Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 220: We Should Use This

After half a year of extreme cold, extreme heat would follow. By then, it wouldn't be too late to stock up on coal. There was no need to pay sky-high prices right now.

"I don't need any for now. I'll contact you when I do," Mariella said, still thanking him. "Thanks for thinking of me, Denton."

Denton continued, "I talked with a few partners about gemstone exchange prices. We have four warehouses with about 156 tons in total. We're thinking of trading it for grain at a one-to-one rate. What do you think?"

Mariella sucked in a sharp breath.

156 tons? Where am I supposed to get that much grain...

Wait—156 tons... of gemstones?!

She was stunned. "Did your partner buy out a whole gemstone mine?"

"They teamed up and secured a dedicated supply route. The mine gives them priority shipments. The quality is guaranteed. It's just... the quantity is a bit overwhelming," Denton admitted, realizing he had underestimated her ability to handle it.

He added, "If you don't have enough grain, you can use other supplies instead. Like water transport tools and life jackets—those are in high demand now. I'll discuss the exchange terms with them again."

Mariella checked what she had in her storage space and decided to use the equipment taken from Black Bear and Harvey first.

"Four wooden boats with a two-ton capacity each for about 36,000 pounds of gemstones, 80 inflatable boats for 8,000 pounds, 160 kayaks for 2,000 pounds, and 500 life jackets for about 1,000 pounds. Cold weapons will trade at a one-to-two weight ratio. Tell them these prices first. If they agree, we'll talk about the rest."

Denton asked right away, "How much do the cold weapons weigh?"

Cold weapons were easy to sell now. A one-to-two trade ratio was very worthwhile for gemstone dealers.

After all, they couldn't smash someone's head with gemstones in a fight.

Knives, swords, and clubs were much more useful in real combat.

Even though guns were more popular, they were extremely expensive and far beyond what normal people could afford.

Right now, most small groups still mainly used cold weapons.

For gemstone dealers, trading gemstones for weapons was still better than letting them sit useless.

Mariella quickly calculated the weapons they had taken from Black Bear, Harvey, and Tigre's storage. "About 500 pounds of cold weapons. That should trade for 1,000 pounds of gemstones."

Before the disaster, even an average emerald bracelet could sell for tens of thousands.

Now, emeralds were priced by weight instead.

Denton sounded a bit excited after hearing that. He didn't ask where she got so many weapons and replied immediately, "I'll talk to them as soon as possible. I'll update you once there's news."

"Alright. Go ahead and get busy." Mariella wasn't rushing. She chatted a bit more before hanging up.

She then realized she was still in Chandler's arms. He had been holding her the whole time.

"Hey, you've been holding me this whole time. Aren't your arms tired?" She poked his firm arm muscle.

Chandler took it as teasing and immediately kissed her back. "I didn't want you to get tired."

Mariella wrapped her arms around his neck and said playfully, "Then why weren't you worried about me getting tired last night?"

That single reminder made his eyes heat up instantly.

She immediately realized her joke had stirred him up again, so she quickly backed off. "Alright, alright, no more teasing. Let's talk business. Denton's partners probably want to sell fast, so they won't wait until tonight to meet. If we go back to Celestine Ridge now and have to come out again this afternoon, it'll be troublesome."

Chandler looked around. "This place is fine. The signal is good too."

Mariella frowned. "Don't tell me you're going into the storage space to work again. I really don't have much energy left."

"We'll go in. I'll do the work—you just supervise," he said gently.

Mariella laughed. "What kind of worker are you? You're working harder than the boss."

Chandler didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Aren't we basically engaged already?"

"Uh... yeah. That's true..." Mariella scratched her head, suddenly realizing. "No wonder you're so motivated. Now I get it!"

...

They entered the storage space.

Chandler kept his word. He brought a chair for Mariella so she could sit nearby while he organized everything in the static zone.

He rearranged the vehicles and moved the luxury RV taken from Black Bear to the edge for easier access.

"We should use this RV when we rest outside. It'll save the limited active time of the storage space," he suggested while working.

Mariella actually liked the RV, but she hated that Black Bear had used it. Just thinking about what he had done inside made her feel disgusted.

"Take out everything removable. Replace it all if possible. Clean it deeply, disinfect it, and air it out for a few days," she instructed from her chair.