Part 1

Surprisingly delicious.

Since the vegetables had little seasoning added, they were closer to their natural flavor, making it easy to taste their freshness and tenderness.

So the question was, where exactly did these fresh ingredients come from?

All the supermarkets in Ancheng, even the wholesale vegetable markets, had already been emptied.

The ingredients stockpiled until now could no longer be considered fresh.

The man hesitated, thinking about going back to ask.

But thinking of the pile of things still waiting to be dealt with, he gave up.

Besides, once he calmed down, he felt he was overthinking it.

Where else could these vegetables come from?

At most, the owner had stockpiled more and had better preservation techniques.

He lowered his head and finished the last few bites of the pancake, feeling the lingering fragrance in his mouth.

When throwing away the packaging, he did not forget to glance at the paper bag—”Hope Breakfast Shop.”

He remembered the name.

As someone who had lived nearby for many years, this shop was unfamiliar to him.

It should be newly opened, and the owner’s cooking skills were not bad.

If the ingredients in the shop did not run out quickly and it reopened tomorrow, he still wanted to come back and buy again.

.

After the man drove away, a few more people came to buy pancakes.

Some customers did not choose to take them to go but instead decided to stay in the shop to eat.

Lin You placed a bowl of eight-treasure porridge by the hand of a young girl.

The girl had long hair draped over her shoulders and looked very delicate and pretty.

She looked at the eight-treasure porridge, and her eyes lit up:

“When I ordered the eight-treasure porridge, I thought due to food shortages, the bean ingredients would be fewer. But here, how come the ingredients are so plentiful…”

She picked up a spoon and scooped up a spoonful of the porridge and put it in her mouth.

Red beans, longan, peanuts, pine nuts, yam, lily bulbs and other ingredients cooked until soft all entered her mouth together.

“It’s cooked so deliciously.” The girl looked up at Lin You. “There are even big peach kernels.”

Lin You smiled. “As long as it tastes good.”

Right now, in the whole of Ancheng, there were fewer and fewer breakfast shops willing to make eight-treasure porridge.

Because one pot would consume countless ingredients.

Beans were expensive, and many people were unwilling to stock them.

Though this thing was nutritious, at critical times, it was troublesome to prepare and needed to be simmered for a long time before turning soft. It could not quickly fill the stomach.

So Lin You originally did not stockpile them either.

It was just that too many types of beans had emerged from the freezer, and she wanted to try something new.

So, let alone eight kinds, she had practically thrown eighteen kinds of beans, grains, and nuts into the large cooking pot.

Because too few people came and she had plenty of time, she kept it simmering on low heat, cooking slowly.

After two hours of cooking, the more than ten kinds of ingredients were completely soft. The rice porridge was sticky and thick with a rich aroma.

To improve the taste, Lin You added some rock sugar.

When lifting the lid and stirring the pot, steam rose instantly, and the sweet white vapor lingered in the kitchen.

After the girl finished the eight-treasure porridge and the vegetable pancake, Lin You cleared the bowls and chopsticks from the table, then returned to the kitchen and served herself a bowl.

Watching the girl eat so heartily earlier had made her crave it again.

Although she had just made herself a vegetable pancake and eaten not long ago, she could not just eat dry food. Only after drinking a bowl of warm porridge did she feel the morning was complete.

At this time, there were no more customers in the shop.

Lin You sat by the table, holding the bowl with both hands to warm them.

After warming them for a while, she lowered her head and gently sipped from the rim of the bowl.

A wave of warmth flowed into her heart and lungs. Lin You squinted slightly as she ate.

Eight-treasure porridge truly was a food that brought happiness…

This bowl of eight-treasure porridge was quickly finished.

Because she had eaten a bit fast, Lin You’s forehead was slightly sweaty.

She took out a tissue and slowly wiped it, then drank the last sip.

Lin You always felt that the best parts of delicious food were the first bite and the last bite.

The surprise often came from the first taste.

And the last bite always left an endless aftertaste.

After washing and putting away the bowls and chopsticks she had used, Lin You returned to the back kitchen, propped her elbows up, and sat on a small stool to wait.

At this moment, she suddenly thought: why not put the shop on a food delivery platform?

Lin You had considered this before, but now, there were barely any food delivery vendors left on the entire platform.

Those with ingredients mostly closed shop and took things home, distributed some to employees, and stockpiled the rest to eat at home.

After all, if they opened the shop, no amount of food would last more than a few days—

Especially now that all wholesale markets had closed and there was no follow-up supply of ingredients.

With fewer vendors, the number of delivery workers naturally decreased too.

Many companies had to lay off large numbers of workers to reduce expenses during this time when people stayed home and reduced consumption, trying to help the company survive this difficult period.

So now, when ordering food delivery, delivery workers did not arrive as quickly.

Each had to cover a larger area, and the travel distance was longer. When the food arrived, it was only lukewarm, and the taste was significantly worse.

After thinking it over, Lin You felt that delivery service was necessary, but she still needed to wait a bit.

When Ancheng’s order slightly recovers, adding a delivery line will be more worthwhile.

.

By the time it was nearly 9 o’clock, the sky had faintly brightened.

For several consecutive days, because the light was too dim, the streetlights had never been turned off.

Perhaps to save electricity, and because the weather had slightly improved, the streetlights were unusually turned off.

Lin You’s residence was located in the southern part of Ancheng.

It was near the city center and also an old district.

Therefore, the streets in this area were not as grand and spacious as those in the new district.

However, there was a strong atmosphere of everyday life.

For example, what Lin You saw in front of her—red brick walls somewhat mottled, vines winding and climbing along the walls.

On both sides of the street were two different residential communities, with a few small shops at their entrances.

Restaurants, daily goods stores, convenience stores—the variety was quite complete.

However, now only one beauty and hair salon still opened regularly.

Other shops, due to the shortage of goods, mostly closed, and a few only opened for 2 or 3 hours a day.

Lin You looked out through the back kitchen glass.

She just felt that as the sky brightened, everything seemed to return to normal.

But the only difference from before was that due to fewer people passing by and closed shops, the usual lively atmosphere was much reduced.

But that did not matter, because that liveliness came from people.

As long as people saw hope, were willing to step out of their homes, and resume business and production, the lively atmosphere would return again.

While washing the stove and kitchen equipment, Lin You watched the brightening sky inch by inch and could not help but sigh silently.

Under the sunlight, Ancheng was truly beautiful.

For instance, the residential area opposite, although somewhat old, carried a retro charm.

It reminded her of the apartment building where she lived as a child.

Good weather was a good sign. It meant that everything would get better.

After tidying up the stove, Lin You placed a vegetable pancake aside.

The vegetable pancakes for the morning had nearly sold out, and there was still some batter left.

Just now, she had used that batter to cook a thick pancake, planning to heat it up and eat it at noon.

However, even though the weather had cleared up, the temperature was still low.

And since it was summer, there was no heating. The shop also had not installed an air conditioner yet.

Now that the stove had been cleaned, without the heat from cooking, Lin You felt a bit cold again.

So, seeing that the freezer was overflowing with beans, she simply grabbed a handful of red beans, coix seeds, and walnut kernels, added water, and put them into the soy milk machine.

The soy milk machine was fully automatic.

In about ten minutes, the soy milk was ready and heated.

Lin You poured the soy milk into a cup, held it in her hands, and took a sip.

“Mmm…”

The freshly made soy milk was tender and smooth, with a texture beyond expectations.

Lin You took another sip and felt very satisfied.

Then she remembered the matter of reporting the strange situation at the breakfast shop.

So she began dialing the government hotline.

She had heard this number while driving, from a female radio host.

Soon, a male voice rang out.

The other party answered the phone and politely asked, “Hello, ma’am. Do you have any unusual situations to report?”

Lin You leaned against the freezer, sipping her soy milk.

Hearing the question, she replied, “I would like to hand over four freezers and eleven baskets.”

The other party paused.

Four freezers and eleven baskets?

He seemed to doubt his ears a bit, so he somewhat hesitantly confirmed with her:

“You want to hand over freezers and baskets. Have these items shown any abnormalities?”

Lin You explained, “The freezers and baskets here are continuously producing vegetables, fruits, and fresh meat. I think this could solve Ancheng’s food shortage problem…”

The other party was stunned.

This kind of thing was truly unheard of.

However, considering that even zombies could appear, at this point, anything could happen.

Therefore, the other party quickly began recording, and the sound of typing clattered out:

“Alright, ma’am. Please provide your address. We will send someone to verify. If the situation is confirmed, after evaluation, we will decide how to handle your freezers and baskets.”

Lin You replied, “Okay.”

After hanging up the phone, Lin You cleaned the kitchen even more thoroughly.

After all, with officials coming to inspect, the first impression had to be a good one.