As Han Ying passed by 2701, she glanced at the door, but it was tightly shut, and she couldn’t tell if anyone was inside. The young man ahead of her went straight to 2703. Just as she had suspected!
Han Ying arrived at 2702 and rang the doorbell. Soon, someone came to open it—it was the same real estate agent who had assisted her earlier. As Han Ying stepped inside, the young man at 2703 glanced in her direction, showing a flicker of curiosity before entering his own apartment.
“Miss Han, you’re here?” The agent greeted her warmly, naturally, since she had promised him five times the usual commission if the deal went through. Judging by the current situation, closing the deal was just one step away.
The apartment’s owners were an elderly couple, probably in their sixties. They gave Han Ying a brief introduction to the apartment and the surrounding neighborhood. Without hesitation, Han Ying agreed to purchase the apartment at the price they requested. She didn’t plan to buy a parking space—after all, with the apocalypse approaching, parking would be of little concern.
Han Ying first paid 2 million yuan, leaving the remaining 1.52 million to settle after the property transfer. She also paid the fivefold commission in full on the spot, as the deal was now practically secured.
Since the apartment had originally been intended for the couple’s son after marriage, it had never been lived in, so there was nothing for them to move out. After handing over the keys, the agent and the elderly couple left, and Han Ying took a tour of the apartment herself.
The apartment had been designed simply for the elderly couple, so the style was minimalist—nothing flashy—but Han Ying liked it very much. All she needed to do was purchase furniture and modify the doors and windows before moving in.
With the apartment secured, Han Ying checked the time—it was nearly 10 a.m. She had to drive to Changfu Village; the 11 pools there must be full by now, and it was time to collect the water.
Half an hour later, Han Ying arrived at the small building in Changfu Village. As her car approached the courtyard gate, she noticed a rugged-looking middle-aged man outside, peering in. She recognized him as one of the villagers she had hired yesterday to find spring water sources. It seemed the job was done, and he had come to collect his wages.
Sure enough, when he saw her car, the man flashed a big, white smile. As Han Ying got out, he set down the hoe he was carrying and approached her.
“Little miss, we’ve completed the tasks you assigned, hehe…” The man laughed awkwardly, still a little embarrassed. He had never seen such a pretty young woman before—more attractive than TV stars.
“All right, give me the bill,” Han Ying said, unlocking the courtyard gate. Inside, a stone table stood, and they sat down there. The man took out a sheet of paper and a key from his pocket and handed them to Han Ying. The key was for the water room—necessary to channel the spring water into it.
Looking at the bill, Han Ying thought the three men her grandfather had found for her were honest. She had previously said the daily wage would be 200 yuan. They finished the work before noon on the second day, which could only count as 1.5 days’ wages. And in that less-than-one-and-a-half-day span, they had located seven spring sources! That came to 3,500 yuan, plus 1,651 yuan for materials. For three people over 1.5 days, labor cost 900 yuan. In total: 6,051 yuan.
“Let’s go see the water room. After that, I’ll pay you,” Han Ying said. She knew the water room was at the top of the hill behind the building, but she wasn’t certain of the exact location. This was a good opportunity to check.
“Okay, I’ll take you, but the hill is steep. Little miss, be careful.” The man glanced at Han Ying’s shoes, worried she might be in heels—but fortunately, she wore sneakers. Han Ying’s physical condition was more than a match for his, even far better.
A dozen minutes later, they reached the hilltop. The man was amazed that Han Ying wasn’t even breathing hard.
“Little miss, impressive! This hill isn’t high, but it’s not easy to climb. You must exercise regularly, right?” he exclaimed.
“Yes, I used to hike often,” Han Ying said, telling a harmless half-truth.
Using the key, she opened the water room. She saw 11 pipes of varying sizes, two rows, with water flowing gently into the room. The four lower pipes were old—two larger ones used 1-inch pipes, and two smaller ones used 6/10-inch pipes. The seven new pipes on top included three 1-inch pipes, two 6/10-inch pipes, and two 4/10-inch pipes. Apparently, the springs had different flow rates.
The water room was already full, and water was flowing out from an outlet at the top. This meant the pools inside the small building were likely full as well. The water was clear and clean; the bottom had no visible sediment, and the surroundings looked freshly cleaned. Seeing the flow from the springs, Han Ying realized she could add a few more small pools upstairs. Otherwise, this sweet spring water would be wasted once the pools were full.
After settling the payment, Han Ying went back down to the small building and collected all the water from the pools into her spatial talisman. She didn’t need containers—the water could be absorbed directly, gathering into a single mass in the top-right corner of the talisman. Without her control, the water remained still. When needed, she could mentally draw water from this mass.
Previously, all her stored items were in the lower layer of the talisman. Now, she planned to use the upper-left and upper-right corners for living water and drinking water, ensuring no mix-ups.
After storing the water, Han Ying set up four foldable pools, each capable of holding 3 tons, in the gaps and corners among the three large rooftop pools, attaching sensor faucets. She then went down to the third floor, placing three small foldable pools in the bathrooms and balcony, repeating the same on the second floor.
With this setup, once all the pools were filled, Han Ying could collect at least 100 tons of water each time she visited. After checking all the faucets to confirm proper flow, she finally closed the front gate of the small building, satisfied.