Chapter 53: The All-Female Base

The three of them then looked at the scratch tickets placed on the table. They were only slightly larger than a palm and looked completely ordinary. Could these really conjure up fruit?

"Beautiful boss, you're not trying to trick us, are you?" Tang Nannan asked, looking utterly unconvinced.

"Just try and you'll know," Lu Li said, resting her chin on her hand as she chatted with them. Her gaze swept over their faces and hands, filled with a sudden, faint pang of pity.

Clearly only in their twenties, their hands looked like those of women in their fifties—wrinkled, dry, and peeling.

Tang Nannan, showing a keen interest in novel things, eagerly asked, "Boss, how do you play?"

"One crystal core per ticket, oh~" Lu Li replied.

They didn't find this strange at all. After all, it could conjure fruit! There was no need to emphasize its value.

"Give me three!" Tang Nannan waved her hand generously, turning her head to her two companions. "I'll treat you two."

Lu Li accepted the three crystal cores, swept her palm outward across the table, and said gracefully, "Take your pick."

Having just arrived at the Blossom Base, she decided not to implement the membership system just yet, preferring to first get slightly familiar with the local environment and market conditions.

The three young girls acted as if they had returned to the shopping days of the civilized era, picking and choosing across the table of scratch tickets.

In truth, they were all identical except for the serial numbers. Lu Li had no idea what they were searching for, but she respected their process.

"Just these three," Tang Nannan said, holding the three scratch tickets.

"Alright, use these to scratch," Lu Li offered three tiny golden spatulas. They were so delicate and adorable that the three girls immediately fell in love with them.

Tang Nannan muttered softly, "We're really using these to scratch? I almost hate to use them."

A girl beside her nudged her gently. "Hurry up and scratch, we still have to rush off to do our missions."

The three of them started scratching. Perhaps due to their high anticipation for fruits and vegetables, they all scratched very quickly.

With a few swishing motions, they were done. Unsurprisingly, a cry of lament was followed closely by a gasp of astonishment.

The other two immediately looked at Tang Nannan and asked excitedly, "How is it? Did you scratch out fruit?"

Their minds were simply full of fruit; they missed the juicy, sweet taste of fruit so desperately.

"It doesn't seem like it," Tang Nannan said with a look of disappointment, handing the ticket to Lu Li. "Boss, can you see what this is?"

Lu Li took it, studied it for a long time without figuring it out, and calmly stuffed it into Fortune's mouth.

Soon, Fortune spat out a palm-sized tube. Lu Li picked it up and took a look. Oh, facial cream—good for rubbing on the face and hands.

"Here, this is facial cream, for skin care," Lu Li handed it to them and explained.

"Really!" Tang Nannan accepted it joyfully, subconsciously touched her rough face, and wished she could use it right away.

Lu Li nodded affirmatively, "Of course! It's guaranteed to work!"

Tang Nannan unscrewed the cap and cautiously squeezed a bit onto the back of her hand. It was a milky-white paste with a lovely fragrance.

She rubbed the backs of her hands together, and a subtle floral scent gradually emanated.

Visibly, Tang Nannan's hands brightened by a shade, and even the wrinkles and dead skin were greatly reduced.

Lu Li was startled. What was this made of to be this effective?!

"Wow!" Tang Nannan gasped again, turned around, and inspected her hands in the sunlight. They had truly grown a shade fairer and become tender!

The other two girls crowded around to examine it closely, even placing their hands side-by-side for comparison. After a long moment, they blurted out, "Quick, let me use some too!"

Tang Nannan generously handed it over. "Use a little bit, now, don't use it all up on me."

"Alright, alright." Knowing their limits, they each squeezed out only a green-bean-sized amount onto the backs of their hands and rubbed them together.

There was an effect, but perhaps because the amount was too small, it wasn't as dramatic as Tang Nannan's, yet both were content.

They all clamored to scratch another ticket; this was genuinely good stuff.

In the apocalypse, items as "useless" as skincare products were no longer manufactured, with production deeply focused on practical and durable goods.

Lu Li told them to choose freely. She noticed that the ten-person guard squad was frequently glancing over in their direction.

She didn't mind. With her flashy RV parked right at the base entrance, attracting attention was only natural.

People were trickling out, and Lu Li noticed to her surprise that they were all women, without a single man among them.

She couldn't help asking the three of them, "Is your base exclusively female?"

Tang Nannan replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, indeed. The base leader said those stinky men don't deserve to enter our base!"

Lu Li thoroughly agreed with this sentiment. In the previous two bases, she had seen so many men who were practically all filthy.

"Absolutely right!" Lu Li affirmed!

Just as she was chatting with Tang Nannan and the others, a familiar cry of "Sister" startled Lu Li.

She traced the sound to its source and saw a familiar, stubborn little face. Surprised, she beamed, "Qingqing?"

Li Qingqing stood not far from the RV, her neat, crisp short hair framing a cute little face, while her tightly pressed lips betrayed her restrained joy.

Her clothes were somewhat old, but very clean. She stepped forward a few steps, tilting her head up to look at Lu Li, her gaze brimming with gratitude.

"Sister Lu!" Li Qingqing called out once more, explaining, "My sister and I didn't go to the Central Base; it was too far. When we saw Blossom Base looked wonderful, we settled here."

Hearing this, Lu Li realized her own oversight. The Central Base was a distant journey, and two little children traveling all that way would have faced countless dangers...

She broke into a wide smile and praised her generously without hesitation, "You did the right thing. It was your big sister who didn't think it through."

"No, that's not true. If Sister hadn't encouraged me..." Li Qingqing waved her hands hurriedly in denial.

Tang Nannan's gaze darted back and forth between the two, finally settling on Li Qingqing. "I know you. You're the new arrival from last night, and an elemental superpower user, too."

Li Qingqing smiled shyly and lowered her head. "Yes. Hello, Sister. If you ever need water in the future, you can find me. My rates are very cheap~"

"Alright then. Would you like to put some of this on? I see your hands are all chapped," Tang Nannan offered proactively.

"C-can I?" Li Qingqing looked pleasantly surprised, though her body honestly thrust her hands forward.

The four onlookers, including Lu Li, nearly died laughing. While her mouth said no, her hands had already reached out ten feet away.

Tang Nannan looked down, took her hand, and gently squeezed a soybean-sized amount of facial cream onto the back of her hand.

Watching this scene, Lu Li felt her heart soften. The mutual aid among women was always so tender.

"A faint floral scent, it smells so good." Li Qingqing couldn't bear to rub it in immediately; she brought it close to her nose to sniff before slowly massaging it in.

Tang Nannan said enthusiastically, "Boss, I want to scratch another one!"

The other two girls crowded around as well, chiming in, "Me too, me too!"

Li Qingqing also stepped forward, standing on her tiptoes to peer at the table, but due to her height limitation, she could only see a tiny bit.

Lu Li produced a step stool and handed it to her. Stepping onto it, Li Qingqing could finally see the entire tabletop.

The Lucky Cat figurine still sat on the desk. The membership card system was still somewhat inconvenient for brand-new customers.

Once they gained more trust in the lottery shop, she would promote it further. By then, as long as they had crystal cores in hand and tapped the software, the top-up would be complete.