Chapter 5: Spices Purchased

As for vinegar, sugar, salt, and other seasonings, in theory, they don’t expire. Star anise, cinnamon, and the like are also fine as long as they are not affected by moisture. These can be stored for a long time and can be stocked up in the basement of the villa, not taking up valuable space. Jing Shu secretly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and then said to the aunt who was still doing the accounts, "I want 1,000 pounds of vinegar, and 200 pounds each of salt, soy sauce, white sugar, crystal sugar, chicken essence, oyster sauce, and star anise. For five-spice powder, cumin, Sichuan peppercorn powder, cinnamon powder, pepper, baking soda, cooking wine, and ground sesame oil, I want 100 pounds each." Even though purchases were by weight, the actual containers for vinegar were 5L jerrycans; soy sauce and oyster sauce came in 1L jerrycans; cooking wine and ground sesame oil were in glass bottles; and the rest were in 500-gram or 250-gram packets, which were very convenient and quick to use. The aunt quickly wrote up the list, then looked up at Jing Shu to ask, "Soybean sauce, Chili Sauce, and Chili Powder sell very well. Don’t you want some?" Jing Shu thought about it. I’ll stock up on raw materials in the first month and process the ingredients in the following month. By then, I’ll definitely be pickling a lot of vegetables, and the chili sauce can be made from the produce grown in the Magic Cube Space. As for the soybean sauce, I could also make it, but it wouldn’t taste like the store-bought kind. "Then add 200 pounds of soybean sauce," Jing Shu said, unconsciously swallowing, drawing a puzzled look from the aunt. This young lady has been swallowing constantly since she came in. Could she be sick with something? The aunt quickly did the math, and Jing Shu also started calculating with her phone calculator. She was not the kind of person who just accepted whatever amount the seller stated. "The total is 12,890 yuan!" Jing Shu calculated it first. The aunt nodded, checked the amount again, and finding no error, said, "With an order of ten thousand yuan, we’ll give you a box of curry block as a gift." Jing Shu then remembered curry chicken with rice, and her mouth began to water again. Jing Shu left her address and paid. The shop owner issued a receipt, they exchanged phone numbers, and agreed on a delivery time before Jing Shu left the shop, continuing further in. She still had 1,630 yuan left. The vegetable stands were already empty, and the seasoning shop was also starting to close. Jing Shu decided to buy a few more things: 10 pounds of Black Pepper for 80 yuan—That would taste amazing freshly ground on steak! —100 pounds of brown sugar for 600 yuan, and 150 bottles of Wangzhihe Fermented Tofu for 920 yuan, asking the seasoning shop to deliver these as well. With the last 30 yuan in her pocket and the sky turning dark, Jing Shu took a taxi home. When Mr. Jing came home from work that day, he sneaked in, planning to take 500 yuan to buy a birthday gift for Old Sun’s son, only to find just a 100-yuan bill left. His expression flickered—shock, unease, then indignation—as he perhaps recalled the fear of being dominated by the Demon King. Upon Jing Shu’s return home, Mr. Jing sat on the edge of the bed with a constipated look, sighing as he debated whether to confess to Mrs. Jing. In the kitchen, Mrs. Jing was cooking. "You little rascal," she said, "you always show up right at mealtime." Smelling the scent, tinged with something burning, Jing Shu thought, Baozi’s mother’s cooking skills are still as terrible as ever. Looking at the face that had been young and pretty just ten years ago, a lump formed in her throat. She couldn’t bear to imagine Baozi’s mother old and gray-haired a decade later, her face gaunt and hollowed from malnutrition. Pushing her emotions aside, Jing Shu became even more determined. I have to sell the house and car, stock up on supplies, and make sure our family of three not only survives the apocalypse but lives well! Right after dinner, the mushroom blocks and seasonings were delivered together. Under her parents’ curious gazes, she had more than twenty large boxes moved into her bedroom. Taking out a contract, Jing Shu showed it to Baozi’s parents and explained, "Zhu Zhengqi helped find a marketing team... they plan to make me into a food social media star. I’ll sell food while live-streaming, so I went to the wholesale market for seasonings this afternoon." Since I can’t let Mom and Dad know about the Magic Cube Space, the only way to avoid their suspicion from now on is to openly explain the reason for stockpiling supplies, Jing Shu reasoned. I’m such a genius for coming up with this plan that kills three birds with one stone! "Why did you buy so many? Can you use them all?" The person in charge of cooking in the family always kept an eye on finances. "We’ll need hundreds of pounds of vinegar for the few hundred jars of pickles." Jing Shu then explained the whole process to her parents in detail: how to craft a public persona, generate hype, the cost of hiring online ’water armies’ to boost popularity, and how lucrative advertising deals could be once she went viral. Just like in her previous life, her parents didn’t hesitate to find ways to help their daughter build her business. After all, once she succeeded, they would no longer have to worry about her future. Jing Shu added, "A wealthy, second-generation individual personally cooking and selling gourmet food—that kind of persona requires live-streaming from a villa. We’ll also need to renovate some parts of the villa." "Alright, I’ll find someone for you tomorrow. Labor and materials will be at cost price. Once the money is freed up, we’ll renovate it as you wish," Mr. Jing said, unconditionally supporting the women in his family in their endeavors. "Let’s sell that shop and my car too," Mr. Jing decided without hesitation, making the same choice as in his previous life. "I’ll sell my car too, but we’re still short six hundred thousand yuan," Mrs. Jing fretted. "Why don’t we sell this house and move into the villa?" "Commuting over 30 kilometers to work from the villa? That won’t work," Mr. Jing objected, mainly because the villa was too remote. Jing Shu suggested, "The contract says an 800,000 yuan deposit must be paid within three days. Why don’t we first sell the shop and Dad’s car to pay the deposit? If we’re short on time, we can ask my younger maternal aunt, maternal Uncle, and paternal aunts for a loan to tide us over. We have a month to gather the rest." This time, Jing Shu had no qualms about spending her parents’ money. In fact, she was excited. This is a good chance to let Mom and Dad see my younger aunt’s true colors when we ask for a loan, she thought. So it was settled. They immediately posted an ad on 58.com, listing a low price due to the urgency and requiring full cash payment. I’ll target the wealthy; ordinary folks can be spared, Jing Shu decided. "Dad, look, it’s Uncle Sun’s son’s 23rd birthday today. Did you send a gift?" Jing Shu showed her father a post from her Moments. "Not sending one this year," Mr. Jing said, dejected. My private savings are gone, so what’s the point? "Oh, Dad, look! Uncle Sun’s son just got a new Benz. He even posted: ’Thanks to Dad for the birthday present! So generous!’" After saying this, Jing Shu saw her father’s face darken and knew not to push further. She quickly left the room. Uncle Sun, you’d better cough up that 100,000 yuan you owe! she thought. Back in her bedroom, Jing Shu shut the door. She first stored the mushroom blocks in a one-cubic-meter section of her space. Then, she moved all the boxes into the Magic Cube Space, using her X-ray vision to check them. Unopened packages of Salt Chicken Essence Sesame Oil and other items were all accounted for and fresh. After confirming everything, she put them back in the bedroom. While 3,000 pounds of seasonings sounded like a lot, they only stacked up to three rows high and didn’t take up much space. Jing Shu checked off the purchased items on her phone’s list, noted the quantities, and added: 100 boxes/case of curry blocks, 10 pounds of Black Pepper, 100 pounds of brown sugar, 150 bottles of Wangzhihe Fermented Tofu, and 22 mushroom blocks. Organizing her stockpile was Jing Shu’s happiest time, just like counting money every day.