With the power of cash, the shop owner quickly promised to get everything sorted.
After purchasing rice, flour, cooking oil, and other staples, Jiang Yan headed to another larger dried goods and seafood store in the market.
She planned to buy fresh produce later, but since she was already here, she decided to stock up on some dried goods for emergencies.
She bought 5,000 kilograms each of vermicelli, dried tofu skin, noodles, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, tofu sheets, wakame seaweed, kelp, laver, dried shrimp, white fungus, tea tree mushrooms, dried scallops, dried abalone, dried sea cucumber, dried oysters, dried clams, handmade dried fish, grilled eel slices, dried squid, and more.
Wild matsutake mushrooms, morels, bamboo fungus, and porcini mushrooms—all Jiang Yan's favorites—were bought in bulk, with a casual wave of her hand securing 1,000 kilograms of each.
These wild mushrooms would be impossible to find once the apocalypse arrived.
As for the cultivated varieties, their flavor paled in comparison to the wild ones.
The wild ones tasted amazing, but their prices were equally "impressive," costing her several million in one go.
She would have bought even more, but the shop simply couldn't supply more.
Since it wasn't the peak season for fresh wild mushrooms, she planned to visit a wholesale market later to stock up on frozen ones.
Leaving the dried goods store, she turned to a shop specializing in pickles and condiments.
She purchased 5,000 crates each of dace with black beans, fermented tofu, various Lao Gan Dang products, Pixian chili bean paste, soybean paste, sweet bean sauce, chopped chili sauce, pickled side dishes, kimchi, pickled cucumbers, preserved radish, pickled mustard tuber, canned luncheon meat, canned yellow peaches, canned lychees, and mixed fruit cocktail cans.
She loved spicy dishes and often cooked for herself, so she also bought 100 kilograms each of dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, tsao-ko, patchouli, fennel, and black pepper.
She also grabbed 1,000 crates of hot pot soup base—spicy, tom yum, clear broth, mushroom, herbal, beef oil, and vegetable oil—all varieties included.
The hot pot soup base and spices didn't take up much space, so she loaded them directly onto her small truck.
The wholesale market also had a dedicated cured meats shop selling ham, bacon, cured meat, sausages, dried beef, and more. Jiang Yan bought 3,000 kilograms of each.
She wasn't particularly fond of salted duck eggs, century eggs, or pressed duck, but she still bought 500 kilograms of each for good measure.
For meat, eggs, and dairy, she planned to prioritize fresh supplies, so she didn't buy too much cured meat.
There was also a convenience food store in the market.
Given her stockpile, she could easily rely on fresh food alone. In her plan, aside from bulk purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables, she also intended to place large orders with five-star hotels and renowned restaurants for ready-made gourmet meals in the coming days.
But she still occasionally craved instant noodles or river snail rice noodles, and given the uncertainties of surviving in the apocalypse, it made sense to stock up while she had the money and the dimension.
With that thought, Jiang Yan stepped inside.
She bought 10,000 crates each of various instant noodles, instant rice noodles, luosifen, sour and spicy noodles, self-heating rice meals, self-heating hot pots, sausages, and marinated eggs.
After leaving that store, she visited beverage shops and pre-made meal stores.
Cola, Sprite, orange juice, coconut milk—she bought 5,000 cases of each. For electrolyte water, Dongmou Shuye in all varieties, coconut water, and assorted flavored sparkling water, she directly purchased 8,000 cases of each.
Coffee was her favorite. Cold brew, caramel macchiato, velvet latte, coconut latte—every flavor of canned coffee, coffee beans, and more—she bought 8,000 units of each.
She could drink for several lifetimes and never run out. It was all about being rich and reckless.
For pre-made dishes, she stocked up on 5,000 units of each: Spicy crayfish, Thirteen-spice crayfish, garlic crayfish, steamed scallops with garlic and vermicelli, pickled fish soup, pepper pork belly chicken, Sichuan peppercorn chicken, fish maw chicken, and more.
She didn't spare the snack shops either—potato chips in all flavors, rice crackers, corn crisps, sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds, dried tofu, her favorite braised chicken feet, pickled chili chicken feet, spicy lotus root cubes, pork jerky, duck necks, beef jerky, thinly sliced spiced beef, prunes, hawthorn flakes, seaweed, sesame crisps, cookies, all kinds of chocolates, energy-boosting Snickers, candies—5,000 units of each.
Nuts were her weakness. Hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamias, paper-shell walnuts, almonds, pecans, Brazilian pine nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hickory nuts, ginkgo nuts—plain, wasabi-flavored, charcoal-roasted, caramel—5,000 units of each flavor.
By the time she finished selecting items and swiping her card, it was almost 4 p.m.
She hadn't eaten all day and was starving, but she felt an inexplicable thrill and sense of security.
In her past life, despite having billions in assets, her malicious stepfather Song Deming's schemes, combined with the sudden onset of apocalyptic disasters, left her with a severed hand before she ultimately starved to death—only to end up as a meal for his family.
Truly, the money remained, but the person was gone.
This time, she wouldn't let it happen again.
She knew she was hoarding like a madwoman, but she didn't care!
Better to overstock and waste than understock and regret!
Besides, if she didn't spend that money now, in a few months, it would just be worthless paper.
Originally, she was supposed to meet Du Ziteng today to view properties, but she had to postpone it to the next day.
Because she discovered that right next to the wholesale grain and oil market was a wholesale market for traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.
No time like the present—after eating, she planned to "raid" that place too.
"Boss, any good small eateries around here?" Jiang Yan sent the warehouse address to the pickled goods vendor and casually asked.
The vendor immediately strode to the front of his stall and enthusiastically pointed.
"Yeah, deep in that alley up ahead, tucked in a corner, there's a beef rice noodle shop. The place is a dump, but the taste is amazing—been around for decades. But the owner doesn't do dinner service; she closes up before 4 p.m. If you wanna go, you better hurry!"
"Oh, and the owner's got attitude—just a heads-up," he added.
"Got it, thanks, boss!" Jiang Yan turned and hurried toward the alley.
As a food blogger, she didn't just visit high-end Michelin and Black Pearl restaurants—hidden street stalls in obscure corners were also part of her culinary adventures.
Some small eateries have poor environments and are located in remote places, commonly known as "fly restaurants," which usually only locals can find.
Strangely enough, the food served in these places, though seemingly ordinary, has an extraordinary taste.
What's even more peculiar is that once these small shops relocate or undergo renovations to improve their environment, the flavor changes.
Additionally, nine out of ten of these eateries have a notoriously grumpy and arrogant female boss—almost a standard feature.
However, foodies who go exploring just laugh it off when faced with the boss's bad temper, as they're already used to it.
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