When Boss Wang suggested calling for a delivery vehicle, an idea suddenly flashed through Mi Beibei’s mind. She remembered passing a shop that sold four-wheeled electric vehicles. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly said, “Boss Wang, please wait for me a moment!”
She ran all the way to the electric vehicle shop about a hundred meters away. Various electric vehicles were displayed inside. Her eyes quickly swept across them before stopping on a four-wheeled electric vehicle with a cargo compartment. The storage space was large enough to fit all the goods she had just purchased.
Without much hesitation, she pointed at it and said, “I’ll take this one!”
She paid immediately and specifically told the owner, “Please install a battery with as much charge as possible. I need to use it right away.”
Soon, the owner replaced it with a fully charged battery. Mi Beibei thanked him, then hurried back to the near-expiration warehouse.
Boss Wang was already waiting outside. As soon as he saw her return, he stepped forward to help. The two of them worked together to load box after box of instant noodles, self-heating rice meals, heavy cartons of compressed biscuits, ham sausages, and other supplies onto the electric vehicle.
After everything was loaded, Mi Beibei thanked Boss Wang again. She climbed into the electric vehicle, turned the key, and sped home without wasting a second. She did not even stop to catch her breath before immediately beginning to unload everything.
She made trip after trip between the vehicle and the storage room, tightly hugging each heavy box in her arms. Fine beads of sweat soon covered her forehead, and damp strands of hair clung to both sides of her face.
After carrying everything inside, she did not rest. Instead, she carefully sorted everything by category.
The instant noodles were stacked neatly. The self-heating rice meals were arranged into orderly piles. The compressed biscuits and ham sausages were placed in their own sections. Everything was stored inside the storage room.
Afterward, she started clearing out the storage room’s original clutter. It took a great deal of effort to move out the old cardboard boxes, unused tools, and miscellaneous junk, relocating them to an empty bedroom. She completely filled the storage room with supplies, preparing it for the next trade with the people from the apocalypse.
Once she finished, Mi Beibei remembered Gu An’an’s request and hurried to a nearby supermarket.
She walked through the aisles, carefully selecting sanitary products. She bought several packs each of daytime pads, nighttime pads, and overnight sanitary pants, placing them neatly into her shopping basket. She also picked up soap, shampoo, body wash, and laundry detergent. Finally, she bought flour, rice, eggs, roast chicken, braised meat, and other cooked meat products.
After paying, Mi Beibei carried the large and small bags to her electric vehicle, loaded everything onto it, and rode home with her fully packed haul.
As soon as she arrived, she did not even stop to rest. She carried everything back and forth between the entrance and the storage room again and again. After exhausting herself, she finally managed to move everything inside.
She collapsed onto the sofa, gasping for breath. Only after resting for quite a while did she recover.
After a short break, she forced herself back to work, organizing all the newly purchased items by category and carrying them into the storage room.
She carefully arranged everything in order. The cooked food went into the refrigerator. Daily necessities were placed on one side, while food supplies were stacked on the other. She also stored the eggs and all the prepared foods in the refrigerator.
When she finished, she remembered that the toiletries in the bathroom were almost used up.
She carried the laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, and body wash into the bathroom, threw away the old supplies, and neatly arranged the new ones.
Standing at the entrance of the storage room, Mi Beibei looked over the shelves now filled with supplies, then glanced at the refrigerator stuffed to the brim. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.
Just then, her stomach growled twice, reminding her that it was already noon.
Only then did Mi Beibei come back to her senses. She quickly walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and took out a whole roast chicken with crispy golden skin glistening with oil.
She did not even bother heating it up.
Sitting directly at the dining table, she tore off a chicken leg and took a huge bite.
The meat was tender and juicy, and its rich aroma instantly filled her mouth.
As she chewed, she mumbled happily,
“It’s so delicious! Now I can finally eat as much meat as I want. I won’t have to keep craving meat anymore!”
She devoured it ravenously, and before long, the entire roast chicken had disappeared into her stomach.
Mi Beibei let out a satisfied burp, patted her round belly, and slowly walked into the bathroom.
Warm water flowed over her body, washing away all the exhaustion and grease.
After showering, she wrapped herself in a soft towel, walked to the bed, and flopped onto it, planning to rest for a while.
Not long afterward, the sound of her steady breathing came from beneath the blanket as she drifted into a peaceful sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, the sun had already begun to set. Warm orange rays streamed through the windows, filling every corner of the room.
Mi Beibei stretched lazily. Every joint in her body cracked softly, and she felt completely refreshed, as though every cell in her body had been awakened again.
She sat up and looked around at the messy room.
Only then did she realize she had not cleaned the house for two days.
Immediately full of energy, Mi Beibei quickly changed into comfortable clothes, rolled up her sleeves, and began a thorough cleaning.
She first picked up a cleaning cloth and carefully wiped every table, from the tabletops to the legs, making sure not to miss a single corner. Dust surrendered under her repeated wiping.
Next, she grabbed a broom and swept together all the dirt and debris. Afterward, she picked up the mop and scrubbed the floor vigorously. With every pass, the floor became noticeably cleaner.
Once the floor was finished, she stuffed all her dirty clothes into the washing machine and pressed the start button.
After the laundry was done, she carefully hung each piece of clothing on the drying rack one by one.
Looking at the rack full of clean clothes gently swaying in the breeze, Mi Beibei finally smiled with satisfaction.
Her home was once again clean, tidy, warm, and comfortable.
Humming happily, Mi Beibei walked into the storage room and opened the window.
The moment the window opened, however, the smile froze on her face.
Lying on the road not far away was the same zombie that Gu An’an and the others had killed that morning. It was still lying stiffly where it had fallen, giving off an eerie feeling.
Mi Beibei frowned slightly and smacked her forehead in annoyance.
How careless of me. I completely forgot to ask Gu An’an and the others to dispose of the zombie while they were here.
She silently resolved to remind them the next time they came.
Pouting, she looked at the ruined street outside, which was exactly the same as it had been that morning.
Curiosity quickly got the better of her.
She craned her neck, looking left and right like a curious child.
Just as she became absorbed in observing her surroundings, a surprised voice suddenly rang out.
“Huh? There’s actually someone inside this window!”
Mi Beibei turned toward the voice.
A young man was staring at her in complete astonishment.
His name was Yang Xiaoyi.
When he had passed by earlier, this window had been completely broken. The window frame had been crooked, and the glass had been shattered into pieces.
Yet now, although it was still covered with some dust, it had somehow become completely intact.
What surprised him even more was that a healthy-looking young woman with rosy cheeks and clean clothes was standing inside.
In this desolate and ruined apocalypse, she looked completely out of place.
Seeing the astonished young man, Mi Beibei smiled faintly and asked softly,
“Would you like to buy something?”
“Buy… buy something?”
Yang Xiaoyi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He had thought he had merely encountered an ordinary survivor in the desolate streets of the apocalypse.
Instead, the woman before him looked like some kind of mysterious merchant.
“That’s right. I have food—compressed biscuits, instant noodles, self-heating rice meals, and ham sausages,” Mi Beibei patiently introduced.
“Food… actual food!”
Yang Xiaoyi was so shocked that he could barely close his mouth.
In this apocalypse, food was even more valuable than gold.
Hearing the names of those familiar yet long-forgotten foods made him step forward eagerly.
“How much?”
“You can exchange gold for them, or other valuable items are acceptable too,” Mi Beibei replied calmly.
Yang Xiaoyi immediately searched through his pockets.
A moment later, he pulled out a gold bracelet about a finger’s width wide. His hand trembled slightly as he held it out.
“Will this do?”
“Yes.”
Mi Beibei tried her best to appear calm, though she was just as excited inside.
“Then… I’d like some compressed biscuits, self-heating rice meals, instant noodles, and ham sausages.”
He licked his dry lips and swallowed hard as he spoke.
Mi Beibei turned around and skillfully selected the supplies behind her.
Soon, she returned with two boxes of self-heating rice meals, two packs of instant noodles, two packs of compressed biscuits, and two ham sausages, carefully handing them to Yang Xiaoyi.
Yang Xiaoyi looked at the heavy bundle of food in his hands, then glanced at the gold bracelet he had casually pulled from his pocket.
A storm of emotions surged through his heart.
In this apocalypse, food had become unimaginably scarce. Factories had stopped operating, supply chains had collapsed, and every bite of food was priceless.
He had never imagined that a single old gold bracelet, something he had stuffed into his pocket without much thought, could be exchanged for so much food.