Chapter 29: Preparing Supplies 1

Afterward, Shen Yanming took Bi Qiao’an directly to Yran.^[1]Yran: It can also be Iran or Iraq from the original 伊国 (Yī Country). This is a fictional country. The author deliberately misspelled it and just made it sound similar. Here, he made a staggering purchase—300 million dollars’ worth of crude oil from local factories! He negotiated high processing fees to have it refined, categorized, and stored, arranging to pick up the goods in a month. He also ordered two sets each of gasoline and diesel generators.

After their business in Yran was complete, they set off for Aossria,^[2]It can also be Australia or Austria from the original 奥国 (Ào Country). This is a deliberate misspelling of the author. a major grain producer. He immediately acquired a massive batch: 50,000 kg each of rice, wheat flour, cornmeal, millet, and soybean oil; 25,000 kg each of soybeans, peanuts, and mung beans; 10,000 kg each of red and black beans, red beans, and glutinous rice; 5,000 kg each of dried wood ear and tremella mushrooms; and 5,000 kg each of brown sugar, white sugar, and salt.

These supplies alone would guarantee their food security for a lifetime, even if they didn’t farm in the future.

Naturally, where grains grew, fruits and vegetables thrived. He ordered a vast quantity of fresh produce—everything he could find, prioritising freshness. He also purchased a huge, premium collection of grain, fruit, and vegetable seeds. The couple arranged for all the goods to be sent to a suburban warehouse they had rented, planning to pick up the items themselves afterwards.

Aossria’s wool is famous for its warmth and insulation. Bi Qiao’an selected 5,000 kg of wool yarn in elegant colors according to her tastes. She also dragged him to a clothing factory and bought hundreds of woolen sweaters and several dozen woolen coats in various sizes. Before leaving, seemingly on a whim, she even bought over a hundred bolts of wool fabric in various colors from a fabric factory.

Everything was delivered to the warehouse, stored in the space under cover of night. They then rushed to the airport overnight.

Their next stop was the States,^[3]Lit. Li Country. This simply my interpretation cause the original was too vague. known for its mechanical manufacturing. They bought an array of equipment: threshers, flour mills, plowing machines, and harvesters; purchasing both oil-consuming and solar-powered versions. Bi Qiao’an even had him buy a set of manual flour mills.

Next, they were off to Kermany,^[4]Kermany: Germany; lit. Kaer Country. a major automobile country. They purchased an RV, two small trucks, and ten SUVs locally. Kermany’s strong shipbuilding industry wasn’t overlooked either.

He bought a small cruise ship, ten kayaks, ten assault boats, and two manually powered wooden rowboats, much to her astonishment.

“We’ve only survived three years of doomsday,” he explained. “Who knows what challenges wait further down the road? It’s better to be over-prepared.”

She wholeheartedly agreed, supporting his foresight.

Recognizing the opportunity, he bought a significant volume of seafood from German suppliers. From there, the two left at night for their next destination: Paris, the “City of Romance.” Frans,^[5]Frans: France; Lit. Ai Country. renowned worldwide for its exquisite fashion, decadent chocolate, and finest red wines, was an essential stop on their journey. He strategically rented three warehouses in a sparsely populated area in advance.

He found several reputable clothing factories and directly selected items from their inventory: spring, summer, autumn, and winter wear; short-sleeved outfits and pants; down jackets, dresses, trench coats, and leather coats—he bought one of each size for each style. Since Frens people tended to be taller, all menswear sizes were 185/190/195 and women’s sizes were 165/170/175.

Underwear selections followed the same approach, since Frens people had voluptuous figures. He directly bought a set of each style, planning to sort them out afterward.

This shopping spree netted them over 10,000 pieces of male and female clothing, over 1,000 sets of women’s underwear, and thousands of briefs for both. A solid haul!

Of course, their clothing preparations didn’t stop at outerwear. They found more factories and bought thousands of sets of thin and thick autumn clothes and pants, as well as thermal underwear and pants.

As for shoes, time constraints prevented careful selection. They found well-regarded sneaker factories and had them gather one pair of each style in various sizes, all to be organized once shipped to the warehouse.

Sneakers were universally recognized as a versatile shoe for the apocalypse. Leather shoes, sandals, and high heels could be acquired later from malls in smaller quantities.

Frans’s chocolate was world-renowned. He selected the four most famous brands, visiting factories directly and ordering 1,000 boxes of each flavor. He also bought vast quantities of chocolate candies and rolls, filling an entire warehouse. It would take a lifetime to eat it all!

To guarantee a steady source of chocolate in the years to come, he went to great lengths to secure two cocoa trees from a rare plant supplier. Although they hadn’t yet learned how to make chocolate, securing the raw materials was a smart move.

While visiting one of Frans’s most renowned vineyards, she eyed a courtyard overflowing with grapevines. Red and green grapes hung temptingly from branches, making her mouth water. With over a month to go before reaching optimal sweetness, the grapes currently had a sharp, sour taste.

Her companion, however, had come for the red wine. Its quality was exceptional here, though naturally, the price matched its excellence. He didn’t hesitate at the cost—after all, who knew if such top-notch red wine would exist in the future? With some skillful negotiation, he purchased over 10,000 bottles from the wine cellar. The vineyard’s owner, noticing her fondness for grapes, even cut some vine branches and gifted them to her.

Once all their goods were gathered, they waited for the cover of night. Under darkness, he stored everything in his space, except for the two cocoa trees and a handful of grapevines.

After getting back to their secure room, she wasted no time in planting the cocoa trees and grapevines they had procured. Pressed for time, they could only erect a basic structure for the vines, but it would suffice for the plants to thrive in their new environment.

With a hefty harvest in Frans, they departed in the night once more, this time heading towards Yran. A month had passed, and it was time to collect their next set of goods.

Luck was on their side. The factory had prepared everything exactly to their specifications, neatly stored in the warehouse. After verifying the order, he promptly paid the balance and even tipped the factory owner generously.

Next, their journey took them to the Lelherlands,^[6]Lelherlands: Netherlands; lit. Lan Country. renowned worldwide for its abundant supplies. Here, he planned to gather the majority of their daily necessities.

His strategy was bold: directly acquiring a Lutch supermarket with a wide selection of goods. Since his offer was substantial, the deal went through with surprising ease. He chose to keep all employees on board and even increased their salaries by half.

For Shen Yanming now, any issue solvable with money was a simple matter. He instructed the manager to order ten times the current stock since he had reliable channels to quickly sell everything.

Recognizing the significant opportunity presented, the manager immediately set about reaching out to suppliers. A steady stream of products flowed in, destined for the storage facilities. Once the inventory tallies were in, he presented the final bill to Shen Yanming. Payment was made swiftly, with instructions that the warehouse would soon be cleared, allowing focus to shift towards the next batch of supplies.

The initial order mirrored the supermarket’s existing stock, offering a bit of everything. The second round was far more targeted: milk, seasonings, beverages, clothing, snacks, and the like.

As night fell, he disabled the supermarket’s surveillance. He then swept through the warehouse, leaving it utterly empty within the space of his storage. To avoid suspicion, he ensured a two-hour window had passed before authorizing the restoration of surveillance. Having alerted the manager beforehand, he was confident the disappearance of the stock would not cause any unwarranted concern.

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Translator’s Note:

The author invented locations’ names for this fictional world. For example, Hai City is coastal city; Nan City is simply south city. To follow the original context of the author, I decided to misspell the countries in the translation as it is a deliberate part the author made. She attempted to use names that sounded similar to real countries, but these fictional nations have no connection to their real-world counterparts. Later, she abandoned this approach and created a whole new set of unique fictional countries’ names.

I apologize. I forgot to put footnotes for the early translation. I’ve added this note for clarification.

[Edited on April 30, 2024]