After placing those orders, Han Ying finished her noodles. Glancing over at the kitchen, she saw the chef still busy cutting noodles and leaned back in her chair to continue ordering online. She had just bought sanitary pads and originally planned to move on to tissues, but the roast duck racks suddenly jumped ahead in her feed.
Han Ying had initially planned to source tissues directly from the factory, but since she had time now, she decided to buy a small amount. She ordered 100 boxes each of various brands of toilet paper, facial tissues, handkerchiefs, face towels, and wet wipes from different shops. She also bought 5,000 pieces each of underwear and bras, using the same approach.
Next, she picked up cotton T-shirts and quick-dry shirts at special prices—19.9 and 15.9 yuan—choosing only dark colors: black, gray, deep purple, and navy blue, buying 1,000 pieces of each style.
Just as she was about to continue with pants, her feed suddenly recommended alcohol blocks. Han Ying marveled at how terrifying big data could be, capturing even the things she muttered to herself. She quickly ordered 500 boxes from different stores, each containing 20 packs of 30 pieces, 50 grams each.
Naturally, solid alcohol required alcohol stoves. Thanks to big data, she didn’t even need to search—she opened a link for stoves and decisively ordered 50 units.
After buying the alcohol blocks and stoves, Han Ying saw further recommendations for self-heating hot pots and self-heating packs. These could be used without electricity or gas. Self-heating hot pots were expensive and average in taste, so she bought only 50 boxes (12 pots per box). Self-heating packs, however, were cheap and sometimes more convenient than alcohol blocks. She picked large and medium sizes, ordering 100 boxes of each, with 250 and 350 packets per box. All of these items were shipped to her previously rented warehouse.
Even after all this, Han Ying still felt a little unsatisfied. But by this time, the chef had already packed the noodles, so she would have to wait until the next meal to continue buying food. Judging from today’s orders, Han Ying thought she might need to rent another warehouse to spread out her stock, otherwise having everything in one place could be risky.
After the chef helped load the noodles into the trunk, Han Ying went straight to the neighboring roast meat shop. She bought all of their roast meat, paid, and left. She then stored the noodles and meat in her spatial talisman, as the car was already full. Without wasting time, she returned to the club for her evening karate class.
Although these classes took up a lot of her daily schedule, leaving only mornings and mealtimes for stockpiling, Han Ying didn’t feel it was a waste of time. Gathering supplies was important, but having the ability to protect them was even more crucial. Otherwise, all the stockpiling would just end up benefiting someone else. As the saying went during foreign unrest: “Neighbors stockpile grain, I stockpile guns!”
After returning from the club at night, Han Ying collected another batch of milk tea and brought over some small parcels delivered to the shop. She didn’t unpack them, instead storing them directly in her spatial talisman. These were small orders she had been placing gradually. Except for essential items, she didn’t have the time to unpack everything now and would wait until after the apocalypse.
After finishing a whole roast duck she had bought in the evening as a midnight snack, Han Ying continued her talisman drawing work. After two hours, exhausted, she packed up her tools and finished products, took a quick shower, and went to bed.
The next morning, after picking up her scheduled breakfast and planning to visit the farmers’ market, she received a call. It was from the real estate agent, with news about the apartment she wanted. Surprisingly, the owners of units 2702 and 2703 in Lefu Jiangnan, Building 9 were the same person. The larger unit 2703 had originally been bought for her son’s marriage, while the owners lived in 2702 for convenience. Later, the son’s career and marriage plans failed, so the owners decided to sell the properties to provide funds for him.
The larger 2703 had already been sold. For the smaller 2702, a buyer had inquired, but the price was too low, and full payment was required, so it remained unsold. Han Ying immediately decided to take 2702. The smaller size didn’t matter, as she was living alone. The 110-square-meter unit sold for 3.52 million yuan, with an interior of 93.5 square meters, including one kitchen, one living room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a balcony. The layout was suitable for her, so no modifications were needed.
Her plan to visit the farmers’ market was replaced by a visit to see the apartment. After all, the market could wait, but buying the apartment meant she could renovate it as soon as possible.
Han Ying drove to Lefu Jiangnan, parked in the underground lot, and found the elevator for Building 9. She noticed the elevator was still on the 20th floor, so she waited. While waiting, a young man wearing a black baseball cap and black mask walked by. He looked like a university student. Tall—at least 185 cm—he stood slightly in front and to the right of Han Ying. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she felt he looked vaguely familiar.
Soon the elevator arrived, and the young man, being closer, entered first. When Han Ying got in and tried to press the button for the 27th floor, she noticed it was already lit—obviously, the young man was going there too.
In her previous life, Han Ying had known the residents of 2701, but she didn’t recall anyone like him. She guessed he was likely the buyer of 2703.
After a few floors, the young man glanced at the elevator panel and, seeing only the 27th floor lit, asked lightly: “You’re not pressing a floor?”
“No need!” Han Ying’s mind flashed—his voice seemed familiar, and she felt she might know him, but she couldn’t place him. She didn’t think much of it. With so many students in the university town, he could easily be an old classmate. The young man, realizing she was going to the same floor, didn’t ask further.
When the elevator reached the 27th floor, both of them got off.