Chapter 9: Cen Lao’er’s Deluxe Single Room
On Su Tao’s side, everything was peaceful. Shi Ziyue had no classes in the afternoon and helped Su Tao sweep and mop the floors. Before long, the long corridor and living room were spotless.
Su Tao felt a bit embarrassed. She wanted to offer money as a thank you but felt it would be awkward, as if she were treating Shi Ziyue like a housekeeper, which didn’t seem respectful.
Shi Ziyue held Su Tao’s hand and said, “Sister Taozi, I’m just passing the time. Plus, moving around is good for my health~”
Once she got familiar with someone, Shi Ziyue was especially good at acting cute and sweet, much like a cat begging for treats.
Su Tao couldn’t help but feel envious of Shi Zijin, having such a considerate and affectionate younger sister.
Feeling cheerful, Su Tao spent 200 Federal Coins on a water dispenser, placing it in the living room for everyone to use for free.
She wasn’t a stingy person. Whenever she could provide convenience to the tenants, she would make purchases within her means.
Shi Ziyue, like a little white rabbit, hopped over to grab a cup, filled it with water, and gulped it down in one go.
“Yummy~ This tastes even better than the bottled water from the convenience store. Sister Taozi, you’re so generous~”
Her words were genuinely heartfelt.
It was well-known that drinking water in the Dongyang base was expensive. Free water was something only rumored to have existed in the peaceful times before the apocalypse.
Su Tao pinched her cheek playfully. “You’re such a sweet talker. When the next rental period starts, I’ll get you a desk and a bookshelf so you won’t have to do your homework in the living room anymore.”
Shi Ziyue cheered in delight.
In the afternoon, Su Tao specifically took Shi Ziyue to the food street inside the base for a proper meal.
When she was little, her lousy dad always secretly took her two older brothers out to eat, while Li Lianrong often sent her away to prepare special meals for Jiang Jinwei’s family of three.
The good food never reached her mouth anyway.
Now that Su Tao had some extra money, she wasn’t stingy at all. She ordered three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup. She and Shi Ziyue enjoyed every bite.
They even packed the leftovers to take home, planning to have another meal with them the next day.
Before going to bed, Su Tao still felt a bit full. She decided to walk around her room to help with digestion and ended up buying a washing machine.
She didn’t expect washing machines to be so expensive—the cheapest basic front-loading model cost 1,000 Federal Coins.
But to free up her hands in the future, Su Tao gritted her teeth and bought it despite the pain in her wallet.
She placed the washing machine on the small four-square-meter balcony and spent another 60 Federal Coins on a drying rack.
She originally thought about buying a dryer too, but when she saw it cost 2,000 Federal Coins and consumed a lot of electricity, she hesitated.
After all, she still had to pay for water and electricity bills—just for her own unit and the public areas.
The tenants would pay for the utilities used in their own rooms.
In the end, she decided to just buy a drying rod. She could reconsider the dryer when winter came, and clothes became harder to dry.
She had over 13,000 Federal Coins left.
After some thought, Su Tao realized that Shi Zijin and his group of subordinates would soon need housing, so it would be wise to expand with two more rooms.
With a wave of her hand, she spent 1,000 Federal Coins to open a new single room.
Then, she spent 3,000 Federal Coins to create a new double room.
As a result, the straight corridor extended further behind the living room, adding a new hallway.
Shi Ziyue’s Room 002 and the newly built single Room 004 became neighbors.
The renovation of the two rooms alone cost 2,700 Federal Coins.
Afterward, Su Tao’s balance dropped to just over 6,800…
She was a bit conflicted. Should she save the money to upgrade to Level 3 and buy an air conditioner?
She even wanted to buy a VR gaming console or a projector TV.
It was too boring to stay in the room after dinner—she always wanted some entertainment.
Sigh, there were just too many things that needed money. It was better to save up first and spend later.
She planned to wait until Shi Zijin and his team returned from their mission before informing them about the new rooms.
Otherwise, they might pay her rent in advance again, which would make her feel too embarrassed.
The next day, Su Tao slept in, lounging in bed and refusing to get up.
Back when she lived with the Su family, she had to get up before six to buy breakfast for everyone.
Otherwise, she’d get scolded by Jiang Jinwei, and even her two older brothers would give her dirty looks.
Living in her own house was so much better—she could sleep as long as she wanted, and no one could boss her around.
For the next two days, Taoyang remained quiet. Neither Shi Zijin nor Cen Tianjiao returned.
Shi Ziyue was busy with school extracurricular activities, coming back late both days.
Feeling lonely and unable to resist, Su Tao bought a LCD TV and placed it on the coffee table in the living room.
It cost her 1,800 Federal Coins.
Her little savings took another hit.
But Cen Lao’er made up for it with his own generosity.
When his single room’s five-day rental expired and was freed up, Su Tao immediately redecorated it.
Since the single room had no partitions, Su Tao picked three reasonably priced transparent waterproof screens from a home improvement store, creating an independent bathroom within the single room.
The bathroom had a separate shower area with wet and dry separation.
There was also a storage rack above the sink.
The bedroom had a small single wardrobe and a compact single-seater sofa.
The renovation costs were nearly the same as a double room, reaching 1,800 Federal Coins.
It could genuinely be considered a “deluxe single room.”
The monthly rent for the room also rose to 13,000 Federal Coins.
Su Tao took a photo and sent it to Cen Tianjiao, who promptly transferred 13,000 that afternoon to renew the lease for another month, not allowing Su Tao to refuse. He even called it a “deposit.”
Shi Ziyue looked on with envy and couldn’t help but wonder what incredible skills Sister Tao possessed to find brand-new soft furnishings from before the apocalypse.
Su Tao had to promise that when Shi Ziyue’s lease was up next month, she’d also upgrade her room.
“By the way, Sister Taozi, do you have any rooms with a monthly rent of just 5,000, with no limit on the number of occupants?” Shi Ziyue suddenly asked.
Su Tao was stunned and shook her head, “Not at the moment.”
Perhaps when she upgraded later, she might unlock dormitory-style rooms for multiple people.
Currently, each room could only accommodate up to two people.
Shi Ziyue sighed, “I figured. I have a classmate whose family is struggling. The four of them live in a collective dormitory with no private bathroom. They have to line up for ages just to use the toilet. Plus, they have two girls at home, and there are often creepy old men in those dorms…”
Su Tao felt a pang of sadness.
At least when she lived with the Su family, though she was never valued, she never had to deal with harassment.
Life was always tougher for women in the apocalypse.
But she couldn’t run a charity—helping one family wouldn’t solve the problem of countless homeless people. She couldn’t save everyone.
Shi Ziyue didn’t press the matter further. Instead, she pulled Su Tao along to the base’s shopping center to buy some daily necessities.
Everyday items were really expensive in the apocalypse.
Just buying two months’ worth of sanitary pads cost Su Tao 550 Federal Coins.
The price made her turn pale.
Back at the Su family’s house, she never used them. During her period, she’d use makeshift pads sewn from old clothes.
Every time, washing them by hand made the bathroom look like a crime scene.
But she never expected sanitary pads to be this expensive.
Shampoo, body wash, and similar items were also costly. She also bought a set of loungewear.
By the end of the day, she had spent a total of 1,500 Federal Coins on daily necessities.
Su Tao’s hands were trembling.
Shi Ziyue, true to being Shi Zijin’s sister, shopped without batting an eye. She spent 1,000 more than Su Tao, carrying large and small bags back home.
At this moment, Li Lianrong, who had been watching all day, finally confirmed that this was indeed her younger daughter, Su Tao.
Her eyes widened as she shouted, “Tao Tao!”
When Su Tao heard this familiar voice, her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.
