In addition to the rice, Evelyn Ford ordered another five tons of flour. She paid a fifty-percent deposit, left the warehouse address with the owner, and after exchanging WeChat contacts, Evelyn headed to a wholesale cooking oil store.
Her cover story was that she was opening a supermarket in her hometown. The owner advised her not to stick to just one type, suggesting she stock up on a variety of grains and oils.
Evelyn was receptive to advice, so when selecting the cooking oils, she ordered two hundred barrels of every single type.
Salt, soy sauce, vinegar, various condiments, spices, and seasoning packets—Evelyn bought everything in sight. She was especially thorough with salt, buying several tons of it directly.
When she passed by grain and vegetable seed shops, Evelyn bought out their entire stock. But that still wasn't enough. She also needed to buy fruit, medicinal herb, cotton, grass, and tree seeds. She didn't know when the disasters would end. 'Perhaps in ten years, or perhaps a hundred.' In her past life, the extreme heat had caused all plant life to wither and die overnight. But as long as there were seeds, there was hope for the future.
Spotting a liquor store, Evelyn went inside. The owner was stunned when she said she wanted to buy two large vats of white liquor, and he sized her up for a good while. Still, a customer was a customer, and there was no reason to turn down business. After taking the payment, he confidently promised he would deliver it to her tomorrow.
Evelyn spent the entire day at the wholesale market. Before nightfall, she made a trip to a slaughterhouse.
There were quite a few slaughterhouses in Corinth, but this was Evelyn's first time visiting such a place.
Standing at the entrance, she could smell a thick, bloody stench. Evelyn had checked recent meat prices online, so she already had a rough idea of the costs.
Just as she expected, the moment she expressed her intent to purchase a large quantity of fresh meat, the slaughterhouse owner gave her a look one might give a fool.
"Which market are you from? I haven't seen you around."
Evelyn forced a smile. "A mutual acquaintance sent me. I'm not from one of the markets. My family is opening a cannery, and someone recommended I come here to order fresh meat."
Hearing this, the owner nodded.
"How much do you need?"
"This much." Evelyn stated a figure, and the owner's expression changed once more. However, once she paid the deposit, he stopped asking questions and readily agreed to deliver the order to her warehouse on time.
It was getting late, so Evelyn drove home. She calculated the money she had spent that day, then took out her tablet and phone to place more online orders across several different apps.
Water would be one of the scarcest resources after the disasters hit. Evelyn found a plastic container factory in Corinth and ordered two thousand 3,000-liter water tanks and three thousand extra-large storage barrels. She had three months to fill them all. Recalling the scenes from her past life where people killed each other over a single bottle of water, Evelyn couldn't help but clench her fists.
Water purification tablets, thermal clothing, all-weather jackets, winter boots, rain boots, goggles, gloves, protective suits, disinfectant, anti-frost face masks, heat-resistant suits, face masks, down jackets, socks, undergarments, sanitary pads, and so on. Evelyn selected each item and paid immediately.
As for medicine, Evelyn tried several different apps, but her online orders weren't nearly enough. She would still need to buy another batch offline: painkillers, fever reducers, stomach medicine, povidone-iodine, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, gauze, allergy medication, calcium tablets, vitamins, cephalosporin antibiotics, cold medicine, frostbite cream, and more.
There was also shampoo, body wash, toothpaste and toothbrushes, laundry detergent, and sunscreen... The memory of her sun-scorched face and arms during the period of extreme heat still sent a shiver down her spine.
Evelyn also bought twenty inflatable motorboats and kayaks. Life jackets, life buoys, fishing nets, fishing rods, and waterproof mats were also essential.
She decided to buy toilet paper from the wholesale market. As for matches, lighters, flint strikers, and fire starters, Evelyn placed an order for ten cases directly. At one hundred units per case, ten cases would last her a lifetime. Evelyn fidgeted with her earlobe. 'I still need to get generators, diesel, gasoline, kerosene, coal, propane tanks, camp stoves, bottled butane, and an oven… Those will be more troublesome to acquire.'
As for solar panels, portable power stations, wood-burning stoves, alcohol stoves, and solid fuel blocks, she could get those at the hardware Trade City.
And candles, flashlights. After the torrential rains, the world had a near-total blackout, and humanity was thrown back into the dark ages.
'Oh, right. Fruits and vegetables.' After the disasters, produce would be more precious than diamonds. The thought that she now had a personal dimension—a static one, where food wouldn't spoil—made Evelyn bubble with excitement. 'This time, I'm going to hoard a crazy amount of fruits and vegetables.'
Late into the night, Evelyn was still on her phone, buying frantically. She bought enough clothes and shoes to last for decades. It wasn't until her stomach was aching with hunger that she finally put down her phone, went into the kitchen, and quickly boiled a bowl of noodles. After eating her fill, she went to her parents' room, where she carefully organized their treasured books, bookshelves, wardrobe, and bed before storing them all in her space.
Exhausted from the day, it was already one in the morning when Evelyn lay down. After dozing for a short while, she opened her eyes, washed up, and headed to the fruit wholesale market.
The climate in Corinth was pleasant, with mild summers and winters. The lowest winter temperature was twelve degrees Celsius, while the highest summer temperature was twenty-seven. You could get all kinds of fruits and vegetables there year-round.
Due to the abundance of resources, the wholesale price of fruit was not expensive. Even though it was January, there were still many types of fruit on the market. Evelyn decided to order one batch now and another in March when new varieties became available.
She ordered every single fruit variety available on the market by the ton. After all, fruits would basically become extinct after the disasters began.
It was almost ten o'clock when she left the fruit wholesale market. Evelyn changed course and headed for the vegetable wholesale market.
Many people came here for wholesale, so the amount she was buying wasn't conspicuous. Evelyn looked at the memo on her phone, making sure not to miss a single type of vegetable.
Pumpkin, sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, bitter melon, eggplant, cucumber, garlic, chili peppers, daikon radishes, ginger, bok choy, napa cabbage, green cabbage, tomatoes, lettuce, chives, and various types of beans.
At the vegetable wholesale market, Evelyn bought another three thousand cases of eggs. She had a quick lunch at a fast-food stall in the market, then drove to the warehouse.
On the way, Evelyn suddenly remembered she needed to buy some fertilized chicken, duck, and goose eggs. But there was no rush; she could buy those online.
Evelyn had only been at the warehouse for a few minutes when the truck delivering the cooking oil arrived. Just as the driver finished unloading, the truck with the rice pulled up.
One curious driver tried to pry, but Evelyn handed him a red envelope, and he got the hint and fell silent.
Before night fell, the truck from the container factory arrived in a hurry. Staring at the thousands of large water containers, Evelyn felt a great sense of relief. She had also purchased three water purifiers for emergencies.
Evelyn had also ordered a large shipment of water cooler jugs from a purification plant. Life without water was brutal, and she had no intention of experiencing it a second time.
Back home, Evelyn ate a cup of instant noodles and then got back on her phone to buy more things.
Heaters, brown sugar, rock sugar, tents, mosquito repellent, battery-powered lamps, pepper spray, stun batons, sleeping bags, heat packs, heavy coats, another heat-resistant suit, and binoculars.