Chapter 47: Getting Rich Instantly
At Dongyang TV Station, as soon as Pang Hong got off work, a familiar neighbor approached her with a flattering smile:
“Xiao Pang, I remember you applied for a place in Taoyang, right? I need a favor. When you move in, could you introduce our family? Taoyang is prioritizing internal referrals for new tenants, which would really boost our chances. Don’t worry—if it works out, you’ll definitely get a nice reward.”
Pang Hong found it unbelievable: “Aunt Song, are you crazy? There’s a scandal about kidnappings, scams, and disfigurements in Taoyang. You still want to live there? Aren’t you afraid you’ll end up with your face slashed and left on the street? Or pay the rent only to be kicked out?”
Aunt Song clicked her tongue, “That’s just a rumor. My classmate’s daughter’s friend has been living in Taoyang for two months. That whole disfigurement story was the previous tenant’s own doing. It was that old lady who wanted to kill someone, but Taoyang caught her. Don’t believe those twisted stories.”
Pang Hong sneered internally, “Aunt Song, I work in media. No one knows the truth better than me. I’m not going to Taoyang. I’ve already withdrawn my application. You should find someone else.”
Aunt Song was stunned and blurted out, “Even if you withdrew, can you still refer me? If you don’t live there, I will!”
Her answer was met with Pang Hong’s proud back as she walked away.
Aunt Song spat, thinking, There really are fools right under my nose.
..*
The negative news didn’t actually affect Taoyang’s daily operations and life at all.
On the contrary, things became much easier for Zhuang Wan. The one-bedroom unit that Pang Hong and her companion had withdrawn from was directly allocated to Yang Ju’s parents.
The elderly couple showed up the next day with bags and suitcases. Zhuang Wan had originally planned to give them an orientation and introduction.
Unexpectedly, Yang Ju’s mother pulled out the Taoyang Rental Agreement from her bag:
“My daughter keeps talking about it. I’m already very familiar. No fighting, no using abilities to hurt others, no open flames in the room, always prioritize safety…”
It was the first time Zhuang Wan encountered such an easygoing tenant. The registration and payment process was done in five minutes.
Yang Ju was delighted and pulled Zhuang Wan aside, “Miss Zhuang, I’d like to change my rental next month. We currently rent a double room, but now I’d like a one-bedroom unit to be closer to my parents. Do you think that’s possible?”
Zhuang Wan said, “I’ll need to ask Boss Su about that.”
Yang Ju replied politely: “Of course, of course.”
During Lunch, Zhuang Wan Brought Up the Matter
Su Tao asked her back, “Do you think there would be any issues with changing rentals?”
Zhuang Wan thought carefully, then shook her head, “Aside from making my job a bit more complicated and possibly setting a precedent for other tenants to follow, there aren’t any major problems.”
Su Tao smiled, “Some things don’t need my approval. You can make decisions on your own. As long as you weigh the pros and cons and have a plan to handle the situation, that’s fine. For example, if you’re worried that frequent rental changes will increase your workload, you could set rules on how often tenants can switch or establish a minimum interval between changes.”
Zhuang Wan suddenly felt enlightened, “I understand now.”
Su Tao was pleased with her response and quick understanding. In fact, Su Tao was gradually delegating more responsibilities.
The number of properties in Taoyang would continue to grow, along with the number of people. If Su Tao had to handle every little issue, she would exhaust herself.
She needed to train Zhuang Wan quickly to become capable of handling things independently.
The next afternoon, a new batch of tenants arrived, filling all the available one-bedroom units. This brought in a direct income of 360,000 federal credits, pushing Su Tao’s total assets to 410,000.
This was truly getting rich overnight…
Tonight, she could confidently and boldly proceed with new developments.
Although the buzz around Taoyang’s negative news was gradually fading, Su Tao still asked for safety’s sake, “What’s the attitude and reaction of these new tenants?”
Zhuang Wan replied, “Most of them still don’t fully trust us. There were even two sisters who asked if they could rent for just one month. When I refused, they hesitated for a long time before reluctantly agreeing.”
Su Tao nodded, “That’s okay. If they don’t trust us now, they’ll understand after living here for a while. As long as they don’t cause trouble or disrupt other tenants early on, it’s fine. Starting with the next batch, let’s prioritize internal referrals. As you’ve seen, it really reduces a lot of hassle.”
Hearing this, Zhuang Wan felt delighted, “That’s true! This morning, Fan Chuanhui even asked me if we could reserve Wen Peizhen’s single room for him. He has a colleague who’s eager to move in. Some tenants are even introducing cleaners to me. I’ve selected a few good ones—they’ll start work over the next few days. It seems like there are quite a few people interested in Taoyang.”
This just proved that only foolish or malicious people would believe and spread those negative rumors.
Su Tao felt a sense of relief, “You’ve worked hard lately. Later, let’s go together to pick up Elder Mei from the hospital.”
When they drove to the hospital, before they even saw Elder Mei, the doctor called them in for a lecture, “You need to talk to him properly. He shouldn’t be overexerting himself. He’s getting IV drips every day, yet he keeps working. At night, when the nurse checks on him, he’s using a flashlight under the covers, drawing and writing. This is not good!”
As soon as Su Tao entered the ward, she saw the windowsill piled with draft drawings. She couldn’t help but take a deep breath and say, “Elder Mei, you’re pushing yourself too hard. You need to rest and recover before you keep drawing, okay?”
Xiao Pan was sulking beside him, now knowing about Elder Mei’s late-night drawing sessions.
Mei Hongyi feigned ignorance, “I was just bored staying in the hospital. I had nothing to do, so I sketched a little. It’s nothing serious.”
Guan Zining, always blunt, said, “Old man, if you end up back in the hospital, it’ll just trouble them more. You’re just making things difficult for everyone.”
Mei Hongyi fell silent immediately.
Su Tao stomped hard on Guan Zining’s foot under the table, glaring at her. Her eyes seemed to say, If you can’t speak properly, then just keep quiet.
If anyone else had stepped on her, Guan Zining would have jumped up and hit them. But since it was Su Tao, she could only sheepishly hold back, even though she still felt she hadn’t said anything wrong.
Don’t make things difficult for your teammates. This was one of her principles as a soldier.
Su Tao sat by the bed, gently coaxing the old man. Mei Hongyi sighed:
“Tao girl, I feel so guilty. Every minute I lie here, I’m filled with regret. It’s my fault for not raising my son properly, for letting him become a beast. And even though you don’t say it, I know my own health—I don’t have much time left. I just want to use my remaining days to build up Taoyang as much as possible.”
Everyone fell silent.
Mei Hongyi asked Liu Panpan to bring the drawings from the windowsill and handed them to Su Tao:
“Tao girl, the open space in front of the canteen needs to be developed too. Summer is coming, and the heat will be unavoidable. Building a pond, a fountain, or even a pool can help lower the overall temperature. Also, with the growing number of tenants, the apartment building alone won’t be enough. We need to consider expanding with a residential complex or high-rise buildings as soon as possible…”
The more he spoke, the more energized he became.
Su Tao did not interrupt, just listened quietly until the sun set.
On the way back, Elder Mei sat in the back seat, fast asleep, a faint smile still on his lips.
Seeing him asleep, Liu Panpan whispered to Su Tao,”Boss Su, Old. Mei instructed me that if one day he couldn’t make it, I should find an excuse to trick his son into coming over. He wants to… take his son down with him.”
Su Tao exchanged a look with Zhuang Wan—this was a “taking the beastly son down with him” kind of determination.
Su Tao said, “Xiao Pan, try to guide him out of this mindset. Don’t let him get stuck in a dead end. He might as well pretend he never had this son and focus on living his own life well.”
At this moment, the beastly son still had no idea he was dancing on a tiger’s tail.
