Sausages were available at the Galaxy Mall for ten yuan each.
Jiang Ye spent 200 yuan and bought twenty.
His personal assets fluctuated slightly, leaving him with 790,867 yuan.
But there was still an important issue.
How to cook these sausages?
He had always boiled them before, but Jiang Ye didn't want boiled sausages. Sausages were meant to be grilled!
After a moment's thought, his gaze fell upon the first plantation.
Many crops had grown tall and were budding.
Corn was particularly abundant, occupying nearly half the area and standing out prominently.
Many corn stalks had withered leaves, naturally dried and drooping in a pale yellow. They were very noticeable among the green foliage.
Jiang Ye's eyes lit up, and he hurried to the plantation.
He entered the cornfield and began picking the withered leaves.
Soon, he had gathered a large pile of leaves, all concentrated in the earthen stove.
Next, he picked a few fresh green corn leaves and wrapped each sausage individually.
This way, the casing would avoid direct contact with the fire, hopefully preventing burning.
Then, he used flint to ignite the withered leaves in the earthen stove.
The fire caught quickly, flames leaping up. Jiang Ye promptly placed the twenty leaf-wrapped sausages inside.
Smoke billowed, and besides the smell of burning leaves, there were wisps of roasted sausage aroma!
His mouth immediately watered. He hadn't eaten them in so long, and the familiar scent was incredibly tempting!
The fire flared up and then subsided, burning for a few minutes before extinguishing.
Jiang Ye suppressed his excitement and waited patiently.
When the earthen stove had cooled slightly, he reached in and pulled out the sausages from the ashes.
The corn leaves outside the sausages were scorched, falling off with a puff of air.
The heat seemed to have been a bit much; nearly half the outer skin of the sausages was burnt black.
The casings had burst, revealing the red meat inside.
They were still hot to the touch, but Jiang Ye couldn't wait. He took a bite!
Damn, hot, hot, hot!
He puffed out his cheeks, blowing quickly, but his expression was one of pure joy.
Delicious!
The rich meat aroma filled his mouth, leaving it slick with oil!
Jiang Ye felt incredibly happy, devouring the sausages one by one.
Soon, all of them were gone.
Since arriving on this planet, this was the most satisfying meal he'd had.
He suddenly remembered that after upgrading his base, he hadn't notified the citizens of Cao County about the new stock.
These sausages should be a huge seller. Everyone was hungry; who wouldn't want meat?
He stood up and returned to the base.
He opened the chat channel and first scanned the public chat. There was nothing of value; most people were still trying to beg for food. As competition in the begging industry intensified, various novel methods emerged:
Liu Banxian: Fortune telling! Fortune telling! I have been studying numerology for twenty years. I can divine your career, love, marriage, and fortune. Bring food and PM me! I'm really starving to death!
Daji: Wake-up service! Selling wake-up service! Please, food and water! So hungry!
Miyako Morimi: Whoever gives me a pack of biscuits, I'll tell them a big secret they'll regret not hearing!
The Cap Cannot Be Opened: Anyone want leg photos? I need some food.
Jiang Ye scratched his head. The Cap Cannot Be Opened always had a peculiar style, always engaging in suggestive sales. He wondered how long she could survive selling photos.
Never mind, time to get serious.
He opened the chat window for Cao County citizens and sent a private message.
Jiang Ye: I have a batch of new goods here, which should sell well.
Jiang Ye: Sausages, subwoofers, and seeds. The downside is they're all ridiculously expensive. Sausages are 50 yuan each, frozen. Subwoofers are 200,000 yuan each; I doubt anyone can afford them. Seeds are 4,000 yuan a can. This is my wholesale price. You can set your own selling prices.
Jiang Ye: I've also planted a new batch of crops. I can sell them to you tonight after harvesting. There are many varieties.
Jiang Ye: Are you there, darling? Why aren't you talking?
It was strange. When he messaged Cao County citizens before, she always replied instantly.
He had sent several messages today and waited for a long time, but there was still no response.
He also hadn't seen her advertising and promoting in the public channel.
It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
Jiang Ye was puzzled. This wasn't right; shouldn't she be working hard at midday?
Could she have been eaten by a wild beast?!
While lost in thought, a message suddenly arrived.
Cao County Citizen: Who are you to call me darling, you scumbag!
Cao County Citizen: I caught a cold today, feeling unwell all over. I'm taking a temporary break. We'll talk about business tomorrow. I'm going to sleep.
Jiang Ye: You have a cold? Wait a few minutes before you sleep. I'll get you some hot water to drink.
Cao County Citizen: Ah, so warm. Thank you. I can't make hot water here.
Jiang Ye quickly went to the plantation to pick withered leaves, got a pot, and boiled water. He quickly heated two bottles of hot water and sent them to Cao County Citizen via the trading pod.
Cao County Citizen: Received! It's really hot water!
Jiang Ye: Drink it while it's hot and get some rest, darling.
Cao County Citizen: Okay, I'll drink it and sleep. You go ahead and do your thing. Thank you.
Jiang Ye sincerely hoped she would recover quickly. The reason was simple: once she started selling, she could generate a significant amount of extra income for him every day. If she was sick, that money would be lost.
He looked outside. There were three plantations in total.
The third plantation was still just seedlings. The plants in the second plantation had just flowered. The first plantation was bearing fruit, but the fruits were very small, needing about two more hours.
Jiang Ye didn't want to be idle. He got into the driver's seat and drove the base vehicle forward.
He rolled down the window and sniffed the wind.
He wanted to find a mine to open. Hunting wild beasts was too dangerous and rarely successful. Farming was mainly for sustenance; true profit came from mining!
A mine's rumble brings ten thousand taels of gold!
This time, he was lucky. The base vehicle had only driven about five hundred meters when a scent wafted in on the wind.
Jiang Ye braked and got out to sniff carefully.
This scent was very special, the most complex mineral scent he had encountered so far.
The most intense was a mulberry aroma, within which were wrapped many familiar scents, including the smell of tofu, biscuits, honey, and braised pork trotters. But these scents were very faint, almost imperceptible; one wouldn't notice them without careful distinction.
The scent was coming from the front left.
Jiang Ye got back in the car, turned the steering wheel to the front left, and floored the accelerator, driving at forty miles per hour.
After driving about a kilometer, he saw a small, dark hill.
A strong mulberry scent emanated from the hill.
Thousands of shiny black stones protruded from the earth!
Jiang Ye stopped and got out. He casually picked up a black stone the size of an orange. The stone was peculiar, with many small black squares on its surface that reflected light in the sun.
This must be it!
He returned to the base, placed it in the trading pod, and scanned it.
The mineral information appeared on the screen: