Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

However, when the police investigated based on the license plate number, the feedback they received left him dumbfounded.

"Sir, the car you mentioned belongs to Zhonglian Supermarket, but the supermarket is currently closed due to an emergency, its assets are in disarray, and we cannot contact the responsible party. Moreover... police resources are strained right now, so this type of case is probably..."

The car owner held the phone, listening to the busy tone, looking at the terrible state of his beloved car, and then thinking about the supermarket truck that had long since disappeared and whose responsible party could not be found.

He felt a lump in his throat and almost passed out. He could only watch helplessly as his car turned into a pile of scrap metal, with nowhere to seek redress or compensation.

Xu Xiaoyan drove her small truck toward the highway toll station. In the distance, she could see a long line of vehicles ahead, their taillights flashing, forming a stagnant red river.

The loudspeakers in the direction of the tollbooth kept playing a cold, monotonous announcement:

"...Urgent notice: Due to a major traffic accident at K181+500 on the G25 Expressway towards Jinshi, emergency closure is required. The estimated reopening time is undetermined. Please be patient or take an alternate route..."

The highway is closed!

She barely hesitated before making a U-turn at the next intersection, breaking away from the almost completely still convoy.

She took out her phone's navigation app, reset the route, and chose a national highway that required a detour of more than three hours. Although it would take longer, at least it was still accessible.

After entering the national highway, she found that this road, which was originally relatively quiet, had become unusually busy.

All sorts of vehicles—cars, SUVs, even vans and motorcycles—were crammed onto the road, forming a slow-moving but continuously advancing flow of traffic, all heading towards Jinshi.

Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but wonder, why is everyone flocking to the gold market?

Is it simply because it's a bigger city? A strange premonition made her feel that things weren't that simple.

On a stretch of road where traffic was crawling along slowly due to oncoming traffic, she finally couldn't resist and cautiously rolled down the window a little.

In the adjacent lane was a dusty black SUV, with an obese, anxious-looking middle-aged man sitting in the passenger seat.

Through her mask, Xu Xiaoyan raised her voice and asked, "Big brother, could you tell me why so many cars are heading to Jinshi?"

The fat man, who was irritably looking ahead, turned around at the sound, sized her up, and perhaps thinking she didn't seem like a bad person, shouted back:

"Hey! You didn't know? There's a military base in Jinshi! I heard they're distributing rations. Just bring your ID and you can get some! It should last for a while!"

This news sent a chill down Xu Xiaoyan's spine; the troops had indeed taken action!

But before she could think it through, the man pursed his lips and added, with a hint of complaint and apprehension.

"But it's not that easy to get it! First you have to have your temperature taken. Damn it, if your temperature is even slightly high, you'll be taken away for quarantine immediately. Who knows where you'll be taken!"

What's even more outrageous is that they seem to have an online system for checking criminal records! They say if you have a criminal record, forget about getting anything; you'll just be arrested and locked up! This world…”

Xu Xiaoyan thanked the fat man for the information, and felt a little more at ease.

The presence of military control in Jinshi gives people a sense of security, at least indicating that social order there isn't completely chaotic.

However, as time passed, they were stuck in traffic for three hours.

The long line of cars was still moving extremely slowly. Due to the large number of vehicles and the narrow road, the speed of travel was slow to pick up, and the journey was only halfway complete.

The scenery outside the window gradually changed from open fields to clusters of villages, and the car slowed down again when passing through one village.

There was a courtyard by the roadside with a sign that read "Farmhouse Cuisine." A middle-aged woman wearing an apron stood at the entrance, waving and calling out to the convoy, "Lunch is served! Hot dishes and rice! There are seats inside!"

Beside her stood a handwritten signboard with prices marked in black marker: "Meat dishes are 100, vegetable dishes are 30, cash payment gets a 10% discount."

Some car owners couldn't stand the hunger, so they simply turned off the engine, got out of the car, and went into the yard to eat.

Some people rolled down their windows to look at the menu, shook their heads, closed the windows again, and muttered, "It's so expensive, I might as well eat bread."

Xu Xiaoyan glanced at the seemingly frozen traffic, and the feeling of emptiness in her stomach became more and more pronounced.

She realized that she had brought almost nothing but dry, unused items, and that there was still a long way to go.

Finally deciding to get out of the car for a hot meal, she opened the car door, and a cool breeze rushed in, bringing with it an enticing aroma of stir-fried dishes.

Xu Xiaoyan ordered a plate of vinegar chicken and a plate of stir-fried potato slices. Not long after, the owner came over with two heavy plates.

The plate of vinegar chicken was served in a wide-mouthed earthenware bowl. The chicken, with its rich, glossy dark brown color, was piled high and sprinkled with a handful of bright green scallions. The steam, mixed with the aroma of vinegar, ginger, and garlic, filled the air.

She roughly estimated that the portion was almost twice the usual amount in a restaurant. In this day and age, being able to buy such a substantial plate of meat for a hundred yuan is truly a bargain.

She shoveled down several mouthfuls of rice, quickly eating it along with the tangy, tender chicken, but her gaze unconsciously drifted out the window.

The long line of cars remained motionless, with no hope of getting through. A few bites of hot food dispelled the chill in her body and cleared her mind.

She suddenly remembered that although she had stockpiled a lot of supplies in her space, most of them were dry food and canned goods that could be stored for a long time.

Fresh, hot meals like these, with the aroma of a wok, are almost nonexistent. The road ahead is long and uncertain, and the situation in the gold market is unknown. Who knows when the next hot meal will come?

She put down her chopsticks, raised her hand, and called to the owner, "Boss, besides this vinegar chicken, what other meat dishes do you have here?"

The owner, wearing an apron, rattled off the dishes with ease: "Braised pork belly, braised pork ribs with potatoes, spicy diced chicken... all cooked fresh in large pots, the taste is absolutely amazing!"

"Okay," Xu Xiaoyan nodded decisively. "Then please pack three hundred servings of meat dishes for me, just these few kinds of dishes in rotation, each serving should be as generous as this vinegar chicken, and also pack three hundred servings of rice for me."

The owner was clearly stunned by the enormous quantity, forgetting to wipe the table with the rag in his hand. "How many? Three hundred portions? Miss, you're just one person..."

"The factory workers need to eat," Xu Xiao said calmly, but with an undeniable determination. "Please hurry up, I'll pay in cash."

The word "cash" seemed to have a magical power; the hesitation on the boss's face was instantly replaced by a fawning smile. "No problem! Cash will definitely give you a discount, a 10% off!"

Their conversation was quite loud, drawing surprised glances from diners at several nearby tables and people in cars parked on the roadside.

Some people whispered among themselves, while others openly sized up the rather young, single woman, their eyes filled with curiosity, doubt, and even a hint of scrutiny.

Xu Xiaoyan, however, seemed to be surrounded by an invisible barrier, completely ignoring everything around her.

She watched as the boss and his staff deftly divided the food from the large pot into individual plastic containers, sealed them, put them in plastic bags, and finally packed them into dozens of large red plastic bags.

She carefully counted the money and paid the bill readily.

Then, lifting the heavy bag, one trip, two trips, three trips...

She carefully placed all the lunch boxes into the trunk, and on the last trip, she secretly stored all the food in her storage space while closing the door!