Li Xiuming, a college classmate.
The two have a good relationship. After all, they passed the night together, passed the exam, and had chicken together. They can be called the "three irons" of friendship.
However, Tang Yu almost didn't recognize it. In my memory, Xiao Ming was a very gentle man, and his hair was much longer than it is now, but now, his whole person gave him a clean and neat feeling.
It was as if the two hadn't seen each other for several years.
But in fact, not long before the apocalypse broke out, the two met in school, but they had experienced the life and death of the apocalypse, and it suddenly seemed like they had experienced spring and autumn several times. Seeing familiar faces again, Tang Yu couldn't help but recall the campus full of youth and books before the end of the world.
"Let's go, let's see how you look. You've just arrived in Lindong. I'll take care of you."
Li Xiuming saw that Tang Yu was holding an entry guide given by the guide, and without any explanation, he pulled Tang Yu into a restaurant on the street.
There are some shops on both sides of this main road, not too many, but the variety is quite complete.
Restaurants, clothing stores, daily necessities stores, bars, etc. were there before the end of the world and are still there now. This shows the prosperity of Lindong.
There are also some shops with a more apocalyptic atmosphere, such as shops selling homemade guns, shops selling materials for demonized beasts, and there are also pre-apocalyptic martial arts masters who have opened martial arts gyms in the shelter. It is said that the business is very booming.
… …
The two chose a seat by the window. Li Xiuming handed the menu to Tang Yu, "Come on, Old Tang, take a look at this menu. This is something you can't eat outside, so don't be polite to me."
When Tang Yu looked at the menu, he saw that they were all very common home-cooked dishes before the end of the world, such as braised eggplant, spicy shredded potatoes, homemade tofu, etc. In the end of the world, this was indeed quite a luxury, and many small shelters would not even eat it. Without such dishes, only Lindong County has a wide range of ingredients and can afford such home-cooked meals.
Of course, the prices are not cheap. Tang Yu pointed at a few items at random. The waiter on the side did some calculations and said, "Twenty yuan in total, thank you."
Seemingly seeing the confusion in his eyes, Li Xiuming explained with a smile, "Twenty yuan is the price of twenty kilograms of grain. Now the common currency in the shelter is food stamps, which have face values of one kilogram, two kilograms, five kilograms, and ten kilograms. It is different from the food stamps of decades ago, but more like the currency before the end of the world. The difference is that food stamps can be directly exchanged for food. Of course, food stamps with a face value of one kilogram can only be exchanged for food. A pound of the most common grain."
"Also, in these restaurants now, you pay first and then serve the food. In the past, there were people who ate Bawang Meal, but it was useless to catch them. They simply didn't have the money to pay, and the result was nothing. So now, restaurants, It’s all paid first.”
Li Xiuming found two crumpled food stamps with a face value of ten pounds from his pocket and was about to hand them to the waiter.
Tang Yu shook his head when he saw this. Although Xiao Ming acted very boldly, he still saw the slightest trace of pain in the other person's eyes.
He understood that Li Xiuming was just an ordinary person after all. In this environment, he might have done better than the average survivor, but he wasn't much better.
These two food stamps with a face value of ten kilograms were probably saved by Li Xiuming. They were enough for ordinary survivors to survive for a month. Tang Yu had no reason to let Li Xiuming spend so much money.
"I'll pay for it."
He took out a source crystal and handed it to the waiter.
Li Xiuming wanted to speak, but when he saw the Source Crystal, his expression was complicated, "Okay, you can actually take out the Source Crystal. You must be an awakener. Hey, it's a pity that I don't care whether it is the initial awakening ring or the later awakening." Potion, no matter how hard I try, I can’t awaken.”
Tang Yu didn't know how to speak.
In the last days, everyone wants to be an awakened person. Even if they don’t go out into the wild, becoming an awakened person will have advantages over ordinary people in work. Who doesn’t want to be an awakened person
From his perspective, he is not qualified to persuade.
On the contrary, Li Xiuming smiled instantly and said, "Forget it, I don't care anymore. Anyway, at least I have a regular job and my life is much better than that of ordinary survivors. Compared to those people, I am at least lucky. .”
"On your part, you can't waste the talents of the Awakened. If you have savings, you'd better go to the official store to buy some equipment, such as firearms, or alloy swords specially made by the military. I heard from those Awakened that they are very easy to use."
Tang Yu nodded.
Li Xiuming's words were very reasonable, and it was clear that he was sincerely giving him suggestions. However, these were only applicable to ordinary awakened people, but he was already beyond this level. What's more, no matter how good the military's alloy swords are, they can Is it comparable to what is produced in his workshop
Of course, Tang Yu didn't say these words. He thought about it and asked, "Then do you know about the black market? It is said that there are many good things in the black market?"
"black market?"
Li Xiuming thought for a while, "I don't know much about the black market. It is said that the black market was originally just a place where a few awakened people used to trade some shady items, but gradually, the black market grew and became a small market. It's like the commodity trading market in the east area of the sanctuary, except that most of the items traded in the black market are useful to awakened people, including items and equipment, some wild trophies, and it is said that sometimes some items banned by the military are leaked."
Tang Yu's eyes lit up. Items banned by the military meant that it was entirely possible to buy soul power containers on the black market.
"Do you know where the black market is?"
Li Xiuming frowned, "The black market, I have only heard of a hidden place in the shelter, but I don't know the specific location. However, I heard someone say it before... In this way, I will go to work tomorrow to find out for you."
Tang Yu ordered two bottles of beer, and during the chat, the two of them talked about some post-apocalyptic experiences.
Li Xiuming did not encounter any danger after the apocalypse. When the apocalypse broke out, he happened to be working in Lindong County, which happened to be selected as a shelter by the military. He was very lucky to continue working in the factory - this job It was not very good before the end of the world, but now it is the envy of most survivors.
Fixed positions, which are very rare in shelters, fixed wages, enough food every day, and maybe some savings. Not only that, compared to the official relief housing allocated to ordinary survivors, employees with fixed positions The accommodation is much better than these relief houses.
"You don't know that when the shelter was first established, gunshots could be heard every day. I was really scared at that time. You are so amazing that you can survive in such an environment and still live so well." He sighed, "I don't know what happened to other students. I have met the school committee, 503, and two others who work in Lindong like me. Others, I just happened to meet you, Old Tang, today. Know how many people made it to the shelter alive.”
Living is a very heavy topic.
Survivors come to the shelter every day, but more people actually die on the road.
Of course, most of his college classmates were in the Lincheng area when the apocalypse occurred. The people who came to the Lindong shelter alive were not necessarily the few that Li Xiuming had seen, but there were hundreds of thousands of shelter survivors. When life is so difficult and there is a lack of contact information, it is obvious that no one is free to spend great efforts to find other people.
After all, except for a few old friends who have a deep friendship, even if there is no apocalypse, if we meet again in a few years, we will still be strangers.
"Forget it, don't talk about these depressing words. Old Tang, you just came to the shelter today and haven't found a place to stay yet. If you don't want to live in those relief houses, you have to go to the housing management center to choose a house."