131: Chapter 131 We've finally left the village!

The graphic on the other icon no longer featured that "money-stealing hand," showing only a pile of coins, which looked much more normal.

The small text beneath the icon was also quite normal, simply labeled [Trading House].

Upon clicking it, there was the familiar "clang" sound, and a layout similar to the previous one appeared before his eyes.

Xiao Niao took a quick glance and realized the item page was basically the same, only missing the other management pages compared to [My Trading House].

It seemed that [My Trading House] was intended for the Trading House owner to view their own business operations and perform simple management tasks, while this [Trading House] was the "client" for general players, where they could browse items and post purchase requests.

Xiao Niao randomly selected an item, [Tattered Bamboo Hat], and saw the price: 38 Wen.

Seriously? Someone actually dares to sell this thing for over thirty Wen?

This item had been there since the very first day the Trading House was established. Back then, the villagers didn't quite trust the Trading House, so they just sent over some junk that was taking up space at home—things they felt were a pity to throw away—and this [Tattered Bamboo Hat] was among them.

It would be one thing if the other items were just a bit worn, as they still held some value, but this bamboo hat was worthless to begin with. Its only function was to be worn on the head to shade from the sun or block the rain, but since it was tattered, what could it possibly be used for? Not only would no fool buy it, but even if given away, nobody might want it. It would probably just sit in the Xie Family Courtyard forever...

But it didn't matter; he was just testing the purchase function anyway, not actually intending to buy it.

Even if he accidentally bought it, as the Trading House owner, he could just process an online return.

Xiao Niao thought to himself, then clicked purchase with peace of mind.

He had expected it to be like other games, where a prompt would pop up to confirm the amount, and after confirming, the money would automatically be deducted and the item purchased. Instead, he found it wasn't like that at all.

After Xiao Niao clicked purchase, a prompt box popped up before him:

[Please select a delivery address.]

[No delivery address currently available. Please add a frequently used address.]

A delivery address?

Xiao Niao was stunned. For a moment, he almost couldn't tell if he was in the game or in reality. He steadied himself and took a hard look at the Trading House panel a few times before convincing himself that he wasn't shopping on his phone... but buying things in the game's Trading House.

It's just... the setup here is too similar to an online shopping platform!

Xiao Niao shook his head in slight disappointment and closed the abstract little box for adding a delivery address.

Judging from the current situation, this purchase function wasn't what he had imagined—where you select an item, pay, and the item immediately appears in your hand or backpack. It was more like online shopping in reality; after placing an order and paying, you still had to wait for the Trading House to send someone to deliver it...

However, considering the game's near-torturous level of realism, it would actually be abnormal if the item were instantly transferred from the Trading House to the buyer's backpack the moment an order was placed. This current setup was actually quite reasonable and much more convenient than before.

Furthermore, for Xiao Niao, the greatest value of the built-in Trading House module wasn't even these specific functions. It was the fact that once this feature went live, every player could access the Trading House anytime, anywhere. The Trading House interface presented to players as a System function far surpassed those few rows of shelves in the Xie Family Courtyard in terms of both visibility and credibility.

It could be said that with this Trading House module, even if Hu Gualing were to take the seat of [Trading House Owner], it wouldn't stop the arrival of the glorious future of the Xiao Huang Trading Firm.

Xiao Niao asked his only two current customers with full confidence: "How is it? This new Trading House feature is pretty good, right?"

Tang Yao: "It's quite good, but there are too few items inside. I finished browsing it in no time."

"Wait until later; there will definitely be more goods inside. I guarantee you'll be spoiled for choice and won't even be able to look through them all!" Xiao Niao assured Tang Yao, then continued his customer research: "What about you, Gualing? What do you think?"

Hu Gualing: "It's pretty good, but if I want to buy something, how should I set the delivery address? For instance, if I want to buy this 38 Wen bamboo hat now, do I have to set the address to the Village East Entrance? But we're leaving the village soon. By the time it's delivered, we won't know where we'll be, and I won't be able to receive it!"

Xiao Niao: "...Just treat it like online shopping in reality. When you aren't home, can't you have the courier leave your package in a locker downstairs? For example, if you want that bamboo hat now, just set the delivery address to the Blacksmith Shop, and they'll deliver it there. Besides, the village is so small; if you want something, just buy it and have it stored in the Xie Family Courtyard. You can just go pick it up when you have time."

Hu Gualing scratched his head: "I don't really shop online much, but I do order food online quite often, and the delivery person always brings it directly to me... But now that you put it that way, it does seem to make sense."

Xiao Niao: "Of course. That's ordering takeout, which is a bit different from online shopping. Besides, this function to add a delivery address is mostly intended for the future. As the number of players increases and more maps are unlocked, it won't be possible for all players to crowd into this one Novice Village, Xiao Huang Village. By then, we might set up pickup points in other villages and main cities. Once players buy something, it'll be delivered to the nearest city or village."

Hu Gualing nodded, suddenly enlightened: "So that's how it is! You really know more about this, Xiao Niao."

Xiao Niao smiled. As the Trading House owner, he had already considered these matters long ago.

Xiao Niao asked casually: "By the way, what do you want to buy that bamboo hat for?"

Hu Gualing: "Because it looks cool, of course! Don't all the ancient heroes wear big bamboo hats?"

Xiao Niao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's so tattered there are barely any bamboo strips left; what's cool about it? If it weren't for the fact that the Trading House is so low on stock right now, I would have taken it off the shelves already. It lowers the class of the Xiao Huang Trading Firm."

Hu Gualing said, somewhat unconvinced: "Well, I think it looks cool anyway..."

Xiao Niao: "Alright, stop obsessing over this broken bamboo hat. You can't get it even if you buy it now anyway. Once we head outside the village later, we might just loot a proper helmet."

Hu Gualing's eyes lit up: "Oh, that's true! Let's go, let's set off immediately!"

The three of them and the pig marched valiantly and spiritedly across the field ridges and open ground, finally stepping onto the land outside the village.

We have finally left the village!

Chen Mo, while eating his late-night barbecue, sighed: "It hasn't been easy. My players have finally walked out of the Novice Village."