Night fell.
Since the boss had gone off to discuss business and had yet to return, the caravan set up camp in the open ground outside the south gate of the outpost.
Drawn by the tantalizing smells from the outpost's north gate, two caravan guards slipped out of the camp around mealtime, hoping to trade some chips for food.
However, what the two had not expected was that when they swaggered up and slapped their chips onto the table, they received not the flattery and ingratiating smiles of these country bumpkins—
But...
Disdain?
The two froze for a moment.
Had they seen wrong?
"Damn it, why are they these plastic pieces again?"
With his back to the customers, Zhang Hai cursed under his breath. He raised a flour-dusted fist and tapped the price board beside him, speaking in clumsy Human Alliance language.
"Chips. Ten."
Ten chips?!
The two caravan guards' eyes widened, and for a moment, they wondered if they had misheard.
Their daily wage was only ten chips!
And that was when they were on duty.
In Boulder City, five chips could buy a decent meal. Chips were even more valuable in the surrounding survivor settlements, where three chips would usually fill one's stomach.
Ten chips for a bowl of noodles was simply unheard of!
"Ten chips?! Are you fucking mistaken?"
"Damn it, that's way too expensive!"
"You picking on us because we're outsiders?"
Yet Zhang Hai, standing behind the stall, remained unmoved by their complaints and protests. His expression did not change in the slightest.
Every player knew that those white plastic pieces exchanged for silver coins at a rate of two to one. Was it unreasonable to sell five-silver-coin ramen for ten chips?
It was perfectly reasonable!
He was already being generous by not charging them a