III. Listen — Test by Flicking
Hold the banknote by both ends and flick it gently. Genuine notes, made with sturdy, high-quality paper, produce a clear, crisp sound. Counterfeits give off a dull, muffled tone.
IV. Inspect — Locate Hidden Markings with Tools
Using a Magnifying Glass: On the back of the note, beside the decorative lamp pole to the right of Tiananmen Gate, there is a hidden mark shaped like the Chinese character “Gong” (Worker), and just above it, the letter “Z”. At the far left edge of the Tiananmen illustration lies the hidden character “Ren” (People). Counterfeit notes almost never include these fine details; if they do, the markings are blurry and indistinct.
Using an Ultraviolet Lamp: Standard genuine notes should not glow brightly under UV light. The paper should contain randomly distributed yellow and blue fluorescent fibers. Counterfeits often glow unnaturally with a bluish-white light across the entire surface.
For all these reasons, Lu Xiaxia felt about 80 percent certain that the notes she had selected were genuine.
Thinking ahead—since nutrition would be scarce in the era she was preparing for—she bought 20 crates of pure milk. After a moment’s consideration, she also visited a shop selling milk powder and purchased two crates each of infant formula for stages 1, 2, and 3.
Buying so many goods meant she could not carry everything at once. She paid a deposit first, planning to rent a vehicle shortly to transport her purchases.
Once everything was loaded, she drove out of the wholesale market. Two intersections away, she spotted a vendor selling watermelons and bought ten of them. Turning left at the next junction, she came across someone selling peaches and purchased 25 kilograms, before continuing on her way.
At the farmers’ market, she bought 10 kilograms of fresh noodles and various vegetables. With cash on hand, she also bought 500 yuan worth of steamed buns. Then she visited a bakery and stocked up on bread, cakes, flaky pastries, and assorted cookies.
She loaded all her purchases into the van and drove to a quiet, secluded area where surveillance cameras were scarce. Finding a sheltered spot, she drew the curtains and transferred the entire load into her personal space.
Once everything was safely stored, she drove back to the shop where she had bought the sewing machine. She and the shopkeeper carried it together into the van. She was glad she had rented a sliding-door cargo van—otherwise, transporting the machine would have been nearly impossible.
She drove to another camera-free spot, stored the sewing machine in her space, returned the rental vehicle, and went home.
All her parcels had arrived, and now she could really get to work. She washed all the large basins she had ordered and set them aside for use.
Then she resumed her cooking marathon. Following the same routine as the day before, she steamed large batches of rice, and once the rice was cooking, she set to work making red-braised pork and red-braised chicken. After three full batches of those, she moved on to lamb and beef.
For the lamb, she planned to make rich lamb soup—she still had plenty of glass noodles in storage, and had bought Chinese cabbage at the market that very day. For the beef, she decided to braise it slowly in a savory spiced sauce.
She set to work with determination, and before she knew it, it was already eight in the evening. Checking her account balance on her phone, she placed an order for various vitamin supplements and a meal delivery. With roughly 500 yuan remaining, she planned to buy more steamed buns the following morning.
When the lamb soup was ready, she poured it into basins, let it cool slightly, and stored it in her space. She made sure not to let it get too cold—she was saving it for winter, when a bowl of warm lamb soup would be wonderfully comforting.
Once the beef was cooked through, she let it simmer gently over low heat until the sauce had reduced substantially. She then turned off the heat and left the beef to soak in the broth overnight, which would infuse it with deep, rich flavor.
With the beef done, Lu Xiaxia transferred it into a basin, cleared the pot, and returned to cooking chicken and pork. She made more red-braised pork, and also prepared chicken soup simmered with red dates and goji berries—delicious and nourishing.
As each batch of rice finished steaming, she moved it into basins and started another pot. By the fifth batch of rice, her meal delivery arrived. She ate one portion and stored the rest away.
After eating, she continued simmering chicken soup and pork bone broth. While waiting for the soups, she went around her apartment gathering useful items and storing them in her space.
With plenty of rice already prepared, she turned to cooking congee—mixing rice with millet and using her electric cooker’s dedicated porridge setting. She made three large pots of congee, alongside three more pots of chicken soup and bone broth.
While waiting for the soups and porridge to finish, she took fresh pork, washed it, and prepared it. Adding scallions, she put the meat through a meat grinder. She worked in five batches, seasoning each portion thoroughly before grinding. She stored all the seasoned pork mince in basins, ready for future use—if she had time the next day, she would make dumplings.
By now, it was nearly eleven o’clock. She tidied everything up, prepared for bed, and planned to take another day of leave.
The next morning, her alarm was set for 6:30 a.m. She intended to get up early—besides buying more steamed buns, she also planned to pick up some savory sauce cakes.
When the alarm rang, she roused herself and got ready. At the bun shop, she bought 50 beef buns at 3 yuan each, totaling 150 yuan. She also bought 100 pork buns at 1.5 yuan each, another 150 yuan. With her remaining 200 yuan, she went to a pastry shop and bought 200 yuan worth of savory sauce cakes.
This time, she had come prepared—she had brought a small handcart. She loaded the buns and cakes onto it and wheeled everything home.
Once there, Lu Xiaxia took a cake and ate it with the warm congee she had cooked the night before—she had let the porridge cool just enough to eat comfortably. After breakfast, she stored all the buns and cakes in her space.
Checking on the beef, she found it had absorbed the flavors perfectly and was ready. She sliced every piece of beef thinly and set it aside.
She returned to her routine: steaming more congee in the electric cooker, and using both stove burners to keep up with batches of red-braised pork and chicken. Between cooking batches, she prepared ingredients—slicing beef, and cooking more rice as each pot finished.
After five batches of red-braised pork and chicken, she began simmering pork bone broth. Since she had bought pork in whole cuts, she had every part available—though she had declined the head and large intestines, as she did not care for them.
While the bones simmered, she mixed flour and water to make dumpling dough, setting it aside to rest. She then sliced pork into thin strips—planning to stir-fry it with green peppers later that afternoon. She also peeled potatoes, green beans, and eggplant, preparing the ingredients for a classic three-vegetable stir-fry.
With everything prepped, she began making dumplings. She arranged the finished dumplings neatly on wooden boards specially bought for the purpose, and once each batch was ready, she mentally moved the boards onto shelves within her space. Seeing her supplies organized and categorized—foods on one shelf, daily necessities on another—filled her with a deep sense of satisfaction.
Once the dumplings were all made, she cooked the pork and green pepper stir-fry, followed by the three-vegetable stir-fry. By the time both dishes were ready, it was already three o’clock in the afternoon. She took a steamed bun from storage, ate it with the stir-fried dishes, and finished with a bowl of warm bone broth.
Leaning back contentedly, she sighed. Putting aside the strange dream that had started all this—how wonderful it felt to live simply, keep busy, and have more than enough to eat.
After resting for a while, she stood up, returned to her kitchen, and kept steaming rice, braising meat, and cooking dish after dish.