Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 93

The construction of the wooden house, much larger than any other on the mountain, proceeds steadily. Nearly all the strong men in the territory join the effort to build the house, while the women stay behind to tend their fields, cultivating and watering.

The men working atop the mountain are mostly shirtless, busy cutting wood and removing stumps from logs. Kane doesn’t rest either, joining the workers in their labor.

When he is a slave, labor only fills him with bitterness and hatred. But now, perhaps because this work is his own choice, he finds satisfaction in it. For the first time, labor gives him a sense of happiness.

The construction of the wooden house itself isn’t overly difficult. With everyone’s combined efforts, a large wooden house is completed on the mountaintop in less than two weeks.

Once the house is built, Kane shifts focus to creating “shelves” for the store. Without steel, they rely on wood. And since they have no nails, Ye Zhou provides them with plans for making wooden frames using mortise and tenon joints.

The civilians, illiterate and only able to understand pictures, struggle with this task. Compared to constructing the wooden house, making the mortise and tenon frames, which require more precision, takes significantly more time. After wasting a great deal of wood, the supermarket branch finally takes shape.

In comparison to a real supermarket, this wooden structure resembles more of a 1980s grocery store—or perhaps even worse. There is no adhesive to seal the cracks, so the wooden house has gaps that let in air. But the roof, tightly woven with many layers of local leaves, is sturdy enough to withstand anything short of a heavy rainstorm or large hail.

Once Kane arranges the basic layout of the branch, Ye Zhou brings the goods and the simple cash register purchased from the system. This register is different from the one in Ye Zhou’s own supermarket; it doesn’t require a power source and is instead driven by a light source. As long as there is light, the register functions, and it also has a backup energy reserve for when there’s no light.

Of course, it isn’t cheap, and this “cheap” energy is only for business-related products from the system. The system prefers to sell consumables that need constant restocking, only offering better deals when it comes to “earning money.”

Ye Zhou still doesn’t appear in front of everyone. Instead, he sneaks into the “supermarket” late at night and asks Sarah to call Kane to him.

The servants who once work in the stone house now abandon it, moving to the wooden house on the mountain. The mountaintop, now more like a town, transforms.

After the supermarket is set up, the civilians at the base of the mountain start constructing houses for their own families. As they build, they instinctively leave space for pedestrian paths and maintain a reasonable distance between buildings. They unintentionally lay the groundwork for a town, all without Kane’s guidance.

If not for the difficulty of clearing land and the limited space on the mountain, all the civilians from the valley below would likely crowd in. But this won’t take long. Once more tools become available and land reclamation becomes easier, the civilians will likely begin moving up—many already start building their homes on the mountain.

This time, Ye Zhou brings Kane some information on composting. Since the branch can’t sell expired goods, the only items they can trade are likely agricultural products, meat, and grains. Pesticides and fertilizers aren’t available, so they have to rely on traditional methods.

The people here have never learned to use farmyard manure, instead running to the woods to excrete away from their land. They view excrement as unclean and believe it harms the soil’s fertility.

Kane accepts the information from Ye Zhou, treating it like a priceless treasure. He asks carefully, “Lord Moon God, are you leaving?”

Ye Zhou nods. “I’ll teach you how to use these things before I go. After that, I’ll leave.”

The system has unlocked the next two planes, and Ye Zhou has chosen the next one. He doesn’t plan to stay much longer. It’s better to teach them how to fish than to just give them fish. He has given these people enough to survive; what happens afterward is up to them.

People’s fates depend on themselves. External forces can only do so much.

“You have to be careful,” Ye Zhou warns Kane. “You need to understand how precious these things are. If others find out, you might face trouble. If I’m not here, not many will fear you.”

At first, people might fear the Moon God’s existence, but as time passes and the Moon God doesn’t show up, it’s hard to say what they might try if they see no consequences.

Ye Zhou adds, “I’ll leave you ten pistols, six machine guns, and four rifles. Who you give them to and how you use them is up to you.”

Kane knows what a gun is. He has seen Chen Shu shoot birds with one.

He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. He doesn’t know what to say. The thought of the Moon God leaving him fills him with dread. Once the Moon God leaves, he’ll lose his backbone, and he isn’t sure he can carry out the task assigned to him.

“You don’t need to worry too much,” Ye Zhou reassures him. “The roads are blocked, and everything here is self-sustained. As long as there are no rats sneaking in or out, no one should discover what’s happening here for the time being. Even if they do find out, you still have your noble status to protect you.”

Although Ryan is only a viscount, in this country where there are few nobles and most people are illiterate, that status is quite high.

“And Kurt,” Ye Zhou adds, “You need to watch him closely. He’s useful, but he’s also full of schemes. When you feel like you can no longer control him, don’t hesitate.” Ye Zhou glances at the swirl above Kane’s head. “If you follow my advice, you might still be alive when I come back. You’re in a position now where you can’t afford to hesitate.”

Kane immediately replies, “I know, My Lord.”

Ye Zhou approaches Kane, places a hand on his shoulder, and softens his voice. “Come here. I’ll teach you how to use these things.”

Kane’s hands clench into fists at his sides. He bites his lip tightly, his eyes reddening. He sniffles, forcing himself not to cry.

Ye Zhou places the goods in a dimensional box and plans to distribute them once he’s ready to leave.

It takes him two hours to teach Kane how to use the cash register. Kane isn’t a quick learner. He struggles to convert Arabic numerals into Roman ones in his mind. Ye Zhou has to adjust the machine so it displays Roman numerals instead.

While Ye Zhou teaches Kane, Zou Ming carries boxes of goods into the warehouse, placing them in the storage room.

Afterward, Ye Zhou leads Kane to the warehouse. Before the branch is constructed, Ye Zhou tells him to leave space for a warehouse. The door to the warehouse should be sturdier than the supermarket door.

Kane follows those instructions, though his “warehouse” is more like a cellar compared to a true storage room.

Maybe because they don’t have enough manpower to build a solid warehouse while constructing the supermarket branch, they take a different approach and dig a massive cellar. The cellar is supported by logs, which act as pillars. The door to the cellar is made from the thickest wooden boards available.

In this era, the only thing that could be safer than this wooden door is likely a stone door.

The goods brought by Ye Zhou fill the cellar almost completely. Most of them are daily necessities, such as pottery pots and basins purchased from the system at a low price. These items don’t expire or mold like food. The land here doesn’t have suitable clay for making pottery, so these goods are relatively expensive in this area.

For most civilian families, the pottery pots are likely the most valuable possession they have.

Since pottery pots are fragile, most families use broken ones, unable to afford replacements.

When Kane and Ye Zhou walk into the cellar, they are met with a dim light and a collection of items that are considered priceless by the local civilians—seeds, pottery pots, and various farm tools, as well as dozens of bags of bacon and jerky.

Kane has seen more magical and luxurious things in the “temple,” so he doesn’t show much surprise.

However, he knows in his heart that, compared to the fine wine and holy grails in the “temple,” these seeds and farm tools are what the people here truly need.

Ye Zhou says, “You need to train your own people and teach them to read. Even if they can’t write, they must be able to read.”

Aside from the Luoyang base, the Daliang Dynasty, and here in the various planes Ye Zhou has visited, illiteracy is widespread.

People like Cao’er Niang and Zhou Wen find learning difficult, but they aren’t stupid. Whether it’s farming, working, or learning how to use things in the supermarket, they can understand once they’re taught.

The challenge, however, is that reading and writing their own names is seen as a rare achievement. They resist learning, and Ye Zhou can’t understand why, though he’s thankful that children’s learning abilities aren’t worse than those of modern children.

The inability to read or write doesn’t affect Ye Zhou much personally. But whether Kane can train others to read and write is vital.

The only literate people around here are the male servants and butlers who follow Ryan. Although these people are now with Kane, their true thoughts are unclear. It would be better for Kane to train others who can be trusted.

Kane softly replies, “I know, Lord Moon God. I will remember everything you’ve said.”

Ye Zhou looks at Kane.

Kane has shed his panicked demeanor and no longer looks like a young man, but rather a calm, adult male.

Ye Zhou smiles and says, “Be careful.”

Before leaving, Ye Zhou pats Kane’s shoulder again.

Strictly speaking, Kane has only just come of age in modern times, but Ye Zhou has no better choice, and neither does Kane.

Ye Zhou walks up the steps to the cellar, and Zou Ming already reaches out his hand to help him.