Chapter 39: Super Mold 3
It wasn’t just her family’s rice that went bad.
What happens when 95% of the city’s residents discover their rice has gone moldy?
Food hoarding and panic!
Many people rushed to supermarkets late at night to buy rice, and news outlets and various media were reporting on this sudden event.
“Shock! Widespread food mold appears across the city, relevant departments are investigating.”
“Major Report: Widespread outbreaks of moldy rice, flour, and other staple foods in various places; some disclose suspected super mold inadvertently leaked from a laboratory.”
“Super mold appears, people are frantically buying up food.”
…From the appearance of this news to its outbreak, an unknown number of cars had already driven out from the Residential Area downstairs.
Chu Yian had originally wanted to eat something and rest, but now she couldn’t sit still. She quickly put on her coat, grabbed her backpack, and ran out of her house.
The supermarket, which had seemed spacious this morning, was now packed with people at night.
Almost everyone came to the supermarket for only one purpose: to hoard food!
Chu Yian, quick-witted, snatched a cart and seized the opportunity to put the last two sealed bags of rice from the shelf into her shopping cart. Then came instant noodles, compressed biscuits, and chocolate—foods that provided a strong sense of fullness.
Although she tried very hard to grab things, one person’s strength was too small, and she couldn’t be everywhere at once. If she even slightly turned her head or looked away, someone would take something out of her shopping cart.
She lost things too many times to argue with people.
As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Chu Yian could only choose to pay for these foods first and squeeze out of the increasingly crowded supermarket. However, before she had gone far, the supermarket suddenly erupted into chaos.
“I’ll f*ck your mother, how dare you steal from my shopping cart!”
“You’ve already taken so many potato chips, and you’re still fighting me for the last two packs of food.”
“Did you push my mom? I’ll beat you to death…”
Various arguments and fighting sounds erupted, and the shelves placed outside the supermarket were knocked over. Women’s screams and children’s cries mingled in a chaotic mess.
It wasn’t until the police cars arrived that the officers in uniform quelled the chaos.
Chu Yian walked down the street, carrying bags of food, the cool breeze mixed with rain making her feel even colder. She looked at the somewhat dim streetlights and quickened her pace to leave the area.
Game Day Three.
It was already late at night when she returned yesterday, and she hadn’t even had time to organize the things she had bought.
The rice and noodles she bought the day before yesterday were severely moldy and completely inedible. Similarly, most of the vegetables she had placed in the fresh-keeping compartment had also gone moldy.
Chu Yian had no choice but to take out a large garbage bag and throw away all the spoiled food.
Almost all food that was not sealed and exposed to air had grown a layer of green-gray mold. And the surface of the packaging bags for sealed food also had a layer of gray mold.
Seeing the current situation, Chu Yian boiled a large pot of hot water in the kitchen.
The hot water scalded her, making her yelp for a long time, but she still endured the pain and thoroughly cleaned the inside and outside of the refrigerator with boiling water.
The boiling water was meant to kill the invisible mold with high temperatures.
Those perfectly packaged foods also needed to be carefully disinfected and then placed in the refrigerator’s fresh-keeping compartment.
During this time, she carefully counted: in the two days of panic buying, she had hoarded 20 bags of instant noodles, 17 compressed biscuits, 2 boxes (24 pieces) of chocolate, and 1 box (12 pieces) of Snickers. Aside from these, all the rice, flour, vegetables, and fruits had gone bad. A whole large bin of garbage was placed outside, and she found it very difficult to carry it down to throw away.
It would be difficult for this amount of food to last thirty days.
After calculating her food reserves, Chu Yian was so anxious that she developed a cold sore on her lip.
In the morning, she simply ate half a compressed biscuit and headed straight to the supermarket.
The supermarket at this moment already had a long queue. Chu Yian waited at the very end of the line, feeling that waiting to buy things at the supermarket was simply an endless task.
She hesitated for a minute, then decisively left and headed straight to a nearby small supermarket.
The small shops and mini-supermarkets on the street also had quite a few people, but not as exaggerated as the main supermarket. Their shelves still displayed a good amount of instant noodles, biscuits, and self-heating foods.
Chu Yian’s eyes immediately lit up when she saw these items. She grabbed a shopping basket and started filling it without even looking.
This aggressive behavior startled the surrounding customers.
The owner was also startled.
“Little sister, everything here has increased in price.”
The owner quickly stopped her and clarified, “Instant noodles are 15 yuan a pack, self-heating rice is 80 yuan a box, and canned fruit is 40 yuan a bottle.”
He looked at the items in Chu Yian’s basket and casually quoted a few prices.
Why did he still have things for sale on his shelves? It was because he raised his prices, and things were expensive. Even if fewer people came now, someone would still buy these items.
He was just worried that this young woman would think that prices here were still the same as the supermarket’s original prices.
“It’s okay, just calculate the total.”
Chu Yian said, and also moved three boxes of milk.
“You… you’re buying a lot.”
The owner looked at this big spender, his face immediately lighting up with joy. He took out a calculator and started tapping away, “Little sister, the total is 2,365 yuan.”
This price, if it were just one day ago, could buy four times the amount of goods.
The onlookers were all disgusted by the owner’s greed and helpless at the girl’s naivety.
“Boss, I’ve bought so many things, can I borrow your tricycle outside?”
Chu Yian asked, carrying large and small bags of items.
“Yes, yes, give me two hundred yuan as a deposit, use it as you like, and I’ll refund the deposit when you return it.”
The owner said, seemingly generously, fully demonstrating what it means to be a shrewd merchant.
“Alright.”
Chu Yian nodded, readily giving him another two hundred. She loaded all the supplies onto the cart and pedaled laboriously back to her rented shop.
Once the shop’s rolling shutter door was pulled down, the inside became an independent space.
She put all the newly bought food into her golden treasure chest, then rode the small tricycle to a pharmacy. She came to the pharmacy to buy vitamin tablets.
Vitamin deficiency can cause symptoms such as insufficient sleep, poor mental state, loss of appetite, weight loss, and weakness.
Vegetables and fruits spoil very quickly, meaning it will be very difficult for her to consume vitamins through them later on.
Escaping requires a healthy body as a foundation, and vitamin tablets are to fill the gap left by these things.
At this time, people had not yet realized that the lack of vegetables and fruits could be supplemented with artificial vitamins, so everyone rushed to hoard food, and the pharmacy was deserted.
Chu Yian rushed into the pharmacy and looked at the doctor in the white coat, “Where do you keep your vitamins here?”
“Which kind do you need?” the doctor asked.
“Uh… my child doesn’t like to eat fruits and vegetables, I want to buy some vitamins to supplement him.” Chu Yian casually made up an excuse.
