Stockpiling Underway 3

During the gaps between receiving deliveries and waiting for trucks, Ming Jiu went down Sis System's list of factories and contacted them one by one.

For convenience foods—instant noodles, self-heating meals, rice noodles, and the like—Ming Jiu contacted the manufacturers' sales representatives directly.

This factory produced convenience foods for several brands on the market. Ming Jiu did not care about branded packaging, only quantity and quality. Buying directly from the factory was much cheaper than wholesaling any particular brand.

After hanging up, Ming Jiu added the salesperson on WeChat, transferred the deposit online, and arranged to pay the remaining balance in cash.

Next came lighting equipment and hardware tools.

For portable lighting tools of all kinds of specifications and functions, Ming Jiu did not want battery-powered models. She only wanted rechargeable and solar-rechargeable ones: high-powered flashlights, headlamps, compact pen-shaped emergency lights, camp lights, camping lights, multifunctional emergency lights...

Ming Jiu did not order many hardware toolboxes, but she arranged for both manual and electric tools and stocked up on plenty of spare parts. The focus was on multifunctional axes, crowbars, chainsaws, and shovels. They were not only practical tools, but also formidable weapons.

The two small factories had excess inventory at the end of the year, so they gave Ming Jiu substantial discounts as well as freebies. The lighting equipment salesperson sent Ming Jiu a video and promised to give her two boxes of LED light strips.

As before, she paid the deposit online and the remaining balance in cash upon delivery.

She was still missing outdoor survival supplies among the tools. Ming Jiu only bought a small portion of those online, such as ropes, waterproof tarps, tents, life jackets, inflatable boats, and outboard motors... She did not buy much of any one item because she planned to fleece Zuo Junhao directly.

One of the biggest selling points of the malls under Zuo Junhao's name was that they were a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. Their inventory was incredibly abundant in both quality and quantity.

As for clothes, shoes, and socks, Ming Jiu had already purchased the functional clothing online—storm jackets, heavy-duty cold-weather down jackets, thermal clothing, heat-insulating clothing, and so on. What she bought from the factory were only everyday styles.

She did not care about design or appearance. They only needed to be comfortable and practical.

Ironically, aside from women's underwear, every single item of everyday clothing on the list the system had made for her was men's wear.

With the same budget, men's clothing was far superior to women's clothing in both cut and quality.

The more Ming Jiu looked, the more she wanted to laugh in exasperation.

There were too many categories of clothes, shoes, and socks. Ming Jiu only arranged a time with the salesperson in advance. She would have to make the trip herself to decide exactly what and how much to buy.

There were also bedding supplies—sheets, duvet covers, quilts, pillows, and so on. Ming Jiu called ahead as well and planned to settle them together with the clothes, shoes, and socks tomorrow or the day after.

After she finished her calls, the final delivery of the day arrived: all kinds of drinking water she had bought at the wholesale market yesterday.

It was only four thirty after she finished receiving the goods. Ming Jiu locked the factory gates and drove to City L. She first went to the building materials market and bought some cement and other construction supplies.

There was still plenty of time after that, so Ming Jiu took the lists for the household medicine kit and outdoor sports medicine kit and visited several pharmacies.

She did not plan to buy medicine in bulk herself. Medicines were tightly regulated now. Without connections, she could only use the clumsy method of purchasing and stockpiling little by little, and even then, she could only get common medications.

Ming Jiu planned to stop after spending fifty thousand yuan on medicine. That would be enough for emergencies. For the rest, she would have to rely on Zuo Junhao.

Among the supplies Zuo Junhao had started collecting half a year in advance, the medicines were comprehensive in both quantity and variety.

She kept shopping until six before finally driving out of City L. She called the young female designer in charge of renovating the vacation villa and stopped by to check its progress.

She had no time during the day, and she did not want to run into the Chu siblings directly just yet.

After hanging up, Ming Jiu sent the designer a two-hundred-yuan red packet to soothe the pain of having to work overtime.

The designer had done an excellent job. The once-empty villa was beginning to feel like a home. Ming Jiu checked the appliance brands and found that they matched her requirements exactly. All instruction manuals and warranty cards had been neatly organized in divided document folders, detailed and orderly.

Ming Jiu could not help sending the young woman another red packet.

She knew it. Women were more reliable at getting things done.

It was nearly eight at night by the time she finished viewing the villa. The area was quite remote, and the designer did not have a car, so Ming Jiu simply drove her back to the shop before returning to the city herself.

After going home for a loving extra meal made by her younger sister, she took her sister back to the hotel to sleep. That night, she put in some serious work on the farm, officially bringing the twenty-ninth to an end.

January 30th. Nine days remaining.

Ming Jiu rarely let herself sleep in. She did not get up until seven—she did not need to oversee deliveries or pay final balances that morning.

Before going to sleep yesterday, Ming Jiu had received a message from Sister Bai. They had arranged to hand over Apartment 602 today, along with the rent from February of last year until now for both Apartment 602 and Apartment 2501.

After breakfast, Ming Jiu dropped her younger sister off at home and headed to Building 5 of the residential complex. Sister Bai was already waiting for her downstairs.

Ming Jiu stuffed the insulated bag in her hand into the other woman's arms. Inside was a cup of hot coffee.

She had only remembered this while buying coffee. While eating breakfast, she had ordered quite a bit of tea and all kinds of coffee online—instant coffee, capsules, drip bags, and more.

The quantities were not large. She had asked the system, and once the farm reached Level 5 and unlocked the orchard, she could grow coffee beans and tea trees herself.

"Sorry to make you come over so early. Thanks for the trouble."

It really was early. It had only just passed eight, not even normal commuting time yet.

Sister Bai accepted the coffee with a contented smile.

"A big client called for me. Of course I had to be proactive. Forget rushing over at eight in the morning—I wouldn't mind coming in the middle of the night."

As she spoke, she took out her access card and swiped open the building entrance. She and Ming Jiu took the elevator up to Apartment 602.

"The tenant moved out the day before yesterday. The company cleaners had the place tidied up yesterday. The utilities, gas, and property management fees have all been settled. Take a look."

Sister Bai handed Ming Jiu the documents related to the lease termination. Ming Jiu did not even have the system scan them and simply signed to confirm.

The apartment had been maintained well, with no issues at all. Its furnishings were even more complete than those in Apartment 2501, and it could be moved into immediately.

"Since there was still one month left on the lease, we compensated the tenant with two months' rent, totaling twenty-six thousand yuan. After deducting the agency fee and various miscellaneous expenses, this year's total rent for the two apartments came to one hundred ninety-eight thousand five hundred and twenty yuan."

Ming Jiu signed her name a few more times and received the money. The handover of both apartments was now completely finished.

"You're not planning to rent this apartment out again?"

Ming Jiu nodded and spouted nonsense with a straight face.

"I'm planning to do something else—open a design studio. I'll get started after the New Year, so the place needs to be renovated again."

"What about you? Have you settled your housing situation?"

After all, if Sister Bai did not buy soon, it really would be too late.

At the mention of it, Sister Bai's eyes lit up.

"Almost. I'm negotiating the price right now. It should be settled within the next couple of days. Yunjing Scenic Area is pretty nice too."

"While I was looking for a place for you, I also checked out places for myself. It's a small two-bedroom with renovations included. If all goes well, I'll be spending the New Year in my own home this year."

Pretty nice? It was practically an investment in survival.

Ming Jiu silently gave this decisive woman a thumbs-up.

"Congratulations, congratulations. You'll be a homeowner from now on."