Before leaving the small building, Han Ying made another trip to the water room at the top of the hill, collecting the already stored 30 tons of water into her spatial talisman. After heading back down and getting into her car, she checked the time—it was nearly 1 p.m.
She had classes in the afternoon, and traveling to the club would take time, so she didn’t want to waste it waiting for a meal. Instead, Han Ying looked up a Pizza Hut near the club and called them directly. Calculating their preparation time, she placed an order for 50 Spicy Beef Pizzas, 50 Durian Pizzas, and 50 Bacon & Shrimp Pizzas, all 12-inch. Other varieties could wait for next time.
At Pizza Hut, after finishing a whole 12-inch Spicy Beef Pizza, Han Ying still didn’t feel full. But thinking that she would be exercising soon, she didn’t want to overeat, so she instead drank a large cup of the store’s complimentary iced black tea. After all, “water will be gone once I sweat it out during exercise!”
Leaving Pizza Hut, she smacked her lips in satisfaction—pizza and iced tea really went well together. Then, she placed pre-orders for 50 of every pizza flavor in the store, requesting them to be picked up around 6 p.m., ensuring they stayed warm. This batch included the three types she had just ordered. The store manager was so impressed that he offered her an 20% discount and bowed, inviting her to come again.
That night, Han Ying didn’t spend too long drawing spatial talismans—just over 30 sheets—as she had been running herself ragged these past few days. She had planned to give herself half a day off tomorrow but then remembered that Chef Shi Yong would arrive to prepare pre-cooked food for her storage. Instantly, she felt energized again. Rest could wait until after the apocalypse!
The next morning, Han Ying skipped her run and drove her small truck to collect breakfast. Over the past two days, she had added four new breakfast varieties, each store providing 50 portions. By the time she finished collecting, it was already 8 a.m. After a trip to the wholesale market, the truck was filled with disposable meal boxes, and three more truckloads were sent directly to her rented warehouse.
She figured that in a couple of days, she would need to move everything into her spatial talisman. So far, the freezer hadn’t even been used, which meant it was time to start planning her fresh food stockpile.
Arriving at Changfu Village, she saw Shi Yong and his two assistant cooks waiting outside. Shi Yong didn’t think much about being sent to work in the village; after all, the boss was paying well, and working nearby was convenient—his home was right next to Changfu Village.
Once inside the courtyard, Han Ying introduced their tasks. Shi Yong would be the head chef, while Li Sao and Xiao Sun would assist with washing and chopping vegetables and other small tasks.
After finishing the introductions, Han Ying realized she was missing someone to handle grocery procurement. She couldn’t buy the ingredients herself—there wasn’t enough time, even though she planned to stockpile vegetables.
Hearing this, Shi Yong’s eyes lit up.“Boss, how much are you paying for the grocery role?”
“6,000 yuan. Why, do you know someone?” Han Ying asked.
“Well, my wife can handle it. We also have a three-wheeled motorbike, which makes shopping easy. We live in Liushan Village right next to Changfu Village. I used to run a restaurant with my wife; she handled procurement. Everything worked well until we closed it down.”
Shi Yong had cooking skills that, while not on par with a five-star hotel, were still very good—enough that Han Ying had recruited him after trying his food once. He had previously partnered with his cousin to run a restaurant: he cooked, his wife purchased ingredients, and the business did well, with many returning customers.
The problem was his cousin’s friends—they came to “support” the restaurant but mostly ate for free. Over a month, these freeloaders came more than a dozen times, causing losses. Worse, many of them were troublemakers who would refuse to pay and sometimes even caused situations that required police intervention. Eventually, Shi Yong had to close the restaurant and return to working for others.
“Fine, let your wife come. It’s best if she starts today. You’ll be in charge of the first floor. I’ll come by every evening to collect the prepared dishes for reimbursement,” Han Ying said.
“To ensure freshness and temperature, start cooking the dishes I need in the afternoon. In the morning, you can prepare things that don’t spoil when cool—marinated ingredients, seafood in sauce, dried meat, salted eggs, pickled vegetables, buns, dumplings, steamed bread… you know how to make these, right?”
Han Ying offered Shi Yong a monthly salary of 30,000 yuan, as she couldn’t always stay there to supervise. She could only come once a day to collect water and prepared food. Anything that cooled or became stale wouldn’t be useful to her, so afternoon cooking was essential.
“I… can do those…” Shi Yong twitched his mouth but he really could do them—he had learned everything while preparing to run a restaurant himself.
“That’s all I need—I trust you!” Han Ying nodded, satisfied.
“Okay, but there’s nothing here…” Shi Yong looked around the courtyard and first-floor kitchen, noting that there wasn’t even proper equipment. How could he cook?
“Don’t worry, I’ve already ordered everything. It will be delivered shortly. When ready, pack all dishes in boxes—they’re on the truck outside. We’ll move them together. I’ll collect the finished dishes in the evening. The first floor is yours to use freely, but the upstairs is off-limits.”
The furniture on the first floor had been removed by Han Ying; apart from a room with foam insulated boxes, it was empty. She gave Shi Yong a list of cookware and freezers to receive, while the other two assistants helped move the packing boxes to the first floor.
Han Ying then went upstairs, storing the already-collected water in her spatial talisman. She estimated that today’s collection amounted to over 100 tons of water. Seeing the mass of water in the corner of the talisman put her mind at ease. She remembered a time during extreme heat when she had been forced to sell a small bottle of water and 3 pounds of old rice for someone else—just how precious water had been then.