Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Then there's instant noodles!

This can be eaten dry!

In the apocalypse, you can survive for a long time if you encounter a shortage of water and electricity!

The thought immediately popped into her head. As a warehouse manager, she knew very well that there were several large instant noodle production factories in and around Ning City, supplying supermarkets and wholesale markets throughout East China.

Instant noodles are easy to store, filling, and come in a variety of flavors, making them an excellent emergency supply.

By contacting the factory's sales department under the pretext of "purchasing goods for a newly opened small supermarket," and ordering a small but not excessive quantity of goods, no suspicion will be aroused.

Thinking of this, she immediately took out her phone and searched on Baidu for the contact information and addresses of those factories.

She quickly jotted it down in her memo; she needed to plan the most efficient "purchasing route."

Back home, Xu Xiaoyan turned on her computer and began creating a detailed purchasing list.

Food items include instant noodles of various flavors and brands, compressed biscuits, dehydrated vegetables, canned fruits, ready-to-eat dried beef, lamb, and pork, vacuum-packed rice, dried noodles, grains and oils, salt, sugar, nutrition bars, chocolate, bottled water, etc.

Daily necessities include toilet paper, sanitary napkins, toothpaste and toothbrushes, shampoo and shower gel, laundry soap, disinfectant, lighters, matches, candles, batteries, flashlights, etc.

Pharmaceuticals include cold medicine, fever reducers, painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, gastrointestinal medicines, bandages, gauze, iodine, alcohol, vitamin tablets, etc.

Also prepare some durable clothing, shoes and socks, raincoats, ropes, multi-tools, thermal blankets, outdoor stoves, gas canisters, candles, flashlights, solar power banks, crop seeds, etc.

Looking at the long list and the limited budget, Xu Xiaoyan felt the pressure. She had to be careful with her money and prioritize the essential survival supplies.

The next morning, she changed into a slightly more formal outfit to make herself look more like a small business owner.

Then she took the high-speed train directly to Ning City. She first went to the industrial zone and rented a small, remote warehouse for a short period of time using a pseudonym and cash.

Then we went straight to the first and largest instant noodle factory – SuShiJi’s factory in the suburbs.

Upon arriving at the sales department in the factory area, she calmly addressed the receptionist:

"Hello, I'd like to inquire about wholesale prices. I'm planning to open a small supermarket in town and would like to start with a batch of instant noodles to test the waters."

The sales manager was a little surprised to see that it was a young woman, but he didn't think much of it. He enthusiastically took out a price list and told her that each order could only be for a maximum of one thousand boxes.

When Xu Xiaoyan inquired about the reason, the sales representative only stated that it was a requirement from superiors. Without thinking much of it, she carefully examined the price list.

Pay close attention to the prices of clearance items that are nearing their expiration date or have slight wear on the outer packaging. Sure enough, these items are priced at only one-third or even less of the regular price.

"These are nearing their expiration date, and these boxes are a bit dented. Can you give me a discount? The new supermarket is planning a big promotion, and we want to buy a thousand boxes." Xu Xiaoyan tried to sound more experienced.

After a heated debate and haggling...

With her familiarity with the cost of goods honed in the supermarket warehouse and her sincere attitude of "small business, careful calculation", Xu Xiaoyan successfully ordered a large batch of near-expiry and clearance instant noodles of various flavors at prices close to cost.

The sales manager looked at the orders. Although the profit margin was as thin as a sheet of paper, at least the inventory had been cleared, so he readily arranged for the shipment.

"Deliver the goods directly to this address."

Xu Xiaoyan handed over a slip of paper with the address of a warehouse in the suburbs on it, and said in a natural tone, "It's a temporary warehouse I rented. The store is still under renovation. You can unload there."

For the next week, Xu Xiaoyan traveled with great efficiency between several large food factories and wholesale markets in and around Ning City.

They even secretly contacted some channel managers in large supermarkets who were responsible for handling near-expiry and damaged goods through previous work relationships.

She repeated almost the same process.

First, they clearly stated that they wanted to purchase the most cost-effective near-expiry products, clearance items, or surplus inventory.

His conversation revealed a basic understanding of the industry, but he also subtly portrayed the financial constraints of a novice, ensuring that the other party neither underestimated him nor hesitated to negotiate a lower price.

Then, when it comes to negotiating the price, she will carefully check the production date of the goods and the extent of damage to the packaging, and then accurately pick out the defects.

By combining leverage such as "preliminary purchases to test the waters" and "cash settlement," the price is gradually pushed down to the bottom line that the other party can accept.

Her expression constantly shifted between "really wanting to stock up" and "the price is too high, so I might as well give up," forcing the sales staff to lower prices to close the deal and clear out the inventory.

Once the price is agreed upon, she immediately finalizes the quantity, pays a deposit or the full amount, and decisively rejects the other party's suggestion to "bundle" other full-priced items, with an extremely clear objective.

Finally, regarding delivery, she insisted on the same requirement: to send all goods to a small, short-term rented warehouse in a remote location, explaining it as centralized storage to facilitate subsequent sorting and distribution.

Using this process, Xu Xiaoyan not only stockpiled a large amount of instant noodles, but also purchased all kinds of canned goods, dehydrated vegetables, ready-to-eat beef, lamb and pork jerky, self-heating rice, vacuum-packed rice, noodles and cooking oil according to the purchase list.

Each time, after the delivery trucks drove away, only she and the mountains of cardboard boxes remained in the empty temporary warehouse.

She carefully locked the door and made sure no one was watching before walking to the pile of supplies.

She took a deep breath, focused her mind, and scanned the pile of goods in front of her. The next moment, a magical scene unfolded.

Whether it was the cardboard boxes piled up to the roof or the heavy cases of water, they all disappeared silently in an instant, as if they had never existed.

The warehouse floor was now empty, with only the faint smell of cardboard boxes and food lingering in the air.

At the same time, in the gray space in her mind, images of neatly stacked supplies would instantly appear in the corresponding area.

She can even clearly "perceive" their existence, and with just a thought, she can extract any one of them at any time.

That temporarily rented small warehouse was like a bottomless pit that could never be filled, swallowing up massive amounts of supplies, yet it remained vacant.

After the temporary warehouse was vacated, Xu Xiaoyan took the high-speed train back to Xuan County.

She began using the remaining money to shop at various pharmacies, workwear stores, and outdoor equipment stores.

She bought other items on the list piecemeal, buying only small quantities each time to avoid attracting attention.

She also used her spare time to steam large amounts of rice and make three kinds of easy-to-carry foods: some were made into rice balls of various flavors, some were made into golden and crispy fried rice, and some were baked into hard rice crusts.

As the days went by, Xu Xiaoyan's space became more and more fulfilling.

Looking at the gray space in my mind, although it was piled full of various supplies, there was still half of it that was unsettlingly empty.

Xu Xiaoyan felt unprecedented financial pressure. Her 180,000 yuan in savings, which she had saved up for many years through frugality, had been completely wiped out after more than ten days of frantic shopping.