Tan Zhizhi had stocked up on almost everything she needed, and of the more than ten billion she had started with, only a little over twenty thousand remained.
Only then did she leisurely buy a plane ticket and head back home.
The moment she got off the plane, she received a call from the real estate agent. The Tan family’s old residence and the other six unfinished villas had all been sold at a 30 percent discount, bringing in a total of seventeen million.
As soon as the call ended with a beep, the money arrived in her account.
Clutching the still warm bank card, Tan Zhizhi spent ten million to pay in full for a Manka MAN off-road RV at a dealership. It was the king of motorhomes, with an imposing and aggressive exterior, solar panels built into the roof, fully bulletproof windows, and resistance to both extreme cold and heat. It could practically be called a solitary ark for the apocalypse.
She also spent 6.3 million stocking up on automotive supplies such as windshield washer fluid, tires, windshield wipers, and motor oil.
With the remaining seven hundred thousand from the sale of the properties, Tan Zhizhi came up with a bold and slightly absurd idea.
She wanted to spend the money hiring a large number of people to gather wild mushrooms from every mountain around S City.
It was currently the peak season for wild mushrooms. If they were not gathered now, they would all turn to mush once the storms reached the city. What a terrible waste that would be.
After all, the deliciousness of wild mushrooms was simply irresistible, okay?
Before putting her plan into action, Tan Zhizhi decided to disguise herself first so she would not bring trouble upon herself in the future.
She put on elderly makeup, took a chestnut colored curly wig designed for older women from her supply-hoarding space, and changed into a dark green cotton and linen short sleeved outfit for middle aged women, complete with a matching handbag.
Before long, a spirited woman of around sixty five appeared.
When she arrived at the labor market, Tan Zhizhi instantly slipped into character. Strutting forward with the swagger of someone who answered to no one, she hired workers under the guise of being the female owner of a wild mushroom processing factory.
To avoid having poisonous mushrooms accidentally gathered, she specifically hired young people who spent years roaming the mountains, could identify all kinds of wild mushrooms, and possessed excellent stamina.
Because Tan Zhizhi offered three times the usual wage for temporary workers and thoughtfully provided everyone with heatstroke prevention supplies, many people eagerly signed up.
In the end, she gathered five hundred workers and sent them out toward the surrounding mountains.
To avoid attracting attention, she also found a warehouse near the wholesale market that could be rented for a short period and rented it for two days to temporarily store the wild mushrooms.
Over those two days, the temporary workers she hired gathered 3,000 jin of prized termite mushrooms and 4,000 jin of delicious porcini mushrooms.
They also collected 6,000 jin of blue capped mushrooms, 500 jin of the king of mushrooms, dried mushroom, 600 jin of truffles, 2,000 jin of matsutake mushrooms, 3,000 jin of bamboo fungi, 2,000 jin of black tiger palm mushrooms, 5,000 jin of chanterelles, and 3,000 jin of lingzhi mushrooms.
They gathered another 20,000 jin of various wild mushrooms, including brush mushrooms, white scallion mushrooms, red scallion mushrooms, morel mushrooms, lion’s mane mushrooms, and many others.
It could be said that the surrounding mountains had practically been stripped bare.
This mushroom gathering operation cost 600,000 to hire the workers, 80,000 for heatstroke prevention supplies, and another 2,000 for the warehouse rental, bringing the total to 682,000.
However, based on market prices, the wild mushrooms they gathered were worth far more than 682,000.
She had actually made a profit!
Only after the temporary workers received their wages and dispersed did Tan Zhizhi pull down the warehouse’s rolling shutter and store every bit of the fresh, delicious wild mushrooms in her supply-hoarding space.
By the time she finished everything, night had already fallen.
The sky was pitch black without a single star in sight, and the air remained unbearably hot and stifling, without even the faintest breeze.
However, Tan Zhizhi knew perfectly well that this was merely the calm before the disaster.
At five o’clock the next morning, a massive storm would sweep across S City. Two consecutive weeks of torrential rain would cause the dams to collapse, while the raging floodwaters would destroy the infrastructure on both sides of the roads. By the time the rains ended, nearly half the buildings in the city would be reduced to ruins.
She had to find somewhere safe to stay before then.
After removing her makeup and changing into a set of sportswear, Tan Zhizhi took out her phone and quickly browsed through the city’s geography on the map. In the end, she set her sights on Xiping District, the area with the highest elevation.
That area was a tourist development zone located in the suburbs outside the city. It was filled with hotels, saunas, entertainment venues, and cinemas, with almost no residential communities or private homes. Because the weather was currently so hot, few people went there for recreation, making it quiet and less likely to descend into chaos.
…
Driving her vehicle, Tan Zhizhi quickly arrived at Xiping District.
After storing her car in her supply-hoarding space, she looked at the remaining 35,000 in her bank account.
After hesitating for two seconds, she lavishly chose a five star hotel called Yuelaifu.
Once the apocalypse arrived and order completely collapsed, the money in her account would become nothing more than a meaningless number.
She might as well spend it while she still could.
Of course, she did not choose this hotel solely to enjoy herself.
More importantly, she had seen that the hotel had exceptionally high ratings on a certain review app.
The sanitation was excellent, privacy was well protected, and there were plenty of security personnel.
This meant that after checking into the hotel, she would at least be relatively safe during the first few days of the apocalypse.
“Hello, Miss Tan. We currently have two business deluxe suites available. One is on the eighth floor, and the other is on the second floor. Which one would you prefer?”
The young woman at the front desk asked politely with a professional smile.
Tan Zhizhi was just about to answer when a hand with pink glitter nail polish landed on her shoulder and gave it a light pat.
“Oh, what a coincidence, Tan Zhizhi. I never expected to run into you here. Coming to a hotel so late at night, which filthy man did you arrange to get a room with?”
The shrill and affected voice was so familiar that it made goosebumps rise all over Tan Zhizhi’s skin, while the overpowering perfume nearly choked her to death on the spot.
She did not even need to turn around to know that the shameless little troublemaker Wu Yuejiao was behind it.
Glancing sideways at the reckless pig’s trotter resting on her shoulder, Tan Zhizhi grabbed it and squeezed hard.
“Who I book a room with is none of your damn business!”
Watching her hand instantly turn as red as a roasted pig trotter, Wu Yuejiao’s anger surged without restraint. Without a second thought, she lifted the handbag in her hand and prepared to smash it into Tan Zhizhi’s face.
“Jiaojiao, don’t be impulsive!”
Just as the bag was about to fly toward Tan Zhizhi’s fair face, Liang Shuo, who had been standing beside Wu Yuejiao with a suitcase and had not said a word until then, quickly snatched the bag from her hand.
He gently tugged at her sleeve as well, signaling for her to stop making a scene.
“Liang Shuo, why are you stopping me? As my boyfriend, shouldn’t you be on my side? Why are you protecting her?”
“Don’t tell me you still like her. How can you be such a scumbag, eating from one bowl while still eyeing another? I… I… I’m breaking up with you right now!”
Wu Yuejiao glared furiously as she cursed without thinking.
Liang Shuo’s face darkened. He awkwardly glanced at Tan Zhizhi, and when he saw that she could not even be bothered to spare him a sideways glance, he quietly concealed the faint, almost imperceptible disappointment in his eyes.
Then he began reciting the classic lines of a scumbag.
“Jiaojiao, my precious baby, don’t overthink things. How could I possibly be that kind of man? Right now, my heart and eyes are filled with no one but you. The only reason I stopped you was because I was afraid you might accidentally scratch your hand on the hard metal clasp of the handbag. If that happened, I would be heartbroken.”
Witnessing the scene, Tan Zhizhi gave a cold snort, her eyes filled with contempt.
This man was still as greasy and disgusting as ever.
Back then, Liang Shuo had spent an entire month pestering her with a bouquet of lilies, confessing his feelings over and over again. Both his words and actions were extremely sleazy. She had been thoroughly annoyed by him, but aside from repeatedly rejecting his confessions, she had never done anything excessive.
Until…
She learned from several senior female students that this scumbag had actually been pursuing five wealthy girls at the same time.
Firmly believing that every scumbag deserved a beating, she immediately beat him up.
After that, he never dared to appear in front of her again.
She had thought the scumbag had finally grown a conscience and turned over a new leaf.
Who would have thought that he would soon hook up with spoiled little miss Wu Yuejiao instead?
Now that she thought about it, beating him up back then had truly been a wise decision.
This piece of trash simply clung to whoever had money.
“Hmph! At least you know better and understand who deserves to be cherished the most. I’ll forgive you this time.”
Having been thoroughly soothed, Wu Yuejiao cast Liang Shuo a coy glance.
Then she turned around, forcefully tapped the front desk counter, and arrogantly ordered the receptionist around.
“Hey, she’s booking a business deluxe suite, right?”
“What a coincidence. That’s exactly what I want to book too. Hurry up and check me in. I want the one on the second floor!”
With Tan Zhizhi’s lazy personality, she definitely would not want to stay on the eighth floor. Taking the elevator up and down would be far too troublesome.
Now that Wu Yuejiao had gotten there first and booked the second floor suite Tan Zhizhi wanted, Tan Zhizhi would probably be furious, right?