Chapter 349: Chapter 349: A Neighbor’s Warning

Zella Kane stared at Mrs. Vance in disbelief. "Ten thousand Currency for two beds? Isn’t that just blatant price gouging? We could buy two brand new beds and it still wouldn’t cost ten thousand! A new bed only costs one or two thousand!"

"Those were the prices before the disaster," Mrs. Vance remarked coolly. "Go and take a look now. See if you can even find a bed for a little over a thousand. And even if you could, in this weather, good luck finding anyone willing to deliver it."

Of course, Zella Kane knew the Currency had devalued and everything was expensive, but she still said resentfully, "No matter what, these two beds aren’t worth ten thousand Currency! You’re just taking advantage of the situation! Besides, they’re secondhand!"

Mrs. Vance rolled her eyes. "So what if they’re secondhand? That’s the price for beds these days. Besides, both of mine are solid wood, not composite board. They were expensive to begin with!"

Seeing Zella Kane about to say more, Mrs. Vance waved her hand dismissively. "Alright, alright. Take them or leave them. It’s already snowing. I can always keep these two beds for firewood... I’ll just chop them up one of these days, and then you won’t be able to buy them even if you wanted to!"

Zella Kane seethed with anger and glared fiercely at Mrs. Vance.

But Mrs. Vance was unmoved, acting as if she hadn’t even noticed.

After a moment of silence, Zella Kane forced out three words through her teeth: "Fine! I’ll buy!"

Zella Kane knew Mrs. Vance was price gouging, but she had no other choice.

The blizzard had already begun. If she went out to buy a bed now, even if she could find one, transportation would be a huge problem.

She could only accept this unfair deal.

After making the painful transfer, Zella Kane said to Mrs. Vance with a grim face, "Alright, the money has been sent. Now help us move the beds downstairs."

Mrs. Vance pursed her lips. "I’m an old woman. How am I supposed to help you move them? If you can move them, move them. If you can’t, find someone else to help you!"

Zella Kane’s eyes widened in disbelief. "You! How could you do this?! Didn’t you just say you would help us move the beds downstairs? How can you go back on your word?!"

Hearing this, Mrs. Vance rolled her eyes impatiently. "Did I say that? Ai, I’m old and getting senile. I don’t remember!"

Seeing Zella Kane about to argue further, Mrs. Vance quickly added, "Young lady, look at me. I’m an old woman. I could trip and break a bone just walking down the street... If you insist I help you move the beds and something happens to me, can you afford my medical bills?"

At Mrs. Vance’s words, Zella Kane’s face turned red, then white, then dark with rage, like an overturned paint palette.

She pointed a trembling finger at Mrs. Vance, too furious to speak. "You... you..."

Not backing down an inch, Mrs. Vance retorted, "What ’you’? Was I wrong?! You, young lady, have no respect for your elders. How were you raised? Have you no sense at all?"

Zella Kane couldn’t take it anymore. Her voice laced with anger and grievance, she yelled at Mrs. Vance, "You! You’ve gone too far! Just you wait! I’m going to tell everyone else in the complex! I’ll make sure all our neighbors know what kind of person you are!"

Mrs. Vance almost laughed out loud at this. She shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "Aiyo, young lady, don’t speak to me so loudly. I have a very delicate constitution... If you give me a scare and I have a fit, I’ll just lie right here on the floor. I won’t be able to get up for less than ten or twenty thousand Currency. You’d better think carefully before you speak to me again!"

Seeing the mocking smile on Mrs. Vance’s face, Zella Kane finally snapped. She let out a shriek and lunged at Mrs. Vance!

Zella Kane’s boyfriend, Forrest Archer, had been standing by like a wooden post. Seeing that things were about to get out of control, he rushed forward, wrapped his arms around Zella, and persuaded her in a low voice, "Alright, alright, darling, don’t fight with her. I’ll move them."

Forrest Archer coaxed and pleaded, finally managing to calm Zella Kane down. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and, together with Zella, painstakingly moved the beds downstairs...

******

Before dinner, Mrs. Vance took three jin of rice and knocked on the door of 1606.

Melody Summers opened the door and was a bit puzzled to see Mrs. Vance. "Mrs. Vance, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"

Mrs. Vance handed the rice to Melody Summers with a smile. "Miss Summers, it’s all thanks to you that I sold those two spare beds of mine! I took the money to the black market and bought some supplies. This is three jin of rice. You can use it to make some porridge!"

Melody Summers noticed that Mrs. Vance’s pants and shoes were soaked with melted snow, a clear sign she had just come in from outside. She quickly said, "Mrs. Vance, please, come in and sit down. It’s cold out there."

Not wanting to dirty Melody Summers’ floor, Mrs. Vance refused to come in, but Melody didn’t waste words and simply pulled her inside.

Sitting on the soft sofa in the living room, Mrs. Vance rubbed her hands together and sighed in contentment, "Your home is so warm!"

Just then, Grace Sutton came out as well. Seeing Mrs. Vance’s snow-soaked pant legs, it was clear she had traveled a long way through the wind and snow.

She quickly poured Mrs. Vance a cup of hot tea and said with a frown, "It’s snowing so heavily outside, why did you go out? Quick, drink some tea to warm up. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Mrs. Vance chuckled, accepted the hot tea, and replied, "They say the snow tomorrow will be even heavier than today. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get out! So I seized the opportunity to go out today. Thanks to Miss Summers, I sold those two beds of mine to 1604 and got a good sum of money for them!"

With that, Mrs. Vance took a few sips of the hot tea. The warm liquid flowed down her throat and into her stomach, the warmth gradually spreading throughout her body. Her limbs, which had been stiff with cold, slowly began to loosen up.

Mrs. Vance let out a comfortable sigh, held the teacup, and continued, "Ai, in times like these, I just don’t feel safe holding on to cash. You have to spend it as fast as you can. So I rushed to the black market, spent it all, and bought some food and coal!"

It was no wonder Mrs. Vance was in a hurry to buy things. Ever since the disaster began, currencies around the world had been devaluing at a visible rate.

An apple that cost 800 Currency yesterday could be 810 today. The prices of staples like firewood, rice, oil, and salt on the black market changed daily.

Nowadays, the poorer people were, the more afraid they were to keep cash on hand. They would exchange it for either food and water, energy, or Gold.

Mrs. Vance had taken that ten thousand Currency, bought a few jin of rice, and a good amount of coal.

With these supplies, she and her two grandchildren could have hot porridge to eat for the next half a month.

Hearing this, Melody Summers said, "The people from 1604 came to my place earlier, crying that the apartment they’re renting has no beds and it’s too cold to sleep on the floor. I just gave them a suggestion. I didn’t expect them to actually go and buy the beds..."

Melody Summers thought to herself, ’Now that they’ve bought the beds, they won’t have to sleep on the floor. The Kane Family shouldn’t be eyeing our apartment anymore, right?’

Mrs. Vance drained her cup of tea in one go, set it on the table, and said to Melody Summers and Grace Sutton, "There’s something I probably shouldn’t say... but you two are just too kind. I’m afraid if I don’t say it now, you’ll be taken advantage of!"

"That family in 1604 is a real problem... You need to be careful and watch out for them!"