After hanging up the phone, Bai Yaoyao went to the location Xiaomi had mentioned to retrieve the bomb and stored it in her space.
She then began her stockpiling operations, planning to execute this final move just before leaving Japan. If she waited until returning home during the lockdown period, she wouldn’t be able to spend money freely.
Bai Yaoyao contacted Xiaomi again and rented a large warehouse.
She first went to scout the location, feeling reassured upon seeing the warehouse was quite remote and had no surveillance cameras.
On an overseas Chinese forum, she found someone working in food wholesale and scheduled a meeting for that afternoon.
For lunch, she randomly chose a roadside restaurant and ordered: unagi don, wagyu beef platter, matcha tofu, tempura, chirashi don, and umeshu.
Since her rebirth, her appetite had increased significantly. Whether it was because this restaurant served small portions or not, even after finishing all that food, she still felt somewhat unsatisfied.
So she added a molten cheese tonkatsu to her order and finally felt properly full.
Finding the food quite delicious, Bai Yaoyao took out her phone and opened the translation app.
“Boss, I want 500 portions of every dish I just ate. How long will it take to prepare?” Bai Yaoyao asked.
“That many? It would take until tomorrow. We don’t have that much ingredients on hand – we always use the freshest ingredients,” the owner replied.
“Fine, I’ll come pick them up tomorrow evening. Just pack them in thermal containers,” Bai Yaoyao said decisively while paying the deposit.
After getting the owner’s agreement, he immediately closed the shop to go purchase ingredients – this was a major order!
After leaving the restaurant, Bai Yaoyao met with the wholesale dealer from the forum named Li Hua. She took a sip of water beforehand to moisten her throat, preparing to negotiate for the lowest possible price.
Every single cent was hard-earned – not being frugal would feel like disrespecting all the hardships she’d endured over the years.
Remembering how all her money in her previous life had become mere data after the apocalypse, her heart ached as if bleeding.
This time, with the chance to prepare in advance, she couldn’t waste even 1 yuan.
She successfully obtained 10,000 bags of Koshihikari Rice, 5,000 bags of Akita Rice, 5,000 bags of Nanatsuboshi Rice, and 5,000 bags of Yumepirika Rice – all below market wholesale prices.
She planned to purchase some Northeast Wuchang Rice and Southern rice after returning to China. Her comrades had big appetites, and if she didn’t stock enough, it might not suffice. Even if they couldn’t cook, at least they knew how to operate a rice cooker.
Next was flour. According to Li Hua’s introduction, Japan generally had two types of flour: Cake Flour for making bread and cakes, and Bread Flour mainly for buns and dumplings.
Bai Yaoyao felt Chinese flour was more reliable, so she only took 3,000 jin of each type.
For oils – olive oil, grapeseed oil, soybean oil, and corn oil – she could only get 5,000 barrels of each at most. The supplier simply didn’t have more stock, and even this amount had to be gathered from several wholesale markets.
The key was that Bai Yaoyao had never cooked before and didn’t know if this would be enough. She planned to carefully calculate with Fatty after returning, and purchase more from China if needed.
Then there were various non-staple foods, starting with salt and sugar.
Salt was straightforward – she directly bought out all the stock available at the wholesale market, totaling 22,000 cases with 70 bags each.
Salt had too many uses. It wasn’t just a seasoning – it could replenish electrolytes, disinfect, and was essential for daily bodily functions.
Sugar, however, was harder to stockpile. Being a controlled substance, individuals couldn’t purchase large quantities. Even supermarkets and wholesale markets required special qualifications to buy it.
Li Hua only purchased 1,000 boxes here, with each box containing 100 bags.
She also ordered 1,000 boxes each of rock sugar and brown sugar.
She then had Xiaomi buy 8,000 jin of white sugar from the black market.
Xiaomi was bewildered, sensing that Sister Yao was planning something big without including him. But since the boss had given the order, he obediently complied.
Japan’s seafood soy sauce was quite good and suited Bai Yaoyao’s taste, so she ordered 2,000 boxes.
For items like vinegar, light soy sauce, and cooking wine, she purchased 1,000 boxes each.
Bai Yaoyao wasn’t entirely sure about the exact consumption per meal, so she roughly estimated the quantities. She and her brothers would rarely have time to cook, and most of these supplies were intended to be traded with the authorities for crystal cores.
In the apocalypse, strength was paramount. She didn’t want to waste time on luxuries, though it would be better to live comfortably when possible—no one had a masochistic streak.
Seasoning powders and similar items could be purchased after returning to China. These weren’t essential for survival and wouldn’t deprive ordinary people of their chances to live.
Next came the instant foods Bai Yaoyao needed most. Japan excelled in this category, so it was worth stockpiling generously.
After reviewing the available food types on the market, Bai Yaoyao said, “2,000 servings of Yakitori Charcoal Grill, 8,000 bags of Wagyu Rolls, 3,000 boxes each of various flavored Onigiri, 3,000 servings each of Lawson’s Crab Sticks and Fried Chicken, 3,000 each of FamilyMart Chicken Rolls and Sandwiches, 2,000 boxes of Glutinous Rice Shumai, 2,000 bags of Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll, 5,000 boxes each of Seaweed Egg Drop Soup and Pork Bone Soup. 50,000 boxes of Self-heating Rice, 20,000 boxes of Self-heating Mini Hot Pot, 20,000 boxes each of Instant Ramen and Tonkotsu Ramen, and 10,000 boxes each of various flavored Bentos.”
Since these would be the regular meals for her and her brothers, she ordered more. Everyone had hearty appetites—for instance, Fatty needed three boxes of Self-heating Rice per meal to feel full.
Moreover, during the early stages of the apocalypse, when everyone was still unfamiliar with their superpowers, these supplies could be lifesaving. By purchasing them here, she wouldn’t need to buy anything besides Braised Beef Instant Noodles after returning to China.
The Braised Beef Instant Noodles were purely a personal preference.
“Um, the shelf life of these products is quite short. Are you sure you want to stockpile this much?” Li Hua asked.
“Absolutely. Arrange the shipment. Although I’m ordering in bulk, you must guarantee the quality—no short weights and all items must have the latest production dates. Otherwise, I won’t pay the balance,” Bai Yaoyao stated directly.
“Don’t worry, we’re from the same country—I won’t cheat you. I’m making a decent profit from this order too. After this, I’m heading back home. I’ve been away working for so long; I miss it terribly,” Li Hua vowed, raising his hand.
Bai Yaoyao nodded, finding him sincere, and said, “Returning home is good. As for snacks, is there a wholesale market for them?”
Li Hua replied, “Yes, I can drive you there. It’s a bit far, though. You’ll need to pay a deposit here. I’ll deliver the goods tomorrow morning, and you’ll settle the balance then.”
“No problem.”
…
After that, Bai Yaoyao bought plenty of snacks. After all, if she didn’t buy them now, they’d disappear forever in the apocalypse—an entire nation was about to be obliterated…
Puffed Corn Crisps, Dorayaki, Soy Milk Wafers, Caramel Toffee, Chunjiang Boneless Duck Feet, Japanese Milk Tea, Milk Pudding, Cheese Instant Crab Sticks, Cheese Bream Cake, White Peach Jelly, Charcoal Grilled Coconut Chips, Meiji Fruit Gummy, various yogurt drinks, Sake, Umeshu…
Bai Yaoyao grew more excited with each purchase, utterly ecstatic! Her mood was absolutely soaring! If not for wanting to save more money for explosives, she would have loved to linger longer. Just on snacks alone, she had spent over 5 million, and Sister Yao felt a slight pang of regret, having bought practically everything she laid eyes on.
Upon hearing about a major shopper, vendors rushed over to promote their goods. Sister Yao accepted them all without refusal—as long as the price was reasonable, she took everything.
After calming her excitement, Bai Yaoyao left the snack wholesale market.