Chapter 2
The next day, the washing machine and dryer were delivered and installed. Seeing that his vehicle was only a small RV, the workers inevitably offered a few extra words of advice. After all, the space was already limited. Even for long-distance travel, there was no need for such large machines. They would only take up room and were not cost-effective.
Unless he was one of those travel bloggers who spent almost the entire year on the road. In that case, for convenience, installing a washer-dryer would make some sense.
But judging from Jiang Qingyu’s setup, he did not seem to be doing that professionally. The vehicle was not exactly new, and the space was rather small, so they could not help saying something.
A travel blogger… Jiang Qingyu had actually thought about it before.
When he was making plans before setting out, he had considered starting a travel blogger account, filming videos to record things along the way. He did not need to become very successful. Even earning a little extra money to improve his meals would have been fine.
It was just that camera equipment and the like would inevitably be another expense. After calculating it over and over, he still could not bring himself to buy any.
When he first set out, Jiang Qingyu did film a few videos with his phone. He fumbled his way through editing them and posted them online, but they received only a handful of likes.
Now, that idea had more or less faded away. After all, his most important task was to stockpile supplies and upgrade the RV so he could smoothly survive the apocalyptic natural disasters that were coming.
The RV was a little small now, but there would be chances to upgrade it later. Jiang Qingyu was not worried about the space at all. He smiled and chatted with the installation workers for a while, then gave them water to drink.
After the washer and dryer were installed, Jiang Qingyu first sorted out some of the clothes he had bought yesterday and put them in to wash.
Growing up by his grandmother’s side, he had picked up many habits from her without realizing it. New clothes had to be washed before they could be worn. This was also a perfect chance to test the machines. If there were any problems, he could contact the seller in time.
While the machines were running, he lay over the RV’s little table and started making a spreadsheet on the small laptop he had bought during his freshman year of college.
Stockpiling had to be done step by step!
The system had said that from here on, natural disasters would occur frequently and survival would become difficult. Under such circumstances, food and clothing were naturally the most important.
Yesterday, he had more or less taken care of “clothing.” If he passed by any suitable stores later, he could buy more.
Yesterday, he had exchanged almost all the points he had for money. After purchasing a large amount of clothing, those purchases were then converted back into points, and the total was even higher than before he had exchanged them for money. After going through this cycle, not only had he not lost money, he had gained enough backup clothes to change into. It was more than just a small profit.
Jiang Qingyu cheerfully exchanged another large amount of points for money and prepared to start buying food.
However, there was far too much homework to do when it came to food.
It was not like clothing, where spring, summer, autumn, and winter only involved so many styles and functions. At most, one only had to buy clothes of better quality that were comfortable to wear.
But food was different.
He had to spend some time on it.
First was staple food. Jiang Qingyu was not picky in this regard. Rice, noodles, steamed buns, flatbreads—he could eat them all, so he could simply stockpile rice and flour.
Jiang Qingyu had never bought rice in such quantities before. Based on weight, he divided them into two categories. One was medium-sized family packs, which leaned more toward quality and taste. The other was the super-large, luxurious fifty-jin bags, to be used as reserve grain.
Aside from these large packages, he also bought quite a lot of rice in different package sizes from various places of origin.
Facts proved that upgrading the space system first had been the wisest choice. It was simply too convenient for stockpiling. Even throwing in tons of grain was no problem at all.
The space would automatically expand as the amount of supplies increased, with no limit whatsoever. No matter how much he stuffed inside, it could hold everything.
Jiang Qingyu did not know what the differences were between rice from certain places of origin, so out of curiosity, he simply bought some of each.
There was also glutinous rice and millet. He stocked up on some of those too. If he suddenly wanted to eat them one day, he would have them.
As for flour products, he simply went to a flour factory to buy wholesale. He could even bargain the price down a little.
In addition, there were egg noodles, dried noodles, and even instant noodles. The owner also had a channel for handmade noodles, so Jiang Qingyu ordered a week’s worth. They would be made all at once and delivered to him.
The scent of flour was very pleasant. Jiang Qingyu stayed for a while and watched them pack everything. Suddenly, he really wanted to eat potato, tomato, and beef brisket noodles, so he took a detour to a nearby vegetable market to buy some fresh vegetables. While he was at it, he “scouted” the nearby vegetable markets and added the contact information of dozens of stall owners.
Meat was certainly delicious, but Jiang Qingyu also really liked tender leafy greens. Intake of all kinds of vitamins was essential, after all.
That night, he got his wish and ate a delicious bowl of beef brisket noodles.
After the tomato stems were cut out, the tomatoes were placed upside down in the pot. A little minced onion was added and simmered in the pot until cooked, then mashed into a puree to make the soup base.
The beef brisket was first stewed with scallions, ginger, and garlic. After it was taken out, he caramelized some sugar, coated the brisket with the caramel, added spices, and stir-fried it until fragrant. Then he poured it into the tomato soup base and added two tomatoes that had been frozen and peeled, making it easier for them to release their juices.
He used the original beef broth to stew the meat, making the flavor especially rich and mellow. Before it had even been stewing for long, the small RV was already filled with the warm aroma of food.
Jiang Qingyu folded the clothes he had just taken out of the dryer and put them into the wardrobe, then started the next load. After washing his hands, he went to take out the beef that had already cooled. This was for Meimei.
Meimei was a long-haired calico cat, one Jiang Qingyu had picked up when she was only a tiny thing.
It had been the first rain after autumn began. The temperature had suddenly dropped, and his thin hoodie had been completely unable to keep out the cold. He had also forgotten to bring an umbrella.
With both arms wrapped around himself, he had been rushing home with his head lowered when he heard the sound of a kitten crying from the green belt beneath his apartment building.
She had truly been so tiny, almost only the size of his palm. Her eyes were barely open, and her whole body was drenched. She did not seem to have much fur at all. It was as if that cry had already used up all her strength. After Jiang Qingyu held her in his palm, her voice became weak.
That night, Jiang Qingyu barely slept. Every so often, he had to get up and check on her. A huge cardboard box was filled entirely with his old clothes, so soft that the little kitten sank into them, lifting her head with great effort to suck warm milk from a syringe.
From such a tiny little thing, he had raised her into what she was now. Her tail was fluffy like a fox’s tail, a thick ruff circled her chest, her little belly was soft, her frame was sturdy, and her entire body was glossy and smooth. She was unbelievably beautiful.
To put it this way, even if Jiang Qingyu had to eat less himself, he would never let Meimei go hungry.
After the beef had cooled, he shredded it into thin strands and added egg yolk, pumpkin, and a little minced carrot, making a small plate of simple homemade cat food. Together with a small bowl of goat’s milk, this was Meimei’s dinner.
Before he called her, Meimei was lying on Jiang Qingyu’s bed, lazily swaying her tail. Even after smelling the aroma of food, she was in no hurry to rush over.
Only after Jiang Qingyu had prepared everything and called her name did Meimei slowly and unhurriedly get up. She raised her big fluffy tail and came over to eat.
Even the way she ate was elegant. She did not wolf anything down at all, and she was not picky either.
She ate for a while, then drank a couple mouthfuls of milk, pairing them very properly. In a very graceful manner, she finished her dinner completely.
After Jiang Qingyu washed her little bowl, wiped it dry, and disinfected it, he finally went to prepare his own “human meal.”
The hand-pulled noodles were very chewy. After they were cooked, he ran them through cold water, then soaked them in the thick tomato broth. The beef brisket came in large chunks. With a tiny sprinkle of chopped scallions and minced cilantro, a very beautiful bowl of tomato beef brisket noodles was ready.
After Meimei finished her food, she jumped onto the soft chair opposite Jiang Qingyu and washed her face. Her paw pads were soft pink. Jiang Qingyu took meticulous care of her and would even apply balm to them regularly to prevent cracking.
One ate noodles seriously, while the other washed her face seriously. The scene was extremely harmonious.
The broth was slightly sour and very appetizing. The beef brisket had been stewed until soft and tender, falling apart with a poke of the chopsticks. The fibers came apart strand by strand, soft, tender, and juicy. When stewing the meat, he had added small potatoes. They had become wonderfully floury and could be pressed into mashed potato with a spoon, then wrapped around the noodles and eaten together. It was extremely satisfying.
The dryer turned at an unhurried pace. A documentary was playing on the tablet on the table. Inside the RV, warm-colored light fell over his head, forming a faint halo.
The night was heavy with moisture, and the fog outside was thick. Jiang Qingyu had parked the vehicle at a campsite, but lately it seemed to be the off-season for tourism. There were hardly any people or vehicles staying there. He was the only one.
After finishing the noodles, he put the remaining ingredients into the refrigerator. Once he tidied up briefly, he went to take a comfortable hot shower.
Although the space inside the RV was not large, he had arranged it in an exceptionally cozy way. A small bed was covered with soft, pale-colored bedding. Just looking at it was enough to imagine how comfortable it would be to sleep on.
At the rear of the vehicle, which was beside the bed, there was a small skylight positioned slightly higher up. It was made of one-way glass, allowing Jiang Qingyu to look at the night view while still maintaining a certain degree of privacy.
Wearing his pajamas, he climbed into bed and let out a long breath, staring blankly at the small skylight for a while.
Meimei gracefully jumped onto the bed. She circled beside him, then sat down with a plop, wrapped her tail around herself, and rested her head on Jiang Qingyu’s shoulder.
Jiang Qingyu turned his head to the side and rubbed his cheek and ear against Meimei’s head. She was fluffy and very warm.
He emptied his mind for quite a while, then decided to pick up his phone and shop online.
He set the delivery address to a courier station at his next destination. As long as he calculated the timing well, he would be able to receive a pile of packages once he arrived there.
Of course, waiting a couple of days would not matter either. He could buy things nearby and stock up on more supplies.
Every place had different specialties and delicacies.
In the past, he had eaten the food cooked by his grandparents, the meals from his university cafeteria, and takeout. He had barely ever left Jiangcheng. Although the apocalypse was right before his eyes now, he still had the chance to see the scenery of other cities and eat the local foods of other places.
Since he now had some spare money on hand, he could finally buy some electronic devices.
He had to set up surveillance cameras. Right now, he had not yet fully bound himself to the space, and he often had to go outside and run around buying supplies wholesale. If someone noticed him and tried to figure out what he was doing, then rashly came over to inspect his RV, things would be terrible.
Meimei was still in the vehicle. He had to ensure her safety.
Fortunately, the exterior of this RV was not eye-catching. When parked at a campsite, it would not attract much attention either. If he installed two surveillance cameras in relatively obvious spots outside, anyone with bad intentions would have to weigh the consequences a little.
Once he started buying, things got out of hand.
Price, performance, comparisons between different brands—he also had to search other platforms for reviews and user experiences. Jiang Qingyu became completely absorbed. Halfway through, he was “woken up” once by the washer-dryer, so he went to change out another load of clothes, then came back and continued browsing and buying.
He fought on until past three in the morning. Meimei had changed into a posture with all four paws facing the sky, her soft, warm little belly just right for supporting Jiang Qingyu’s hand. After he finished placing another order, his phone showed a low-battery warning of less than ten percent. Only then did he notice the time.
But Jiang Qingyu did not hurry to put down his phone. Instead, he switched out, opened the interface of another shopping app, and stared at the pattern on the screen for a few moments. He bit his lip, then bought one of the season’s top-spec phones.
To be honest, the phone in his hand had already been used for more than four years. It did not have enough storage, ran sluggishly, and was not very convenient to use.
However, to him before, as long as it could still be used, that was enough. There was no need to insist on replacing it with a new and better one. The money he saved could be kept to take his grandparents on a trip.
But now…
Forget it. He would buy it.
After all, the world was about to end.
