Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 298 Top-Tier Purchase

She turned on her phone and logged into the local forum for the dungeon.

On the homepage, several posts are highlighted in red.

Does anyone know why the West District supply point is closed today?

"Is there a problem with the supply of goods? We couldn't buy rice yesterday."

"The price at the North District transfer station has increased; a bag of flour now costs one more point."

She clicked on the last item and scrolled down.

The original poster's post was short: "Just came from the transfer station. A 20-pound bag of flour cost one more point than before. The station manager said it will increase again this afternoon. Does anyone know the inside story?"

The replies below have already flipped through two pages.

Some people say, "The supply points in the West District are also out of stock, but I clearly saw them loading and unloading goods, but they just wouldn't sell."

Some people said, "I heard that there was an accident on the transport route above, and it's blocked."

Some people said, "What incident? I heard that someone intercepted the supply of goods."

Some people said, "Don't spread rumors. How could something this big not make a sound?"

Xu Xiaoyan looked at these posts, her finger hovering over the screen for a while, but she didn't reply.

She closed the forum, opened the navigation, and entered "North District Transfer Station".

The navigation system shows that it is 23 kilometers away, about a 20-minute drive.

She stepped on the gas, and the car drove out of the supply point's parking lot.

There were more cars on the road than in the morning. Several trucks were coming from the opposite direction, and there were also some private cars driving at a leisurely pace with their windows closed, so the people inside could not be seen.

As Xu Xiaoyan drove, she kept an eye on the scenery along the roadside.

Some people set up stalls on the roadside, selling secondhand goods, clothes, shoes, pots and pans, you name it; some people squatted by the roadside smoking, staring blankly at the passing vehicles; a few children chased and played at the alley entrance, their laughter echoing in the passageway.

Upon arriving at the North District transfer station, she found more than a dozen vehicles parked in the open space, including trucks, vans, and some private cars. People were walking around, talking, and unloading things from the vehicles.

Xu Xiaoyan found an empty spot, parked her car, got out, and walked over there.

As she got closer, she found that the place was more lively than she had imagined. There was a queue of about a dozen people, men and women, at the entrance of the transfer station, all carrying various bags and boxes. At the end of the queue was a window, where people were handing things out.

She moved closer to the line and peered inside.

Inside the window was a shelf filled with all sorts of supplies—rice, flour, oil, canned goods, vegetables, fruits, instant noodles, toilet paper, laundry detergent… much more complete than what she had seen at the supply point in the East District.

But she also noticed a whiteboard hanging next to the window, with a few lines written on it in marker:

"Purchase limits are as follows: rice and noodles: 50 jin; oil: 2 bottles; canned food: 10 cans; instant noodles: 30 packs; vegetables: 80 jin; fruit: 50 jin. Prices are subject to change and no bargaining is accepted."

As she was looking around, a middle-aged man in the line turned around, glanced at her, and then turned back away.

Xu Xiaoyan asked, "Hello, can we only purchase goods based on what's on the whiteboard? I remember there were more items on the list than just these."

The man gestured towards the whiteboard with his lip. "You're new here, aren't you? A shopping list, my foot! Everything is rationed. Want to buy more? No way."

Why are there purchase limits?

The man sneered, "Why do you think that is? There aren't enough goods." He lowered his voice, "I heard there was an accident up there. There will only be fewer and fewer goods in the future. You're lucky if you can buy some today. You might not even be able to get in the door tomorrow."

Xu Xiaoyan's heart tightened. "What happened?"

The man shook his head, remained silent, and his eyes held a hint of unfathomable mystery.

At this moment, the line moved forward a little, and Xu Xiaoyan looked towards the window, where a woman in a plaid shirt was paying her points.

She handed over her vehicle's small metal license plate, which was swiped on a machine inside the window. The person then pointed the camera at the woman's face and handed the license plate back. Next, rice, oil, and canned goods were handed out through the window. The woman took the items, put them in her bag, and turned to leave.

Xu Xiaoyan recalled the posts on the forum, those messages that usually seemed like rumors, but now they were clearly in her mind. If possible, she should buy up the full amount for this month, because who knows how things will develop.

She looked up at the expressionless staff member in the window, at the neatly stacked supplies on the shelves, and at the people waiting silently in the queue. She took a deep breath, walked to the back of the queue, and joined the line.

The line moved forward very slowly, and with each step she took, she could get a better look at what was happening through the window. Finally, it was her turn.

She walked to the window and handed the small metal plate inside.

The staff member took it and typed a few words on the computer: "What do you want?"

Xu Xiaoyan thought for a moment, "All the shares of this car that can be bought."

The man nodded and said, "Then I'll provide you with everything you need according to today's maximum purchase limit. Are you sure you want to use your entire monthly quota?"

Xu Xiaoyan confirmed, "Yes."

The staff asked her to stand in front of the counter and face the camera, saying, "The system will deduct 233 points from your account."

Xu Xiaoyan was stunned. Heavens, does a month's purchase quota require so many points?

Her heart was bleeding, but she could only grit her teeth and swallow it. She would never pretend to be rich again; at least she should look at the list before speaking!

"Um, I'd like to ask, what's included in the monthly allowance?"

The staff member glanced at her, his eyes expressionless. "The whole package was pre-packaged. I don't know anything about it. It's just food and other necessities. You can open the package and see for yourself."

Xu Xiaoyan's throat moved, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything.

She took the small metal tag, glanced at the five large bags, the outer packaging of which was a thick woven bag, tightly sealed, and neatly stacked.

Xu Xiaoyan bent down and tried the weight of the first bag—it was very heavy, extremely heavy.

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and hoisted the bag onto her shoulder. The sharp edges of the woven bag dug painfully into her shoulder blades. She gritted her teeth and walked step by step toward the parking spot.

One trip, two trips, three trips.

In three separate trips, she carried all five large bags back to the small truck.

After putting her things away for the last time, she leaned against the side of the carriage, panting heavily. Her shoulders were burning with pain, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She raised her arm to wipe them away, then climbed into the carriage and closed the door.

Xu Xiaoyan squatted down and began to unpack the package.

The first bag was the heaviest. She untied the drawstring, opened the bag, and found two transparent plastic bags inside, one containing rice and the other containing cornmeal.

She picked them up and weighed them; the rice weighed about 50 jin (25 catties) and the cornmeal about 50 jin (25 catties).

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