Chapter 3: Stockpiling

By the time Jiang Si finished organizing everything, it was already past midnight.

Another day closer to the apocalypse. Lying in bed, she closed her eyes—and bloody memories surged like a tide, the heart-wrenching terror consuming her whole body.

She suddenly opened her eyes, her expression cold and fierce. Gripping the blanket tightly, tighter and tighter, until cold sweat soaked her body and a sharp, numbing pain shot through her hands.

Panting, Jiang Si tried to calm herself:
“It’s over… it’s over… I’m not dreaming…”

Her emotions gradually stabilized. She got up and drank a glass of milk in the kitchen, then forced herself to sleep for another three hours.

Before dawn, she headed straight to S City’s largest wholesale market.

Walking into a grain store, Jiang Si asked,
“Boss, which type of grain has the longest shelf life?”

Since her storage space wasn’t frozen or static, she needed to prioritize foods with long shelf lives.

The shop owner smiled and said,
“Unprocessed rice and sorghum last the longest—up to ten years. Soybeans last about 3–7 years, wheat about 2–4 years, and corn can last 2–3 years if it’s dried properly and kept pest-free. Once processed, though, shelf life drops to about a year.”

Jiang Si nodded,
“Then I’ll take one ton of unprocessed rice, one ton of sorghum, and 500 kg each of soybeans, wheat, and corn.”

The boss was used to wholesale orders, and this wasn’t even a large one.
“Miss, would you like anything else?”

Jiang Si nodded again and added:

• 2,000 jin (1,000 kg) of white rice
• 1,000 jin of flour
• 500 jin of millet
• 100 jin each of yellow beans, mung beans, and red beans
• 100 packs each of vermicelli and dried noodles
• 100 barrels each of soybean oil, sunflower oil, and peanut oil

Even if she didn’t grow crops, this stockpile alone could feed her family for ten years.

With basic survival grains secured, Jiang Si went to the seasoning section.

Salt was crucial. Unlike soy sauce, which could eventually be brewed from soybeans, or sugar, which could be made from malt and cooked down—salt couldn’t be manufactured at home.

Salt is mainly sodium chloride and has no expiration date.

So Jiang Si bought five tons in one go.

She also bought:

• White sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar
• Preserved vegetables, tea leaves, dried radish
• Century eggs, fermented tofu, broad bean paste
• Hotpot base, dried bean curd sheets, pickled vegetables
• Salted duck eggs, preserved mustard greens, red dates, goji berries
• Chili powder, honey, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, chicken bouillon
• Baking powder, edible alkali, soy sauce, dark soy, vinegar (white and aged), cooking wine
• Five-spice powder, cured meat, instant noodles, canned luncheon meat…

For all of these, she only bought enough to last two years, considering their shelf lives.

Her favorite snacks like milk tea, chocolate, soda, and coffee—she only bought a little.

But for compressed biscuits, which are easy to eat, filling, and have a long shelf life—she bought 100 boxes in one go.

She also bought two large vats of high-proof liquor, useful not only for drinking but also as disinfectant or fuel. As a treat, she picked up 10 bottles of premium grain liquor for her dad and grandfather.

With a global blackout coming and persistent high temperatures expected to dry out water sources, she bought:

• 1,000 boxes of bottled mineral water
• 200 large water storage barrels for purification—these could be filled with tap water now, which was cheaper and more practical

The shop owner, seeing her bulk purchases, happily handed over a receipt,
“If you need anything else, just give me a call and I’ll have it delivered.”

Jiang Si accepted the receipt,
“Alright. I’ll check the inventory at home. If anything’s missing, I’ll call you.”

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Leaving the food wholesale store, she noticed a nearby traditional Chinese medicine shop.

There, she bought herbal remedies for treating colds, fevers, and epidemics.

At an agricultural store, she stocked up on:

• Realgar powder (for repelling insects)
• Rat poison
• Strong insect repellents
• A random assortment of vegetable seeds
• One each of: de-sheller, oil press, water pump, well-drilling machine, seed planter, and harvester

She then headed to a daily necessities shop, where she didn’t care about brands—just that the products had long shelf lives.

She bought:

• Shampoo, body wash, soap, baby cream, detergent
• Sanitary pads, tissues, towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash
• Disinfectants, hand sanitizer, candles, lighters, fire extinguishers
• Sewing kits, matches, alcohol blocks, disposable gloves
• Tableware, protective masks, air purifiers, hot water bottles, heating pads…

Because the sun’s radiation in the apocalypse could burn skin, she made sure to get:

• Sunscreen, sun-protective clothing, cooling sleeves, face covers…

She bought so much that the daily goods store owner was overjoyed and gave her a 20% discount.

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Next, Jiang Si went to the department store.

For bedding, she bought:

• Down quilts, silk quilts, blankets, mattresses, pillows, heated blankets, cooling mats—one full set for each family member

To be prepared for emergencies, she also stocked up on:

• Burlap, cotton fabric, wool yarn, leather, cotton, silk…

Since doomsday weather was extreme and unpredictable—from scorching heat to freezing cold—she prepared:

• Thermal wear, down jackets, military coats, wool clothes, underwear, hats, socks, gloves
• Boots, hiking shoes, ice shoes, sneakers, sandals, slippers, swimsuits…

Recalling how the sun’s glare nearly blinded her in the past, Jiang Si also went to an optician to buy:

• 10 pairs of high-grade protective goggles
• 1 pair of reading glasses
• Multiple pairs of contact lenses of various prescriptions

Her home fridge was old and couldn’t store much.

So she went to the appliance section, buying:

• Two double-door refrigerators
• Two deep freezers for storing fresh goods
• Washer-dryer combo, induction cooker, rice cooker, hair clipper
• Oven, ice maker, walkie-talkies, water purifier, heated table, air conditioner, electric blanket, hair dryer
• Even though she already had a computer and TV, she bought backups—after all, she had generators, and everything would work in her space

Eventually, this would all become the foundation of her family’s survival.

Worried that one generator wouldn’t be enough, she called and ordered two more, and bought another 5,000 barrels of gasoline.

After making the payment, she discovered that her credit service was now 50,000 yuan in debt.

She still hadn’t rented the helicopter, and there were so many things still left to buy.

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Jiang Si quickly hailed a taxi and headed to her extreme sports club to complete her resignation.

Manager Zhang tried to persuade her to stay:
“If you ever want to come back, the club’s doors will always be open.”

But after experiencing ten years of the apocalypse, Jiang Si had grown numb and even disgusted with extreme sports.

If she had a choice, she’d rather quietly farm with her family for the rest of her life.

Shaking her head, she replied firmly,
“My family is still waiting for me. Mr. Zhang, take care.”

Zhang laughed,
“You’re making it sound like a final farewell. You’re from South City, right? One day we’ll come visit you.”

“Sure.”

Zhang was wealthy. In her previous life, when the global blackout began and the apocalypse unfolded, he was one of the first to sense danger and stockpile supplies.

The club was full of elite adventurers. He used gold bars and resources to rally people, and by the first winter of the apocalypse, Jiang Si saw him at a northern base, already a powerful figure.

But he didn’t recognize her then.

Maybe even if he had, he would have seen her ragged and broken self as worthless.

All in all, Zhang was someone worth remembering, but Jiang Si had no plans to warn him about the coming apocalypse.

First, because in the early blackout stage, those who responded quickly still had a chance to survive.

Second, if she warned him, he’d surely wonder how she knew the future and might even uncover her space secret.

In this life, her only wish was to live peacefully with her family.
She couldn’t afford any risks.