Chapter 4 Shopping, The More, The Better
Waking up past eight in the morning, Meng Ci found another deposit in his bank account, indicating Liang Xiu's efficiency had pleased him.
Descending downstairs, he found another restaurant and ordered braised eggplant rice again.
Since the taste was not bad, Meng Ci asked the owner to prepare it for five days straight, with one hundred servings per day, as per yesterday's request.
This time, he claimed it was for the company employees. Under the owner's astonished gaze, Meng Ci paid a deposit of five thousand yuan, which finally convinced him.
He then went to the place from yesterday, also paying a five-thousand-yuan deposit for five consecutive days of service.
Meng Ci knew how to drive, just like the Meng Ci in the book who obtained a driver's license upon reaching adulthood.
Although there were many cars at home, they were either sedans or sports cars, which were inconvenient for this task.
Thus, last night, Meng Ci arranged for a van to be brought over.
Packing one hundred boxed meals into foam containers and loading them into the van, Meng Ci drove a short distance before storing everything in his space.
Then, he opened the map and headed to the wholesale market he had researched the previous night.
With over three years of natural disasters and nearly five years of zombie sieges, followed by a long recovery period,
Meng Ci planned to calculate supplies based on a ten-year span, approximately three thousand six hundred days.
One bag of rice and one bag of flour per month, so three thousand six hundred divided by thirty equals one hundred twenty bags.
Alright.
Five hundred fifty-pound bags of flour and five hundred fifty-pound bags of round-grain rice.
Since the space had preservation capabilities, there was no need to worry about spoilage.
Twenty bags each of buckwheat noodles, soybean noodles, corn noodles, high-gluten flour, medium-gluten flour, and low-gluten flour.
One thousand cans of vegetable oil.
Fifty cans each of peanut oil, corn oil, soybean oil, olive oil, and sunflower oil.
A large bag of salt with fifty small bags, making it one thousand bags total.
In daily life, salt is essential.
Twenty pounds each of red chili peppers, pepper, ginger, scallions, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, fennel seeds, tangerine peel, turmeric, perilla, mint, cardamom, star anise, onions, saffron, and cinnamon.
Two hundred pounds each of white sugar, rock sugar, granulated sugar, honey, jam, and brown sugar.
Five hundred pounds of honey, since he loves it.
Two hundred boxes each of monosodium glutamate, chicken bouillon, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, premium soy sauce, vinegar, white vinegar, hot pot base, and cooking wine.
"Boss, do you have any ready-to-eat foods?" Meng Ci said while jotting down notes.
"Boss?"
The boss remained silent.
Meng Ci looked up, puzzled, to see the boss with his mouth agape in shock.
"Boss?" Meng Ci waved the pen in front of the boss's face.
The boss snapped back to reality and nodded uncertainly, "We do have some, but do you really need this much?"
"I have to order these from elsewhere, and if you don't want them later, I won't have anywhere to store them."
Meng Ci nodded affirmatively, "Of course, I do."
"Do you know the Meng Group?" Meng Ci continued.
The boss nodded; it was the largest enterprise in the city.
"They're planning to invest in a department store, and I'm here to handle the procurement."
As he spoke, he showed the boss the procurement badge he had taken from the company yesterday.
After seeing the badge, the boss nodded, feeling reassured.
A company that big wouldn't default on payment.
"Boss, the company needs these urgently. If you can deliver within two days,"
"Any future needs will come directly to you."
"No problem," the boss agreed, knowing the benefits of working with a large company.
Even if he had to work overtime, he would get it done.
Seeing the boss believed him, Meng Ci continued.
Five hundred pounds each of chestnuts, chestnut kernels, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, almonds, ginkgo nuts, pistachios, pecans, desert fruits, torreya seeds, white pumpkin seeds, and peanuts.
A thousand pounds of caramel-flavored sunflower seeds!
Otherwise, how would he survive the long apocalypse?
Two hundred pounds each of dried beans, black fungus, nori, shiitake mushrooms, and daylilies.
Five hundred jars each of soybean paste, broad bean paste, sweet bean paste, tomato sauce, chili sauce...
Whatever sauce the boss has here, fifty cases of each.
For self-heating hot pots, self-heating rice, and self-heating dumplings, Meng Ci asked for the big brands, two hundred cases of each.
And five hundred cases each of instant noodles, spicy acid powder, and fire chicken noodles.
All these items added up to just over one million yuan, so Meng Ci quickly paid a down payment of five hundred thousand yuan.
Then he asked the boss where he could buy shelves.
The boss is in wholesale, so he is very familiar with these things.
He gave Meng Ci directions, and before leaving, Meng Ci handed him the keys to two warehouses.
Once everything is ready, the boss can deliver it directly to the warehouse, and then they can settle the final payment on the spot.
The boss happily saw Meng Ci off and then called all the suppliers with a smile on his face.
Arriving at the place that sells shelves, Meng Ci ordered two thousand metal racks and asked the boss to arrange for delivery tonight.
What?
Too tight on time? No problem, originally five hundred yuan per shelf, now six hundred yuan.
As for labor and installation fees, double them.
The boss immediately said there was no issue and would ensure delivery tonight with overtime work.
Meng Ci gave him the key to the other warehouse, paid half the deposit, and then left.
By the time he finished, it was already past three in the afternoon.
Meng Ci drove to a noodle shop, had a bowl of noodles, but the taste didn't suit him, so he didn't order more.
Back home, Meng Ci started planning what else he could buy after receiving the metal racks tomorrow.
Meng Ci opened his phone, searched for names of fruits and vegetables, deleted the ones he didn't like, and printed out the list.
Tomorrow, he would go directly to the fruit and vegetable wholesale markets and have them follow the list.
If anything is not available, he would circle it and buy it online later or fly there to select them personally.
There were also clothes and shoes. Meng Ci doesn't care much about brands, so he searched for clothing wholesale markets and planned to solve all three issues tomorrow.
Oh right, meat too.
Meng Ci isn't a big fan of meat, so he only wrote down one hundred pigs, cows, and sheep, and a thousand pounds each of chicken and duck meat.
As for other meats like dog meat and donkey meat, they weren't even considered by Meng Ci.
Fish and shrimp, Meng Ci does enjoy.
However, buying in bulk in M City is impossible, so he placed orders online for delivery ten days later.
Crucian carp, grass carp, cod, sea bass, and others, Meng Ci ordered a total of five thousand fish.
For shrimp and crabs, Meng Ci doesn't know much about the varieties, so he asked the boss to pack a variety, totaling ten thousand pounds.
Scallops, oysters, clams, and other seafood, Meng Ci ordered only one hundred pounds of each since he doesn't know how to cook them.
These are things Meng Ci hasn't tried yet, but during the apocalypse, he can give them a taste.
After paying the deposit, Meng Ci again expressed that if the customers react well, he will continue cooperation.
With over one million yuan worth of orders, Meng Ci thought that as long as the boss isn't foolish and wants long-term development, he would choose the best products.
It was just past eight in the evening when he finished.
Meng Ci opened his phone and ordered from a delivery service, choosing a barbecue restaurant and picking several favorites, ordering fifty skewers of each.
After receiving the food, Meng Ci found it tasty and decided to order again tomorrow.
Then he continued listing things needed for the apocalypse.
Flashlights, candles, lighters, matches, life jackets, inflatable boats, inflatable rafts, life rings, life rafts...
Meng Ci began searching online for what to prepare for floods and heavy snow.
Quilts, charcoal, hats, gloves, scarves, cotton coats, cotton shoes, thermal underwear, socks...
Thirteen days after the heavy rain, the water supply and power systems will be completely paralyzed.
At that time, cooking will still rely on firewood and charcoal, so he needs stoves for cooking...