The four of them sat at the Northeastern Homestyle Cuisine just outside the Lushan Residence District, and Jhiang Yuan gave a rough account of her divorce.
"I knew it, that Xia Chaoyang never looked like a good guy, and now that he's made it, he even dared to have an affair.
Yuanyuan, don't be afraid, tomorrow your dad and I will go find those scum."
Jhiang Yuan was touched, but that wasn't the main concern; she also told her parents about the unusual weather conditions that were coming.
She had her excuse ready, she said it all came from her high school classmate Jiang Yuan, who was working in a research institute.
Because his name was similar to hers, her parents had a strong impression of him.
"Weather changes are quite normal, how bad could it be?" Her mother, Qin Yue, obviously didn't take it seriously.
"Jiang Yuan told me to treat it as if it were the apocalypse."
To prepare her parents psychologically, she even picked out one of the most severe apocalypse movies for them to watch before bed.
Sure enough, after two hours of ideological indoctrination, her parents had been successfully brainwashed.
The reason she had her parents come to West City rather than taking Xiao Nuan back with her was after careful consideration.
Jhiang Yuan's ancestral home was in the countryside, where the houses were not easy to fortify, and though there were few people, it would also be inconvenient to go out and find supplies later on.
They needed to stock up on a large amount of supplies, but they couldn't go out to purchase them until the doors and windows were secure.
They had to be extremely careful not to let anyone see through them.
Before going to bed, Jhiang Yuan turned on the surveillance on Xia Chaoyang's side with her phone.
Indeed, there was surveillance installed there, which was originally for fear that Xiao Nuan might be mistreated by her grandparents who favored boys over girls at home. Now she could just watch how this trash survived the apocalypse.
Even if the power went out later, it wouldn't be an issue. When she left, she specifically replaced it with a super energy-efficient battery, which would last for half a year without problems.
All the screens were quiet except for the main bedroom, where she zoomed in on the action.
Xia Chaoyang and Bai Mengmeng were in the midst of passion. Young indeed, what a variety of positions. Since the movie was free, it would be a waste not to watch.
September 3rd, 12 days before the outbreak of the apocalypse.
It felt great to have her parents over, waking up to breakfast in the morning, not having to cater to the whole family. Jhiang Yuan actually felt relaxed and at ease.
The Maybach, bought for 1.8 million and driven for a year, was put up for sale on the second-hand market last night for 1.2 million by her, a full 300,000 cheaper than market price, and she received several calls from used car buyers this morning.
Ultimately, Jhiang Yuan decided to sell to a dealership. Her father Jhiang Xingzhi accompanied her, while Qin Yue stayed home with Xiao Nuan and also took on the task of drafting a list of supplies to purchase.
The transaction went very smoothly, and she financed a Wuling Hongguang with zero down payment, also asking the shop's mechanic to remove the rear seats for her.
After all, there were still 13 days left, and this car was essentially a freebie.
At Jhiang Xingzhi's request, they made a trip to West City's largest hardware wholesale market.
Wood planks, pliers, screwdrivers, nails of various sizes, hammer drills, hand drills, expansion screws, wire, welding machines, PTFE tapes, hoes, shovels...
Jhiang Xingzhi had previously been an installation worker at the factory, and he was very skilled with tools. Watching him load two large buckets of paint and a box of glass adhesive into the car, Jhiang Yuan couldn't help but speak up and remind him, "Dad, food is what's important, aren't these too many?"
"It's not too much. In case something in the house breaks, it'll be easier to fix it. Also, these wrenches and pry bars can be used for self-defense in critical moments."
Well, he really thought everything through.
Since they were already there, they went ahead and also bought solar panels and a rainwater collector, as well as a large water filtration system. The installation for all of these was scheduled for the afternoon of the fifth, to be done the same day as the doors and windows.
Jhiang Xingzhi then led her to buy a generator, multi-functional glow sticks, cold sparklers, and six boxes of various types of batteries.
It was not until the van could no longer fit anything that the two hurried back home.
Qin Yue was very efficient. She had tidied up everything they had moved back meticulously and had even gone downstairs to the mini-supermarket to buy two hundred-pound bags of rice and flour, as well as some vegetables.
The list was almost complete. Although it was inconvenient to go out to shop for supplies in the next couple of days, she could buy some items online. Once the doors were installed, the deliveries would arrive, serving both purposes well.
The first thing was clothing; what they had bought at the big store before was far from enough.
Xiao Nuan's clothes needed careful selection. Jhiang Yuan opened the app and started picking out clothes of all age groups: tops, jackets, hoodies, skirts, short sleeves, shorts, various sports suits, socks, underwear, cotton clothes, down jackets, windbreakers, parkas, fur coats, hats, gloves, and shoes. She planned to prepare at least ten sets to start with.
A period of extreme cold weather would come before long, so she bought a few extra sets of cotton clothes in two-year-old sizes.
Adult clothing was much simpler, as their sizes wouldn't change much. She prepared about twenty to thirty sets per person, depending on the type.
In addition, she also bought more than sixty packs of diapers and pull-up pants, as Xiao Nuan still needed to wear them for a while longer, so it was better to prepare enough.
Children's snacks, cups, probiotics, milk powder, rice cereals, various semi-finished complementary foods, and even toys were all frantically ordered.
Qin Yue was responsible for checking and filling in gaps, mainly focusing on the child's needs first, and then buying for the adults.
Milk powder was one of those items that the more, the better. Adults could drink it too, and it had a long shelf life without expiring.
She bought a lot of heating pads, sleeping bags, mugwort foot bath powder, flashlights, and spotlights.
Of course, food was the most indispensable, including all sorts of dried fruits, vegetables, meats, biscuits, instant noodles, snail noodles, hot and spicy noodles, self-heating hot pots, snow cakes, chips, shrimp sticks, beverages, all bought by the box and in various flavors.
Electronics couldn't be overlooked either. They bought ten freezers, and electric fans were also essential. If the electricity went out in a few days and the weather was too hot, it would be too dangerous to use air conditioning; fans were safer.
So as not to attract attention online, Jhiang Yuan didn't buy too much of any single item, typically just one or two boxes, and she kept the addresses vague, only specifying the residential district.
She even commandeered her parents' shopping accounts. Looking at three phones, each with three shopping apps, and each showing over 500 pending deliveries, her anxious heart relaxed a bit.
But this was still far from enough. She was well aware that food was key, and they needed to stock up on a large amount of meat, vegetables, and other items, plus outdoor equipment, inflatable boats, weapons and such, which were also quite heavy.
Fortunately, there was still time. They would keep checking and filling gaps, non-stop buying!
In the meantime, Jhiang Xingzhi and Qin Yue would go out every morning to the market to buy vegetables, blanch them, and then freeze them in the fridge, which would preserve them for two to three years without any problems.
During the day, the two of them would be busy chopping stuffing, wrapping dumplings and buns, then freezing them.
Jhiang Yuan even heard them discussing buying a vat to pickle some sauerkraut as a reserve.