Agricultural Wholesale Market
What kind of deadly calamity required such high-tech protective gear? Was the constant-temperature thermal underwear not enough? Could the falling snow contain a lethal corrosive that ordinary protective clothing couldn't resist? But even a knife couldn't cut through...
The more she thought about it, the more horrified she became. Lin Mo's back broke out in a thin sweat. Perhaps she had still underestimated the disaster forewarned by the system.
As she was distracted with uneasy thoughts, she suddenly sensed something off. Usually, by this time, the system would have chimed with a new task, but it had been a while without even a hint of a task prompt.
"Forget it. Stocking up is what matters." She would only feel secure with supplies in hand.
The entrance to S City's Agricultural Wholesale Market was wide enough for two large trucks to pass simultaneously, with designated driving lanes inside. The trading areas were clearly divided into several major sections: a meat section, a vegetable section, a fruit section... all at a glance. Vehicles could drive directly to each area's entrance and park, which was a huge relief for someone like her buying in bulk.
The meat section was closest to the entrance. Lin Mo wasn't good at stir-frying, but she could handle simple meat dishes. For example, pan-frying steak was easy—just add butter and cook on both sides until medium-well. Braised ribs were her favorite, and she had learned how to make authentic Northeast China-style braised ribs with beans from Bai Jie a few times, so she considered herself proficient in that dish.
She walked straight to a meat stall that looked busy near the entrance. "Boss, I'd like 50 jin of pork spare ribs and 20 jin of beef tenderloin, sliced."
The stall owner, a sturdy middle-aged man, was chopping meat with a cleaver, his voice booming. "Since you're here, that's not nearly enough! Look at this tenderloin—it's super fresh! I'll give you a discount as it's getting late. How about taking it all?"
Lin Mo glanced where he pointed. The meat indeed looked good, so she nodded. "Okay."
"Great!" The boss deftly lifted the tenderloin onto the scale. "Exactly 35 jin, no more, no less. Want me to cut it for you?"
"Please slice the tenderloin into large pieces for pan-frying. Chop the ribs into small chunks, thanks."
While the boss was chopping, Lin Mo looked around at a nearby small shop. Although it wasn't a dedicated dry goods area, there were sacks of star anise, cinnamon, and dried chilies piled by the door, with various bottled seasonings on the shelves. A large freezer held semi-finished products like meatballs, egg dumplings, and marinated chicken feet, which suited her perfectly.
"Boss, do you have Lao Gan Ma?"
"Yes! How many cases?" The shopkeeper, a woman, responded cheerfully. "We have shredded pork with chili, chicken oil chili, and fermented bean curd flavors. Sold by the case, 24 bottles per case."
Lin Mo's eyes lit up. She cursed herself for not coming here earlier. In the supermarket, she could only buy bottles individually, but here she could stock up by the case. "First, one case of the shredded pork flavor," she paused. She also liked the chicken oil chili flavor, so she added, "Plus one case of the chicken oil chili flavor, two cases total."
48 bottles were a lot, and with porridge and steamed buns, it would feel like they could last forever. If the extreme cold disaster wasn't that severe, she could resell the supplies to recoup some money. Looking at the dwindling bank balance on her phone, she comforted herself: Lao Gan Ma wouldn't be a loss; during the long winter, she could easily sell it at a markup.
The woman briskly brought out two cases of Lao Gan Ma and helped her load them onto the small cart.
"Do you have hotpot base?" Lin Mo made her own dipping sauce with Sichuan pepper oil, oyster sauce, minced garlic, etc., so she only needed to buy the hotpot base.
"Yes. The spicy oil base is sold by weight, 12 yuan per jin. The mild broth is sold by the case, 20 packs per case, 100 yuan per case."
Sold by weight—how generous. The spicy oil base was vacuum-packed. Lin Mo saw that each small piece was about 100g, perfect for tossing in one piece per cooking session. She preferred mild spiciness, so she could break a piece in half each time.
"Okay, give me 10 jin of the spicy oil base, and one case of the mild broth."
"Alright, anything else?"
"Please give me some egg dumplings, meatballs, and chicken feet."
"How much?"
"Ten jin of each."
In addition, Lin Mo bought 20 boxes of beef and lamb rolls. The portion sizes here were generous—one box equaled two from the supermarket near her apartment and at a much better price. Since her small cart was nearly full, the boss had a worker deliver everything to her car.
The wholesale market was a treasure trove, Lin Mo thought. From now on, the wholesale market would be her favorite!
She pulled her small cart with the meat and seasonings back to the car, then drove to the fruit section. The fruits here were indeed sold wholesale by the case or sack. Every shop had stacks of fruit boxes towering over a person—oranges, apples, pomelos piled high. It was just what she needed.
Prices were roughly the same among the shops, so Lin Mo picked one nearest to her that had customers.
"Boss, I'd like two cases each of dekopon, navel oranges, apples, and pears." Actually, she only really liked dekopon and wasn't too interested in the others. But for balanced nutrition, she still had to buy common fruits. "Can you tell me the prices?"
"Do you want packaging? We have family packs or gift boxes. Gift boxes cost an extra 5 yuan for packaging."
"Family packs, please."
"Okay, each box is 5 kg." The boss pulled out a calculator and tapped quickly. "Dekopon: 80 per box, navel oranges: 45, apples: 60, pears: 50. Two cases each. I'll round it to 470 for you."
Lin Mo had thought each box was 10 kg. Seeing this, she said, "Then make it four cases of each. Please put them in this camping cart."
80 kg—any more and the cart would be overloaded. She first transported the items back to her car. Then she returned to the fruit section and went to another shop specializing in pomelos. This shop was filled with pomelos of all kinds, from common ones to more expensive Thai green pomelos.
Lin Mo chose Guanxi honey pomelos at a moderate price. The fruits were round and full, heavy in hand, looking juicy. "Boss, I'll take 30 pomelos."
Pomelos were neutral in nature, not causing heatiness even if eaten in large quantities, and were rich in vitamin C, making them great for stocking up. She used to enjoy peeling pomelos while watching TV; one pomelo could last her two days.
The boss placed the pomelos in a bamboo basket and weighed them. Finally, he announced, "Total is 60 kg. That'll be 360 yuan." Pomelos were quite heavy, and this basket nearly filled her cart. Lin Mo didn't dare buy more, only adding 5 kg of winter jujubes and 5 kg of dried persimmons.
She didn't particularly like these, but she still remembered the days during lockdown when fresh fruit was hard to come by. She needed some snacks to pass the time, so she stocked up as well.
Next, she went to the northern and southern dried goods section. Lin Mo's eyes immediately fell on a large sack of roasted sunflower seeds at the entrance. The memory of scrambling for sunflower seeds during lockdown was still vivid. These little snacks could satisfy cravings and kill time during hard times.
"Hello, I'd like 10 jin each of the five-spice, original, and caramel flavors."
"Alright, anything else?"
"Give me 10 jin of garlic-flavored peanuts, too."
To save trouble, the boss said, "How about I don't weigh them? Give me 200 yuan for this whole sack of peanuts."
Lin Mo shook her head. "I can't take that much."
The boss waved his hand grandly, clearly not wanting to bother with weighing. "It's not that much, just about 30 jin. Don't worry about carrying it—I'll haul it to your car."
"Okay." The sunflower seeds and peanuts were incredibly cheap, but the prices started to skyrocket from there.
Just 20 jin of large Changbai Mountain pine nuts cost 1,000 yuan. Then she bought pistachios, cashews, pecans, and other nuts, spending another 5,000 yuan in bits and pieces. There was no helping it—these were things she loved to eat, and nuts were calorie-dense and had a long shelf life.
The van was already more than half full. Lin Mo drove to the vegetable section. Here, most vegetables were packed in large plastic crates, and many city restaurant owners came to buy, often purchasing dozens of crates at a time.
She decisively followed a capable middle-aged woman to the same stall and bought large crates of corn, tomatoes, greens, and beans. Thinking that cucumbers were easy to eat raw, she added a 5 kg crate of small, round, tender cucumbers.
After buying all this, Lin Mo still felt unsatisfied, but her little van was nearly full, so she had to stop. Although this model's rated load capacity was 800 kg, it couldn't actually hold that much.
The return trip included a desolate stretch with factories on both sides. Though there was traffic, it consisted of large trucks speeding by. Lin Mo pulled over on a dimly lit roadside, quickly took out her prepared syphoning tools and metal fuel tank, and worked swiftly.
After several rounds of syphoning and refilling, she saved up 150 liters of fuel, enough for a full load.
At around ten in the evening, the car stopped steadily at the apartment building entrance. Lin Mo first turned off the headlights, letting the black car blend into the thick night. She waited quietly for a moment, confirming no one was around, then gently turned around, raised her arm, and reached into the carriage. First, she submitted the fuel she had collected to the system, then stored the other supplies into the carriage.
[Energy materials +75 kg. Energy materials reserved: 150 kg.]
Immediately afterward, the system's cold electronic voice suddenly sounded:
[Energy reserve criteria met. Train movement and driving functions unlocked.]
Author's note: