and sees his statue…

Someone will definitely connect the dots and realize he is just a plane merchant pretending to be a god.

Not only has he faked divine authority and made himself the Moon God, but now they are even going to build a statue of him.

Ye Zhou nearly suffocates at the thought.

Sarah, unaware of Ye Zhou’s discomfort, happily says, “Not bad. At least they know how to be grateful.”

Ye Zhou awkwardly responds, “You don’t have to repay me like this…”

Sarah smiles, “Boss, now you’ll have something to brag about in the future.”

Ye Zhou gives her a blank look. “What am I going to brag about? Brag about having a stone statue built for me?”

That will definitely become part of his black history. If that statue really gets built, it will haunt him for centuries, and he’ll choke every time he thinks about it.

In the future, when people here notice that he looks like people from another continent, they might realize he’s just a liar.

Ugh. Gratitude is fine, but this kind of gratitude? Please, no.

Ye Zhou can only despair at the thought.