The middle-aged boss heard a voice and turned around to see a young woman running toward him. She looked to be in her early twenties, with a high ponytail, a tall, slender figure, and long legs.
From a distance, her face was exquisite—she was clearly a radiant beauty. But as she got closer, he could see several bruises on her face, as if she had just been beaten. Her hair was dusty, and her clothes were dirty and stained with blood.
The middle-aged boss's heart tightened. 'This woman must have gotten into some kind of trouble.'
'Showing up here in this state... something's definitely wrong!'
He lost all interest in doing business. He ran back into his shop and reached for the door to pull it shut. It was late at night, and he didn't want to get mixed up in any trouble.
"Boss, I want to buy rice wholesale!" A hand landed on the middle-aged man's, stopping him from closing the door. Up close, he could see the wounds beneath her somewhat tattered clothes even more clearly.
He shuddered. 'This woman has definitely run into trouble, and she's badly hurt. But instead of going to a hospital, she comes here to buy rice... This is just too strange, no matter how you look at it.'
For a moment, a terrifying thought occurred to him. 'Could... could this woman already be dead and not even know it?'
His body began to tremble. Seeing the fear on his face, Stella Sterling suppressed her impatience and repeated, "Boss, I want to buy rice wholesale. I'll take every last bit you have in stock right now!"
She saw her own reflection in his pupils and instantly understood what he was afraid of.
She had spent seven years in the apocalypse and had seen all kinds of people. There were times she had looked far more wretched than this; she had long since gotten used to it.
'But this is still a civilized society. The way I look right now is not normal in other people's eyes!'
Stella Sterling gave a casual laugh. "Don't worry, boss. I'm a living person. See? I have a shadow!"
The middle-aged boss looked down. There was indeed a shadow. He breathed a sigh of relief.
The next moment, however, he heard her impatient urge: "Hurry up!"
He looked up and saw that although the woman before him was smiling, her eyes held a suppressed impatience. A jolt of realization ran through him as he remembered what she had said earlier. A huge wave of joy washed over him. "Miss, are you sure you want to take it all?"
"All of it!" Stella Sterling nodded affirmatively.
The middle-aged boss could no longer be bothered with his earlier fear, his grin stretching nearly from ear to ear. He nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, of course! This is all top-quality Wuchang rice. I've got over eight thousand of the fifty-pound bags and over two thousand of the thirty-pound ones. Since you're buying so much, I'll absolutely give you the lowest price!"
The boss's tone was enthusiastic as he spoke, leading Stella Sterling further into the store.
Stella Sterling looked over and saw the floor piled high with densely packed bags of rice. She nodded. "I'll take it all, but you have to guarantee there are no quality issues with any of it!"
"Otherwise, I'll make you spit back out every penny you earn from me!" Stella Sterling's voice was calm, but her words were laced with menace.
The boss's heart skipped a beat. Then, he patted his chest. "Oh, don't you worry! I, Mr. Cheney, have always prided myself on honest business. With a big storefront like this, it's not like I can run away. If there's a problem, you can come find me anytime!"
Stella Sterling's tone softened slightly. "That's good. After all, I'll need more rice later. I hope we can work together again!"
The boss was stunned. 'All this isn't enough for her?'
He subconsciously blurted out, "Miss, what are you planning to do with so much stock?"
Stella Sterling was inspecting the goods. Hearing his question, she turned to look at him with a smile. "You shouldn't ask questions you're not supposed to ask. Be careful you don't bring trouble upon yourself!"
The boss froze for a second, then slapped his own mouth and chuckled. "Yes, yes, of course. I, Mr. Cheney, spoke out of turn. Miss, I'm the only one in this market who deals in rice. After you take this batch today, I'll immediately go get a new shipment. If you still want more then, I'll contact you!"
Stella Sterling thought, 'This might seem like a lot of rice, but once the apocalypse hits, it won't be nearly enough. I need to get more food. I went hungry so often in my last life. Only a full stockpile of food can give me a sense of security.'
'Although I can't spend all the money I have on just rice, I'll definitely have to find other ways to get more money in the coming days. I'll still need to buy more rice then.'
So, she nodded. "As long as we can agree on a price, everything else is negotiable. Besides taking all the stock you have now, I'll give you ten days. Within those ten days, I'll take as much as you can get!"
The boss was completely floored. "Miss, you're incredibly generous! Don't worry, I'll give you a price that you'll be absolutely satisfied with!"
A short while later, both of them had satisfied smiles on their faces. They arranged a delivery time for the next day, Stella Sterling paid the deposit, they exchanged contact information, and she drove away in a small truck loaded with several dozen bags of rice, feeling content.
Those dozens of bags of rice were a complimentary gift from Mr. Cheney, for her to "sample."
...
After leaving the rice shop, Stella Sterling drove straight out of the wholesale market. The rice in the back of the truck had already been moved into her storage space.
Today wasn't ideal, but at least she had sorted out the most basic survival food—rice. For everything else, she still had a month to prepare.
'When I get back, I need to plan out my shopping list. Tomorrow, I'll go all out again.'
'And then there's money—'
'The few million I have on hand won't be enough. Once I settle the final payment for the rice tomorrow, a few hundred thousand will be gone just like that. But that's nowhere near enough; there's still so much I need.'
But Stella Sterling wasn't worried. Buying things was just one method. If it came down to it, she wouldn't be so scrupulous as to do nothing!
Humming a little tune, Stella Sterling drove through the streets of Mirefall. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a lottery shop on the side of the road and couldn't help but glance at it a second time.
A few seconds later, she pulled over, got out of the truck, and walked straight into the lottery shop. She came out a while later, her expression as calm as still water.
Although she had been reborn, she had never paid attention to the lottery in her past life. She had no idea what the winning numbers were for any given day.
'But for me to see this shop right when I'm short on cash... it would feel wrong not to give it a try.'
"That smells so good!"
GRUMBLE.
Her words were accompanied by the sound of her stomach growling. She had eaten a little something in that abandoned warehouse earlier, but after so much time and physical exertion, she was hungry again.
Smelling the aromas wafting from the late-night food street next door and thinking of all the delicious snacks she hadn't eaten in seven years, she didn't hesitate. She strode up to a barbecue stand, grabbed a menu, and ordered a huge pile of food.
"Well, well, if it isn't Ms. Sterling from our old class. Why do you look so pathetic?"
"Stella Sterling, I heard you're the long-lost 'true daughter' the Sterling Family found. What's the matter? You've become a rich family's young miss, but you're still eating at a place like this? Don't they give you any spending money?"
An unwelcome male voice interrupted Stella Sterling's meal. She looked up, finding the person before her both strange and vaguely familiar.
She had been in the apocalypse for too long. Many people she once knew were either dead or she'd never seen them again. She had forgotten so many of them.