Xu Qinghe took a bus to the nearest car rental agency and rented a Wuling Hongguang van. Then she drove to the city’s largest seed market.
The seed market was also a flower, bird, fish, and insect market. The moment she entered, the fragrance of flowers, the fishy smell of seafood, and the odor of bird droppings mixed together into a rather overwhelming scent.
Pulling up her collar to cover her nose, Xu Qinghe headed toward the seed section.
The market was well organized. Signs overhead clearly indicated where to find staple crop seeds, fruit and vegetable seeds, and even traditional Chinese medicinal herb seeds—the very thing she had been hoping to find, although that section was smaller than the others.
She wandered through the staple crop area several times before finally settling on seeds for the foods she ate most often: rice, wheat, corn, and millet.
Honestly, if she hadn’t visited the seed market, she never would have known that rice alone came in so many varieties.
Reading the descriptions beside each type of rice, she wanted to buy them all.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have the money.
So she could only admire them and move on.
After finishing the staple crop section, she went to the fruit and vegetable area and selected seeds for the fruits and vegetables she commonly ate.
As for the medicinal herb section, she bought over a dozen kinds whose uses she already understood. She wasn’t in a hurry to buy the unfamiliar ones; she could always do some research and come back later.
Just before leaving the market, she happened to spot a stall selling earthworms.
A box cost only three yuan, and two boxes were five yuan. The price was surprisingly cheap, and plenty of people were buying them.
Xu Qinghe followed suit and purchased ten boxes.
One trip to the seed market cost her nearly 30,000 yuan.
Clutching her chest, she winced.
It hurt.
It really hurt.
The seeds filled much of the van’s cargo space, but the Wuling Hongguang was spacious enough that there was still room left over.
She drove back to the market she had visited the previous day.
Several snack stalls stood near the entrance, and she ordered three steamed buns and a bowl of egg-drop soup.
With the seeds purchased, her food-production problem was basically solved. The only things left were seasonings, livestock, and various miscellaneous supplies.
Livestock wasn’t urgent yet.
She still hadn’t figured out how to move animals into her space without spending too much money or attracting attention.
As for seasonings, she could simply buy them at the market after lunch.
After eating, she headed straight to a familiar shop owner.
She ordered:
After bargaining back and forth for quite some time, she finally got everything for 8,302 yuan, plus ten packets of curry seasoning thrown in for free.
With the shop owner’s help, she loaded everything into the van.
Once seated behind the wheel, she let out a long breath and raised an arm, flexing it.
She felt like the last two days of hauling supplies had already made her arms noticeably thicker.
After purchasing the seasonings, the vehicle was packed to the brim.
Instead of driving home, Xu Qinghe found a secluded area. After confirming there were no surveillance cameras nearby, she drew the curtains inside the vehicle and transferred all the supplies into her space.
The rice and flour from yesterday had been easy enough to explain.
But if anyone saw the massive haul she had bought today, they might think the apocalypse was coming.
After storing everything away, she checked the time.
It was still early.
So she drove toward the city’s commercial district.
By the time she arrived, numerous food stalls had gathered around the shopping area. People finishing work strolled around with their families, occasionally stopping to buy a snack or two.
It had been a very long time since Xu Qinghe had experienced this sort of lively atmosphere.
As a student, she had lacked money.
After starting work, she lacked time.
Now that she finally had a free day, she decided to relax and enjoy herself.
She bought a grilled cold noodle snack and a cup of lemonade.
With no particular destination in mind, she simply wandered while eating.
Then, as she passed a huge floor-to-ceiling window, she suddenly stopped.
It was a jewelry store.
A flash of inspiration struck her.
She could buy some ancient-style money.
She wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about history, but she knew what ancient people used for currency:
Gold, silver, copper coins, and paper notes.
She didn’t know exactly which dynasty the world in her dream belonged to, but she had seen what people used at the marketplace.
Most transactions were conducted with copper coins.
A small number of wealthier people used silver.
Gold was too expensive, and copper coins and ancient paper money would be difficult to replicate.
Silver, however, seemed perfect.
Silver was valuable in ancient times, but in the modern era it wasn’t considered a luxury item.
At only a little over ten yuan per gram, it was quite affordable.
With that thought, Xu Qinghe pushed open the store’s door.
A sales associate greeted her enthusiastically.
Upon hearing that she wanted silver jewelry, the associate immediately began showing her bracelets and necklaces.
Xu Qinghe hurriedly waved her hands.
She only wanted pure silver bars.
The associate blinked in surprise.
Apparently, she hadn’t expected anyone in this day and age to specifically ask for silver bullion.
Still, her professional training quickly smoothed over her reaction, and she went to retrieve some silver bars.
In ancient times, one hundred taels of silver was equivalent to roughly three thousand grams.
Converted to modern prices, that would cost over forty thousand yuan.
Xu Qinghe couldn’t afford that much.
But spending around ten thousand yuan to buy thirty taels of silver was within her budget.
Half an hour later, she left the jewelry store carrying a heavy bag.
Inside was a one-kilogram silver bar.
She now possessed about thirty taels of silver.
In her dream, her parents had saved over ten taels.
Later, when her father died in battle, the local government had paid three taels as compensation.
Altogether, that amounted to around fifty taels.
In her understanding, that was enough to cover three or four years of living expenses for an ordinary ancient family.
The food stored in her space and these silver bars were all part of the safety net she was preparing for herself.
After buying the silver, Xu Qinghe didn’t continue wandering around.
She went straight home.
Once back, she cooked herself a pot of instant luosifen (river snail rice noodles).
After spending the entire day shopping and hauling supplies, she couldn’t be bothered to cook properly.
While waiting for the noodles to finish cooking, she carried a chair over to the stove and sat beside it, organizing the supplies inside her space.
After sorting everything into categories, she took out more than a dozen lettuce seeds with short growing cycles and placed them into paper cups to germinate.
She wanted to test the fertility of the black soil inside her space.
By the time she finished, the luosifen was ready.
The distinctive pungent-yet-appetizing aroma instantly filled the tiny apartment.
Xu Qinghe swallowed hard and added a braised tiger-skin chicken foot to the pot.
The rice noodles were glossy white and coated with spicy red chili oil.
The signature funky aroma of luosifen struck her taste buds first.
Then came the smooth, silky noodles.
The tofu skin and chicken feet had absorbed every drop of broth. One bite released a flood of flavorful soup into her mouth.
Sweat formed on the tip of her nose as she ate.
She let out satisfied sighs between mouthfuls and drank large gulps of broth.
In the end, she finished every last noodle and drop of soup.
After eating her fill, she rubbed her stomach and returned to her bedroom, munching on a cucumber.
She had already planned the layout of the space the previous night.
Today, she wanted to create the basic framework.
The farming and livestock areas weren’t urgent yet.
She planned to start by digging a reservoir.
Because the amount of black soil in the space was limited, the reservoir couldn’t be very large.
To maximize water storage, she would simply dig it deeper.
If she could successfully build the reservoir, she would not only be able to store water against possible droughts in ancient times, but also raise freshwater fish and other aquatic creatures inside the space.