“Masks were of particularly tight supply.” When it came to which anti-epidemic material was the hardest to source during the epidemic, Jin Xiaobo, head of the administration department of the General Management Department of Dongyang Intime City, has a harrowing experience to tell.

During the Spring Festival holidays, Jin Xiaobo purchased 1,000 masks online as reserve. Subsequently, the anti-epidemic system requirement was raised for the entire region. Although business operations were suspended, 40 to 50 masks were still used each day at the shopping center for security and epidemic prevention purposes. As the stock of masks began to dwindle, and mask supply tightened significantly, coupled with the government’s requirement that shopping centers must have a reserve of anti-epidemic materials on hand when operations resumed, Jin Xiaobo was under a lot of pressure to figure out how he could procure more masks promptly.

Sometime after 3pm on February 20th, a friend of engineering department manager Zhong Yingyu managed to contact a mask supplier who knew of a warehouse in Yiwu which had 2,000 masks on hand. A delighted Jin Xiaobo, upon lodging a report with his boss, and Zhong Yingyu immediately drove to the warehouse in his own car to collect the goods. They reached the warehouse, which was located in a residential area, at 5pm.

“The supplier told us that he was at Zhuji at the time, and would only arrive after 7pm. We said it was alright. We would wait. Getting the masks was all that mattered.” It was well after 8pm but the supplier failed to show up. The hotel shops nearby were closed. They were cold and hungry, but they were most anxious about not being able to get the masks.

After a round of urging, the supplier said that someone in his family was ill, and that he would not be able to get to Yiwu that day. Upon failing to get the masks after repeated negotiations, the two men returned to Dongyang. It was after 9pm.

“The supplier told us to go home, and that he would send someone to deliver the masks to us the next day,” but Jin Xiaobo remained anxious. “We were very worried that the supplier might deceive us. Although he repeatedly stated that the supply was guaranteed, we still decided to go to Yiwu early in the morning the next day.” After some discussion, the supplier told them to wait for notification.

Upon receiving notification the following morning, Jin Xiaobo arrived at the warehouse at 10:40am, and finally secured the masks.

“During extraordinary times, being able to procure masks is a real challenge. Although we had a few hiccups, we managed to accomplish our mission.” Only then did Jin Xiaobo heaved a sigh of relief.

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