7: Rent a house

The father and daughter spent three days transporting just these vegetables. They moved them to a hidden spot outside the village, where Ai Yue put all the vegetables into her space. They would wait for an hour, return to the village to load another cart, and repeat the process.

During these three days, under the village chief's organization, the villagers slaughtered and packaged a hundred pigs, which Ai Yue also took into her space.

Next were eggs and milk. These items were consumed quickly, so Ai Yue bought three tons of eggs and five tons of milk.

These vegetables, meat, eggs, and milk cost Ai Yue a full nine hundred and fifty thousand yuan, enough for the three of them to eat as much as they wanted!

She also ordered three thousand chickens, ducks, and geese, all slaughtered and prepared.

After finishing the stockpiling in Shangjia Village.

Next, under the village chief's guidance, Ai Yue and her father went to a greenhouse base where fruit was grown. They each reserved two greenhouses' worth of strawberries, grapes, and watermelons—the quantity was so vast they could eat one and throw one away and still never finish them in their lifetimes.

However, having only three types of fruit was clearly not enough.

The city where Ai Yue lived was in the Central Plains region. To eat a rich variety of fruits, they had to head south.

"Dad, let's go to Y City. We should be back in about four days." She hadn't forgotten that she needed to go to H City in ten days to stockpile medicine.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Ai Guosheng nodded in agreement.

For fruit, the more the better. People in the Apocalypse would lack food and drink, everyone would be malnourished with many health issues. Many wouldn't die from the natural disasters but from diseases caused by malnutrition.

Upon arriving in Y City, the two of them grabbed a quick bite and started working. They couldn't go to supermarkets or fruit stalls because the quantities were small and the prices high.

After asking around, they finally found a fruit wholesaler. From him, they stockpiled ten truckloads of fruit at a price 40% below the market rate. Ai Yue basically stockpiled everything available on the market.

When it came time to pay, Ai Yue's heart ached as she saw another two million yuan vanish from her account.

As someone who had returned from the Apocalypse, she should have viewed money as dirt. Yet, for some reason, while she felt excited and thrilled during the shopping sprees, almost unable to stop herself, her strange emotions would surface the moment she had to pay—reluctance and heartache!

She knew that she had acquired this money specifically to spend it before the Apocalypse arrived, turning it into supplies. After all, once the Apocalypse came, paper money would be worthless and completely useless.

But she just couldn't bear to let it go. As she spent more and more, she developed the potential of a Grandet. She didn't have this problem in her previous life.

That feeling of being torn, where her emotions tried to stop her from spending money, was truly hard to understand!

Ai Yue was baffled; what was wrong with her?

She could only guess that she had been too poor before, so this quirk hadn't been triggered.

With one day left until her appointment with the Pharmaceutical Representative, Ai Yue had her father drive back while she headed straight for H City.

At this moment, she was constantly praying that she hadn't been scammed, hoping this Pharmaceutical Representative was truly capable and not a fraud.

Upon arriving in H City, Ai Yue fully disguised herself, even changing her behavioral habits. Even someone familiar with her wouldn't be able to recognize her.

Ai Yue didn't want to leave a single trace of her movements.

She rented a small truck online. When the driver arrived, Ai Yue negotiated with him to pay two hundred yuan to rent the truck for three hours. The driver readily agreed.

Ai Yue arrived at the meeting place with a nervous heart. To her surprise, the Pharmaceutical Representative she had been contacting by phone was also fully disguised and had been waiting at the agreed spot for a long time.

Seeing his suspicious appearance, Ai Yue momentarily wondered if the medicine might be fake.

The Pharmaceutical Representative was very straightforward, telling her to inspect the goods immediately and transfer the money if there were no issues, acting as if he were afraid of being discovered.

Every type of medicine had a barcode that could be scanned to verify its authenticity. Ai Yue didn't hold back and checked each one, finding that they were indeed genuine.

Seeing the other party's fully disguised appearance, she realized he was probably even more afraid of being found out than she was, and her heart suddenly felt at ease.

Ai Yue painfully settled the remaining nine hundred thousand yuan, loaded the goods onto the truck, and had the driver take it to a pre-selected spot. She told him to come back in the afternoon to take the truck away.

Once the driver was out of sight and no one was around, she put the thirty boxes into her space.

By then, it was mealtime. Ai Yue decided to splurge before the Apocalypse. She went to the most expensive local steakhouse and ordered three steaks—one for herself and two to take back for her parents to try.

After eating, seeing it was still early, she decided to browse a supermarket to see what she had missed. This check revealed many daily necessities she hadn't bought, such as oil, salt, and various seasonings. Buying these in bulk might be inconvenient here, and she didn't have a truck driver's license to drive on the road, so she decided against it.

Sitting in the truck, she continued shopping online, buying a thousand barrels of oil, ten thousand bags of salt, ten thousand bags of sugar, five thousand bottles of soy sauce, and a thousand bags each of oyster sauce, chicken bouillon, and various seasonings.

After buying the seasonings, her gaze fell on self-heating meals, instant noodles, and various pre-prepared dishes. These things were simple and convenient; she could just heat or boil them whenever she wanted to eat.

After finishing the purchases, Ai Yue rubbed her aching neck. Checking the time, she figured the driver would be arriving soon, so she put everything into her space except for her phone and ID card.

Carrying her backpack, she got out of the truck and waited by the front.

Not long after, the driver arrived. Ai Yue returned the truck and, without lingering, took a flight and quickly arrived home.

After she got home, Ai Guosheng pulled her aside and told her he had contacted a place that sold beef, mutton, and pork, and they were just waiting for her to come and pick it up.

"Mom, Dad, we've stockpiled enough food for now. We need to find a sturdy place on high ground to build our 'fortress.' The Apocalypse is coming in forty days. As for the meat, it won't be too late to get it after we find a suitable house," Ai Yue said.

"You don't need to worry about that. I haven't been idle at home. I've already set my sights on three places; I was just waiting for you to get back so we could go see them together," Li Shilan said with a smile, patting Ai Yue's shoulder.

Ai Yue's eyes widened instantly, and she happily hugged Li Shilan. "Mom is the best! Mom is so amazing! I love you so much!"

"Hehe, you, you're so old but still acting like a child." Mother Li hugged her daughter, happily stroking her hair and speaking dotingly.

Ai Yue puffed out her lips and said coquettishly, "I am your child!"

This made Li Shilan burst into laughter.

Watching this heartwarming scene, Ai Guosheng couldn't help but feel his eyes sting. Scenes of the Apocalypse flashed through his mind, giving him a sense of being in a different world.

After a short rest, the three of them found a Real Estate Agent and followed him to the first villa.

This villa was located in an affluent area with a beautiful environment and strong security. Almost every household had bodyguards. The occupancy rate was high, with almost no vacant houses. This specific owner was selling because the whole family was emigrating; it was only for sale, not for rent.

Most importantly, the distance between each villa was very far, which Li Shilan liked very much. However, it was a bit expensive—the total cost would be twenty million yuan.

The house was in the center of the community, and the surrounding houses were relatively dense.

Ai Yue followed the talkative Real Estate Agent, carefully observing the surroundings. She liked it here too, but she was a bit hesitant. First, the price was too high; second, there were many bodyguards here. These people would be too dangerous during the Apocalypse. When order collapsed and morality was lost, nothing would be able to restrain them. It would be very troublesome for Ai Yue's family to live near them.