It was almost 7 p.m. when Nan Mo arrived home. The moment she stepped inside, the aroma of a prepared meal greeted her. Seeing that Nan Mo had returned, Uncle Qin immediately instructed the servants to serve the dishes.
“Miss, the real estate agent arranged several viewings today. Two of the three high-rise apartments in Waitan are almost settled—one for 35 million and the other for 35.5 million. If you find the prices acceptable, we can sign the contracts tomorrow,” Uncle Qin reported, standing nearby.
“There are also several large packages in the storage room on the first floor.”
As he spoke, he watched Nan Mo’s expression closely, wanting to ask why she was suddenly going abroad and whether she would ever return. But seeing that she had only recently started to recover, he held back, afraid of upsetting her again.
Nan Mo noticed Uncle Qin’s hesitation. “Alright, Uncle Qin, I’ll leave the property matters entirely in your hands. Whatever you think is suitable is fine with me,” she replied, though her mind was preoccupied with whether she should tell him about her impending journey through time.
Uncle Qin had always treated Nan Mo and Nan Xiao as his own children. The loss of her parents and brother had hit him just as hard as it had her. To spare her additional grief, he had taken charge of all the funeral arrangements, busying himself without showing a hint of his own sorrow. While Nan Mo could hide her plans to go abroad from others, she couldn’t deceive Uncle Qin.
Having inherited all the memories of the original host, Nan Mo knew she could cut ties with everyone else, but completely severing contact with Uncle Qin after leaving the country would be inexplicable. She couldn’t bear to worry this elder, who had aged over a decade in just a few days, nor did she want him to think her heartless.
Resolved, Nan Mo set down her chopsticks and looked at Uncle Qin. “Uncle Qin, please come to the study later. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
“Of course,” Uncle Qin replied before leaving, not wanting to disturb her meal.
After a long day, Nan Mo went to her room to bathe and change before heading to the study to wait for Uncle Qin.
He soon knocked and entered, carrying a cup of hot milk. Handing it to Nan Mo, he waited for her to speak.
“Uncle Qin, do you trust me?”
“Absolutely, Miss. I’ll believe whatever you say,” he answered without hesitation.
“Two days ago, I had a dream. I saw Mom and Dad—they said they’re waiting for me in another dimension to reunite. At first, I thought it was just a dream born of longing, but then I discovered a dimension space inside this necklace.”
As she spoke, Nan Mo opened her hand to show him. With a thought, the pendant materialized in her palm.
Uncle Qin was startled, staring at the pendant in disbelief. “Miss, this is…”
“It’s incredible, isn’t it? I reacted the same way—I couldn’t believe something so unbelievable existed. But the dreams I’ve been having since have forced me to accept it. This dimension space can hold anything, which is why I’m selling the company shares and properties. I plan to convert everything into supplies and wait for them to come for me.”
Nan Mo fell silent, allowing Uncle Qin time to process everything.
Before long, he composed himself, his eyes red with emotion as he gazed at her with reluctance. “Miss, what can I do to help?”
Touched by his response, Nan Mo’s eyes also welled up. “Uncle Qin, thank you… thank you for believing me.” Overwhelmed, she buried her face in her arms on the desk and wept.
She didn’t know if it was the original host’s emotions surfacing or her own reluctance to part with such profound, paternal care.
Uncle Qin remained silent, standing by and watching with a heartache as this young girl was forced to mature before her time.
After calming her emotions, Nan Mo looked up and said, “Uncle Qin, starting tomorrow, have the chef prepare more of my favorite dishes and pack them in disposable containers.”
“Ensure there are six different dishes and one soup each day, with at least 30 portions of each dish. After they’re prepared, leave them in the kitchen. I’ll collect them into my Dimension space when I return each day, so no matter where I am, I can still enjoy home-cooked meals.”
“Alright.”
“You don’t need to give me the money from selling the house. I need your help to buy some things.”
“Alright.”
“Tomorrow, arrange for a few purchasing servants to buy vegetables, grains, and oils. Here’s the shopping list. Once everything is bought, deliver it to the warehouse in the logistics park. Someone will be there to receive the goods.”
“Alright.” Uncle Qin, afraid of interrupting Nan Mo’s train of thought, simply repeated “Alright” over and over.
“Check if there are any places selling cotton. Buy 1,000 jin of cotton and 100 cotton quilts each in 10 jin, 8 jin, 6 jin, and 4 jin sizes. Send them to the warehouse as well.”
“Alright.”
Worried he might miss something, Uncle Qin took notes of Nan Mo’s instructions.
Once Nan Mo finished giving her orders, Uncle Qin left with the list in hand.
Alone in the study, Nan Mo drank the milk Uncle Qin had brought her and let out a deep sigh of relief.
It seemed Uncle Qin had taken it all quite well, which lifted a psychological burden off her shoulders.
Only when she returned to her room and lay down on the bed did she realize how sore her entire body felt. It turned out spending money was also a physically exhausting task. As she planned what to buy the next day, she slowly drifted into sleep.
Back in his own room, Uncle Qin opened the list the young lady had given him and was startled by the quantities listed:
Wuchang Rice, Daohuaxiang Rice, Changlixiang Rice, Simiao Rice, Panjin Rice, Pearl Rice, Thai Fragrant Rice, Koshihikari Rice, Wannian Tribute Rice—10 tons of each type of rice.
Soybeans, mung beans, red beans, adzuki beans, millet, black rice, Blood Glutinous Rice, wheat, barley, Buckwheat, glutinous rice, Brown Rice, corn, peanuts, sorghum, sweet potatoes, Purple Sweet Potato, potatoes, Chinese yam, taro, pumpkin, Chestnuts—1 ton of each.
Whole wheat flour, Tapioca Starch, wheat flour, High-gluten Flour, All-purpose Flour, Low-gluten Flour, Glutinous Rice Flour, Mung Bean Starch, Rice Flour, Sweet Potato Flour, Corn Flour, potato starch, etc.—10 tons of each.
Fresh egg noodles, hand-pulled noodles, dried egg noodles, Dragon Beard Noodles, Tube Noodles, Baby Noodles, Rice Noodles, Glass Noodles, Potato Noodles, Dumpling Wrappers, Wonton Wrappers—2,000 jin of each.
Peanut oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, blended oil—2,000 barrels each of the regular 10L versions and 1,000 barrels each of the premium versions. 500 barrels of 2L olive oil.
1,000 jin each of all available vegetables and various dried goods and spices in the market.
1,000 bottles each of the household’s commonly used brands of aged vinegar, white vinegar, rice vinegar, aromatic vinegar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and cooking wine.
500 bottles each of the household’s commonly used brands of chili oil, Sichuan pepper oil, premium soy sauce, steamed fish soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and Rattan Pepper Oil.
500 bottles each of Lao Gan Ma, Sweet Bean Sauce, Soybean Paste, XO sauce, Doubanjiang, Cooked Sauce, Spicy Sauce, Chopped Chili Sauce, Beef Sauce, salad dressing, condensed milk, etc.
100 jin each of black pepper, white pepper, barbecue seasoning, ground cumin, cumin seeds, chili powder, etc.
1 ton each of brown sugar, white sugar, and fine salt; 500 jin each of coarse salt, chicken bouillon, and monosodium glutamate.
………
After securing the list and steadying my thoughts, I began considering suitable candidates for the purchase and plausible reasons for acquiring these items, determined to handle this matter flawlessly for the young lady.