The ice on the ground, though not entirely melted, had been cleared from the main roads.
Inside the supermarket, everything had returned to normal.
After checking the inventory, Tang Li discovered that most of the goods had been sold during the three days of freezing rain.
Under the guise of restocking, she rented a truck from the exchange and took a trip, then replicated a large quantity of goods from her space and brought them back.
Previously, replicating goods directly from the supermarket's storage might have led Tang Guo and others to discover her space, requiring her to go through the exchange for a legitimate shipment.
However, now that paper physical supply coupons had been issued, not all transactions had to go through the exchange; private transactions were also possible.
Furthermore, with the current scarcity of supplies, many people were unwilling to disclose the resources they possessed, and many private transactions were conducted secretly.
Therefore, Tang Li only needed to rent a truck from the exchange to bring back a truckload of supplies without needing to explain its origin.
This was equivalent to Tang Li restocking at almost zero cost, then exchanging the replicated supplies from her space for supply coupons.
Every subsequent restocking operation followed the same procedure.
Since Tang Li's supermarket offered goods at half price using the universally accepted physical supply coupons, the residents of Tang Guo's residential area had exchanged many universal coupons to keep on hand.
Many people were not from Tang Guo's residential area but, upon hearing about this, flocked to Tang Li's supermarket from other districts to purchase half-price goods to save points.
Although these supplies did not include food, fuel, cotton clothes, or quilts, which were survival necessities officially allocated by the government, there were still a considerable amount of other items.
Not only were there everyday necessities like various paper towels, toothpaste, trash bags, flashlights, and dry batteries, but also items for warmth such as gloves, scarves, hand warmers, hot water bottles, vacuum flasks, and thermoses.
Concurrently, the supermarket's three coal stoves were burning day and night, providing heating for the supermarket while also constantly heating water.
While bottled water and other drinking water were also government-allocated survival resources, non-potable water like ice water or river water could still be boiled.
After boiling, this non-potable water could be poured into newly purchased vacuum flasks or thermoses for use as household water, or poured into hot water bottles for warmth.
Consequently, over these past few days, Tang Li had also collected a significant number of universally accepted physical supply coupons.
Upon receiving these supply coupons, they were retained.
They would first pass through Tang Li's hands, be replicated in her space, and only then be spent.
Over this period, the number of universally accepted physical supply coupons in Tang Li's space had also steadily increased.
Due to the issuance of physical supply coupons and the fact that many people were unwilling to disclose their holdings, a black market had formed alongside normal private transactions.
Although the goods in the black market held no particular appeal for Tang Li, the black market served as a convenient place for her to collect universal coupons.
Given the anonymity of individuals in the black market, Tang Li directly brought replicated supplies from her space to collect universally accepted supply coupons there.
Food, smokeless coal, cotton clothes, and quilts that were difficult to sell in the supermarket were highly sought after in the black market, often available only in name but not in substance. Tang Li returned fully loaded after every visit.
Due to the cold weather and the anonymity of the people in the black market, Tang Li always concealed her face during her visits.
To prevent accidental recognition, Tang Li also used cosmetics she had stored in her space to apply makeup, covering the color of her exposed skin and the shape of her eyebrows.
At this moment, Tang Li suddenly realized that she could put anything she touched into her space, including the makeup on her face!
If she used external cosmetics to apply makeup on her face and then put it into her space, she could directly replicate it onto her face whenever she needed to apply makeup in the future.
Therefore, Tang Li deliberately went to the exchange to find professional makeup artists and had them apply several different looks on her.
These were not simple beauty makeovers but disguises.
Not just facial disguises, but full-body disguises!
In the following days, people in the black market saw different individuals arriving daily, carrying the same precious goods to exchange for the same universal coupons.
Sometimes it was a handsome young man, sometimes an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman, sometimes a hunched old man, and sometimes an old woman with graying hair...
In reality, all these individuals were Tang Li in disguise.
After each disguise, Tang Li would put all the cosmetics, plaster, wigs, and other items from her face and body into her space.
This way, when needed in the future, she could take them out again and instantly disguise herself!