Chapter 11 White Stone Energy​​

Five hundred jin (approximately 250 kg) of sweet potatoes. The seller shipped them the same day Qin Qing ordered, and by the next afternoon, she received several sacks weighing slightly over the ordered amount.

Compared to other staple grains, sweet potatoes were the easiest to cultivate and least demanding on the land, thriving in most places. That was why Qin Qing had chosen them.

The afternoon was slow with customers. After transferring the sweet potatoes into her personal space, she headed to the Dimensional Supermarket behind the back door.

Looking at the prompt on the vending machine, she tapped into the Dimensional Supermarket’s control panel and asked: "Can I use the White Stones?"

Since the upgrade prompt had appeared, she’d been certain these so-called White Stones were some kind of energy crystal. It was just that in this world, no one understood their purpose, leaving them scattered in the forest.

If the Dimensional Supermarket could use White Stone energy for upgrades, perhaps her personal space could too.

An answer soon appeared before her eyes.

In summary: Yes, she could use them, but she couldn't. Not really.

As she suspected, White Stones were indeed energy crystals, akin to spirit stones in cultivation novels, each containing potent energy. However, utilizing them required a corresponding cultivation technique. Despite possessing a personal space and being bound to the Dimensional Supermarket, Qin Qing was fundamentally just an ordinary person.

If she tried to forcibly absorb the White Stone energy, the only outcome would be—exploding and dying.

"And the Sunset Woods having no animals... is it because of this?"

​​[Yes]​​

Qin Qing immediately placed the White Stone in her hand back into the vending machine’s storage compartment. She was good at taking advice. If it said she couldn’t use them, she wouldn’t. She firmly rejected foolish risks.

After understanding the situation with the White Stones, she opened the vending machine interface again and selected ​​[Confirm Upgrade]​​.

Soon, the upgrade was complete.

The upgraded vending machine now had an additional window for both "Sell" and "Buy."

The "Sell" window this time didn't suggest items but provided a list of options: leaves, branches, wild greens, durian, and others. Nothing particularly valuable. After hesitating, she finally selected "Durian" for the slot.

The durian trees in that grove were plentiful. While durian could fill stomachs, it wasn't a proper staple food. Eating it meal after meal wasn't good for the body. Giving them a way to sell it was better.

With "Durian" set as the "Sell" item, "Sweet Potatoes" naturally became the "Buy" item.

When setting prices, Qin Qing paused. She decided not to base them on modern prices. She set the selling price for durian at "1 dollar/jin" and the price for sweet potatoes at "2 dollars/jin."

A typical durian weighed around four to five jin. The flesh weighed at most half that, meaning selling one durian (yielding about 2 jin of flesh) earned them about 4 dollars.

For the same price, 4 dollars could buy them 2 jin of sweet potatoes, essentially trading durian flesh for sweet potatoes at a 1:1 weight ratio.

This price ratio wouldn't fly in the modern world. But here, selling durian flesh to get an equal weight of sweet potatoes was clearly a very advantageous trade.

Just as she finished setting it up and was about to call someone, she heard customers entering the supermarket and immediately went out.

A little girl who loved snacks had come in, but with limited pocket money, she spent over twenty minutes carefully picking and choosing snacks totaling ten yuan.

With nothing pressing in the store, Qin Qing sat behind the checkout counter, watching the girl while scrolling through her phone.

The photos and videos she had posted earlier had garnered some responses, though few. No one believed she was actually in another world.

"Nice Photoshop job. Two moons look totally natural."

"Seriously skilled. Can't see any editing traces at all."

"That cliff overlook angle is killer. When's the blogger doing a sunset version? It'd be gorgeous."

"Is this some game's beta? Looks hyper-realistic. If it's a game, ping me! Scenery lovers need beautiful vistas!"

Qin Qing read the comments under her photos, then opened her short video app to check the video comments. There were a few more here, though most were focused on the durians.

"Whoa, those durians look plump as heck."

"Durians are a bit cheaper this year. Got a link, blogger? Wanna buy."

"Why the climbing up and down? Videos I've seen, people just chuck 'em down. Climbing looks exhausting."

"Lol, bro, you talking about that 'Why Durians Are So Expensive' vid? Scared I'd get brained every time. Seems like the catchers are the real risk-takers."

"Enough talk. Gimme the link."

"Where'd the blogger find these actors? They look so thin."

Qin Qing read through all the comments and replied to those asking for links: "Durians not for sale. No link."

She wasn't bothered by the lack of people focusing on the "other world" aspect. She started scrolling through other short videos, catching up on online gossip.

Since the apocalypse descended, what she missed most was these carefree days of browsing gossip. After the world ended, no one knew when the next extreme weather event would strike or what form it would take. Everyone lived on edge, knowing each new disaster initially claimed millions of lives. Humanity wasn't as resilient against nature as imagined.

Qin Qing had her personal space and thought she could survive a few more years. But even she didn't know why she died suddenly, without any warning, simply never waking up during one extreme weather event.

Now, faced with the endless stream of celebrity gossip, she didn't hold back, generously liking and commenting, expressing her opinions, immersing herself in the fun scandals during the final year before the world turned.

"Sister, I'm done picking," the little girl announced, looking confidently at Qin Qing. "Ten yuan total. I calculated it."

"You're that good?" Qin Qing asked, scanning items at a leisurely pace. "If you got it right, I'll give you a lollipop as a reward."

"Really?" the girl exclaimed excitedly.

"Of course! Confident?" Qin Qing deliberately scanned slowly, taking several seconds per item, waiting for the girl's reply.

The girl hesitated briefly, then nodded firmly. "Yes. I counted several times."

"Then let's see," Qin Qing sped up her scanning, finishing the last item. She looked at the screen. "Wow, exactly ten yuan!"

"I told you I was right!" The girl hopped up and down by the counter.

"Mm-hmm, and I keep my word. Here's your lollipop," Qin Qing pulled a lollipop from a small decorative holder nearby and dropped it into the bag before handing it over.

"Thank you, sister!" The girl beamed, grabbing the bag and running out. She immediately pulled out the lollipop, calling "Mama!" as she ran, clearly heading to brag.

Qin Qing smiled, watching her go. As the girl disappeared, Qin Qing started to get up, only for more customers to enter.

Business today was noticeably better than previous days. Customers weren't exactly streaming in non-stop, but a steady trickle came every few minutes. Before one group left, the next would arrive. Some customers bought heavily, hauling away two or three cases of drinks and alcohol at once.

The evening rush was busy too, keeping Qin Qing so occupied she only had time for a quick bread roll for dinner.

It felt like all the customers who hadn't come in the last few days had saved up their shopping for today. Asking around, she learned a family in town was hosting a banquet, bringing in many guests and consequently, more foot traffic to her store.

The combined sales for the afternoon and evening far exceeded the total of the past few days. As she had thought before, the little supermarket's monthly profit, averaged out, could indeed cover basic living costs.

But she hadn't come back intending to seriously run a supermarket. After the latest customer left, she quickly pulled down the security shutter. Time to rest meant time to close up! Closed! Lights out!

Securing the store, she remembered the items she'd set in the vending machine that afternoon and headed into the Dimensional Supermarket.

Night had fallen. The ancients had little nighttime entertainment and typically rested early. Yet, as Qin Qing approached the Dimensional Supermarket, she saw someone sitting on a rock, holding a wooden staff, intently watching the supermarket door.

Seeing Qin Qing appear, the person immediately stood and bowed. "Celestial Master."

"Why aren't you resting?" Qin Qing asked.

"The Celestial Master was delayed with business. We stand guard for you," the person replied, sincerity shining in their eyes. "We absolutely will not allow outsiders to trespass."

Qin Qing didn't explain the nature of the Dimensional Supermarket, simply thanking them with a smile. "Thank you for your hard work."

"Not hard at all, not one bit," the person chuckled awkwardly. "The Celestial Master's residence is extraordinarily splendid, especially bright at night. I could gaze upon it for three days and nights."

"Three days and nights without sleep won't do. Go back and rest now. I'll close the door," Qin Qing walked to the entrance, closing one of the large doors. She remembered something else. "By the way, did you see the new item I added today? The sweet potatoes?"

"That's what they are called? Sweet Potatoes?" The person took an excited step forward. "Delicious! Extremely delicious! Everyone ate their fill! Celestial Master, can we really plant those sweet potatoes?"

"Of course," Qin Qing nodded. "Store them properly. Once they sprout, cut them into pieces, and plant them. Tomorrow, I'll write instructions on how to plant sweet potatoes. Find someone literate to oversee it. Plant them now, and you can harvest in the autumn. That way, you won't have to worry about food this winter."

"Thank you, Celestial Master!"

Seeing the person about to kneel again, Qin Qing immediately waved and shut the door firmly.

Once the door was closed, she patted her chest. If the title "Celestial Master" weren't so much more convenient than "ordinary human," she would never have tacitly allowed them to call her that. All this kneeling and offering... she was genuinely afraid it might shorten her lifespan.

As long as she didn't see it, she could pretend the kneeling and offerings didn't happen. Offerings? What offerings? Those were clearly just gifts!