The Doctor's Beast Tamer System: Apocalyptic Survival

Ch 8 Pride And Pragmatism

But they couldn't defy their beloved sister's command. With extreme laziness and half-hearted effort, the two men gave Bast a brief bow.

"Forgive our recklessness," Rae said flatly.

Ranu then reached into a leather pouch beneath his armor. He pulled out two rather large chunks of pure silver and shoved them toward Bast.

This represented 'big money.' In this civilization, massive-value coins didn't exist; for high-value transactions, people used rough metal chunks measured to specific weight standards.

The silver in Ranu's hand definitely possessed an irregular shape, but its value hit fantastic heights.

"Take this. So our family owes absolutely no debt of gratitude to you," Ranu said arrogantly. He clearly preferred paying a hefty price over carrying a debt to a commoner.

"Ranu! Watch your manners!" Remu scolded angrily. "You can't put a price on someone's life with chunks of silver!"

However, before Remu could lecture her brother any further, Bast's hands shot out like lightning, snatching the two silver chunks.

"Thank you very much, you generous Great Lord!" Bast said, flashing a massive grin.

Remu gaped in disbelief. Ranu and Rae froze stiff as well, the corners of their lips twitching. They fully expected this poor young man to act like a civilized hero and reject the reward—which would have given them the perfect excuse to mock his stupidity.

But Bast acted completely beyond their expectations. He didn't take offense in the slightest. Noble pride couldn't put food on the table.

As a man who once lived below the poverty line in his past life—and had to crawl through it all over again now—he explicitly chose cold, stark cash over empty words of gratitude that couldn't fill his stomach.

"You... really need money that badly?" Remu asked, staring at Bast's shabby, soaking-wet clothes.

"Everyone needs money to survive, Miss," Bast answered, flashing a sweet smile. That stood as the pragmatic principle guiding his entire life.

Remu finally sighed in understanding. "Alright... I understand. You must be having a really tough time. Excuse me."

After thanking him one last time, Remu walked away with her brothers' support.

Bast waved his hand when Remu glanced back. He harbored absolutely no intention of flirting; he genuinely felt grateful for the money—but oddly enough, Remu's face flushed red once again.

"Are you still 'standing'?" Bast grumbled softly as he looked down. He moved the worn-out sack he used earlier to cover his front side.

Bast felt the absolute need to check after seeing Remu's face turn red again. It would bring incredible shame if the girl actually blushed because she saw his 'excitement.'

Fortunately, his lower half had calmed down. Bast didn't know why Remu blushed—maybe a side effect of a cold fever—but it definitely wasn't because of him.

A wide grin broke across Bast's face again as he weighed the two silver chunks in his hands. Their weight equaled ten times the money he earned from selling the mutated rabbits earlier!

"I'm rich!" Bast chuckled cheerfully. He shoved the money into his deepest pocket and walked away from the river.

Bast sprinted straight to the grocery store area. Plenty of small stalls sold ingredients separately, but Bast deliberately chose the largest shop in the center of the market so he could buy everything in one go.

"Uncle, I want a sack of top-quality wheat, two dozen chicken eggs, that large slab of smoked meat, and a block of butter," Bast pointed at the row of merchandise in rapid succession.

The shop owner scanned Bast's wet, torn, and mud-stained clothes, then snorted disdainfully.

"Hey, Beggar. Don't just point at things. The price for that high-quality smoked meat and butter isn't meant for a tramp like you. Get out of here before I call the guards!"

Bast let out a lazy sigh. What a cliché and disrespectful treatment, though he completely understood it. His current clothes genuinely fell light-years away from the word "presentable."

Another vital lesson from his past life: decent clothes made everything infinitely easier. He immediately added 'fabric' to his mental shopping list.

Instead of getting frustrated and starting a long argument, Bast simply reached into his pocket and dropped one chunk of pure silver onto the wooden table to speed things up.

TUK!

The shop owner's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. His attitude pulled a flawless one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in a matter of seconds.

"A-Ah! My good Sir! Please forgive these blind eyes of mine! Of course, of course, I'll wrap the freshest and best goods for you right away!" he exclaimed in a panic, bowing repeatedly like a loyal servant.

Bast only needed to wait after that. The shopkeeper wrapped all his groceries in multiple layers and handed them over with heavily fabricated hospitality.

Following his plan, Bast shifted over to the tailor shop to buy fabric next. But just as he started picking out good materials, reality slapped him across the face again. He possessed a lot of money, sure, but it didn't make him limitlessly wealthy.

"Are you sure you can't lower the price?" Bast haggled one more time, stroking the roll of fine fabric he had his eyes on.

"Absolutely not! If you want cheaper material, take that one!" The shopkeeper snorted in annoyance, pointing at a pile of roughly woven, cheap fabric.

Bast didn't know exactly what fibers made up that fabric, but it definitely didn't come from comfortable cotton. He could already imagine his back itching endlessly the moment he wore it. However, he only had that choice because he needed to start saving his remaining capital.

"Seven meters," Bast decided. He handed over all the silver change he received from the grocery store earlier.

Now, only one chunk of Remu's big money remained in his pocket. Bast wouldn't act stupidly by squandering it. He harbored another plan.

After shoving the fabric into a bamboo basket and slinging it over his shoulder, Bast's brain spun again, searching for a consistent way to generate income.