Chapter 2: In the 1970s, I Became the Villainess in a Period Novel

 

Chapter 2: Frenzied Stockpiling

The real estate agency was located right next to the largest farmers’ market in the area.

Her spatial storage was currently rather simple—only about ten acres of land and a small pond. Although simple, it was extremely useful: nothing inside would rot, crops could grow at accelerated speed, and the pond’s water was inexhaustible.

Shen Meng first bought all kinds of crop seeds—wheat, rice, sorghum, corn…

Then came vegetable seeds: beans, tomatoes, eggplants, chili peppers, cabbage, radishes, leafy greens… basically anything the shop had, she bought it all.

Next, she went to an oil and grain store.

Rice, soybeans, black beans, sesame, sorghum, corn, millet—each item, one hundred bags. Cooking oils like peanut oil, soybean oil, sesame oil, walnut oil, and olive oil—fifty barrels each. Even jujubes, spices, chili, dried goods, condiments, and fermented bean paste were all bought in large quantities.

The shop owner had never seen such a wealthy customer before. The list filled several pages, and the calculator was practically worn out from use. Over 100,000 yuan worth of goods—half a month’s sales achieved in just half a day! The owner happily even gave a few extra bags of rice and arranged free delivery for later.

After that, Shen Meng repeated the same process, ordering all kinds of vegetables—300 jin (about 150 kg) each.

While ordering, she hesitated a little. After all, her space had fertile land, and the seeds she bought could regenerate, so vegetables weren’t that important. What mattered more was stocking up on meat.

Most of today’s purchases would be delivered the next afternoon.

After checking the time, she ate a bowl of noodles at a restaurant, then drove for over two hours onto the highway to the nearest rural town.

Here, the meat was not only fresh but also freshly slaughtered. There were cattle farms, chicken farms, and pig farms, as well as many orchards.

When she arrived, it happened to be market day—very lively. There were all kinds of braised foods, snacks, pastries, candies, fruits, vegetables, clothing stalls, general goods, bedding and quilts, hardware shops, and more.

There were also seven pharmacies and five mother-and-baby stores along one street, which she visited one by one. As long as something looked good, she bought it.

The vendors—mostly honest and kind villagers—saw she was a thin young woman and even helped carry her purchases to her car trunk.

Each time, Shen Meng waited until they left before quickly storing everything into her space.

Some items could not be taken immediately, so she arranged for them to be delivered the next day.

She also specially found a shop selling iron stoves and outdoor cooking equipment.

Not only because of convenience, but also because rural prices were cheap. For example, beef that cost 50 yuan per jin in big cities could be bought here for around 30 yuan, and it was very fresh.

She visited several livestock farms and bought everything for same-day slaughter under the excuse of “family event preparation.” The owners were honest and even gave her all the offal for free, cleaned and processed.

She also bought from orchards, since vitamins were necessary. Even seedlings she found were purchased and shipped to be delivered the next day.

Before leaving, she saw a steamed bun shop and bought some to taste—they were excellent. The shop had many varieties: meat buns, vegetable buns, beef buns, dumplings, pan-fried buns, flatbreads, noodles, rice noodles, spicy soup, red bean porridge, pumpkin porridge, etc.

Since it wasn’t busy, she asked the shop to prepare everything and bought out their stock. For cooked food, she preferred buying on the spot rather than pre-ordering—otherwise, she feared paying but not receiving the goods.

In the end, as it got dark, she swept through several pharmacies again. Thinking of the dream scenes, she still felt uneasy. If she really ended up in a harsh environment, even drinking water might cause illness, so she bought as much medicine as possible before driving home.

It was already past nine when she got back. She was completely exhausted and fell straight into bed without even showering.

She slept until dawn and felt a bit unaccustomed. She thought privately that she hadn’t dreamed last night—maybe the “bad luck” wasn’t really targeting her after all.

Then wouldn’t her 1.7 million yuan of spending be wasted?

But fate didn’t give her time to hesitate.

After waking up, her phone kept ringing nonstop—deliveries of clothes, quilts, meat, rice, oil, fruits, vegetables…

Truck after truck arrived. Goods were unloaded into her temporary rented garage. After the delivery people left, she stored everything into her space, repeating the process over and over.

Fortunately, her residential area was mostly bought by property speculators back then, with low occupancy, so her actions didn’t attract much attention. She only encountered a couple walking a dog once.

That day passed happily—but in the middle of the night, she was once again awakened by a dream.

This time, the pain in her heart was even stronger.

In the dream, the man hugged a green coat she had worn before her death and jumped into the river where she had drowned. In the middle of winter, by the time people found him, he had already frozen to death.

Shen Meng felt her heart ache. When she touched her face, it was covered in tears.

She froze for a moment. No matter how unwilling she was, she had to admit—this family was truly tragic.

And worse still, she still had to continue stockpiling supplies.

The next day, Shen Meng immediately bought a plane ticket and flew to a wholesale goods market.

Hair ties, cosmetics, enamel basins, enamel cups, old-fashioned mirrors, thermos flasks, hot water bags, nostalgic clothing, shoes, hats, cotton coats, knitting supplies, sweaters, socks, bicycles, televisions, refrigerators, retro toys, posters, books—anything she could find, she bought it all.

Just as she was planning to stay a few more days, she suddenly received a call from the real estate agent saying an elderly couple wanted to view and buy her apartment.

Hearing this, she immediately canceled her plan and rushed back. This matter could not be delayed.

The elderly couple were honest people and didn’t try to bargain too harshly. After negotiation, they signed the contract, completed the transfer, and paid the full price.

After the house transfer, Shen Meng either received deliveries or was on the way to receive deliveries. Recently, a wave of domestic-brand shopping trends had exploded online, and she went on a shopping spree in livestream rooms—cheap, good quality, and generous freebies.

Strangely, during this period of stockpiling, she actually slept very peacefully.

(End of Chapter 2)