Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

"Speak," Xu Xiaoyan prompted.

The man looked around again to make sure no one was paying attention to them, and then said, "I saw you carrying five big bags out."

Xu Xiaoyan felt a pang of anxiety, but she didn't show it on her face.

The man continued, "I just happened to see you selling snacks here again. Those things—" He gestured with his chin toward the market, "are not the kind of goods you can get from the supply point."

He paused, looking into Xu Xiaoyan's eyes. "You were brought down from outside, weren't you?"

Xu Xiaoyan didn't say anything.

The man didn't press further, but simply nodded, as if confirming his own judgment.

"You can call me Lao Zhou," he said. "I'm a spy in the black market."

Xu Xiaoyan was stunned for a moment.

black market?

Probe?

A hint of wariness crept into her eyes.

Old Zhou seemed to read her mind and waved his hand, "Don't be nervous. The black market isn't as scary as you think. It's just that we dare to sell things that the authorities won't sell."

"Oh, you want to sell my goods, right?" Xu Xiaoyan asked.

"Yes, I see you've brought in quite a lot of stock, which means you're short on inventory. I also saw you sold a lot today. I figured you can't just keep selling and never bringing in anything, right? You'll have to restock eventually."

Xu Xiaoyan did not respond.

Old Zhou continued, "I know some channels, not the kind of limited-purchase supply points, but genuine sources—"

"Rice, flour, cooking oil, daily necessities, medicine, and even some prohibited items—as long as you can afford the points, we can get them for you."

He lowered his voice and said, "My job is to connect you with sellers. If you want to buy something, I can help you find a seller. I take a 5% commission, and you only pay me after the transaction is completed."

Xu Xiaoyan stared at him, her mind racing.

She had indeed heard of the black market, but had never had the chance to access it; she never expected it to come to her so readily.

"Five percent commission?" she asked.

Old Zhou nodded. "Yes, I'll take five percent of the total price of what you buy."

He paused, then added, "Of course, if you buy something of high value, such as a purchase of goods worth thousands of points at once, the commission can be reduced to one percent, and for tens of thousands of points, it can be negotiated further."

Xu Xiaoyan was silent for a few seconds, then asked a crucial question, "The black market you mentioned, shouldn't it be a marketplace? How did it become a one-on-one connection between you and me?"

Old Zhou sighed, looked around, and lowered his voice even further, "It used to be a market, with two fixed locations. It would open at night and be bustling with people, but it's not like that anymore."

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"The authorities are cracking down hard," Lao Zhou said. "It's been just these past few days. There are problems with the supply channels, and the authorities are afraid that people will become unsettled, so they are arresting people everywhere who are 'spreading rumors'."

You know those guys who posted on the forum, right? They got arrested. The black market is in even worse shape; someone reported them a few days ago, and they were all raided overnight.

He shook his head. "In this situation, who would dare to take risks? That would be suicide. So many surveillance cameras have to go out on the streets and meet people one-on-one. It's slow, but it's safe."

Xu Xiaoyan stared at Lao Zhou and asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll report you and you'll get arrested for coming out looking for someone like this?"

Old Zhou gave a wry smile. "Of course I'm scared. How can I not be? But even if I'm not scared, I have to work. My whole family is waiting to eat. If I don't go out and find work, who will support them?"

He moved closer to the entrance of the passage to make himself more concealed. "Besides, I know what I'm doing. I only approached people like you with clear eyes. I looked at you for a while before deciding to come over and talk to you."

Xu Xiaoyan didn't speak, but she was making plans in her mind.

Black market, surveillance cameras, commission, source of goods.

These things were too far removed from her original life. At first, she just wanted to live quietly in the dungeon, sell some snacks, accumulate some points, and live her own little life.

But now, with problems in the supply channels and purchase restrictions at the supply points, and no one knowing what will happen to Area B in the future, she feels that she should stockpile more supplies while things are still peaceful.

Xu Xiaoyan looked at Lao Zhou and asked, "What can I buy there?"

Old Zhou's eyes lit up. He took out a small notebook, about the size of his palm, from his pocket, opened it, and handed it to her.

The notebook was filled with dense writing, the handwriting was very messy, but the categories were fairly clear:

"Grains: rice, flour, cornmeal, millet, beans..."

"Oil products: cooking oil, diesel, gasoline..."

"Canned goods: meat, fish, fruit..."

"Daily necessities: laundry detergent, toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrush..."

"Medications: cold medicine, painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, bandages..."

"Others: batteries, candles, lighters, knives..."

Finally, there is a line in bold: "Special items require advance booking; prices are negotiable."

Xu Xiaoyan gasped as she looked at the list.

The items listed here are much more complete than those at the supply points.

Especially medicines; the supply points occasionally have some commonly used medicines, but I heard they are always snapped up very quickly.

Seeing that she was looking closely, Old Zhou lowered his voice and said:

"There are some things here that you can't buy at the supply points at all, like anti-inflammatory drugs, which you need connections to get. But here, as long as you have points, anything is negotiable."

He paused, then added, "Of course, the price will be a bit higher than at the supply points, but these are special times, a higher price is better than not being able to buy anything at all, right?"

Xu Xiaoyan returned the notebook to him and asked, "How do we trade?"

Old Zhou said, "If you have something you want to buy, tell me, I'll find the seller, negotiate the price, and arrange a time and place for you to trade in person. Once the transaction is complete, you'll give me a cut."

Of course, if you don't want to reveal your identity, I can also act as a middleman and transfer points between you two.

"How can I trust you?" Xu Xiaoyan asked.

Old Zhou looked at her with a complicated expression. "If you don't believe me, there's another way. I'll give you a website address."

Once you log in and enter the referral code I gave you, you can see everything inside. However, I need to act as an intermediary in the transaction process; otherwise, the transaction cannot be completed.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded and didn't say anything more.

Old Zhou wasn't in a hurry. He put the notebook away, took out a small piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it to her. The paper had a website address and a line of numbers on it.

"You can place your order at this website," he said. "I will get involved in the subsequent transactions; if you need to contact me, you can also contact me via private message. My phone is on 24 hours a day."

Xu Xiaoyan took the note, glanced at it, and put it in her pocket.

Old Zhou looked around and then lowered his voice, "By the way, things are getting tense lately, so be careful. Don't take out all the stock you have at once; sell it in batches."

Also, don't trust forum posts too much; many are phishing posts.

After he finished speaking, he nodded to her, turned around, and walked into the alley.

Xu Xiaoyan stood there, watching his figure disappear into the depths of the alley.

She stood there for a moment, then turned and walked towards her car.

Back in the car, she started the engine and slowly drove out of the market.

If you enjoy stories about surviving the apocalypse by stockpiling supplies, please bookmark: Apocalypse Stockpiling Survival Story