CHAPTER 141: ZHANG LINGLING’S TRUE PURPOSE

"What on earth does Su Malie’s family do? My god, didn’t you all see she just tossed a Cartier casually inside?"

"I saw she had several brand-name watches strung together like a bracelet... Her family definitely doesn’t lack water, so why won’t they trade some with us?"

"That’s a ridiculous thing to say. Have you ever seen a rich person short of money? Do you think anyone complains about having too much money? With water so scarce nowadays, do you think anyone would complain about having too much water?"

Zhang Lingling led a few people toward the empty mall. It had been completely cleaned out; not even a piece of clothing or a needle was left behind—only trash and large equipment that couldn’t be moved.

Unlike many apocalypse movies where malls are always filled with all sorts of new clothes, jewelry, and designer bags, and the protagonist then ecstatically grabs everything, trying on one thing after another... none of that existed here.

Either people had taken everything home, or items had been sold cheaply for food.

Anything left by those who died suddenly and couldn’t gather their possessions had been stripped clean by the government. Even the doors had been carried away by thieves in exchange for work points. The mall had already been searched several times over.

"Alright, let’s hurry inside. Everyone, take a look and see what can be traded."

It was like browsing a ghost market. Everyone shone flashlights on the unwanted items packed onto the rear racks of other people’s bicycles. Some people compared lists on their phones, while other classmates had already arranged their trades in advance.

Jing Shu and Yao Zixin had also made arrangements beforehand. Yao Zixin brought the design plans for Jing Shu to confirm and modify, and Jing Shu brought 10 liters of water as a deposit. The two agreed to have a more detailed discussion after the swap meet dispersed.

Compared to his sunny and handsome appearance as the former school heartthrob, Yao Zixin had changed a lot. He looked sallow and thin, likely due to malnutrition over the past six months or so. However, his underlying handsome features remained, and he still looked much better than the other classmates.

About twenty-odd people came in total. Most arrived on bicycles, a few on electric bikes, while the show-off Xie Zihao drove an electric BMW.

However, the air was filled with a foul, sour stench—a mix of smelly feet, bad breath, body odor, and more. Jing Shu, eager to leave, had already put on her mask, covering her face thoroughly.

Jing Shu hung back and watched the small-scale swap meet. All sorts of items were being traded, from towels and lengths of cloth to pots and pans.

Jing Shu saw someone trade a bag of chips for three packs of sanitary pads, another person trade milk powder for a bottle of He Shouwu floral water, and Xie Zihao trade a can of luncheon meat for cold medicine.

Speaking of milk powder, it’s time my family made more, Jing Shu thought. It’s an absolute essential for home and travel. Dried and compressed into tablets, you can pop one in your mouth anytime, or stir it into hot water to make milk. Add some oatmeal... Perfect. But I’ll have to wait until we make another batch of ice cream.

Zhang Lingling’s family had originally dealt in medical auxiliary equipment. However, it wasn’t purely medical devices; by Jing Shu’s understanding, they sold medical accessories, like screws—small but crucial components that had been quite profitable before the apocalypse.

But after the apocalypse, medical equipment became very precious. Yet, with no medicines available, even the most valuable devices were useless; one could only look at them helplessly, let alone mere auxiliary equipment.

Despite this, Zhang Lingling’s family had recently come into a small fortune.

Seeing that everyone had nearly finished trading, Zhang Lingling stepped forward mysteriously, holding out a basketball-sized box. "Everyone, quiet down and listen to me," she said. "Actually, organizing this swap meet today is also a way to offer everyone a benefit."

"Everyone knows we’re facing a water shortage, right? But just how severe is it? You can tell from today’s trades—nobody brought water to exchange for goods."

The classmates nodded in agreement. Their lips were cracked and dry, and they were constantly swallowing, only reluctantly pulling out their water bottles to take the smallest sip when they absolutely couldn’t bear the thirst any longer.

Zhang Lingling’s smile deepened. "So, this is one of the hot-selling items our family offers: a solar distiller. It was originally designed for use in deserts. You just place it in the soil, follow the installation instructions, and it will continuously extract moisture from the air—water that’s safe to drink directly."

"Then you won’t need to spend work points on water anymore. With your daily ration plus the water from the distiller, won’t that be enough to drink?"

The classmates’ eyes gradually brightened. Yes, we learned about this before! How could we have forgotten this method?

Seeing the classmates’ reactions, Zhang Lingling nodded with satisfaction.

"Our family is about to sell out of this batch, and it’s only because we’re all old classmates that I’m offering this special deal to you.

A distiller costs 20 work points. Not only that, but if you introduce someone who buys one, you’ll get a 2 work-point rebate.

Moreover, the person you introduced can also refer others to buy. They’ll get a 2 work-point rebate for their referral, and you’ll get 1 work point."

Jing Shu narrowed her eyes. I couldn’t quite remember why I left the group in my past life, but now, as this scene unfolds, I’m starting to recall some unpleasant incidents... and they involved Zhang Lingling.

Zhang Lingling, seeing the renewed confusion on her classmates’ faces, took out a pen and paper to illustrate the math for them.

"For instance, Wang Chao, if you buy a distiller for 20 work points and then introduce Mu Xiaoxuan to buy one, you’ll get a 2 work-point rebate. So, for every person you directly introduce, you get 2 work points. If the person you introduced then refers someone else who buys, you get an additional 1 work point.

Now, if Mu Xiaoxuan then introduces Jing Shu, Mu Xiaoxuan gets 2 work points for that direct referral, and you, Wang Chao, get 1 work point because Jing Shu is your second-level referral. So, for every person Mu Xiaoxuan successfully refers, she gets 2 work points, and you still get 1 work point.

And if Jing Shu then introduces someone, she’ll get 2 work points, Mu Xiaoxuan will get 1 work point, and you, Wang Chao, will get 0.5 work points.

And so on. Understand? Eventually, you could not only get a distiller for free but also continuously earn work points!"

Mu Xiaoxuan blurted out, "Isn’t this just a pyramid scheme? You have to buy a distiller first, then get others to buy, and then get them to pull in even more people to buy distillers?"

Zhang Lingling glared at Mu Xiaoxuan. "How can you call this a pyramid scheme? Watch your words! Pyramid schemes don’t involve actual products. We’re running a promotion for a high-end piece of equipment—this distiller. It genuinely produces water! Look, it won’t take long to distill a full jar with this. It’s such a great item, people would be fighting over it. With the current water shortage, ask around—who wouldn’t want one of these distillers?"

The classmates grew restless, clearly enticed. A device that could distill water, potentially for free just by referring others—who wouldn’t want that?

Mu Xiaoxuan asked another question, "But I saw on the news that many people have drilled wells, digging down tens of meters, only to find no water sources because everything’s dried up. If your distiller is just placed in the ground, can it really produce water?"