After finalizing the details of the Reunion Movement's cooperation with the Ursus Empire's Emperor, the Imperial Guard once again vanished into the darkness of the night.
They didn't leave because there was still a group of Imperial Guard collaborating with Koschei that needed to be dealt with.
Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolute disloyalty.
"So, what do we do now?" Alina couldn't help but ask, looking at the intelligence and data the Imperial Guard had given her.
"Let's get some good rest first," Xing Chen stretched, feeling that conversing with these intensely oppressive individuals was a test for both body and mind.
"That's true, 1094 is almost over." Theresa also relaxed, following Xing Chen's lead. "This year has been truly eventful."
"Oh, right, how does your Reunion Movement celebrate the New Year?"
Xing Chen had always held considerable interest in the cultures of different countries.
Of course, it was a superficial interest, like Lord Ye's love for dragons. After all, whether it was the icy wilderness, pristine hygiene, or daily gunfights, it was all too difficult for an ordinary person from his Eastern Country.
This was a good opportunity to experience the New Year's atmosphere of a Northern Country in Ursus.
However, after hearing Xing Chen's request, the three members of the Reunion Movement fell silent.
"What's wrong, don't you celebrate the New Year?" Theresa asked on Xing Chen's behalf when she saw them silent.
In her opinion, celebrating the New Year was quite meaningful; at least it showed that the Sarkaz had survived another year, and it should be recorded.
Alina bashfully indicated that they did celebrate, but it was very rudimentary.
It basically involved slightly increasing the day's rations and reducing some work.
"Because supplies are quite scarce, we can't hold any big events; we must conserve energy," Alina scratched her head. "In an environment like the icefield, only moss-wheat is produced, and not in large quantities, and hunting isn't easy either."
"Then, if we help you solve the supply problem, can you take us to celebrate properly?"
"Of course!" Alina immediately brightened upon hearing that the two were willing to provide supplies. "Actually, you just need to prepare some meat, and a little wine would be even better."
"Sigh, it's due to a long-term vegetarian diet," Theresa sighed.
She could understand this well; after all, when she was little, the Sarkaz often ate only Jingwu, and even then, they weren't always full.
Eating a meal with meat was like celebrating the New Year.
With a goal in mind, the next step was how to achieve it.
Clearly, with Xing Chen and Theresa's financial resources, it was impossible to normally supply meat for a team of over a thousand people.
Theresa suggested whether they should try to move some Red Gold over, as she heard that the price of gold in the Eastern Country was quite high at the moment.
Xing Chen, however, stated that human gold was yellow gold, while Terra's gold was Red Gold; the colors didn't match, and the latter was more like Earth's copper.
Theresa scratched her head; was there really such a difference?
"Then how about lowering the quality? As long as there's meat to eat, people who often go hungry generally aren't picky."
In terms of hunger, the Sarkaz had more say than he, who was born in a new era and had never experienced hunger. Xing Chen felt Theresa's opinion was very reasonable.
Back in his rented room, Xing Chen opened his phone, and the regular stipends from his advisor and the school had just arrived.
"The dry food budget has increased again."
Xing Chen wasn't short on money, but he wasn't wealthy either; large-scale purchases were beyond his means.
"Brother Wang, are you there?"
"Xing Chen, what's up?"
"Ah, it's like this, I have a friend who likes fishing, and he wants to buy meat for bait, but he doesn't have money, so he asked me if there's any cheap meat."
"Cheap meat? Go ask at the butcher's stall yourself," Brother Wang knew Xing Chen didn't have a hobby of fishing, and he wasn't that concerned about people he wasn't familiar with.
"Uh, it's like this, the amount he wants is quite large, and the scraps from the butcher's stall might not be enough."
"Hiss, then tell him that you don't need a particularly large amount for chumming. What's meant to be caught will be caught, even without bait."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll tell him. But I'll still ask, are there any sources of cheap meat, like expiring canned goods or something?"
The more Xing Chen insisted, the stranger Brother Wang felt. "You're not planning to hoard supplies yourself, are you?"
"I'm not short on money, why would I hoard expired canned goods?"
"Alright then," Brother Wang didn't want Xing Chen to pester him. "I'll go check for you, but whatever you buy, absolutely do not eat it."
"Okay, okay, thank you, Brother Wang."
Brother Wang's connections were much broader than Xing Chen's. He had results for the request he made in the morning by the afternoon.
It was a Pinduoduo shop with pitifully low sales; no one seemed to be participating in group purchases.
Xing Chen took a quick look: a large can of braised pork cost about three yuan, which was already a good deal if he and Theresa were to eat it themselves.
"How about we hoard some too?" Theresa was clearly tempted.
"That's fine, but we can wait for a sale to buy better ones; no need to buy close-to-expiry items." If possible, Xing Chen was still willing to let everyone eat something good.
However, this was still unrealistic for preparing a meal for the Reunion Movement. Three or four thousand yuan would disappear in an instant, and even with Theresa helping him share the burden, he, as a student, simply couldn't afford it.
Brother Wang told him not to place an order, but to contact customer service directly and speak according to his script.
Xing Chen communicated with customer service, and after some negotiation, he successfully lowered the price.
"Xing Chen, if he ships a mixed assortment, what if they're all cheap goods?" Theresa couldn't help but ask.
The other party refused to send only specific types of canned goods, and Xing Chen had no choice.
"Honestly, I think a can for just one yuan, with free shipping, is no longer a question of whether it's cheap or not."
Even if he got diarrhea from eating it, he'd have to praise the can's potency.
A few days later, the Huolala truck arranged by the merchant arrived downstairs.
Xing Chen bought some of his favorite sugar-free Pepsi and gave it to the delivery driver. Although the driver smiled and said thank you, he didn't seem to like it much.
"Young man, do you want us to help you move it upstairs?" The merchant seemed to have paid a good amount, as these workers were actually willing to help him deliver the goods upstairs for free.
"No need, my girlfriend and I can move it ourselves."
Before he could finish his sentence, Theresa stacked two boxes of cans together and carried them directly.
Xing Chen was used to it, but the workers were completely stunned.
"My girlfriend is quite strong, right?" Xing Chen said with a smile, trying to smooth things over.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes." The workers nodded repeatedly in agreement after hearing Xing Chen's words.
"Then I'll go up and help my girlfriend; you can wait here."
"Ah, okay, okay, okay."
Thousands of cans, not only were they incredibly heavy, but their volume was also considerable.
In reality, they only moved them to the rented apartment and then directly transported them to Wandering's End.
This was repeated several times until all the packages were moved.