Chapter 3: Crazy Online Shopping

The four of them were sitting at a northeastern-style home-cooked restaurant just outside the Lushan Elegant Residence community. Jiang Yuan briefly explained the gist of her divorce.

“I knew it! That Xia Chaoyang never looked like a good guy to begin with. Now that he’s made it a bit, he dares to find a mistress? Yuan Yuan, don’t be afraid. Tomorrow your dad and I will go teach that pair of dogs a lesson!”

Jiang Yuan was genuinely touched, but that wasn’t the main issue now. She proceeded to tell her parents about the upcoming abnormal weather changes.

She had already prepared an explanation, saying that her high school classmate Jiang Yuan (same name) worked at a scientific research institute and pinned everything on him.

Since her parents had a strong impression of this person due to the shared name, they didn’t question it.

“Unusual weather is no big deal. How serious can it be?” her mother, Qin Yue, clearly didn’t take it seriously.

“He told me, just treat it like the end of the world is coming.”

To get them mentally prepared, she even picked the most extreme apocalyptic movie for them to watch before going to bed.

Sure enough, after a two-hour long “brainwashing” session, her parents were successfully convinced.

The reason she brought her parents over to Xishi wasn’t just for company—it was a well-thought-out decision.

Her hometown was a rural village. The houses there were hard to reinforce, and although sparsely populated, it would be inconvenient to scavenge for supplies later.

They needed to stockpile a massive amount of materials, but until the windows and doors were reinforced, they couldn’t risk going out to shop.

They had to move carefully—no one could be allowed to sense anything unusual.

Before bed, Jiang Yuan opened the surveillance app on her phone to check on Xia Chaoyang’s place.

Yes, she had installed cameras there—originally to protect her daughter from mistreatment by those patriarchal grandparents. Now, it was the perfect way to watch this bunch of scum try to survive the apocalypse.

Even if the power went out later, she wasn’t worried—she had swapped in ultra-efficient batteries before leaving, enough to last at least half a year.

There was no activity on most of the surveillance screens. The only noise came from the master bedroom. She enlarged the view.

Xia Chaoyang and Bai Mengmeng were in the middle of an intense session. Young people really were energetic—their creativity was endless. Anyway, it was like watching a live-action adult film, not worth watching.

September 3rd – 12 Days Before the Apocalypse

Having her parents around felt amazing. She had breakfast ready when she got up, and without the burden of serving a whole family, Jiang Yuan actually felt relaxed and free.

That Maybach she got from the divorce was worth 1.8 million yuan. She posted it online last night for 1.2 million—300,000 yuan below market price. By morning, she had already gotten several calls from secondhand dealers.

She eventually decided to sell it to one of them. Her father, Jiang Shouzhi, went with her. Qin Yue stayed home to watch Xiao Nuan and draft a shopping list for supplies.

The transaction went smoothly. Jiang Yuan even financed a new Mitsubishi van with zero down payment and had the rear seats removed right at the dealership.

With 13 days left, this vehicle was basically a “free ride.”

At Jiang Shouzhi’s suggestion, they headed to the largest hardware wholesale market in Xishi.

Planks, pliers, screwdrivers, nails of all sizes, power drills, manual drills, expansion bolts, wires, hot glue guns, Teflon tape, hoes, shovels…

Jiang Shouzhi used to work as an installation worker in a factory, so he was an expert with all this. Watching him load two big barrels of paint and a box of glass sealant onto the van, Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but say, “Dad, food is more important—aren’t we buying too much of this?”

“It’s not too much. If something breaks at home, it’ll be easy to fix. And crowbars and wrenches—those can be used for self-defense in an emergency.”

Fair enough. He was thinking it through better than she was.

While they were out, they also bought solar panels, rainwater collectors, and a large water filtration system—all scheduled for installation on the 6th, same day as the reinforced doors and windows.

Jiang Shouzhi also got a generator, multipurpose glow sticks, cold fireworks, and six boxes of various battery sizes.

The van was completely packed, and only then did they rush home.

Qin Yue had already tidied up all the items from their move. She’d even bought two 100-kilogram bags of rice and flour and a bunch of vegetables from the small supermarket downstairs.

The shopping list was mostly complete. Though they couldn’t go out to buy too much just yet, Jiang Yuan planned to order online. Once the door installations were done, the deliveries would start arriving—perfect timing.

First up: clothing. What she’d bought at the big box store before was far from enough.

For Xiao Nuan’s clothes, she needed to be extra thorough. She opened the app and ordered all age-appropriate categories—tops, jackets, hoodies, dresses, T-shirts, shorts, sportswear, socks, underwear, padded outfits, down jackets, windbreakers, parkas, thick coats, hats, gloves, shoes—at least ten of each type.

With extreme cold weather expected soon, she ordered extra padded clothing in toddler sizes.

Adult clothing was simpler—since their sizes wouldn’t change—she just bought around 20 to 30 sets per person of various types.

She also stocked up on over 60 packs of diapers and pull-ups—Xiao Nuan would still need them for a while.

Snacks for kids, cups, probiotics, milk powder, rice cereal, semi-prepped baby food, and even toys were all ordered in bulk.

Qin Yue focused on filling in the gaps—mostly for the child. Once that was done, they could move on to adult supplies.

Milk powder was especially important—it never hurt to have more. Adults could drink it too, and it had a long shelf life.

They also bought hand warmers, sleeping bags, mugwort foot soak powder, flashlights, and floodlights.

Then came food—absolutely essential. Dried fruit, dried vegetables, jerky, biscuits, instant noodles, spicy rice noodles, self-heating hotpots, rice cakes, chips, shrimp crackers, and drinks—everything by the box, in every flavor.

Appliances too—they bought ten freezers, plus electric fans. If the power went out and the heat was unbearable, fans were safer than air conditioners.

To avoid detection, Jiang Yuan never ordered too much of one thing. Most items were one or two boxes, and she only listed the community name as the delivery address, nothing specific.

She also used her parents’ online shopping accounts. With three phones, each running three shopping apps, and over 500 pending deliveries in each, she finally felt a bit more at ease.

But it still wasn’t enough. She knew food was the key—meat, vegetables, and other perishables needed to be stored in bulk. Outdoor gear, inflatable boats, even weapons would be critical later.

Luckily, there was still time. They kept checking the list and kept buying nonstop.

In the meantime, Jiang Shouzhi and Qin Yue went to the market every morning to buy vegetables. After blanching them, they stored them in the freezer—good for two or three weeks.

They also spent days making dumplings and buns, freezing them in batches.

Jiang Yuan even overheard them discussing buying a big vat so they could ferment some pickled vegetables for storage.