None of this had reached Bao Taozi’s ears yet, her mind was completely full of stockpiling.
With two weeks left before the apocalypse, Bao Taozi took the remaining cash she had and rented out the two villas on either side of hers. The one on the right belonged to an owner who’d been living abroad long-term and hadn’t come back yet. The one on the left had been bought purely as an investment, so it was easy to rent as well. As for whether the original owners would end up at a loss, the system said it would compensate them with supplies after the apocalypse began.
She’d asked the system about it, rented property also counted as her own territory, but it had to be directly adjacent to the originally confirmed hotel address. If it weren’t for the fact that landlords further out simply wouldn’t rent to her, Bao Taozi would have loved to rent out the entire Biyuan district!
Thinking about renovations, Bao Taozi asked the system.
“How do I go about renovating?”
Yuan Gungun immediately perked up, excited. “It only costs 500 points!”
That expensive?! She only had 1,000 points total, and there weren’t any more tasks lined up to earn more.
Seeing the hesitation on Bao Taozi’s face, Yuan Gungun grew anxious and slapped its own thigh. “300 points! Consider it a first-time customer discount!”
Bao Taozi’s eyes lit up. “Deal!”
【Open the renovation panel for 300 points?】
Yes!
The system panel rippled, then reopened in a whole new form.
The top right corner showed Bao Taozi’s personal information. Below that:
Points held: 700
Inventory: Points-based fridge x1, points-based air conditioner x2, vending machine x1, permanent water recycling system, luxury hotel building fragment x1.
Staff: 0
Hotel rooms: 0
Level: 700/100,000
Tasks: None
There was a little house icon in the top right corner of the panel. Clicking it opened up a full renovation system, right down to how each room was decorated, including furniture placement!
Bao Taozi absolutely loved this, decorating games had always been her favorite kind of game, and she suddenly felt fired up!
Browsing through, aside from the flooring and wall materials she’d already unlocked, there were tons of other materials, and appliances too, the selection was extremely thorough, even decorative items! But anything not yet unlocked needed points to trade for.
Meanwhile, the materials she’d already unlocked came in all their various patterns completely free!
Right, time to start saving up points.
Bao Taozi opened the flooring section and settled on a minimalist modern style. She picked white flooring, laid down an oversized minimalist rug for 10 points, and got rid of the furniture she didn’t need, earning back 600 points. She spent 50 points on an artistically shaped front desk in gray stone, its front carved into a sleek sideways β shape, really striking. Then 5 points bought a large cloud-shaped pendant light, plus a bunch of smaller cloud lights, one placed on the front desk and the rest on a matching stone table she’d just bought, set up in the lounge area she’d planned right behind the front desk, along with a large white sofa.
For the walls, she picked matching white, then spent 100 more points on a batch of paintings and potted plants. Roses wrapped around a round arched doorway.
Exactly the vibe she was going for!
This whole set cost Bao Taozi 320 points. Combined with the 600 points earned from selling the old furniture, she was left with 980 points! Made a profit, hehehe.
Yuan Gungun was already sulking in its system space, glumly plucking bamboo leaves.
With the main hall done, she turned to the front courtyard, which mattered just as much!
She sold off the pool for 200 points, it took up too much space and wasn’t even useful, and she’d decide later whether to build a new one. As for the swing her mother had made for the original body, Bao Taozi had no intention of selling it. She spent 230 points on a sunroom, enclosed the swing inside it, added small tables, decorations, and potted plants. That came to 350 points total.
On the other side, she got rid of the fake lawn, placed a small Cupid fountain in the middle, planted real grass all around, and added street lamps and chairs, a nice little rest area!
That took care of the front courtyard, leaving 730 points total.
The backyard would wait, she hadn’t decided what to do with it yet.
Her own bedroom and the room she’d set aside for Uncle Qi would just keep the original bed and wardrobe for now, no need to add anything else.
After all, keeping some points in reserve meant peace of mind!
Once all this was done, the place at least looked like a hotel! As for the two rented villas, the system said their range couldn’t be unlocked until after the apocalypse and an upgrade.
【Task One: Name the hotel】
【Reward: A nice-looking sign】
Easy! Peach Hotel, obviously!
Confirm!
A sign appeared in the panel’s inventory.
By the time all this was finished, it was already evening, and Bao Taozi got a phone call.
“Give me back my family’s money.”
…What?
Scam call. She hung up.
The phone rang again, relentlessly.
“Bao Tao, I’m telling you to hand over the money from your mother’s estate!”
“Who are you?”
The other end went silent for a few seconds. “I’m Liu Bingxin.”
“Oh, the shameless one?”
“I don’t want to say much to you. Just transfer 5 million to me right now, you know my account number.”
Is this girl insane? Bao Taozi was about to hang up when she heard the other side say—
“I’m giving you thirty minutes to transfer it. I’ve got a party to get to, and if I get humiliated because of you, my dad won’t let it slide.”
She sounded awfully confident.
But this reminded Bao Taozi, the novel did have a party like this. That was exactly where the male and female leads met.
Bao Taozi smirked to herself. If there was no gown for tonight, then the male lead wouldn’t have noticed her at first sight, right? So what would happen next then?
“You know it’s from an inheritance?”
“Obviously.”
“Whose inheritance is it?”
“Your mother’s, duh.”
“And how does a concubine’s illegitimate daughter have the nerve to come demanding the legal wife’s inheritance? Whatever brain you were supposed to grow clearly went straight into your face instead [1]gāi zhǎng de nǎozi dōu zhǎng chéng le liǎnpí, 該長的腦子都長成了臉皮 – Idiom, a barb meaning someone is thick-skinned/shameless, literally, what should have grown into a … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3147703_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3147703_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
With that, she hung up. Pfft, pfft, pfft, how unlucky.
Liu Bingxin shook with rage. How dare she call her an illegitimate daughter! An illegitimate daughter?! She’d make her pay for this!
Bao Tao had always been terrified of her father and of her, how dare this soft-hearted little pushover suddenly talk back like that! Wasn’t she afraid of being reported to their father?
To keep the family from bothering her further, Bao Taozi simply set her phone to reject calls from unknown numbers. Liu Bingxin, busy planning her tattling, had no idea that at least until the apocalypse hit, they wouldn’t be able to reach Bao Taozi at all. As for after the apocalypse, heh.
Feeling pleased with herself, she took a shower and planned to have Uncle Qi move in tomorrow, into the second-floor guest room.
Early the next morning, Bao Taozi pulled back the curtains and counted, thirteen days left until the apocalypse.
She called Uncle Qi and told him to move in today, saying she needed to go pick up her car.
Qi Heng immediately started packing. He didn’t have much to bring, since Bao Taozi had already prepared clothes and everything else for him.
After leaving the house, Bao Taozi headed to the vehicle customization shop.
“Miss, your vehicle’s all done! Right this way please!”
She followed the staff outside and immediately spotted a gleaming white RV.
Walking up for the inspection, she didn’t understand the exterior materials or specs, so she just checked the interior facilities.
Opening the door, the inside was done in a solid-wood style. A small table that could seat four sat by the window, with a small kitchen across from it. Behind the kitchen was a shower stall, with the toilet inside as well. Behind the four-seat table was a pull-out bed, and the table itself could also fold out into a small bed. All the appliances were cleverly tucked away inside the vehicle.
Bao Taozi was very satisfied. Even though she was sure she wouldn’t use it often, it guaranteed her quality of life whenever she did go out.
After the inspection, Bao Taozi drove off and picked up the Japanese food, Korean food, hot pot, and everything else she’d ordered, then headed home.
By the time she got back, Qi Heng was already unpacking his things. Seeing her return, he hurried over. “Taotao, why does this renovation look like you’re opening a hotel?”
“Exactly! I’m opening a hotel once the apocalypse hits!”
Qi Heng’s jaw dropped, and he hurried to object. “Taotao, we really shouldn’t be running a business in an environment like that!”
“I know what you’re worried about, Uncle Qi, but don’t worry, none of what you’re afraid of is going to happen. My hotel is going to become a miracle of the apocalypse. I can’t tell you why just yet, but Uncle Qi, just wait and see!”
Qi Heng sighed helplessly. There was nothing to be done, he’d just have to protect Taotao as best he could and let her do as she pleased.
References[+]