Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 167 Sand

Then, she used a spoon to scoop out enough filling and placed it in the center of the dough, piling the filling up bulging. She held the dough in her left hand and began to pinch pleats along the edge of the dough with her right thumb and forefinger, while her left hand gently rotated it. She pinched it a bit clumsily, and there weren't many pleats. Sometimes, a small bump would appear at the end.

She didn't care about the appearance at all, nor did she ask that these buns be made in a delicate and beautiful way, with thin skin, large filling, and eighteen pleats; she only asked that they be easy to eat.

Soon, the steamer was full. She soaked and wrung out the clean steamer cloth, laid it in the bamboo steamer, and then carefully placed the various shaped raw buns in evenly spaced places to ensure that the buns had enough space to expand during steaming and would not stick together. At this time, the water in the iron pot on the stove had boiled again, and steam was rising.

She placed the steamer full of buns steadily on the pot, covered it with the lid, turned up the fire, and white steam billowed out again, carrying the enticing aroma of noodles and meat filling. A new busy day had begun.

The fire roared in the stove, and after about twenty minutes, an enticing aroma, a blend of meat and fermented wheat, wafted out from the edge of the steamer lid and gradually filled the entire kitchen.

She stood by the stove, listening to the "bubbling" sound of the water boiling in the pot and the soft "whooshing" sound of the steam pushing the lid of the steamer. The alarm clock rang, and she took a deep breath and lifted the lid—instantly, an even richer heat and aroma wafted out!

Inside the steamer, the slightly clumsy dough pieces had undergone a miraculous transformation: each one had become plump and white, expanding in size, with a smooth and soft surface. When gently pressed with chopsticks, they immediately bounced back, clearly indicating that they were fully cooked. She stored them in her spatial storage while they were still hot.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't stop and immediately began preparing the next batch, kneading the dough, filling the buns, and steaming them... Her movements became more and more skilled. Although the "appearance" of the buns improved only slightly, her efficiency increased significantly. The kitchen was filled with the sounds of splashing water, chopping vegetables, crackling fire, and the rising steam from one batch of buns after another.

She only breathed a long sigh of relief after turning the last bit of dough and filling into buns and putting them into the steamer. She straightened up, leaning on the stove, and felt a tingling numbness in her lower back.

She didn't rest immediately. Despite her exhaustion, she washed the flour-covered cutting board, bowl, chopsticks, and rolling pin one by one; swept away the flour and vegetable leaves on the floor; carefully scooped out the ashes from the stove; and mopped the kitchen floor until it was spotless.

I had just gathered the last bit of trash at the door, preparing to deal with it later, when I heard a "knock knock knock" on my front door.

Xu Xiaoyan immediately became alert. She didn't open the door right away, nor did she make a sound. Instead, she tiptoed to the door, listened carefully to the sounds outside, and then, through the heavy door, asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"

A slightly hoarse male voice came from outside the door, speaking quickly and hurriedly, "Sand delivery! The sand you ordered on the platform yesterday! Open the door quickly, there are still a few deliveries to make!"

Xu Xiaoyan suddenly realized! That's right, in the chaos yesterday, she finally remembered to use "sand" instead of cat litter and ordered river sand from the forum, requesting delivery this morning. She didn't expect it to arrive so early.

She quickly opened the door, and standing outside was a middle-aged man wearing dirty work clothes and woolen gloves, his face showing signs of weariness from the cold wind. Behind him was a simple cart, piled with several bulging sacks of goods, which, judging from their shape and size, should be sand.

"Thank you for your help so early in the morning," she said, stepping aside to let her pass.

"I have to get here early, there's a lot of work today, I have to finish all the deliveries before it gets colder," the deliveryman said curtly, his tone devoid of emotion, purely driven by a rush to complete the task. "Where should I put it?"

"Please pile them up in the second-floor warehouse, in the corner," Xu Xiaoyan pointed out the location.

The deliveryman nodded and said no more. He quickly unloaded the sacks from the cart, each one heavy, the sand rustling inside. He carried two sacks at a time and stacked them neatly in the second-floor warehouse. Soon, a small hill made of sacks appeared in the corner.

"Okay, please check it. It's all here. If there are no problems, please confirm receipt on the platform." The deliveryman patted the dust off his hands.

Xu Xiaoyan quickly glanced at the pile of sacks. The quantity was correct, and the sacks were sealed tightly without any sand leaking out. "No problem, thank you for your hard work." She took out her phone and completed the receipt confirmation on the platform.

The deliveryman glanced at his phone, nodded, and without saying a word of pleasantries, turned around, pushed his cart, and hurriedly disappeared around the corner of the quiet street in the early morning, probably heading to the next customer.

After doing all this, a huge sense of exhaustion washed over her. She rubbed her throbbing temples, feeling her eyelids drooping heavily. She took out her phone and glanced at the time. The number on the screen startled her slightly: it was already 8 a.m.

"I actually stayed up all night..." She sighed softly, her voice full of exhaustion. From going out to Taiping Street Market to find cat litter yesterday afternoon, to rushing to buy a generator in the evening, encountering Xie Yingtang's message, rushing home to receive the generator, returning to the market, scrambling to find installer Master Li, installing the stove, buying rattan chairs and steamers late at night, and then immediately steaming potatoes, kneading dough, chopping fillings, and making buns after returning home... she had been working at a high intensity for more than sixteen or seventeen hours in a row!

Fortunately, she was in good health. Although she was exhausted from staying up all night, she could still hold on. However, at this moment, a deep sense of fatigue made her want to collapse on the ground immediately. She decided to take advantage of the time to catch up on sleep.

Xu Xiaoyan walked to the already installed smokeless coal stove, opened the stove door, and found some ashes and unburnt charcoal pieces left over from last night's test burning in the furnace. She added a few pieces of dry firewood, lit a small clump of dry leaves with a lighter, and stuffed it in. The orange flames quickly licked the firewood, making crackling sounds as it burned.

She carefully adjusted the air inlet to make the flame burn steadily, then locked the stove door. The warmth from the stove began to slowly spread around, and then she walked to the newly bought rattan lounge chair in the center of the living room.

She had already laid out a thick quilt on the recliner, curled up in the wicker chair, and wrapped herself up completely from head to toe in the quilt. The curve of the wicker chair unexpectedly fit her body, and although it was sturdy, it was surprisingly comfortable with the cushioning of the thick quilt.