Chapter 41: The Taoyang Office Building Rises from the Ground
Guan Zining slapped Mei Xingxian: “Who told you to get up? Stay down!”
Then she turned to Su Tao and asked, “How should we handle this?”
Su Tao shrugged. “Since he already knows, let’s take him back and let Old Mei decide. After all, he’s not my son.”
“True.” Guan Zining grabbed him, pressed a gun to his backside, and threatened him to sit in the back seat of the car.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Wan made a quick call to Old Mei, briefly explaining the situation.
When they reached Taoyang, they saw Xiao Pan pushing Old Mei over from afar.
Upon seeing him, Mei Xingxian shouted, “Dad!”
Old Mei ignored him and first apologized to Su Tao:
“Boss Su, I’m sorry my beast of a son caused you trouble. My apologies. You and Miss Guan can head back. I’ll handle this.”
Mei Xingxian was stunned. When had his stubborn father ever apologized to anyone, let alone been so polite to a young girl?
He scrutinized his father. Though his legs were still not fully functional, he was clean, looked more spirited than before, and even had a gentle woman taking care of him.
A wave of resentment rose in Mei Xingxian. He couldn’t help but say mockingly, “Dad, how many benefits did Taoyang give you… Your son is out living in the stench of the gutters, married to a wife who’s both ugly and stupid, while you live in comfort with someone so decent by your side—”
Slap!
Before he could finish, Old Mei raised his hand and slapped him hard across the face:
“That slap is to teach you a lesson for being disrespectful to Boss Su and Miss Guan. Now get lost! Before I change my mind, if you disappear now, you still have a chance to get a spot from me.”
Mei Xingxian was stunned by the hit, but hearing this, he immediately changed his tone, shamelessly saying:
“Alright, alright, I was wrong. You did the right thing, Dad. I knew you wouldn’t abandon me. I’ll leave now, but you can’t trick me back and then break your word. You know me—I’ve always been stubborn, and once I set my mind to something, I won’t stop until I get it.”
“I get it. Come back in three days. Now scram.” Old Mei waved him away.
Mei Xingxian straightened his clothes, took a greedy look at the gates of Taoyang, and, although he couldn’t see inside, he knew from media reports that life there was like living in paradise… No rush. He would get in eventually.
After the scoundrel left, Liu Panpan looked at Old Mei with concern.
Mei Hongyi coughed and said, “Xiao Pan, I need to trouble you to make a trip. Go to where I used to live and find my daughter-in-law. Remember, avoid that beast of a son of mine. Tell her that Mei Xingxian wants to live the good life at Taoyang and plans to ditch her.”
With Tan Fangchun’s stubborn and fiery nature, she would surely make a huge scene with Mei Xingxian.
Liu Panpan was taken aback, then smiled and agreed.
Before lunch, Xing Shuyu’s parents arrived as scheduled to complete the check-in registration.
Zhuang Wan arranged for the two children and smoothly completed the formalities with the couple.
In her room, Su Tao immediately received a seasonal rental payment of 60,000 Federal Coins, easing her urgent financial situation.
Tonight, she could finally build the office building!
Maybe there’d even be enough left to construct the corridor and the terrace.
Xing Shuyu, chin raised, said to her parents:
“I told you before, I eat well and sleep well at Taoyang, but you didn’t believe me. Now you see.”
Xing’s mother laughed. “Look at you, so proud, as if this were your own home and we were just guests. Is that a small lounge on this floor? With a sofa and a little coffee table?”
She sat down, touched the sofa fabric, and exclaimed:
“Is this new? The sofa at our place has been used for over 20 years, and we never found a suitable replacement. The Dongyang Shopping Center is full of post-disaster second-hand furniture. But here, even the public area has a brand-new one?”
Zhuang Wan just smiled.
Xing Shuyu looked even more proud.
Xing’s father adjusted his glasses and gave a reserved evaluation: “Not bad.”
Zhuang Wan led them to their new apartment and opened the door:
“A one-bedroom unit. Basic furniture is all provided. The balcony has a separate washing machine and dryer. For now, you can eat at the canteen in the back.”
Xing’s Mom was overjoyed by the décor: “It’s so clean and beautiful! There’s even carpet, and the lighting is great. Miss Zhuang, do you sell houses here?”
Zhuang Wan was taken aback and said, “I’ll ask our boss later.”
The more Xing’s mom looked around, the more she liked it. She held Zhuang Wan’s hand and said:
“Please do ask for me. The price is not an issue—tell Boss Su to name it. We can afford to contribute as well. If more units with additional bedrooms become available, please keep us in mind. Our family’s elder deserves to enjoy life.”
When Su Tao heard about this, she was stunned. She genuinely didn’t know if the houses could be sold.
She searched through the rental management system for a long time but didn’t find any “for sale” option.
She then looked through the general settings but still found nothing.
Since it was a “landlady system,” it probably didn’t allow sales… Otherwise, it might as well be called a “real estate mogul system.”
Zhuang Wan sighed a bit regretfully: “From what I gathered, Ms. Xing could easily offer over two million Federal Coins, not to mention a significant amount of contribution points.”
Su Tao felt a pang of envy—two million would mean instant wealth.
Xing Shuyu’s family was truly rich.
Aside from her, even her tenants might be wealthier than she was.
Even Zhuang Wan had received 3.6 million in compensation from the base for Zhuang Hu’s sacrifice, along with 10,000 contribution points.
Su Tao shed metaphorical tears in her heart.
Zhuang Wan pulled out a stack of documents from her wardrobe. It was quite a hassle, and she considered working in the first-floor common area next time, though she worried about losing files.
On second thought, she decided to use the balcony instead, putting the files on the washing machine and grabbing a stool to make do.
She handed the documents to Su Tao:
“These are the new tenant lists for units 005 to 008, all one-bedroom apartments. I’ve called each of them to verify. Do you see any issues?”
Su Tao sat by the bedside, flipping through the files in the morning light. Everything seemed fine on paper, so she nodded:
“Alright, arrange a time for them to complete the formalities. You’ve been working hard lately—do you need an assistant?”
Zhuang Wan thought seriously: “Let’s wait until our total room count exceeds triple digits. I can manage for now.”
As night fell, Su Tao rubbed her eyes and got up, walking to the two “shoeboxes” in front of her.
Following the design of pre-apocalyptic office buildings she found online, she painted the walls a bluish-gray, installed floor-to-ceiling windows, built a half-wall around the exterior, and set up an electronic fingerprint door lock.
The first floor served as a reception area, complete with a circular sofa, a cashmere carpet, and a low coffee table.
She even prepared a water dispenser with cups and placed bookshelves with paper and pens along the wall.
In the future, new tenants could complete their registration here, have a drink, and chat comfortably.
The second floor was designated as the office space.
Due to limited space, she could only set up four offices. Each room had a computer desk, a computer, and a swivel chair with wheels—very comfortable.
There were also floor-to-ceiling bookshelves for storing documents. The office space wasn’t too small, accommodating four to five people.
The entire office building cost 42,000 Federal Coins to construct—not bad at all.
Su Tao stood outside, gazing at the modest two-story office building, filled with hope.
She wished that in the future, more and more people would work here, contributing ideas and efforts to build up Taoyang.
She hoped to provide a safe haven for more people in this post-apocalyptic world.
