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Chapter 93.1: Self Issuing New Quests

The rise of platforms like Taobao and Pinduoduo dealt a significant blow to physical stores in cities, though many still managed to survive. On the contrary, those in the countryside suffered because even remote villages had access to roads and express delivery. As such, this batch of curtain fabric designed for the rural market was collecting dust in the warehouse.

Even considering re-purposing and processing them into clothing or bedsheets wasn\'t a feasible option. The colors were too bright, the prints too large and old-fashioned, and the material too thick. If these curtain fabrics were processed into clothing, there was no way they would sell, and it would mean incurring additional processing costs.

However, these flaws… were actually advantages in this other world.

Thicker fabric? It just so happened that everyone here toiled and struggled for their livelihood, and more durable materials were appreciated.

Bright colors and bold prints? Not at all! It was clear that the factory had put effort into dyeing and printing. Such beautiful fabrics would make for stylish clothing.

When Jerome repeated the new fabric\'s price three times, everyone within a 30-meter range of their stand went wild.

Vegetable sellers, buyers, and people minding their small stalls; as long as one had more than ten copper coins in hand, they would rush over in a crazed frenzy…

"Give me five meters! Any color is fine! Five meters!"

"Sir, can you cut me two meters? I want a thicker fabric!"

"Can I have one and a half meters? I only have 15 copper coins!"

Clang!

Hal drew his sword and roared at the people attempting to snatch the fabrics, "Line up! Do you all want to die?!"

The murderous aura of the former bandit gang leader… came in handy at a time like this. Everyone, whether they genuinely wanted to buy fabric or had intended to snatch some due to the overwhelming interest, all settled down. With some pushing and shoving, a snaking queue was formed.

Jerome wiped the sweat from his forehead, picked up a measuring tape and scissors, and beckoned to the first lady in line. "Madam, which design are you interested in and how many meters would you like?"

The lady\'s eyes darted to the fearsome Hal standing behind Jerome, and she gulped. Her fancy for these beautiful fabrics temporarily overshadowed her fear. While taking all her money, she scrutinized the rolls of fabric carefully.

The lady had a discerning eye, and even if she dared not be too picky at the stand of this rough-looking man, she immediately chose a slightly thicker fabric with a pink base and a large red rose print on the side. Pointing to it, she said, "Please cut this one for me, I want four meters."

This curtain fabric was meant for a bedroom and excellent at blocking out light. Its thickness and quality were impressive.

Jerome had never been taught to sew, but he had learned basic sewing skills as a squire and had even altered his knight\'s old clothes to fit himself during his youth. Cutting fabric with a measuring tape posed no problem for him. He took the money and efficiently cut a four-meter length of fabric for the lady, then rolled it up and handed it over.

The lady felt the smooth fabric surface and the thickness of the material and was evidently pleased. She thanked Jerome profusely and forgot all about the vegetables she was supposed to buy and ran home, hugging the rolled-up fabric.

The second lady in line was also a housewife, and her eyes were just as sharp. She didn\'t want a thick single-sided print fabric; instead, she opted for a thinner but intricately designed double-sided print with a slightly 3D flower pattern.

"When made into a skirt, both sides can be worn!" the second lady exclaimed to her neighbor, who was also shopping with her.

The neighbor\'s eyes lit up, and when it was her turn, she too bought the double-sided flower print…

In a world where productivity was not quite advanced, fabrics were considered premium goods.

While Chinese people despised the floral and rustic curtain fabrics, residents of this world were delighted. Regardless of whether they were townspeople or farm folk from the countryside, they all eagerly pointed at the vibrant fabrics.

Although Jerome\'s fabric cutting was swift, serving each customer took a few minutes. Customers waiting in line grew bored and began to glance at the other items besides the fabrics at the stall.

There were colorful plastic cups, bowls, boxes of plastic buttons, and colorful sewing kits in transparent plastic cases, along with towels with stripes and simple patterns.

Farm folk got increasingly tempted, and even the townspeople found it hard to look away…

A gutsy farmwife, with several people still ahead of her in line, couldn\'t resist and asked cautiously, "Mister, how… are these sold?"

Jerome didn\'t stop cutting the fabric as he explained, "Five copper coins each. Cups and bowls are counted as a set, and a sewing kit with a box of buttons also counts as one. If you want, you can also choose two sewing kits or two boxes of buttons."

A hush came over the crowd that had been eagerly discussing fabric colors or exasperating over not bringing enough money.

"E-even those large basins and towels? F-five copper coins each?" the inquiring farmwife was stuttering.

"Yes." Jerome nodded.

All those waiting in line for fabric simultaneously took out their coins and started counting…

Soon enough, cries of "Oh God, why did I bring so little money out!" and similar laments rang out.

Some townsfolk, who had positions toward the back of the queue, scrutinized the number ahead of them, bit the bullet, left the line, and rushed home to fetch more money.

Farm folk, whose homes were far away and often genuinely short on cash, found themselves in a dilemma and soon started shouting.

"Does anyone want vegetables? Buy now at half price!"

"Ma\'am, does your family need baskets or shoulder poles?"

"Fabric or basins first? It\'s so hard to decide!"

Plastics existed in this world, but due to the lack of comprehensive resource development and scarce raw materials, plastic products remained expensive and far from common use.

Most people were familiar with the convenience of plastic plates and bowls, but in their daily lives, they still relied on various earthenware and low-quality glass products. Clay pots, glass cups, and bowls were essential items for the vast majority of households.

Some wealthier households might use enamelware, but in this world, they were considered rather high-end. Metals, after all, were also expensive in this world. Even on Earth, steel production would still be rather challenging had there not been two world wars and a Cold War that gave rise to China as a superpower.

And that was not mentioning towels. Many people only indulged in buying two new towels when they got married and refused to throw them away, even when those towels were riddled with holes.

The few townsfolk at the front of the queue hurriedly took home their newly acquired fabric rolls, then scoured their houses to gather all the available cash they could find before rushing back to the marketplace.

And while gathering more money, these people didn\'t forget to inform their relatives and friends. Thus, even more people were scouring every nook and cranny of their houses for money…

By three in the afternoon, half the town\'s population were aware that three gentlemen at the marketplace were selling fabric rolls, towels, and plastic bowls and cups provided by the new lord at astonishingly low prices.

Less than ten hours after Weisshem had been "conquered," the townsfolk were already cheerfully calling the new lord "Sir," even though they still hadn\'t figured out who this new lord was.

And this series of transformative changes to the town was simply part of a "new map storyline" to the players.

As soon as the respawn (teleportation/login) point at Weisshem Town Hall was completed, players without quests on hand eagerly activated it and returned to Exile Town.

There were two reasons for their haste. First, this siege quest had been exceedingly profitable, and all players who had participated earned a significant amount of in-game currency. Players were eager to head to the Undead Merchant Association to splurge on new gear.

Secondly, this expedition quest, which included a siege, had put considerable wear and tear on the players\' clothing. Many players\' outfits had seen better days and were in dire need of repair, so they needed to rush back to Exile Town and bribe the female NPC tailors with sugar cubes to mend their clothes.

Of course, it wasn\'t that all players were anxious to change their gear and repair their clothes. Some players weren\'t too keen on the 30-minute teleportation cooldown and continued to linger in Weisshem.

For instance, Qin Guan, who went about collecting video material. Besides covering the red light district extensively, he also browsed the residential areas in the northern and western parts of town, even taking some clips of the former militia headquarters and the captured NPC prisoners. He had plans to enter the resettlement camps and record the beautifully modeled NPCs but was stopped by Rex.

There was also the lifestyle class player, Liu Meng, who, after completing her quest in assisting Mia and Ben\'s procurement team, returned to Martin Street and curiously explored the small shops operated by NPCs.

Leather works, knife sharpeners, tailors, pawnshops, grocery stores—Liu Meng had seen them all. She, who had a knack for casually exploring the map during her gaming sessions, was ecstatic.

"This new map is incredible! The details are so spot on it\'s like strolling through a foreign town!

"A pity that there\'s a language barrier… Why doesn\'t this game have a universal language feature? It\'s so odd that even though we\'re in the same friendly faction, we can\'t interact with the NPCs properly!"

Oblivious that her lamentations on the inability to interact with NPCs had left a bunch of local business owners quaking in fear, Liu Meng still went about trying to interact with NPCs individually to see if they could trigger any more quests. As she passed through the middle section of Martin Street, she noticed a crowd gathering around the discount stalls.

And without a second thought, she squeezed her way over…

At this point, it wasn\'t just Jerome who was busy at the stall; Hal and Tuttle had their hands full as well. The former glared intensely at the townspeople comparing the thickness of plastic bowls, length of towels, and other aspects of the goods, while the latter squatted nearby collecting money with a wooden expression.

The townsfolk, in the midst of a shopping frenzy, couldn\'t care much about a single nearby undead player that had joined them. Those in the back urged those ahead to hurry, while those at the front either agonized over a lack of funds to buy everything they wanted or were irresistibly distracted by items they couldn\'t afford.

Liu Meng unceremoniously squeezed her way to the front, all while observing everything. She couldn\'t understand the language of civilian NPCs in this new map, but linguistic communication wasn\'t essential for a scene like this… Even if people didn\'t understand English, they could still make out all that was happening in Black Friday footage from across the Pacific.

After observing for a while and not seeing any fellow players in the crowd, Liu Meng couldn\'t help but exclaim, "NPCs advance the storyline on their own when players aren\'t doing quests? This AI is way too advanced!"

With this brief reflection, Liu Meng stepped out of the crowd and continued exploring the map. Players who were eager to explore new maps like Liu Meng were relatively few, but they weren\'t scarce.