In order to protect herself, she also bought pepper spray, spending 600 yuan, which she could use to make her own spray since commercial pepper sprays were prohibited from being sold.
She searched for stun guns to buy but couldn't find any. Wen Qian could buy bows and arrows, but not crossbows, which were also illegal.
So she bought a bow with arrows and steel balls, spending 900 yuan total.
As for crossbows, Wen Qian would need to research the materials needed to make one herself and see if she could build her own.
There were also guns - private gun ownership was banned domestically, and privately manufacturing firearms was illegal too. But from news reports it seemed some people were still buying gun parts online to build their own guns.
Some people also bought molds to make their own lead bullets.
If discovered, they would face criminal penalties.
But if one had the skills to build weapons, when the state of the world changed, these people would likely be more capable of building arms to protect themselves.
At the same time, Wen Qian was also researching self-defense training courses for women. Later, she discovered an incredible book online called "Unrestricted Fighting Techniques" that needed to be studied alongside criminal law books.
Wen Qian felt this method of learning suited her well, so she began self-studying videos and books.
It would be best not to need to use these skills, but Wen Qian felt sure there would come a day when she did.
Whenever she watched hoarding or doomsday prepper videos, comments floated by saying "While others hoard food, I hoard guns - others become my food storehouse."
While meant jokingly, there was truth to the words.
In foreign countries where guns weren't banned, riots in cities were often accompanied by looting.
Using guns to protect oneself and family, to defend one's property and prevent theft - like that famous rooftop Korean defending his store during the LA riots.
A slim, single woman - in others' eyes, Wen Qian felt she would seem like an easy target.
To understand how to build weapons, she bought books on the subject and climbed VPN walls to view overseas bloggers' construction videos.
But those able to build modern weapons had access to very modern tools. Wen Qian did not, so she could only make do.
The look of her creations mattered less than their functionality.
She also needed to buy items that could double as weapons or serve other purposes - shovels, axes, saws, some agricultural tools like hoes, rakes, sickles, seeders.
Wen Qian also planned to buy a chainsaw and stockpile fuel. Chopping trees with an axe or handsaw would be far too difficult otherwise.
With the trees chopped down, she would need carpentry tools, so Wen Qian spent 2,500 yuan on two sets of traditional woodworking tools, anticipating many uses for them.
Wen Qian felt that learning more skills would open up more options for her future. Skills outweigh burden, as the saying goes.
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By the end of May, Wen Qian finally decided to tally up her accounts, though she felt the savings she had accumulated over many years were now more or less depleted, leaving her somewhat dismayed.
From her survivalist hoarding until now, bit by bit, she had already spent over 120,000 yuan. Beyond stockpiling food, Wen Qian saw self-defense preparedness as critical.
Her storage dimension, originally filled with many items, now seemed to expand a little more each time she added new things, as if growing along with her.
So Wen Qian no longer worried whether there would be space - she simply kept adding items inside.
In the time that followed, when Wen Qian went hoarding at Baisha Market, she stockpiled another combined six tons of rice and flour, bringing her stores up to ten tons.
She bought half a ton of sugar, plus one ton of soybeans costing over 6,000 yuan, one ton of dried corn nearly 3,000 yuan, one ton of millet over 6,000 yuan.
Beyond these staples, she bought smaller quantities of assorted grains totaling about 8,000 yuan.
She had planned to buy ingredients needed for hot pot broths and marinades. Besides spices she commonly used like star anise and bay leaves, she purchased Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, cloves, jujubes, nutmeg, galangal, and lemongrass, spending 1,500 yuan.
Besides these, she spent 1,500 yuan on cooking wines, vinegars, soy sauces, black peppers, and dried chilies.
After seeing solar cookers in a documentary, she bought two along with reflective insulation film for solar cookers, spending 1,600 yuan total.
For gasoline and water storage, she purchased gas canisters and water tanks for 2,100 yuan total.
Another hoarding run cost over 70,000 yuan this time.
Wen Qian then stocked up on medical supplies, spending around 5,000 yuan.
At Baisha Market, she wholesale purchased some nuts and dried fruits for about 3,500 yuan.
She bought 20,000 eggs for 2,000 yuan. Eggs were versatile - they could be eaten simply boiled or made into salty eggs or tea eggs.
Powdered dairy products like milk powder and goat milk powder cost over 5,000 yuan.
Though Wen Qian didn't know how to use them herself, she worried that one day they would prove useful, so she stocked some liquor, tea leaves, and cigarettes, spending 3,000 yuan.
She purchased another batch of specialized books online for 2,800 yuan.
For less crucial books, she planned to buy used copies.
She also hoarded some pens and paper, spending 1,000 yuan.
With 70-80,000 yuan remaining, Wen Qian didn't feel an urgent need to keep hoarding. Some things could wait until she returned to her hometown.
Her main hoarding plans were finished for now. Only mopping up remained. Wen Qian's mood lightened considerably. Though she still felt occasional gloom, it was like watching a movie when you already know the ending.
In June, after long months of spending money, Wen Qian received an e-vite. A high school classmate she hadn't seen or contacted in years was getting married.
Back then they had been quite close, but they had not kept in contact even after exchanging contacts. Now this person was inviting her to her wedding. Wen Qian said she was too busy to attend but sent a 123 yuan virtual flower bouquet for the digital invitation.
Wen Qian had few friends to begin with. Changing schools meant losing touch with most former classmates entirely.
She used to talk on the phone monthly with a close friend she had known for a decade, but after her friend married and had a child, she no longer even had time for their once-monthly call.
It was as if an invisible wall stood between the married and unmarried, separating them. Wen Qian used to actively reach out from time to time, but her friend wouldn't reply late - she wouldn't reply at all.
After enough time passed without responses, Wen Qian stopped contacting her first.
As for men, Wen Qian interacted with none on a regular basis outside of work.
Yet wedding invites kept periodically landing like red bombs in her inbox. Besides obligatory appearances, Wen Qian would not shell out any money and felt not one bit awkward about it.
Compared to face or social credit, she treasured her hard-earned money far more.
Now one invite required a 500 yuan cash gift and travel expenses paid out of pocket. She could buy a lot of rice for that much money.
After so many trips to the wholesale markets, Wen Qian had become even more attuned to money and numbers.
So this red paper bomb was promptly disposed of.
The money she saved, Wen Qian spent on a three-wheeled cargo bike to haul things in its rear cart, lifting her mood for a time.
Her previous social media posts were gaining more viewers, but comments remained scarce, so Wen Qian stopped posting opinions.
