Has your home purchased a new refrigerator or freezer this spring?
Since March this year, many places across the country have ushered in a new round of COVID-19. Many cities have adopted strict prevention and control measures, making many people realize the importance of preparing for a rainy day. Refrigerators and freezers that are convenient for storing food have suddenly become available. A "home epidemic prevention artifact". According to data from
, since April, the overall sales of freezers have soared 75% year-on-year. Among these sales orders, young people born in the 1990s and 1995s accounted for more than 30%.
This issue’s microscopic story tells the story of a group of young people who bought freezers in order to relieve the anxiety caused by the epidemic. Among them:
Some people are in Shanghai. Even though they had the habit of stocking up before the outbreak, they still regret it. I didn’t buy an extra large refrigerator in advance, so I immediately bought a new freezer after the logistics situation in Shanghai eased a bit;
Some people had a refrigerator and a freezer at home before the epidemic in Beijing was severe, and they felt deeply about it this year. Insufficient storage space, a new freezer was added to satisfy the anxiety of insufficient stocking; some people transported refrigerators all the way from Beijing to Shanghai, successfully alleviating the shortage of supplies in the early stages of the epidemic.
As several interviewees in this article said, refrigerators and freezers are nothing more than increasing people’s sense of security when dealing with the epidemic, but no one knows when the epidemic will end. These certain purchases that can make people feel happy in the short term are also Why not?
The following is the true story about them:
Text | Mu Qiu, Macondo, Mi Si Tao
Editing | Zhuoran
Mengran, 34 years old, a full-time housewife in Shanghai
The freezer I ordered online arrived two days ago. I just received the goods. , I instinctively placed an order for more than 700 yuan worth of vegetables on Ding Dong Shopping and filled the freezer, but I felt that I still bought too little.
The first ban on Shanghai was at the end of March. An announcement was posted at 5 o'clock that night, saying that the ban would begin at 12 o'clock in the morning. I was cooking and didn't pay attention. When my husband came back, he told me about the closure. I didn't even eat and ran to the vegetable market right away.
At that time, the whole vegetable market was in full swing, and it was already dark, but there were still many people rushing inside to buy. I bought about 700 yuan, including meat, vegetables, and eggs. Then I grabbed a dish worth 1,000 yuan on Jingdong . I almost bought it according to the capacity of the refrigerator and filled it as much as possible.
didn’t know how long the ban would last at that time. There had been no similar cases in other communities before. I have a friend who lives in Yangpu . Materials there are also very scarce, but there are only two people in their family and the children are not around, so it doesn't matter whether they eat well or not, and whether they can grab it or not is more Buddhist.
But I have two children and a family of four. Daily necessities at home are saved according to the six-month standard, but you have to cook vegetables and meat every day. My sister is still relatively young and eats more carefully, unlike us adults who just eat a little bit. So I still bought as much as I could, but I didn’t expect it wasn’t enough.
And when the lockdown first started, I could still receive express delivery at home, whether it was Tmall supermarket or Taobao and JD.com for grocery shopping, so it didn’t feel too big.
I also read online how to freeze vegetables. After keeping them fresh, just take them out and fry them. Our family doesn't consciously save money. After all, the children are here, so we have to cook in various ways for the sake of the children.
But starting from April 1st, we can’t even leave the building, and all , dingdong, sites have also stopped. At that time, I started to panic, because all the couriers said they were not allowed to deliver to Shanghai, and they no longer delivered there. I had to try my luck on Dingdong to get food.
Fortunately, the follow-up supplies are still sufficient. The neighborhood committee has distributed supplies for the twelfth time. Today, we will also distribute fruits and some vegetables. The rice and oil are cooked twice, followed by flour, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, shampoo, shower gel , mixed rice dishes, everything you can think of is there.I haven’t had any worries during the past 20 days or so, and the refrigerator is still full.
But I am still worried. Maybe I have become addicted to hoarding, and I always feel like I don’t have enough. But the refrigerator we bought at home is only 1.7 meters high, and the house is too small to replace it with a larger refrigerator.
Later, I heard that after the logistics warehouse of Jinshan was unblocked, I immediately placed an order on the e-commerce platform and bought a Haier gold vertical freezer, which cost 1,749 yuan. Fortunately, I repeatedly told the master to deliver it on time. His pass expired the next day, and he couldn't receive anything at that time.
I didn’t understand before that the older generation always hoarded firewood, rice, oil, and salt. At that time, I thought e-commerce and various grocery shopping platforms were so convenient. Wouldn’t it be better to just place an order for fresh food if you want it? Only now do I know that stocking up gives people a sense of security that is incomparable to anything else.
Fortunately, since our family has many children, we often stock up on daily necessities during Double Eleven and various shopping festivals. Therefore, after the lockdown, we still have a lot of milk powder and diapers to help those neighbors who are really in need.
Song Guanyi, male, 40 years old, designer & food photographer
My main job is as a food photographer. In order to create, I rented a 300-square-meter duplex space as a studio in Songzhuang . I usually entertain many friends, so I often prepare some convenient ingredients.
In the refrigerator, in addition to stocking up on unique foods, friends from all over the world always deliver a lot of special delicacies to me. At the beginning, I only had a 156-liter small refrigerator, which soon became full of stuff. Finally, I upgraded from a double-door refrigerator to a large freezer, which can basically meet my daily needs.
freezer helps me not only to store more food, but more importantly, it gives me a sense of security.
In my freezer, I always store black pork ribs, hand-beaten beef balls from Chaoshan, Ecuador prawns, convenient grilled steaks, frozen dumplings made by my mother, and Hainan Wenchang chicken...
My first freezer was bought in Beijing during the epidemic last year. At that time, the nearby supermarket was closed, so I went to Xianyu and bought a second-hand Haier freezer, which was 80% new and cost 650 yuan.
The previous owner of this freezer was a small shop owner. Affected by the epidemic, his small shop could not continue to operate, so he chose to clear out the inventory and return to his hometown. I happened to miss it.
Recently, the epidemic situation in Beijing has become serious again, and my friends have begun to buy freezers with me. Now, my refrigerator mainly stores vegetables, drinks, and spices, while the freezer stocks all kinds of frozen products you can think of. It can be said that even when I am quarantined at home and cannot buy groceries, I can still eat both meat and vegetables for a month, including four dishes and one soup.
all say that the lack of security in childhood requires a lifetime of self-healing, and hoarding is one of the ways. Everyone has stocked up on their favorite food, and it’s not certain whether they can consume it. Sometimes they even forget what they stocked, but they feel safe.
During the epidemic, one can enjoy authentic delicacies at home. Hainan’s coconut chicken hotpot is fragrant and is no less delicious than in a restaurant. This is the convenience and happiness I enjoy now. You can even quickly prepare a delicious meal for your friends who come here to "have a meal". No need to spend time and energy purchasing in advance.
At the same time, the neighbor across the door also moved in a new Midea freezer. We also agreed that if each other has enough food, we can exchange ingredients together to increase the number of dishes.
Han Lin, Beijing, 35 years old, screenwriter & food writer
When I was a child, the thing I disliked the most was my grandma’s refrigerator. I disliked this refrigerator very much at the time. My grandma always kept it full, wishing she could store enough frozen pork to last a whole year.
My parents also inherited my grandma’s habit of hoarding goods. Our refrigerator was also filled to the brim. Later, they found that they couldn’t hold it anymore and even bought a large freezer.In addition to the things I purchased myself, I also stocked up on various chicken, duck, and fish meats given by my relatives and friends. No matter how many freezers and refrigerators there were, they could fill them up.
I once thought this lifestyle was very unhealthy. After all, now that there are convenient logistics and various grocery shopping platforms, everything you eat is the healthiest thing.
But I have no choice. It may be due to the habits of my ancestors and fathers. In addition, I live in the suburbs of Beijing, and I always keep various things in my refrigerator. I like to buy seasonings and various semi-finished and pre-prepared dishes, but after buying them and stuffing them in the refrigerator, I often forget about these things, causing the refrigerator to be full at one time.
Now I also have a 216L three-door Galanz refrigerator and a 63L small freezer at home. If you don't hoard too much, the small freezer is barely enough, and you are often faced with the dilemma of not being able to put it down. In order to control yourself and buy less supplies, you have been enduring it.
Even so, many fresh fruits still cannot be fully warehoused. I can only wait outside, forget to eat, or rot in the refrigerator, which makes me sad. For example, during the Chinese New Year, I forgot about the delicious food because there were so many delicious ones. As a result, the two boxes of fruits sent by my friends were all spoiled. It was such a pity.
Last month, the epidemic situation in Beijing was unclear, and my sense of security was shaken. I was particularly worried that I would suddenly have an outbreak, so I ordered a large freezer for storage in the middle of the night, which would leave me with nowhere to go at home.
Actually, there is unlikely to be a shortage of supplies here in Beijing. It’s just that I want to satisfy my inner desire. First of all, many cosmetics need to be refrigerated, and then I also wanted to find an excuse to buy myself a retro-style refrigerator to match the decoration style of my home. I have purchased and canceled several times on JD.com and Pinduoduo, going back and forth.
In the end, I chose a 156L Tiffany blue small refrigerator. It has not arrived yet and the transportation is not very efficient, but I am very excited and have planned its placement.
Zheng Duo, 26 years old, Shanghai Maternity and Infant Media Editor
My refrigerator was bought when I was “drifting to the north”, and now it was brought to Shanghai to accompany me to “drifting to Shanghai”.
When I was in Beijing, I was extremely busy with work. I was either too busy to eat, or I was ordering takeout, and I had to hold my watch when I went to the toilet, let alone take the time to cook for myself.
One night, I suddenly got acute enteritis. The pain was so painful that I fell to the ground and couldn't move. There were no family or friends around me, and my phone was far away from me. I once thought I was going to die in Beijing. This was the only time in my life that I felt a huge panic.
I tried to overturn the table closest to me. Only then did my roommate hear the noise and quickly called an ambulance and took me to the hospital.
From this day on, I secretly made up my mind to never eat takeout again. No matter how busy I am, I have to find time to cook something to eat. Even if I fry a poached egg, it is always much healthier and cleaner than the takeaway from a small workshop outside.
However, the house I share is a group rental and does not have a refrigerator to store food.
For this reason, I bought a small refrigerator. I usually buy some quick-frozen dumplings and meat in the freezer, and some vegetables, drinks and snacks in the refrigerator.
After using it for a period of time, my physical condition is obviously much healthier than before, and there are fewer oily pimples on my face. The most surprising thing is that I found that my cost of living has also been reduced. I used to spend at least two to three thousand on food every month, but now I only spend more than one thousand.
After I finished my journey to Beijing and came to Shanghai, I also sent this refrigerator to Shanghai. During this year’s Shanghai epidemic, news about Tuancai grabbing food was everywhere online, in Moments, and in WeChat groups. I actually didn’t panic at all, because the food supply in our community was normal and sometimes we couldn’t finish it, so I was very suspicious. Am I in Shanghai or not?
My roommate usually doesn’t cook and only eats out. Now that the restaurant is closed, she hasn’t figured out how to cook the food sent by the community. It rots in two days. Some of it is frozen meat. If you put it in the refrigerator, you will have to eat this big bag of meat in one day.
I don’t have this problem because I have a refrigerator to store it. Put the vegetables and meat in the refrigerator and take them out when you want. After we finished eating, the community happened to be delivering food again.
My roommate is very envious of my small refrigerator. Under my guidance, he recently ordered a small refrigerator.
I like to drink iced Coke and cold drinks the most. This is a must-have for me all year round. We have shared a house with a shared refrigerator before, but the snacks and drinks I bought would always be inexplicably less. There are always some roommates with dirty hands and feet who like to steal other people's things. What's even more frustrating is that if you share a room with three or four roommates, you still can't catch the thief.
I buy some Coke every week and put it in my small refrigerator. When I am stressed, I open a can of Coke and watch a movie while drinking, which makes me feel empty.
I enjoy the satisfaction and happiness that carbonated drinks and sugar bring me.
During this epidemic in Shanghai, we can’t get Cokes. After thinking about many ways, I finally found a WeChat group where I can buy Coke in groups, but each person can only buy a few cans at a time. Although I drink less Coke than usual, compared to most people in Shanghai who are still grabbing food, I already feel very contented.
My small refrigerator can be said to be my treasure chest, with food and drink in it. In this steel city forest, it brings me as much security as money and love.
