Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

The young man's voice was filled with obvious eagerness. His gaze was drawn to the small cart, which was covered tightly with a gray cloth, as if by a magnet. His eyes were so intense that they seemed to be able to see through the thick cloth and see what was inside. "You brought... everything?" He swallowed and his voice was a little tight with excitement, asking for confirmation cautiously.

Seeing his emotions so openly displayed, and his voice unconsciously rising, standing out starkly in the bustling market, Xu Xiaoyan quickly raised her hand, putting a finger to her lips in a clear and urgent "shush" gesture. At the same time, she glanced left and right, lowered her voice, and said in an undeniable tone, "Young man! Keep your voice down! Don't flaunt your wealth! Do you want to attract everyone's attention?"

The low shout was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, jolting the young man, who had been blinded by elation, back to his senses. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, a hint of fear flashing across his face. He nervously looked around to make sure the commotion hadn't attracted the attention of nearby vendors or passersby before letting out a long sigh of relief and patting his chest with lingering fear.

He dared not raise his voice any further, but nodded vigorously, and then tacitly helped Xu Xiaoyan, one on each side, to laboriously pull the small cart, which seemed particularly heavy at the moment, from the relatively crowded passageway to a relatively secluded corner behind his stall, formed by several empty baskets and a pile of miscellaneous items.

As soon as the cart was parked, the young man, unable to contain his eagerness, trembled and abruptly lifted a corner of the cover! When the cart bed was crammed full, almost overflowing, and neatly stacked like a small mountain of square instant noodles, his breath caught in his throat, his eyes widened instantly, pupils dilated, and he stared blankly, as if frozen in place, unconsciously muttering, "You really...you really brought...so much..."

The overwhelming surprise left his mind blank. Almost instinctively, he reached out and picked up a packet of instant noodles from the top. It felt like the familiar plastic packaging, and it was perfectly intact.

He examined the packaging as if it were a priceless treasure, turning it over and over, his fingers tracing the patterns and words on the packaging. However, when he habitually, almost instinctively, turned his gaze to the production date and expiration date on the side of the packaging, the ecstasy on his face froze instantly, as if he had been frozen in place.

He blinked, seemingly unable to believe it, then leaned closer, almost touching the packaging with his nose, carefully confirming it word by word.

A few seconds later, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Xu Xiaoyan, who had been standing quietly to the side. His face was full of astonishment and disbelief, and his tone was full of hesitation and uncertainty, even a hint of anger at being deceived. "Big...big sister...this...this production date seems...wrong? This...this has expired?!" He waved the instant noodles in his hand, his voice distorted due to the intense emotional fluctuations.

Xu Xiaoyan seemed to have anticipated his question, showing no sign of panic, not even a twitch of her eyebrows. Instead, a gentle, even reassuring smile appeared on her lips. "Young man, don't rush. The expiration date is just a number printed on the bag, but whether the product is good or not depends on the actual product. Open the package, smell the bread carefully, and see if it smells rancid. You'll know then, won't you?"

Seeing the other person's skeptical expression, she continued patiently, her tone carrying a nonchalant air of nonchalance: "Although theoretically these noodles are over twenty days past their expiration date, instant noodles are produced through high-temperature frying and dehydration, making them extremely dry. They are also sealed in packaging. As long as the storage environment isn't particularly harsh, they are actually quite durable. The expiration date marked on them is often just a very conservative reference, meant for people who are particular about quality in peaceful times."

She paused, her gaze sweeping meaningfully over the noisy crowd, each person's eyes gleaming with the primal craving for food. Her tone held an almost unwavering confidence. "Believe it or not, even if I stood up right now and openly declared that my instant noodles were expired, if the price was right, the sheer number of people rushing to exchange them would crush my little stall instantly! In a pinch, this is a lifesaver—you can just tear open the packaging and eat it dry, enough to keep you full for half a day! It's so much more convenient than raw food that requires fire and water!"

As the young man listened to her clear and reasonable explanation, his doubts and anger were gradually replaced by persuasion. He hesitated for a moment, but decided to verify it himself. He did as she said, carefully using his fingernail to pick at the serrated edge of the packaging bag, and with a "rip," he tore open the plastic packaging of the instant noodles in his hand.

The expected musty smell from oxidized oil didn't appear. Instead, a familiar, dry and enticing aroma, unique to instant noodles, filled with the aroma of roasted wheat flour and mixed seasoning powder, instantly wafted over and filled his nostrils!

The taste was so authentic, so...normal! He couldn't help but lean closer and take a deep breath. The long-lost aroma of the food almost made his eyes well up with tears.

He then carefully examined the exposed flatbread in the light filtering through the gaps in the stall—it was golden and even in color, without any signs of blackening or mold, and its texture was dry and crisp. When he gently pinched it with his fingers, it made a soft "crack" sound, and it was in perfect condition!

All the doubts, hesitations, and unease on his face vanished without a trace at that moment! Almost frantically and with an almost clumsy eagerness, he carefully stuffed the already opened, fragrant packet of instant noodles into the inside pocket of his coat, and even pressed it down firmly.

After doing all this, he relaxed completely. He leaned closer to Xu Xiaoyan and said in a very low and fast voice, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Little sister! I was blind! I'm so ignorant! This thing... this thing has no problems at all! It's perfect!" He gave her a thumbs up and shook it vigorously.

He quickly peered around, his tone becoming urgent and cautious. "But you're right, sister, don't flaunt your wealth! This temporary market is crowded and chaotic; you can find all sorts of weirdos here! Having such a huge pile of instant noodles here is too conspicuous. I need to push this cart home quickly, close the door, and carefully count each package to make sure I'm not worried!"

He pointed to his now-empty stall where he used to display sausages, then to the still-heavy bag of oranges that Xu Xiaoyan had pawned to him, and quickly arranged, "I see you haven't finished exchanging these oranges yet, have you? Perfect! You can use this stall for now! Set it up however you like! I won't charge you! Consider it a thank you! As for the sausages," he pointed to the sausages that Xu Xiaoyan had already gathered to one side, "you can keep them safe, they're all yours! Once I get home and count them to make sure every bag is accounted for, I'll be right back! Then our transaction will be completely settled!"

After saying that, without even waiting for Xu Xiaoyan's response, or rather, he didn't care to wait for a response at all, he grabbed the handle of the cart, adjusted its direction, and pushed the cart away quickly towards the city gate of the base.

Xu Xiaoyan stared at his retreating figure, which disappeared as quickly as if fleeing a crime scene, for a moment, then shook her head helplessly.

She withdrew her gaze and began to deal with the matter at hand. First, she carefully gathered all the sausages left behind by the other party together. Then, she took out several spare thick plastic bags from her backpack and divided the sausages into several small portions. Under the cover of the backpack, except for the three best-looking sausages that were kept as samples and left untouched in the backpack's inner compartment, the other sausages that had just been divided were quietly transferred into her spatial storage.

In the most prominent position on her stall were about thirty or forty oranges she had just taken from a sack. Imitating the other stall owners, she cleared her throat and tried calling out to the sparse crowd, "Fresh oranges! Juicy and sweet! Trading for dry food! Trading for food that keeps well—!"

Her voice was initially a bit hesitant and reserved, and her volume wasn't loud. In the noisy and bustling market, it wasn't particularly outstanding and was even somewhat drowned out.

After shouting for a while, my throat was getting dry, and I finally attracted two or three customers. They were mostly middle-aged women with haggard faces and simple clothes, or mothers holding timid-looking children in their arms.

They gathered around the stall, their eyes filled with scrutiny and curiosity as they looked at the oranges. Some reached out, picked one up, and carefully squeezed it, feeling the elasticity and thickness of the peel. They then brought it to their noses to smell the fresh fruity aroma, their faces showing interest and a hint of longing.

"Hey girl, how do you want to exchange these oranges?" A middle-aged woman with a faded old headscarf and wrinkles etched on her face asked first, her gaze shifting back and forth between the oranges and Xu Xiaoyan's face.

Xu Xiaoyan said, "Auntie, I mainly want to exchange for some solid, filling dry food, like the kind of flatbread you have here, or similar cornbread or multigrain steamed buns." She made her needs clear.

The woman looked down at the black pancake in her hand, which was practically useless and offered no profit whatsoever, then glanced at the juicy oranges on the stall. Her throat bobbed involuntarily; she was clearly tempted.

But haggling was almost an instinct ingrained in her bones, especially in times of scarcity. A troubled look appeared on her face as she began to complain, "Oh, sister, I'm not trying to be mean, but these oranges look pretty, but they're just a snack. They'll make you sweet for a while, but they won't keep you full! Look at these cakes of mine, they're made from real grains. They may not look pretty, but one piece can keep you full for most of the day! How about I trade a cake this big for three pounds of oranges?" She gestured with her hand to indicate the size of the cake, offering a clearly low price.

Xu Xiaoyan noticed that the other two women who were also watching nearby, although they did not speak, conveyed a similar message in their eyes: they both only wanted to exchange the most ordinary, even somewhat rough and unpalatable, dry food in their hands for it.

Xu Xiaoyan knew perfectly well what was going on, and couldn't help but sigh softly. No one would be willing to exchange real hard currency for a moment's pleasure. What they were willing to exchange was always the relatively minor or least desirable part of their reserves in their value system.

"Alright," she smiled helplessly, choosing to face reality. "Let's switch according to the ratio you mentioned. Every little bit helps. It'll enrich our food choices and give us a change of pace." She tried to sound as relaxed as possible, as if she didn't care too much about the gains or losses.

She adjusted her mindset and stopped insisting on exchanging for specific, high-value items. As long as the other party offered food that was actually edible and could replenish basic energy, whether it was dry, hard grain cakes that needed to be soaked in water for a long time before swallowing, rough and sore cornbread that provided carbohydrates, or even a handful of poor-quality beans, she nodded and agreed to the trade. Even a small amount was better than something that would rot in her hands or be impossible to carry back.

And so, through her constant shouting and compromises, the scattered oranges on her stall were gradually sold off, like ants carrying food, in exchange for some odds and ends of low quality but enough to fill her stomach. She carefully sorted and stored away what she had acquired.

About half an hour later, just as Xu Xiaoyan was getting hoarse from shouting and was about to take a break, the young man from the sausage stall, pushing his now-empty cart, emerged from the crowd with light steps and an undisguised satisfied and relaxed smile on his face, and called out to Xu Xiaoyan from afar:

"Hey girl! Busy? Wow, you're exchanging your oranges pretty quickly!" He walked closer to the stall, glanced at the half-bag of oranges left on Xu Xiaoyan's stall, and some mixed grain cakes piled up next to it, and said with a smile, his tone more familiar and enthusiastic than before.

He walked up to Xu Xiaoyan, a look of satisfaction on his face after accomplishing something important. He lowered his voice, but said with certainty, "I carefully counted the instant noodles when I got home. One hundred and twelve packs, not a single one missing! Sister, you really are something!" He gave her a thumbs up again, sincerely praising, "Straightforward! Trustworthy! Doing business with you is a pleasure!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Xu Xiaoyan's face and the remaining oranges on her stall. His eyes darted around as if he were plotting something. Suddenly, a mysterious expression appeared on his face. He leaned closer to Xu Xiaoyan, almost whispering in her ear, and then, with a hint of pride and a desire to show off, he gently tugged at her sleeve, saying in a barely audible voice, "Come, come, little sister, I think we hit it off. You're a really good guy! I... I'll show you something nice! Consider it a thank you for this big sale, and also a way of making friends!"