Bringing a few things into the base was a completely different experience from driving a cargo truck in.
As soon as Ding Yun's car reached the base entrance, dozens of people emerged to greet her. The leader immediately stated that goods entering the base were subject to taxes. Small amounts were tax-exempt, like when Ding Yun had entered with her backpack earlier. However, large quantities incurred a thirty-percent tax. Only after paying the tax could one obtain a sales permit and freely buy and sell within the base.
Arguments about using the goods personally and not for sale were dismissed. Regardless, large quantities of goods entering required taxes. Furthermore, the base had the right to requisition any critically scarce supplies at market prices. Although this sounded unpleasant, the base needed revenue to operate.
Ding Yun accepted the terms and got out of the car to supervise the inspection of the truck's contents and the calculation of taxes. This part was relatively flexible; payment could be made with zombie crystal cores equivalent to the market value, or the tax could be paid in kind based on the proportion.
Ding Yun hadn't killed many zombies and had limited zombie crystal cores, so she chose to pay in kind, allowing them to take one-thirtieth of the goods. The entire process took about an hour to complete. Afterward, after paying one-thirtieth of the food from the truck, she received a handwritten sales permit. With a look of envy, they let Ding Yun enter.
Since Ding Yun didn't have a place to stay, she drove directly to the base's trading hall, intending to check if the bounty had been claimed before considering renting accommodation. She couldn't sleep in her truck all night; she needed to find a place to live.
...
Two minutes later, as Ding Yun stepped into the bounty hall, she saw her parents, who were visibly excited, yet also appeared much older and thinner than before. Zhu Rong and Zhao Xin Ya had been anxiously watching the bounty hall's entrance since they learned about the bounty and came here. Therefore, the moment Ding Yun entered the hall and saw them, they also saw her simultaneously.
In the next second, they both lunged towards Ding Yun and, within tens of seconds, were holding her tightly in their embrace, one around her waist, the other around her shoulders.
"Xiao Yun, it's so good that you're okay. Thank heavens, thank heavens, it's so good you're safe!"
"More than a year ago, why couldn't we get through on your phone? Do you know how scared we were? Your mother cried herself to sleep almost every day; her eyes were almost blinded from crying. Why didn't you call us when you were okay? Didn't the phone not work at first!"
Zhu Rong and Zhao Xin Ya's words conveyed joy and relief, tinged with a hint of reproach. They had already harbored bad thoughts and assumed the worst when they couldn't reach their daughter for the first few days. Their grief was beyond words. Now, seeing their daughter, whom they hadn't seen for over a year, standing alive and well, seemingly unharmed, with a rosy complexion, radiant skin, and even appearing a little heavier than before, their happiness and relief were inevitably mixed with some complaints. They were upset that she was fine but didn't bother to let them know.
Ding Yun found it difficult to explain this matter. After all, the original host had already met with misfortune and had no time to report it. There was no way to ensure their safety. So, she fabricated a story on the spot:
"My phone broke at first. Later, everyone was busy fleeing, and no one could look after anyone else. I just didn't have the chance to let you know I was safe. By the time things finally stabilized, communication was cut off, and I didn't have a satellite phone, so I had to focus on surviving first."
"Mom and Dad, it's good that you're okay too. We're all quite lucky; at least the three of us are together. Oh, since you came yourselves, I'll cancel the bounty. Where are you staying now? Is it spacious? I brought a lot of things. If it's not very big, we can go and see if there are any houses for sale later and buy one."
Zhu Rong and his wife could accept Ding Yun's explanation. After all, there were many people in the school, unlike their village. Besides, Ding Yun's school was near a sports college, so there must have been many who turned into zombies there. It was probably hard enough just to survive. They wouldn't have had the capacity for anything else.
However, Zhu Rong felt a bit awkward about Ding Yun's later remarks. He specifically pulled Ding Yun aside and then whispered an explanation:
"We're living with your aunt's family now. In fact, it's all thanks to your cousin. If your cousin hadn't told your aunt about the zombies early on, and your aunt hadn't quickly notified us, we might not have survived. Later, we came here with the main group, thinking that more people would mean better mutual care. So, we've been living with your aunt's whole family. But don't worry, your aunt will be very happy when you go back. She'll definitely make room for you to sleep. Don't talk about buying a house anymore. Do you know how expensive houses are here now? Thirty catties of grain per square meter. Thirty catties of grain is enough for one person to eat for a month. A hundred square meters is equivalent to one hundred months of food. To put it bluntly, we're just living day by day; it's a question whether we can live for another hundred months. How much food did you bring? Keep the food you brought safe and live frugally. There's no need to be picky about accommodation. As long as you have a place to live!"
Zhu Rong didn't think Ding Yun could have brought much food, so he naturally advised her not to be too particular. Food was the most important thing these days; accommodation was irrelevant. As long as there was a place to shelter from the wind and rain, it would suffice. A single house would cost three to four thousand catties of grain. Although it was incredibly cheap compared to pre-apocalypse prices, the key was that food was everything now!
"Dad, don't worry. Let me tell you this, when I entered today, I paid over thirteen hundred catties of food, including over five hundred catties of cured meat. What do you think is the amount of food I brought in? Let's go down and see if there are any suitable properties. If there are, we'll buy a house, and then I'll go home with you to pick up Aunt and her family. Don't worry about the food. With me here, you'll never starve..."
As soon as Ding Yun said this, Zhu Rong's mind went blank for a moment before he processed what she meant by "paid over thirteen hundred catties." He quickly calculated that if his daughter wasn't lying, she had likely brought back about forty thousand catties of food. And meat was far more valuable than grain. Converting it all to grain would result in an even larger quantity. Upon realizing this, he felt a wave of dizziness, unable to comprehend where his daughter had gotten so much food. Was it too preposterous?