She stored away the household supplies and the newly made padded jackets and trousers.
Ten pairs of thick quilted pants piled up into an impressive stack. Xu Qinghe pressed down on them with both hands—they were fluffy and soft. She didn’t need to try them on to know they would be incredibly warm in winter.
The owner of the general store helped her load everything into the car. Before leaving, Xu Qinghe slipped him a pack of cigarettes. The man beamed so broadly that the corners of his eyes crinkled as he stood at the market entrance, waving her off.
As usual, she found a secluded spot and stored everything in her space.
Looking over the remaining items on her stockpiling list and calculating how much money she had left, Xu Qinghe decided that starting tomorrow, she would spend some time acquiring a few weapons.
There were still plenty of things she hadn’t bought enough of, but she felt that all of them ranked lower in priority than weapons.
After returning home, she once again made it to the parcel station just before closing time and picked up the USB drives, hard drives, and underwear she had ordered earlier.
These items weren’t heavy, so she moved them quickly. The delivery clerk’s expression wasn’t nearly as resentful this time.
After dinner, she tossed the padded jackets and trousers into the washing machine, plugged in the USB drives and hard drives, and started downloading the materials she had saved earlier: books, instructional videos, television dramas, and novels.
After hand-washing her underwear, she hung them up alongside the padded clothing inside her space.
After a short break, Xu Qinghe began tidying up her tiny studio apartment.
She planned to leave only a few essential items outside and store everything else in the space, whether she needed it or not.
From the bathroom, she stored three plastic basins, the washing machine, the mop, the broom, and the vanity mirror.
From the kitchen, she stored the pots, bowls, dishes, dish soap, cleaning cloths, rice cooker, and mini refrigerator, leaving only two pots behind.
She still had gas credit left on her rental account, after all. She might as well make full use of it.
From the bedroom, she stored the desk, every piece of clothing in the wardrobe, and all the sheets and mattresses from the storage drawers beneath the bed.
In the end, the entire studio contained only the original fixtures, her bed, a set of bedding, her computer that was still downloading files, and two cooking pots.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, Xu Qinghe felt much more at ease.
After washing up, she spent some time digging the reservoir before bed. She also dug the beginnings of a small pond in the livestock area, planning to use it for ducks in the future.
Perhaps she had become more familiar with the space, because her efficiency had improved considerably.
The next morning, she unplugged the completed USB drives, inserted new ones, and continued downloading files.
As usual, she rotated between the four pharmacies to buy medicine, then headed to the suburbs to collect deliveries. In the afternoon, she went to the market for household supplies. After one more trip tomorrow, she would have retrieved everything she had ordered.
After finding a secluded place to store her supplies, she returned to the market.
This time, she was there to buy some “weapons.”
Iron tools had always been tightly controlled in ancient times. Although she didn’t know exactly which dynasty her dream world belonged to, she doubted things would be much different there.
Many peasant uprisings in ancient history had been fought with sticks and stones. Those who were slightly better off might have had access to farming tools.
Compared to ordinary people in ancient times, she figured she would at least have some advantage if she ever encountered danger or conflict.
After all, iron tools had been expensive, and most people couldn’t afford them.
Modern times were different.
Kitchen knives were sharp. Butcher’s cleavers were sturdy. Nail guns and chainsaws were among the most powerful tools an ordinary person could legally purchase.
Xu Qinghe bought five of each.
Any one of these would be far superior to the sticks and stones used by ordinary people in ancient times—perhaps even better than the weapons carried by some low-ranking soldiers.
Even so, while Xu Qinghe had great confidence in modern technology, she had very little confidence in herself.
It was just like in cultivation novels: no matter how powerful a technique was, it was useless if the person who possessed it didn’t know how to use it.
These tools might be formidable, but she still didn’t feel entirely secure.
When it came to the most powerful weapon in the minds of modern people, there was really only one answer.
An idea flashed through her mind, and she added several more items to her stockpiling list.
By the time she left the market, night had fully fallen.
Xu Qinghe had originally planned to drive straight home, but a passing vehicle suddenly caught her attention.
After hesitating for a moment, she began following it at a leisurely pace, maintaining enough distance that the driver wouldn’t notice her while ensuring she wouldn’t lose sight of it.
After about forty minutes, the truck turned into a deserted area.
Xu Qinghe parked her car nearby. Although she kept watching, she didn’t drive any closer.
The dump truck driver was probably eager to get home for dinner and didn’t notice her at all. After unloading the cargo, he drove away.
Xu Qinghe waited another thirty minutes. Once she was sure no one else was around, she put on a mask and got out of her car.
Instead of heading directly to the unloading site, she first went to a public restroom and changed into different clothes.
Only then did she return.
The truck had dumped construction waste from a worksite—mostly discarded concrete slabs and steel reinforcement bars. Some of the pieces were enormous, easily weighing several hundred kilograms.
She selected a relatively regular-looking slab, carefully checked her surroundings, and once she was sure no one was watching, stored it in her space before quickly leaving.
She returned to the restroom, waited a little longer, changed back into her original clothes, and got back into her car.
The reason she had gone to such lengths to acquire a concrete slab was simple: she thought it would make a good weapon.
Reinforced concrete was durable and extremely heavy.
If she really transmigrated and encountered a black bear or a tiger in her village, the weapons she had prepared might not be enough.
But reinforced concrete was different.
At a critical moment, she could throw it out. Even if it didn’t kill the animal, it would certainly leave a nasty bump.
After driving home and eating dinner, she continued downloading materials, searching online for shops that could custom-make iron models while also continuing to dig the reservoir.
The next morning, Xu Qinghe drove to the suburbs to buy more medicine. Then she went to a bicycle shop and purchased three electric scooters along with a box of repair tools.
She asked the owner to deliver everything to the warehouse so she could collect it all at once. Today was the last day of her warehouse rental.
Xu Qinghe spent several hours at the warehouse, finally transferring all the coal and livestock into her space.
Looking at the livestock, which had become strangely quiet after entering the space, and then at the stockpile of supplies filling her storage area, she felt an overwhelming sense of security.
Ancient times?
She wasn’t afraid at all.
After a simple lunch, she headed to the market to collect the final batch of household supplies.
Since it was still early, she entered the address of a model-making shop into her navigation app and drove there.
Along the way, she spotted two stab-resistant vests online.
The reviews were excellent, so despite the price—more than a thousand yuan each—she gritted her teeth and bought both.
She also ordered one thousand steel ball bearings online.