Mi Beibei made a quick detour to the sign shop to pick up the repaired signboard. She had been so exhausted over the past two days that she had completely forgotten about it.
When she got home, she stuffed the vegetables she had bought into the refrigerator, then took out the large piece of pork she had set aside for herself yesterday.
She had been too tired yesterday, so she had simply shoved the entire slab of pork into the fridge. Today, she needed to cut it into portions to make future cooking more convenient.
Taking out her kitchen knife, she started cutting while the meat was still partially frozen, just soft enough for the blade to go through.
She had kept an entire slab of pork belly for herself.
She cut part of it into mahjong tile-sized cubes for braised pork.
Another portion was sliced into thick pieces about the width of her palm and one finger thick, which she planned to use for braised pork slices.
The last portion was cut into thin slices for stir-frying.
Cutting the meat wasn’t easy.
Before long, the hand holding the knife began to ache.
Still, she gritted her teeth and kept going until every piece had been cut.
She packed the sliced meat into small food storage bags one by one, neatly arranged them in the freezer, then finally let out a long sigh of relief and sat down to rest.
After taking a short break, Mi Beibei went into the kitchen and started cooking a pot of rice.
Next, she took out several of the thick pork slices she had set aside and heated oil in a wok.
When the oil was hot, she carefully placed the pork into the pan.
Sizzle!
An irresistible aroma immediately filled the air.
She fried both sides until they turned golden brown, then added light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, and other seasonings before pouring in hot water to let it simmer.
While the pork was cooking, Mi Beibei washed a large potato, peeled it, and cut it into large chunks.
When the meat was nearly tender, she added the potatoes and continued simmering.
As time passed, the fragrance from the pot became richer and richer, making her mouth water.
Finally, she turned up the heat to reduce the sauce.
Before long, a delicious pot of braised pork with potatoes was ready.
At the same time, the rice had finished cooking.
Mi Beibei filled a large bowl with rice and spooned the braised pork and potatoes over the top.
She picked up a piece of pork that had become so tender it practically melted in her mouth.
The rich flavor spread across her tongue.
Paired with a mouthful of fluffy rice and another bite of the soft, sweet potato, the meal was so delicious that she didn’t even bother looking up, simply eating one bite after another.
“Nothing beats a home-cooked meal!”
Mi Beibei sighed happily while eating.
Before long, she had completely cleaned out the large bowl.
Stuffed to the brim, she slumped into the chair, stretched her legs onto another chair, and contentedly patted her round stomach.
After resting for a while, Mi Beibei picked up her phone.
After unlocking it, she opened her favorite shopping app.
Originally, she had only wanted to search for compressed biscuits and compare online and offline prices along with purchasing convenience.
However, the moment she typed the word “compressed” into the search bar, countless products appeared.
Besides ordinary compressed biscuits, there were compressed beef jerky, vacuum-packed compressed seaweed crisps, and even shredded kelp compressed into compact packages.
These unusual foods immediately sparked her curiosity.
Her fingers quickly scrolled through the screen as she carefully read each product description, her eyes filled with excitement.
After comparing numerous options, Mi Beibei ultimately decided to purchase only compressed biscuits and commercial-grade compressed shredded kelp.
Since these were meant for trading with the apocalypse world, convenience and nutrition were the most important considerations.
She carefully discussed the product specifications, shelf life, and shipping schedule with customer service before placing an order for one hundred boxes each of compressed biscuits and compressed kelp.
After paying, she continued browsing the shopping app.
When she came across various snacks recommended by the app, she couldn’t resist buying more.
She ordered pork jerky, beef jerky, sandwich cookies, wafer biscuits, and several other snacks.
After finishing her purchases, Mi Beibei looked up from her phone and stretched her sore neck.
Only then did she realize it was already completely dark outside.
The only light in the room came from her phone screen.
She lowered her stiff legs from the chair, stood up to stretch a little, then returned to her bedroom and lay on the bed while continuing to browse her phone.
Gradually, everything around her became completely quiet.
At some point, her phone screen went dark.
…
Mi Beibei woke to the sound of light rain falling.
The room was still dim.
She pulled open the curtains and saw rain pouring outside.
Raindrops pattered against the leaves and grass with a constant rhythmic sound.
A thought suddenly crossed her mind.
She hurried into the storage room and opened the window.
Outside…
The apocalypse world was still bathed in brilliant sunshine.
“Well…”
It seemed the weather in the two worlds wasn’t connected after all.
Not sure whether she felt disappointed or not, Mi Beibei closed the window and headed into the kitchen to make breakfast.
“What should I eat? I’ll make some noodles.”
She took a tomato and two eggs from the refrigerator.
Heating oil in a pot, she added the diced tomato and stir-fried it until it became thick and saucy before pouring in water.
Once the water boiled, she added the noodles and eggs.
After the noodles were fully cooked, a steaming bowl of fragrant tomato and egg noodles was ready.
After breakfast, Mi Beibei felt rather bored.
The rainy weather made it inconvenient to go outside, and she didn’t have anything that absolutely required her to leave the house.
What should she do at home?
There were no supplies left in the house.
Without inventory, her little shop in the apocalypse world couldn’t operate.
Once the rain stopped, she reminded herself, she absolutely had to visit the clearance warehouse to restock.
The rain continued steadily throughout the entire day.
Mi Beibei stayed home all day as well.
Finally, the following morning, she woke to discover the rain had ended, replaced by bright, sunny weather.
After breakfast, Mi Beibei climbed onto her electric cargo scooter and headed straight for the clearance warehouse.
Boss Wang still remembered the young woman who always bought supplies in bulk.
The moment he saw her, his smile bloomed like a chrysanthemum.
“Young lady, business must be booming! What are you buying this time?”
“Boss Wang, this time I need one hundred boxes each of instant noodles, sausages, and compressed biscuits, twenty boxes of self-heating rice meals, one hundred boxes of dried goods, and fifty boxes of assorted seasonings.”
Mi Beibei handed him the list directly.
“Alright! The total is 3,867 yuan. I’ll round it down—just pay 3,800. Same as before, we’ll deliver everything before three o’clock this afternoon!”
Boss Wang smiled even more brightly.
“Sounds good. Thank you, Boss Wang.”
Mi Beibei quickly transferred the money before heading toward the wholesale market.
At the grain and cooking oil wholesaler, she bought only six bags of rice, three bags of flour, and two drums of cooking oil.
After loading them onto her scooter, she returned home and unloaded everything.
Seeing that it was still early, she rode back to the wholesale market again.
This time, she deliberately chose a different shop and bought another five bags of rice, two bags of flour, and four drums of cooking oil.
After the clearance food delivery arrived that afternoon, Mi Beibei made yet another trip to the wholesale market.
Over the following several days, she visited the market three or four times every day.
Each trip involved purchasing different quantities from different vendors.
Soon, her house was once again packed full of rice, flour, cooking oil, and other supplies.
Looking at the results of several days of hard work, Mi Beibei nodded in satisfaction.
She wouldn’t need to visit the wholesale market again for now.
Otherwise, she would soon have nowhere left to sleep.
The compressed biscuits, shredded kelp, and assorted snacks she had ordered online several days earlier also began arriving one after another.
Mi Beibei promptly collected every package and brought them home.
The employees at the pickup station had become so familiar with her that whenever she walked through the door, they immediately pointed out where all of her parcels were, saving her the trouble of searching.
The magical window shop in the apocalypse world was finally open for business again.
Mi Beibei sat in her usual chair by the window, waiting for customers to arrive.
However, three days passed.
Other than zombies wandering the streets, not a single person appeared.
Resting her chin in one hand, Mi Beibei sighed.
“Oh well. No income these days. I might as well go back to sleep.”
She said it while shaking her head.
Even so, she didn’t actually leave.
She remained sitting by the window, occasionally getting up to organize the supplies.
She also reopened the novel she had only read halfway through on her phone and continued reading with great interest.
In the blink of an eye, the day of her appointment with Liu Jingming arrived.
Before dawn, while the city was still wrapped in quiet darkness, Mi Beibei forced herself out of bed with sleepy eyes.
She rode her electric scooter toward the wholesale market.
The market was already bustling with activity.
Vendors shouted to attract customers while buyers bargained loudly.
Mi Beibei weaved between the stalls, negotiating prices with each vendor.
Drawing on the experience she had gained from previous purchases, she worked hard to lower every price she could.
After making three full trips, her clothes were soaked with sweat, her back felt icy cold, and her legs were as heavy as lead.
But in the end, she successfully transported nearly 600 jin (about 300 kilograms) of fresh meat back home.