Chapter 6: The First Ten-Thousand-Income
With the 3,000 Federal Coins contributed by her deadbeat dad and the rent Shi Zijin paid in advance, Su Tao suddenly found herself quite financially comfortable.
As soon as she got home, she ordered a solid wood bed for herself and picked a cheap white solid wood fabric sofa set to fill the empty space in her large living room.
She even knocked down the wall connecting the living room to the hallway.
Her plan was to turn the living room into a reception area, where she could meet with potential tenants in the future.
She also splurged on furnishing her previously barren bathroom with a proper toilet, sink, and a separate wet-and-dry shower area.
In total, she spent 1,560 Federal Coins.
She also developed another single room, costing an additional 1,000 Federal Coins.
This room was similarly equipped with basic facilities like a solid wood bed, a showerhead, toilet, and sink.
She even generously added a solid wood wardrobe, costing another 830 Federal Coins.
Finally, she set this room to be rented on a monthly basis.
She planned to save the remaining 3,653 Federal Coins. After all, upgrading the system to level 2 required a full 10,000…
Just thinking about it made Su Tao’s heart ache.
[Room 003 is now available for monthly rent. Based on the interior furnishings, the system has determined the short-term rental price to be 10,000 Federal Coins. To increase rental income, please purchase higher-quality home furnishings.]
Su Tao smiled with satisfaction.
She planned to keep this room reserved for Shi Zijin and his team.
Recently, more and more people had been asking about Taoyang, but Su Tao ignored them all.
Until she had settled Shi Zijin’s people, she had no plans to open rentals to the public.
For dinner, Su Tao treated herself to a luxurious single meal for 16 Federal Coins—it even had visible bits of beef!
When Shi Zijin and his team returned, they were stunned the moment they stepped into Taoyang and saw the now twice-as-large space.
The last time they were here, it had just been a short corridor with one room on each side.
Now, not only was there a large reception room, but also an additional room.
“Did you hire a super construction team to build this overnight?” Cen Tianjiao asked, eyes wide.
Su Tao was already familiar with them, so she just smiled without answering, wearing an expression that said, “The landlord’s business is none of your concern.”
Shi Zijin’s long, narrow phoenix eyes lingered on her for a few moments. He didn’t say anything, instead changing the subject:
“My sister is moving in tonight.”
So the 4,000 Federal Coin room was for his sister.
Seeing his right arm intact, Su Tao guessed he might have gotten a prosthetic, which was a good thing.
She seized the moment to open the door to the new room:
“A solid wood single bed with complete bedding and pillows. There’s a large wardrobe across from the bed for clothes and miscellaneous items. The other side of the room is equipped with a toilet, a shower with a separate wet-and-dry area, an independent storage cabinet, and a sink. The rooms are fully soundproofed. The monthly rent is only 10,000 Federal Coins.”
The setup made all the team members green with envy.
Shi Zijin asked, “Still no contribution points needed?”
He saved his contribution points to buy rare weapons and medicines. For people like them, who lived on the edge of danger, the more contribution points they had, the better their chances of survival.
Su Tao: “No need.”
The team members’ eyes lit up, but after glancing at their captain, they knew better than to compete with him. The captain always came first—no one dared to snatch the opportunity.
“I’ll take it. I’ll move in today,” Shi Zijin said.
[+10,000 Federal Coins]
It was as if fireworks exploded before Su Tao’s eyes.
She finally had enough capital to upgrade!
The more Shi Zijin looked around, the more satisfied he became. He immediately shut the door and took a hot shower.
His actions left the rest of the team, still crammed into their shared dormitory, green with envy.
That evening, Su Tao met Shi Zijin’s sister—the new tenant of Room 002.
Shi Ziyue looked about 14 years old, very well-behaved, even a little shy and timid.
Shi Zijin introduced her to Su Tao:
“My sister. I’ve been busy with work, so she’s been staying with my uncle. Now that I have the chance, I brought her here. I’ll have to trouble you to look after her. Come on, Ziyue, say hello to Sister Su Tao.”
Blushing, Shi Ziyue softly called her “Sister Su Tao” and gave a shy, friendly smile.
Su Tao rarely saw such a sweet girl. It felt like she had suddenly gained a little sister. She smiled and said, “No problem. My room is right over here. If you need anything, just knock on my door.”
Shi Ziyue’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Su Tao, and the two quickly became friends.
The next day, Shi Zijin left early again—it was the new recruits’ physical examination and testing day.
All those who signed up for the Pioneer Army would report to the training center, where examiners would assess their physical fitness and abilities before assigning them to different units.
As captain, Shi Zijin had to help the newcomers get familiar with the environment and integrate into the Pioneer Army’s life as quickly as possible.
Cen Tianjiao curled his lips: “I feel like this batch of newbies is going to be a handful. Yesterday, a woman made a huge scene at our command center—crying, shouting, even threatening to hang herself. She kept saying her daughter wasn’t healthy and sending her to the army was a death sentence. It was a total mess.”
For some reason, Su Tao immediately thought of Li Lianrong.
If Jiang Jinwei had been sacrificed to join the army, Li Lianrong would definitely pull a stunt like this.
And knowing her deadbeat dad’s personality, he would never let his two sons enlist—the sacrificial lamb could only be Jiang Jinwei.
Su Tao felt a chill run down her spine.
Even though they came from the same womb, Li Lianrong only cared about Jiang Jinwei, terrified that she might lose her.
But when it came to Su Tao, she had no problem secretly signing her up for the army, not caring whether she lived or died.
Thankfully, there was no longer any mother-daughter bond left.
