Supermarket Shopping Spree
The romaine lettuce on the stall looked exceptionally vibrant, with leaves stretching upright and glistening with dewdrops, as if freshly picked from the ground. Next to it, the baby cabbage had finely dense leaves, looking even more tender. Tossing a handful into noodles would make them both delicious and boost vitamin C.
Lin Mo strode over quickly, pointed at the two piles of the freshest greens, and said decisively: "Boss, weigh these for me. I'll take all of them."
The stall owner, a sharp middle-aged woman, glanced up at the quantity she wanted, a flicker of surprise crossing her face, but it was quickly replaced by the shrewdness of a business opportunity. Whatever she was buying it for, as long as there was business, it was fine.
She deftly grabbed two thick plastic bags, loading the greens while praising: "Good eye, miss! These just arrived this morning—super fresh!"
Lin Mo asked: "Plastic bags aren't enough. Do you have a burlap sack?"
The older sister laughed: "Just use a few more, press them down, it'll be fine. Are you from the north, little miss? Not many people in S City buy vegetables like this." It had the vibe of buying cabbage by the sack in the north after winter began.
Lin Mo replied: "I drove today. I'm buying for a few neighbors too."
Hearing this, the stall owner quickly said: "We also have super fresh baby cabbage—great for stir-frying or hot pot. Want a few packs?"
"Sure, give me 10 packs."
One pack had three small baby cabbages; 10 packs would last a long time. Usually, for hot pot, she only used two.
Lin Mo made two trips to load all the vegetables into the car, which was now packed full.
"There's still room in the passenger seat." Since she was already there, she might as well buy more. Lin Mo circled around to the cooked food stall at the market entrance. The aroma of cooked meat hit her nostrils. She added ten catties of heavy braised fish, ten catties of oily poached chicken, ten catties of spiced beef, and ten pieces of crispy-skinned crispy duck.
These cooked foods were packed in sealed bags and stored in the freezer. When she wanted to eat, she could just microwave them. Except for the spiced beef, she had bought the others before, and the taste was guaranteed. Especially the crispy duck—when she had a good appetite, she could eat a whole one.
Back home, she carried everything into the living room. Checking the time, she figured the girl at the building materials store was at work, so she sent her a WeChat message with requests for shelves, a clothes rack, etc. Then she put the braised fish, poached chicken, fresh tofu, and frozen tofu in the dining room, ready to be stored in the fridge, while everything else went into the train space.
The large refrigerator in the dining room had five open shelves and two independent drawers. After putting in today's purchases, half the space was still unused.
While organizing, she noticed a promotional flyer stuck in the fridge, claiming the freezer could fit four whole-cut pork chops, 22 bags of dumplings, 66 catties of beef brisket, and 24 boxes of shrimp.
Remembering the cake and butter rice cakes she had put in the fridge earlier, she decided to move them to the freezer later. Locker space was precious; better to use it for fruits and vegetables.
With the flyer between her fingers, Lin Mo started mentally planning a new shopping list. The three-door shelves on both sides of the fridge were currently empty and could hold over twenty large bottles of drinks.
Thinking of this, she immediately opened the Dingdong and Hema apps and ordered 1L bottles of NFC orange juice, peach juice, apple juice, etc.—they could satisfy cravings and provide vitamins. She also added 10 boxes of frozen shrimp and 10 steaks.
The frozen shrimp could be boiled and eaten with vinegar; for the steaks, she chose ribeye and sirloin, thinking that occasionally pan-frying them with butter would be convenient.
This time, the younger sister replied a bit late: "Sister, we have shelves, folding ladders, and clothes racks, but they haven't reached the free delivery minimum yet. Do you need anything else? We can send them together."
Lin Mo thought briefly: "Then I'll take a good clothes rack, choose a high-quality natural wood one, preferably with a full-length mirror."
As the space expanded, she would definitely need a clothes rack, but buying too much would leave no place to put it. There was space in the middle of the first carriage, but storing supplies in the train might knock over the cabinet. Thinking it over, she added: "Sturdy plastic storage bins and a laundry basket can help meet the minimum."
"Got it! I'll send you a few photos to choose from~"
The younger sister quickly sent five or six pictures of clothes racks. Lin Mo chose a walnut wood one with outstanding texture—both aesthetic and practical.
"Fewer customers in the morning. If it's convenient, sister, I can have the delivery sent now?" the younger sister asked again.
"Okay, I'll be home before eleven."
After replying, Lin Mo put away her phone and climbed into the train. She first checked the Basic Locker. The vegetables inside were still fresh, leaves stretched and firm, exactly as when she bought them from the market, with no signs of wilting or yellowing. The system's preservation function was truly reliable.
Spices like chili peppers, scallions, ginger, and garlic, totaling ten kilograms, were neatly arranged on the shelves; dried tofu skin, bean curd sticks, and oil gluten were vacuum-packed and safe from moisture, also properly stored.
The first Basic Locker was half full. The seventy-plus catties of lettuce, romaine, and other leafy greens she bought today could continue to be stuffed inside.
She also moved the potatoes, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes—long-lasting vegetables originally on the shelf—into the locker. Once the heater was on, the carriage temperature would rise, so it was safer to keep them in the locker for preservation.
The ten newly bought napa cabbages and ten packs of baby cabbage were stuffed into the bottom grids of the locker. After pressing the leafy greens firmly, there was still a little space left, and she thought about adding more carrots.
But carrots had a certain earthy smell. However, they were rich in vitamin A. Well, when people get hungry enough, they'll eat anything.
Lin Mo simply opened Meituan. Though the price was a bit higher than at the market, the advantage was home delivery, saving effort. She directly ordered 5kg of carrots; when they arrived, the first locker would be completely full.
The second Basic Locker only had 5kg of fruit, and the remaining two lockers were still empty. Lin Mo stroked her chin, thinking that from now on, she shouldn't just go to the vegetable market—she should drive the van directly to the agricultural wholesale market.
That place was wholesale by nature; driving there wasn't conspicuous, and she could buy wildly. Unlike today, where buying too many vegetables had the elderly folks commenting and attracting attention. While organizing supplies, she added to her shopping list in her phone's memo.
She glanced at her watch; it was just past nine o'clock, still some time before the scheduled ten o'clock delivery of insulation cotton. Lin Mo grabbed her car keys and went out again to the daily necessities store at the neighborhood entrance. She added a bathroom no-drill shelf, a toilet paper holder, three large packs of hooks, and also bought a new mop, broom, and dustpan.
Under the shop owner's recommendation, she also added some small household items.
Back home, Lin Mo moved these small items into the train's bathroom and started arranging them. The originally empty 6-square-meter space instantly gained a lived-in feel.
Behind the metal door between the two carriages, she hung a row of hooks at different heights. In the far corner, she placed the mop, broom, and dustpan. A champagne-colored no-drill shelf was installed in the shower area, and next to the toilet, she placed a light blue double-layer toilet paper stand, with a fluffy toilet seat cover on top.
In the washroom, she laid down a sky-blue bear-shaped absorbent mat, contrasting nicely with the beige walls, adding a touch of playfulness. Although water and electricity weren't connected yet, it was already a tidy and cozy little space.
Just as she was nodding in satisfaction at the bathroom layout, her phone suddenly rang. It was the delivery guy for the insulation cotton and insulation coating, saying he had arrived at the neighborhood entrance. After the worker left, Lin Mo unhesitatingly decomposed all the insulation cotton and coating into insulation materials.
[Collected 153kg of train insulation materials.]
[Beginner quest completed! Reward: One set of constant-temperature thermal underwear.]
[Can consume 2kg of insulation materials to add 1 point of insulation to 1 cubic meter of carriage space.]
She selected the first carriage, chose to consume 144kg of insulation materials, and increased the carriage's insulation by 2 points, bringing the cumulative increase to 3 points. After use, only 9kg of train insulation materials remained.
Strangely, Lin Mo still didn't feel any temperature difference between the first and second carriages.
"Well, okay..." System functions always had their reasons; she'd check later. What intrigued her more was the constant-temperature thermal underwear. Seeing the blinking icon, she decisively clicked to claim.
The next second, a set of beige thermal underwear appeared in her hand, the fabric as soft as a cloud.