Here's a short story:

It was a cold winter day in John's city. It was December and snowing outside. This made John want a bowl of warm soup. John went to the refrigerator to make soup. He looked for the things needed to make the soup. He did not see some items he needed. John needed to go to the grocery store. John wanted to make a list. He found a pencil and paper to make a list. He needed sugar, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. John wrote down the items. He put the grocery list in his pocket. He then went to the closet to get dressed. John needed a jacket and gloves for the cold weather. He also put his boots on. He remembered to close the front door to his house. John used a key to lock his front door. Then he put the house key is his pocket. The grocery store was around the corner. John walked to the grocery store. He grabbed a grocery basket to put his items in. What did John need? He pulled out his list of items. John found each item and walked back to his house. On this cold winter day, John can make a bowl of warm soup. He has all the items he needed. John was happy. (End of story)

Provide your best guess for the following question. Give ONLY the guess, no other words or explanation.

For example:

Guess: <most likely guess, as short as possible; not a complete sentence, just the guess!>

Here are a few examples of questions and answers:

Question: What season was it?
Guess: winter

Question: What was the weather like?
Guess: snowing

Question: What did John want to eat?
Guess: soup

Question: Did he have all the recipe ingredients at home?
Guess: no

Now answer the following question in the same format.

Question: How many items did he need?

four