Chapter 96 – Wholesale Clothing Market

It seemed she had run into people with the same objective.

“Boss, looks like there’s no one here.”

“Then hurry up and search around. See if there’s any food.”

“Got it!”

That group sounded excited. Peeking through a crack in the door, Jiang Yuan saw that there were about five or six of them.

There was no chance she could win in a head-on confrontation.

Besides, there wasn’t much left in here anyway.

Discretion was the better part of valor.

Since she was alone, she could slip away without being discovered.

She couldn’t help but worry—had her dad and the others made it home safely?

Tiptoeing downstairs without making a sound, she kept her breathing quiet.

Their goal was food, and with so many food stalls upstairs, they’d be occupied for a while.

Jiang Yuan reached the 24th floor, where all the branded clothing shops were. Most had autumn collections out, with some summer stock on clearance.

She hesitated for a moment, then stepped out from the stairwell. Since she was already here and that group was still on the top floor, there was still some distance between them.

This time, she didn’t use the large night lamp, just a regular flashlight. No one else was around, but she was still in a hurry.

She started raiding the shops one by one.

If there were standing clothing racks, she directly stored them in her space and used them to hold more clothes.

If there weren’t any, she simply threw everything into her storage space to sort later.

Time was of the essence. She made sure to check each shop’s counter—there might still be some cash left.

As it turned out, she was right. Quite a few cash registers still had money in them.

Though not much, every little bit counted—waste not, want not.

Her speed was astonishing. Floor by floor, she cleaned everything out in under two hours.

There was an extremely wide variety of clothes—men’s, women’s, children’s, underwear—you name it.

So many styles and types that her whole family couldn’t possibly wear them all in a lifetime.

There were also plenty of accessory shops, toy stores, and cosmetics shops—Jiang Yuan didn’t skip any of them.

For small items, she just took the entire display shelf with her.

On top of that, she also picked up many unopened packages—stock the shopkeepers hadn’t had time to unpack.

She still had a lot of unopened packages at home too—hadn’t had time to “unbox” them, and it felt like a waste to do that inside her storage space.

Once she got back, she’d need to spend time sorting it all properly.

As her space filled up more and more, Jiang Yuan felt satisfied—but also very exhausted.

The high-intensity work and constant use of her mental powers left her fatigued.

Still, that was okay. A short rest would be enough to recharge her.

She pulled out her kayak—it was time to head to the next spot. This wholesale mall had three major sections.

One was a cheaper zone, mainly serving small shops, street vendors, or those selling at morning or night markets.

Another served people stocking up for rural markets and big fairs.

The third area was a bit more upscale, mostly for export or foreign trade.

Whether genuine or not, it was advertised as such, and the prices were the highest.

The clothes there were decent—quality wasn’t bad. Jiang Yuan had visited it once before with a friend.

Although technically wholesale, you could still try the clothes on—unlike the cheaper area, which focused on bulk.

This section was more high-end in comparison, with more variety and minimal seasonal fluctuation.

Inside, you could basically find any kind of clothing you needed.

There was another section primarily focused on middle-aged and elderly clothing.

Given her limited energy, Jiang Yuan opted for the most valuable section—which also happened to be nearby.

She paddled her kayak over in just five minutes, even going slowly to stay quiet.

Even though the people upstairs couldn’t possibly hear her, it never hurt to be cautious.

This section also started from the 13th floor. She scouted carefully and, hearing nothing, picked the nearest shop.

Swiftly and quietly, she unlocked the door. Inside, there was a rattan chair used for breaks.

She moved it into the shop and sat between two rows of standing racks—anyone outside couldn’t see her.

It was chilly, and now that things were quiet, she decided to enter her storage space. The living room still had hot water she’d previously boiled.

It was drawn from a well, naturally sweet and comfortably warm.

She made herself a cup of instant noodles, and after eating, she felt much better.

Lying on the sofa for just five minutes was enough to recharge. Her body was gradually recovering.

She didn’t want to waste time inside the space—it was hard-earned.

After all, she had risked her life to acquire it. She had felt conflicted when trading food with others, but comparing both sides, that decision was still the most practical.

If worse came to worst, her storage space could save her life.

And she wasn’t naïve—she’d definitely keep tabs on those people.

About ten minutes later, she rejoined the fray—but started at the shop counters.

She could sit while sorting the items—consider it a form of rest.

Once done, she moved on to collecting clothes. The extreme cold was coming, and these clothes could be sold for money in the future.

Her storage space was different from others—it needed to be upgraded and time had to be extended.

It was hard work.

This building was much bigger—each floor had over a hundred stores.

She started from the bottom and worked her way up.

By the time it was 1 a.m., she was halfway done.

Clearly, choosing this building was the right decision.

The upper floors had better-quality goods: furs, direct brand supply shops, down jackets, premium windbreakers, wool coats, double-sided cashmere—even thermal underwear sets.

The higher she went, the more she found things she truly needed.

Going back down afterward would’ve been a hassle.

After resting a bit, she returned to work.

Jiang Yuan’s legs were starting to give out—she was practically running on autopilot, just grabbing and storing.

The past couple of days had been utterly exhausting. Once this run was over, she had to take a proper break.

Still, running regularly seemed to be paying off—her stamina was way better than before.

It wasn’t until 5 a.m. that she finished collecting all the clothes. She was completely drained.

Her storage space was now crammed full—every house she had inside was overflowing, with even more stuff piled outside.

It was time to go back—she couldn’t afford to stay out too late.

She still didn’t know if her dad and the others had made it home yet.

But with Song Yi there, she was sure it would be fine. She gave herself a little mental boost and started heading back.

Maybe it was because she’d collected so much, or because of her short rest, but she felt refreshed and clear-headed.

The journey home was smooth—she didn’t see a single soul.

But just as she neared her residential complex, she faintly spotted a kayak in the distance behind her.