Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 300 Market Sales

There aren't many snack stalls, and occasionally there are one or two, but they sell small, individually packaged snacks at high prices.

She saw a stall selling potato chips, in their original, unopened packaging, priced at 4 points.

Someone was selling lollipops nearby, 2 points each, the same price she set.

She felt more confident.

Back in her car, she checked her location. She was at the very edge of the market. There was nothing she could do; all the good spots had already been taken. Besides, she was driving. Who would let her drive into the market to steal business?

Xu Xiaoyan wasn't fixated on how many snacks she sold; she'd sell as many as she could. She didn't need the points. The reason she did this was simply because snacks couldn't fill her stomach; they were just icing on the cake. She preferred to exchange them for sustenance.

She took out a folding beach chair and a small table from her storage space, and then placed the samples on the table.

He sat on the edge of the carriage with his feet on the ground.

Soon, someone noticed the price tag on her car.

A middle-aged woman walked over, looked at the sample, then at her. "Potato chips, three cents? Can I open one and try one?"

"Yes, that's fine," Xu Xiaoyan nodded.

The man carefully opened one of the bags, tasted a piece, and said, "Give me two bags."

Xu Xiaoyan got up, took two bags of potato chips from the carriage, and handed them to her.

The woman took it, examined it, weighed it in her hand, nodded in satisfaction, and then transferred the points via her mobile phone on the spot.

With a "beep", the transaction was completed.

The woman put the potato chips into her handbag and left.

She sat back down on the edge of the carriage.

Soon, more people arrived.

A young man, dressed in overalls and looking like he had just finished get off work, asked, "How much are the cookies?"

"Five points".

"Give me a bag."

A little while later, a young mother with a child walked by, and the child stared longingly at the lollipop.

"A lollipop, two points each?"

"right".

"Give me five."

The child jumped for joy.

An elderly woman strolled over, looking at the preserved plum candies. "These, two for one point?"

"right".

"Give me one point."

Xu Xiaoyan handed her two preserved plum candies.

The old lady took it, put it in her pocket, and slowly walked away.

One by one.

In less than an hour, she sold more than 40 bags of potato chips, more than 30 bags of cookies, more than 30 bags of shrimp chips, dozens of lollipops, and a lot of preserved plum candies.

The sun slowly rose higher—no, there was no real sun in the underground city, only a huge simulated screen overhead, changing different lights, currently showing what it looked like around ten o'clock in the morning, with bright and even light.

The market was getting more and more crowded.

Several people gathered around her stall.

Someone asked if they could try the shrimp chips, so she opened a bag as a sample. After trying one chip, the person immediately bought three bags.

Someone asked if there were any other flavors, and she said that's all for now.

Someone asked if she could get a discount, and she said this was the price.

Everything is normal.

Until she looked up and saw someone.

The man stood on the periphery of the crowd, wearing a dark coat and a baseball cap pulled low, obscuring his face.

But from where he was standing, he could see her stall perfectly.

Moreover, he stood there, motionless.

Xu Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat.

She kept her head down as she served the customer in front of her, but her eyes were constantly fixed on that person.

The customer left, but the man was still standing there.

Another group of customers arrived, and the man was still standing there.

She swiped a customer's card, then looked up—the person was gone.

She quickly scanned her surroundings; nothing was there.

She stood up, took a few steps in that direction, pretending to tidy up the things in the carriage, but actually observing her surroundings.

No.

She returned to her stall, feeling a bit unsettled.

Was it the person who was watching her in the parking lot?

Are they here to keep an eye on her?

Or is she being too sensitive?

She took a deep breath and told herself not to panic.

Perhaps it was just a passerby whose attention was drawn to her stall.

Perhaps it was just her imagination.

She sat down and continued selling her goods.

But this time, her eyes kept glancing at the crowd.

I sold for another half hour, but I didn't see that person again.

She gradually breathed a sigh of relief.

By 8 p.m., she had almost sold out of the snacks she brought—only a dozen or so bags of potato chips, twenty or so bags of biscuits, a few bags of shrimp chips, all the lollipops, and only a little bit of preserved plum candy left.

She checked the time and decided to pack up and leave.

As I got up to pack my things, I caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye.

She was still wearing that dark coat.

He was still wearing that baseball cap with the brim pulled low.

This time, the person was standing next to a bread truck, only a dozen meters away from her car.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Then, the person moved.

He walked towards her.

Xu Xiaoyan unconsciously clenched the bag in her hand.

She watched the person approach step by step, her mind racing—run? But this was a market, with so many people, she couldn't escape.

Shout? Shout what? He hasn't done anything yet.

Wait? Wait until he gets close and see what he's up to.

The man walked up to her stall and stopped.

Beneath the brim of the hat, a middle-aged man's face looked tired, with sunken eye sockets, as if he hadn't slept well for several days.

He looked at the snacks on Xu Xiaoyan's stall, then at her, and asked, "Do you want to order some more?"

The sound wasn't loud, and it was almost drowned out by the noise of the market, but Xu Xiaoyan heard it clearly.

She looked up at him, puzzled. "Buying goods?"

The man didn't reply. Instead, he looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them. Still feeling uneasy, he took a half-step forward and lowered his voice, saying, "This isn't a convenient place. Could we find somewhere else to talk?"

His eyes, hidden beneath the brim of his hat, were sincere, yet also wary, as if he were observing her reaction.

Xu Xiaoyan was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I'm packing up. Wait a moment."

The man nodded, took a step back, and stood aside to wait.

Xu Xiaoyan continued packing her things. She took the samples from the folding table into the carriage, folded the folding table up, leaned it against the inside of the carriage, and finally closed the carriage door.

Turning around, she looked at the person and said, "Where are you going? Let me make it clear first, I'm not going to any remote places."

Her tone was calm, but her eyes carried a clear warning: don't try to lead me into an empty passage.

The man nodded, indicating his understanding. "It's not far, just next to the market. There's a passageway there, less crowded, but you can still see people. Don't worry, I really don't mean any harm."

When he said this, the corner of his mouth even twitched slightly, as if he were giving a bitter smile.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't say anything and followed him. The two walked through the market stalls and came to a relatively quiet passageway. Here, the view was open, and they could see people coming and going, but they wouldn't be too close to anyone.

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