Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 253 Preparing a Grand Gift

No wonder men and women are rushing to "interact" and find partners. This is not just an impulse of emotion or desire, but also a realistic calculation and cooperation concerning living space and resource allocation.

Driven by the discount of three square meters and future points, there will likely be a surge in temporary pairings and even "contractual marriages."

The policy clause that "if a woman does not become pregnant within one year, the discount will be cancelled" is probably intended to prevent purely "fake marriages" from being used for profit, forcing these temporary couples to either take the marriage seriously or face the pressure of rent being restored to the original price after one year.

Xu Xiaoyan exited the forum, put her phone back in her pocket, her face expressionless, but a strange sense of relief welled up inside her.

I'm glad I wasn't dragged into this hasty and utilitarian "matching game" driven by policy.

You don't have to force yourself to be with a man who may have no feelings for you and only meets the "conditions" just for the sake of a small rental discount or the points you might get in the future, and you also have to complete the "birth quota" within the specified time.

That is not only a desecration of emotions, but also placing one's body and future in a high-risk exchange of interests.

She has both space and eligibility for permanent housing, which gives her the confidence to maintain distance and independence when facing the base's carrot-and-stick policy without having to "submit."

However, this relief was only fleeting.

She immediately realized that the policy would affect interpersonal relationships and atmosphere throughout the region, and the large increase in demand for "couples' rooms" might drive up rents or management costs in the area. The future increase in newborns would also change the resource allocation pattern... These macro changes would inevitably affect her in some way sooner or later.

Xu Xiaoyan stopped trying to focus on the newly introduced "settlement and childbirth promotion" policy, as it was irrelevant to what she needed to do at the moment.

Others' survival strategy is to find a partner and bind resources; her survival strategy is to rely on herself, on the permit she has, and on the "supplies" that will soon be refilled in her backpack, to overcome the next hurdle.

She returned to her rented capsule, opened the door, squeezed inside, and quickly locked the door behind her.

With a soft "click," the temporary confinement brought Xu Xiaoyan a strange sense of security. She placed the empty backpack on the bed sheet, without turning on the bedside lamp, relying solely on the faint light leaking in from the ventilation hole above the compartment door.

The next second, several items appeared out of thin air next to the backpack on the bed: a bottle of beautifully packaged high-end liquor; a carton of premium brand-name cigarettes in a hard box with a gold-stamped logo; and a rectangular deer antler gift box with the words "Nourishing Treasure" printed in gold.

The community service center is the final link in distributing the physical goods. The authority and mindset of the person in charge may be more subtle than those in the approval office, so she must be better prepared.

But Xu Xiaoyan didn't stuff the entire gift box into her backpack directly; instead, she picked up the rather presentable deer antler gift box.

She pursed her lips; experience told her that these kinds of health products are often over-packaged, and the truly valuable content may only make up a small part.

She deftly opened the gift box packaging, and sure enough, inside were two relatively small but still exquisitely crafted metal boxes, each containing processed deer antler slices.

She took out the two metal boxes, and as for the ornate but empty outer shell of the large gift box, she casually wiped it away and put it back into her spatial storage.

She carefully placed the liquor, cigarettes, and two boxes of sliced ​​deer antlers into the main compartment of her backpack.

These items took up a considerable amount of space, instantly making the deflated backpack bulge again, feeling heavy and full of "sincere" weight.

However, Xu Xiaoyan did not stop. She reviewed her previous experience in the approval office. She had given Director Wang too many small packets of cigarettes. She should have known better than to break them down into smaller packages. Giving away a whole, unopened pack of cigarettes would have been more presentable.

It is still unknown what the specific person in charge of the community service center will do, but it cannot be ruled out that they may also need to make small gestures like "casual gifts" to break the ice, maintain a friendly relationship, or get rid of any other people in the surrounding area who may need to be "greased".

She took out three more items from her storage space: a box of Snickers bars, a pack of regular cigarettes, and a stack of clean, small, transparent, self-sealing plastic bags.

She sat on the edge of the bed, meticulously sorting the items by the dim light.

First, open the large box of Snickers; inside are neatly arranged individual packaging strips.

She counted out twenty and set them aside separately.

Then, she opened the pack of cigarettes, took out the cigarettes, put one into each of the small transparent plastic bags, carefully sealed the bags, and packed twenty cigarettes into twenty small bags.

She put all the small bags containing Snickers bars into a zippered pocket on the left side of her backpack; and put the small bag containing cigarettes into a pocket on the right side.

The two sides are separated for easy and quick access depending on the situation. For male clerks, cigarettes might be more suitable; for female clerks, Snickers might be more appropriate.

Finally, she casually tossed the remaining Snickers box and empty cigarette box back into her storage space.

With everything prepared, Xu Xiaoyan carefully checked all the zippers on the backpack's pockets. After confirming that everything was in order, she slung it over her shoulder. The heavy weight pressed down on her body, but it brought a strange sense of security. This was the confidence and leverage she had accumulated for the game ahead.

She opened the capsule door, and the faint noise of the corridor outside flooded in again. She tightened the backpack strap on her shoulder and stepped out.

Xu Xiaoyan looked up at the metal sign in front of her. One of the arrows clearly read "Public Service Management Office →", followed by a small arrow pointing to the fork in the road to the east.

She confirmed the direction and started walking east, but the doubt in her heart became more and more obvious.

She couldn't help but slow down and look back at the road she had come from. The two departments, both bearing the title of "convenience service," one in charge of "approval" and the other in charge of "issuance," should have closely connected operations. Even if physical separation was necessary to prevent collusion, they shouldn't be this far apart, right? One was at the west end of Zone C, and the other at the east end of Zone C, completely opposite directions.

This deliberately created distance doesn't seem to be solely for the sake of integrity; rather, it appears to be a systemic design: increasing the costs for those seeking services—not just time costs, but also physical costs and the psychological costs of getting used to an unfamiliar environment.

She shook her head, forcibly suppressing these surging thoughts; these were not things she should consider, nor was she capable of changing.

Trying to figure out the design logic of these systems is meaningless for an individual like her who is struggling to survive; it will only increase her frustration.

After calming herself down, she quickened her pace and focused on following the signs. The signs weren't very dense, and sometimes she had to carefully look around at an intersection to find the next one.

As she was crossing a small square, she caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

She glanced over instinctively and saw at the edge of the square that the handsome young man named "Ah Jun," who had previously caused a fight on the street, was talking to a man who looked a bit older and was wearing a uniform.

Ah Jun's face no longer showed the panic he had before; instead, it displayed anxiety and pleading. He held several pieces of paper in his hand and was urgently gesturing something to the administrator. The administrator, however, had his arms crossed, his face expressionless, and occasionally shook his head.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't stop walking; she just glanced at him indifferently. It seemed that this "Brother Jun" had more than one problem, but what did it have to do with her? She quickly looked away and continued walking.

After turning another corner, a large square appeared ahead. Several small four-wheeled carts with the words "Convenience Service" were parked on the open space. Those were probably the basic models of mobile food trucks.

At the end of the square, a large metal gate stood open, with a sign hanging above it that read "City C Community Service Management Office".

finally reached.

Xu Xiaoyan stopped at the edge of the open space, took a slight breath, and then walked towards the metal door.

Upon entering through the heavy metal door, the familiar scene I had imagined—the bustling open lobby, rows of cold service counters, the constant calls of numbers, and the lingering anxiety and waiting in the air—did not materialize.

Instead, the sight that came into view made her stop in her tracks, and she stood frozen at the doorway.

Inside the door is a space that is not too big, but with a high enough ceiling. The most eye-catching thing is a large, light-colored wooden coffee table in the center of the room, on which sits a pot of lush, unidentified foliage plant.

Surrounding the coffee table are four beige fabric sofas, simple in design and appearing to be of moderate firmness. A small gray rug is laid on the floor in front of the sofas.

Apart from that, the room was almost completely empty, with walls painted in a soft light gray.

Xu Xiaoyan subconsciously took a half step back, almost back to the doorway to double-check the "Public Service Management Office" sign.

She wasn't mistaken, was she? It had only been two or three days since she came down from the ground base. Even if the management of this C area was relatively lax, and even if the "unspoken rules" she had just personally experienced existed, there should still be some form of corruption or bureaucracy, right?

Setting up a waiting area that looks like a living room? This change is too abrupt and too "luxurious," completely different from the atmosphere she experienced at the approval office on the west side.

Just as she was filled with doubt, her heels already touching the door frame, hesitating whether to actually step back and take another look, the seemingly seamless light gray wall opposite her suddenly slid open silently, revealing a hidden door.

A middle-aged woman in her forties, wearing a dark blue uniform, walked out of the door. She was slightly plump, with her hair neatly tied into a bun at the back of her head. She had a peaceful and homely smile on her face. When she saw Xu Xiaoyan standing at the door, looking a little dazed, she smiled and waved. Her voice was not loud, but very clear, "Are you here on business? Come in, what are you doing standing at the door?" Her attitude was natural and friendly, like a neighbor's aunt greeting a young person who had come to the wrong door.