CH 4

Jiang Muyun followed Auntie's instructions and found the Huimin Processing Factory along the way.

The place wasn't difficult to find. The main challenge was navigating through the bustling scene outside the factory, with villagers constantly driving back and forth to transport grains. It was a lively and busy atmosphere. She followed the flow of vehicles and was able to locate the factory easily.

Jiang Muyun observed that the Huimin Processing Factory had a relatively large scale and a wide range of operations. They were involved in various coarse processing activities for agricultural and sideline products.

Jiang Muyun casually struck up a conversation with a seemingly idle worker and mentioned that she was sent by Aunt Feng Cui. The worker immediately understood and wore a knowing look. He then led her into an office.

"Dad, there's someone here to buy grains. They're Aunt Feng Cui's person.”

Inside the office was a middle-aged man who was holding a notebook and jotting down something. He looked up briefly and responded, "Got it."

Then he looked up and asked, "What does the young lady want to buy?"

Jiang Muyun looked outside briefly and replied, "I need 15 tons of rice, 10 tons of white flour, and 2 tons of peanut oil. If you have sesame oil and rapeseed oil, I'll take 1 ton of each as well. Uncle, do you have any other products for sale here? Starch, flour, or anything else?"

Upon hearing the quantities reported by Jiang Muyun, the middle-aged man didn't immediately agree. Instead, he said, "So, Aunt Feng Cui's home, right? Let me have a look first."

He flipped through a few pages in the notebook and then took out a calculator to make some calculations. Afterward, he said, "We have rice, flour, as well as cornmeal and starch. However, if you want to buy oil, you'll have to purchase it at our factory's price. Aunt Feng Cui's supply won't be sufficient."

Jiang Muyun inquired about the price and realized that, as expected, it was cheaper without the involvement of middlemen. She decisively paid the deposit.

After leaving her phone number and warehouse address, Jiang Muyun asked, "Uncle, are there any nearby farms where I can get some chickens, ducks, and fish?"

The middle-aged man pointed her in a direction and said, "Just follow the road in that direction; it's not far. They are all located in that area and owned by the same boss. If you want to buy some cured meat or similar products, you'll find them nearby as well."

Jiang Muyun first went to the aquaculture farm, where she found the prices to be affordable and that they had a quick-freezing facility. She decided to purchase shrimp and had them quickly frozen before being delivered to her warehouse.

Although the person in charge found it strange that she bought live seafood only to have it frozen, he didn't inquire further. He simply attributed it to the ignorance of city folk and agreed without hesitation.

After Jiang Muyun visited the fish processing factory and placed an order for a large quantity of freshly caught but unprocessed fish, the person in charge's belief in her peculiar behavior grew even stronger.

With the fresh-water seafood purchased, Jiang Muyun then found a poultry farm and bought 200 old hens, 200 old ducks, and 100 old geese.

She bought the poultry specifically to make soup, which is why she opted for fresh ones.

As for chicken legs and wings, Jiang Muyun planned to buy them all as frozen products.

Unlike fish and shrimp, common meat varieties don't make much of a difference in terms of freshness after being cooked, at least not according to Jiang Muyun's culinary skills. Her taste buds wouldn't be able to discern the difference. Therefore, she decided to save some money by purchasing frozen meat products.

Therefore, Jiang Muyun hesitated for a while at the livestock slaughterhouse but eventually placed an order for four adult pigs, one cow, and one sheep.

She requested that the animals be slaughtered on the spot so that the meat could be processed immediately for delivery. The slaughterhouse even thoughtfully provided a meat rack for hanging the meat.

While Jiang Muyun was finalizing an order for a batch of cured and preserved products at the adjacent processing factory, she happened to encounter the delivery truck from the poultry farm as she hurried back to the warehouse to collect seasoning ingredients.

The two delivery trucks met, and after a brief conversation between the drivers, they realized they had the same destination. They decided to drive side by side and continued on their way together.

Jiang Muyun rode back with the delivery truck, carrying the cured and preserved products. Along the way, she engaged in casual conversation with the driver and co-driver, discussing various topics. When they arrived at the destination and the two drivers helped unload the goods, they were reluctant to leave and insisted on hearing the entrepreneurial story of Jiang Muyun's second uncle.

After paying the driver's fee and final payment, Jiang Muyun noticed that the rest of the items hadn't arrived yet. Deciding to make the most of the situation, she continued chatting with the two drivers.

Just as Jiang Muyun was telling the story of her second uncle being robbed while transporting goods, the seasoning ingredients she had ordered in the morning arrived.

Along with the delivery truck, there were a few additional laborers who helped unload the goods.

Since the two drivers from the poultry farm didn't have any other tasks at hand, they decided to lend a hand with the unloading. As they worked, they listened attentively to Jiang Muyun's story of how her second uncle outsmarted unscrupulous merchants.

Just as the goods were being unloaded, the delivery truck from the processing factory, carrying grains, arrived.

It was enough grain to feed Jiang Muyun for several lifetimes, but the workers did their work efficiently and without hesitation. If it weren't for the time needed for loading and unloading, Jiang Muyun could have placed an order and had it taken away on the spot.

Even Jiang Muyun herself was surprised that she managed to purchase the main food items in just one day. She had acquired quite a variety of goods in a short amount of time.

At this rate, if Jiang Muyun wanted to, she could even catch the high-speed train back to South City tonight.

In her past life, it took Jiang Muyun ten years of stumbling and struggling to travel from West City to South City.

And now, she only needed a few hours to make the journey, and it couldn't be better.

After unloading the goods, Jiang Muyun distributed the cigarettes she had bought during the day to everyone. She paid the workers' fees generously and made a sincere agreement with the two drivers from the poultry farm. If they were to meet again in the future, she promised to introduce them to her legendary second uncle.

Jiang Muyun squatted in the warehouse and carefully counted her treasures once again.

Once she finished collecting the takeout orders from the small restaurant, Jiang Muyun closed the door to the warehouse.

As the last rays of the setting sun faded away, the warehouse became completely engulfed in darkness.

Jiang Muyun pulled the tattered curtain over the warehouse window, ensuring that no one would be able to look inside, and then she placed her hand on the goods before her.

The towering stacks of goods in the warehouse began to disappear gradually, seemingly vanishing into thin air as Jiang Muyun moved her hand.

Only Jiang Muyun knew that they had all been relocated to another ethereal realm, hidden from the view of ordinary eyes.

The staple foods, such as rice and flour, were piled together, while the fresh produce was placed in another stack. Commonly used seasonings and spices were kept separate, and liquids and solids were also separated.

There was another section in the space that Jiang Muyun had set aside where a pile of large plastic food containers was placed. These were the meals she had ordered from the small restaurant.

This time, ordering meals from the small restaurant gave Jiang Muyun some inspiration.

After the apocalypse, fuel became a scarce resource. Even if Jiang Muyun managed to stockpile a large amount of fuel in advance, the odor produced while cooking in crowded areas could easily become a death sentence for her.

If she were to buy ingredients and cook by herself, the time she would have for making cooked food would be limited to the month leading up to the apocalypse and the initial few months when people still had relatively sufficient food supplies.

And she also needs to subtract the time for purchasing supplies.

She just doesn't have the time.

Instead of risking her life later to cook or sitting on a pile of supplies that she can't eat, it's better to spend more money now and stock up on a certain amount of ready-to-eat food to survive the initial period of crowded survivors.

When the order completely collapses, she can easily avoid crowds and become a loner, just like in her past life.

It's just that there's no one to talk to.

So, mental nourishment must be sufficient! Jiang Muyun thought that she still hadn't found the ending of the novel she read in her previous life. She planned to look up the protagonist's name later and see if she could find it.

After spending half an hour storing all her day's achievements in her space, Jiang Muyun turned around and stepped out of the warehouse. She carefully locked the warehouse door, making sure it was secure.

Jiang Muyun returned to the guest house and forced herself to lie down and sleep.

Early the next morning, seeing that there was no one at the front desk, Jiang Muyun left the room key on the table and left a note for the owner. She then grabbed her luggage and set off on her journey back home.

These items purchased in West City may seem like a lot, but they are only the most basic and convenient part of Jiang Muyun's shopping list.

Her hoarding plan has just begun, and there are a lot of things waiting for her ahead. According to the news broadcast by the national channel during the early stages of the apocalypse, the cold wave that swept across the globe was detected in late September.

It brewed for only a few days before dispersing in all directions, dragging the entire Blue Star into the vortex of doom.

Jiang Muyun wants to buy a large number of supplies, and the safest time to do so is before late September when the unusual weather is still unnoticed.

There are many things to be done, but the good thing is that she's going home.