Just then, an auntie walked into the shop carrying a vegetable basket and expertly pointed out several kinds of cold dishes.
“Boss, pack these up.”
“You came too late, ma’am. This young lady bought them all.”
The boss did not even raise his head as he continued filling out the order form.
He was not worried at all that Tang Tang might not be able to pay.
The wholesale market dealt mostly in large transactions, and many of the people who came here were business owners. He could tell at a glance who had money and who did not.
The auntie was extremely surprised when she heard this.
“Oh my, that’s quite something. Young lady, what are you going to do with so many cold dishes?”
Tang Tang parted her lips, momentarily at a loss for words.
This was the first time someone had asked her why she was buying so much after she had purchased from so many shops.
“I, I bought them to take home and treat some guests.”
The auntie was even more astonished.
“You’re entertaining that many tables of guests? Young lady, you’re quite generous. But be careful. Food spoils easily in hot weather.”
Tang Tang smiled and nodded. “Auntie, why don’t you pick some out and take them with you? I’ll give them to you.”
The auntie hurriedly waved her hand.
“No, no, that’s all right. I’ll buy some from another shop.”
Tang Tang silently sighed as she watched the auntie walk away.
The prosperous market before her would cease to exist after today.
When that time came, human technology, civilization, morality, and laws would all be inferior to humanity’s most primitive desire: to stay alive.
After Tang Tang paid, she walked out of the shop and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
The temperature had suddenly risen considerably today.
The weather was already hot, but now even the air seemed to be burning.
Tang Tang took out her phone and called her uncle.
Her uncle was the only family she had left in this world.
She knew that he had guards stationed around him in the military district, and he was also highly skilled himself.
But Tang Tang still could not help worrying.
She had been unable to get through to her uncle when she left the hotel that morning.
She still could not reach him now.
Tang Tang frowned deeply, her heart heavy with worry.
She had no idea what her uncle was doing right now.
There was nothing she could do about not being able to reach him.
Tang Tang temporarily put her worries aside and continued to the next shop to stockpile supplies.
The agricultural trade market was quite large. Even though she simply placed orders and paid by card, it still took her a full two and a half hours to purchase everything she wanted.
Although she did not know how to farm, she still bought one packet of every type of seed.
It was her way of symbolically preserving the remnants of human civilization.
“Miss, what’s wrong?”
The seed shop owner saw Tang Tang suddenly stop while making her payment.
He thought the young woman had changed her mind.
That made sense. A young woman dressed in luxury clothing would not normally come here to buy seeds.
Tang Tang smiled and shook her head.
“Nothing.”
Seeing her strange expression, smiling one moment and frowning the next, the shop owner could not bring himself to make things difficult for her.
“It’s fine if you don’t want them. I can refund you.”
Tang Tang waved her hand.
“No, no. It’s not because of that.”
“Do you know where I can buy food that has already been processed and is convenient to store?”
The shop owner grinned.
“You bought all these vegetables, but you don’t know how to cook, do you?”
Tang Tang gave an awkward laugh.
He had hit the nail on the head.
At first, Tang Tang had been quite pleased with herself, thinking she had bought every type of item available in the market.
She had even bought dozens of boxes of soy sauce, vinegar, and other condiments.
Yet from beginning to end, she had completely forgotten that she did not know how to cook.
She had spent several hours on all of this, only to realize she had wasted her effort.
Tang Tang sighed as she paid.
The shop owner shook his palm fan and smiled until his eyes narrowed.
“There’s another general goods market to the east. They have all kinds of things in there. It’s huge.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Tang Tang turned and left the shop, but after only a few steps, she turned back.
“Oh, right, Boss. I heard there were several cases of people being bitten by rabid dogs in Hai City today. You should close up early after you’ve finished selling your goods.”
The shop owner smiled kindly.
“Thank you. You should be careful too. That market is quite chaotic.”
Tang Tang did not take the shop owner’s final warning to heart.
After leaving the wholesale market, she stepped directly into the scorching sunlight.
Within just a few minutes, the exposed skin on her arms had turned red.
The warehouse was very close by, and most of the things she had bought had already been delivered there.
Tang Tang made sure there was no one inside and that there were no surveillance cameras.
She closed the door and immediately began collecting the supplies into her Space Cheat Ability.
Collecting supplies relied on mental power. The user had to remain highly focused in order to succeed.
It did not consume physical strength, but it was extremely draining mentally.
Tang Tang’s constitution was too weak. After collecting only a small amount, she already felt exhausted and had to stop and rest.
So she filled a bottle with spirit spring water. Every time she collected some supplies, she would take a sip of the spirit spring water.
After spending more than half an hour on it, Tang Tang finally emptied the warehouse.
Before she could even catch her breath, she saw the time on her watch and hurried toward the general goods market.
Just as the shop owner had said, the market was filled with all kinds of miscellaneous goods.
The first shop sold daily necessities. The second sold hardware. There were also fishing equipment and electrical appliances. Shop after shop was packed together in a vast and complicated market.
Tang Tang locked onto an outdoor equipment store.
Following an apocalypse supply list she had found online, she carefully picked through the camping supplies and found quite a few useful things.
Magnesium fire starters, high-powered flashlights, military ration cans, portable outdoor water filters, and even cold fireworks.
But when she asked to buy everything in the shop, the bearded shop owner immediately refused.
“I can pay extra.”
Tang Tang sounded a little anxious.
The bearded shop owner stroked his beard and shook his head.
“Even if you pay more, I can’t do that. It’s not about the money, girl. It wasn’t easy for me to get these things either. If I sell everything to you, how am I supposed to do business?”
“It’s a matter of principle.”
No matter what Tang Tang said, the shop owner remained unmoved.
With no other choice, Tang Tang bought only the maximum quantity the shop owner was willing to sell her.
She had barely walked a few steps out of the shop when the owner suddenly called out to her.
Tang Tang turned around, thinking the shop owner had changed his mind.
But the shop owner was merely recommending another store to her.
“There’s another shop at the westernmost end of the market. I can tell you’re a big spender. If you still want more, go take a look there. He has plenty of smuggled goods.”
Tang Tang nodded and turned to leave, but her heart was in turmoil.
Only now did she finally understand what the seed shop owner had meant by saying the market was “chaotic.”
“Big spender” was slang for a wealthy customer and major buyer, while “smuggled goods” was a term used in their underground jargon.
In simple terms, it meant there were good goods at the western end of the market.
Tang Tang’s thoughts wandered as she walked. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in the corner of her eye.
She immediately turned her head and looked around for him.
But the person had disappeared without a trace, as though he had sunk into the sea.
Impossible.
That person definitely could not have been Pei Xianzhi.
He must be negotiating a business deal right now.
Besides, the person had been dressed in shabby gray clothes. Pei Xianzhi would never wear a color like that.
Tang Tang came back to her senses and continued walking.
She turned her head.
An old man in his sixties or seventies suddenly appeared in front of her.
The old man skillfully threw away his crutch and plopped himself onto the ground, putting on an emotional performance.
The entire process took no more than five seconds.
Tang Tang had not even had time to react.
Out of personal habit, Tang Tang always deliberately kept a safe distance from strangers when walking.
Especially men.
She did not seem to have even touched this man just now, did she?
“Whoa, is this a staged scam or a real accident?”
“Hard to say, but I think you shouldn’t mess with young people. They’ll teach you what… what is it called? Oh, they’ll teach you how to become a better person!”
“That old geezer deliberately targets young people who look easy to bully.”
“I think this girl is in trouble. She looks like a college student. She might just pay some money to settle it.”
Every word of the surrounding people’s discussion fell clearly into Tang Tang’s ears.
Tang Tang crossed her arms and coldly watched the old man sitting on the ground.
Every now and then, he would use his withered hands to pound his lower back or slap his legs.
It was almost as if he planned to pin his missing teeth on her too.