Although her farmland could also be used to grow grain, it would take several days, not to mention the need for processing and shelling afterward. What Jing Shu lacked most right now was time. Her plan was to buy a batch first, then plant another batch when the supply was nearly finished. That way, when she brought it out later, it would look more natural.
First, Jing Shu went to Wu City's wholesale grain and oil market. She purchased 100 bags of flour, each weighing 40 jin (20 kg), at 60 yuan per bag; 100 bags of 20 jin (10 kg) vacuum-packed Daohuaxiang rice at 95 yuan per bag; 200 bags of 10 jin (5 kg) vacuum-packed Thai fragrant rice at 70 yuan per bag; and 10 bags of 20 jin (10 kg) mixed grains at 40 yuan per bag.
In the north, flour-based food was indispensable. Pull noodles, stirred noodles, and dough flakes were daily staples. Considering flour was harder to process, Jing Shu bought extra. her mother was not skilled at making flour-based dishes, but in the apocalypse Jing Shu would have the chance to showcase what she had learned from her grandmother.
Thai fragrant rice was one of her favorites. Fragrant, sticky, and delicious whether eaten dry or as porridge, its aroma was impossible to hide. Egg fried rice made with it fully released the original fragrance of both egg and rice, creating an unbeatable taste. Jing Shu couldn't help but salivate at the thought.
She also purchased 100 barrels of 5L peanut oil at 120 yuan each, and 30 barrels of 2L olive oil at 180 yuan each. Oil had to be stockpiled, since later she would fry chicken legs and fish pieces to store in the Cube Space as snacks.
Jing Shu filled the 3-meter-high shelves in her basement with these supplies, leaving the villa's address for delivery. After paying 47,300 yuan, she went next door to the dried goods wholesale market.
That part of the shopping was quick too, since the wholesale market didn't sell by the piece but by the case. Each store offered different items. The varieties of dried goods were vast, and Jing Shu went from one shop to the next, hauling goods into her car and then transferring them to the Cube Space, until both the car and her space were full before nightfall.
She bought five cases each of sweet potato vermicelli, Longkou vermicelli, five-flavor cured pork, Cantonese sausages, Sichuan-style sausages, and Yili horse sausages. In the apocalypse, being able to eat meat like this was something Jing Shu hadn't dared to dream of in her previous life.
Of course, bloodworms that came out exactly the same as they went in didn't count as real meat.
She continued buying: two cases each of white fungus, black fungus, seaweed, bamboo fungus, dried shiitake mushrooms, dried tea tree mushrooms, dried beancurd sticks, tofu skin, kelp, preserved mustard greens, dried scallops, dried shrimp, dried fish maw, dried bamboo shoots, and dried squid.
Jing Shu also planned to buy many 60L storage boxes to pack the dried goods into. These could be placed directly in cabinets. If she wanted something, she could take it out immediately. If she had to flee the villa, she could quickly move them all into the Cube Space.
The dried goods cost 30,000 yuan in total. They were the most cost-effective supplies, needing no refrigeration, lasting a long time, and taking little space, yet capable of producing many meals.
For example, one jin (0.5 kg) of dried black fungus could expand into 10–15 jin (5–7.5 kg) once soaked. A small handful could fill an entire plate. In the apocalypse, handing out dried goods to leaders could smooth over almost anything.
In contrast, dried fruits were much less practical. Over time they attracted bugs or went stale, leaving more shells than flesh, not filling, not long-lasting, and with short shelf life.
So Jing Shu only bought 100 jin (50 kg) each of figs, macadamia nuts, pecans, roasted cashews, pistachios, red dates stuffed with walnuts, roasted chestnuts, raisins, almonds, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, five-spice sunflower seeds, and caramel sunflower seeds.
Separately, she bought 400 jin (200 kg) of Brazilian pine nuts at 80 yuan per jin (0.5 kg). This was one of her favorite snacks.
Her craving hit hard when she saw them, her legs practically rooted in place. In the apocalypse, survival often hinged on faith. her belief had always been: to hold on until the day she could eat Brazilian pine nuts again.
And she had made it. She could now eat them anytime she wanted.
It was no easy feat to resist the urge and still stick to her shopping plan. No matter how many she bought, it was never too much.
Even though it cost her 69,000 yuan, took up 10 cubic meters of Cube Space, and from now on could only be preserved inside the Cube Space, Jing Shu felt it was worth it.
She remembered during the great earthquake, everyone was crammed together. She had once watched a child next to her lick every sunflower seed shell for several minutes after cracking it. That night, Jing Shu couldn't sleep, wondering whether the child's seeds had been plain or five-spiced.
Not licking bowls after meals, not licking shells after cracking seeds—those were luxuries only the wealthy could afford in the apocalypse. Jing Shu happily spat out her sunflower seed shells, living the life of a "rich person" in advance. Truly fragrant.
"Look at the mess you've made with pine nut shells and seed husks everywhere. Just like your father, flicking cigarette ash around. Clean up after yourself!"
That was definitely her real mother, no mistake.
After speaking, her mother glared at her father. her father quickly tried to appease her. "Yes, yes, you've worked hard. I'll give you a massage tonight."
"That's more like it."
…
That night while inspecting the Cube Space, Jing Shu was delighted to discover that the shrimp feed given to her by the fish seller had turned into schools of large shrimp. They had become the overlords of the water, reproducing rapidly and producing countless baby shrimp. The other fish fry couldn't keep up with eating them.
In order to prevent a shrimp population explosion, Jing Shu reluctantly decided to host a shrimp feast tomorrow.
In the fields, pickled mustard greens and cowpeas would be ready tomorrow. Other crops—red chili peppers, cabbages, white radishes, cucumbers, spring bamboo shoots, and garlic—had already been harvested once. The best specimens had been kept for seeds, while the rest were stuffed into 6 cubic meters of Cube Space storage.
She had always known the farmland in the Cube Space was abnormal, but she hadn't expected it to be so extreme. Even such dense planting survived and thrived, growing vigorously. Each plant was large, plump, and full of vitality, cramming every inch of soil without deforming.
At present, her 64 cubic meters of Cube Space were divided as follows:
1 cubic meter Spirit Spring
6 cubic meters farmland
19 cubic meters for poultry
8 cubic meters for fish
1 cubic meter mushroom logs
1 cubic meter seeds
3 cubic meters chicken, duck, and quail eggs
6 cubic meters vegetables
10 cubic meters dried fruit
1 cubic meter feed
1 cubic meter bugs and mealworms for fish feed
7 cubic meters dried goods
Jing Shu squeezed the seed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams the seller had given her into the farmland. She planned to transplant them later once the villa renovations were done.
The feed she had bought filled an entire small room at the villa. For now, Jing Shu just tore off vegetable leaves to feed her poultry, using little actual feed.
The next day, she moved the dried goods from the Cube Space and the car into the villa. The rice, flour, and oil she bought were delivered too. She had the workers move them inside, then transferred them into the basement shelves herself.
The seasonings had already been placed in the past two days. With the addition of grain and temporarily stored dried goods, the basement was nearly packed full.
Seeing her villa fully enclosed in tempered glass gave her a deep sense of accomplishment and safety.
The pond and water reservoir had been dug out, tiled, and waterproofed. With no leaks or seepage, work could continue in two days. The boiler room at the back was still under construction, and the chicken coop in the front yard had not yet been built.
"Your father had a huge fight with President Wang. Someone reported him, saying he used his position for personal gain to obtain the best quality tempered glass. They're demanding your father be expelled, forced to repay all material costs within three days, and at the end of the month the board of directors will discuss this issue. You should be prepared." Uncle Chen suddenly told Jing Shu.
Jing Shu gazed at the glittering tempered glass around her villa. "Wasn't this glass unsellable? We even bought it at cost price."
===
Honestly, I'm still a bit unsure about how to best translate 静爸 (Jìng bà) and 静妈 (Jìng mā). They basically just mean Jing Shu's mom and dad. I've been tempted to render them as "Dad Jing" and "Mom Jing," or maybe "Jing's Dad" and "Jing's Mom." Another option would be to just use their actual names, like Su Lanzhi for her mother.
Also, the author tends to use "Jing Shu" quite repetitively in the narration. To avoid it sounding too stiff in English, I'll sometimes replace it with pronouns instead. Of course, you might still see "Jing Shu" pop up often, but I'll try to balance it out.
I'm still figuring out the style I want to settle on here, so forgive me if you notice small differences in terms or phrasing along the way (シ_ _)シ