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Facing the young man's shocked gaze, Tao Sai smiled and nodded, "Yes, they are all mine."
The young man scratched his hair in despair, turned back to the shelves, and began searching through the items one by one. There was a long line at the counter, and the men and women behind Tao Sai glared at her with resentment, finally reluctantly switching to another line.
There are still quite a lot of packages that have not arrived, but those that arrive first will be taken away first to avoid more piles later. After all, Zhou Ning and his friends spent more than 700,000 yuan on online shopping.
Tao Sai loaded the packages onto the carts one by one, very experienced in following the principle of small first, large later, heavy first, light later. After all three carts were filled, they were firmly tied with rubber bands to prevent the packages from falling off during the pushing process.
Unfortunately, not all the packages were loaded this time. Tao Sai had underestimated the size of the shelf parts. If he had known earlier, hiring a cargo tricycle would have saved both effort and trouble.
Tao Sai asked Lin Yan to stay where she was and guard the packages temporarily piled on the ground. She took An Nan and Lan Xiaojia, each pushing a cart back to the ship to unload the goods. Two more trips should be enough to move all the goods.
The cement road on the shore had been in disrepair for a long time and was full of potholes. The cart was bumpy all the way and the pile of packages was on the verge of falling down several times. Tao Sai was quick to protect it and finally transported it back to the berth safely.
After the wooden bridge was laid, they began to unload the goods. Liang Yuanzhou saw them coming back and got up from the stool to help.
The heaviest package, of course, was the one hundred sets of shelf parts. Each set was packed in a long, flat cardboard box, weighing over ten kilograms.
Lan Xiaojia tried to move it, but she couldn't lift a single box. Even An Nan, who had been practicing track and field since childhood, had difficulty lifting a box.
The wooden bridge was too narrow and swayed constantly with the ups and downs of the ship. Worried about their safety, Tao Sai simply asked them to carry the light, small packages. She herself activated the skill [Charge], stacked six or seven boxes at a time, and easily stepped onto the wooden bridge and jumped onto the deck.
With the combined efforts of four people, in less than ten minutes, all three loads of parcels were moved into the large empty warehouse. It took another hour, and the other two loads were moved in just as quickly, so that the parcels piled up together, almost forming a small mountain.
Looking at this small hill made up entirely of daily necessities, a full sense of security arises spontaneously.
Tao Sai uninstalled [Charge] and replaced it with [Gravity Adaptation]. He relaxed his muscles and stretched his bones. He didn't feel tired at all.
The task of unpacking the packages was left to An Nan and the others, as this was the girls' favorite part. Tao Sai pushed the cart back to the berth owner.
The fat man sat in front of his shop, shirtless and in his flowered shorts. The TV on the wall was playing the news, and his face became serious. He didn't even notice when Tao Sai pushed the cart in and returned it to him. He was completely focused on the TV screen, muttering, "It's serious..."
Tao Sai put the cart away, stood up and looked at the TV screen.
In the picture, the female news anchor reported seriously:
"Focusing on natural disasters, as of now, a total of 6 provinces and 27 cities in my country, including 3 large cities such as Nanzhou, are suffering from unprecedented disasters, with the cumulative number of people affected reaching 37 million.
…
Experts say the vast majority of affected areas in China are located along earthquake fault zones, primarily in the Hengduan Mountains and along the eastern coast. The insects are found in cracks in the Earth's crust, likely originating from the mantle. They are emerging from the rift valley at an alarming rate, forming a swarm that is spreading further.
…
The emergency command center is about to complete the construction of a temporary rescue base. It is reported that the temporary rescue base will be centered on the Yangtze River and equipped with large, medium and small vessels to transport disaster victims to safe areas by water.
…
The central government has issued important instructions, urging rescue workers to use every possible means and race against time to save the lives and property of the people from the clutches of death. "Our heroes and our sons and daughters, united as one, will surely overcome all difficulties."
During the broadcast, shocking images from disaster sites across the country were constantly switched: the devastating insect swarms, people and cars being devoured, the deadly silent cities, and the victims who had half their arms "melted" by the insects and were in excruciating pain...
"Oh my God!" The fat man jumped onto the chair and squatted with his head in his hands, looking terrified.
Compared to the berth owner's shock and fear, Tao Sai was much calmer. What she had experienced in her dream or "previous life" was no less relaxing than the scenes on TV.
Having regained his life, Tao Sai saw things clearly. In the face of this disaster, the most useless emotion was fear, and the resulting retreat or resignation. No matter what, one must save oneself; one's destiny must be in one's own hands.
After returning the cart, Tao Sai met Zhou Ning and her daughter who were returning from the vegetable market next to the berth.
"Didn't you buy vegetables?" Tao Sai asked doubtfully.
Zhou Ning and Li Yinzhu each carried two large bags, but Tao Sai didn't see any green leaves in the transparent plastic bags.
"Taotao, I can't afford it!" Zhou Ning said helplessly, "The price has gone up! Cabbage has gone up to 150 yuan per catty. I discussed it with my mom, and the price of meat has also gone up, but it's much more cost-effective to sell it. Meat can be frozen and stored for several months without any problems, but vegetables can't be kept in the refrigerator for more than half a month."
Tao Sai nodded in agreement. Their idea made sense. They would hardly get any meat at sea.
They bought a total of 8 pounds of pork belly, 5 pounds of spare ribs, 5 pounds of tenderloin, two chickens, a duck, and a rabbit. Considering the large number of people on the boat, they wanted to buy more, but they were squeezed out by the people in the queue behind them.
But these alone cost almost nine thousand yuan.
"More than 9,000 yuan, and only bought this little. Oh!" Li Yinzhu sighed, feeling a little distressed.
"Mom, please stop talking," Zhou Ning consoled her. "We have to spend all the money now. If we don't, we won't have another chance."
She understood the logic, but seeing her hard-earned money go to waste was like a needle piercing her heart. But it was better than having it forever just a string of numbers in her bank account; that made her feel better.
Tao Sai had expected the skyrocketing prices, especially for daily necessities like food. In the past, whenever there were signs of a disaster or rumors, there would be old men and women frantically stockpiling goods, not to mention that this insect swarm disaster had now spread across the globe.
Moreover, we are still in the early stage of the apocalypse, and you can still buy the items you want at dozens of times the price. When it develops to a certain point, the monetary system will completely collapse, and money will become real waste paper.
Tao Sai fully understood Aunt Li's feelings, but the most urgent thing was to spend all the money. Even if the things he bought now were not very practical for him, he could use them to barter with others later.
Near noon, Zhou Weixing finally came back after being out for most of the day. He had basically completed the tasks that Tao Sai had assigned him.
Merchants from the electronics mall used a small truck to deliver two large double-door refrigerators and two large-capacity freezers. Zhou Weixing had measured the area of the open utility room in advance and found that four were enough. More would not be able to fit, and the ship's power generation equipment might not be able to be powered.
He also called in a craftsman to install a marble countertop and integrated stove in the open kitchen, and bought four large LPG tanks (they came with the tanks). Tao Sai was a little worried about how to refill them when they ran out, but he knew there would always be a way out.
The refrigerator, kitchen counter and integrated stove were all carefully selected by him after extensive research, and he didn't spend any extra money.
Tao Sai knew very well that although prices had skyrocketed, so far they were concentrated on necessities such as food. Other goods that were not closely related to survival would not only not increase in price, but would instead experience price reductions to varying degrees.
The reason is easy to explain. The owners of these goods want to sell the goods quickly and then use the money to exchange for food.
When Li Yinzhu heard that the refrigerator and stove were bought at a very reasonable price, her depressed mood immediately became better.
With everyone's joint efforts, all the packages in the large empty warehouse were opened. Most of them were sealed foods with a long shelf life. Tao Sai arranged to put them all in the storage room under the rest cabin. The food she and Zhou Ning had bought online before was also placed there.
This storage room is used to store various sealed foods, and the warehouse management work is entrusted to Aunt Li Yinzhu.
Aunt Li readily accepted. Li Yinzhu, a former librarian, was an expert at categorizing things. She planned to create a table to keep track of all the food items. Then, based on shelf life and nutritional balance, she would plan the delivery of each meal each day, ensuring that every package of food was eaten before its expiration date, without wasting a single piece of bread or a single can of food.
When Tao Sai heard this, he couldn't help but give Aunt Li a thumbs up.
Considering that the variety and quantity of food they purchased online were too large, Tao Sai arranged for Lin Yan to assist Aunt Li.
The one hundred boxes of supermarket shelf parts have not been unpacked yet. Tao Sai is not in a hurry to assemble them. She observed that the shelves are at a certain height on the deck. According to the planned arrangement, placing 50 sets on the deck would be too conspicuous. After digging up fertile soil, she would slowly assemble and plant them at sea. There would be plenty of time.
A few technicians installed the countertop and integrated stove and then left. The refrigerator and freezer were also moved next to the kitchen. Zhou Weixing bought several sets of power strips with plenty of sockets and long cords, which were more than enough.
As soon as the big refrigerator was turned on, Li Yinzhu was afraid that the meat would be left outside for too long, so he quickly put four large bags of meat into the freezer of the refrigerator.
Aunt Li and Grandma Zhou are very satisfied with the brand new kitchen counter and integrated stove. The countertop is at the perfect height, so they don't have to bend over to wash, pick, or cut vegetables. The range hood has a powerful suction, so they won't choke on chili oil fumes. Cooking and frying are very smooth and easy to operate.
Aunt Li was so happy that she took out a large piece of pork belly from the refrigerator and fried it into a spicy and delicious Hunan stir-fried pork.
But the other dishes were nothing new.
Shredded potatoes with green peppers – I've had this dish for two days now, and today is my third meal. Seaweed egg drop soup – I've had it three times in a row. Scrambled eggs with green peppers – my second meal.
This is the fact before us. There are only a few ingredients in the kitchen, and we can’t eat fresh vegetables.
Tao Sai silently ate up all her food. It didn't matter to her. She had experienced the cruelest situations, and as long as she had something to eat, it was fine.
But for ordinary people, eating the same thing all the time can lead to nutritional imbalances and eventually boredom. Just like when she played the game "Insect Tide," simply feeding her character nutrient solution from the [Mall] might fill her stomach for a while, but over time, it would inevitably lead to frustration, a decline in mental state, and even depression.
Tao Sai thought that he had to find a way to get some fresh ingredients from somewhere.
"Hey! Come here quickly!"
Lan Xiaojia suddenly shouted excitedly at the other end of the deck in a very high-pitched voice. She had just finished her meal and left the table early.
Lan Xiaojia was usually a quiet and gentle person, rarely showing any major mood swings. Tao Sai immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks, ran over with a serious expression, and the others followed closely behind.
"What's wrong?" Tao Sai walked up to her and asked.
"Sister Sai, look!" Lan Xiaojia pointed to a plastic storage box near the edge of the railing.
Tao Sai walked over step by step, looked at the dark soil in the box, and didn't see any changes.
It was not until she got very close and squatted next to the box that she could see the tender sprouts tightly attached to the surface of the soil, like tiny hairs.
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