Сhарtеr 3: Stepfаthеr
Аftеr lеaving the Spiсу Frog and Fish rеstaurant, Jiаng Сi wаndеrеd аround thе аrеa а bit morе.
At a nеаrby lаmb noоdlе shоp, shе рlaсеd аn оrdеr fоr 10 sеrvings of lаmb noоdlеs and 10 servings of lamb nоodlеs with souр еvеrу day, tо be delivеrеd соntinuouslу for siх months. She раid а dерosit оf 50,000 yuan, with anу ехсеss or shortfall tо bе sеttled lаter.
With 3,600 sеrvings of lamb nооdlеs аnd lamb noоdlе soup, if shе ate thеm оnсе a wееk, it would last her about 70 yeаrs.
Twо shорs dоwn frоm the Sрicy Frog аnd Fish restаurant wаs a bаrbecue place. She ordered 1,000 yuan worth of barbecue daily, mixed and grilled, divided into 10 servings, all on skewers, to be delivered continuously for six months.
Barbecue, after all, tastes best when eaten straight off the skewer.
Jiang Ci did the math: 1,800 servings of barbecue, eaten once a week, would last her about 35 years.
It was already quite late, so Jiang Ci took a casual stroll to help digest her food. Feeling that she had accomplished enough for the day, she headed home.
The first thing she did after getting home was to take out a blank notebook and meticulously record all the supplies she had purchased that day.
She even pulled out the receipts the shop owners had given her and double-checked them. Only after confirming everything was correct did she feel at ease enough to take a shower and go to bed.
…
The next day.
As soon as the alarm went off, Jiang Ci immediately sprang up from bed like a carp leaping out of water.
In the face of impending disasters, constant vigilance and swift escape were essential for survival, so she still couldn’t quite adapt to such a comfortable life.
The days of lazing in bed or going back to sleep after waking up felt like a distant memory to her now.
Moreover, with time so tight—stockpiling supplies, exercising, and preparing more survival methods—she simply had no time to waste on sleep.
She quickly got up, washed up, and applied skincare products. Now that conditions allowed, she wanted to look her best, not like in her previous life when she was dark, skinny, and resembled a monkey.
After changing clothes, she grabbed her phone and keys and went downstairs for breakfast.
The braised pork buns sold at the breakfast shop downstairs were absolutely divine!
The Nine Suns red date and walnut soy milk was also thick and delicious.
She devoured a whole steamer of eight small braised pork buns, drank a cup of soy milk, and finished it off with a bowl of millet porridge paired with the shop’s pickled vegetables.
The small buns, which could be eaten in one bite, cost 1 yuan each, the Nine Suns soy milk was 3 yuan a cup, the millet porridge was 1 yuan a bowl, and the pickled vegetables were free.
Breakfast cost her 12 yuan in total.
Satisfied and full, Jiang Ci turned her attention to the breakfast shop owners.
The owners were a middle-aged couple, very honest and hardworking. They had a son studying at a nearby university, and with their breakfast-making skills, they had managed to buy an apartment in this Jiaxing residential complex.
Jiang Ci discussed with the owners, expressing that she didn’t want small buns but larger ones instead.
She ordered four types of large buns: braised pork, beef, pickled cabbage, and vermicelli with tofu.
For the braised pork and beef buns, she wanted 100 of each daily, priced at 3 yuan each.
For the pickled cabbage and vermicelli with tofu buns, she also wanted 100 of each daily, priced at 1.5 yuan each.
She also ordered 50 cups of Nine Suns soy milk daily, at 3 yuan per cup.
In total, that amounted to 400 large buns per day. Over six months, she would accumulate roughly over 72,000 large buns.
Assuming she ate three large buns a day, it would last her about 66 years.
After paying a deposit of 100,000 yuan to the owners and keeping the receipt safe, Jiang Ci headed to the rice noodle shop downstairs in the residential complex.
When she had eaten rice noodles there the day before, she couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be if she could still enjoy such delicious rice noodles anytime after the disaster struck.Her space was incredibly effective at preserving freshness, so she had finally gotten her wish.
Tomato with shredded pork rice noodles, tomato with squid rice noodles, tomato with shrimp paste rice noodles.
Pickled mustard tuber with shredded pork rice noodles, pickled mustard tuber with squid rice noodles, pickled mustard tuber with shrimp paste rice noodles.
Jiang Ci ordered her six favorite flavors, each portion costing 20 yuan.
She placed an order with the shop owner for 60 portions daily—10 portions of each flavor—for six consecutive months, paying a 100,000 yuan deposit.
Eating one portion a day would last her 30 years.
After breakfast and her visit to the rice noodle shop, Jiang Ci drove to a food processing factory in the suburbs that produced self-heating hot pots.
She signed a contract with the factory, ordering 400,000 boxes of self-heating hot pots in five flavors: classic fatty beef, spicy stir-fry, tomato beef brisket, spicy fish, and pickled fish.
Each flavor had 80,000 boxes.
Even if she ate 20 boxes a day, it would last her 90 years.
If bought online, each box would cost around 30 yuan, but since she was buying in bulk directly from the manufacturer, she managed to negotiate the price down to 20 yuan per box after some haggling.
Her only requirement was that the portions be larger and more generous than those sold on the market.
The total for 400,000 boxes came to 8 million yuan.
After signing the contract, Jiang Ci paid a 4 million yuan deposit upfront, with the remaining half to be paid upon satisfactory inspection of the goods.
Once everything was settled, Jiang Ci checked the time and decided not to go home, heading straight to her stepfather’s house instead.
She had promised Wen Qianyue yesterday that she would go over for lunch today.
Her stepfather Si Jianhua lived in Xianglan Xiaozhu, an upscale residential area in the city.
The neighborhood’s name was elegant and refined, befitting its status as a wealthy villa district.
Not only was the name sophisticated, but the residents were also all affluent or influential.
Since Wen Qianyue remarried Si Jianhua, Jiang Ci had seen her only a handful of times.
Wen Qianyue was a very domineering woman who had always been strict with her. Growing up, Jiang Ci had lived under her mother’s constant pressure and surveillance, molded into the person her mother wanted her to be.
She was expected to excel in everything and achieve perfect scores in every subject, leaving her feeling deeply suffocated.
As a result, she resented Wen Qianyue intensely. As she grew older and more aware, she couldn’t help but rebel against her mother at every turn.
Their conversations rarely lasted more than a few sentences before ending in arguments.
When her father was alive, he would mediate and soothe both sides.
But after his death, her relationship with Wen Qianyue plummeted to an all-time low.
They became like fire and water—wherever Wen Qianyue was, Jiang Ci refused to go.
Six months ago, when Wen Qianyue remarried another man, Jiang Ci felt an inexplicable surge of anger.
She also felt abandoned, left all alone, which only deepened her resentment toward Wen Qianyue.
In her previous life, she had never once visited Xianglan Xiaozhu.
Just like now, Wen Qianyue would call her every weekend, insisting she come over for a meal, but Jiang Ci never agreed. Each time, she would respond with sarcasm before hanging up.
In contrast, Si Jianhua often visited her at her place, bringing her piles of food and daily necessities, handing her bank cards, and even delivering meals cooked by Wen Qianyue.
But Jiang Ci never appreciated his efforts, always treating him with cold indifference.
Yet the man seemed oblivious to her hostility, remaining perpetually gentle and smiling, patient and understanding, never holding her attitude against her.
Wen Qianyue really had good fortune—both men in her life were kind, gentle souls with endless patience.If it weren’t for her troublesome daughter, she would probably have lived a better life and wouldn’t have died because of her in her previous life.
The security guard at the community didn’t recognize Jiang Ci and only let her pass after calling the homeowner to confirm.
When Jiang Ci arrived at the villa entrance, Wen Qianyue and Si Jianhua were already waiting for her at the door.
Wen Qianyue was beautiful, but she was too stern when facing Jiang Ci.
This was mainly because she had always played the role of a strict mother during her daughter’s upbringing.
And now, this daughter was increasingly defying her.
So she was accustomed to being stern and severe, and couldn’t change that habit all at once.
Si Jianhua was a handsome middle-aged man—no baldness, no beer belly, standing tall and straight like a pine tree.
He wore a smile on his face, his eyes filled with anticipation as he looked at Jiang Ci.
What exactly was he expecting?
Jiang Ci wondered, was he perhaps hoping she would call him “Dad”?