Although Wu City only had a permanent population of around four million, with the surrounding counties and migrant workers, the available manpower for such operations was more than sufficient. This was why the goods from the large wholesale markets and major chain supermarkets had vanished without a sound, as if swallowed by the earth itself. One day the shelves were sparse but still holding items, the next they were stripped bare, with official notices pasted on the doors stating "Temporarily Closed for Inventory and Sanitation."
As for how they disappeared, where they went, and through what channels, well, one could only use their imagination. Official convoys moved at night under the cover of the perpetual darkness loading trucks under heavy guard.
For the vendors and factory owners, those willing to cooperate proactively could still work happily with the authorities, turning over their inventory in exchange for promises of future compensation, preferential treatment, or even a role in the new state managed distribution system, gaining both future security and a good name.
Those unwilling to cooperate, who tried to hide stocks or demanded exorbitant prices, were quietly invited into a little room at the relevant bureau to drink tea and wait. Food and drink would be provided and they could sit there slowly until, theoretically, Earth's Dark Days ended, at which point their compensation would be calculated according to some future undefined standard. In reality, they were hostages to their own inventory.
Jing Shu only learned much later deep into the apocalypse that this massive consolidation of resources had been arranged and set in motion long before in these early months. This was why even in the fifth year of the apocalypse government relief stations could still distribute packets of expired instant noodles or canned beans, it was closely tied to the strategic stockpiling that had begun during this very period.
Of course, not everyone obeyed meekly. Resistance was futile but still attempted.
So these days she saw daily announcements on the official news feed. Such and such food company had seriously violated national food safety laws during the emergency period and all goods were hereby recalled and confiscated. Such and such product had been found to contain illegal additives and was now recalled. Such and such cannery used moldy substandard fruit to make canned goods evading inspection and all stock was confiscated and the legal representative was under investigation.
On the other hand, there were also praises and model examples. One large enterprise although it had long since stopped production due to the crisis was publicly lauded for donating one hundred fifty million packs of instant noodles it had accumulated in its warehouses, followed later by donations of ham sausages and other accompaniments. The contrast with the punished factories was striking, a clear lesson in compliance.
In this way the authorities systematically wiped out or absorbed all disobedient private food factories, consolidated the compliant ones into larger state supervised entities, and began a massive new project, processing the remaining live poultry, ducks, cattle, and sheep into preserved food.
The reasoning broadcast to the public was pragmatic. The extreme heat was now expected to last for a very long time. The remaining poultry and freshwater fish in farms were unlikely to survive much longer under these conditions. It was better for the collective good to keep a carefully selected portion for controlled breeding and turn the rest into cooked preserved food early, securing a protein reserve. After all in the next year or two with crops failing there would be no animal feed left to raise livestock on any scale.
In the community group chat Wang Qiqi posted a new notice on behalf of the neighborhood committee. "Everyone workers were urgently being recruited at the new processing zones in the west of the city to handle poultry and livestock turning them into cooked preserved food. Both men and women accepted. One meal provided per shift. Wages were in the form of cooked food rations settled weekly. Work hours were two a.m. to seven a.m. to avoid the daytime heat with transport arranged. Anyone interested come register with me."
The chat quickly filled with people signing up listing their names and ID numbers. Better to work and earn food than to sit idle and watch supplies dwindle. For many this was the only way to supplement the meager official rations.
Jing Shu read the flurry of messages and sighed deeply. "It had come to this point already. This wave of mass processing meant that for many years after the apocalypse truly set in poultry and livestock would become almost mythical luxuries. A single egg or a glass of milk would be worth its weight in gold traded for other extreme necessities."
And just as the situation outside grew visibly harsher and more controlled her household finally welcomed Su Lanzhi's first real opportunity to rise in rank and change her position.
Just like in her previous life the scene unfolded with familiar domestic tension. The woman sat at the dining table sadly cradling her precious stamp collection album that she had maintained for over twenty years, her face a picture of painful indecision, unwilling to part with it. Jing An sat nearby on the sofa looking helpless muttering that he wanted no part in the decision and that it was her career.
"Our eldest brother gave me these when I was young. I love collecting stamps. These are limited edition sets from the nineteen eighties the Year of the Monkey the whole series. Their value has appreciated. Should we really give them away?" Su Lanzhi gnawed on an apple, the crunch loud in the quiet room, her brows furrowed with conflict.
Jing Shu slapped her own forehead in mild exasperation. In her earlier pre rebirth plans she had meant to quietly sell the stamp collection for a decent sum to boost their family funds but she had been so busy with survival prepping that she had completely forgotten. Now that the apocalypse had come what practical value did collectible stamps hold? They were only good for her own nostalgic enjoyment. As a gift they were worse than useless in the current climate.
"Maybe maybe don't give them," Jing An suggested carefully seeing his wife's distress. "They mean a lot to you."
"If not these then what? What else can we possibly offer that would matter? Do you think those people in charge lack anything material right now? All three other candidates for that Crop Cultivation Specialist position have connections and family ties. Only I do not. I have been stuck in the same junior technical position for more than ten years. This is my chance." Su Lanzhi glared at him as if his inability to provide a better solution was part of the problem.
"Then maybe we should give them," Jing An said again backpedaling cautiously not wanting to be the cause of a missed opportunity.
"But these are my favorite. I heard Yu Caini that woman from the finance department gifted three complete sets of special edition Olympic stamps. Compared to that my little collection looks pathetic." Su Lanzhi sighed heavily her shoulders slumping.
"Then maybe don't give them," Jing An muttered again lost in the circular debate.
Jing Shu could watch no longer. She went to the pantry then to the small indoor grow room and returned carrying five packs of high yield mushroom spawn in sealed bags, two trays of freshly cut vibrant green garlic shoots, one box of plump sprouted soybeans ready for soy milk or sprouts, and another of fragrant chives.
"Mom stop fretting about stamps. Take these instead. Take them to your superior the one in charge of the new agricultural projects. Let him and his family try the taste." She placed the items on the table.
"Vegetables?" Her mother looked puzzled though her eyes lingered on the fresh green produce. "Prices are sky high now and supply is scarce I know but people at their level can get them through their own channels if they want. And once Earth's Dark Days end these will not be worth much at all. They will be common again."
Jing Shu sighed inwardly. "No wonder the woman had been stuck in a dead end position for over a decade. She never realized where the true treasure lay what was truly valuable in the moment. She like most people was still dreaming of the light returning someday unable to see the present clearly."
"Mom, aren't you all working on crop research specifically for Earth's Dark Days? What does he need most right now? Not stamps. Not something that will be worthless if the sun comes back. He needs tangible results proof of concept something that works now. What you are giving him is exactly that viable spawn and fresh produce grown in the darkness. Even if he can obtain vegetables through backchannels they will not be this fresh this vibrant. You are giving him success a solution. That is worth more than any collectible."
At last Su Lanzhi's eyes lit up with understanding the clouds of confusion parting. She looked from the stamps to the vegetables and a slow smile spread across her face. Jing An seeing the crisis resolved quietly gave a relieved thumbs up from behind her back grateful to be saved from the marital impasse.
So her parents quickly sprang into action. They carefully packed the mushroom spawn garlic shoots soybean sprouts and chives into two presentable baskets loaded them into the energy car and went off to deliver the gift that evening. Su Lanzhi might lack powerful family connections but she had Jing Shu. And in this new world Jing Shu with her foresight and resources was the strongest backing of all.
This lifetime her family had to secure a position within the emerging power structure. It was not about seeking luxurious treatment or corruption but about strengthening their own layer of protection gaining priority information and resources in crises and having a voice however small in decisions that affected their community. These things made life and more importantly safety in the apocalypse far more secure. Otherwise families like theirs who appeared to be doing suspiciously well were fat sheep destined only for slaughter especially fat sheep like the girl with her secret hoard.
Jing Shu had not yet told Grandma Jing about the newly purchased house. She wanted to wait until Wu Youai's research project was finished and they could all come over together in about a week to surprise them properly.
After her parents left on their mission she finally brought out the two dozen plump quail she had cleaned and marinated days before ready to roast them in the small enclosed stove room behind the boiler where the smell could be somewhat contained.
She could only roast about a dozen at a time on the small rack. Every five minutes she pulled the pan out brushed the sizzling birds with a mix of oil and honey and before long the rich savory aroma of roasting meat filled the small room. When they were a perfect golden brown and dripping with glistening fat she sprinkled them with coarse salt and fragrant cumin. The finished roasted quail were small crispy skinned and delicious their meat tender and juicy.
She roasted and ate as she went standing by the stove finishing over a dozen herself savoring the luxury. Then her phone buzzed. She wiped her hands and checked the community group chat.
[Fat Girl Building 2]:"Who is grilling meat in the middle of the day? Can you shut your windows or something? The smell is drifting right into my place. Don't you know I am on a strict diet? Smells amazing though. So annoying. Now I am craving meat I have not had in months."
Building twenty five was only a hundred meters directly opposite their villa separated by the central lawn. The wind must have carried the scent right over. Clearly making delicious obvious food in the apocalypse was itself a problem a potential beacon that could attract unwanted attention or stir resentment.
Jing Shu could only speed up her work resolve to be more careful with ventilation next time and focus on turning all the food she could into non perishable cooked dishes to be stored quietly away in the infinite scentless void of the Cube Space. Survival was not just about having resources but about concealing them.