Laurel drove around Luxebridge city, the weather was nice and sunny. She played R&B music, singing along with.
"Must you play depressing songs? Especially in this situation?" Ling Xuan sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "I can't believe I'm really doing this with you."
"You can't even appreciate the beauty of music, I can't believe I'm doing this too," Laurel replied.
"LAUREL." Ling Xuan called coldly.
Shivers ran up Laurel's spine. How could she forget her partner was a bloodthirsty warrior?
"We are going shopping, maybe we might get some guns while we are there," Laurel said nervously, hoping it would be enough to calm Ling Xuan.
As she expected, Ling Xuan remained silent. Laurel let out a deep breath she never knew she had been holding all this while.
Finally, she pulled up at the walking street of Luxebridge city, where almost everything is sold. She took out a piece of paper from her notebook and quickly noted the primary things she needed to buy in bulk.
Laurel went to the rice factory, she felt like it was the most important on her list. "I want long grain rice, short grain rice, brown rice, glutinous rice, parboiled rice, and broken rice, I want ten bags of each," Laurel said calmly.
"Yes, ma'am." The merchant said, while noting her request down. "Are you starting a rice business, ma'am?" He couldn't help but ask.
"You can say so," Laurel said. "And is it possible for me to get one bag of seeds each from each rice I ordered?"
The man paused, confused but nodded, after all it meant more money for him.
"Ma'am it will cost you 700,000 dollars." The man said.
Laurel's eyes widened. "700,000 dollars?"
"Yes ma'am, this is already the wholesale price." The man replied.
"What if I pay 650,000 dollars. Rice shouldn't cost that much." Laurel tried to make a pitiful look.
The man sighed. "Fine, it is because you are just starting your own business."
"Thank you."
Laurel paid for the rice and wrote the location of the warehouse for them to deliver it to.
Next, she went to a small shop that sold packaged wheat and corn.
"Good day, ma'am. I want all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, pasta, noodles, cornmeal, oats, millet, sorghum, and barley, give me 30 cartons of each." Laurel said politely.
The elderly woman's jaw almost fell, she quickly snapped out of her daze, and brought out her calculators.
"Young ma'am, the bill is 900,000 dollars." The woman said.
Laurel wanted to negotiate the price, but she knew she had ordered a lot. She reluctantly nodded her head and paid for the bill.
She also gave the location for the woman to deliver the goods.
Walking away from them, Laurel stared at the card in her hand, her money remaining just a million. She let out a frustrated sigh.
The next place she went to was the Chinese herb shop. "Hello," Laurel said to the Chinese man. "I want Mugwort sticks, Wu Wei Zi, Ji Xue Teng, Dang Gui, Ginseng, Astragalus, Mai Men Dong, Danshen, safflower, Chuan Xiong, give me 40kg of each.
I also want Acupuncture needles of all sizes, herb grinder, precision scales, airtight containers, drying racks, anti-fever herbs, pain relief herbs, and anti-toxin herbs. Make the equipment two per order, and each of the herbs should be 20kg. And don't forget to add 5kg of the seeds."
The Chinese looked at her with great concern. "This will cost you, young lady."
"What is the amount?" Laurel asked. The medicine was the most important to her. She needs them to treat Chris, and it would become a great asset in the apocalypse.
She planned to buy modern medicine next time when she has more money.
"It will cost you 600,000 dollars." The man said.
Laurel didn't bother to negotiate and paid the money. She also gave the man the location. "I want it to be delivered today." She added.
The man nodded with a smile.
When Laurel left the shop, she took a pack of acupuncture needles and some herbs she was going to use to treat Chris.
In the past, when the apocalypse came, she had battled to fight against the disease with modern medicine, but for strange reasons, they weren't working effectively. She had no other choice but to learn Chinese medicine, with the knowledge combined she was able to heal a lot of people.
She stared at the busy streets with people selling and buying, couples holding eyes while strolling, kids running around, the laughter, the liveliness of the place made her eyes blur with tears.
These people were not aware that a disaster was coming. She wanted to tell them, but they would look at her like a crazy woman who had escaped from the psychiatric hospital.
She brushed the tears away and headed back to her car. Although the money wasn't much, at least she could buy some things. When she earns more she would buy more other things.
"So we are not going to buy the guns anymore?" Ling Xuan asked.
"We don't have enough money now, we will buy it next time." Laurel cautiously said as she entered the car.
"Your time is up, it is my turn to be in control of the body." Ling Xuan calmly said.
"Oh, then let me drive us home before you take over." Laurel was a little nervous, afraid that if she let Ling Xuan take over, who knows what she might do. And who knows if she would give her the chance to take over her own body again.
"No, I rode horses in my days, if I can tame a horse, what more is a mere car? It is easy and I can do it."
Before Laurel could dispute her words, her body suddenly twitched, her eyes grew vacant, and her face became expressionless like blank paper.
Then her eyes suddenly grew colder, and her expression was serious. Ling Xuan cracked her neck, stretching her hands. "It is good to be back."
Then, she stepped on the gas.