Chapter 137: Expanding New Housing Units
Su Tao was quite surprised.
“Aren’t you working as a security officer at a factory? Isn’t that a good job?”
Meng Xiaobo sighed. “Ugh, don’t even mention it. The factory is about to shut down. My salary got slashed drastically last month, and the factory director already told us that if we find better jobs, we should take them. It’s closing in a month.”
As he spoke, he absentmindedly pressed against the leather couch’s backrest, leaving a deep handprint that took a long time to return to its original shape.
Terrified, he thought he had damaged it and panicked.
“(ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´)!! I’m so sorry! I lost control! How much is it? I’ll have my wife compensate you!”
Su Tao waved him off. “It’s fine, no need. Go talk to Auntie Qi—she’s in charge of the security department now. If she approves, I have no objections.”
To be honest, Xiaobo was actually a great fit.
Sure, he was a bit slow-witted, but he was honest and straightforward, with no hidden agendas.
Plus, he had relevant work experience. Most importantly, his ability was intimidating enough to be a deterrent.
Meng Xiaobo was overjoyed.
“I already spoke to Director Qi this afternoon! She agreed and said I should report to you tomorrow when I officially start. I couldn’t wait, so I asked you directly just now.”
“Thank you, Boss Su! Really, thank you! To be honest, I’ve wanted to work at Taoyang for a long time, but I saw that you were only hiring young women, so I didn’t dare to ask.”
Su Tao sighed helplessly.
“Once you start, you can’t overstep the chain of command like you did today, understand? From now on, always report to Director Qi first.”
Old Mei had once reminded her that since she had delegated authority, she couldn’t allow direct reports to bypass their supervisors. Everything had to go through proper channels to prevent management chaos.
Even though Meng Xiaobo didn’t fully understand why, he immediately realized his mistake and quickly apologized.
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t know, but I’ll be mindful from now on!”
Su Tao joked, “Alright, go home already. Be careful, or your wife will make you kneel as punishment.”
Meng Xiaobo wasn’t married yet, but he was already known throughout Taoyang as being whipped by his fiancée.
Instead of getting upset, he was proud when people teased him.
“I just love my wife. Her happiness is the most important thing to me!” he always said smugly.
Rubbing his hands nervously, Meng Xiaobo hesitated.
“Boss, can I ask another question? My wife asked me to ask—it’s not about work.”
“Go ahead.”
He looked a little shy.
“So… we’re getting married soon, and we’re planning to have a baby. But since we’ll both be working, we need our parents to help take care of the child. That means we need a bigger apartment… I wanted to ask if we could switch to a three-bedroom, two-living-room unit if it becomes available?”
Su Tao nodded.
“Yes, you can. In fact, internal employees have priority when it comes to switching to bigger units. Talk to Manager Zhuang for the details.”
Hearing that Taoyang employees got such benefits, Meng Xiaobo lit up with excitement. He thanked her profusely and rushed off, clearly eager to tell his fiancée the good news.
Once he was gone, Su Tao let out a long sigh.
“Looks like I’ll have to pull an all-nighter building a few three-bedroom units… Otherwise, Zhuang Wan will be nagging me again.”
She was the boss, yet her employees were the ones constantly pushing her to work harder.
When would she ever get to truly relax?
*
Before Midnight
Before the night deepened, Su Tao went to Qian Rongrong to get 200,000 credits. The little girl was visibly pained by the transaction but didn’t dare complain.
Su Tao solemnly reassured her, “The money we spend now is for making even more money in the future.”
Qian Rongrong repeated the phrase several times, trying to brainwash herself. Sure enough, it helped ease her heartache a little.
After midnight, Su Tao got up, opened her system, and started constructing a new building on the 500-square-meter land she had recently acquired behind Building No. 2.
She named it Building No. 4, with a total area of 180 square meters per unit, both inside and out.
This new building would only feature three-bedroom, two-living-room apartments, without a ground-floor lobby—just a hallway leading directly to each unit. Every floor would house a single independent residence.
She even went online to find pre-apocalypse floor plans for three-bedroom apartments and followed them for the renovation.
Compared to the two-bedroom units, the three-bedroom layout added a storage room and a walk-in closet, which were essential for larger families.
The living room, dining area, and kitchen were combined into one spacious, open-concept space. There was even extra room, allowing tenants to set up a small play area for their children or create an open study area.
Additionally, the master bedroom came with a private bathroom, while there was another shared bathroom outside. Both were separated into wet and dry areas, making them suitable for families of five to six people.
The balcony was wide and well-lit during the day, equipped with a washing machine and dryer. She even installed a retractable clothes-drying rack, knowing that people would need to hang bedsheets and blankets.
To maximize storage, she placed floor-to-ceiling wardrobes along both sides of the walls.
After finishing the renovations, Su Tao personally inspected the building, checked every small detail, and added a few final touches before activating the rental system.
Each unit cost 48,000 Federal Credits to build.
The system evaluated the quarterly rent at 100,000 credits, meaning the monthly rent would be over 30,000 credits.
That was pretty high, but these apartments were targeted at high-income tenants and large families who could split the cost, making it more affordable than renting single rooms separately.
Su Tao pulled an all-nighter, expanding and renovating three three-bedroom units. By the time she was done and looked up, the sky was already bright.
She rushed off to catch up on sleep.
She had a beautiful dream—she had become a landlord who could build houses wherever she wanted.
She even built herself a three-story villa, with a private yard for her pets and a luxurious cat tree for her cats.
In her dream, Black Sesame leaped onto the highest perch of the cat tree and meowed at her.
Suddenly, the cat tree transformed into a three-story-tall tower, terrifying her. She kept reaching out in fear that the cat would fall.
Then, Black Sesame let out a meow and jumped!
Su Tao woke up—not from fear, but from pain.
She had been stepped on by Black Sesame, who had jumped off the wardrobe onto her body.
“You ungrateful brat!” Su Tao scolded, only to see the cat scratching at the door, meowing persistently.
Sighing in defeat, she got up and opened the door, letting it out.
The moment the door opened, the “brat” bolted out like an arrow.
The older the cat got, the wilder it became. Even Taoyang wasn’t big enough for its adventures. It often wandered off to Panliu Mountain and had even dared to sneak outside the base a few times.
Meanwhile, White Sesame, watching its reckless older brother run off, took the opportunity to snuggle up to Su Tao, rubbing against her and sweetly begging for food.
*
Su Tao slept until nearly noon.
By the time she woke up, White Sesame and Xuedao were starving. She fed them, grabbed a quick bite herself, and rushed to her office—a mountain of tasks was waiting for her.
She hadn’t even reached her office yet when Zhuang Wan called, sounding ecstatic:
“Boss! You’re awake, right? I saw the new building! Are those three-bedroom units?”
“Yes, yes, yes. Hang up, I’m almost at the office.”
When she arrived, Zhuang Wan’s eyes were shining, just like White Sesame waiting for food.
Amused, Su Tao sent her the details of the four three-bedroom apartments.
“002 is reserved for Meng Xiaobo’s family. You’ll handle their lease transfer. 003 and 004 will be rented out to the public. As for 001… it’s reserved just for you.”
Zhuang Wan had been waiting for these words. She was about to express her gratitude when—
Su Tao smirked and continued:
“But it’s not for you to rent.”
