One hundred thousand.
Mo Fei counted three times in a row and confirmed that there really was only ¥100,000 in the bank card.
This amount of money could only buy a very limited amount of supplies.
“…” Mo Fei put away her phone and found herself missing the six million yuan she had saved in her previous world.
After the original owner dropped out of university, she had only a high school diploma and couldn’t find any decent job.
She had worked as a clothing store sales assistant, a cashier, and a restaurant server. At first, she was young and inexperienced, and after running into harsh employers, she had even lost quite a bit of money. But with the children crying from hunger and the milk powder running out, the original owner worked several jobs a day, constantly rushing from one to the next.
Fortunately, she later met a kind-hearted older woman who introduced her to a receptionist position at a small company, finally bringing an end to her exhausting days of running all over the place. She worked Monday through Friday, received the standard social insurance benefits, and took home around ¥3,000 after deductions. Most importantly, the company was close to home, allowing her to return at lunchtime to cook for the children.
Besides that, ever since the children started primary school, the original owner had also run a night market stall every evening except Fridays. On weekends and public holidays, her net income was usually around ¥300 a day. Weekday evenings brought in a little less, but she still earned just over ¥200.
Adding everything together, the original owner earned around several thousand yuan a month.
In a year, she actually made around ¥110,000 to ¥120,000, but in reality, she could hardly save any of it.
Although primary school fell under the nine years of compulsory education, the expenses were far from insignificant.
For the two children, one semester’s class fees, learning materials, milk fees, extracurricular reading materials, meal fees, after-school tutoring, and educational outings came to roughly ¥5,000 altogether. Two semesters meant ¥10,000.
In addition, the original owner had heard that many children attended tutoring for Chinese, mathematics, and English, along with all kinds of extracurricular interest classes, all in pursuit of well-rounded development in morality, intelligence, physical education, aesthetics, and practical skills. After asking the children for their opinions, she enrolled Mo Jianian in Go lessons and Mo Jiayue in art classes, unwilling to let them fall too far behind at the starting line.
On top of that, she had a monthly mortgage payment of ¥4,000, utility bills of ¥300, transportation expenses of ¥200, food and fruit costing ¥600, daily necessities such as tissues, sanitary pads, and toothpaste costing ¥100, social expenses of ¥200, phone and internet bills of ¥100, the children’s school supplies, snacks, and toys costing ¥300, and another ¥200 for the occasional minor illness or unexpected expense…
The original owner barely bought herself two new outfits in an entire year, but each of the two children received a new set of clothes every two months and a new pair of shoes every season. Summer clothes were manageable, as even ones costing thirty or forty yuan looked perfectly fine. Winter clothes, however, had to be thick, warm, durable, and attractive, and a single piece could easily cost four or five hundred yuan.
The children were at an age where they loved learning and reading, so buying books and magazines was another considerable expense. Fortunately, they were sensible. Whenever they wanted to read, they simply spent the whole day sitting in a bookstore. Once they finished reading, they patted themselves off and left without spending a single cent.
Mo Fei let out a long sigh and suddenly remembered a saying: “Behind every seemingly respectable parent lies a life of poverty that no one else knows about.”
The one thing she could be grateful for was that the down payment for the original owner’s apartment had actually been paid by her mother. Deep down, a mother still loved her child. Although she had outwardly severed ties with her daughter, she had quietly continued planning for her future.
Just last month, the original owner had finally finished paying off the mortgage on this forty-square-meter apartment.
That meant the apartment now belonged entirely to Mo Fei. She could sell it outright and immediately have a substantial amount of cash on hand.
After doing the calculations in her head, Mo Fei decided she needed to contact a real estate agent to find out the current market value of the apartment. Under the present circumstances, the more liquid cash she had, the better. Once the so-called period of rapid biological evolution truly arrived, the supply of goods might become a serious problem. By then, even having money might not be enough to buy anything.
Mo Fei was a woman of action. Whenever she thought of something, she acted on it immediately.
She found a relatively quiet corner of the market and called one of the larger real estate agencies nearby.
She briefly described the apartment’s location, size, renovation, and ownership status.
The agent on the other end of the line was extremely enthusiastic and confidently assured her that, based on the current market value, the apartment could conservatively sell for just over ¥1.2 million.
Mo Fei was genuinely surprised. When the original owner’s mother had bought the apartment, it had cost only a little over ¥700,000 in total. She hadn’t expected it to appreciate so much in only eight years. As expected, property was the best investment no matter which world one lived in.
She calmly responded with an “Mm,” then added, “I need the money urgently. The buyer must pay in full. I’m willing to lower the price a little if necessary. I’d also like to rent a large house, preferably one with a basement and good security. In addition, I need to rent a shopfront in a more remote location.”
Two deals at once!
The agent became even more delighted. His attitude instantly improved several times over as he repeatedly agreed, saying that he happened to have several suitable properties on hand. If Mo Fei was available, they could meet today, list her apartment online first, and then he could take her to view rental properties that afternoon.
After arranging to meet at around two o’clock that afternoon, Mo Fei hung up.
With the source of money essentially settled, she could finally browse the market with peace of mind.
The market was enormous. The stalls near the entrance belonged to individual farmers selling retail produce, while the wholesale merchants were all located at the very back.
Mo Fei headed straight for the wholesale section, where the first thing she saw was several large rice, grain, and cooking oil wholesalers.
All of them belonged to the same owner. Dressed in an ordinary white sleeveless undershirt, he lounged on a reclining chair with a palm-leaf fan in hand while listening to the morning news.
“A magnitude 7.1 earthquake has struck Xin City, the strongest earthquake the city has experienced in the past decade. Eighty-nine aftershocks have occurred within six hours, and the number of casualties is still being counted…”
Hearing someone approach, the owner opened his eyes.
“Buying something?”
Mo Fei first glanced at the phone playing the news before nodding. She walked into the shop and carefully examined the rice, flour, grains, and cooking oil.
“This is wholesale only. Minimum order is ten units. If you’re buying retail, you can get it outside,” the owner kindly explained.
“I’m here for wholesale,” Mo Fei replied.
“Alright, alright. Here’s the price list. Everything’s at the lowest wholesale price. Take a look, choose what you want, and write the quantities beside each item.” The owner took a pad from the glass display case, tore off a sheet, and handed it to Mo Fei together with a pen.
Mo Fei skimmed through the densely packed list at a glance, filling it out at remarkable speed.
When the owner took back the order sheet, his tiny eyes widened.
“Two hundred bags of Zhaofeng flour, two hundred bags of Wuchang rice from Black Market Brand, one hundred drums of Arowana cooking oil, one hundred packs of Longxu noodles, two hundred cartons of Master Xiong instant noodles, two hundred cartons of self-heating hot pot meals, one hundred cartons of self-heating rice meals…”
After reading everything aloud, he stared at her in astonishment.
“Madam, do you own a supermarket?”
It wasn’t that he had never had customers placing orders this large before. But those customers were usually in their forties or fifties and were almost always supermarket purchasing managers. A customer this young buying so much, and choosing all the premium brands, was genuinely rare.
“Can I pay the deposit first?” Mo Fei asked.
Her ¥100,000 still had many other uses. If she paid for this entire grain and oil order up front, she’d immediately find herself strapped for cash.
The owner nodded.
“Sure. I’ll draw up an order contract based on this list. You only need to pay a twenty percent deposit.”
In total, Mo Fei ordered goods worth around ¥70,000 from him. After paying a deposit of ¥14,000, she prepared to leave.
The owner called after her.
“Madam, you haven’t filled in the delivery address yet!”
“Oh. I’ll text you the delivery address this afternoon.” Mo Fei smiled. Once she rented the shopfront that afternoon, she would have the goods delivered there before storing everything inside her portable space. Since it would be a newly rented location, no one would know her or ask unnecessary questions. Even if someone noticed the massive amount of supplies being moved in and got greedy, they would find absolutely nothing once they broke inside.
After leaving the grain wholesaler, Mo Fei headed to the vegetable section.
“One hundred jin of potatoes, one hundred jin of tomatoes, one hundred jin of carrots, one hundred jin of lotus root, one hundred jin of cabbage, one hundred jin of corn, one hundred jin of onions… Actually, listing them one by one is too troublesome. Boss, I’ll take one hundred jin of everything on your list. I’ll send you the delivery address this afternoon.”
Vegetables were inexpensive, so Mo Fei paid the full amount without hesitation.
The vegetable wholesaler beamed after receiving the payment.
“No problem. I’ll deliver the freshest produce to you first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Mm.” Mo Fei nodded. She was about to head toward the meat section when she suddenly stopped.
The vegetable stall had a small television that was broadcasting local news.
“Recently, multiple mysterious ground fissures have appeared on streets throughout the city. Relevant departments are currently conducting an in-depth investigation into their cause. Citizens are advised to watch their step while outdoors to avoid…”
Mysterious ground fissures?
Mo Fei looked at the television footage showing countless enormous cracks stretching across the ground, their depths impossible to determine.
Turning away, she wondered whether this, too, might be some sort of warning sign.
The vegetable seller thought she was looking at the seed shop next door and enthusiastically said, “That one’s mine too.”
Snapping back to her senses, Mo Fei really did begin looking at the seeds.
She hesitated somewhat because she had no experience growing crops. If the disasters truly came, she wasn’t even sure whether these vegetables and fruit, which required careful tending, would be able to survive.
But the instinct to grow vegetables was practically embedded in every Chinese person’s DNA, and in the end, Mo Fei decided to buy some anyway.
After all, food would eventually run out. But if she could grow it herself, then she would truly be self-sufficient with an endless supply.
Seeing that Mo Fei was buying such a large quantity of seeds as well, the owner generously waved his hand and immediately gave her a thirty percent discount. The cabbage, cucumber, chilli pepper, loofah, and other seeds would be delivered together with the vegetables to the address she later provided.
The meat section mainly sold pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, goose, eggs, and seafood. There were also less common meats such as rabbit and donkey.
Meat was expensive no matter the time, and even Mo Fei couldn’t help feeling a pang of pain while placing her order.
Besides neatly cut and sorted beef shank, beef tripe, ribs, pork belly, pig’s trotters, lamb legs, and other cuts, she also ordered one hundred chickens, one hundred ducks, one hundred trays of eggs, half a freshly slaughtered cow, and half a freshly slaughtered pig. She also stocked up generously on cured meats, clams, oysters, and squid, all of which the children loved.
The deposit alone came to ¥50,000.
They agreed that the entire order would be prepared and delivered within three days.
By the time she left the market, Mo Fei was covered in the smell of raw meat.
But she was happier than ever.
After carefully putting away the order contracts, Mo Fei took out the paper and pen the owner had given her and sat by the roadside making a checklist.
Rice, flour, grains, cooking oil, vegetables, fruit, seeds, meat, eggs, and dairy products had already cost roughly ¥300,000.
She had paid a total deposit of ¥60,000.
There was only ¥40,000 left in her bank account.[1]T/N: Just a quick note! The amounts here are exactly what the original text says. I noticed the math doesn’t quite add up either. It’s probably just the author estimating the figures, or … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3053095_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3053095_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
Money really disappeared fast.
Mo Fei sighed.
She wrote “¥40,000” on the paper, then started a new line and listed everything else she still needed to buy.
Other food: bottled water, compressed biscuits, vacuum-packed meat, canned fruit, chocolate, various instant noodles, and whatever else looked useful when she went to the supermarket.
Daily necessities: toilet paper, sanitary pads, toothpaste and toothbrushes, towels, facial cleanser, combs, shampoo, face masks, four-piece bedding sets, wet wipes, candles, soap, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid…
Medicine: thermometers, iodine solution, adhesive bandages, medical alcohol and cotton pads, gauze, antibiotic ointment, tourniquets, painkillers, anti-diarrhoeal medicine, stomach medicine, Yunnan Baiyao, medicated oil, herbal liniment for bruises, cold medicine, fever medicine, heatstroke medicine, mosquito repellent, calcium tablets, disinfectant, Suxiao Jiuxin Pills…
Clothing: clothes for all four seasons, for a thirty-year-old woman and two children aged eight and above, shoes and socks, sewing kit, raincoats, rain boots, underwear…
Tools: solar generator, water filtration system, electric drill, shovel, wrench, hammer, awl, screwdriver, alcohol stove, chainsaw, camping tent, high-powered flashlight, binoculars, emergency escape rope, multi-purpose knife, fire extinguisher, portable radio and batteries. If necessary, she could also buy a few machetes…
Mo Fei was writing enthusiastically when a WeChat notification suddenly popped up.
She opened the chat labelled “Mom,” and her emotions instantly became complicated.
The original owner’s father had been an extremely stern man. After the original owner became pregnant out of wedlock and insisted on keeping the children, her father had immediately ordered everyone in the family to block all of her contact information. No one was allowed to contact her, and no one was allowed to give her a single cent.
For the sake of her daughter, the original owner’s mother, Song Yi, had secretly created a second WeChat account.
She only dared contact her daughter once every ten days or half a month.
“Daughter, I was cleaning the house today and found a little bear.”
Attached was a photo of a brown teddy bear that had been washed until it was spotless and hung out on the balcony to dry with two clips. It looked very much like the one the original owner had bought for Mo Jiayue.
Ever since she could remember, Mo Fei had never experienced the love and care of parents.
Her childhood had been spent under the supervision of the orphanage teachers, punctuated by fights and quarrels with the other children there.
According to the original owner’s memories, this teddy bear had been the birthday present her parents gave her when she turned ten.
Patting the teddy bear on the head would make it sing, and the original owner had loved it dearly. As she grew older, however, she no longer knew where it had been put.
After severing ties with her family, the original owner had assumed that all her belongings had long since been thrown away by her parents.
She had never expected to see this little bear again.
Mo Fei touched her face and found a tear that had fallen from her left eye.
Her nose also stung for no apparent reason.
She froze for a moment before suddenly realizing that perhaps some of the original owner’s emotions still lingered within this body.
Imitating the original owner’s tone, Mo Fei typed a reply.
“Mom, put the bear away. Don’t let Dad see it. Otherwise he’ll get angry again.”
After sending the message, there was no reply.
After thinking for a moment, she sent another message.
“Mom, things don’t seem very peaceful lately. Remember to buy plenty of food and water from the supermarket, and some common medicines from the pharmacy. If I have time, I’ll come visit you.”
This time, the reply came quickly.
“When?”
Mo Fei was taken aback.
Although her mother occasionally messaged her, the two of them had only met once, when Jianian and Jiayue had just been born.
Eight years had passed since then.
Mom really misses her, Mo Fei thought.
In the original owner’s heart, she had always felt guilty toward her parents.
It was just that the argument back then had ended so badly that both sides had said many harsh things.
Neither side had been willing to lower their head, and once the relationship froze, there had been no opportunity for reconciliation.
Now that the original owner had already left this world, if there was a chance to repair her relationship with her parents on the original owner’s behalf, Mo Fei was more than willing to do so.
After giving it some thought, Mo Fei replied, “Next Monday.”
The chat showed that the other party was typing, but although Mo Fei waited and waited, no further message ever came.
Puzzled, she put away her phone and continued looking over the shopping list in her hands.
References[+]