Natural Disaster Hoarding to Survive Daily

            ◎ Happy 16th Day: Camping Preparation ◎

Jiang Muyun checked the date and realized that it was already September 3rd. She had placed the order for the windows and doors on August 23rd, which meant it had been around ten days.

At the time, the window and door factory had mentioned a wait of around ten days. Since the time seemed right now, Jiang Muyun decided to call and inquire about the situation.

The person in charge on the other end picked up quickly, and as soon as Jiang Muyun mentioned the windows, they said, "We were just about to contact you. When would it be convenient for you? We'll send someone over to install them."

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Muyun scheduled the window installation for 10 o'clock in the morning.

At this time, there would be fewer people in the community, so she wouldn't have to change the windows in front of a crowd. It would also reduce the risk of accidents from falling objects.

The downside of living in a close-knit community like this was that if Jiang Muyun chose a time when many residents, especially the elderly, were strolling around, she would have to explain the reasons for changing her windows multiple times.

Once the windows were installed, Jiang Muyun escorted the workers downstairs and, upon returning, collapsed on the sofa, finally feeling a sense of relief.

Since her rebirth, she has been constantly on edge.

In order to survive well in the apocalypse this time, she had been desperately hoarding supplies and finding ways to disguise herself to avoid being discovered. She was constantly thinking about what she still needed and what she might have overlooked.

Even though in her previous life she had nothing, she managed to stubbornly climb back from the West City to the South City.

Even though she looked a bit pitiful when she returned, she had successfully survived a whole decade in the apocalypse, surpassing more than 90% of the human population. She could be considered a winner in life.

But now, after getting a second chance, she seems to have become even more timid.

Jiang Muyun lay on the sofa, reflecting for a while.

Could it be that the days of being well-fed and well-cared-for after her rebirth were too good?

The peaceful and prosperous era that was lost and regained will indeed be even harder to let go of.

Little White didn't sense its owner's deep emotions. It leaped onto the sofa and nuzzled Jiang Muyun's arm, finding a comfortable angle to lie down in her embrace.

After this period of recuperation, Little White successfully transformed into a shiny and sleek black dog. It had even grown quite a bit in size and had learned to jump onto the sofa by itself.

Jiang Muyun's train of thought was interrupted as she hugged Little White and stroked its fur. She grabbed her phone and checked the weather forecast.

The forecast indicated that the temperature would indeed decrease in late September, but it was within the normal range, not deviating from Jiang Muyun's memory.

In her previous life, everything had been calm and peaceful until early October, when the disaster suddenly struck, catching everyone off guard.

Jiang Muyun turned off her phone and checked the progress of her film and TV series downloads. Then, as usual, she searched for her "108 treasures."

After a fruitless search, she opened a novel app and randomly flipped through several post-apocalyptic novels, only to find that the protagonists either had a space for farming and breeding or possessed a spiritual spring.

At the very least, the space they had should be vast and boundless, allowing direct resource allocation by the country.

Jiang Muyun never expected to be stabbed, even by reading a novel.

Angrily closing the novel app, Jiang Muyun decided to find some amusement to heal herself.

She first separately contacted Qin Shiwen, Qin Shiwu, Zhao Jiahao, and Li Anxuan. After obtaining their agreement, Jiang Muyun directly created a group chat on WeChat.

After a flurry of tapping and clicking, Jiang Muyun finished.

A WeChat group named【So Cold on the 15th Floor, I'm So Scared (5 people)】appeared

【Little White Doesn't Get Beaten Today：Chubby friends, I've got a batch of camping equipment. How about a barbecue party during the holiday? Who's up for it?】

【ZJH Still Not Awake：Count me in! Let's do it! Both Li Anxuan and I have our days off this weekend!】

【An：Do we need to prepare anything? It's my first time camping.】

【Big Bin：What a coincidence, me too. When are we going?】

【Little Bin：Qin Shiwu, why are you asking? Do you have a vacation?】

【Big Bin：？】

【Little Bin：？】

The conversation came to a halt, with the two siblings from the next floor exchanging puzzled question marks.

Ten seconds later, the whole building heard the noise of Qin Shiwu calling out his signature moves.

In fact, Qin Shiwu's busy schedule was somewhat related to his passion for his profession. He was not someone who worked as an illegal laborer for the landlord's family. So, in the end, he managed to join the barbecue gathering this weekend.

There were a total of five people living on the fifteenth floor. One was a resident doctor specializing in surgery who vowed to dedicate his life to the operating table. Another was a coach who had to take care of more than ten children on the team and often stayed at the training base.

Considering the schedule constraints, the only ones who could spare time for pre-camping preparations were Jiang Muyun, a sick student who is temporarily out of school, and two intern firefighters who ccould leave on time when they hadn't encountered any emergencies during their shifts.

Zhao Jiahao and Li Anxuan themselves were unsure about their working hours, so the three of them made an arrangement. As long as they finished work early, they would go to Jiang Muyun's place, knock on her door, and then go together to buy barbecue supplies.

Jiang Muyun had been exhausted lately, and she felt that she needed some rest.

So, these days, besides browsing wholesale websites and buying some small miscellaneous items, she has been staying at home, cooking rice, and pickling vegetables. She even temporarily postponed her plan to buy dairy products and snacks in bulk.

Although the temperature is quite high now and some pickled vegetables cannot be made temporarily, it doesn't affect kimchi.

Mix white vinegar and sugar in proportion, then add sliced radishes and shredded cabbage. As long as they are soaked overnight, you'll have a delicious and appetizing dish with a sour and sweet flavor.

Jiang Muyun could even store them directly in her space after marinating, take them out in advance, and wait for one night when she wants to eat.

When Zhao Jiahao and Li Anxuan knocked on Jiang Muyun's door, she had just finished the last batch of pickled vegetables and covered them.

As soon as Jiang Muyun opened the door, a wave of vinegar wafted out.

Zhao Jiahao was puzzled, "Are you disinfecting the house with white vinegar? Have you run out of disinfectant? I have a few bottles at home if you need them."

Jiang Muyun admired his thought process, "I was making pickled radish according to a tutorial. Once it's done, I'll give you two a box."

It seemed like an early autumn heatwave, and Jiang Muyun felt the hot wave of air at the door. "Why don't you two come in and wait for a while? I'll take a shower and change clothes before we leave."

Zhao Jiahao, smelling the strong smell of vinegar in the house, didn't even want to stay near Jiang Muyun's door. "No, no, no. I can't handle sour food. Don't count me in. We were planning to take a shower at home too. Just let us know when you're ready through the group chat."

Jiang Muyun agreed and closed the door. She turned off the air conditioner, opened all the windows for ventilation, and took a quick shower. After drying her hair a bit, she was ready to go out.

Since she had cut her hair short, Jiang Muyun couldn't help but feel how convenient it was after each hair wash.

The three of them walked out the door feeling refreshed. Li Anxuan naturally brought several large shopping bags.

As an environmental destroyer who always forgot to bring their own shopping bags despite having them at home and had to buy plastic bags from the supermarket each time, even ordering a large quantity of plastic bags, Jiang Muyun felt a bit ashamed at this moment.

Instead of going to the nearest supermarket, the three of them went to a comprehensive supermarket that specialized in bulk shopping.

All five of them had big appetites. Not to mention the retired athlete and the two active firefighters, even Qin Shiwu, who appeared the most refined, had a larger appetite than the average person, aside from Jiang Muyun, who craved everything after being reborn.

After all, performing surgeries requires physical strength, and if their physical condition wasn't up to par, they might end up lying in the operating room along with the patients after a major surgery.

There was no need for discussion among the big eaters. They directly decided on the shopping location.

The packaged portions here were usually meant for ten people, giving a sense of satiety.

They piled up a bunch of marinated barbecue meat and skewers in a small cart, and they didn't skimp on various vegetables and fruits.

Zhao Jiahao and Li Anxuan didn't know how to cook and had no idea how much food these items would yield when cooked. 

Jiang Muyun, on the other hand, wanted to buy as much as possible. Since the other two households didn't cook, whatever was left after this meal would likely be stored in their refrigerators, serving as alternative provisions.

The three of them couldn't determine the exact quantities, so they had to seek help remotely from the other two.

Qin Shiwu only knew how to cook noodles, and Qin Shiwen's only specialty dish was a deep-fried small yellow croaker. She was responsible for measuring the batter and cleaning the scales, while Qin Shiwu did the actual frying.

So when faced with the request for assistance from the trio, the two of them were also quite perplexed.

So, when the self-reliant trio reached the fresh produce section, their conversation went something like this: "Do you eat this?"

"Eat and eat; take more.”

"Is this enough?"

"It’s for five people. Should we take one more box?"

"Okay."

Repeting cycle.

This might be a common problem for beginners. They bought each type of food based on the standard of "I think this portion is enough for me to be satisfied, so if five people eat it, I'll multiply the individual portion by five," without considering how much variety of food they actually had.

When they walked out of the fresh produce section and saw the cart full to the brim, they finally realized that they might have bought too much.

Jiang Muyun took another small cart and said, "The packaging boxes must be stuck together; that's why it looks full, right? And that bacon—such a big box—I wonder how many pieces of meat are actually inside."

Zhao Jiahao rummaged through the small cart, and every item was something he loved to eat. He said, "I think you're right. And I heard that they shrink after they're cooked. It looks like a lot now, but once they're cooked, there might not be much left."

The three of them reached a consensus, and the shopping continued.

Snacks go without saying—they were all in the largest packaging.

To prevent the few people who have not cooked much from starving themselves, Jiang Muyun also bought plenty of pre-cooked food that can be heated and eaten.

They even selected the largest packaging for various flavored instant noodles and biscuits.

The two families, who rarely cooked at home and relied on the company cafeteria and takeout for survival, highly praised Jiang Muyun's foresight.

Jiang Muyun mentioned that she had tents, awnings, tables, and stools, so besides food, they also needed to buy a barbecue grill and charcoal.

This was also the main reason for Jiang Muyun's organizing this gathering—to let her neighbors store some items for heating and cooking.

Zhao Jiahao had his eyes on a large barbecue grill, but Jiang Muyun stopped him.

Her reasoning was that none of them were delicate or petite. Even the largest barbecue grill sold in the store would only fit two people standing on each side. Otherwise, it would be cramped and waste charcoal.

It would be better to buy two smaller ones so that everyone could move comfortably.

Li Anxuan thought for a moment. Jiang Muyun, who was the smallest among the five, was still half a head taller than most girls in the supermarket. He thought Jiang Muyun made a valid point, and Zhao Jiahao was convinced by the two of them.

Jiang Muyun also suggested buying a few cartridge stoves and small pots.

Facing the puzzled looks of the other two, Jiang Muyun pointed to the instant noodles in the shopping cart.

Zhao Jiahao said, "Okay... okay, we should buy some."

Li Anxuan also fell silent for a moment and then said, "Should we buy a few more bottles of water?"

After all, they need water to boil noodles.

Perhaps it's very likely.

Jiang Muyun pondered for a moment and said, "Let Wu ge and Wen jie bring them back. They have a car, so it's convenient."

Since they were already cooking noodles, they might as well buy some hot pot bases and hot pot balls.

Zhao Jiahao happily chose the largest pack of beef balls.

They had bought the cooking utensils and ingredients, and now all that was left was the fuel.