Chapter 199: Shou’an’s Purchase Request
Wu Zhen suddenly felt a mix of sorrow and mockery. He couldn’t help but ask,
“Miss Jiang, I’ve always had a question. Back when my family and I were on the brink of death, why did none of my calls to the Jiang family ever go through?”
Jiang Qingxiang was momentarily speechless, fumbling for a response.
“At that time, the Jiang family was struggling too… Xiao Zhen, no one has it easy in the apocalypse. But look, you’re fine now, aren’t you? The past is the past. For the sake of the years our family supported yours, could you help me find out—does this Taoyang place really have supplies?”
“You can rest assured, if this deal goes through, you’ll be a great benefactor to the Jiang family. Money and weapons—there’ll be plenty for you.”
Wu Zhen replied, “I’m not interested in money or weapons. You’ll have to decide on this yourself, Miss Jiang.”
With that, he hung up the call.
Jiang Qingxiang stared at the disconnected communicator, fuming with anger.
Her husband, Ge Haibin, anxiously asked, “What did he say?”
Jiang Qingxiang spat in frustration.
“Nothing at all! I treated their family so well in the past, but now that the Jiang family is struggling, he dares to give me attitude!”
Ge Haibin frowned. “If they’re being this secretive, could it be a false lead? Things are chaotic everywhere—anyone with supplies would keep them for themselves. Who would sell them? Forget it. Let’s think of another way.”
Jiang Qingxiang’s eyes immediately turned red.
“What other way is there? If it were two months ago, we could’ve fought our way out. But now? We have no food, no water—the ornamental fish in the backyard are all eaten! There are so many guns in the storage room, but I can’t even lift a single one. I don’t even have the strength to run!”
As she spoke, she started hitting Ge Haibin.
“It’s all because of you useless men! Cowardly and afraid to die!”
Ge Haibin let her vent without resisting.
After tiring herself out, Jiang Qingxiang wiped her tears and started making calls, reaching out to everyone she could think of. Finally, she got some useful information from He Yanghua, a tobacco tycoon she had only met once.
“Taoyang? Hmph, they do seem to have some strength. But the one in charge is a woman, and she’s got a bad reputation—seducing married men. Who knows? Maybe some man is backing her and helped build Taoyang up.”
As he spoke, He Yanghua thought of his tearful daughter and felt both heartache and anger.
She was his only daughter. He wasn’t too happy when she took a liking to Ji Caizhe, that good-for-nothing, but she was determined, and he couldn’t change her mind. So, reluctantly, he agreed.
A while ago, his daughter suddenly called him from Dongyang, saying she wanted to break up with Ji Caizhe.
He was relieved, thinking she had finally come to her senses. He immediately drove through the night to pick her up.
But when he arrived, she had changed her mind, saying someone had deliberately seduced Ji Caizhe and set him up to ruin their relationship.
She cried miserably, begging him to teach Su Tao a lesson—otherwise, anyone could try to steal her man.
He Yanghua’s heart softened. Seeing Ji Caizhe playing innocent only convinced him further. His future son-in-law had always been timid; he’d never dare cheat. Someone must have set him up. Furious, he promised to help his daughter get revenge.
So, they planned to kidnap Su Tao and scare her.
But the woman hardly ever left Taoyang, and his people couldn’t get in. They had no choice but to lay low around Taoyang, waiting for the right moment.
Life and death were at stake—Jiang Qingxiang wasn’t interested in gossip.
But she did catch one key piece of information: Taoyang likely had real supplies.
He Yanghua wasn’t just any businessman.
He had practically monopolized the tobacco trade in the South, distributing nationwide and making a fortune.
In the apocalypse, tobacco was a luxury, which helped him build strong connections with major base leaders. His extensive network spoke volumes about his influence.
The fact that every major organization was scrambling for food while He Yanghua wasn’t said it all—he was well-stocked.
Jiang Qingxiang got excited. She hung up and ordered Ge Haibin to contact Taoyang for a purchase.
Ge Haibin hesitated. “Is this really reliable? What if it’s a scam? What if we pay, and they run off with the money without delivering?”
Jiang Qingxiang was furious.
“We’re on the brink of starving to death—who cares about money? If you have another way, I won’t argue. But if not, just do as I say!”
Left with no choice, Ge Haibin sent someone to contact Taoyang.
*
Su Tao was surprised when Zhuang Wan told her that Shou’an wanted to buy supplies.
If she remembered correctly, the people of Shou’an, true to their base’s name, were conservative and only sought short-term stability. They weren’t the type to take risks.
Zhuang Wan said, “Maybe they’ve run out of options.”
Su Tao immediately refused.
“I don’t care. Back when Wu Zhen was desperate, did the Jiang family lift a finger? They didn’t even make a fake promise over the phone. If they had, maybe his wife wouldn’t have taken such extreme measures.”
Zhuang Wan thought about it and got angry on Wu Zhen’s behalf.
“Serves them right. I’ll go reject them now.”
When Ge Haibin received the rejection, he was stunned.
He had thought it was a scam. But they hadn’t even paid yet, hadn’t negotiated terms—yet they were coldly turned away.
That made him suspect it wasn’t a scam at all. Maybe Taoyang really had supplies.
Jiang Qingxiang was also shocked. “Why reject us? No one else should have bought from them yet, right? We’re their first customers, and they won’t sell?”
Ge Haibin was silent for a moment before making a guess. “Did we offend them? This feels deliberate.”
“That’s impossible. We’d never even heard of Taoyang before this. How could we have offended them?”
Ge Haibin thought for a moment and said,
“Try calling Wu Zhen again, but be polite this time.”
Jiang Qingxiang rolled her eyes.
“What for? He won’t even take my calls. I won’t grovel just to be ignored.”
“Ask him how he got to Taoyang, what he’s doing there, how his wife and kid are, and if he can talk to the boss. I have a feeling the problem lies with him.”
Jiang Qingxiang took a long time to psych herself up before dialing Wu Zhen.
But before it could connect, he hung up.
She tried again—only to find out she’d been blocked!
Furious, she cursed,
“This is how he treats me? He used to be a gardener in my backyard! I fed him well, paid him generously, and he and his wife were satisfied. And now he dares to act like this?”
Ge Haibin, seeing Wu Zhen’s attitude, shook his head.
“The problem is definitely with him. He must still resent us for not helping his family back then.”
Jiang Qingxiang was livid. “Ridiculous! Did he really expect us to go out of our way to save a mere gardener and his family?”
Ge Haibin thought the same. Back then, everything outside the city center was overrun with zombies. Rescuing someone would have required significant manpower and firepower—it simply wasn’t worth the risk.
They weren’t about to gamble their lives for a gardener.
Ge Haibin’s mind turned. Suddenly, he asked, “You said He Yanghua has a grudge against Taoyang’s leader and wants revenge?”
Jiang Qingxiang nodded. “Yeah, why? I couldn’t care less about his vendetta.”
A thought crossed Ge Haibin’s mind.
“I’ve got an idea. I’ll contact Manager Zhuang again.”
