Chapter 13
That afternoon, having finished purchasing the marine equipment, the little hamster headed off to explore a massive wholesale supermarket.
His older sister had also sent him a text message advising him to buy plenty of bar soap. Solid soap took up far less storage space than bulky bottles of shower gel and shampoo.
Reading her message, the little hamster couldn’t help but marvel, Sister really knows how to manage a household!
While he was still mindlessly grabbing items off shelves and stuffing them into his dimensional pouch without even stripping off the outer packaging, his sister had already calculated how to maximize every cubic inch of space.
Uncle and I can make do with bar soap, but I should definitely get something gentler for Sister.
Transforming back into his human form, Yu Xiaoyuan parked his car in the sprawling lot outside the wholesale club. He pulled out a small notepad and quickly jotted down his ideas.
Buy two master cases of soap. No, that would draw too much attention. He would start with one case for now, which held forty-eight bars.
The shampoo and body wash sold here were mostly packaged in six-liter commercial refill jugs, the kind typically supplied to hotels. Even so, the bottles were uniformly cubical—sturdy, compact, and designed to stack neatly without wasting space.
One look at the rows of square containers convinced Yu Xiaoyuan that the packaging was brilliant. It was practically made for a hoarding hamster to build neat, towering supply walls in his spatial pouch. Since the supermarket had laid everything out so conveniently, he had no reason to hold back.
He decided to make an initial haul today, then rent a dedicated warehouse after heading home tonight. Moving forward, all bulk orders could be delivered straight to the warehouse loading dock. He would hire a day laborer to sign for and organize the daily shipments, send the worker home at dusk, and then arrive after hours to sweep every last pallet into his spatial dimensions.
Like most big-box wholesalers, the front entrance opened into home appliances and seasonal clothing. The little hamster had no intention of hoarding appliances from the store. Once the apocalypse struck and the electrical grid failed, commercial electronics would be useless. He could simply pack up his home’s television and refrigerator before leaving; they would be handy once they gained access to a safe zone later on, and the appliances in his apartment were already top-of-the-line.
As for clothes…
Those are actually quite necessary.
His uncle and he typically wore high-end, tailored clothing that would look far too conspicuous and draw dangerous attention in the wastelands.
Yu Xiaoyuan wheeled a flatbed cart over to the apparel section and headed for the underwear aisle. He picked up large multipacks, each containing thirty pairs. Though made of breathable cotton, the fabric was fairly thin. In an apocalypse, however, having clean clothes to rotate through was more than enough. When choosing basic undergarments, his standards were vastly different from when he selected survival gear—practicality beat perfection every time.
He loaded ten packs of men’s size Medium and ten packs of Extra Large into the cart. The XL was for his uncle, who, being in his mid-forties, had developed a modest executive belly over the years.
Just as he turned to push the cart forward, a sudden impulse struck him, and he grabbed three packs of size Large as well.
The young man peered down at the plastic packages, pressed his lips together, and quickly rationalized the decision to himself: What if Uncle loses weight during the hardships of the apocalypse?
He shrugged, then boldly tossed seven more packs of size Large into the pile to make it an even ten. Besides, what if I hit another growth spurt and bulk up too?
The little hamster might be small, but his ambitions were boundless!
Sister needs undergarments too. But buying these cheap bulk packs for her probably wasn’t ideal. Then again, he had no idea what women preferred. Forget it—he would buy several sets anyway. If his sister disliked them, they could always trade them to other survivors for essentials later.
The packaging for these wholesale goods was remarkably minimal. The underwear, for instance, was simply wrapped in a single layer of clear shrink-wrap with a plain paper label displaying the size, piece count, and fabric blend. Yet they were incredibly cost-effective—twenty-nine yuan and ninety cents for thirty pairs, available in plain, neutral tones.
Finding the wholesale department so practical, Yu Xiaoyuan also picked up bundles of heavy-duty work gloves, high-grade mechanics’ tool sets, large hedge shears, a hydraulic car jack, and an assortment of claw hammers and steel punches. These hammers could serve as formidable defensive bludgeons while remaining indispensable everyday tools.
Nearby, he spotted sets of bowls made from molded wheat straw. They were lightweight, shatterproof, finished in muted earth tones, and dirt cheap. They were far more practical for life on the road than fragile ceramic tableware.
Yu Xiaoyuan picked up a bowl and gave it a firm squeeze. The structural strength is solid.
The little hamster in his chest nodded in profound agreement. Humans really are clever. They can turn leftover agricultural chaff into something so practical and eco-friendly!
He placed two full dinnerware sets into his cart. While wheat straw was great for travel, he also made a mental note to pick up several sets of stainless steel bowls and chopsticks for heavy-duty camp cooking.
Moving to the bedding aisle, he bypassed the pristine white hotel linens and asked an associate to retrieve darker sheets from the back. He selected six-foot king-size flat sheets; if a sheet was too large, it could always be folded down, but an undersized sheet couldn’t be stretched. Moreover, durable dark sheets and duvet covers had countless secondary survival uses, from improvised privacy curtains to makeshift stretchers.
The standard quilts on display were fairly mediocre, so Yu Xiaoyuan only tossed six into the cart as temporary backups. He planned to source high-grade goose down duvets for sub-zero temperatures and pure silk summer quilts later on; these cheap synthetic blankets were merely for baseline preparedness.
In a quiet corner aisle, he spotted emergency static safety lines, ABC dry-chemical fire extinguishers, and something he had never encountered before: water-activated emergency salt-water lights.
He stopped in front of the display, his eyes widening as he read the product description on the cardboard backing. “It lights up just by adding water?” What kind of magic is this?!
“Buy, buy, buy!” He had to get them! Leaving them on the shelf would be an insult to their very existence as disaster-relief supplies!
He tossed an entire eight-pack box into his cart, paused, and decided that wasn’t nearly enough. Knowing that power outages would become permanent after the cataclysm, he loaded two more master cases onto the flatbed before continuing his shopping spree, thoroughly satisfied.
There were so many essentials to collect. Passing the electrical hardware aisle, he caught sight of heavy-duty spools of insulated copper wire and immediately paused.
Turning back, he muttered under his breath, “These are definitely coming with me. High-gauge copper wire can double as heavy-duty binding cord, and its tensile strength is extraordinary.” Better yet, the thin spools were compact and easy to wedge into tight storage spaces.
This sprawling wholesale warehouse belonged to the commercial portfolio of the Mu Corporation, and Mu Feiyi happened to be conducting an on-site inspection that afternoon.
Several conservative board members had been lobbying to shut the location down or relocate it to the remote outskirts, clearing the prime plot for luxury residential development. In this provincial capital, real estate prices had skyrocketed in recent years, generating lucrative profit margins that tempted many branch factions within the family.
Mu Feiyi, however, had no intention of following that path. At the very least, he would not touch this parcel for the next five years. While e-commerce and modern logistics had eaten into retail margins, the supermarket’s steady operational cash flow was stable enough to hold out for at least three more years.
His strategic plan was to overhaul the store into a high-end, membership-based supermarket offering direct-to-door premium logistics, rigorous quality assurance, and bespoke family sourcing. The location sat right on the outer belt of the central district—accessible, vibrant, and barely five hundred meters from a bustling transit station. Pivoting to an upscale membership model required minimal capital outlay. Real estate development, on the other hand, was an entirely different beast; the current footprint was too narrow on its own.
To build a viable residential high-rise, the group would have to acquire and demolish the adjacent legacy neighborhood. Because that district was zoned for elite primary schools, the acquisition cost was already hovering at seventy-eight thousand yuan per square meter. With municipal regulators whispering about dismantling school-district zoning privileges entirely, Mu Feiyi viewed the development plan as a financial minefield.
More importantly, the Mu family’s liquid reserves were currently stretched thin. Outsiders saw the Mu Corporation as an untouchable commercial empire, but the aging patriarch was growing increasingly senile, stubbornly scattering operational control among rival branches instead of consolidating executive authority. Dealing with these internal headaches often left Mu Feiyi with a cold, exasperated fatigue, occasionally tempting him to purge the board entirely.
“Chairman Mu, as you can see, our wholesale inventory covers a wide variety of domestic standards, and our quality control for industrial hardware—such as electrical wiring—is second to none,” the store manager explained with evident pride.
Taking a utility knife from an associate, the manager stepped up to a display shelf. “Take our entry-level utility wire, for example. I’ll slice the PVC casing open so you can see for yourself.”
He stripped the protective jacket cleanly away. “Solid oxygen-free copper straight through to the core. Even with aggressive e-commerce competition, our physical club retains deep commercial loyalty because our procurement never cuts corners. Independent contractors still order directly through our corporate portal for this exact reason.”
Mu Feiyi took the exposed wire, inspecting the clean metallic cross-section with quiet approval. Both the general manager and the head of procurement had been personally vetted and promoted by him, and their professional integrity was beyond reproach.
“Well done,” he remarked smoothly, preparing to hand the sample back.
Suddenly, a messy, fluffy head squeezed straight between them from below. “Huh?”
A youthful voice asked, “Which grade is this one?”
Mu Feiyi paused, mildly startled by the boy who had popped up between his elbow and the store manager. The young man had slipped in at a remarkably narrow angle.
It wasn’t that the customer was deliberately intrusive; he was simply petite compared to the two men. Both the store manager and procurement director were towering figures from the Northeast, standing well over six feet two inches tall, whereas this slender youth barely brushed five-foot-seven. Having been crouched on his heels digging through the bottom rack, he had been completely hidden from view until he stood up.
The manager blinked, quickly recovering his customer-service smile as he pulled a fresh spool from the upper rack. “This is the one right here, sir.”
“Oh, thank you! The shelf is a bit too high for me. Could you grab six full spools and drop them in my cart, please?” Yu Xiaoyuan requested with utter naturalness, lacking even a shred of hesitation.
The store manager felt a wave of helpless amusement at the boy’s easy familiarity. Chuckling softly, he obliged and transferred six heavy spools onto the flatbed cart.
Yu Xiaoyuan turned around to voice his appreciation, only to freeze when his gaze landed on the tall man standing beside the shelf.
It was the very same human who had scooped him up by the apartment entrance and ruthlessly kneaded his cheeks!
“Oh! It’s you!” Yu Xiaoyuan blurted out. His cheek muscles still remembered the soreness from that relentless cheek-rubbing session.
Mu Feiyi looked down, his deep blue eyes cool and unreadable. He offered a polite, distant nod, maintaining his customary aristocratic composure. He clearly did not recognize the human face before him.
“I’m Yu Yuanzhou’s nephew,” Yu Xiaoyuan explained with a bright smile. “My little hamster really likes you!”
In truth, the little hamster genuinely liked this human quite a bit; otherwise, a proud spirit beast would never have allowed a mortal to cradle and pet him for so long without biting back.
“Here, take this~”
Yu Xiaoyuan fished around in his jacket pocket, pulled out a clean, plump little peanut, and pressed it directly into Mu Feiyi’s hand. “This is for you. Remember to come visit the little hamster whenever you have free time~”
Mu Feiyi stared down at his open palm. Resting against his skin was an exquisite little roasted peanut, perfectly shaped, bearing two distinct kernels inside—just like the one left behind in his pocket yesterday.
By the time he looked up, the slender young man was already wheeling his heavy flatbed cart toward the checkout lanes. He showed no intention of clinging to Mu Feiyi’s status or making awkward small talk, behaving entirely as though he were merely delivering a gift on behalf of his pet hamster.
He’s… rather endearing.
Mu Feiyi lowered his gaze, his fingers curling gently around the small peanut.
Turning slightly to the store manager, he said in an even tone, “Put everything in his cart on my personal account.”
He wasn’t entirely certain whether that fleeting impression of ‘endearing’ belonged to the chubby, remarkably patient hamster who had let him stroke its velvet fur without scratching, or to this eccentric young man who insisted on handing out roasted peanuts in his pet’s honor.
Unable to tell the difference, Mu Feiyi slipped the small peanut into the breast pocket of his suit jacket, intending to place it beside the first one once he returned home.
“Understood, Chairman Mu.”
