Chapter 95: Can I Take Three Portions Without Any Objections?

China, ten years into the apocalypse, has indeed reduced numerous bloody incidents through the regulation of theft and knife control.

This should be the essence of the second step, right? Perhaps the cruel third step is about to begin.

However, Jing Shu was surprised to find that work points had already started to gradually replace the "soft currency" (possibly a reference to RMB). Those who had just recycled seasonings now had virtual currency recorded in their ID cards, which could be used to exchange for food at major supermarkets. In the future, these would gradually replace RM coins, and paper money would slowly become worthless. This virtual digital record in the ID card would eventually replace paper currency.

Staff members were explaining how many points were needed to exchange for various items while discussing current prices.

“2 points for a portion of white rice, 0.5 points for a portion of mushroom fried rice.”

“One pack of pepper costs 0.5 points, half a bottle of soy sauce costs 1 point, one spoonful of cumin costs 0.1 points, half a pack of sugar costs 3 points.”

“A set of bedding costs 1 point, a piece of clothing costs 0.1 points...”

Then someone asked, “How many points for a bun and meat?”

The staff replied, “Only metal iron and knives can be exchanged for buns and meat. Others cannot. Buns and meat are scarce resources, and if you come late, you might not get any.”

This forced everyone to hand over dangerous items like kitchen knives, and it was done very proactively and willingly.

This made many people decide to exchange a portion of their household knives, even searching everywhere for knives and other weapons. After tasting the white buns and meat, they no longer wanted to eat moldy mushrooms and nauseating rice. Once they tried it once, it became uncontrollable.

This time, the checkout counters at Aijia Supermarket had added an ID scanning machine. The stainless steel buckets filled with large portions of white rice emitted an enticing aroma, much tastier than the previous rice mixed with mushrooms.

There were also buckets of mushrooms that had been cooked in some way but still emitted a foul smell. Sometimes they were unbearably salty, other times they had no flavor at all, just a musty odor.

Additionally, there were shelves filled with white buns and pots of braised meat, the aroma wafting into the plaza. The sound of rumbling stomachs could be heard, silencing those who previously complained about the poor quality of food.

Now the meals were improved, but items needed to be exchanged, and eventually, those items would run out. What then? It might still be better to have them for free.

Yes, these items would eventually be exhausted. What would people do when they had no resources left?

No worries, hadn't many people died before? Go to their homes and take items. You could also search various factories and closed stores. Of course, you'd find most stores empty, as shop owners had already taken their items to exchange for resources.

Moreover, the government’s pressing issues were soon perfectly resolved.

Jing Shu’s family squeezed through the crowd from the old item recycling plaza to the water collection area. They discovered that in addition to collecting their own water, they could spend work points to collect more: 0.5 points for 500ml of water, equivalent to a portion of mushroom fried rice.

From an economic perspective, this should be called stimulating consumption and accelerating currency circulation. Only when you are motivated and have the desire to consume will you strive to earn money, which in turn increases the society’s GDP, and with higher GDP, the people’s living standards improve...

Jing’s grandmother whispered, “Shh, our family doesn’t have anything to exchange outwardly. They’re exchanging very little things. Trading seasonings for water isn’t worth it.”

Jing Shu agreed. The biggest shortage was in the first year; later on, it wouldn't be about water scarcity but facing other problems. Of course, starting now, water scarcity would worsen because the scientific channels were predicting daily that the corrosive insects would soon rule the Earth.

Today, the community chat was excitedly discussing their gains. Most people in the community hadn’t eaten meat for too long. Eating braised meat now felt like flying on happiness.

Everyone was thanking Wang Qiqi in the chat.

Fat Girl, Unit 25: “Thank you so much @Wang Qiqi13! When we exchanged for meat, everyone around us looked enviously. Following you, we’ll definitely have meat to eat!”

Wang Qiqi13: “Today, we searched twenty deceased neighbors’ homes and exchanged over 60 knives and other items for meat, totaling 90 points. Today, we went to 27 people, assigning 3 points each, but I split it into three portions: 9 points and 3 pieces of meat. From now on, in similar activities I initiate, I’ll take three portions. Just to clarify.”

Young Master with a Child, Unit 13: “You should definitely take more portions. No matter how those neighbors died, you organized their keys and registered their corpses, managing all those messy things. Without you, we wouldn’t have found so many knives and gotten meat today.”

Wang Xuemei: “I have no objections.”

Zhang Bing Bing’s Husband: “You did nothing and just directed. Why should you take three portions? Today you took three portions, fine, but why take three portions in the future? Plus, registering the corpses included 1 jin of rice, right? How much did you take alone?”

Zhang Bing Bing’s Young Husband: “Agreed. Why should you take three portions every time in the future? Everyone says it’s right, isn’t it?”

The chat fell silent for a moment.

Jing Shu was initially focused on Wang Qiqi. This person was quite cunning. Now, some people in the chat looked up to him. Today, he dared to state that he wanted three portions, indicating he was confident.

Having been active in the community for half a year, earning much goodwill, Wang Qiqi had effectively made a strategic move, successfully convincing everyone. Jing Shu couldn’t find a reason to argue. His contributions and handling abilities justified his taking three portions.

But Jing Shu quickly turned her attention to Zhang Bing Bing’s husband. What the hell? How are there both a big husband and a little husband? If Jing Shu remembered correctly, wasn’t Zhang Bing Bing the woman who was previously forcibly taken?

Wang Cuihua sent a voice message: “Zhang Bing Bing, when you were driving with me, didn’t you say you didn’t have a man? Recently, you were forced into that situation. Now, why did you suddenly get two? If you’re having difficulties, talk to me. Are you being coerced?”

Zhang Bing Bing’s Young Husband: “None of your business, old hag. Zhang Bing Bing likes catering to both of us. She loves the intense contrast, especially playing with three people together.”

Zhang Bing Bing’s Big Husband: “Why don’t you join us too?”

Wang Cuihua cursed loudly: “I spit on you two shameless old perverts! You’re nothing but scoundrels!”

Seeing the situation was getting out of hand, Wang Qiqi called a few people, including what he considered the most violent person, Jing Shu. A few of them, armed with sticks, went to Zhang Bing Bing’s house.

“I suspect Zhang Bing Bing is being coerced. Otherwise, why would a normal person suddenly find two people? And these two aren’t normal,” Wang Qiqi said while walking.

Jing Shu, wearing a sleeveless top and ultra-short shorts, carrying a wolf-tooth club, was sweating profusely. Today, the temperature had risen another 2 degrees Celsius, reaching 46°C. If she remembered correctly, since June, the weather had entered an extreme high-temperature phase, and temperatures were expected to keep rising daily.

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Author's Note:

While eating, I hurriedly finished the manuscript and even posted some pictures for everyone to see. Thanks to *Yueyue's Fairy Tale*, *Tian Qiuqiu*, and *Yaya Qiao* for their generous rewards! 🥰