Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

He leaned closer to the car window and explained, "Miss, the public parking systems in different districts are not interconnected. If you book a parking lot in the East District, they will recognize it there, but not here."

He paused, then continued, "Furthermore, even if you pay the monthly fee for the residential parking lot in the South District, you still have to pay extra to enter the South District market. The systems are different. This area is under the jurisdiction of the South District Chamber of Commerce, which is not the same as the residential parking lot."

Xu Xiaoyan nodded somewhat helplessly after hearing this.

She had heard that the South District Market had many rules, but she didn't expect it to be so complicated. The residential parking lot was one system, and the market was another. The two systems were not interchangeable, and she had to pay money from both.

She looked up and said to the guard, "Never mind, I'll just drive in."

The man nodded, not at all surprised, probably having seen this kind of choice many times before. He walked back to the guard post, pressed some button, and the red and white railing slowly rose up.

"Go in," he poked his head out and called to Xu Xiaoyan, "You need to be clear about the fee that starts as soon as your car enters this market. The red tent at the front is the management office. Go there and ask where to park, and they will arrange it for you."

Xu Xiaoyan waved to him, stepped on the gas, and drove in.

The small truck slowly drove over the railing and entered the territory of the South Market.

As soon as she entered, the noisy sounds immediately surrounded her, making her ears ring.

She slowed down and drove carefully into the car.

The passageway was very narrow, with stalls on both sides, and only enough space for one car to barely pass through in the middle.

She had to be careful not to brush against the stalls or bump into anyone.

Someone was walking in front of her car and only slowly moved aside after hearing the horn.

Some people were squatting by the roadside picking things up, not even looking up, completely ignoring the cars coming by.

She could only move inch by inch, driving slower than she walked.

As she drove, she observed the stalls on both sides.

The vendors were all busy. Some were grilling skewers, turning them over and over, with smoke rising. Some were shouting, yelling at the top of their lungs, "Come on, come on, cheap, cheap!" Some were haggling with customers, going back and forth, arguing until their faces turned red.

The customers were all different; some were picking things out, picking up this to look at, putting it down, and then picking up that to look at; some were eating, walking and eating, their mouths greasy; some were chatting, standing by the roadside talking animatedly.

We drove until we saw the red canopy.

Xu Xiaoyan parked the car next to the shed, turned off the engine, got out of the car and walked into the shed.

There were three long tables under the shed, with some forms, registers, and several tablets piled on them.

Three people were sitting behind the table, two men and one woman, all wearing the same gray uniforms as the guards at the door.

One of the younger men was swiping on a tablet, while the middle-aged man leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, and the woman was drinking water from a thermos.

Hearing footsteps, the woman looked up.

She was probably in her forties, with short hair, a round face, and small but bright eyes. She put down her thermos and looked Xu Xiaoyan up and down.

"Is this your first time here?" she asked.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded. "Yes, it's my first time. I want to find a place to set up a stall."

The woman said "oh," picked up a tablet computer from the table, and swiped her fingers across it a few times.

"What do you sell?" she asked without looking up, her tone indifferent.

She began by saying, "Potato chips, shrimp chips, preserved plums, and some other snacks."

The woman looked up at her, her face expressionless. "That's all?"

"That's all," Xu Xiaoyan confirmed.

The woman nodded and continued swiping on the tablet.

Xu Xiaoyan stood there, waiting.

After about half a minute, the woman looked up and said, "Vehicles are charged based on time, with a management fee of 0.2 points per hour."

She paused, looking into Xu Xiaoyan's eyes. "This fee is collected as soon as you enter the market. Whether you sell anything or not, as long as your car is parked inside, it's charged by the hour, understand?"

Xu Xiaoyan nodded. "I understand."

The woman hummed in agreement and tapped a few more times on the tablet.

"Those selling from car can only park in the right half of the area," she pointed outside the shed. "Drive over there, see that blue sign? That's the right area. The left half is for people without cars, for street vendors and those pushing carts, it's all over there."

Xu Xiaoyan glanced at the finger she was pointing at, then nodded.

The woman took a small, palm-sized sign from the shelf next to the table and handed it to Xu Xiaoyan. The sign was made of plastic, yellow, and had a string of numbers printed on it: 269.

"This is your designated parking space number," the woman said. "It's randomly assigned by the system. Drive in, find number 269, and park there. Don't park in the wrong place."

Xu Xiaoyan took the sign and looked at it.

The sign is very light, with a plastic feel and slightly rough edges. The three numbers 269 are printed very clearly, and there is a line of small print below: South District Market Management Office.

She looked up and nodded to the woman, saying "Thank you."

The woman waved her hand, picked up her thermos again, and lowered her head to drink water.

Xu Xiaoyan took the sign, opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, placed the small yellow sign on the dashboard, then started the pickup truck and slowly drove towards the right half of the area.

Once inside, she realized that the layout here was much more organized than the left half of the area.

Straight lanes extend outwards, with neat rows of parking spaces on both sides, each with a number in front of it.

The stalls are right next to the parking spaces, with one stall for each parking space. Each stall is a simple folding table with a canopy on top and a light hanging underneath.

Some stalls were already occupied, while others were still empty.

Xu Xiaoyan slowed down the car and searched for number 269 as she drove.

Number 56, 57, 58... The numbers are consecutive, starting from 1 and going forward. She drove slowly past, her eyes scanning the numbers on the posts.

There are far fewer stalls here than in the left half of the area, but each stall is quite large, unlike the crowded area over there.

The stall owners weren't as busy as they were over there. Some were slowly arranging their goods, some were sitting there playing on their phones, and some were simply lying on a folding chair taking a nap.

She drove all the way, and when she got to number 200, she finally saw number 269.

It was a row of cars further in, not too far forward but not too far out either. The parking spaces were empty, and the folding tables under the canopy were also empty.

She slowly backed the car into the parking space, turned off the engine, and pulled the handbrake.

She opened the car door, got out, and walked to the front of the stall.

The stall wasn't big, only about two meters long and one meter wide. The folding tables were old, but the canopy was quite sturdy, made of blue waterproof cloth, supported by iron frames at the four corners.

On the horizontal bar below the lampshade was an incandescent light bulb, covered by an iron cover.

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