Chapter 2: Stockpiling Supplies

Time was tight. An Nan quickly jotted down a shopping list in her phone’s memo app and hurried out the door.

In the neighborhood, elderly folks were gathered in small groups, chatting about daily life. Young couples strolled hand in hand under the tree-lined paths, their faces full of happiness. An Nan couldn’t help but sigh—how long had it been since she’d seen such a peaceful, harmonious scene? Sadly, in just a few days, all of this would be gone.

She quickened her pace and headed to a nearby car rental shop, renting a light cargo van and driving straight to Linbei City’s largest agricultural wholesale market.

First stop: the grains and oils section, to stock up on staple foods.

In a disaster, even if you have nothing else, as long as you have enough rice and water, you can survive.

She bought 500 fifty-pound bags of rice, 300 bags of various flours, 1,000 pounds each of potatoes and sweet potatoes, 500 pounds of corn, 500 pounds of assorted beans, and 500 pounds of grains like oats and buckwheat.

This amount of staple food could feed a family of three for seventy years.

Even though An Nan was alone, she still bought extra. The surplus could be traded for other urgently needed supplies.

In the apocalypse, food is as good as cash.

In the later stages of the floods, even a bag of moldy rice could be traded for a night with a young girl.

Fresh vegetables and fruits, though, couldn’t be used for bartering—after all, if you could pull out fresh produce years into the apocalypse, people would definitely get suspicious.

Having learned from the tragic fate of the rich Ying siblings in her previous life, An Nan was determined that this time, no one would ever discover the secret of her storage space.

After stocking up on staples, she moved on to cooking oils. She bought 500 five-liter bottles in total—soybean oil, peanut oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, olive oil, and more.

Next was the condiments section.

She bought 600 pounds of salt, and 300 pounds of various sugars like brown and white sugar.

600 liters each of soy sauce and cooking wine, and 600 liters in total of different vinegars—aged, rice, white, etc.

Other seasonings—chicken essence, MSG, chili powder, pepper, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, fennel, etc.—totaled 300 pounds.

She also picked up various semi-finished seasonings: hot pot bases, barbecue rubs, meat marinades, fish stew seasonings, and all sorts of sauces.

She used her van to transport everything to a deserted spot in the outskirts, then, avoiding surveillance cameras, stashed it all away in her storage space.

After eight or nine trips back and forth, she finally finished.

Just as she was about to go buy meat and vegetables, her stomach started rumbling.

Only then did An Nan realize that in her rush to stock up, she’d been busy all morning without eating a thing.

Having starved in the apocalypse before, she immediately put her shopping spree on hold to take care of her growling stomach.

She headed to a nearby food street, and was dazzled by the choices.

Fried chicken shops, bubble tea stands, barbecue joints, Sichuan restaurants, crab pots, hand-pulled noodle shops…

This wasn’t just a food street—it was the stuff of her dreams during those four years in the apocalypse!

An Nan chose a restaurant with the most diverse menu and walked in.

She ordered eight dishes and a soup:

Peking roast duck, Sichuan mapo tofu, Northeastern sweet and sour pork, West Lake vinegar fish, Dongpo pork, garlic baby cabbage, spicy chicken, dry-fried green beans, and pork rib, lotus root, and yam soup.

The waitress, a young girl, looked at her in shock.

“Miss, are you really ordering all this just for yourself?”

An Nan replied calmly, “I’m treating friends. They’re not here yet. Please bring out the food first.”

The dishes came quickly—well-balanced, savory and sweet, and generous portions.

Half an hour later, An Nan put down her chopsticks, patting her full belly in satisfaction.

Only she knew how much she’d missed food like this during those years in the apocalypse!

Forget about delicious, fragrant meals like this—even a bite of expired bread was something people would fight over, sometimes to the death.

For a long time, she’d had nothing to eat but dirt.

Not the internet joke about “being so poor you eat dirt,” but literally scooping up dirt from the ground and swallowing it dry. Eat too much, and you’d get constipated, sometimes fatally so. Many people died that way.

But if you didn’t eat, you’d starve even faster.

An Nan knew better than anyone how precious food was. She waved the waitress over.

“My friends aren’t coming. Can you pack this up for me?”

She carried the takeout boxes back to her van and, when no one was looking, stashed them in her storage space.

Though she wanted to stock up on more snacks, the wholesale market would close early, so she decided to hurry back for groceries and come back for snacks in the evening.

Back at the market, An Nan headed straight for the meat and egg section.

She bought 8,000 eggs, 4,000 each of duck and goose eggs, and 3,000 quail eggs.

500 pounds of pork, 300 pounds each of beef and lamb, 500 chickens and 500 ducks, and 300 geese—all processed and ready to store.

She also bought large quantities of chicken feet, wings, duck tongues, duck necks, duck intestines, and more—perfect for making marinated snacks later.

Before the apocalypse, An Nan’s favorite thing was to watch dramas while munching on spicy duck snacks.

Now that she had a second chance at life, she wasn’t just going to survive—she was going to live well.

Next, she went to the seafood section.

She bought 1,000 fish of various kinds, 500 pounds of assorted shrimp, 300 pounds of shellfish like razor clams, clams, and oysters, and some squid and octopus.

With all the meat done, An Nan moved on to fruits and vegetables.

She bought 2,000 pounds of leafy greens—spinach, chives, lettuce, celery, and more. 1,000 pounds of gourds—cucumber, winter melon, pumpkin, etc.

800 pounds of cabbage for detox. 1,500 pounds in total of tomatoes, eggplants, bean sprouts, radishes, green beans, etc. 800 pounds of mushrooms—shiitake, enoki, wood ear, silver ear, and more. 800 pounds each of green onions, ginger, and garlic.

At the fruit section, An Nan only picked her favorites: apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, oranges, lemons, peaches, grapes, lychees, durians, watermelons, Hami melons—totaling 6,000 pounds.

The market had everything, even some out-of-season fruits, but she wasn’t picky—soon, she wouldn’t be able to get any at all.

All afternoon, An Nan was caught in a cycle of buying food, loading it into the van, and stashing it away, over and over.

Once she finished with food, she rushed to the city’s largest clothing and general goods wholesale market.

She didn’t need to buy many clothes—her closet at home was already well-stocked—just a few new items for each year.

In the apocalypse, no one cared about style; comfort and practicality were all that mattered.

She bought 300 pieces each of spring/summer and autumn clothes—pants, skirts, dresses, etc.

300 pairs each of sandals, slippers, sneakers, leather shoes, and other footwear.

Most importantly, she stocked up on winter gear, since when the extreme cold hit, thick clothes were as essential as body fat.

It was summer, so winter clothes were dirt cheap—many at half price.

She bought down jackets, wool sweaters, thick cotton pants, hats, scarves, gloves, and more.

Big cotton boots, snow boots, thick socks—she got them all.

Finally, she turned to basic daily necessities.

She bought extra toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, body wash, laundry detergent, and other toiletries.

50 sets each of thick quilts, pillows, sheets, and pillowcases.

Pots, pans, bowls, garbage bags, scissors, lighters, disposable meal boxes—she bought all sorts of miscellaneous items in bulk.

Most important of all were hygiene products like toilet paper and sanitary pads—she filled an entire van with them.

Thinking of the swarms of mosquitoes during the heat waves, An Nan also bought insecticides, mosquito coils, floral water, and realgar powder.

And for the extreme cold, she stocked up on hand warmers and hot water bottles.

An Nan bought everything she could think of, but still felt it wasn’t enough. After all, she only had a few days to prepare for decades to come—it was impossible to cover every base.

But the market was closing, so she had no choice but to reluctantly stop.

She transported everything in batches to the deserted outskirts and stored it all away.

After a whole day of running around, An Nan was exhausted. Finally, she had a moment to rest. She sat in the van, closed her eyes, and tried to relax.

Bzzz—

Her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket.

An Nan pulled it out, opened WeChat, glanced at the message, and frowned."