After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 914

Chapter 914: Lively Marketplace

Anyway, she met Louie, the love of her life, there, though of course neither knew of this at the time. It was during her first trip to the school canteen, which was a different setup than she was used to and it fascinated her.

There, the food was lined up in bulk and they just had to choose what comprised their set meals. They could choose one Main dish, side dish, dessert, and beverage. This was not free, but definitely affordable considering the contents.

Anyway, there was a delicious-looking Gugu bird dish coated with delicious reddish-brown sauce… but there was only one serving left.

The man in front of her happened to choose it, taking it away from her.

“EH…” she uttered without thinking. When the man in front of her turned, she realized she was loud and she covered her mouth in embarrassment.

She was so timid that she didn’t dare meet his eyes. However, her eyes unconsciously followed his plate as it was served to him, cluing him on what it was about.

“Do you like this?”

She dared not answer.

“We can share main dishes,” he said, making her flinch. “I’ve been thinking between this and that sauteed beef dish… can you get that?”

After being puzzled at what was going on, she nodded in the end. They shared a table together, and she found out it was a pretty normal thing to do here. The offerings of the canteen were based on the molded plates, which could only fit the aforementioned sets or less. If they wanted another meal, they’d have to line up again, which could be a hassle.

Louie was very friendly and talked to her a lot, and he slowly took her out of her shell. He was currently taking an advanced cooking class, though he said that his friends (who only took the basic class) had already graduated so he didn’t have anyone to share with anymore.

They ate together ever since, and the rest was history.

Anyway, at present, the couple was shopping for a celebratory dinner for both of them. Louie suggested it and Eppa agreed with open arms. He also specified that it should just be the two of them though, though it wasn’t like she was inviting anyone else.

They had to buy the ingredients first, of course, and so was their current market run.

The Heat Wave was really horrible for everyone. Because the Guide Business was basically non-existent during that period, Louie had to go out every night to face the mobs to make a living. Neither of them was talented in fighting, so every day was tense.

Now that period was over and they only had to go out when they had to, which was as much of a relief as the temperature cooling down.

The couple filled up their carts together, with Louie leading it. “This is for the soup…” he said as he placed flavor cubes into the cart. He would occasionally teach her what he learned in class. “It adds flavor.”

Eppa sometimes absorbed it, but sometimes she could just look at him admiringly.

Before coming to Alterra, such a thing—men cooking—was incomprehensible to her. In her mind, according to what she had seen growing up, men were just there to work, fight, and take women.

At home, they would just be fed and served and then after that, they would sleep.

Seeing her man being so capable but willing to do this for her was, even now, really something hard to believe.

She felt like the most blessed person in the world.

…

The marketplace, supermarket, and the streets also saw a massive surge of people, some just wanting to walk around.

The Crow Trio along with the Yus were among these people. They had met each other outside their homes and decided to peruse the revived territory together.

They would buy whatever they felt like buying. It was a well-deserved reward for themselves for a job well done.

Dog would buy mostly savory food like barbeque and french fries, gobbling it up like an uncultured pig.

Crow would buy refreshing snacks like special taco with yoghurt-cucumber garlic sauce. It was one of the tangy snacks he loved the most.

Sunny, on the other hand, preferred sweets like cotton candy, tanghulu, and the like.

Another one who bought a lot of sweet things was Koo Yu, who bought candies with his own money. He even bought a few buckets and placed them in the space for hoarding.

“Also for my friends,” he said, smiling. By friends, he was referring to the children like Mimi, Fiona, Honda, and the like.

Koo was essentially a child in an adult’s body. The children of Alterra, who were used to playing with half-orcs, were especially fond of him.

Oftentimes, he would spend his free time playing with them, as if he was a kid himself.

Further, because he earned a lot of money compared to his ‘poor’ friends, he usually took it upon himself to occasionally buy them treats, gaining even more of their favor.

During the heat wave, the Yus, who were working in the bathhouse, made a lot of money. This was not just their salaries, which were already decent, but they also earned a lot from the tips.

People who could afford the bathhouse during the Extreme Heat price spike were the true rich—whether they were Terran or Aborigines—and their tips were not small.

This meant that the mother-and-son’s combined income was really good and they could indeed buy whatever food they wanted—and for whoever they wanted.

Anyway, the trip was peaceful and leisurely for the next couple of minutes of strolling.

Eventually, they ended up near a deokboki stall. Unexpectedly, Koo stopped out of nowhere, pointing at it and yelling carelessly. “Mom, mom, look!” he said, eyes bright. “Brother loved that!”

The trio flinched, pausing as they looked at him. They then turned to Jane with worried faces, wondering how she’d react.

To their relief, the woman’s body simply softened a bit as she smiled, approaching the stall to buy a few cups for all of them. “Hmn. To be honest, I think it’s a bit overrated, but now I love it, too…”

Jane had more or less recovered now. Her instincts as a mother towards her childish son, along with consistent sessions with the psychologist Juliet, allowed her to recover to some degree of normalcy.

Until recently though, anything that reminded her of her oldest son would make her cry out of nowhere. Fortunately, she seemed to be getting better now.

They waited patiently as all the cups were prepared by the stall owner. They also chose different flavors and add-ons, which was fun in and of itself.

The mother and son chose George’s favorite flavor—which was just the ‘original’ flavor—and they smiled as they took a bite, slowly relishing the taste and its chewy texture.

For Koo, it was a happy memory, while for Jane it felt a bit bittersweet. After all, they were eating George’s favorite snack without him.

However, after so long, she also began to understand that he would be happy just to see them both doing well.

And, for now, that was enough.