At the cosmetics company, Lan Jin even found a warehouse that had been overlooked.
These things could not be eaten, but Lan Jin did not hesitate to pack up the now-worthless lipsticks, eyeshadow palettes, and similar items into her storage space. As for face masks, she stuffed them into her backpack.
They had no skincare products, and using a mask every day could still help with maintenance. That made it useful supplies.
As for food, inside this building they only found a single convenience store. The edible items inside were pitifully few.
The cold season meant darkness fell early. By a little past three in the afternoon, the sky was already dimming. No one wanted to leave, but none of them dared to spend the night outside, so they gathered up what they had and rushed back to the car.
The next day.
Because they had gathered so much yesterday, no one wanted to give up on the supplies in this area. Before dawn, Lan Jin left again with Huang Jinghe and Lao Gao.
This time, Lan Jin parked the car directly beneath the window of Building No. 4.
The first place they entered was the office of a food livestreaming company. Though the quantity was smaller than yesterday's haul, every single item was some sort of nutritional food.
Protein bars, beef jerky, nuts, seaweed, bread, drinks, soy milk powder, milk powder, even camel milk powder. The commercials for camel milk powder had been everywhere before. It was marketed for the elderly, but it didn't matter who it was made for. If it was edible, no one would hesitate to claim it.
There wasn't an overwhelming amount, but even so, Lan Jin had to make two trips before they cleared the place out. She could not help regretting for the hundredth time that she had not secured a truck or a pickup. Even a pickup could haul far more than the Hummer.
They kept finding empty rooms until they reached the seventeenth floor, where Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe stumbled upon a small takeout shop. Its storage room was packed with rice, noodles, vermicelli, sweet potato starch, flour…
When Lan Jin saw these staple foods, her jaw nearly dropped. "This… this…"
Huang Jinghe explained excitedly, "Just found it, Sister Lan. There's a lot more. Let's hurry and send it back."
From this one shop alone, Lan Jin skipped lunch and made three runs. She thought this would be the end of Building No. 4's resources, but when they reached the twenty-sixth floor in the afternoon, they found a pet store.
There were no pets, of course, but there were mountains of cat food, dog food, all sorts of canned goods, snacks, and biscuits. Everyone knew that if pets could eat it, people could eat it too. And in times like this, if it was edible, no one would turn up their nose. In the end… they took over the entire warehouse.
The haul from this one shop alone took Lan Jin four trips in the afternoon to barely move it all. By the time she finished, it was already completely dark. Lan Jin, Lao Gao, and Huang Jinghe trudged home with a bit of extra food in hand.
The day's harvest was too bountiful. Back home, they all gathered for a hearty meal before lounging together for some relaxed conversation. Looking at the supplies piled like a mountain, Ling Jiang rubbed her full stomach and asked with delight, "How long do you think this will last us?"
"We haven't even finished collecting everything. Just what we have here will definitely last a while." Lan Jin pointed toward the stack of dog food. "Give me anything people can't eat. I'll feed it to my dog. No sense wasting it."
Ordinary dog kibble was edible for people, but Lan Jin was referring to things like freeze-dried duck heads with feathers, or dried, misshapen quails. People could eat them, but since they had better food, there was no need.
Huang Jinghe said, "Alright, I don't want that stuff."
Lao Gao added, "Me neither. That stuff's dried rock-hard. No chew at all. Nana can eat it, that's perfect."
He tore open a bag of freeze-dried food and fed it to Nana.
Nana was not picky. He ate the vegetable-based dog meals from Lan Jin's space with relish, and the dog food from outside just as happily. He also had a habit of making humming sounds while eating, which always made Lan Jin feel like she was feeding a pig.
When they got home, Qiao Qiao tugged on Lan Jin's sleeve. "Mama, Qiao Qiao want go out too."
"What for? Mama was doing important work. No time to watch you. You're too idle. You're already over three years old, so it's time to start preschool. Once Mama finishes being busy, I'll teach you some things, and you won't feel so bored."
If a child had the energy to fuss, it meant she was too idle. When Qiao Qiao was only two, Lan Jin hadn't pushed teaching her. But at three years old, it was time. She could not be left completely untaught.
And with the child's personality already influenced by her past life, she was leaning further down a dangerous path when it came to dealing with bad people. Lan Jin did not want her to become some soft-hearted saint, but being overly cruel was no better. Qiao Qiao was also incredibly strong. Without the right values, who knew how many people she might hurt in the future.
Of course, Qiao Qiao knew nothing of these thoughts. She could not imagine how much she would regret this later.
Another night passed.
When they reached Building No. 5, aside from a small amount of food, they found a small appliance company. Its warehouse had a pile of display models shoved into a corner.
Rice cookers, juicers, bread makers, soy milk machines, air fryers…
Some models had many units, others were lone samples. It was a pity to throw them away, but taking them home was hardly useful.
Lao Gao hesitated for a long time before deciding to bring them all back. The company's employee benefits had been good too. In the tea room, they found a cabinet in the corner filled with unopened gift snacks. As long as they weren't spoiled, they could be eaten. Lan Jin made two trips to move them all home.
The top floor of Building No. 5 had renovated offices. One office was not only especially luxurious but also packed with items. Milk, flour, cake mix, spoiled eggs, and fruit.
And an entire wall of wine racks, every shelf full of red wine. Lao Gao, thrilled, packed up every bottle. He grinned as he worked. "These are good stuff. No point talking about how expensive they were before. Now, even if you had the money, you couldn't buy them."
"No kidding. There's nowhere to buy anything now."
While continuing to search, Lan Jin spotted two safes in the cabinet behind the desk, one large and one small. She shook them and heard the sound of something rattling inside.
"Lao Gao, can you open a safe? There's something in here."
Lao Gao quickly finished packing the wine and came over. Safes could be opened, sure, but it would take effort. "You two keep looking for supplies. Give me a little time and I'll have this open."
"So confident?" Lan Jin teased.
"Of course."