Chapter 229: Now You Know, Right?
Su Tao frowned slightly and said,
“Mayor Ding, this doesn’t quite follow the rules. Unless you or your wife reside in Taoyang, you can’t get priority for a spot at the maternity hospital. If I break this rule now, and with the limited spots available, more and more people will come asking me for spots. Should I give them out or not?”
Ding Heyu was silent for a while before saying, “Boss Su is right. I was being too forward. I’ll discuss it with my wife again.”
After hanging up, Ding Heyu explained the situation to his wife.
Qiu Yin was visibly disappointed. “Is there really no other way? We can’t possibly move to Taoyang.”
After all, Taoyang and Dongyang were closely tied, whereas Wutai had always been at odds with Dongyang, especially under Mayor Ren’s leadership.
If the couple moved to Taoyang, people might label them as traitors.
Ding Heyu reassured her, “I’ll think of something.”
With red-rimmed eyes, Qiu Yin sighed.
“I used to think Wutai was great. You have status here, and we’ve been living well. But now… especially after what happened last night, I’ve realized that Wutai isn’t as strong and stable as I thought. I almost lost you.”
Both husband and wife now felt uncertain about the future.
Su Tao heard about Wutai losing two districts around noon.
The news had a big impact across the Qingpeng region.
After all, as the top base in Qingpeng, Wutai had fallen harder than Dongyang. People couldn’t help but sigh.
But Su Tao wasn’t too concerned about it. She had just finished building five two-bedroom apartments, three three-bedroom apartments, and ten double rooms. She instructed Meng Qian to upload the listings to the website.
Unexpectedly, within two minutes of uploading, the site crashed due to a flood of applications. The entire webpage wouldn’t load at all.
Su Tao and her team were stunned. The people frantically clicking to apply were also stunned.
After the shock wore off, they started madly refreshing the page.
Even Bureau Chief Qiu, who was on his way to work and trying to apply for a place, got anxious.
Taoyang!
They only released a handful of units at a time, yet hundreds or thousands of people were competing. Of course, the website crashed.
After grumbling, he went back to refreshing like crazy.
Just then, his communicator rang—it was his younger sister calling. He quickly answered.
Qiu Yin hesitated before saying, “Brother, can I ask you for a favor?”
Bureau Chief Qiu’s alarm bells went off. “You’re not going to ask me to get you a spot at the maternity hospital, are you?”
Qiu Yin nodded furiously. “I married into Wutai, so I’m no longer considered a Dongyang resident. My husband called that little Boss Su, but she said the maternity hospital is only prioritizing Taoyang and Dongyang residents for now.”
For some reason, Bureau Chief Qiu suddenly felt a sense of superiority. He couldn’t resist teasing his sister.
“You insisted on marrying into Wutai, talking about how amazing it was. Now you realize the benefits of Dongyang, huh? Your sister-in-law is living like a queen in the maternity hospital.”
Qiu Yin was almost in tears.
“Brother, now’s not the time to make fun of me. Last night, Ah Yu almost died. Wutai is really unsafe now. If I can stay in Dongyang to take care of my pregnancy, it’ll put his mind at ease and keep me from holding him back.”
Bureau Chief Qiu sighed.
“Little sister, I really can’t do anything about this. If Boss Su has set this rule, it’s likely set in stone. Plus, Director Guo of the maternity hospital is a stickler for rules. Even if I wanted to bribe her, she’d probably just throw the gift right back at my face.”
Qiu Yin was desperate. “Then what should I do?”
Bureau Chief Qiu gave her a ridiculous idea. “Divorce Xiao Ding and move back to Dongyang. That way, you’d still count as a Dongyang resident. Maybe then you could get a spot.”
Qiu Yin: “……”
Wow, thanks a lot.
After three hours of emergency repairs, Gan Hongyu and the team barely managed to get the Taoyang website back up.
But with people still going crazy, refreshing the page out of fear of missing out, the site kept lagging and crashing.
Left with no choice, Su Tao told Meng Qian to take down the new housing listings. Only then did the site stabilize.
Meng Qian was speechless. She hesitated before asking, “Should we put them back up later?”
Su Tao waved her off. “No way. That was terrifying. We’ll just pick from the existing applications.”
So, when people went back to check, the listings were grayed out!
The disappointment was real.
Some frustrated applicants even called to complain to Meng Qian, saying all sorts of nasty things.
Meng Qian had never dealt with such a backlash before and was completely stunned.
Zhuang Wan comforted her. “This is normal. Every time we release new housing, we get cussed out. Some people even send us threats. If it happens again, just hang up and block them.”
Meng Qian nodded earnestly.
After two days of screening, the list of new tenants was finalized—all from Dongyang.
Su Tao looked forward to it. “Meng Qian, arrange for them to move in as soon as possible.”
Once these tenants moved in, she could upgrade again.
Sensing her eagerness, Meng Qian worked even harder, beginning the check-in process that very day.
Su Tao didn’t sit idle either. She spent a painful two million to build a greenhouse. Next to it, she constructed a row of small storage houses equipped with refrigeration units for storing fresh produce.
Wu Zhen was excited to see the new greenhouse. He walked around it twice, checked out the small storage units, and then sighed.
“Strawberries spoil easily. Even if you store them in a fridge, they won’t last long. And long-distance transport is even harder.”
Hearing this, Su Tao immediately thought of Ding Heyu over in Wutai.
Sigh, his ability would be perfect for keeping food fresh.
Another day of regretting that such talent wasn’t under her control.
After the greenhouse was built, Su Tao’s total assets dropped to 5.8 million—still not enough for the next upgrade.
But once the new tenants paid rent, she’d have both the money and the required number of residents.
Now, she just had to wait.
The next day, Su Tao met a visibly exhausted Ding Heyu.
This time, he brought eight crystal cores to pay for his membership fee.
With only one crystal core left on her, Su Tao was delighted to see these eight—her mood instantly lifted by five points.
Ding Heyu extended his hand solemnly. “Boss Su, looking forward to working together.”
“Likewise.” Su Tao shook his hand.
This time, no vision of Ding Heyu’s death appeared in her mind.
She felt genuinely happy about that.
After placing an order for supplies on the website, Ding Heyu took an envelope out of his briefcase and handed it to Su Tao.
Su Tao was about to ask what it was when he spoke.
“You’ve heard of the Southern Alliance Summit, right? Wutai Base has five slots this year, and we’d like to invite you to attend—with one additional guest.”
