Shen Zhiyao returned to her room, washed up, had breakfast, and then called the real estate agent and car dealers to arrange for them to come directly to sell her cars and house. She also called the professional manager of her company to let him know she would be at the office for a meeting that morning. After a while, the agents and car dealers arrived. Apart from her father’s luxury car, the rest were Shen Zhiyao’s own vehicles. The car dealers took all of them for 4.5 million yuan.
Shen Zhiyao then told the real estate agent to sell her three villas under her name at a 10% discount within a week. The agent, upon hearing this price, immediately said he could buy them and asked for three days to arrange the funds. After sending off the agent and car dealers, Shen Zhiyao went to school and explained to her teacher that she needed to take a six-month leave due to family reasons. Although the teacher was sorry for her, there was nothing they could do. The teacher reminded her to practice daily and maintain her fitness before letting her go.
Shen Zhiyao then went to her company and told the professional manager that she planned to go abroad and would not return, so she needed to sell the company. She also offered to compensate him. The manager didn’t object and said he would give her a few hours before leaving.
Shen Zhiyao had rarely been to the company, only a few times during handovers. She had lunch in the company cafeteria, and not long after, the manager returned to the meeting room with several investors.
The manager said to Shen Zhiyao, “Boss, since you’ve made your decision, I respect it. I have a lot of affection for this company. I’ll invest part of the funds, and the other CEOs will pool the rest. We can offer 5 billion yuan. Here’s the contract for you to review.”
Shen Zhiyao was pleased. Selling to outsiders would have been a pity, but the offer matched what she had in mind. After reading the contract, she signed it, shook the manager’s hand, received the check, and left the company.
In the afternoon, she called a wealthy acquaintance to see if he was interested in buying her amusement park. Since the park was almost always full and had great potential, he brought a lawyer to a pre-arranged restaurant. The lawyer drew up the contract on the spot, and they finalized the deal at 300 million yuan.
That evening, back home, she stored all her clothes, dance outfits, and training equipment into her space, along with items related to her parents. Finally, she stored her piano. She left the remaining items in the house as agreed with the agent. After a shower, she went to bed.
The next morning, not long after she woke up, the agent came with the checks and contracts. After signing and completing the paperwork, Shen Zhiyao boarded a flight to H Province. Over the next two months, she planned to travel all across China to take in the sights while stocking up on supplies.
Upon arriving in H Province, Shen Zhiyao took a taxi to the largest grain trading market. The grain here was shipped nationwide daily. Buying here was convenient—no one would question large purchases, and she didn’t need excuses since no one knew her. She rented a warehouse nearby for three days as a temporary storage point.
She handed the person in charge a purchase list she had prepared on the plane, which included: 200,000 jin of Wuchang rice, 200,000 jin of Daohuaxiang rice, 200,000 jin of Fulinmen rice, 200,000 jin of brown rice, 500,000 jin of ordinary-quality rice, 100,000 jin of Thai fragrant rice, 100,000 jin of millet, 50,000 jin each of black rice, sorghum, glutinous rice, corn, peanuts, and 50,000 jin each of black beans, red beans, green beans, and soybeans. She also ordered 50,000 barrels of soybean oil, 50,000 barrels of peanut oil, 30,000 barrels of walnut oil, 50,000 barrels of olive oil, and 10,000 barrels each of any other available oil she could think of.
The person in charge glanced at her without saying anything, only asking when she wanted the delivery. Shen Zhiyao replied, “As soon as possible. The people above requested it be done within three days.”
She swiped her card, collected the receipts, and left the market. She then took a taxi to a famous local restaurant street to stock up on prepared food so she could eat ready-made meals when she didn’t have time to cook. At the first restaurant, she stood in the lobby studying the menu, which was displayed in large print on the wall: Guobaorou (crispy sweet-and-sour pork), stir-fried meat chunks, braised pork bones, pork stew with noodles, whole-pot stew, chicken with mushrooms, Northeastern-style cold noodles, three fresh vegetables, liver stir-fry, iron-pot fish stew, spicy tofu with peppers, etc.
As she was studying the menu, a sharp voice called out: “You’re here, girl!”
The woman grabbed Shen Zhiyao, pushed her onto a chair, and pulled out a small notebook to jot down dish names.
Shen Zhiyao smiled and said, “Boss, I’d like to order meals for my company. Do you take bulk orders?”
The restaurant owner smiled like a flower and nodded. “Wow, girl, you have great taste. Our dishes are top-notch. How much do you want?”
“I won’t specify quantities today. Just prepare the dishes. I’ll pay half today. Tomorrow, don’t take any walk-in customers. I’ll take everything you make. If you need extra help in the kitchen or for packing, I’ll cover it. But everything must be fresh—if anyone gets sick, I’m not responsible.”
The owner, grinning broadly, said, “Don’t worry! I’ve run this restaurant for over ten years. I’ll have the chefs work overtime to prepare the dishes and store them in warming boxes. I’ll also provide the same amount of rice. You’re generous, I’m generous. Let’s be friends. Once you see how fast our chef is, you’ll be amazed—he swings a ladle so fast you see afterimages! I’ll even have him bring you two dishes to try first.” She then rushed to the kitchen.
True to her word, in no time, a plate of stir-fried meat chunks and a dish of three fresh vegetables were served. Shen Zhiyao took a bite and was so impressed she stomped with delight. She paid half the cost and left. Over the next day, she went to almost every restaurant on the street and bought all the meals they had, effectively reserving the entire day’s supply.
She also went to a bun shop and ordered 3,000 meat buns, 3,000 vegetable buns, 5,000 flower rolls, and 5,000 plain buns, paying for extra helpers to ensure everything would be ready the next day. The owner was thrilled and promised it would be done.
After completing all the prepared food orders, she went to a large hardware store to order a batch of shelves for storing the food. She noticed some already stacked at the entrance, left behind by someone else who had paid a deposit but canceled. She got a good deal, paid, and had the owner deliver them to the temporary warehouse.
Next, she planned to head to a large night market in the Northeast to stock up on snacks.
At the night market, the variety of street food seemed endless. Shen Zhiyao rented a supermarket cart and bought as she went, continuing until the market was about to close. She spent 10,000 yuan just at the night market.
Exhausted, she finally checked into a well-decorated hotel to rest.