My Courtyard Shelter

Chapter 31: A Sudden Rush of Customers

On March 18, the Xu family’s second store officially opened. It was the same location as before, just with a new sign. For this, Xu Dong had specifically acquired a small scrap recycling Company—he didn’t take their premises, mainly because he found the location too remote—and the whole transaction cost him less than 10,000 yuan. These days, countless small and medium-sized companies were going bankrupt every day, and the streets were plastered with “For Rent” signs. Xu Dong simply made a brief inquiry at a real estate agency, and they immediately pulled out a thick directory of companies, telling him to pick whichever one he liked. After completing all the formalities, Xu’s father not only became the manager of this new store but also the sole shareholder of Changming Renewable Resources Recycling Company. In other words, this store belonged entirely to Xu’s father, inside and out, and the name “Changming” was even taken from his own name. After the new store opened, Xu’s father seemed to have found a new lease on life; he was even happier than when he was a convenience store manager, and he radiated confidence and vigor. Xu Dong finally let go of that lingering sense of guilt. Also on that day, the major state-owned banks in Daxia finally resumed operations; on the very first day, the crowds of people withdrawing money brought traffic in the entire urban area to a standstill. The next day, more good news arrived: mobile communications and the internet had begun trial operations in some neighborhoods, with full service expected to be restored within two or three days. Spurred by this news, all new cell phones, tablets, and laptops on the market—regardless of brand—were snapped up in an instant, and even the long-absent scalpers had resurfaced. The reason everyone was frantically snapping up electronics was simple: many people no longer had any electronic devices to use. In fact, long before the nationwide power outage, numerous measures to mitigate the destructive effects of the solar flare had already been circulating online, one of which was: Unplug your electronic devices! Perhaps out of skepticism, perhaps because they didn’t see the advice, or perhaps because they simply forgot… In any case, on that day, the largest-scale electronic device disposal event in history took place. On March 21, internet service was gradually restored in state capitals and major cities across the country, and people re-entered the internet age. If we set aside supply chain issues, people’s lifestyles had essentially returned to what they were before the Sun’s flare. Just when everyone thought everything was about to get back on track, another wave of panic buying shattered that illusion. The panic buying was fierce and intense, spreading rapidly across the country and even spilling over into neighboring nations. As soon as the first signs of the panic buying emerged, Mrs. Xu received a group message from her dance friends’ chat group. Being an impatient person by nature, she had absolutely no resistance to the frenzy. This time, instead of trying to talk her out of it, Xu Dong actually joined in. Hiding money at home or keeping it in the bank is a very foolish thing to do. If you do that, then congratulations—in the future, you’ll have the “pleasure” of witnessing what it means for money to “plummet three thousand feet.” So you might as well take this opportunity to spend it all. You only get one chance—no matter what you buy, it’s a win; if you don’t get it, you can only blame your bad luck. Once he was ready, Xu Dong got behind the wheel of his truck and began cruising the streets. He deliberately avoided crowded areas, focusing instead on lesser-known shops. In crowded areas, traffic was gridlocked, and his truck couldn’t even get in. Besides, his family had plenty of food at home, so it didn’t matter what he bought. “There’s no one over there.” Xu’s mother suddenly pointed to a spot not far away; she was sitting in the passenger seat. Xu Dong saw it too and quickly pulled the truck up to the shop’s entrance. “I wonder what they sell here?” Mrs. Xu felt a little uneasy; they’d already bought quite a few unnecessary items, such as toilet seats, glass cups, wallpaper, floor tiles, and flip-flops. Their only real haul had been a truckload of small hardware items. Those purchases had long since wiped out the 600,000 Xu Ma had brought with her; now they were using the money left in Xu Dong’s account—about two million. “We’ll find out once we go inside. It’s close to the flower, bird, fish, and pet market, so I’m guessing they sell pets or bonsai.” Xu Dong speculated; in any case, he wasn’t expecting any surprises. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Xu couldn’t hide the disappointment on her face; she certainly didn’t want to kill baby pets for meat—she couldn’t bring herself to do it, nor could she bring herself to eat it. Mother and son stepped into the shop. It wasn’t small—about 100 square meters—but it looked empty; it seemed they’d arrived a bit too late. The shop owner was overjoyed to see customers and immediately stepped forward to greet them: “Welcome! What would you two like to buy?” Mrs. Xu furrowed her brow and asked, “What do you have for sale here?” “Didn’t you see the sign by the door…” Before he could finish, the shop owner realized his mistake and quickly apologized: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—I forgot. The sign was taken down last night.” “Sir, are you closing this shop?” The shop owner nodded and explained, “I’ve had less than ten customers in three months. I just can’t keep it going anymore. I’m officially closing tomorrow.” Mrs. Xu looked sympathetic. Xu Dong didn’t want to waste time and asked straight out, “Sir, what exactly did you sell here?” “Flower fertilizer!” the shop owner replied. “Chemical fertilizer?” “Not chemical fertilizer—flower fertilizer. As in ‘flower’ as in ‘flower’s flower,’” the shop owner said, sounding exasperated. As soon as Mrs. Xu heard “flower fertilizer,” she lost all interest and just wanted to leave as soon as possible. Xu Dong, on the other hand, became intrigued and continued, “Besides flower fertilizer, do you have any potting soil here?” The shop owner’s eyes lit up—he hadn’t expected to run into such a big customer right before closing time. Potting soil is different from flower fertilizer; a typical order is at least a dozen cubic meters, and some can even reach several thousand cubic meters—the profit margin is much higher than for flower fertilizer. “Yes, we do. How much would you like?” “I’ll take 100 cubic meters. I’d also like some flower fertilizer—about 1,000 kilograms should be enough.” No sooner had Xu Dong finished speaking than his mother pulled him aside by the door: “What are you going to do with so much soil?” “I want to set up a vegetable garden in our backyard. That way, even if a natural disaster really does happen in the future, Ke Ke and the others will still be able to eat fresh vegetables.” “Will that even work? It’s so cold at night—the seeds will freeze to death,” Xu’s mom said worriedly. Xu Dong pointed out, “Mom, our yard is completely enclosed. Isn’t that just a natural greenhouse? What kind of vegetable couldn’t grow there?” Mrs. Xu caught on immediately and even took the idea a step further. She wasn’t worried about the low nighttime temperatures—at worst, they could just add a couple more stoves. Growing vegetables would definitely be no problem, so she immediately changed her mind: “All right, I’m in favor of setting up a vegetable garden.” The two returned to the store, where the shop owner asked anxiously, “How did your discussion go? If it’s a matter of price, we’re open to negotiation.” “So what’s your price?” Xu Dong asked, seizing the moment. “You know the situation here, so I won’t beat around the bush: 1,000 yuan per cubic meter for potting soil, with flower fertilizer included. As for shipping, delivery is free within the Fifth Ring Road; beyond that, we’ll split the cost 50-50. What do you think?” Xu Dong thought the price was reasonable—after all, everything was getting more expensive these days—so he nodded and said, “Okay, I can accept that price.” The shop owner’s face lit up with surprise, and he hurriedly expressed his gratitude—this order alone would recoup at least a quarter of his losses. “When can you expect the shipment to arrive?” Xu Dong asked immediately. The shop owner thought for a moment and said, “It’ll take at least three or four days—after all, it’s hard to find transport vehicles these days.” “Then let’s have it delivered in five days,” Xu Dong decided. He could use those five days to turn his yard into a vegetable garden. “No problem.”