Chapter 3: Space Functionality – Many and Strong

It’s all just imagination, of course; the way to use space is however enjoyable to write about. But who knew it would actually come true!

If Xie Zhizhi knew this space was hers, she might laugh herself silly.

The most important function of all is the ability to hide inside the space and move around while still seeing what’s happening outside—this is her trump card for survival, so refreshing!

Xie Zhizhi’s delicate, rounded face was always filled with a smile that never faded.

So, she went next door to the Bird Market.

She thought: buying a little bit of everything, five hundred thousand seemed to stretch quite far, but she would still sell the house. In fact, after graduation, she had wanted to sell it and move to a coastal city to enjoy seafood, but she never found the right opportunity.

As for the shop, selling it would bring in a lot of money for stock!

If worse comes to worst, she could always travel the world.

On the way, she made a call to arrange a meeting with the real estate agent she had talked to earlier.

Arriving at the poultry market, the first stall was very spacious, with lively roosters proudly strutting in their cages, making sure everyone noticed them.

“Cluck, cluck, cluck!” The air was filled with the sounds of chickens.

“Boss lady, I’d like to buy some chickies,” Xie Zhizhi said, looking at the woman feeding the chickens.

The boss lady turned around, saw a fair-skinned, petite young woman, and kindly smiled. “How many would you like, little girl?”

“Ten hens, and… I don’t really like eating rooster meat,” Xie Zhizhi paused before adding, “Maybe just one rooster. Will this combination allow the hens to lay eggs for chicks?”

Would they be able to handle it?

The boss lady understood her intentions and laughed heartily. “If you want to keep them, it’s better to get more, in case any of them get sick or die.”

True, if any of them die, there would be no chicks. She had heard that chickens raised from a young age had very tender and flavorful meat, and now that she had the conditions to raise them, she decided to do it.

“Well then, twenty hens and ten roosters. Same for white and black ducks… and big geese too…” She thought for a moment, then noticed the pigeons and continued, “Also, pigeons, quails, and partridges—twenty females and ten males each. Please pick out the most vigorous ones, all small chicks, thanks, boss lady.” She figured that raising them from the beginning would make the meat taste better, and fully-grown poultry had tough meat.

The boss lady put down the food bowl and smiled. “No problem.”

“How much are the chicken cages?” Xie Zhizhi asked, pointing to the nearby plastic chicken cages, which looked new and clean.

The boss lady instructed a worker to weigh the chickens and then turned back with a smile. “Ninety yuan each, just bought them last month. Do you want to use these cages for the chickens?”

Xie Zhizhi preferred the cages because they would be easier to carry. “Using bags might suffocate them, I’ll take the cages. I want them more spacious, so they can breathe. Can you deliver them to the nearby warehouse?”

“Sure! No problem at all. Let me calculate the price for you.” The boss lady quickly and skillfully calculated on the calculator, writing down the order, “For the chicks, geese, and partridges, each is ten yuan, pigeons, quails, and ducks are eight yuan each. You want thirty pairs of each, right?”

Xie Zhizhi confirmed, and the boss lady continued to calculate the total. “For the four cages, it’s three hundred sixty yuan, and the live chicks cost one thousand eight hundred sixty yuan. The total is two thousand two hundred twenty.”

“Oh, and I also need a bag of grain husks and a bag of chicken feed, plus a pound of both large and small eggs from over there,” Xie Zhizhi scanned the QR code and asked, “How much is the total now?”

“The grain husks are twenty, the chicken feed is one hundred twenty, large eggs are six yuan per pound, and the fresh eggs are nine yuan per pound. The total comes to two thousand three hundred seventy-five. Let’s call it two thousand three hundred fifty for the depreciation of the cages,” the boss lady said, calculating it all.

“Alright.”

The boss lady was very reasonable, considering the depreciation of the cages.

After paying, Xie Zhizhi left her contact details and the warehouse address. “This is the address; just call me when it’s delivered. Thank you!”

The boss lady smiled and agreed.

Xie Zhizhi waved goodbye and left the market. Sitting in her car, she thought about the next stop: the supermarket for daily necessities.

She drove to the largest supermarket in the city, which had the most complete variety of products.

Entering the supermarket, she pushed a cart and headed straight for the fresh meat section.

“Beef tenderloin, beef ribs, beef sirloin, beef short ribs, beef brisket, sirloin steaks, snowflake beef, beef shank, hmm, pork lean meat, spare ribs, pork leg, pig’s feet, belly pork, lamb too, lamb ribs, lamb kidneys, lamb legs, that should be enough,” she said as she filled her cart.

She then put her cart aside, grabbed a new one, and moved to the sauces aisle.

“Food-wise, it’s mostly done, but sauces are key: salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, potato starch, ketchup, fish soy sauce, sesame paste, salad dressing, curry blocks, chicken essence, chili powder, pepper, five-spice powder—why are there so many kinds of powders?”

She discovered there were more than twenty types of powders she had never bought before, so she decided to just take them all.

“Loose brown sugar, packaged brown sugar, rock sugar, cube sugar, black sugar, white sugar, granulated sugar.”

A staff member saw her loading up so much and politely asked, “Excuse me, miss, do you need help?”

Xie Zhizhi pointed to her two filled carts. “Hello, could you please keep an eye on these for me? I plan to buy dozens of carts of items.”

The staff member, a young girl, was surprised by the number of carts but didn’t ask further. “Sure, if you need delivery service, I can contact the manager for you.”

Xie Zhizhi eagerly agreed, “Yes, please arrange that.”

After picking up the sauces, she moved on to the noodles section.

“Knife-cut noodles, bamboo noodles, hanging noodles, instant noodles, butterfly noodles, vermicelli, sweet potato noodles…”

Then to the pre-cooked food section, where she picked up a box of each item.

She didn’t stop—if she saw something, it went into the cart. There were dozens of instant noodle brands, and she kept repeating the process. Luckily, she was strong, so it wasn’t too tiring.

Next, she moved to the drinks and dairy section, grabbing one of every flavor. The last staff member even came over to help her load the cart.

“Biscuits, snacks, candies, nuts, coffee, coffee beans, malted milk…” Xie Zhizhi specifically chose those in large packs with no labels, some even wrapped in vintage kraft paper, just the way she liked.

The staff member eagerly helped her fill the cart with everything.

Next, she moved on to the fruit section, which was at its peak in the summer with the most variety.

Xie Zhizhi brightened up, picking her favorites first: “Grapes, cherries, durian, black currants, kiwi, blueberries, apples, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, jelly oranges, loquats, peaches, pineapples, papayas, lychees, longans, rambutan, lemons, and kiwifruit…”

She picked just one or a small bunch of each, and before long, she had finished picking all the fruits.

When she looked around, she saw she had seven or eight carts. After finishing with food, it was time for the essentials.

She moved to the tissue section and picked up the best-quality facial tissues, toilet rolls, and wrapping paper, both in natural wood and pure white.

Next was the sanitary pad section, where she grabbed various useful brands in different sizes.

To save time, she was practically running with the carts.

“Daily necessities, baby supplies, milk powder, pens, paper, cooking utensils, tableware…”

She almost bought everything she could think of. At checkout, it didn’t seem like much, since everything was individual items, and the total was just over twenty thousand. She still had plenty of money left to buy more!

She left her address for delivery to the warehouse, and the manager quickly confirmed, smiling broadly.