014 There is no phenomenon of food exceeding its expiration date

Ah Fu's truck was too large; in the city, it was nowhere near as maneuverable as those smaller vans. In case there was an earthquake, it could get stuck in the middle of the road, making it difficult even to turn around.

So, he had just discussed this issue with the supplier, who suggested somewhat diplomatically that they preferred to use smaller vans with better maneuverability for deliveries.

Ah Fu naturally found himself out of a job.

At this time, Hua Mi extended her olive branch.

She smiled slyly, resembling a clever little fox,

"Uncle, here's the thing," she said. "You know I've always had a supply channel for mineral water bottles. If you could help me deliver some goods, or sell me your truck, or even rent it to me, that would be great."

Ah Fu, upon hearing this, immediately beamed with joy,

"Aren't you worried about my truck being too big, making it hard to turn around if there's an obstacle on the road?"

"No worries," she replied, "If you run into obstacles, just let me know. I know someone in the Xiang City Clearing Team."

Hua Mi confidently patted her chest, pulling Gong Yi into the conversation to prove her high-level connections,

"Do you know the rescue team captain, Gong Yi? He's an old acquaintance of mine, and we're very close."

"Captain Gong, huh? Captain Gong is quite a celebrity," Ah Fu said. "He used to appear on TV often. I heard he was specially transferred from the garrison to the rescue team. Probably, after this earthquake, he'll be promoted when he returns to the garrison."

The supplier joined in the conversation, finally understanding why Hua Mi could secure so many mineral water bottles and even manage a single purchase of several hundred thousand bottles.

It turned out Captain Gong was behind her.

Impressed, the supplier regarded Hua Mi with new respect and was much more cordial and polite.

Hua Mi smiled and cleverly did not continue the topic further,

Her demeanor led others to perceive her as "unfathomably deep."

Considering her youthful and beautiful appearance and Captain Gong's young and talented profile, it wasn't hard to imagine the nature of their relationship.

Because she had mentioned the influential Gong Yi, it became easier to converse with her. Soon, Hua Mi arranged for the delivery of empty water bottles and ordered 100,000 bottles of mineral water from the plant.

Since she had a supply of water bottles, the plant had to prioritize her for water production, delaying others until her order was completed.

But this time, Hua Mi didn't have to wait on-site for the water production to finish; she simply left, asking Ah Fu to deliver the goods for her.

After reminding Ah Fu a few times, Hua Mi rode her skateboard away from the water plant.

She didn't rush back to the supermarket; after all, going there and coming back would mean walking through a wasteland.

Hua Mi decided to head out of town to the Xiang City Express Station to pick up a shipment of instant noodles,

Because the current logistics network was still functional, and diligent couriers wouldn't abandon their posts until absolutely necessary.

After all, logistics guaranteed essential civil needs.

So, on her way to pick up the shipment, Hua Mi ordered 10,000 portable gas canisters and 100 portable cartridge stoves online.

After calculating the money left, minus what she would need to pay the water plant, Hua Mi also bought 1,000 sets of outdoor cookware and 1,000 sets of folding serrated knives of varying sizes.

She listed only one address: Xiang City Express Station (please be sure to call; if unreachable, kindly drop nearby for self-pickup).

This instruction was quite broad. In case of poor communication signals, the exceptional Post Boss couriers would default to any Xiang City Express Station, which meant they wouldn't send back any of Hua Mi's packages.

The Express Station where Hua Mi's ordered instant noodles would be dropped was in the nearest town outside the city gates.

But this "nearest"… was somewhat elusive.

Riding her skateboard there took Hua Mi over an hour!

Hua Mi didn't know why, but perhaps because she had been too exhausted recently, today she felt especially hungry.

Typically quite resilient, by the time Hua Mi reached the market, she was nearly starving.

The market hadn't been affected by the earthquake and everything still looked calm, even though people were constantly discussing the frequent Xiang City earthquakes.

Hua Mi didn't take time to collect her parcel, opting instead for a noodle shop, where she ordered two bowls of noodles.

Two bowls! Bowls bigger than her face.

After eating, Hua Mi finally felt revived. What a stomach she had; she had never eaten so much in one sitting.

"Girl, you can really eat."

The noodle shop owner came to clear the bowls, shocked to see Hua Mi had polished off two large bowls, not leaving a drop of soup.

It was surprising. The girl looked so delicate and frail, yet her appetite was enormous.

Hua Mi paused, turned around, and, with a smile, asked the owner,

"Excuse me, where can I buy a used electric flatbed trolley?"

Money does not last long, and Hua Mi didn't have much left, but fortunately, an electric flatbed trolley wasn't expensive.

Having operated her shop in this small market for decades, the owner knew every local selling anything due to her interactions with patrons.

Soon enough, she enthusiastically summoned an elderly man for Hua Mi.

When the elderly man arrived, he drove an old-looking but exceptionally large and sturdy electric flatbed trolley, asking for 400 without budging a penny.

Hua Mi slapped the table,

"200, and I won't pay a cent more."

With that, she stood up to leave.

It wasn't that she couldn't afford 400 dollars; it was his attitude that provoked Hua Mi to bargain!

Bargaining was a stubbornness etched in a woman's soul!

Eventually, the old man called her back and after some back-and-forth, they settled on a price of 250.

Yes, 250.

The elderly man looked at Hua Mi with a "250-dollar" gaze as she transferred the money to him.

His electric flatbed trolley, after more than a decade, had been hard to sell... until today.

Hua Mi drove her newly acquired used flatbed trolley to the express station to collect her instant noodles.

Since different stores placed the orders, the quantities varied, so the noodles did not arrive at the express station all at once.

The first batch of more than a dozen boxes of instant noodles perfectly filled the flatbed trolley.

Hua Mi, dragging the dozen boxes of instant noodles, hurried out of the market to a secluded place where there would likely be no surveillance or watchers. With a turn, she placed her hand on the boxes behind her, storing the dozen boxes of instant noodles back into her level-four storage.

She then returned to the market.

In the market, she bought some ready-to-eat food, packing 200 servings of pickles and 200 servings of spicy hotpot.

Of course, she didn't buy all these at one place—that would be foolish.

Moreover, her level-four storage had automatic preservation and freezing functions, comparable to the miraculous spaces in fiction. Hot food stored inside could be removed after any length of time and still be just as steaming hot as when it was first put in.

This way, there was no issue with the food expiring.