Chapter 41: Preparing to Visit the Supermarket in The Gilded Ward

Sev Steele didn’t care what Hayden Hanson thought. She was absolutely exhausted today. After hastily washing up, she returned to her bedroom.

Rusty had already thoughtfully carried Rose and Silvy to their room.

Even though sleeping four children plus a domestic-cat-sized Mutant Bamboo Rat on one bed was far too crowded, their adoptive mother worked so hard that they had to let her get a comfortable night’s sleep.

During the settlement, the children had all been shooed back to their rooms. Rusty didn’t know exactly how much their adoptive mother had earned today, but it was definitely a substantial sum.

He just hoped her good luck would hold out. That way, before winter arrived, they could earn enough money to never worry about starving to death again.

***

When Sev woke up, she realized it was already past ten in the morning.

She hadn’t slept peacefully at all last night. Her dreams were an exhilarating, terrifying loop of life-and-death battles with various Mutant Beasts!

Watching Silvy’s mother fight the Mutant Coral Snake before had been horrifying, but she had merely been a spectator. She hadn’t participated at all. Yesterday, however, was different. Two back-to-back battles, both narrow escapes from death—it would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared.

Now, watching the sunlight stream through the window, she finally felt like she was truly alive.

The windows in the wasteland were made of a transparent alloy. This material boasted high impact and corrosion resistance, which was essential for fending off Mutant Rat swarms. Although slightly expensive, it was highly durable and generally considered a worthwhile investment.

After washing up, Sev started boiling milk. She had decided to make cheese today.

Out of the day’s three liters of milk, she set aside 200 milliliters for Silvy’s daily ration and poured the rest into a pot to heat.

Firestone tactfully helped add firewood. Taking advantage of the downtime, Sev returned to her bedroom to pick a lemon fruit.

Normally, one liter of milk required about 50 milliliters of fresh lemon juice. However, this Mutated Lemon Fruit seemed concentrated; its acidity was ten times that of an ordinary lemon fruit. Thus, a single lemon fruit was more than enough for this much milk.

The moment Sev plucked a lemon fruit, she noticed something was off about the seedling today.

Originally planted right in the middle of the wooden planter, it had somehow shifted to the corner. The entire sprout leaned outwards, looking as if it had been ravaged by fierce winds or was shrinking back in fear.

What was it afraid of?

Sev’s gaze swept over to Curly. The Mutated Quillwort seedling she had brought back was currently sprawling out its branches like a tyrannical lord.

Even though its branches were far more slender than those of the Mutated Lemon Tree, it hogged at least four-fifths of the planter’s space.

Had she brought home a little bully from The Verdant Realm?

Sensing her arrival, Curly immediately wrapped its supple branches around her wrist, nuzzling her palm ingratiatingly.

Just then, Rose walked in. Before the little girl even reached the planter, Curly immediately released Sev’s wrist and swiftly coiled around Rose’s waist. It nimbly wrapped around her several times, clinging tightly as if terrified she might run away.

Sev jumped in fright, worried that Curly might hurt Rose. Instead, she watched as Rose reached out to stroke its leafy tips.

"Be good! Stop messing around! Look at you. We’ve only been apart for one night, and you’ve already shoved Coco Holden into the corner.

"Didn’t I tell you? Both you and Coco Holden are plants. You need to love and care for each other. No bullying allowed!" Rose scolded in her milky, childish voice.

Coco Holden was the name Rose had given the Mutated Lemon Tree just last night. Before then, it had been the only tree they owned, so no one had thought to name it. But when Sev brought Curly back last night, Rose decided the other plant in the house needed a name, too.

Curly seemed to understand her words. It obediently shimmied toward the other side of the planter, freeing up a large chunk of space for the Mutated Lemon Fruit seedling.

Seeing how docile Curly was in front of Rose, Sev finally understood that it wrapping around her tiny waist was actually a display of affection.

Well, dropping a normal person like her the moment it saw a Wood Ability User—Sev couldn’t help but feel a little bitter.

After she crushed the lemon fruit, the milk in the pot had already begun to simmer with small bubbles. Sev poured the milk into a large bowl, added the crushed lemon, and stirred gently.

After letting it sit for ten to fifteen minutes, a transparent yellow-green whey floated to the surface, while the solid white curds sank beneath it. Straining the mixture through a cheesecloth and squeezing out the whey yielded soft, delicious fresh cheese.

The whey, of course, couldn’t be wasted. It was perfect for the children to drink as a substitute for lemon juice.

Fresh cheese was an absolute delicacy—smooth, silky, and melting in the mouth with a faint milky aroma and a slightly tart aftertaste. Sev took a small bite, bubbling with happiness.

Mutated Milk was relatively thick, meaning there was less loss when making cheese. The 2.8 liters of Mutated Milk yielded about one liter of fresh cheese.

Naturally, she wouldn’t forget Hayden Hanson when it came to such a delicious treat. She wanted to send Rusty over to deliver a bowl to him, but then she realized their bowls were far too ugly and shabby.

Sev decided to take a trip to the supermarket in The Gilded Ward to buy a few better-looking bowls, along with some other daily necessities.

Money was meant to be spent; she couldn’t just hoard it without using it.

The Slums actually had a small supply store. Compared to the supermarket in The Gilded Ward, its main advantage was its low prices, but the quality of the goods was generally quite poor. Since Sev had decided to live a good life here, and having temporarily solved the issue of food and clothing, she wasn’t about to shortchange herself.

When he heard his adoptive mother say she was going to the supermarket, Rusty’s little face immediately scrunched up into an ugly frown.

"Mom, the salesgirls at the supermarket look down on people from The Slums. If you go there, they’ll mock you. They might even kick you out!" the boy hurriedly urged.

Back when his parents were still alive, they had once scavenged a low-radiation wild vegetable and sold it for a good price at the trading hall. It happened to be his birthday, so his parents took him to the supermarket in The Gilded Ward, planning to buy him a few pieces of candy as a gift.

Instead, their family of three was subjected to ruthless mockery. He clearly remembered what the salesgirl had said:

"Look at how filthy you are. Don’t bring infectious diseases into our store. Hurry up and get lost!"

His parents’ faces had instantly flushed red. Without saying a word, they turned and left with him.

Later, his mother held him while his father went back to the trading hall alone. He spent ten points to rent an automated trading stall and bought him a small bag of candy from there.

That small bag only contained five pieces of candy, yet it cost a staggering 2,000 points. Even now, the memory of it made Rusty’s heart ache at the expense.

Looking at the boy’s gloomy face, Sev could roughly guess what kind of humiliation he had suffered at that supermarket.

"Rusty, we have money now. Have you ever heard the saying, ’Money is king’?

"Come with your mom to the supermarket today. I’m going to take you to wipe the smug looks off the faces of those snobbish salesgirls!"

Sev was brimming with bold confidence. Infected by her bravery, Rusty felt that even if they really were humiliated again, he would muster up the courage to accompany this wicked woman on the trip.

Although Sev planned to let her money do the talking, before heading out, she still boiled a large pot of water and scrubbed herself and Rusty spotlessly clean from head to toe.

A person could be poor, but they could not be sloppy!