After storing all the supplies, Xie Zhizhi closed the warehouse door and rented a larger warehouse in the suburbs, about five hundred square meters, for one month.
Then she made a phone call.
It was to her grandfather’s good friend, who ran a pharmaceutical company in Haicheng. She had always kept in touch with him and would even stay at his house for a few days during the New Year. He was the most suitable person to help her purchase some hard-to-find items on the market.
The call was quickly answered, and a robust, rough elderly voice came through, still full of vigor: “Ah, Zhizhi called me! What’s the matter? Still not planning to come work at my company?”
“Hello, Grandpa Shen! Grandpa’s company is full of talented people—they don’t need me. I just graduated and want to take a break. There’s something I’d like to ask you for help with!”
“No need to be so formal! Just say it.”
“I want to buy some medicine, a lot of different kinds, and some things that aren’t easily available on the market.”
“Is that all? I have plenty of medicine, but not much else! Just send me a WeChat list of what you need! Come visit Grandpa when you have time!”
“Okay! Thank you, Grandpa Shen. But I really need a lot, so I’ll send it to you.”
Xie Zhizhi hung up the phone and wrote a long list of medicines in her phone’s notes.
Potassium permanganate, antibiotics, vitamins, common cold medicines, fever-reducing and heat-clearing medicines.
Medicines for skin diseases, anti-diarrheal and anti-malarial drugs, stomach medicines, epidemic prevention vaccines, iodine and alcohol, anti-inflammatory drugs, surgical instruments, and all kinds of other medicines, as well as several rare and common Chinese medicinal herbs.
Then she sent the list to him.
Although she wanted a wide variety of items, she only requested one of each, which made it noticeable but not overly so. Grandpa Shen asked her about it, but she brushed it off, and he didn’t press further, only saying they could be delivered the next day.
With the medicines sorted, she drove home to shop online.
Back home, Xie Zhizhi sat in front of her computer and started shopping online.
First, she bought seeds for plants, fruits, and medicinal herbs, skincare products, cosmetics, solar panels, electronic equipment, electronic devices, hardware tools, binoculars, walkie-talkies, and flashlights—all in single quantities.
Clothes of varying thicknesses, both modern and traditional, including heavy cotton coats, wool sweaters, gloves, scarves, quilts, bed sheets, shoes, and boots. For cold protection, she bought snow boots, all of the best quality and materials.
She also purchased special items for warmth and cooling, like heating pads, hot water bottles, and cold compresses, as well as insulated protective gear and transportation suited for extreme weather.
Various electric-powered machines, large and small: diesel generators, diesel engines, aerators, lathes, and other production and work machines.
Since she could extract gasoline from her Land Rover and replicate it infinitely, she only needed to buy diesel. She ordered a barrel of diesel and some car repair supplies as well.
Building materials were also essential. If the automatic restocking warehouse really worked, she could build and sell houses and live comfortably off the profits. So, she bought one of each type of sturdy construction material.
With the automatic restocking warehouse, she only needed to place one sample inside to replicate countless copies, so there was no need to buy in bulk—just one of each item was enough.
She also bought high-quality iron, alloy steel, steel, copper, cow tendon wood, walnut wood, and other metal materials so she could make various suitable and handy tools herself.
Materials for making firearms, such as sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal, and anything else she could buy, were also purchased.
She scoured the shopping app from top to bottom, buying only from nearby local sellers with express delivery to ensure everything would arrive the next day.She also downloaded a large number of disaster survival guides, weapon-making manuals, and wilderness survival materials on her tablet.
By the time she finished all this, it was already past eight in the evening. The feeling of spending money was truly, well, exhilarating.
Over two million yuan had earned her numerous badges on various shopping apps.
“Time to treat myself to a seafood feast!” Xie Zhizhi excitedly rushed to the kitchen, taking out king crab and eel from the storage grid. Seeing that the grid still contained identical ingredients after she removed them, she couldn’t have been happier.
During the meal, she brought the Big Black Dog from the Space out to enjoy the eel rice with her. Life was truly blissful.
At night.
While Xie Zhizhi was sleeping soundly, she had another dream.
In the dream, the entire city was like a scorching barbecue grill. Standing among the crowd under the blazing sun, she was drenched in sweat, which poured down her face like a torrent. Her throat was dry, and she felt utterly exhausted and weak.
The surrounding air seemed so hot it was about to ignite.
The rugged, sandy road appeared distorted in her vision, and the suffocating, oppressive sense of helplessness made her feel like she was about to die from the heat in the dream.
Instead, she was jolted awake!
It was still dark outside.
Sitting on the large bed, Xie Zhizhi took a deep breath. “Whew, even roasted suckling pig isn’t cooked with such intense heat. It was scorching!”
Fortunately, it was just a dream. Covered in cold sweat, she knew she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep.
Glancing at her phone, she saw it was only three in the morning. She decided to take a shower, read a novel to calm her nerves, and then try to sleep again.
…
The next day, after finishing breakfast and sporting faint dark circles under her eyes, Xie Zhizhi headed to the warehouse early in the morning to wait for the delivery of her packages.
She had been so engrossed in reading the night before that she forgot to sleep. Now, she pulled out her phone and sat at the warehouse entrance, continuing to read with great interest.
Time passed slowly. Starting around ten o’clock, one logistics truck after another arrived with her items.
Since she had chosen the same logistics company for everything, the trucks were filled entirely with her purchases.
The delivery driver was extremely curious. Handing over the delivery slip, he politely asked, “Hello, are you Miss Xie?”
“Yes, that’s me. Could you please help me unload everything and place it inside?” Xie Zhizhi signed the slip and opened the warehouse door.