“Te… ten thousand tons?! Of iodized salt?!”
The blood pressure that Wang Fatty had only just managed to calm down exploded skyward again with Lin Qi’s casual remark!
Like a deflated balloon, he collapsed back into the grandmaster chair with a loud thump, shaking even the expensive golden nanmu tea table three times over. His tiny eyes, squeezed into slits by layers of fat, stared at Lin Qi as though she were some alien lifeform.
“Boss Lin… do you even know what ten thousand tons of salt means?!” Wang Fatty’s voice trembled like leaves in a winter wind as he gestured wildly. “Our entire province couldn’t finish that much salt in a whole year! This stuff is heavy and takes up space—are you planning to reclaim land from the sea or something?!”
Lin Qi ignored his shock. Beneath the brim of her cap, bloody memories from her previous life churned in her eyes.
In peaceful times, salt was the cheapest seasoning imaginable. A few yuan could buy a giant bag, supermarket shelves were stacked to the ceiling with it, and no one ever paid it any attention.
But after the apocalypse arrived?
When catastrophic storms and floods swallowed entire cities… when nuclear contamination and unknown viruses seeped into the groundwater with the rain… when the extreme cold froze every inland salt lake solid… when corrosive acid rain completely destroyed the surface ecosystem…
At that point, the salt industry would collapse entirely.
Lin Qi would never forget the third year of the apocalypse. Because of severe salt deficiency, large-scale goiter outbreaks and electrolyte disorders erupted in survivor bases. Countless people became swollen all over, their muscles atrophied, unable even to lift a blade against zombies. They could only lie on the ground like puddles of mud and wait for death.
Back then, a tiny handful of crude salt mixed with sand and dirt was enough to make a pure college girl sell her body, enough to make blood brothers turn knives on each other.
And now, she intended to buy ten thousand tons of the highest-grade moisture-proof refined salt!
With this stockpile, not only could she maintain peak physical condition throughout this hellish apocalypse, but when necessary, salt could also become a “hard currency” even more valuable than gold or bullets, something she could trade for any rare resource she wanted.
“It’s for strategic reserves. The temperatures over in Africa are high, people sweat a lot, so naturally they need massive salt replenishment.” Lin Qi continued spinning her flimsy lie with a perfectly calm expression, her tone brooking no argument. “Package them in small 500-gram bags, fifty bags per moisture-proof sealed barrel. If even a single ounce is missing, I’ll hold you accountable.”
“Y-Yes! Ten thousand tons of refined salt, small-package moisture-proof barrels! I’ll call the coastal salt fields right away!” Wang Fatty wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and swallowed two heart-saving pills.
He finally understood now—this young lady wasn’t here to purchase goods. She was conducting a purchasing-style “armed robbery”! As long as the money was enough, who cared whether the salt was headed to Africa or Mars?!
“Don’t rush. We’re not finished yet.” Lin Qi tapped the tea table lightly with her slender fingers, producing crisp sounds. “Besides salt, sugar is equally important.”
“White sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar—prepare two thousand tons of each as strategic energy reserves. Especially the brown sugar. I want authentic traditional black sugar, vacuum-sealed with moisture-proof packaging.”
Sugar was another life-saving miracle medicine in the apocalypse.
It was the purest form of carbohydrates, capable of rapidly converting into heat and energy when the human body hovered on the brink of freezing solid or collapsing from hypoglycemia. On the minus-sixty-degree frozen wastelands, a single cup of steaming hot brown sugar water could often yank someone back from death’s doorstep.
Not only that, high concentrations of sugar could also be used for preservation and curing. Although Lin Qi possessed an absolutely static storage space, extra preparation meant extra security.
“No problem! I know people at the sugar factories. Two thousand tons is a lot, but I, Wang Fatty, can still shamelessly fight for inventory!” By now, Wang Fatty was numb. Even if Lin Qi suddenly asked for ten thousand tons of pepper powder, he could probably write it down without batting an eye.
“Next are the basic seasonings.”
Lin Qi pulled out a second A4 sheet from her pocket. It was densely packed with top-tier products from various major seasoning brands.
In the apocalypse, the flesh of mutated animals and plants often carried overpowering earthy or rotten odors. If anyone wanted to swallow them, they needed heavy oil, heavy salt, and heavy spices to mask the taste. Not to mention, Lin Qi planned to stockpile premium wagyu, black pork, and seafood. Without the finest seasonings to match, it would be a complete waste.
“Premium brewed light soy sauce and dark soy sauce—five hundred thousand cases each. Three-year aged mature vinegar and Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar—another five hundred thousand cases each. Cooking wine and huadiao wine—eight hundred thousand cases. Remember, I don’t want those cheap chemically blended products. Everything must be premium brewed brands! Packaging must use food-grade thickened plastic barrels or explosion-proof glass bottles, reinforced with shockproof wooden crates.”
“Star anise, cinnamon bark, bay leaves, dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, cumin, fennel… don’t count them by the pound. Count them by the ton! One hundred tons each! Same requirement—maximum moisture-proof packaging!”
Listening to the endless stream of numbers pouring from Lin Qi’s mouth, Wang Fatty’s hands shook so badly his writing turned crooked.
Five hundred thousand cases of soy sauce? One hundred tons of peppercorns?!
Was this supposed to be humanitarian aid, or was she preparing a full imperial banquet for refugees?! With this much seasoning, even African lions would probably drool at the smell!
“Boss Lin, your requirements are… extremely detailed.” Wang Fatty swallowed hard. “These dry spices and sauces involve too many brands. If I contact each manufacturer one by one, there’s no way I can finish in three days. But don’t worry—if there’s one thing Wanhui Grain and Oil City has, it’s seasoning merchants! I’ll gather every major supplier in the city and empty their warehouses for you!”
“That’s fine. I don’t care how you do it. As long as the goods meet my standards, money isn’t an issue.” Lin Qi nodded. Then her gaze deepened dramatically, a near-fanatical flame burning in the depths of her eyes.
The basic seasonings were settled. Next came the true centerpiece of today’s “Seasoning Carnival”—the obsession buried deepest in Lin Qi’s soul during the extreme cold apocalypse.
“Boss Wang, are there any hot pot base wholesalers in Wanhui City?” Lin Qi’s voice suddenly lowered, carrying an almost imperceptible tremor.
In her previous life, after the extreme cold descended, the outside world became an endless frozen glacier.
Lin Qi had hidden inside a drafty basement, wrapped in every scrap of cloth she could find, yet her entire body still turned purple from the cold and her fingernails fell off. Back then, her greatest dream wasn’t for some hero to save her.
It was simply to sit before a glowing charcoal copper hot pot, watch the red chili oil boil, and dip a slice of tripe into it.
Even just smelling that rich, domineering aroma of spicy beef tallow would have made dying worth it.
Sadly, until the very moment she was butchered and eaten alive by those scum, that wish was never fulfilled.
Now that she had been reborn, she wouldn’t just eat hot pot. She would sit inside her apocalypse fortress, watching surveillance screens display all the people who had bullied her in her previous life freezing into ice sculptures outside in the snow, while she enjoyed twenty-five-degree heated air conditioning and feasted on endless varieties of hot pot every single day!
“Hot pot bases? Of course! Tons of them!” Wang Fatty slapped his thigh. “I’m the provincial总代理 for several of the biggest factories in Sichuan and Chongqing! How much do you want?”
“Haidilao spicy beef tallow base, tomato base, three delicacies base, mushroom soup base! Plus Qiaotou extra spicy base, Mingyang handmade pure beef tallow base, Qiuxia hot pot base!”
Lin Qi rattled off more than a dozen famous brands she remembered from her previous life—products whose empty wrappers alone would have been licked clean ten times over during the apocalypse.
She leaned forward slightly, every word carrying terrifying pressure as it smashed toward Wang Fatty.
“Don’t ask how many I want.”
“Contact every manufacturer and distributor immediately. I want to clear out every single piece of inventory on the market!”
“I want two million packs! If that’s not enough, make their production lines run three shifts around the clock! As long as they can deliver within three days, I’ll buy everything at full retail price!”
Two million packs! At retail price!
Boom—
It felt as though a nuclear bomb had detonated inside Wang Fatty’s brain!
A premium spicy beef tallow hot pot base retailed for around thirty to fifty yuan per pack. Two million packs… that was nearly a hundred million yuan in direct cash flow! And she intended to sweep up every bit of available stock!
This woman was insane! Completely insane!
“B-Boss Lin is truly generous! I’ll make the calls right now! Right now!”
Wang Fatty completely abandoned any pretense of dignity. He sprang from his chair, pulled out two phones, and started frantically dialing numbers while roaring into them at the top of his lungs.
“Hello?! Old Li! Don’t ship those hundred thousand cases of Qiaotou hot pot base to the southwest supermarkets! I’ll cover the breach penalty! Hold them all back for me! I’m buying the entire lot!”
“Blind Zhang! Pull every single tomato and mushroom soup base you’ve got and send them to the abandoned logistics warehouse in the High-Tech District! Immediately! Don’t waste my time—cash payment!”
Watching Wang Fatty descend into complete madness, directing supplies like a general commanding armies, Lin Qi quietly leaned back in her chair and twisted open a bottle of mineral water from her backpack.
The cool water slid down her throat, but it couldn’t extinguish the blazing fire of revenge burning in her heart.
Thirty-eight billion for staple foods. Add the seasonings, salt, sugar, and two million packs of hot pot base, and the total cost approached fifty billion yuan.
She had just swiped her card again.
Listening to the constant beeping of the POS machine, Lin Qi’s lips curved into a deeply satisfied smile.
Five billion yuan had transformed into the absolute foundation that would allow her to live like a queen in the apocalypse.
This kind of疯狂消费—turning money directly into tangible security—released more dopamine than any drug imaginable.
“Boss Lin! It’s all arranged!” Half an hour later, Wang Fatty returned to the tea table drenched in sweat, his voice hoarse from yelling, his eyes blazing with excitement. “I’ve bought out all seasoning inventory in the province! The factories in neighboring provinces have already halted other orders to prioritize our shipments!”
“By eight tonight, the first convoy of five hundred heavy trucks loaded with rice, flour, and part of the hot pot base shipment will arrive at your warehouse in the High-Tech District!”
Wang Fatty wiped away sweat and pounded his chest confidently. “I’ll personally escort the convoy! I guarantee not even a grain of rice will go missing!”
“Good.”
Lin Qi stood up and lowered the brim of her cap, concealing the sharp gleam in her eyes.
She glanced at the time on her phone: 1:30 PM.
“Eight tonight. Warehouse. And remember—I don’t like waiting.”
Leaving behind those words, Lin Qi turned and walked out of Wang Grain and Oil Wholesale without a trace of hesitation.
The framework for the warehouse and staple supplies was already in place. Tonight, the first massive shipment of materials would arrive. But before that, she still had a few free hours.
Sitting inside her Porsche Cayenne, Lin Qi didn’t start the engine immediately. Instead, she took out a brand-new notebook and quickly wrote down several names in bold strokes:
【Fireworks Alley Night Market】
【Top 50 Five-Star Restaurants in the City】
Because true apocalypse survival required more than rice and dry ingredients. Without piping-hot cooked meals rich in fat and calories ready to eat, how could anyone endure the endless nights of minus-sixty-degree winter?
“I’ll head back to the hotel for a nap first. Once tonight’s tens of thousands of tons of rice are secured…” Lin Qi leaned back in her seat, fanatic excitement flashing in her eyes. “Tomorrow, it’ll be time to sweep through all the cooked food shops filled with the warmth of human life.”