Chapter 9 – What? A Fly-Restaurant?

With the power of money backing her, the boss’s wife quickly promised she could get everything done.

After Jiang Yan finished buying rice, flour, grains, and oil, she headed to another large dried goods and seafood shop in the market.

Fresh produce she would purchase later, but since she was here now, she might as well sweep up some dried goods as backup.

Glass noodles, dried bean curd sticks, vermicelli, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, tofu sheets, kelp, wakame, nori, dried shrimp, white fungus, tea tree mushrooms, dried scallops, dried abalone, dried sea cucumbers, dried oysters, dried clams, handmade dried fish, roasted eel slices, dried squid, and so on—she bought 5,000 kilos of each.

As for wild matsutake, morels, bamboo fungus, porcini—these were her favorites in daily life. She directly waved her hand and bought 1,000 kilos.

These wild mushrooms would never exist again after the apocalypse.

Cultivated ones just couldn’t compare in taste.

The wild varieties were delicious, yes—but their prices were equally “beautiful.” Just those alone cost her several million.

In truth, she wanted to buy more, but the shop couldn’t supply it.

And since it wasn’t the season for fresh wild mushrooms, she planned to go to the specialized mushroom wholesale market later and buy some frozen ones to store.

After leaving the dried goods store, she turned into a shop selling pickles and condiments.

Canned dace with black beans, fermented bean curd, every kind of Lao Gan Ma, Pixian broad bean paste, yellow soybean paste, sweet flour paste, chopped chili sauce, side-dish pickles, kimchi, pickled cucumbers, pickled radishes, zhacai, luncheon meat, canned yellow peaches, canned lychees, mixed fruit cocktails—5,000 cases of each.

She loved spicy dishes, and since she often cooked herself, she also stocked up on dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, tsaoko, huoxiang, fennel, black pepper, and all kinds of seasonings—100 kilos each.

She also bought 1,000 cases of hot pot base, every variety—spicy, tom yum, clear broth, mushroom broth, herbal soup, beef tallow, vegetable oil—everything.

The hot pot bases and spices weren’t too bulky, so she just had them loaded directly onto the small truck.

There was also a shop specializing in cured meats—ham, bacon, preserved pork, sausages, dried beef strips. She bought 3,000 kilos in one go.

Salted duck eggs, century eggs, dried duck—things she didn’t particularly like—she still bought 500 kilos just symbolically.

For meat, eggs, and dairy, she preferred to stockpile fresh, so she didn’t go too heavy on preserved ones.

The market also had a shop selling instant foods.

With her level of stockpiles, she could completely live on fresh food. In her plan, aside from buying huge amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, she also intended to order large quantities of gourmet dishes directly from five-star hotels and long-standing restaurants in the coming days.

But sometimes cravings hit—instant noodles, snail rice noodles. And in the uncertain chaos of the apocalypse, who knew what the future held?

Since she had money and space, why not?

With that thought, Jiang Yan stepped inside.

Instant noodles of every flavor, instant rice noodles, snail noodles, sour-and-spicy vermicelli, self-heating rice boxes, self-heating hotpots, sausages, braised eggs—10,000 cases each.

After leaving, she went to the beverage store and the prepared dishes shop.

Coke, Sprite, orange juice, coconut juice—5,000 cases each.
Electrolyte water, isotonic drinks, coconut water, flavored sparkling water—8,000 cases each.

Coffee was her absolute favorite: cold brew, caramel macchiato, velvet latte, coconut latte—canned coffee, coffee beans—8,000 cases of each.

Enough to drink for several lifetimes—purely because she was rich and willful.

From the prepared foods shop: spicy crayfish, thirteen-spice crayfish, garlic vermicelli scallops, sauerkraut fish, peppery chicken-stuffed pork tripe, Sichuan pepper chicken, fish maw chicken soup—5,000 portions each.

She didn’t skip the snack shop either.

Potato chips of every flavor, rice crackers, corn crisps, sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds, dried bean curd, her favorite braised chicken feet, pickled pepper chicken feet, spicy lotus root cubes, pork jerky, duck necks, beef jerky, shredded beef, prunes, hawthorn snacks, seaweed, sesame crisps, cookies, chocolates of every kind, Snickers for energy, candies—5,000 cases each.

Nuts were her weakness: hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamias, thin-shelled walnuts, almonds, pecans, Brazilian pine nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hickory nuts, ginkgo—original flavor, wasabi flavor, charcoal-roasted, caramel—5,000 cases each.

By the time she finished selecting and swiping her card, it was nearly 4 p.m.

She hadn’t eaten all day, and her stomach was growling, though deep inside she felt a strange mix of excitement and security.

In her past life, even with assets worth billions, thanks to her malicious stepfather Song Deming’s schemes and the sudden arrival of the apocalypse, she had lost an arm, starved to death—and in the end, even became food on their family’s table.

A bitter irony: the person was gone, but the money remained.

This time, she would never let it happen again.

She was aware that her stockpiling was a little insane. But so what?

Better to stock too much than miss something critical!

Besides, money left unspent would be nothing but waste paper in a few months.

As for the house-viewing she had scheduled with Du Zitong, it would have to wait until tomorrow.

Because she had just discovered that right next to the grain and oil market was the traditional Chinese medicine wholesale market.

No time like the present—after eating, she planned to sweep that place too.

“Boss, do you know any good little restaurants around here?” Jiang Yan asked casually after sending the warehouse addresses to the cured meat shop owner.

The boss’s eyes lit up, and he strode to the stall entrance, pointing enthusiastically:
“Yes! At the very end of that little alley around the corner, there’s a beef rice noodle shop. The environment’s terrible, but the taste is incredible—it’s been around for decades. But the lady boss doesn’t serve dinner. She usually closes before four, so if you want to go, you’d better hurry!”

“Oh, and the boss lady there’s super temperamental—just so you’re prepared.”

“Oh, thank you! I’ll go check it out.” Jiang Yan smiled and headed quickly toward the alley.

As a food blogger, she didn’t just sample Michelin or Black Pearl fine dining—those hidden stalls in back alleys were also among her hunting grounds.

Some of those little shops, with their terrible environments and obscure locations, were nicknamed “fly-restaurants.” Usually only locals could find them.

And strangely, though their food seemed utterly ordinary, it always tasted extraordinary.

Yet once such shops moved or renovated to improve their environment, the taste changed completely.

What’s more, nine times out of ten, the boss ladies of these shops were short-tempered, arrogant, and domineering—practically a standard feature.

But for veteran foodies, that was part of the charm. They’d just laugh it off, perfectly used to it.

---

📌 Author’s note:

All the food Jiang Yan buys is of the highest quality and top brands, so the prices aren’t normal (e.g., regular rice might cost a few yuan per kilo, but premium Wuchang rice and similar varieties are in the hundreds per kilo). Usually, deposits for wholesale orders are around 20%—so don’t question the author’s life experience. Even without it, you can check online. Hmph!