Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 76 Second Time Travel Reminder
Qin Ziwen turned around and hurried home.

He was very curious as to how this homeland, which had been completely silent since its awakening, could suddenly receive information.

Once home, close the door and summon the Home Orb.

A small ball of light floated before my eyes, conveying a message.

[The current number of households in the Jue Xing Jia Yuan community exceeds the number of surviving households by 5%. Once it exceeds 20%, the countdown to the second time travel will begin: 3 days.]

[Next stage map: No permission]

[Next Stage Stay Time: No Permission]

[Next phase of additional personnel: No permission]

Qin Ziwen's eyes were solemn. Once more than 20% of the residents in the Awakening Home community have completed the next stage of time travel.

At first glance, it seems like a long time, but now fifteen days have passed and it's only 5%.

However, the number of surviving households mentioned here means that vacant or extinct households are not included.

If a natural disaster or major catastrophe occurs, resulting in more deaths and injuries, this proportion will naturally increase.

Moreover, judging from the key information provided, new residents will be added after the next crossing.

It's unclear how this will be done—whether it will involve directly entering unoccupied houses or integrating with new residential communities.

More importantly, there is a second time travel.

Ice Age? Great desert? Island? Grassland? Or perhaps the plains downstream of a river, or even deeper into the mountains behind it?

He had lived here for half a month and actually thought it was quite nice.
It has abundant resources, is close to a water source, and has a suitable temperature.

If we change locations, it's not certain that this place will be as suitable.

Turning around, Li Tieshan walked into the blacksmith's shop. On the anvil, he kept hammering iron ingots, shaping them into the parts required by the blueprints.

Behind Tieshan, Xiaowu was operating the bellows to purify the iron ore.

Qin Ziwen called out to his younger brother, "When you're done with this, go cut some wild boar meat and come with me to trade for coarse salt."

Qin Ziwu's face was flushed red by the firelight. He stared at the color of the flames, pulled the bellows to control the temperature, and replied without turning his head, "Okay! Wait until I'm done with this."

"Clang!" Li Tieshan put down the iron hammer in his hand and said to Qin Ziwu, "You go with the master first, I'll operate the bellows."

"It's okay, you guys go ahead and do your thing, I have something to take care of."

After leaving the blacksmith's shop, Qin Ziwen went to the animal cage and noticed that the hay stored on the ground next to it was almost gone.

They carried three cages to the eighth floor.

After knocking, Deng Wen opened the door a crack and said, "Uncle Qin, my parents went to the rooftop to smoke meat."

"Okay, I'll go take a look. Keep these traps at your house for now. Tell your parents about it later. Also, don't open the door if a stranger knocks," Qin Ziwen reminded him before leaving.

"I know, I only opened the peephole after I saw it was you," Deng Wen said with a giggle.

Yesterday, Dad brought back a large piece of wild boar meat, and this morning Mom cooked a big pot of cartilage soup.

Many people in the neighborhood are struggling to get enough to eat, and the surrounding land has been almost completely scraped up, leaving it bare. Yet, she can often eat meat. She knows in her heart who is responsible for all of this.

At the dinner table, Dad described the dangers Uncle Qin encountered when he killed the wild boar, as well as other people who were gored by wild boars and are still recovering at home.

Upon arriving at Tianlou, Qin Ziwen saw Deng Guang smoking meat. "You're just smoking it like this? If you don't marinate it with salt, it won't last long."

Deng Guang lamented, "Where am I going to get salt? I don't even have enough for my own consumption. I'll take some to smoke first; smoked salt will keep longer than unsmoked salt."

Qin Ziwen said, "There are people in the neighborhood who have salt wells, right? I'm planning to go there to trade some. Do you want to come along?"

Deng Guang hesitated: "Will he sell it? The price won't be too outrageous, will it?"

"Probably not. He needs to sell the salt to make a profit, and it's coarse salt, not refined salt. He can't fill his stomach just by eating salt."

Back at his residence, Qin Ziwen gathered Zhao Pu and Deng Guang, and together with Qin Ziwu, the four of them went to Zhang Bo's place.

Zhang Bo's house was easy to find. Ever since he acquired the salt well, he had been selling coarse salt in the neighborhood.

Arrived at Unit 2, 202, Building 4.

A plaque reading "Yanshan" hangs at the entrance.

Judging from the style, it looks a bit like it's imitating Renhetang.

However, compared to the bustling Renhetang, Yanshan was much quieter.

After knocking, the door opened. Standing behind the door was a man of medium build, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, with ordinary features. He was so plain that he might not be recognized in a crowd. His only distinguishing feature was his thin lips.

After opening the door, he first looked Qin Ziwen up and down, then glanced at the people behind Qin Ziwen.

We warmly welcomed them, saying, "Come in, have a seat."

Inside Zhang Bo's house, two burly men were still sitting, and a faint smell of smoke still lingered near the sofa where the three of them had been sitting.

"Nine out of ten people who come here are buying salt." Zhang Bo sat down in the main seat. "Come, have some tea."

He poured a cup of tea for each of the four people from the teapot.

After finishing, Zhang Bo leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and asked, "How many kilograms of salt do you want?"

Qin Ziwen felt something was off when he came in.

This wave gives him a deliberate feeling.

It's as if they're deliberately imitating a certain mannerism, but they lack the right vibe, so it looks somewhat incongruous.

"How do you sell your salt, and what are you trading it for?" Qin Ziwen didn't reveal his needs, because if it was for curing meat, more than two hundred catties of meat would require at least thirty catties of salt.

With such a large demand, Zhang Bo, as the seller, will definitely raise the price arbitrarily.

Zhang Bo held up one finger, making a "one" shape.

Qin Ziwen said calmly, "I don't understand. Just tell me."

Zhang Bo laughed and said, "Ten pounds of pure meat, in exchange for one pound of salt."

"How much did you say? Ten pounds of pure meat for one pound of salt?" Qin Ziwen couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

Zhang Bo gestured to Qin Ziwen not to rush, "My price is very cheap, brother. I'm the only one in the neighborhood with a salt well. I'm the exclusive owner. As an exclusive necessity, I only sell ten pounds of meat for one pound of salt. I think I'm being very conscientious."

“But this is coarse salt.” Qin Ziwen frowned. “If it were fine salt, I could consider this price, but for coarse salt at this price, the salt you’re selling to everyone is probably unprocessed.”

Zhang Bo shook his head, stared at Qin Ziwen with a mysterious smile: "I know you. Your surname is Qin. I heard you're good at food processing, and you even have a fish trap, right?"

Qin Ziwen was furious.

Thanks to Xue E's publicity, news of his possession of a fish trap spread, and it's normal for others to know that he has one.

“Here’s what we’re going to do: lend me your fish trap for half a month, and I’ll give you ten catties of salt!” Zhang Bo laughed. “How about that? You’ve really made a killing. Ten catties of salt is almost equivalent to a hundred catties of meat. If you use the fish trap for half a month, you definitely won’t be able to catch a hundred catties of meat.”

"Since you're not being sincere, then forget it." Qin Ziwen stood up, and behind him, Deng Guang and the others stood up one after another.

Zhang Bo said, "Don't be angry. Business is all about negotiation. We can talk about it. Do you think half a month is too long? How about twelve days?"

Qin Ziwen sneered: "Before I came here, I inquired and found out that other people usually exchange three or four catties of meat for one catty of salt when they buy coarse salt. But when it comes to me, it becomes ten catties of meat for one catty of salt. Your ability to judge people by their own standards is just like your business acumen. If you don't have the ability, don't put on airs here. People in the community are getting new cards every day. Do you think your exclusive business of salt well can last for more than a few days?"

After being exposed, Zhang Bo remained calm.

Business is all about asking for the moon and settling for the moon.

Watching Qin Ziwen's departing figure, a sinister glint flashed in Zhang Bo's eyes.

After leaving Zhang Bo's house, Deng Guang and Zhao Pu comforted Qin Ziwen.

"Ten pounds of meat for one pound of salt. If we need to cure our meat, these two hundred pounds of meat won't be enough to buy salt. We'll end up owing him a hundred pounds of meat!" Qin Ziwen said, speechless.

Qin Ziwen said, "I've dragged you into this. If it weren't for me, and you were the ones making the deal, he wouldn't have asked for such an outrageous price."

Deng Guang said, "What are you saying? We are a group, and besides, this meat is thanks to you."

Zhao Pu comforted him, "It's alright, we'll just have someone come and buy it again later. Anyway, he'll definitely sell the salt."

"Beep, beep."

There were footsteps behind me.

A man chased after them; he was one of the people who had been chatting with Zhang Bo earlier.

The man asked, "Do you need to buy more salt?"

"Did Zhang Bo call you here?"

The man shook his head: "It has nothing to do with him, it's my own family's property."

After hesitating for a moment, the man said embarrassedly, "Back when they were releasing nuclear wastewater, I stocked up on two cases of salt at home, and I haven't finished them yet."

　Two more chapters will be released around 3 AM. Those who are going to sleep, don't wait; you can read them tomorrow morning.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)