Cave Refuge

Zachary had prepared two types of goods, one being the high-grade large strawberries produced by the Hundred Fruit Tree, and the other was a food additive kit.

Assessing the quality of strawberries was very convenient; by tasting them to see if they were delicious, one could determine their quality.

The evaluator randomly sampled a strawberry and indeed found its quality to be quite good, but the score given by just the strawberries did not suffice to secure a seat on the transport.

As for the food additive kits provided by Zachary, truth be told, most people would have looked down on them before the catastrophe, but in these times, when spices were scarce, these food additives had become very practical.

Just as people often say online, "Even shoe insoles, if breaded and fried, could make the kid next door cry with envy," the effect of food additives was even stronger than breadcrumbs!

However, without professional equipment, it was impossible for ordinary people to assess the food additives.

By observing their appearance? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Since food additives are concentrated reagents, their color is either solid or transparent, and one simply cannot distinguish the quality of the additives by their appearance.

By distinguishing their smell?

Someone who suggested this must never have seen real food additives; normally, whether it’s the powdered packaging or the vial of concentrated liquid, the scent is quite pungent. Ordinary people, let alone differentiating quality, would feel dizzy and lightheaded from smelling them too much.

Tasting them directly?

That’s even more preposterous; if the additives aren’t used in the proper ratios, and you use a little less, it’s alright, but if too much of a certain reagent is used, then the whole pot will be dominated by its flavor.

If one directly tasted the concentrated essence, it could result in a temporary loss of taste.

This was why the evaluators couldn’t make a decision themselves and had to contact their direct superior.

"Hello, I am the person in charge here, Israel. Can you confirm that the effects of these items you’re providing are consistent with the effects noted on the packaging?"

"Confirming isn’t difficult, I assume your transport has temporary kitchenware. Even if it doesn’t, there should be such things in the camps of the Officials. Using these to cook a meal for a taste test wouldn’t take much or long, right?"

Despite already believing Zachary’s words after hearing his suggestion, Israel still selected a bottle of flavor enhancer from the kit and took it out for verification.

The result of the verification was naturally accurate since the product itself had a long shelf life and, furthermore, Zachary had always kept it in a time-stopped storage space, so its quality was unaffected.

After getting the results of the tests, Israel seriously asked Zachary, "If you are selected, how much food additive can you provide this time, and how many strawberries of the same quality?"

When Israel asked, Zachary deliberately hesitated before replying, "A total of 100 kilograms of various types of food additives, and for the strawberries, ten per box, a total of one hundred boxes."

Hearing the quantities Zachary reported, Israel internally calculated the value of the goods.

The quality of the strawberries Zachary provided was very high; Israel hadn’t even tasted strawberries of such quality before the catastrophe. Although it seemed that Zachary was providing a lot of strawberries, in reality, the amount wasn’t that significant.

Ten per box, with a total of one hundred boxes, may seem like a lot considering the large size of the strawberries and the bigger packaging boxes, but in total, they amounted to less than half a standard cargo container.

And the seemingly mere 100 kilograms of concentrated food additives could actually last a long time, as only a few drops were needed for each use. Even just three to five kilograms could last a very long time with small-scale use.

After completing his estimates, Israel handed Zachary a card and then said, "We are on a tight schedule. I’ll give you one day to prepare the goods; bring over one hundred boxes of ten strawberries each and one hundred kilograms of concentrated food additives the morning after next."

After hearing Israel say this, Zachary nodded, took the card from his hand, and directly turned to leave.

Both sides tacitly did not mention the box of strawberries and the box of concentrated food additive kits that now lay on the table.

Watching Zachary walk away, Israel said to the people around him, "Bring five strawberries to my room, and as for this additive, we’ll distribute it after returning to Kyoto."

As soon as Israel spoke, the face of the employee who had evaluated Zachary’s goods earlier immediately broke into a smile.

Zachary had brought a gift box of strawberries that held ten berries. The employee had eaten one, Israel had eaten one, and now eight strawberries were left. With Israel instructing to bring five to his room, it meant he could keep three.

Regarding the promise of sharing the food additives upon returning to Kyoto, it was just something Israel had said in passing; by the time he got back, he would likely have forgotten, and even if he remembered, it would be unseemly to chase down Israel for it.

Anything a leader says about dealing with matters later is often just a formality, meant to be heard and not taken seriously.

At this moment, Zachary didn’t leave the area immediately but first went to the transport to select his seat using the card.

After entering the transport, Zachary discovered that the interior environment was quite different from what he had imagined; the area where the old man Luo was situated was comparable to the passenger aircraft before the catastrophe.