One very important point: condoms weren't sold by the box anymore, they were sold one by one.
Even then, demand still far outweighed supply.
Lan Jin had traded several boxes from her space in exchange for invitations, but once she arrived, those invitations turned out to be useless. Every time she thought about it, her heart ached. Still, even though she'd traded out plenty, there were boxes and boxes left unopened in her space. Judging by how things looked now, once the shop opened, they'd be raking in a fortune.
After sketching out a simple design for the small storefront, Lao Gao dragged Huang Jinghe out to ask around.
When they came back a while later, Lao Gao reported, "We forgot to ask yesterday. I checked today. Rent on this storefront is fifty contribution points a month. But guess what bicycles go for? Two hundred eighty contribution points each. And condoms? Thirty contribution points for one, just one, on the black market."
Ling Jiang frowned. "Hold on. Black market? Why would there be a black market inside the base?"
Huang Jinghe said, "We didn't believe it either, but apparently there's not just a black market, there's even a night market."
Basically, the base had turned into a mini city. Everything from before the apocalypse still existed, just at prices that were way higher.
…
Once the decision was made, things moved fast.
Lan Jin had wanted to ease everyone into it, but she hadn't expected Lao Gao to get everything ready the very next day. He even rushed the installations, so by the third day, they were officially open for business.
To keep things discreet, she hung half-curtains over the windows and glass door. The half-covered, half-revealed look gave the place a hint of secrecy, which oddly enough suited their store.
But in the middle of the shop district, opening a store this conspicuous was bound to draw attention.
Lan Jin asked, "Got everything set up? I don't want anything breaking down later."
"Relax, it's all good," Lao Gao answered, grinning with excitement.
They were talking about the machine that deducted contribution points, basically a POS machine. Everyone still called it that.
Any shop owner needed one, otherwise how would they handle payments? When applying for a store, people rented one directly from the base.
Renting didn't require a deposit. Just pay twenty contribution points a month, and when you stopped running the shop, return it. If it broke, no big deal—the deposit on the shop itself would cover it.
Buying one outright wasn't expensive either, only a hundred contribution points, up to the owner.
Lao Gao already had one. After testing it and making sure it worked, it was ready to go.
Only then did he explain how he'd gotten it.
"That martial arts hall was never ours, so we couldn't apply for a machine legally. I had someone pull one out for me. Didn't pay a cent, got it for free."
As for the guy who got it for him, who knew if he was still alive? In the early days, being ruthless gave you a better chance at surviving. But now, survival wasn't so simple.
Anyway, not having to spend extra was a win. For fairness, their shared funds would be credited directly to Nana's residence card, since his was fully transparent.
With everything ready, they officially opened the next day.
…
Day one of business was dead quiet.
No ads, no ceremony—just a shop opening out of nowhere. It'd be strange if anyone even knew it existed.
But they weren't worried. They were the only shop in the entire district selling condoms. As long as people needed them, there'd be business. Besides, it was only the first day. Without any publicity, it would naturally take time before word spread.
Before customers arrived, someone else did—Captain Zhang, here to congratulate them.
He stood outside the door for a long time, hesitant to step in, wondering if he'd come to the wrong shop. When he finally walked in, he nearly covered his face. "I seriously didn't expect you guys to be selling this."
"Surprise. We didn't expect it either, but hey, business is business."
Captain Zhang looked around, then nodded after checking the price tags. "Well, at least you're not overcharging. Matches the market."
With his approval, their small worry over pricing disappeared.
After a quick congratulations, he got straight to the point.
"Not sure if you've noticed, but the outside temperature's already hit eighty degrees. No idea if it'll climb even higher. To handle this, the base developed some high-tech heatproof suits. Since your team counts as part of the base, half-soldiers really, I applied for a set for you."
He handed them what looked like… a ball.
"Wait, didn't you say heatproof suits?" Lan Jin blinked.
Captain Zhang chuckled. "Yeah, this is it. Let me show you."
He pointed to the ball hanging at his waist and squeezed. At once, a thin film spread around him, sealing him off from the surrounding air. It gradually clung to his body like a second skin. He moved his fingers freely, no discomfort at all.
It didn't look like much, but not only did it block the heat, it actively cooled him down. Even standing indoors, Captain Zhang quickly felt a chill after keeping it active for a moment.
Then he squeezed the ball again and the thin layer vanished.
Lan Jin asked curiously, "What kind of tech is this? Why haven't we seen it at other bases? Is it newly developed?"
"It's been around," he explained, "but it couldn't handle such extreme heat before. This version's upgraded. Its job is to lower body temperature. Even without the old heatproof suits, you won't suffer heatstroke under the sun. But if you wear both together, you can keep your body at around thirty degrees outside."
Ling Jiang jumped in at once. "Then… can we apply for another set of those heatproof suits too?"