Chapter 259
The front door was now sturdy enough for Jasper to ram into it multiple times without it budging.
This provided a significant boost to their sense of security.
Austin quickly decided to mimic this and took out his phone to snap a picture, intending to install a
simr door at his ce.
...
The homeowner''s association was efficient, and no one hade knocking to collect some form of
tax, yet the security patrol team was already on duty.
There were ten people in each group, divided into east and west teams, forming a total of twenty
people in a shift.
Ste stood on the rooftop, watching the teams forming lines downstairs. They seemed promising,
all young and fit, and she suspected that some of them might even know a thing or two about
martial arts.
After dinner, Ste leashed Cooper and went for a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood.
On an open space, the Porras family''s bodyguards were training the security officers, teaching them
defensive and offensive moves. They looked professional, though their realbat effectiveness
remained to be seen.
While walking, a couple ofdies who passed by suddenly spoke out, their voices dripping with
sweetness, "Julia, did you get your hair done?"
Ste continued to walk leisurely with her dog. Just then, someone approached her and reached
out to tap her shoulder, "Julia..."
Sensing someone close by, Ste instinctively grabbed the person''s wrist. The woman yelped in
pain, "Ouch!"
Had Ste not pulled back her defensive move in time, the woman would have received a judo flip.
Ste turned around, her gaze sharp and piercing.
The woman who had her wrist grabbed was about to curse, but upon recognizing Ste, she
hesitated, "You... I''m sorry, I mistook you for someone else."
Cooper bared its teeth, assuming an aggressive stance, scaring thedies who screamed and
retreated.
Since it was a misunderstanding, Ste decided to let it pass. She led Cooper away.
Thedies were livid, but only dared to vent their anger after Ste and her dog had walked away,
"What kind of person is she? So rude!"
"Where does she live? I''ve never seen her before."
"Just look at her clothes. She must be from one of those two poor households."
"But you know what, she does look a lot like Julia."
Ste chose not to stoop to their level. She wouldn''t bother with the homeowner''s association if they
didn''t bother her. No notices about the property tax were posted, and nobody came to collect it. This
was a clear sign of disrespect.
If they didn''t ept it, then so be it. She wasn''t going out of her way to offer it to them.
...
All the medicinal nts brought back from Mount Greenwood were growing well. The two
mysterious medicinal herbs brought back from Mount Murray were gradually thriving under her
careful care.
It took two days to propagate and divide all the nts.
For fast-growing herbs, she cut them down with a sickle, cleaned and dried them, then categorized
and stored them for future use.
Meanwhile, she moved a dragonlily to a pot and ced it in the ss house on the rooftop, allowing
it to gradually adapt to extreme weather. She wouldpare it with the ones nted in Arcadia and
observe any changes in their medicinal properties.
Thetest official announcement informed everyone that the Newtown market was open. It included
both official stores and free stalls, mainly dealing in various daily necessities. Those who had needs
could go there to trade.
Ste nned to go out to familiarize herself with theyout of Newtown and collect useful supplies.
Themunity was patrolled continuously, making it quite safe for now. She left Cooper at home
and the three of them set out cheerfully.
Outside themunity, dust was everywhere and the smell of earth was strong. They quickly
covered their faces with masks.
Some buildings were being renovated while others were stripped bare with clothes hanging out of
the windows. The sight was visually jarring, but the atmosphere was filled with life.
N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.
From a distance, they could smell the odor from the public restrooms and quickly detoured around
it.
The market wasn''t far, and it took less than an hour to walk there.
With the advent of the pr day, the Agricultural Institute not only distributed vegetable seeds but
also improved the varieties of sweet potatoes and potatoes, enabling them to better adapt to the
four seasons in a day and shortening their growth cycle.
For example, potatoes could be harvested in just 70 days.
After the earthquake, there was a shortage of various materials such as furniture, clothes, and tools.
Even those dug out from the ruins were old and worn.
Anything decent was not cheap.
However, daily necessities were rtively abundant, including dried wild vegetables, dried sweet
potato sprouts, dried vegetables, and fresh vegetables, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Not much, but not cheap either.
They quickly finished shopping and then went to the official store.
The shop was modestly sized, reminiscent of a store from decades ago. They would help you
retrieve items once you decided to purchase something.
They had tea, cigarettes, alcohol, potatoes, vegetables, and more. The variety and quality were
much better than those on the trading street.
The official supplies were mostly from the food exchange program. They only epted trade coins
and not bartering.
Trade coins?
Seeing her confusion, the clerk exined, "It''s like the old bank card. If you want to earn trade
coins, you can go to the work center to exchange goods, or work to earn. Now our wages are paid
in trade coins."
Ste remembered that a bottle of liquor could be exchanged for 100 trade coins, but it sold for 130
in the store. The officials made a profit from the difference.
Since they were already there, Ste decided to take a look. As expected, there was a lot of new
information. A pound of sweet potatoes was one trade coin, and potatoes were 0.8 trade coins. Tea,
salt, wine, and sugar were luxury goods, but even more expensive were medicines.
Cold medicine and antibiotics were exorbitantly priced, but traditional herbs was also expensive.
Different medicines had different prices, and the specific price was negotiable.
The goods she wanted to trade were not on the official list. Ste gave up on the idea, and the three
of them wandered around Newtown. By chance, they walked to the street where the police station
was located.
They saw two familiar faces from Eastwood Edenmunity who had moved into the apartment
building.
The police station was open for business, but considering the events of the past three years, they
instinctively took a detour.
When they returned to Hopefield Community, their legs were sore and numb. From a distance, they
saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of themunity, seemingly in a heated argument.
"What''s with your attitude?" An agitated voice rose, "We used to visit every now and then. Why can''t
we enter now?"
The security officer had a stern face, "I''m sorry, for safety reasons, themunity has unanimously
decided that non-residents cannot enter. If you have business here, you can notify the homeowner
toe and get you."
"What do you mean for safety reasons? Do we look like thieves or robbers?"
"How are we supposed to let the homeowners know if you won''t let us in? I think you''re just looking
down on us because you''re in a position of power."
The security officer remained unflustered, "We''ve made our requirements clear. Please don''t cause
a scene here."
"We''re going to cause a scene, so what? We used toe here all the time and it was never a
problem. Why can''t we enter now!"
The man who was speaking became agitated and almost poked the security officer with his finger.
The security officer quickly grabbed his arm with a counter hold, causing the man to howl in pain.
The other security staff swarmed in, pulling out batons and surrounding the group. "If you keep
causing trouble, we will drag you to the police station."
Ste stepped forward, eyebrows furrowing as she recognized who was being cornered. "Hold it,"
she called out, "They''re friends of the folks from block 49."