When Xu Qinghe stepped out of the lottery shop, her hands were still trembling.
She had won 180,000 yuan. After taxes, she was left with 144,000 yuan.
It had taken her two and a half years of living frugally to save that much money, and now she had received it all at once. The feeling of gaining such a windfall was incredible.
Xu Qinghe couldn’t help but do a little jump of excitement.
Before this, she had just over 30,000 yuan left. After buying the fish stock and fruit trees, she still had more than 20,000 yuan remaining. Adding the lottery winnings meant she could continue stockpiling supplies without worry.
First, she made one final round of pharmacy visits.
The 50,000-yuan budget she had set aside for medicine was finally exhausted, and every item on her medical supply list had been purchased.
Over the past few days, besides managing her space, she had also spent a great deal of time researching traditional Chinese medicine.
After finishing her purchases of modern medicine, she headed straight to the seed market and spent 10,000 yuan on medicinal herb seeds.
As usual, she drove to a secluded place and stored the medicine and seeds in her space. Then she went online and ordered another 7,000 yuan worth of toilet paper and 3,000 yuan worth of sanitary pads.
In truth, she had already bought enough sanitary pads to last a long time. These additional purchases were simply for peace of mind.
Next, she ordered five portable commode chairs.
They were commonly used by elderly people and pregnant women. They looked much like ordinary toilets, except that the seat concealed a removable basin underneath.
Essentially, they were chairs with a hole in the middle of the seat and a cover below to hide both the contents and any unpleasant odors.
Once they arrived, Xu Qinghe planned to remove the basins and place plastic containers filled with wood ash beneath them.
At first, she had considered using cat litter.
But the amount required for regular human use would be enormous, and even inexpensive cat litter would become costly in large quantities.
After much deliberation, she remembered the benefits of wood ash.
Wood ash could help deodorize, suppress bacteria, and repel insects—and it was practically free.
She was growing crops like corn and wheat in her space, so she would never lack fuel to burn. In the future, she also planned to cook feed for her livestock, meaning there would be an endless supply of ash.
Aside from being somewhat dusty, she couldn’t think of any drawbacks to using wood ash instead of cat litter.
With the portable commodes and containers of wood ash, she could effectively recreate a modern toilet.
That meant she would no longer have to suffer through freezing winters, sweltering summers, insect bites, and unsanitary conditions in ancient pit latrines.
After ordering the commodes, Xu Qinghe initially intended to buy electrical appliances.
But after some thought, she decided it would be wiser to secure a power source first.
She had already researched solar power systems extensively.
A certain brand’s solar setup cost more than 40,000 yuan per unit. While its power generation efficiency was average, it had an excellent reputation for durability.
That made it the perfect choice for her.
Xu Qinghe bought two complete systems, along with dozens of spare solar panels, batteries, and converters. The seller even included three power strips as a gift.
The total cost exceeded 100,000 yuan.
Since she intended to install the systems inside her space, she could only ask the seller for the installation manual and instructional videos so she could figure it out herself.
With the solar power systems taken care of, the biggest problem on her stockpiling list had been solved.
Humming happily to herself, Xu Qinghe returned to her apartment.
She immediately purchased all the electrical appliances she had yet to buy:
The total cost came to over 20,000 yuan.
In just one day, her savings had dropped from more than 170,000 yuan to a little over 20,000 yuan.
Everything on her stockpiling list had finally been purchased.
The remaining money could be spent however she liked.
Back home, she inserted a new USB drive into her computer and began studying the solar installation instructions.
She watched the videos countless times, repeatedly assembling and disassembling the components.
After working for most of the night, she finally managed to install the solar power system inside her space.
The solar panels, installed in the medicinal herb area, reflected dazzling white light.
Under optimal conditions, each system could generate eight kilowatt-hours of electricity over twelve hours.
Theoretically, that meant she would have sixteen kilowatt-hours of electricity available every twenty-four hours.
More than enough.
The next moment, Xu Qinghe collapsed into bed and fell asleep.
When she woke up around noon the next day, she swapped in another USB drive and headed out.
She picked up the final batch of winter clothing and quilts she had ordered and purchased more than twenty large cafeteria-style metal trays.
There was still money left on the gas account for her apartment, and she planned to make the most of it by cooking large batches of prepared food.
After all, if she truly transmigrated, traditional earthen stoves would be nowhere near as convenient as modern gas stoves.
She spent the next five days cooking.
During that time, she finally filled every USB drive and hard drive with information.
She also ordered several inexpensive smartphones and tablets online.
Once everything had arrived, she tested her modified “toilet.”
It worked exactly as she had imagined.
Surprisingly well.
After purchasing another 10,000 yuan worth of seasonings, Xu Qinghe returned the rental vehicle, paid the remaining balances on her orders, and was left with only a few thousand yuan.
After that, she rarely went out.
She stayed home, cooking, organizing her space, and occasionally taking walks.
One day, on a whim, she froze several large blocks of ice in the freezer and placed them behind a fan.
The air that blew out was pleasantly cool.
Without hesitation, Xu Qinghe spent the last few thousand yuan she had on industrial ice blocks worth 2,000 yuan.
Now she had a way to beat the summer heat.
Several more days passed.
The first batch of vegetables she had planted in her space finally ripened.
Just as she stared at the fresh lettuce in her hands and began to wonder whether she might never transmigrate after all—
Her vision suddenly went black.
She lost consciousness.