Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 497 Online Trading Platform

Xu Xiaoyan did the math in her head. Rice and noodles are necessities that she consumes every day. Over a year, the difference between the 10% discount and the original price is not a small amount.

"Does the trading center handle anything else?" Xu Xiaoyan stirred the porridge in her bowl, the spoon hitting the bottom of the bowl with a crisp clinking sound.

"For example... leasing, handling paperwork, or something like that?"

"It's all managed," the boss said, draping a towel over his shoulder. "Shop rental, deposit deduction, supply list—a one-stop service."

We opened our shop there, which saved us a lot of trouble.

"And they regularly publish the suggested prices for various ingredients, which is quite professional," he added.

"Is renting a shop like this expensive?"

The boss didn't seem to mind her inquiries at all, and from the moment they started talking until now, he has been answering every question.

It's not that he's naive, but rather that he feels what he's saying isn't something that can't be known by others.

The price is what it is; you can find out by asking others or checking at the trading center. So why hide it?

"It depends on the location. The most expensive are definitely the streets near the trading center, where there's a lot of foot traffic."

The cheapest areas are those bordering other districts, where the rent difference is almost half.

You can also check the details on the 'Online Transaction Center,' where the average price for each location is clearly marked.

"Thank you, boss." Xu Xiaoyan picked up the bowl and took a big gulp. The porridge was no longer hot and was just right for her taste.

She was wondering whether she should ask about the specific process of "ordering ingredients on behalf of others".

Suddenly, the boss lowered his voice, leaned forward slightly, and his expression became somewhat mysterious.

"But hey, I have something interesting to tell you," his voice was a shade lower than before:

"There are always these weirdos talking about stockpiling food, placing orders every day for delivery, but the shops never open. Isn't that strange?"

"They rented a shop but didn't open for business, just to get a 10% discount on inventory, and piled everything inside..."

He clicked his tongue and shook his head, as if he remembered something he couldn't understand. "I wonder what they're thinking."

Xu Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "Are there many people like this?"

Her expression seemed indifferent, but her fingers gripped the chopsticks much tighter than before.

The boss frowned and thought for a moment, "About... one-twentieth."

Some families rent shops because they have too many members, and that's understandable, since they have a large family to feed, and the money saved over a year can be quite substantial.

His tone softened here, showing understanding and sympathy for the large family needing to eat.

"As for the rest," his tone turned confused again, but he didn't say it aloud, perhaps thinking he was overthinking it.

Xu Xiaoyan lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the porridge bowl.

There was still a little bit of porridge left at the bottom of the bowl. The layers of rice soup and water were clearly visible from this angle. The spoon gently stirred the porridge in the bowl, scooped up a spoonful from the bottom of the bowl, and then poured it back in.

Stockpiling food, closing the store, and delivering goods every day—this doesn't sound like the frugality of an ordinary citizen at all; rather, it sounds like a planned hoarding behavior.

Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoyan felt a little more at ease.

She knew it! Qing City may appear prosperous and idyllic on the surface, but there must be some hidden secrets beneath.

She was already calculating in her mind: if she could buy these three categories of items at a 10% discount every day, she could save a lot of money in the long run, and also, in case something unexpected happened.

She abruptly stopped, finished the last mouthful of porridge, and forced herself to bring her thoughts back to the present.

The issue of stockpiling goods can be considered later; there is a more pressing matter at hand: renting a shop.

She originally went to the transaction center website to find a house, didn't she?

Why not just rent a shop that can serve as both a warehouse and accommodation?

She can live in the shop then; most commercial shops have a small loft or back room, which can be easily tidied up and used as a place to live.

This way, we can save a lot of money on rent every month, and we can use that money to buy more goods. What a perfect plan!

Since so many people are secretly piling up grain in the shop, what difference does one more person make?

She took out her phone from her pocket to pay, then pushed open the door and walked out of the porridge shop.

Xu Xiaoyan walked straight to the Blue Moon Gate, raised her hand, and knocked on the door, but no one answered.

The crack in the door was dark; no light came through.

"He's not back yet," Xu Xiaoyan muttered to herself, then turned around, took out the key to her room from her pocket, and went inside.

She unzipped her backpack, and the bag of cookies lay at the very back.

The kraft paper bag, with the folded side facing up, had a light brown sheen on its surface under the fluorescent light.

She stared at the biscuit for two seconds, then suddenly laughed. She never expected that she would become so accustomed to "paying for information".

Was she just buying cookies? It was clearly a reward for the young woman who gave her the website address, taught her how to log in, and answered her questions about the payment code.

She didn't rush to wash up. Instead, she got up from the bedside, walked to the desk, pulled out a chair from under the desk, and sat down.

The chair is made of wood, with a hard surface and no cushion.

When you sit on it, there's only a layer of fabric between your pants and the bone in your buttocks, so you can feel the hardness and temperature of the wood.

She took her phone out of her pocket, placed it on the table, unlocked it, and opened the browser.

The browser's homepage is no longer blank; yesterday's browsing history is still there, and the page with the dark blue title is saved in the recently visited list.

She clicked it, and the page loaded.

At the top of the "Online Trading Center" is a navigation bar with white text on a gray background. When you click on it, the gray background darkens.

The four options, "Trading Hall," "Price Disclosure," "Policy Interpretation," and "Service Guide," are arranged side by side with even spacing and consistent font size.

Finally, she clicked on the "Convenience Services" section, which contained several sub-sections arranged in a row, each with a round, light gray icon in front of it.

The icon contains simple little patterns.

The small house symbol represents "housing", the shopping cart symbol represents "shopping", the folder symbol represents "running errands", and the toolbox symbol represents "repairs".

The words "Shop rental - online processing" suddenly jumped into my eyes.

It is mixed in with a series of options such as "housing rental", "parking space application", "water and electricity connection" and "repair application".

Xu Xiaoyan was stunned. It actually existed?

Today, the owner of the congee shop said, "We offer a one-stop service including shop rental, deposit deduction, and supply list."

She thought that those things had to be done at the trading center first before they could be done on the online trading platform.

I never imagined that a "one-stop service" could be achieved with just one click online. This is a dream start!