After taking a short break, Lu Xinran immediately headed to the largest department store in Shanghai.
She needed to use up the ration coupons that were restricted to the local area.
In this era, apart from the national grain coupons, most other ration coupons could not be used once you left the region. Keeping them would only be a waste, so she might as well use them all up.
She was heading to the northwest this time. Although she did not know whether she would stay there permanently, the region was poor and lacking in supplies. Once she left Shanghai, many things would be difficult or even impossible to buy elsewhere.
As soon as she entered the department store, she headed straight for the daily necessities counter.
The northwest was much drier, so she needed to stock up on moisturizing products. Otherwise, her face and skin would suffer.
She bought cold cream, choosing the most popular brands available in Shanghai.
There were Pechoin, Maxam, Friendship, and Shuangmei. She bought ten tins of each.
She also bought bar soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, floral water, cooling balm, medicated oil, and mosquito nets.
By the time she arrived in the northwest, summer would soon be approaching, so she needed to stock up on plenty of summer necessities.
She then bought canvas shoes, slippers, and sandals. She also stocked up on plenty of pure cotton underwear. Money was not an issue, so there was no reason to skimp on such things.
After finishing those purchases, she noticed that the neighboring section sold rain gear and rain boots. Since she had already seen them, she bought rain boots, raincoats, umbrellas, and straw hats for sun protection as well.
She had heard that the sunlight there was also very strong, so sun protection was important.
She bought a metal water bottle, enamel basins, enamel mugs, and aluminum lunch boxes. She already had these things at home, but she bought a new set anyway.
As for shampoo, sanitary napkins, toilet paper, and the like, she planned to buy those at the Friendship Store, where imported goods were available.
Many people could not get in, and some did not even dare to buy those products.
But she was not afraid.
The bold got to enjoy the world first. She was going to sweep through the Friendship Store later.
After checking her purchases and making sure she had almost everything she needed, she went to the counter.
“Comrade, hello. Could you please calculate how much all of this costs?”
The saleswoman stared at the huge pile of goods in front of her and was instantly dumbfounded. She swallowed nervously, and even her voice became a little stammered.
“Comrade, you—you bought all this?”
Qiao Mo smiled unconcernedly.
“Yes. I’m buying some things for my classmate’s family.”
Anyway, the department store did not impose purchase limits, so the saleswoman said nothing and carefully calculated the bill for her.
After paying for everything, she went over to the nearby food section.
She bought five tins of malted milk powder and ten jin of brown sugar.
She often suffered from stomachaches during her period, and drinking brown sugar water helped quite a bit. So she definitely needed to stock up on plenty of brown sugar. There was no guarantee she would be able to find it in the northwest.
When she saw White Rabbit milk candies, she bought twenty jin.
They were also very useful for her hypoglycemia. Since she could store them in her space, she did not have to worry about them expiring.
Besides, by the time she left for the far northwest, they were probably still busy reclaiming and developing the land there. White Rabbit candies should be impossible to find there, right?
Apart from White Rabbit milk candies, there were also other kinds of fruit-flavored hard candies. She bought two to try, and they tasted pretty good.
She bought ten jin of those hard candies as well.
After the candies were weighed, she left feeling completely satisfied. She had used up almost all the coupons that could only be spent in Shanghai.
Next, she was heading to the Friendship Store.
At the Friendship Store, Lu Xinran found the shampoo, sanitary napkins, sanitary belts, and toilet paper she had been looking for.
She also bought several large jars of imported moisturizing lotion. The bigger ones were more practical.
She bought some canned food and pastries as well. These were things that ordinary department stores did not carry.
Money was no object. As long as they had something in stock, she would buy it. For some items, she practically bought out the entire supply.
She also saw watches, cigarettes, and foreign liquor.
She had already looted quite a few of those things from Lu Xinglong, so she did not buy them.
There were also wool sweaters, though they were not cheap. Lu Xinran bought several.
She needed to prepare clothing for spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
The Friendship Store also carried pure cotton underwear and thermal underwear. She picked up several sets of those as well.
When Lu Xinran left the Friendship Store, she glanced at the time.
The entire day had passed in a blur. She had been busy shopping for so many things that the hours had simply flown by.
She finally understood the joy of shopping.
Before she knew it, it was already past five.
She found a secluded, deserted corner and put everything she had bought that day into her space.
It was also the perfect time for her to visit the black market.
There was only one night market in Shanghai’s black market, operating for two hours after dark.
There were people specifically protecting the market, ensuring its safety. Otherwise, such a market would never have been able to exist.
Lu Xinran had dressed very inconspicuously that day. She used a silk scarf to partially cover her face and put on the straw hat she had just bought at the department store.
No one would be able to recognize her.
Besides, she had only recently returned to China and did not know many people in Shanghai.
Once she arrived, Lu Xinran went to see what the legendary black market actually had to offer.
There were no fixed stalls in the black market. Everything was scattered around, and unlike a department store, nothing was organized into categories.
If you wanted to buy something, you simply had to rely on luck and see whether you could find someone selling it.
Lu Xinran mainly wanted to buy some chicks, ducklings, and piglets. If she could find some aquatic animals as well, even better.
Finally, her persistence paid off.
She found someone selling chicks, ducklings, and piglets.
The prices were fairly reasonable.
Chicks were three cents each, and ducklings were five cents each. They were slightly more expensive than the market price.
But the best part was that there were no purchase limits. If you had the money and the seller had the goods, you could buy as much as you wanted.
She bought ten of each.
After all, her space already had separate chicken and duck enclosures, and she did not even need to clean them herself.
Their manure could also be used as fertilizer, creating a perfect cycle of reuse.
The piglets were somewhat expensive. They had already been raised for a month or two, so each one cost five yuan.
She bought five piglets.
She also bought two pairs of roosters and hens. Later, they could keep laying eggs, so she would never have to worry about running out of eggs.
Once they were placed in her space, she did not have to worry about feeding them either. Everything inside the space was fully automated—one-click feeding, one-click cleaning. It was incredibly convenient.
After buying all the livestock, she continued wandering around the market.
When she was almost at the end, she spotted someone selling aquatic products.
She was pleasantly surprised to discover that they even had fish fry.
Lu Xinran suddenly remembered that her space contained a spring specifically for irrigation.
She could raise fish and shrimp there, and there was even a fish pond.
She bought some fish fry, river shrimp, and crabs.
As she continued walking, she unexpectedly came across someone selling medicine.
Most of it consisted of medicines for external injuries, cold and fever remedies, and traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.
Actually, she had spiritual spring water that could detoxify poisons, treat illnesses, and help regulate the body, so she did not really need these medicines.
But Lu Xinran thought that since she was already there and had found them, she might as well buy some.
Otherwise, if she needed them in the future, she could not rely entirely on the spiritual spring.
Besides, she was not short of money.
After buying the medicine, she thought about everything she had acquired that day.
Lu Xinran was completely satisfied and headed home.
She would be leaving Shanghai by train tomorrow at noon.
Tonight would be her last night in Shanghai.
Actually, she did not feel particularly reluctant to leave.
She was merely a little worried about the uncertainty of the future.
Still, the feeling was not particularly strong.
After returning home, she took out the property deed for this little villa.
Then she made a huge decision—