Holding Their Own Space, the Family Returns to the Apocalypse

10: Leave the toilet problem to me.”Hmph, coward! What a piece of work!”

Ai Yue couldn’t help but despise her own judgment once again. How could she have fallen for someone like that? She blamed her lack of experience for being so easily charmed and manipulated into following his every word.

Closing the door, Ai Yue tossed the Baseball Bat into her space and put the matter out of her mind. She turned to her parents and said, ”Mom, Dad, we need to find a place to cook all the food we’ve stockpiled and store it in the space. We won’t have the chance to cook during the Apocalypse.”

”Right, right, Yueyue is always so thorough. I would have forgotten about that if you hadn’t mentioned it,” Ai Guosheng chimed in repeatedly.

”Our university’s third cafeteria has catering services. Let’s go straight there. Their pots are huge, and in ten days, they should be able to make enough meals to last us a lifetime. Most importantly, the food is delicious; I basically lived there when I was in school,” Ai Yue continued to suggest.

”You know this city best, we’ll follow your lead.”

”Okay, I’ll move all the furniture from the house into the space in a bit. We’ll eat out today so that when they come to take over the house tomorrow, nothing will look out of place,” Ai Yue said, taking a large bite of a fried dough stick and speaking with her mouth full.

”Mhm. I’ll go rent a small truck in a bit to make it easier to move goods. This afternoon, I’ll head to the appliance market to buy some appliances and furniture. The villa is empty, so we need to set it up to be more comfortable during the early stages of the Apocalypse,” Ai Guosheng added.

”Old Ai, you’re absolutely right! Oh, and Dad, buy some more camp beds too; we might need them later.”

”Alright.”

”Then I’ll go keep an eye on things at the villa,” Li Shilan said.

The three of them finished discussing their plans for the day at the dining table in record time.

After eating, Ai Yue headed straight to the university’s third cafeteria. She found the manager and explained her requirements, but the manager looked troubled; making that much food in ten days was a very tight schedule.

However, under the influence of Ai Yue’s money, nothing was an issue. The manager guaranteed that within ten days, they would produce all the staples and home-cooked dishes Ai Yue needed.

Dishes like spiced braised pork hock, lemon chicken, braised pork with preserved greens, boiled fish, fish with pickled cabbage, crispy sweet and sour pork, Northeastern Stew, steamed sea bass, pork ribs stewed with potatoes, salted duck, ’three treasures from the earth’, braised pork belly, shredded pork with garlic sauce, cola chicken wings, hot and sour shredded potatoes, mapo tofu, tomato and scrambled eggs, and so on.

There were also various meat buns, vegetable buns, frozen dumplings, steamed buns, flower rolls, pot after pot of rice, meat pies, and various porridges—she had the cafeteria chefs working overtime to get it all done.

Though the chefs were curious, they all kept their mouths shut in the face of money. Ai Yue wasn’t afraid of being noticed; after all, no one could imagine the Apocalypse was coming, nor that Ai Yue possessed a space that kept everything permanently fresh.

Even if she told people, given the current environment, no one would believe her; they would just think she had severe delusional disorder.

Still, Ai Yue didn’t dare be careless. She wore sunglasses, a hat, and a mask while communicating with them, and she even deliberately altered her posture and gait.

By the time the Apocalypse hit and these people realized something was wrong and wanted to find her, it would be nearly impossible. So, Ai Yue wasn’t worried at all.

Ai Yue went back to meet up with Ai Guosheng. Driving the newly rented truck, they brought the necessary rice, flour, oil, and vegetables to the cafeteria, agreeing to come back every four hours to pick up a load.

Throughout the process, Ai Guosheng wore a mask and hat and never got out of the truck; no one paid any attention to a driver.

After delivering the supplies to the cafeteria, the two went to the appliance market. With maximum efficiency, they bought five double beds, six single beds, fifty camp beds, three sofa sets, three TVs, one desktop computer, five laptops, and ten hard drives.

They also bought surveillance equipment to install around the villa so they could know immediately what was happening outside.

And high-powered binoculars to be installed on the third-floor roof, allowing them to clearly observe the situation in the distance.

drones were also essential; they bought five.

Seeing fire extinguishers in the corner of every shop, Ai Guosheng suggested buying some to have on hand.

They wanted to buy solar panels, but after looking around and not finding any, Ai Yue had to buy some online.

All of these items were to be delivered by the shops to the villa.

After finishing the shopping and returning to the car, Ai Yue pulled out her checklist to see what was still missing.

Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation—the essentials were mostly covered, except for transportation and... sanitation.

They currently had a hummer, but it wasn’t sturdy enough; a single bullet would shatter the glass. They needed to find a way to get an armored vehicle.

Right after her rebirth, Ai Guosheng had checked at a 4S dealership, but there was no stock available; one had to make a reservation six months in advance.

Because they were in a hurry, the manager only said he would check other cities, but there wasn’t much hope as every car was custom-made and customers rarely canceled orders.

”Dad, what do you think we should do about the toilet after the Apocalypse? Build a dry latrine in the yard?” Ai Yue looked up and asked Ai Guosheng.

”It’s an option, but it would be miserable during the extreme heat. The whole yard would stink, and your mother hates bad smells; she wouldn’t be able to stand it,” Ai Guosheng said, protecting his wife.

Ai Yue pondered for a moment. ”How about this: we’ll stockpile even more water. Since we’re in a villa, we can use water to flush the toilet and no one will hear us. But we should still build a dry latrine just in case.”

”An outdoor latrine is too inconvenient; it’s miserable in both extreme cold and heat. Let’s forget it and see if there’s an indoor solution,” Ai Guosheng opposed with a frown.

Ai Yue looked at her father with amusement. He was using her mother as an excuse, but in reality, he was the one who didn’t want to use a dry latrine. However, there was a solution.

”Fine, whatever you say, dear Father!” Ai Yue said playfully.

”Let’s find a pet shop and buy some cat litter. That stuff is clean and has no odor after use,” Ai Yue said, putting down her phone.

”That’s a great idea! You’re so clever to think of that,” Ai Guosheng said somewhat apologetically, seeing that Ai Yue had dropped the idea of building a latrine.

There were quite a few pet shops along the streets, and the two of them picked one at random and went in.

”Hello, do you have cat litter?” Ai Yue asked the person behind the service counter.

”Yes, how much do you need?” the pet nurse replied.

”How much is it?”

”The prices vary. We have unscented and scented. Unscented is fifty per bag, and scented is seventy.”

”What? That expensive?” Ai Guosheng stepped forward and asked.

Ai Yue did a rough calculation in her head; to buy enough cat litter, it would cost millions.

Thinking about spending millions on cat litter that they could have avoided buying, Ai Yue felt a sharp pang of regret.

She pulled Ai Guosheng aside and whispered, ”Dad, I think we should just build the latrine at home. It’ll cost less than ten thousand to build. Think of the savings.”

Ai Guosheng’s face turned pale at her words, and he quickly said, ”Let’s not. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way. How about this: we spend three hundred thousand on cat litter? I’ll handle the rest, and it won’t cost a single cent.”

Seeing her father’s confident expression, Ai Yue didn’t want to go against him and reluctantly agreed.

The shop assistant moved the cat litter into the truck, and Ai Yue found a moment to put it all into her space.

Ai Yue thought that using cat litter for a toilet might be a bit troublesome. After some thought, she went to a general store and bought many black trash bags, then went to a baby store and bought ten small toddler potties. Using them together would ensure the floor stayed clean.