Chapter 4

The belly-filling staples were being packed up. We needed massive amounts of meat, eggs, and dairy. A strong body was essential for safety.

“Master, we’ll take all of these, these, and these!” I pointed to the pork, poultry, beef, lamb, even fish and shrimp sections. “Avoid tricky offal, no trotters!” “Could you also chop the ribs, poultry, and fish? Yeah, about this big per piece.” I gestured the size. We had a vacuum sealer at home; we’d pack everything in small, family-sized portions before freezing. Meat shouldn’t be repeatedly frozen and thawed; it breeds bacteria. Better to put in the extra effort to minimize risk.

The butcher looked puzzled. “Whaddya need all this for?” Customers here usually took wholesale cuts and left. Mom smiled naturally, replying in dialect, “My daughter’s starting a home-cooked meal delivery service. We ladies can’t chop all this. Thanks for the trouble, big brother.” She shot me a look. I quickly pulled out 200 yuan in cash as a tip. The butcher stopped asking and processed the meat as fast as possible.

Thus, we acquired:

Pork: 60kg

Pork ribs: 30kg

Beef: 50kg

Prepared chickens/ducks: 30 total

Frozen prepped fish (cod, hairtail): 15 bags

Whole chickens/ducks: 30 total

Eggs: 150 (limited shelf life)

A huge bag of hot pot balls like crab sticks, beef balls, shrimp balls

Smoked sausage, smoked pork belly, smoked ribs: 30kg each

Since we’d be cooking meat, matching seasonings were essential. Salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, five-spice powder, spice packs for stewing, salt and pepper seasoning, black pepper sauce, bird’s eye chilies (they freeze well), garlic cloves, ginger (good for ginger tea too) – we bought the maximum wholesale quantities.

Considering freezer capacity, the rest of the protein came in cans:

Luncheon meat: 50 cans

Spicy seafood mix: 60 cans

Dried small fish: 60 cans

Preserved vegetable braised pork: 40 cans

I already owned an oven and air fryer. Added a few more compact air fryers, a grill, smokeless charcoal plus a wood stove, an induction cooker, a juicer, and an electric kettle – basically kitted out.

While seeing fresh meat packed away added to my sense of security, an unwelcome thought surfaced: Was staying put at home truly safe? If we absolutely had to leave, long-lasting rations like hardtack needed to be ready, within carrying capacity. I added 20kg of hardtack.

Mom, more experienced in practical matters, split off to the produce section after the meat. Snacks and drinks… I just couldn’t resist.

Shelf-stable milk: 20 cases (24x250ml boxes)

Drinks like Want Milk, Assam milk tea, and soda: 10 large bottles each

Yogurt: 40 packs (based on shelf life)

Bottled peach-flavored yogurt: 8 cases

Daily nut packs: 20 cases

Quail eggs / Tea eggs: 50 cases

Egg yolk pastries, walnut cookies, rice cakes: 50 cases total

Granulated sugar, honey, plum-flavored watermelon seeds, plain sunflower seeds, dried fruit: various amounts

Chocolate, Snickers, etc.: 20 cases for high-energy foods

…

Dad loved tea, so I got him 10 Pu’er tea cakes. Mom liked flower tea, so I secretly added 10 jars of rose and jasmine tea. Sugar intake would be crucial in the apocalypse. Trust me, you don’t want low blood sugar when, say, peering down at zombies or needing to run for your life.