Chapter 32: Land Planning and Design
As the weather gradually warmed up, there was a faint hint of the scorching summer ahead.
Zhuang Wan opened all the windows in the public area early, letting the cool breeze flow through for some fresh air.
Seeing Su Tao heading out again, she couldn’t help but ask:
“You’ve been going out for three days straight now, leaving early and coming back late. You’re almost as busy as Sister Pei. What are you up to?”
Su Tao laughed it off: “I was cooped up for so long before. Now that the danger’s passed, I just want to go out and take a walk.”
She felt utterly helpless. She had visited all three abandoned garages in Dongyang, but the system hadn’t reacted at all.
Today, she planned to go one last time to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. If there was still no response, she would have to give up temporarily.
It might mean the clue involved somewhere outside of Dongyang.
But right now, she didn’t have the courage to leave Dongyang.
Sure enough, after wandering around for a whole day, she still found nothing.
Su Tao racked her brain, trying to recall the situation on the day the system suddenly gave her the hint.
It was the moment she saw “Bonewing” when the system seemed to be triggered, displaying the words “abandoned garage.”
Why did seeing “Bonewing” trigger the hint?
Was the abandoned garage somehow related to “Bonewing”?
Su Tao went to find Cen Tianjiao and asked, “Where did you first encounter ‘Bonewing’?”
Cen Tianjiao’s mechanical eye twitched slightly as he said, “I will never forget that day. It was in the parking lot at the foot of Panliu Mountain. That little beast slaughtered all the survivors hiding there and then lured us into its trap! Damn it! I need to see those white coats dissect it!”
Su Tao’s eyes lit up. So it was the abandoned garage at the foot of Panliu Mountain!
“Are you busy lately? If not, could you take me there?”
Cen Tianjiao frowned: “What are you going there for? Don’t go. It’s not safe. You’ve heard about the evolved zombie, right? The one with those huge, sickle-like claws? I got hurt by that beast. Even our boss, with such incredible powers, had his arm destroyed by it. If I take you there and we run into it, well… we might as well dig our graves on the spot.”
Su Tao said: “To avoid being buried with you, I’ve decided not to go.”
Cen Tianjiao was speechless.
“If you really have a reason to go, I suggest you wait until our boss returns. Discuss it with him and see if he can take you along during the next group mission to escort you to Panliu Mountain.”
That seemed like the best option.
Su Tao temporarily put aside her thoughts about completing the hidden quest. After spending two lazy days eating and relaxing at home, she asked Zhuang Wan to help compile the income for the entire month of March.
“We made a total of 153,000 federal credits. Everyone except Wen Peizhen paid their rent on time. I’ve chased her three times. Every time she says ‘tomorrow,’ and now she’s outright avoiding me. Boss Su, should we ask Xiaobo to kick her out? It’s so frustrating. She not only takes advantage of every little thing but also refuses to pay rent and won’t leave.”
Su Tao was equally frustrated. Wen Peizhen, now in her fifties, had an only daughter who married a lowlife. But this lowlife learned how to make homemade guns from a street thug, made a fortune in the apocalypse, and occasionally sent his mother-in-law a huge sum of pocket money.
In the chaotic post-apocalyptic world, money had little value. It didn’t really matter how much she received.
But Wen Peizhen was used to being stingy, never spending a penny if she could avoid it.
Xiaobo’s girlfriend, Yang Ju, had a sharp tongue and privately said Wen Peizhen probably intended to take her money to the grave.
To be fair, she wasn’t wrong.
Su Tao felt Wen Peizhen lived a pitifully repressed life and said with a sigh:
“According to the rules, if the rent isn’t paid within fifteen days, we’ll enforce eviction. Go notify her. If she won’t see you, leave a note on her door. If she still doesn’t pay in fifteen days, let me know.”
Time to book her a one-way ticket out.
“Also, April is coming up. I’ll prepare ten new rooms. When the time comes, you’ll need to get ready to rent them out.”
Zhuang Wan agreed, jotting everything down in her little notebook.
Su Tao stayed up late that night, building five new one-bedroom apartments. With expansion and renovations, it cost her 94,000 federal credits—halving her wallet once again.
She originally wanted to create five more double rooms, but then Su Tao realized a problem.
There were now nearly 30 rooms. The corridors were complex, and the room layout was quite chaotic.
Tenants could easily end up at the wrong room, and those with poor direction might even get lost.
There was also a large area of unused land outside. All the rooms were cramped into one area, making the layout quite unreasonable.
This wasn’t the ideal, comfortable home she had envisioned.
What she wanted was a well-organized, convenient, and aesthetically pleasing space—something like a small community, with well-arranged residential zones, grouped by room type, and with clear numbering.
She envisioned a spacious dining hall, a leisure and entertainment area, and, when conditions allowed, even a security booth, a broadcast room, a central monitoring room, and storage warehouses.
The more Su Tao thought about it, the more beautiful the idea became.
At the break of dawn, Su Tao found Zhuang Wan and said:
“I want to find a professional to help design a reasonable land use and planning layout for our Taoyang. Do you know anyone with that expertise?”
Zhuang Wan shook her head like a rattle:
“No, but why not just put up a recruitment ad? With over 50,000 people in Dongyang, we’re bound to find the right fit.”
Su Tao slapped the table:
“Great idea! We’ll ask applicants to bring their past work. Those who get hired will receive three Taoyang housing application slots, with the first three months’ rent waived for all three.”
Compared to monetary rewards, a Taoyang home would be far more appealing.
Zhuang Wan was stunned:
“I have a feeling my workload is about to skyrocket.”
Sure enough, once the recruitment and reward information was announced, the entire city of Dongyang was buzzing. Families were bringing out anyone remotely qualified to apply.
If selected, with three housing slots, at least three family members could move into Taoyang!
Even the long-despondent Su family perked up.
Su Jianming had studied architectural mechanics before the apocalypse and, by chance, participated in the construction of most of Dongyang’s main city projects.
Li Ronglian said excitedly:
“Old Su, even if your expertise only somewhat matches, how will you know if you don’t try? If it works out, with three slots, we can give the first two to Zhengqing and his wife. Your biggest headache will be solved.”
The remaining two could go to Jinjin and Zhenglan, solving the entire family’s housing problem.
The more Li Ronglian thought about it, the more wonderful it seemed—she didn’t want to wake up from the dream.
Su Jianming said with a dark expression:
“My expertise is in foundations. What Taoyang needs is land planning. It’s a completely different field.”
“Then how about letting Zhengqing try? He’s working at the Engineering Management Bureau now, right? He’s been there so long, he should’ve learned something by now.”
Su Jianming’s face darkened further:
“Learned what? You know very well I had to pull a lot of strings to get him that job. He’s still just an assistant and can’t even read blueprints!”
Li Ronglian was puzzled:
“Isn’t design simple? Just draw on paper, right? Give it a try—there are three slots! Zhengqing’s wife nags every few days. We never get a moment’s peace.”
