Socially Anxious Girl Starts Hoarding Before the Apocalypse

In earlier years, Wen Qian would occasionally see new gadgets at the market.

For instance, there were wooden washing machines with separate inner and outer rings. Families with donkeys or horses could tie them to a crossbar, making them circle the washing machine. While it took longer, it was easier than washing by hand, especially for large, heavy garments.

Wen Qian's family didn't have animals to do the work, but there was a small river nearby, so she could use the power of the water flow to rotate the washing machine.

Eventually, Wen Qian brought the machine home on a small tricycle and set up a shelter by the river. When she needed to use it, she would fetch water from the river and soak the clothes in the barrel.

For a while, she became obsessed with grinding tofu. She eventually turned her attention to the river water, remembering reading about water wheels used for grinding tofu. She began searching through books for diagrams to attempt making one.

The water wheel she built was quite large, so it took her a considerable amount of time. Once it was installed by the river, grinding soybeans, milling flour, and washing clothes all became much easier.

When the neighbors saw this contraption, they quickly began to imitate it.

The drive belt was made from car tires that Wen Qian had modified earlier. She still had quite a few of these tires in her space, and now she secretly cut them into strips.

Not only did she create a cellar in her yard, but she also dug out a storage area in the back of the mountain to keep these tools.

When the water wheel was in use, she would attach the conveyor belt and grinding tools. It worked well for grinding both soybeans and wheat, and in autumn, it was also great for grinding meat for sausages.

When not in use, she would remove the tools to prevent sun damage. If summer floods were expected, she would drag the water wheel ashore in advance to prevent it from being washed away by water and debris.

Besides this, there was another item Wen Qian found novel: sanitary napkins.

Initially, Wen Qian had stockpiled sanitary napkins to last until she reached menopause, around 55 years old.

However, she hadn't anticipated raising a daughter, so as the child grew, she realized that by the time An An started menstruating, she might not have many left in her space.

If she used these plastic products for her daughter, once they ran out, there would be no more. It would be difficult to explain if the child asked about them.

After all, such things no longer existed now; only cloth menstrual pads with replaceable cores were available.

In the end, Wen Qian realized she had worried unnecessarily. Her own menopause came two years later than expected, so by the time she reached it, her stockpile had long been used up. She even had to switch to using these cloth pads herself.

At that time, An An was still young, not yet of age.

So Wen Qian could only do as her neighbors did, buying products from the general store to try for herself and prepare for her child.

At this time, the sanitary napkin cores were disposable, but the outer cloth band was not. The outer material was waterproof, and this band was the most valuable part.

Over the years, these products continued to improve, and Wen Qian would buy some annually to see what new improvements had been made.

She didn't know how people without sanitary napkins had managed their menstrual cycles after the natural disaster, and she had never discussed this with her neighbors.

As people's lives gradually stabilized, these improved sanitary napkins began to appear in general stores. Previously, even the waterproof cloth bands hadn't been available.

By the time An An needed them, sanitary napkins had evolved to a level that satisfied Wen Qian.

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An An was sharpening a knife at home when she noticed the whetstone had cracked halfway through. She had planned to go to the market to buy a new one when she had time.

Just then, she saw her mother take a stone from the wall of the rabbit hutch. An An realized it was also a whetstone.

She hadn't paid much attention before, but almost every brick and tile in their house had a purpose. She wondered how her mother had collected all these things.

Wen Qian explained that she had picked up a lot of scrap after the natural disaster, as it took many years for the temperature to recover.

Wen Qian discovered these stones were suitable for knife sharpening while collecting rocks, so she gathered quite a few.

She still had some in her space, and she had thrown some on the mountain. They would probably last until An An grew old.

Now, the village also had people selling ceramics and glassware, all sourced from the small town. These were things the village didn't have before.

Wen Qian was still using glass she had salvaged from other places earlier. She had carefully wrapped the remaining pieces and stored them in her space, unlike the building materials she had stored elsewhere.

Those materials could still be used even if damaged by frost, but glass was different, so she stored it carefully.

The general store also stocked cotton fabric and cotton-linen blend fabrics, colored materials sourced from the small town.

Previously, there were people in the village who could weave, but there weren't many color and thickness options. People would buy colored fabric for special occasions, while for everyday wear, they would buy fabric from the weavers.

After returning from trips to town, Wen Qian would say she had bought fabric, so An An assumed the clothes she wore were made from fabric her mother had purchased. In reality, they were all made from fabrics Wen Qian had bought before the disaster.

This included the coarse bed sheets; she had bought them online in the past.

She had bought them cheap and not too fine, which coincidentally fit well with their current standard of living.

As for those delicate snacks and cakes, Wen Qian could only share them with her child when she was young.

If they wanted them later, they would have to recreate them using the oven, though the results would certainly be different.

Both Wen Qian and An An enjoyed snacks, so the oven was frequently used. This oven had been renovated several times.

They would bake bread, egg cakes, date cakes, small cookies, or meat jerky in it, which served as their snacks after three meals a day.

At this time, rock candy also made a comeback. Wen Qian never bought it; instead, she made it at home, then coated it with cooked flour and stored it in jars to share with An An.

They had to control the quantity, so both of them were diligent about brushing their teeth and maintaining oral hygiene.

At this time, most toothbrushes were homemade. Toothpaste came in both tube form and boxed powder form. She told An An that their plastic toothbrushes were from her previous stock.

As for toothpaste, the ones in the general store weren't much different from what she had, except that hers were in plastic packaging while the store-bought ones came in metal containers. Wen Qian only needed to replace the packaging.

Wen Qian and An An both placed great importance on collecting and storing food. Only when there was visibly enough food could they feel at ease.

Wen Qian lay in a rocking chair, sunbathing in the courtyard. The chair was custom-made by the village carpenter after An An had started earning her own money.

Whenever the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, Wen Qian would bring the chair outside. Over time, its surface had become smooth from use.

Something was roasting in the stove, and Wen Qian waited in the rocking chair. Meanwhile, An An was by the river, collecting the fishing nets and cleaning the portion they would eat for lunch.

They had now bought enamel basins, no longer needing to use the heavier earthenware ones like before.

As time passed, Wen Qian could increasingly sense the subtle changes in their lifestyle. However, it was still a far cry from the way she had lived before.