Su Lin and Zhao Yaxin walked out of Gouhuo Tavern, uncle and sister-in-law stopping at the entrance of the market.
Zhao Yaxin paused her steps and turned around.
As her waist lightly swayed, the taut skirt hem outlined a plump curve, coincidentally exposing a segment of her fair, lotus-like calf.
She reached into the pocket at the side of her skirt, pulled out a faded, whitened small wallet, extracted a small stack of Silver Coins, and handed them to Su Lin, her tone still cool:
"The old man instructed that these Silver Coins are for you to pick some blueprints at the market and properly arm your safe house."
Su Lin took them, feeling them slightly heavy.
He bowed his head for a careful count, discovering there were actually seventeen coins, far more than the ten his grandfather had promised.
"Sister-in-law, this…" He hadn't finished speaking when Zhao Yaxin interrupted.
"The extra comes from my savings."
Her gaze slightly lowered, avoiding Su Lin's eyes, her voice softened a bit, "Consider it… repaying you a little for the favor with the Treasure Meat. And also…"
She paused, her plump lips imperceptibly pressed together, "Thank you for buying Yingying that toy yesterday, she… was very happy."
Saying this, her usually cold-as-a-spring Phoenix Eyes, waves of sentiment slightly flowing, seemed to contain countless words, yet carried a trace of elusive shyness, quickly glanced at Su Lin and swiftly looked away.
Su Lin had never seen such vivid expression on her cold and charming face before, causing his gaze to be unwittingly attracted, but he spoke with seriousness:
"Sister-in-law, if you have something to say, feel free to speak directly."
Zhao Yaxin again keenly sensed his fervent gaze, instantly furrowing her willow eyebrows, glaring at him as if in reproach, taking a deep breath, pulling her expression back to sternness:
"Since her dad… left, she never laughed as freely as she did yesterday. She likes that doll very much… thank you."
These words, once spoken, seemed to lift a weight off her shoulders, yet stirred a wave of bittersweet sensation in her heart.
As a mother, allowing an "unreliable" younger brother-in-law to uncover such a simple way to cheer her daughter, it was unclear whether she felt grateful or embarrassed.
"Alright," she pressed down her emotions, her tone returning to indifference, "you choose the blueprints you need, I don't really understand this, so I won't accompany you."
After saying this, she didn't linger, carrying a light fragrance, gracefully swaying as she walked past Su Lin's side.
"Take care, sister-in-law." Su Lin sniffed the lingering fragrance in the air, smiling as he waved.
As Zhao Yaxin walked a dozen steps away, Su Lin suddenly remembered something and raised his voice to call out to her back:
"Sister-in-law, perhaps Yingying's happiness isn't just because of the doll, but she wants a dad!"
Zhao Yaxin stumbled abruptly.
She steadied herself, turned sharply, clenched her pink fists, her beautiful eyes filled with thin anger, glaring at the cheeky, grinning Su Lin from a distance, her cherry lips silently mouthing a clear phrase.
——"A dog can't change its habit!"
Su Lin rubbed the tip of his nose, carelessly shrugging: "I'm the dog? You are…"
Unfortunately, the second half of his teasing was carried away by the wind, unheard by Zhao Yaxin, as her resolute turn sent her figure swiftly disappearing around the village road corner.
"Tut, just kidding." Su Lin mumbled softly.
He understood why he bore the "blame" of his predecessor, comprehending his sister-in-law's coldness, but occasionally a little "retaliation" for that distance, well… was harmless.
After all, the huge favor of the Treasure Meat had already been slightly repaid on behalf of his predecessor.
He gathered his thoughts and stepped alone into the slightly empty market.
Before noon, the market was much quieter compared to yesterday, with few customers, several tin stalls even vacant, only the wind and sand rolling over the roofs, creating a monotonous whimper.
Without his second uncle leading the way, Su Lin's steps became more casual, his gaze wandering among the stalls.
Arriving at a stall with goods, he squatted down, pointing to the scattered blueprints on the ground: "Boss, may I take a look?"
The stall owner was a rugged middle-aged man with stubble, carrying a bow and a knife, raising his head upon hearing, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Su Lin? A rare guest. Go ahead, take a look."
Su Lin picked up the blueprints to examine, casually asking: "You recognize me?"
"Zheng Weimin, you should call me Uncle Min." The man's tone was flat, with a bit of hoarseness, "Used to be under your dad's command, part of Search Team 2, we got along well. If you like something, I'll give you one, the rest I'll give you a 30% discount."
Turns out he was an old subordinate of his predecessor's father.
This gesture of goodwill made Su Lin feel a bit closer, in acknowledgment he called out: "Uncle Min."
The two exchanged brief pleasantries, then Su Lin concentrated on the blueprints.
Although Uncle Min's blueprints weren't as abundant as yesterday's vendor, there were quite a few, including some rather unique ones.
Apart from the Arrow Wall and Slime Floor he'd seen at his grandfather's house, he also noticed something new—a ceiling mechanism "Swinging Wooden Hammer."
Zheng Weimin noticed where his eyes rested and advised: "Don't bother with that one. Without a Level 3 Safe House, there's no ceiling support outside, it can't be installed."
"Level 3 Safe House?" Su Lin's heart skipped, he quickly scanned the list of required materials, confirming it only needed low-level materials, then asked: "Uncle Min, is this type of ceiling mechanism common on the market?"
"Still, somewhat."
"Alright, I'll take it." Su Lin decided.
Simultaneously, he also chose the Arrow Wall, Slime Floor, and Ejection Floor, all of which required only low-level materials.
Zheng Weimin saw his persistence, furrowing his brows but not stopping him, just calculating:
"I'll give you the Wooden Hammer and Ejection Floor for free. For the rest, two Silver Coins for each Arrow Wall, three hundred copper for the Slime Floor, give me one thousand six hundred copper."
He calculated the Silver Coins directly at a rate of one thousand copper, even offering a discounted round-off.
Su Lin felt warmth in his heart.
He handed over two shiny Silver Coins, with a sincere smile: "Thank you, Uncle Min! Still, let's make it two Silver Coins, I've already taken great advantage, any less and I'd feel bad."
He shook the remaining dozen Silver Coins in his hand.
Zheng Weimin saw he was financially capable, no longer declined and deftly accepted, then solemnly spoke:
"I've heard the rumors about you in the village these days… surviving well is better than anything."
"Yes, thank you, Uncle Min." Su Lin responded earnestly, getting up to bid farewell.
He was truly surprised, apart from his grandfather's family, his predecessor's parents had also left him several precious human connections in this post-apocalyptic world.
After wandering once more in the market, Su Lin bought the various materials required to manufacture the new mechanisms.
The trash he painstakingly collected yesterday was sold off today as it was, incurring a loss, selling cheap, buying expensive, spending more than a Silver Coin.
If he had known, those items from yesterday might have been better kept for personal use… although he couldn't get past his second uncle's hurdle.
Finally, he discovered something new at a corner stall, the equipment blueprint "Rare: Hand Crossbow."
The manufacturing requirements were the same as a basic Hand Crossbow, with identical materials needed, yet it boasted greater power than a Hand Crossbow without needing a blueprint.
According to the stall owner:
Equipment manufactured at a build table is of the most basic "worn" grade, above which there are "ordinary," "rare," and even higher tiers.
Regrettably, the rare hand crossbow blueprint in his possession was rather awkward.
Its power was akin to a handgun, but the flaw of not being able to fire continuously coupled with the blueprint's restriction to five uses, along with the reluctance to sell cheap at its high price, left it always sitting unsold.
Su Lin patiently engaged in a back-and-forth negotiation with the stall owner.
From the stall owner's outrageous initial price of twenty Silver Coins, he persistently haggled, finally securing it at a "bleed-through" price of thirteen Silver Coins.
Holding the lightweight blueprint, Su Lin felt no distress, his eyes instead flickering with excitement.
If this rare Hand Crossbow indeed compared to the power of bullets, how would it be after he enhanced it tenfold?
Thanks to his sister-in-law's cold-on-the-outside but warm-on-the-inside demeanor, granting him an extra seven Silver Coins, otherwise he would've missed this blueprint.
Su Lin returned to buy the materials for making the hand crossbow, leaving him with only a few hundred Copper Coins from the seventeen Silver Coins in his pocket.
This money doesn't last long.
However, Su Lin was quite satisfied, now ready to leave the market.
Then he noticed a stall selling clothes, promptly recalling the slightly undersized garment on his dear Humpty Dumpty back home, and stopped his steps.
Spending another 80 Copper Coins, he bought two different styles of brand new dresses to take home.