Chapter 587: Chapter 588: Take the Opportunity to Save Chapter 587: Chapter 588: Take the Opportunity to Save With some reserves, Aunt Song was even more eager to stock up on more food.
She mentioned to Su Shu that the family had some health supplements from before the Apocalypseâthose things everyone used to give away when visiting friends or relatives.
Those things might be useful, or they might not be of any effect.
In the budget-conscious eyes of Aunt Song, aside from essential vitamins, some werenât as important as real food that could fill oneâs stomach.
Yet, she also found out that these items still had quite a market outside.
Although she didnât know who would want those things,
there was one thing she knew, that the unused items at home could be exchanged for grain and vegetables.
She immediately took Su Shu with her to the exchange point in the compound to trade them for food.
Regarding Aunt Songâs squirrel-like behavior of hoarding food, Su Shu truly agreed.
Even if those health products could replenish the body, one couldnât fill up on just supplements.
Stomachs need food; she had never seen anyone who could last long on just water.
And now, while the starvation situation in the provincial city wasnât particularly severe, some people might still want these kinds of things, but as time went on and the weather grew cold, everyoneâs craving for substantial food would far exceed what these so-called âhealth productsâ could satisfy.
Seizing the chance to trade them for real food while there was still a demand was the wise choice.
And Aunt Songâs change of heart was understandable.
Itâs similar to the reason people save money.
When you can only save a few tens or hundreds of dollars, itâs easy to succumb to temptation and spend all of it.
Why? Because you feel saving is futile, without hope. Watching the small amount of money day by day, you feel the goal is unreachable and ponder what such a small sum could possibly achieve.
So, maybe after a few days you canât resist spending it.
But once the amount in the account grows, reaching thousands, not only do people avoid spending frivolously, but they become even more frugal, continuing to save money, and keep building on it.
Why? Itâs simple: as the savings grow, one slowly develops confidence, and with an uncertain future ahead, this creates a confidence that they could handle any issue that arises.
As that certainty slowly solidifies into a sense of security, one does not wish to lose it but instead strives to maintain that stable feeling.
Some things can go uneaten, some can go unbought, not because they are unaffordable, but because they are unnecessary.
Keep the money for when you really want or need to spend it.
Aunt Songâs psychological state mirrors this logic precisely.
Her home wasnât so impoverished to be unbearable before, but it wasnât affluent either; every once in a while, the compound provided what they needed, and they lacked nothing.
But after consuming what was used, there wouldnât be much left over.
So everything depended on Aunt Songâs clever managing to safely get by each day.
However, suddenly, with the arrival of her nephewâs wife, Aunt Song found that the house had a lot more stuff.
Suddenly, her fear of a future where they might not have enough to eat diminished greatly.
And one thing she particularly liked about Su Shu was her smart choices in exchanging items, opting for ones that wouldnât just run out after a short phase,
Some might spoil if not eaten after a while, others could last for months, and items like canned goods could last for a year or two.