Apocalypse: Last Traveler-Chapter 367 - 346: Pottery and Millstone

Pepper really whets the appetite, so much so that Lu Xi’an had Hao bring bowl after bowl, and the pancakes kept coming one after another. He and Yao Wei ate to their hearts’ content, and they directly ate up all of Hao’s stock.

In the end, there was really no more soup to ladle out, and not much meat and pork offal left, hardly half a bowl. Hao had to come out with this last half bowl, saying, "You two, I really have nothing left here, sorry about that. Next time if you’re coming, let me know in advance, and I’ll prepare more."

Lu Xi’an pushed the remaining half bowl to Yao Wei and said, "It’s fine, we’ve eaten enough, and it’s plenty."

As he spoke, he once again slapped the loosely scattered cigarettes that were still on the table, dazzling everyone.

"These are for you."

Lu Xi’an said, "I originally intended to buy your pepper seeds, but since you didn’t want to sell them, I had no choice. I’ll use these to pay for the pork soup, is that alright?"

"No problem! No problem!"

Hao laughed heartily, unable to suppress the corners of his mouth, thinking these two outsiders are really open-handed, saying what they’ll do and doing it without a hitch, while being generous with their spending.

If they come back for pork soup and pancakes, he must treat them well.

People stealing glances over at this scene couldn’t help but admire and praise.

They were afraid of Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei’s strength, no longer daring to come over and watch, but Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei’s enormous appetite and generous spending still attracted attention, making those around them steal glances, while also envying Hao for earning so much.

Not only did others feel this way, but Hu Xiaodong also was quite jealous — he rarely got a hold of cigarettes, and Hao suddenly earned so many!

Yao Wei finished the remaining soup but left the meat and pork offal at the bottom for Lu Xi’an, who ate a little and then fed the remainder to Yao Wei.

Yao Wei didn’t feel embarrassed, naturally opening her mouth, allowing Lu Xi’an to feed her the last bit with a spoon.

This once again made others envy them, thinking this handsome man and beautiful woman, showing affection so openly, can’t be good people!

"Mom, I also want to find such a pretty and sensible wife in the future!"

"Dream on, where am I going to find one for you! You go cover yourself up and dream of it!"

As Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei finished eating and were leaving the pork soup stand with Hu Xiaodong, they overheard such a conversation behind them.

Afterwards, Hu Xiaodong took Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei to the Tao Family shop in the middle of the marketplace.

While walking over, Hu Xiaodong couldn’t help but glance at Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei frequently, marveling at how these two didn’t seem to have bulging stomachs, yet how could they eat so much? Where did all the soup, meat, and pancakes they consumed go?

The Tao Family runs a shop, not just a stall, and in the space in front of it was another’s stall, selling shaved ice.

But the shaved ice here was just plain shaved ice, without any fruit juice or additions to change the taste.

Hu Xiaodong told Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei that someone had collected ice blocks when it was cold and stored them in a cellar, to use them when it gets warmer. There are additions to shaved ice, like salt, potato seasoning, sweet potato seasoning, or even, extravagantly, some pepper — although it’s a bit pricey.

The island doesn’t have much else.

So Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei each ordered two cups, trying ones with potato seasoning and sweet potato seasoning, and also tried the peppered ones; it was indeed refreshing and exhilarating, but the taste was somewhat hard to describe.

Lu Xi’an could barely tolerate the potato and sweet potato seasoning, while ice with pepper was truly hard to bear. But Yao Wei seemed to love it, finishing both cups of shaved ice quickly, exhaling lightly with a slightly satisfied expression.

After finishing, the three entered the Tao Family’s pottery shop, which was rather simple with a circle of wooden cabinets lining the walls stocked with various items — clay jars, clay basins, clay cups, clay vases, clay bowls, and clay spoons.

Beside the clay bowls and spoons was the only non-clay product — wooden chopsticks.

These must be for pairing with the clay items.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei looked around simply, purchasing two clay bowls, two clay spoons, and two pairs of chopsticks, but nothing else.

They already had plenty of things in the car, and most other items weren’t necessary, plus they came over on a small boat, and on the way back, the boat’s load capacity was limited, so there wasn’t a need to buy too much, which would be troublesome to transport.

Anyway, they had a good idea of what’s available here, and if they wanted anything later, they could ask Hu Xiaodong and his father for help in buying and delivering it up to Caiyang Mountain.

— Lu Xi’an originally planned to buy another cup, but Yao Wei said it wasn’t necessary. Drinking water doesn’t take much time, and Yao Wei suggested sharing one cup between them, so there wasn’t a need to buy two.

Lu Xi’an thought it over and agreed, putting down the clay cup without buying it.

Next, they looked around the market, finding not much that was new.

There were quite a few food stands in this market, but Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei were already full, and other foods seemed relatively commonplace, so there was no need for further experience.

And the rest were mostly stands selling various daily necessities — wooden sticks or other wood products, toys, seafood, dried fish, and even stone tools.

As usual, Lu Xi’an noted these in his mind so if they needed any of them later, they could ask Hu Xiaodong for help.

After finishing their stroll through the marketplace, the two followed Hu Xiaodong to the place of Yuan the Ironmaster as previously discussed.

Since they didn’t have any iron tools with them, they couldn’t customize anything with Yuan the Ironmaster and had to settle for ready-made items.

However, Yuan the Ironmaster didn’t have much inventory, and there was nothing that caught the eye of Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei—they wasted the trip.

But they did find something interesting to observe—a local was removing the iron blade from the wooden handle of a hoe, claiming the hoe blade was dull and needing Yuan the Ironmaster’s repair, followed by a session of haggling, leading to Yuan the Ironmaster remelting and reforging the blade.

Then someone came with a shovel, similarly composed of an iron blade and a wooden handle, saying the shovel was broken and needed fixing.

This person wasn’t as skilled at haggling as the one with the hoe, resulting in a higher final price. During Yuan the Ironmaster’s work, he chatted with the hoe bearer and learned about the price given.

Upon hearing this, he became furious and argued with Yuan the Ironmaster. In anger, Yuan rebuked the hoe owner for being clueless, saying that he got a deal and yet exposed the price, causing the three to argue fiercely, with Yao Wei, Lu Xi’an, and even Hu Xiaodong watching with great interest.

Hu Xiaodong tried to mediate the prices, but Lu Xi’an felt he was adding fuel to the fire.

After leaving Yuan the Ironmaster’s blacksmith shop, Hu Xiaodong led Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei through the marketplace back to the slope, climbing up to the fourth level, and circling around to find the island’s mill.

The mill was indeed far from Hu Xiaodong’s home, which explained why he rarely came here to grind flour.

The mill was bustling, seemingly busier than the marketplace itself, with many people sitting in line at the entrance, orderly waiting their turn. As people left from the millstone area, others went in, everything neatly organized.

Hu Xiaodong thought Lu Xi’an might want to throw a party here by buying something when he arrived, but Lu Xi’an was just observing.

Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei stood at the door watching the millstone inside, seeing people pour barley on it, then turning the millstone to grind the flour, apparently very fond of the scene.

"Mr. Lu, Mr. Yao, do you need me to speak with the mill owner?"

Hu Xiaodong watched, puzzled, wondering why these two impressive people were interested in the simple millstone?

He thought no matter what, he should treat Lu Xi’an and Yao Wei well, intending to converse with the mill’s owner, so they could have a closer look or even communicate.

But Lu Xi’an shook his head, saying, "I’m just looking."

Questions filled Hu Xiaodong’s mind, pondering how such prominent figures could be fascinated like children by such things.

After standing there confused for a while, Lu Xi’an suddenly asked, "Gou, figured it out?"

Hu Xiaodong was even more perplexed, whom was Mr. Lu speaking to?

Though at the next moment, he suddenly heard a "thud" sound emanating from Lu Xi’an’s back.

To be more precise, there was some activity from within the rattan box carried by Lu Xi’an on his back.

Hu Xiaodong startled, wondering if there was a living creature inside?! How come it hadn’t stirred before?!

However, Lu Xi’an didn’t clarify his curiosity; instead, he said, "Alright, let’s go."

After speaking, he turned around to leave.

Yao Wei followed closely behind.

Hu Xiaodong, still bewildered, had no choice but to catch up quickly. Walking beside Lu Xi’an, he asked, "Mr. Lu, don’t you want to go inside for a look?"

Lu Xi’an shook his head, "No need, as long as it’s clear."

"Clear about what?"

Hu Xiaodong still didn’t understand.

Lu Xi’an explained, "Clear on how this stone mill is made and used. I can’t always come back to the island to grind flour. Making one myself would be much more convenient."

He didn’t intend to make one as large as this, simply a smaller one for his own use and Yao Wei’s, without the need to consider others.

Over at the 923 Base, having a larger one would be best. He could attempt making one himself first and then teach Luo Ping the steps and essentials, letting them make their own when they return.

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaodong’s eyes lit up, "Mr. Lu, you figured out how it’s made?! Can you teach me, so our family can make one too?"

Lu Xi’an interrupted him, saying, "You can come and see when I make it, whether you can learn it depends on yourself. Whatever you do depends on you. Be careful not to start a business and have the mill owner come fighting you."

Hu Xiaodong’s face stiffened, he quickly chuckled awkwardly, "I wouldn’t dare, my family already has the sweetwater business, I don’t dare covet others’ trade. I just want to make one for personal use, personal use..."

Lu Xi’an glanced at him, without uncovering his deceit.