After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World novel Chapter 147

Emerging from the frame of the serene forest, the scene opened up to a lively market place, set within the wide sidewalks.

There were stalls, dozens of them, surrounded by many patrons, showing off various goods—many of which they never thought they’d see again.

There were scores and scores of people shopping around. Each one, without exception, looked neat and clean, and all of them with wide smiles on their faces.

To be honest, it was such a stark contrast to what they’ve gone through the past few days that they half-thought it was an illusion.

The guard saw them staring and explained, very patiently.

"The Marketplace is still under construction, so the stalls are basically set up along the road. We don’t have cars here yet anyway."

Their eyes twitched.

That was not the point of why they were in a daze, okay?!

Food!!!!

Legitimate food!!!!!!

No way, their feet moved on their own and they all found a random stall to stand in front of.

Jun and his family ended up at the nearest stall with a healthy old man guarding it, something they never thought they’d see.

"New guys? Welcome!" The friendly old man then took out a brown plate to show them small chunks of food. "Try out my sticky rice. If you like it, buy a bundle! Only 10 copper! 3 copper per piece!"

Just ten copper?

They bought it.

They looked at the soft goodness wrapped in leaves. They put it in their mouths and they were met with fabulous softness they didn’t think they’d ever taste after that horrible restaurant food.

"Is this really rice??" He said at the familiar taste. The color and texture was a bit different so he wasn’t sure before.

"Of course. The experts in our territory are amazing. Not only rice, but also wheat and plenty of other plants are being processed!"

They nodded and stopped themselves from buying another batch, because there were too many stalls. What would they do if they saw something they wanted and had no more money?

Fall in Despair? Beg?

"We will return tomorrow." He said, and the old man smiled in understanding.

"I will be here!"

The family, along with the others, continued perusing different stalls.

They ended up in a stall with large earthenware vats being displayed.

"Hello little girl? Do you want lemonade? Only 2 copper a cup!" He said, "Add two copper if you don’t have your own cup!"

They also bought it. With three cups, to be exact.

The rationale was they were going to use it at home anyway.

The family stopped by a corner, staring at the cups in their hands. Gulping, they drank it together.

It was a new drink. Similar to lemonade but with a bit less tang. And it was still very refreshing.

They continued for several stalls until all six hands were full.

His wife paused, looking at him worriedly. "Do we still have enough money?"

Jun paused and took a moment to calculate. He was also quite worried.

In the end, he grinned because, even after buying so much, they really still had some money left!

Amazing! How much had they bought?!

"Yes! We still have money!" He said, eyes sparkling.

Not long ago, it felt like they couldn’t afford anything no matter how hard they worked. But now… now—for the first time since they came—they could actually fill their stomachs!

His daughter, Mimi, giggled as she ate, and his wife hummed happily.

Seeing his family like this, Jun’s eyes warmed, the somberness slowly ebbing away.

Slowly, but surely, the darkness in his heart was being wiped away.

…

Billy and the others also went to different stalls, gaping and staring like idiots.

Partly, they were having the dreaded analysis paralysis. And partly, they were just overstimulated.

There were at least a score of stalls, selling different food like barbeque, crisps, dried fruit, pickled foods, juices, and non-food stuff like weaved baskets and blankets.

How many days had it been since they were transferred? Why were some people so… well-adjusted?

And…there were so many stalls, how could a day be enough?

However, before indulging, they soon remembered that most of their wealth was lost with the last two territories.

They reluctantly chose one or two stalls to buy from, promising themselves for a self-treat when they earned a bit of money.

Chewing on his rice crisp, Billy couldn’t help but gulp in worry, causing him to cough.

But afraid of wasting a speck of food he quickly drank his Dodo fruit shake to push it down.

"You okay?"

"A-Ah yes, alright." He cleared his throat while appreciating the cleansing aftertaste of the juice. Delicious.

To think he had only drunk tasteless gruel—at best—for more than a week.