Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

She looked inside, her gaze sweeping over the rows of shelves.

The metal shelves were placed against the wall, and they were filled with things, but it was completely different from the "supermarket" she had imagined.

There were only a few kinds of food. On the shelf near the door, there were neatly stacked dry biscuits in transparent plastic bags, through which you could see the grayish-white biscuit surfaces.

Next to it was rice, not bagged, but scattered in several large plastic buckets, with notes on the buckets that read "rice" written in marker.

Beyond that were soybeans, the woven bags were open, revealing the yellowish-brown beans inside.

There were also starch sausages next to it, scattered in a cardboard box. She hadn't seen these in a long time; she had forgotten to stock up on them when she was hoarding supplies before.

There were also canned oranges and canned yellow peaches piled up next to them, looking quite tempting.

Next to it were small packages of dried sea buckthorn, bright red in color.

That's all.

But on the other side, she turned her head and looked at the room next door.

There was much more food than there was to eat.

The electric fans were stacked against the wall, covered in dust. There were table fans and floor fans, all kinds of brands, some new and some old.

Some looked quite new, with shiny plastic casings, while others were much more worn out, with crooked mesh covers and black stains on the fan blades.

The batteries were also stacked haphazardly, small in size, and printed with various trademarks.

Next to it were power banks, packed in a cardboard box. The box was open, and you could see the colorful power banks crammed together inside, some still in their packaging.

On the counter were handheld game consoles, Famicom, and even a dusty PSP with a black casing covered in scratches.

Flashlights were the most numerous, all kinds of sizes, plastic-cased, metal-cased, headband-style and handheld, piled up haphazardly in a cardboard box.

There were also batteries scattered in a plastic basin, No. 5 and No. 7 mixed together, making it impossible to tell the number.

Xu Xiaoyan stood there, looking at these things, not knowing what to say for a moment.

They ate very little, but used all sorts of things.

What can you do with mobile game consoles these days? You can't eat or drink them, they don't even have electricity, are you just going to use them as bricks?

But she didn't say anything.

There were a few people picking out things ahead of her, so she stood behind them waiting, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

Then she saw the notice board on the wall. It was white with black lettering, printed, and the edges were a little curled up. It was stuck to the wall with transparent tape. The lettering was quite large and could be seen from a distance: "Food items are limited to 5 kilograms per person per week."

Xu Xiaoyan stared at those words, stunned for two seconds.

She suddenly understood why those people ahead of her had taken so long to choose.

Five kilograms sounds like a lot, but if you convert it to actual rice, five kilograms is ten jin (5 kg). How long would that be enough for one person? If you eat it sparingly, it would last ten days to half a month.

But if you switch to dry biscuits, those things weigh a lot, and five kilograms doesn't amount to many pieces.

If you use soybeans instead, how many bowls of porridge can you make?

If you replace it with starch sausage, it would only be a few dozen pieces.

If there's a limit, then you have to be careful with your spending.

The old lady in front of me was bending over, staring at the bucket of soybeans for a long time. She reached in, grabbed a handful, put it down, grabbed another handful, and put it down again.

The sales clerk standing next to her didn't rush her, but just leaned against the wall and waited.

Next to the old lady was a middle-aged man, who was looking at the dried biscuits.

He picked up a bag, weighed it in his hand, put it down, then picked up another bag, weighed it again, frowned, and muttered to himself, seemingly calculating something.

Further ahead, near the door, stood a young couple, whispering to each other.

The woman pointed to the canned goods on the shelf, and the man shook his head. The woman then pointed to the sausages, and the man still shook his head. Finally, the woman sighed and said nothing more.

Xu Xiaoyan stood behind and saw all of this.

She remembered what the people on the road had said: the military only delivers small quantities at night. In other words, if there are these things today, there might not be any tomorrow; if you don't buy them today, you might not be able to buy them next week.

She took two steps forward, and now there were only two people in front of her. The old lady finally picked out the soybeans and walked shakily toward the door, carrying a small cloth bag.

The soldier typed something into the computer and said "Next" without looking up.

The middle-aged man was still holding the dry biscuits when he heard the shout, so he hurriedly picked up a bag and went over.

Xu Xiaoyan's gaze slowly swept over the shelves. She had plenty of food, but she still needed to buy something. Since she was already there, it would be too conspicuous to leave empty-handed. Besides, she also needed to test the rules about collecting things.

She looked up at the saleswoman, who was weighing dried biscuits for a middle-aged man. After weighing them, he made a note on the computer and said, "Three pounds and eight ounces, next one."

The middle-aged man walked away carrying the pancakes.

Xu Xiaoyan took a step forward and stood in front of the counter.

"Um," she lowered her voice, "I wanted to ask, do you... take things in?"

The woman paused her typing and looked up at her.

"I'll take it," she said in a flat voice, "but it depends on what it is."

Xu Xiaoyan felt relieved, reached into her backpack, and then placed "this" on the counter.

The woman looked down and saw a red tin box, about the size of a thumb, with the words "Cooling Oil" printed on it. Next to it was a line of smaller print that read, "Cooling and refreshing, preventing heatstroke and clearing the mind."

The woman picked it up, looked at it from all angles, then opened the box and peeked inside. The small, round tin box was still full.

"This..." The woman looked up at Xu Xiaoyan, "How much do you have?"

Xu Xiaoyan was stunned for a moment.

"I only brought one box with me right now," she said. "Let's see what I can exchange it for."

The woman nodded, closed the box, and put it aside. Then she glanced behind her and lowered her voice, saying, "This stuff is in short supply right now. It's so hot, and many people are suffering from heatstroke. It's very useful."

She paused, then added, "One box can be exchanged for one water ticket."

"Do you have solar panels here?" she asked directly.

The saleswoman was tidying up the items on the counter when she heard this. She paused for a moment, then looked up at her.

"Solar panels?"

"Hmm," Xu Xiaoyan nodded. "I want to use an electric fan in my room, but I don't know when the power will be available. I was thinking of getting one myself to use first."

She spoke in a low voice, as if afraid of being overheard. In fact, the people in line behind her were too far away to hear what they were saying, but she still subconsciously lowered her voice.

The saleswoman looked at her, paused for two seconds, and then shook her head. "That's a scarce item; it's not for sale to the public."

"Not even small pieces?" she persisted.

"No," the saleswoman continued to shake her head. "The army itself doesn't have enough."

Xu Xiaoyan didn't speak, she just nodded.

Seeing her expression, the saleswoman added, "But if you're just using the fan—"

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