txolops Chapter 264 Limited Purchase
Chapter 264 Limited Purchase
At the top, the title, "Basic Vehicle Items and Recommended Initial Procurement List," is printed in bold black font.
Below the title is a line of smaller text:
"This regulation is formulated in accordance with the spirit of the 'Trial Regulations on Livelihood Security and Market Management in Area C' and relevant documents of the Urban Convenience Service Development Office. The final interpretation right belongs to the Urban Convenience Service Management Office of Area C."
The list was laid out in a very rudimentary way; it was just a simple list of text.
The content is divided into several main categories, with a few items listed under each category, followed by a description of purchase restrictions:
[Staple Food Ingredients]
Flour – Limited to 2 jin per month
Corn flour – Limited to 2 jin per month
Potatoes – Limited to 2 jin per month
Sweet potatoes – Limited to 2 jin per month
Corn on the cob – Limited to 2 jin per month
Taro – Limited to 2 jin per month
Vegetables
Green vegetables - Limited to 2 jin per month
Chinese cabbage – Limited to 2 jin per month
Edible oils
Corn oil – Limited to 5 liters per month
Soybean oil – Limited to 5 liters per month
Frozen meat
Frozen beef – Limited to half a pound per month
Frozen mutton – Limited to half a pound per month
Frozen chicken – Limited to half a pound per month
Frozen duck meat – Limited to half a pound per month
Fish (frozen, type of sea fish/freshwater fish, random) – Limited to half a pound per month.
【Seasonings】
Salt – Limited to one bag (500g) per month.
White sugar – Limited to one bag (500g) per month.
And after each category, there is a line of text in bold:
"The above basic supplies must be purchased at official supply distribution stations No. 3, 7, and 11 in Zone C by presenting the exclusive metal identification number plate issued when applying for the catering truck operation permit."
The purchase of a vehicle is subject to a "one person, one license plate, one vehicle" system, and it is prohibited to purchase on behalf of others, lend, or impersonate others.
Once a violation is verified, the violator will be immediately disqualified from purchasing for the current month and subsequent months, and points will be deducted or other penalties will be imposed depending on the severity of the offense.
The more Xu Xiaoyan looked, the more her brows furrowed.
This list... it's not just meager, it's a stark reminder of the enormous gap between "survival basics" and "business needs" laid bare before her!
Flour, corn flour... two pounds each per month?
What kind of appealing food can be made from this?
If she were from the north, she might be able to use this basic flour to figure out some steamed buns, flatbreads, noodles, and other wheat-based foods.
Although the taste may be bland, it certainly looks good, and at least it's a substantial staple food that can fill your stomach.
But she wasn't!
She knew almost nothing about making complicated pasta dishes.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob... these don't require much skill; steaming, boiling, or baking might work, but with a meager monthly quota of only two kilograms, how many servings can you make?
Two pounds of bok choy and Chinese cabbage shrank by more than half after being stir-fried in a pan.
Not only is all the meat frozen, but we only get half a pound a month!
Even if all of this meat were made into minced meat, dumplings, or meatballs, it wouldn't make many servings.
As for seasonings, if you only have sugar and salt, what's the difference between that and having none?
A monthly purchase limit of two or half a kilogram is simply a drop in the bucket for a food truck that needs to set up a stall every day to make a living by selling food.
However, just as her heart was about to sink to the bottom, she was completely disappointed with the official guidelines and even began to doubt the meaning of her efforts to secure the food truck.
Her gaze unconsciously swept to the bottom of the document.
There, there is a line of text.
"...to encourage businesses to take initiative, enrich the content of convenient services, and meet the diverse needs of residents."
Under the premise of strictly adhering to the bottom line of food safety and market management regulations.
Operators may also purchase or exchange other ingredients, condiments, seasonings or finished or semi-finished products not listed in this list through other legal and compliant channels.
The aim is to optimize the product categories offered by the food trucks, enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of their services, and revitalize their own operating entities.
The specific operations must be handled by the individual, and the management department will not provide specific guidance or assume any related responsibility arising from independent procurement.
This line of small print allows, or even subtly encourages, business owners to "find their own solutions."
"Legal and compliant" is a very flexible framework, but the wording "procurement or exchange" itself leaves a huge room for interpretation and operation.
"Manage the risks yourself" is also a tacit implication:
As long as no major food safety issues arise, no one is caught in the act, and no public complaints or "key attention" from management departments occur.
Those goods circulation and exchange that exist in the gray area are likely to be turned a blind eye by the authorities.
After all, if regulations are completely stifled, no one will have anything to eat.
Leaving some openings is necessary to maintain superficial stability and a semblance of vitality.
This subtly aligns with her previous experience of dealing with "unspoken rules" at the approval office and the atmosphere of "flexible operation" hidden beneath the "strict rules" she felt at the management office.
The rules on the surface are extremely strict and restrictive, seemingly an impenetrable wall, but there are always inconspicuous places where a crack is left for people to struggle and survive.
Her eyes brightened again.
Although the limited purchases from official channels are few in number, they are a basic guarantee and an "entry ticket" that must be obtained. Even if the quantity is small, it can maintain the most basic image of a stall.
But to truly "revitalize" this food truck, create a unique feature, attract customers, and earn enough points to improve one's life, it is necessary to rely on these "other channels."
For those without connections or extra resources, this might be an insurmountable obstacle; but for her…
Xu Xiaoyan immediately thought of her own space, where a lot of supplies were stored.
While not infinite, it is undoubtedly much richer and more "hard currency" than the meager rations on this list.
She could use official channels to obtain basic raw materials as cover, and then gradually "revitalize" the things in her own space.
You can use points to buy what you want and store it in your inventory for later use. If you don't need it right now, you can sell it through the food truck to get points or other urgently needed supplies.
However, this nascent, somewhat exciting idea was quickly dampened by an extremely real and pressing problem.
Her private space is a secret that must never be revealed to others.
But her current accommodations... that capsule cabin in Zone C offers absolutely no privacy.
She frequently takes food ingredients or other items out of that seemingly ordinary backpack.
Once or twice, you might be able to get away with it by making excuses like "I got it by luck" or "I saved it up before".
However, relying on it as a long-term, stable source of operating funds is too risky!
Those neighbors who are also struggling to survive often have an exceptionally keen sense of smell.
Once someone with ulterior motives notices something amiss, suspicion, jealousy, or even whistleblowing may follow.
Having "surplus supplies" of unknown origin within the base is dangerous in itself.
She needed a completely private room, but then another problem arose.
In Zone C, the so-called "single rooms" probably wouldn't be cheap. Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but sigh. This was really...
Before the car even opened for business, the need to keep secrets and prepare for operations forced me to incur a large additional fixed expense—rent.
Wait! An even more terrifying thought suddenly seized her, causing her fingers, which were tapping the steering wheel, to freeze instantly.
The food truck itself!
She suddenly remembered the clauses about GPS location monitoring and strictly limiting the driving range in the user manual she had just carefully read.
Cold sweat instantly seeped out from my back.
The capsule warehouse she rented and her three fixed stalls in some "average locations" in Zone C were obviously not in the same place, and might even be quite far apart.
If she assumes that she can drive her car back to her residence and park it overnight after finishing her business each day, does that count as "exceeding the prescribed route range"?
Will that locator, hidden somewhere in the vehicle and not removable, immediately transmit the abnormal movement trajectory data of the vehicle back to the monitoring center?
Will the system immediately determine that she has "violated the rules," automatically generate an alert, and deduct points from her account?
Could it even be considered "unauthorized change of vehicle use or parking location" and result in more severe penalties?
At best, you'll be fined and have points deducted; at worst, you might trigger the "vehicle repossession" clause!
Then all her previous efforts would be for nothing, a complete loss!
Her first reaction was to immediately turn the car around and drive back to Warehouse No. 3, which she had just left, to find Old Yu, who seemed to know a lot about this, and ask him for clarification!
As the person directly in charge of vehicle distribution and a local figure in the warehouse, he must be most aware of the underlying rules in these actual operations.
He must know all the pitfalls that a novice like her is most likely to fall into.
Parking is absolutely the most important issue that must be understood before starting a business!
But she rejected this impulsive thought as soon as it popped into her head.
No, we absolutely cannot go back!
The tall, thin guy who had been eyeing her car, number 03, and almost caused a scene on the spot, is definitely still in the warehouse.
Perhaps she's simmering with anger and has nowhere to vent it; if she goes back now, it's tantamount to walking into a trap, and it could very well trigger a conflict.
Suddenly, she remembered another person—the kind-faced middle-aged female clerk at the management office!
That woman clearly had a deeper and more practical understanding of the management office's internal operating rules, the "flexibility" in actual implementation, and common problems that new operators like her might encounter.
Moreover, the other party had shown her clear goodwill, even to the point of seeming to be a senior caring for a junior.
Asking her might be the most suitable and relatively low-risk option.
She immediately took out her phone from her pocket, opened the messaging app, and carefully entered the private number that the woman had written on the back of the confirmation slip in the friend search bar.
After entering the information, she checked it again to make sure it was correct.
Then, she stared at the "Send Friend Request" button on the screen and gently tapped it with her fingertip.
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