Chapter 122: Hemostatic Bandage
After replying to the others, Moira Lynch finally opened the chat window with Redlight.
The moment she did, a long string of messages popped up.
It turned out that Redlight had been trying to contact her for the past few days.
At first, he was asking about the Soldier Food Rattan, Repair Aloe Vera, and Water Storage Mushrooms.
Later, it seemed the research on the Isle Turtle dung had yielded results.
[Redlight: Boss! Boss! Boss! Are you there? The research results for the Isle Turtle dung are out! It can cure almost every known disease. How much more do you have? We’ll take it all!!]
[Redlight: Boss, just name your price. We’ll take as much as you have.]
[SoySauceDrunkard: ...]
Less than a minute after Moira Lynch sent her message, a reply came back instantly.
[Redlight: Boss, you finally replied!]
[SoySauceDrunkard: I told you not to call me Boss.]
[Redlight: Why not?]
[SoySauceDrunkard: Because I want to keep a low profile.]
[Redlight: ...]
[Redlight: Okay, what should I call you then?]
[SoySauceDrunkard: Call me Mr. Lynch. I’m the ninth child in my family.]
Moira Lynch lied without skipping a beat.
[Redlight: Alright then, Mr. Lynch. We have the Gold and jade ready. About the Isle Turtle dung... and the Soldier Food Rattan, Repair Aloe Vera, and Water Storage Mushrooms, however much you have, we’ll take it all.]
As for the Isle Turtle dung, Moira Lynch’s original plan wasn’t to charge for it, but to split the profits from whatever the scientists developed with it fifty-fifty.
But she later realized she already had the more effective Medicine Fruit, Medical Fruit, and Healing Fruit, whose properties overlapped. So, her initial plan changed.
[SoySauceDrunkard: Fine. But I want your hemostatic bandages.]
On the other end, Redlight’s eyes widened, and he froze on the spot.
Chase Shepard, who had just walked in, saw him and clapped him on the shoulder. "What’s wrong? Hasn’t SoySauceDrunkard gotten back to you yet?"
Timothy Murphy looked up. "He just replied."
Chase Shepard’s face lit up. "Isn’t that a good thing? The higher-ups have been calling to rush us several times a day."
Ever since they discovered the properties of the Isle Turtle dung, the researchers had gone crazy, calling several times a day to urge them to hurry up with the trade.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to trade—they were desperate to! But SoySauceDrunkard was just plain ignoring them.
"Boss, SoySauceDrunkard says he wants hemostatic bandages."
Hearing this, Chase Shepard said offhandedly, "If he wants them, then give..."
But he quickly realized something was off.
The hemostatic bandages were made from the outer peel of Repair Aloe Vera. The project hadn’t been made public at all. How could SoySauceDrunkard know about them?
"Boss, do you think this SoySauceDrunkard could be one of our own?" Timothy Murphy asked. "And when I was talking to him just now, he told me to call him Mr. Lynch, saying he’s the ninth child in his family."
Chase Shepard’s expression turned grim. "This information is extremely important. I’m going to report it. If he really is one of our own, this would be a great thing for all of us."
"So, Boss, should I agree to his request?"
Without turning back, Chase Shepard said, "Agree. Why wouldn’t you?"
At that moment, Moira Lynch had no idea what a huge uproar she had caused with a single casual remark.
After settling on a price with Redlight, the trade began.
The process was the same as always.
The goods in front of her vanished, replaced by a mountain of Gold.
As for the jade, it had at least been processed in previous trades. This time, it was all raw stone.
Luckily, the quality of the jade within the rough stones was good. Otherwise, Moira Lynch would have stopped doing business with them long ago.
She stored everything in a dedicated warehouse, leaving only the twenty-odd boxes of hemostatic bandages.
She had accidentally overheard talk of the bandages while testing the maximum range of her spiritual power. She swore she hadn’t been eavesdropping on purpose.
「A few days later.」
The first batch of vegetables they planted finally ripened.
Looking at the tender bok choy in the planters, Kai York couldn’t help but gulp. He swiftly plucked a leaf and started chewing it.
Seeing his ecstatic expression, Shane Rhodes couldn’t help but tease, "You’re being a little dramatic. Anyone would think you were eating some rare delicacy."
Kai York swallowed the leaf. "But it’s really good! Try it yourself if you don’t believe me, Boss. The leaves are actually sweet."
Hearing this, Shane Rhodes gave Kai York a skeptical look, but he still plucked a leaf and took a bite. The crisp texture won him over in the next second.
"It really is sweet."
And it tasted better than any vegetable he had ever eaten before.
He meant before the extreme heat.
Hugh Finch tried a piece as well and nodded in agreement.
Seeing their reactions, Moira Lynch also plucked a leaf and took a bite. She smacked her lips a couple of times. ’It doesn’t taste that special. Just like a normal fresh vegetable.’
In the end, Moira Lynch attributed the reactions of Shane Rhodes, Kai York, and Hugh Finch to the fact that they hadn’t eaten fresh vegetables in a very long time.
Although they hadn’t been without vegetables during this period, most of what they had were vacuum-packed and dehydrated. Even those were a luxury they couldn’t have every day. Mostly, they ate potatoes.
Because Hugh Finch had previously predicted that the disasters wouldn’t be ending anytime soon—that even if the extreme heat subsided, other cataclysms would follow—they had begun to consciously stockpile food.
Aside from what they would eat in the next few days, all the remaining vegetables were turned into dehydrated packs or various kinds of pickles for storage.
The fish they had caught back in Aelmar had also been smoked or dried for storage.
To celebrate the bountiful harvest, Moira Lynch cooked a feast for everyone.
There was stir-fried bok choy, bok choy with pork, braised bok choy and pork with glass noodles, sweet and sour bok choy, and finally, steamed buns filled with bok choy and pork.
Back in the old days, these would have been the most common home-cooked dishes, but now, they were an incredible luxury.
"Nice, very nice! Moira’s cooking is getting better and better," Kai York praised, nodding as he ate.
The four of them normally took turns cooking, but Moira Lynch was by far the best.
This was mainly because Moira Lynch had Patience, her cheat-like divine tool, which told her exactly when a dish was cooked to perfection and how much seasoning to add.
"Keep it low-key, low-key."
Moira Lynch picked up her phone, her eyes quickly drawn to the top news story.
"A New Food Source Has Been Discovered, a Beacon of Hope for Humanity’s Survival!!"