Cave Refuge-Chapter 245 - 243 Long-distance Trip_1

Robinson William was just about to scold Ye Liuyun for his manners, but before he could, Dong Tianyu picked up an apple from the fruit plate and gave it to him.

"We’re all brothers, no need to stand on ceremony."

Hearing Dong Tianyu say this, Robinson didn’t refuse any longer. They were all young and straightforward, not fond of the old-fashioned insistence on politeness.

Moreover, it had been a long time since Robinson had an apple, so he took the apple from Dong Tianyu’s hand and began to eat it crisply.

This apple, plucked from the hundred-fruit tree, was not only large but extremely crisp and sweet.

The fruit trees that Dong Tianyu had transplanted into his cave were still in their seedling stage.

"Why do you two have time to come over today?"

Hearing Dong Tianyu’s question, Ye Liuyun swallowed the apple in his mouth and then started to speak: "Did you go to the junkyard? Did you find anything you needed there?"

As soon as he finished asking, Ye Liuyun was worried Dong would overthink it, so he hurriedly continued: "Don’t overthink it, it was just polite talk earlier. No matter what you found over there, our previous agreement is considered settled.

If there was nothing over there, consider the ton of nitrate stone from before as the capital for your brother’s restart.

If there was plenty over there, you don’t have to inform me. Save it, so we don’t sour our relationship over some information fee.

The main reason I came over this time was to ask if you have time to make a long-distance trip?"

Ye Liuyun’s question piqued Dong Tianyu’s curiosity: "What is it? Why did you suddenly think of asking me to make a long journey?"

"We didn’t specifically ask you to make this trip. After several rounds of natural disasters, there isn’t much salt left in Pengcheng. Also, under normal circumstances, the shelf life of table salt is only about three years.

This time, Pengcheng has arranged with Salt City to send a convoy over there to trade for salt and some other supplies.

You don’t need to worry about the official convoy. We came to you because you have your own cargo truck, and as a form of compensation for the nitrate stone you provided me last time."

Before Dong Tianyu had a chance to say anything, Robinson interjected: "No need to refuse. This time you’ll be going with the official convoy. Let me be clear, although I’ve been confirmed to be one of the members going along.

But, if you go, you can only follow behind the official convoy, and if your vehicle has any problems, the convoy will not stop to assist you, so there is a certain risk on this trip."

Hearing Robinson say this, Dong Tianyu didn’t really mind. Black Car is not a regular car but a transporter class Magic Artifact. Although it’s only the lowest grade artifact, it’s much stronger than ordinary vehicles.

Moreover, Dong Tianyu can open the portal to the cave anytime, anywhere. Therefore, he doesn’t need to worry too much about vehicle safety.

What Dong Tianyu was considering at the moment was whether or not he should go. Honestly, Dong Tianyu didn’t lack salt. Although there was no table salt in the containers at Pengville Port, the logistics center had not only collected salt but also several tons of refined salt. It would take decades for Dong Tianyu to consume it all.

The price of salt at this time wasn’t very high, largely because many people were eating at the Grand Dining Hall to save energy and therefore were not aware of the quantity of condiments used.

We are now back to the planned economy of the past, where food and life supplies for survivors are distributed weekly. Therefore, most survivors do not have much surplus food at home and are not aware of the stock of various supplies in Pengcheng.

Pengcheng has never been a city that produces salt. The salt in the city is basically imported from outside.

Although Pengcheng itself does not produce salt, it is a transport hub connecting various cities. No matter the era, Pengcheng’s position in land transportation cannot be doubted, so it rarely lacks salt too.

However, the last few rounds of natural disasters almost completely severed the road transport between the cities of Daxia. If not for the supplies stored in the War Reserve Warehouse, order in Pengcheng would have collapsed long ago.

It was already a challenging accomplishment to maintain order up to this point. Although there has been constant power struggle between the Airdrop Faction and the locals in the government, it did not too much affect the general survivors.

After thinking for a while, Dong Tianyu decided to join the convoy to Salt City. Pengcheng had no surplus supplies left. If they moved any more supplies from here, it would likely hinder Pengcheng’s future recovery.

So in order to upgrade the cave, Dong Tianyu could only shift his focus to other cities.

Even so, Dong Tianyu still asked: "How many vehicles are there in the official convoy this time and how many private cars are going along?"

Regarding Dong Tianyu’s questions, Robinson didn’t hold anything back: "This journey is not just for salt exchange, but also for other supplies. Even though the high-level executives of both cities have preliminarily agreed on the phone, there is still some wiggle room and the specifics can’t be detailed."

"However, officials from our side have deployed a total of 20 cargo trucks, with more than a hundred martial artists participating in the escort. Just like when we came to notify you, there should be a fair number of private cars following along, but I’m not sure exactly how many,"

While Robinson William’s answer was rather vague, Dong Tianyu also knew that he could only get so much information from him. Even if the latter knew more, he wouldn’t reveal it.

Upon seeing the two finish their ongoing conversation, Ye Liuyun spoke up about the purpose of his visit: "Brother Dong, I’ve brought several tons of metal ingots in the car. Could you help me exchange them for some goods?"

If Dong Tianyu hadn’t heard this from Ye Liuyun himself, he wouldn’t have believed that Ye Liuyun could make such a statement.

However, after giving it some thought, Dong Tianyu realized Ye Liuyun must have felt that during their last exchange, when Ye Liuyun had traded news from the dumpsite for a tonne of saltpeter, Dong Tianyu had ended up at a loss. Therefore, this visit might be Ye Liuyun’s way of compensating Dong Tianyu.

Just like the past, when Ye Liuyun was down on his luck and sought help from Dong Tianyu, the latter would agree to the trade no matter what Ye Liyun had to offer, giving him the saltpeter that helped him rise once again.

This time, Ye Liuyun brought along metal ingots and would agree to the trade regardless of what Dong Tianyu offered, even if there was a significant difference in value.

However, if they were really to proceed in such a manner, their relationship would end here.

Being a man of means, Dong Tianyu, of course, wouldn’t do that. Upon watching the two finish their apples, Dong Tianyu stood up and stated, "Come, bring in the truck. Let’s see what you have."

Robinson William opened the metal door on the outer wall of the cave and drove the cargo truck straight into it. The truck was parked near the cave wall. Upon opening the rear cabin door, it revealed various pure metal ingots of different colors laid out neatly.

Although the height of these metal ingots spread in the truck compartment did not reach up to one-third of the entire compartment’s height, the shape of the truck’s frame gave a rough idea of the total weight of these metal ingots.

Robinson William casually picked up a metal ingot and handed it over to Dong Tianyu. "There are many types inside, I’m not sure how many ingots each type has, but the total weight should exceed ten tons."

Dong Tianyu took the metal ingot and weighed it, estimating that one ingot should weigh about twenty to thirty kilograms.

Dong Tianyu casually tossed the metal ingot on the ground, nonchalantly saying, "Unload the truck. Later on, I’ll prepare some rare items for you."

With that, Dong Tianyu climbed into the rear compartment, joining Robinson William, and began unloading the metal ingots.

As the number of metal ingots in the rear compartment became lesser and lesser, the compressed compartment also gradually raised a bit in height.

After all the metal ingots in the rear compartment were offloaded, Dong Tianyu directly asked Ye Liuyun, "Do you need anything particular? What would you like to exchange these for?"

Hearing Dong Tianyu’s question, Ye Liuyun said in an embarrassingly disinterested manner, "At this time, anything will be of use, whatever you give, I’ll take."

Seeing Ye Liuyun’s attitude, Dong Tianyu gave him a light laugh and then turned to Robinson William, "Drive the truck to the area with the containers. Since your brother isn’t specifying what he wants, I’ll gather some items you may like."

Hearing Dong Tianyu’s words, Robinson William’s eyes lit up, he quickly jumped out of the rear compartment, didn’t bother to close the door, directly ascended the driver’s seat, and moved the cargo truck to the container area.

While Robinson William was moving the truck, Dong Tianyu thought of the supplies needed for this trade. As the truck neared the container area, he had already placed the necessary items into the containers.

After Robinson William parked the truck, Dong Tianyu had the items they needed in their corresponding containers.

In front of both Robinson William and Ye Liuyun, Dong Tianyu opened one of the containers, and a strong scent of alcohol instantly hit their nostrils.

"Though it’s not made of grains, it’s actually distilled from pure sweet potatoes. Each jar weighs more than 200 pounds. Load up five jars first."

Though moving more than 200 pounds would be difficult for an ordinary person, it was quite easy for the both Robinson William and Dong Tianyu.

Just as Robinson William and Ye Liuyun were satisfied with the five jars of alcohol, Dong Tianyu opened another container. Unlike the previous one filled with alcohol jars, this one had relatively few bamboo baskets spread throughout. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Seeing the scene inside the container, both Robinson William and Ye Liuyun instantly understood the contents inside must be of substantial value. Otherwise, the entire container wouldn’t be used to store just these few items.

Dong Tianyu alone went into the container, pulled out two watermelons from the baskets and stuffed them into Ye Liuyun’s surprised arms. He then turned around, took out two bags of apples from another basket, and handed them over to Robinson William.

Robinson William weighed the apples in his hand, guessing that one bag of apples was slightly heavier than metal ingot he brought, with a total weight probably around thirty or forty kilograms.

Both of them stared in disbelief as Dong Tianyu shut the container door. Just as they saw Dong Tianyu preparing to open a third container, Robinson William quickly interjected, "Okay, that’s enough. The value of the alcohol alone is not lesser than that of the metal ingots I brought, plus these fruits, it has already exceeded a lot."