The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First
Chapter 5: Stockpiling

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Stockpiling

"Mmm... oh! That’s right!"

A long-dead memory suddenly resurfaced in Luna Dawson’s mind.

Luna Dawson said excitedly, "In my past life, when Uncle came over to celebrate your birthday, he bought a lottery ticket with your birth date numbers. He almost won the grand prize! The next day, he even posted about it in the family group chat, saying that if he had bought number 16, he would have been set for life. What a shame he didn’t have the luck to get rich!"

Back then, Luna had been curious and had even zoomed in on the picture to get a closer look at her brother’s birth date.

The mother and son’s eyes lit up.

"Ah! See? I told you I was a child of fortune! My birthday *is* the grand prize! Sis! Let’s go buy a lottery ticket!"

Miles Dawson couldn’t help but jump up in excitement.

"Okay! But we have to stockpile some supplies first."

Luna Dawson assigned the tasks for the next two days. Mrs. Dawson would be in charge of receiving goods at the warehouse and supervising the workers as they loaded and unloaded.

Once the warehouse was full, Luna would go over and move everything into her space. The warehouse was inside a logistics park where transport trucks came and went daily, so no one would know where the goods actually ended up.

Luna Dawson said, "Don’t forget what I do for a living. I’ve worked with many food manufacturers all over the country. In a bit, I’ll negotiate with them online, place orders, and pay the deposits and balances. Starting this afternoon, a steady stream of supplies will be heading to our warehouse."

Miles Dawson chimed in quickly, "Sis, get some salt-baked chicken drumsticks. The box you sent to my school last time was gone in a flash after I brought it back to the dorm. I didn’t get to eat enough."

"Okay, okay, I’ll buy you a whole truckload! Spicy river snail noodles, hot and sour glass noodles, instant noodles and ham sausages, canned goods, all kinds of jerky and snacks—we’ll get them all, don’t you worry," Luna Dawson said dotingly.

"Later, the whole family will go out together. We’re going to the wholesale market to start stockpiling."

Luna Dawson put the cat and dog into her space, and the whole family set out.

Miles Dawson drove while Luna Dawson spent the entire trip making countless calls and video calls to place orders for all sorts of food.

At the same time, she didn’t forget to contact pet food manufacturers. She stockpiled fifty tons each of various flavors of dog food, cat food, and canned pet food for Rollo and Little Tiger. She also ordered fifty tons of cat litter.

Rosalind Dawson was beside them, responsible for recording the quantities and types of items, making it easier to check for anything they missed later.

The group first went to the warehouse and had Rosalind Dawson wait there to receive the goods.

They also made some calls to see about hiring a warehouse manager to handle receiving goods during the day.

「Afterward.」

Luna Dawson took Miles Dawson and hurried to the nearby agricultural wholesale market without stopping.

This was the largest wholesale market in Southen, covering over 160 acres, with an average daily trading volume of nearly 30,000 tons. Its reach extended to the major surrounding provinces.

It offered a complete range of products, including seafood, seasonings, grains and oils, fruits and vegetables, poultry, eggs, and meat. Bulk purchases were a daily occurrence here.

It was the height of summer, and the UV rays outside were incredibly strong during the day.

Luna Dawson was fully geared up in a sun-protection jacket, a face mask, sunglasses, and a sun hat before she got out of the car.

Miles Dawson, on the other hand, swaggered out without even an umbrella, casually walking with Luna toward the grain wholesale section.

A wave of blistering heat washed over them. The ground shimmered under the merciless sun, and the air in the distance warped and twisted from the scorching heat.

Luna Dawson remarked, "No wonder you’re the darkest one in the family. You don’t even use an umbrella. Your face is going to get sunburned and peel."

Miles Dawson waved a hand dismissively. "Eh, it’s just a short walk. So what if my skin peels? I’ll still be handsome."

A middle-aged shop owner in shorts and a tank top was leisurely enjoying the air conditioning inside his store.

Seeing customers enter, he quickly put down his teacup and said enthusiastically, "Hello, handsome, beautiful! What are you looking to wholesale today?"

Luna Dawson carefully examined the various types of rice, flour, and grains in the shop. She didn’t answer directly, instead pulling out her phone to calculate something, muttering under her breath.

’Can’t be helped. I have less than seven million. It’d be really awkward if I just blurted out some random quantity and couldn’t afford it.’

"Boss, I’ll take one ton each of red beans, mung beans, millet, corn, and other coarse grains. For the rice, I want ten tons each of the five different price grades, from 2.50 to 3.80."

As Luna Dawson finished speaking, the owner, who had just finished jotting down the types and quantities in his notebook, grabbed the calculator next to his computer and started punching in the numbers.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, "Miss, it’s been a long time since I’ve had an order this big. You want a huge amount of goods, and that’s not a small sum of money. The quantity is so large that I’ll need a fifty percent deposit before I can arrange for the stock."

Luna Dawson readily paid the deposit, exchanged contact information, and sent him the warehouse’s location, telling the owner to ship the goods directly there where someone would be waiting to receive them.

Throughout the entire process, Miles Dawson just watched with wide eyes, not saying a word. He had no concept of what quantities measured in tons really meant.

"It’s better to have too much than too little. With more supplies, we can negotiate and trade with others later. The three of us alone aren’t strong enough. Stockpiling more gives us a safety net, you get it?"

Luna Dawson explained patiently.

"Got it, sis. Think long-term, have a grand vision."

Miles Dawson said as he opened the car door.

Luna Dawson thought for two seconds, then patted her brother on the shoulder. "Come on, let’s go stock up on oil!"

The two of them headed straight for the grains and oils section, determined to cover all their bases.

They ordered a thousand five-liter containers each of peanut oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, and salad oil, plus a thousand two-liter containers of extra virgin olive oil, and five hundred 500-milliliter bottles of sesame oil.

After some haggling, they settled on a price and paid the deposit. Luna Dawson clutched her chest, her brow furrowed in a pained expression. "This money is flowing like water! It just came in and it’s already gone!"

Miles Dawson laughed and teased, "Sis, you’re practically emptying out the oil shop. Are you really worried about the cost?"

"Of course I am!" Luna Dawson sighed. "I need to hurry and make an appointment at the bank to withdraw from my fixed deposit at ten tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I won’t have the confidence to keep stockpiling."

The two of them rushed to the bank, and after making the appointment, they detoured to pick up some stir-fry takeout.

She had already contacted the owner of a small stir-fry restaurant, messaging him before they left to order twenty portions of every dish on the menu. Now was the perfect time to go pick them up.

By the time they finished this round of errands, they had already spent most of the money they had on them.

Back at the warehouse, as soon as they entered the manager’s office, a blast of cool air from the AC washed over them. Luna Dawson let out a sigh of relief.

She couldn’t help but complain, "Even dogs hate summer! I’m all sticky. I feel like I’m going to melt if I stay out any longer!"

By now, trucks from the food factories had begun to arrive one after another. Rosalind Dawson was holding a delivery manifest, checking off the items and quantities one by one and making notes in her notebook as she went.

She didn’t forget to instruct the workers, "Move the drinks, semi-prepared hot pot and barbecue ingredients, and ready-to-eat meals into the cold storage! Put the instant food and snacks in the ambient temperature warehouse. Don’t mix them up."

Luna Dawson leaned over to glance at the manifest, then pulled out her phone to pay the remaining balance to the suppliers. Watching her bank account balance drop bit by bit, she pouted. "Well, looks like I can only buy some miscellaneous stuff online now."

Outside, the sun was so bright it was hard to keep one’s eyes open. A dozen or so delivery drivers, each carrying large bags of milk tea and fruit tea, were all running toward the warehouse. When they ran into each other, they complained, "This hellish weather is going to roast us alive! Who’s rich enough to order this much milk tea in bulk? They’ll be drinking it until the end of time!"

Meanwhile, Luna Dawson, who was so hot she felt like she was about to start smoking, snatched the iced milk tea her brother handed her. She stabbed a straw in and started chugging it down—GLUG GLUG GLUG—and instantly felt revived. "Ahh! Now *this* is what summer happiness is all about!"

With a flick of her hand, she pulled their dining table out from her space and laid out the stir-fry dishes they had just picked up.

Sour and spicy chicken gizzards, braised fish, home-style tofu, and the pickled vegetables their mother had made—the aroma instantly filled the room.

"It’s too hot. Do you guys want rice or congee?" Luna Dawson asked as she opened the takeout containers.

"Congee!"

Her brother and mother said in unison, their one goal being something refreshing to beat the heat.

The family sat around the table eating together, chatting about their preparations for the apocalypse. Their talk and laughter helped to wash away some of the fatigue from their stockpiling efforts.

After the meal, Luna Dawson set up two beds from their home inside the office.

After washing up, Luna Dawson immediately snuggled into her mother’s arms, nuzzling against her and breathing in her familiar scent. A wave of security washed over her. "Mom’s arms are still the most comfortable place to be!"

After resting for a while, the family gathered together to browse their phones and do some online shopping, discussing what else they needed. As they talked, sleepiness crept in, and one by one, they drifted off to dreamland.