Lin Ba finally felt a stone drop from his heart: “Excellent, I knew you were the most reliable, Lao Wu. My client said they’ll give you a billion yuan as compensation for your efforts if this succeeds.”
Wu Dahai didn’t feign modesty either. Hearing this, he laughed heartily: “Great! This is why I enjoy dealing with you, Old Lin—straightforward!”
After seeing Wu Dahai off, Lin Ba withdrew the money from his stock account and transferred it to Lin Ran.
His daughter was on a shopping spree at the mall today and needed funds urgently.
Then, instead of going to work, he contacted a real estate agency to proceed with the house transaction.
When Lin Ran and Lin Ze received the money, they were already sweeping through the clothing wholesale market, purchasing 1,000 sets of clothes for all ages and genders, covering spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Especially for winter, they bought 1,000 pieces of the heaviest down jackets and thick coats by weight.
They paid a deposit first, with the balance to be settled upon delivery to the warehouse.
Next, the siblings went to an icehouse and bought a large quantity of ice blocks.
They also purchased ten ice-making machines and various farming tools.
In the afternoon, they took some time to visit Cloud Metropolis’s major restaurants, ordering 1,000 tables of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast from the most famous Chinese restaurant.
They then went to the best Chongqing hotpot place and reserved 1,000 tables.
Following that, they placed orders for 1,000 servings each of barbecue, roast duck, hotpot skewers, spicy hot pot, crayfish, cakes, pastries, hamburgers, fried chicken… essentially every delicacy they craved.
Finally, exhausted and barely able to keep their feet on the ground, the siblings made two more trips to the warehouse to collect goods.
By the time they finished, it was already midnight.
Only then did they realize with dismay: they were completely in the dark.
Where was their new home? They seemed to have no idea.
Fortunately, Lin Ba was dependable and specially drove over to pick them up; otherwise, they truly wouldn’t have found their way home.
On the way back, Lin Ba mysteriously took them on a detour to the outskirts.
“I contacted an acquaintance who got us a truckload of gasoline. I parked the truck in a remote spot with no surveillance. Let’s go unload it.”
Gasoline?
This was valuable stuff.
So, the three spent over half an hour transferring the gasoline into 50L large barrels and storing them in the Dimension.
After completing this task, Lin Ba drove the fuel truck back to return it to the owner.
By the time Lin Ran drove Lin Ba back, it was already midnight.
They had been so busy all day, truly working from dawn till dusk.
That day, Lin Ba and Lin Ma had not only sold their home but also the supermarket shop.
Combined with the stocks Lin Ba had offloaded, they netted 75 million yuan.
Most impressively, they found someone to help dispose of the batch of gold, though at a much lower price than market rate—only 300 yuan per gram. However, the buyer was reliable, and the funds would be recovered quickly, so Lin Ba agreed without hesitation.
Returning to Mid-Levels Cloud Villa, Lin Ma, who had been tidying up the villa, had already succumbed to exhaustion and fallen asleep.
Hearing Lin Ran and the others return, she fought through heavy drowsiness to get up and greet them—the kids had had an even more exhausting day than they did.
This time, Lin Ba had splurged a bit, renting a quite impressive villa where they could move in with just their luggage, complete with high-end and fully furnished interiors.
Lin Ran took out their usual bedding from the Dimension, hastily made the beds, and everyone fell asleep.
At 5 a.m., Lin Ba came over and woke Lin Ran up again.
They had to deliver the goods to Wu Dahai this morning, so Lin Ran needed to place the items in the warehouse ahead of time.
Today, Lin Ba rented another warehouse next to their large one, though this new warehouse was much smaller than the one Lin Ran had leased.
Lin Ran and Lin Ba entered the warehouse, and in an instant, 100,000 jin of gold was piled right in the center. There were still 2,000 jin left, which Lin Ran and Lin Ba had agreed to keep as their trump card, not to be spent for now.
As a last resort, if things didn’t work out here, they would still have that backup.
Soon, Wu Dahai arrived with his subordinates. At the first sight of him, Lin Ran’s eyes flashed with surprise. She never expected that the familiar business partner of her father would turn out to be him.
This man was no ordinary person. After the apocalypse, he quickly established himself using his original influence and was among the first to build a base.
However, she’d heard he didn’t meet a good end—apparently betrayed by one of his own men or something similar, though the exact details weren’t clear to her.
At the time, she had only caught a snippet of the gossip while struggling to survive in the harsh post-apocalyptic world, so she hadn’t paid much attention.
Doing business with him through her father should be reliable; even in the end times environment, she had never heard any negative rumors about him. Everyone said he was loyal and righteous, worth following.
This was also Wu Dahai’s first time meeting Lin Ba’s family. Seeing Lin Ran, he was very friendly, and both sides exchanged warm greetings.
Lin Ran was happy to form a good relationship with him—she had always admired such decent people.
By the time Wu Dahai left, the sky was already bright.
Lin Ran and Lin Ba took the opportunity to receive another batch of goods at the warehouse before buying hot, fresh breakfast to take home.
When they got back, Lin Ma was staring at her phone with a conflicted expression.
Lin Ba asked considerately, “Honey, what’s wrong?”
Hearing her husband’s voice, Lin Ma brightened up and handed him the phone. “You take it. It’s Xiao Ze’s homeroom teacher. I forgot to ask for leave for him. She called twice yesterday, but I was too busy to answer. Please explain it to her.”
Lin Ran found the scene a bit amusing—her mother was just as afraid of the homeroom teacher as Lin Ze was. Fortunately, Lin Ba was dependable; he immediately made up an excuse and secured a three-month long leave for Lin Ze.
Lin Ran was in her fourth year of university, and according to the schedule, she had just one month left before her graduation thesis defense.
But she had no intention of attending the defense. With the apocalypse imminent, what use was even a Ph.D.?
Once Lin Ran made her decision, both Lin Ba and Lin Ma fully supported it—whatever made their daughter happy.
After the family finished breakfast, Lin Ba’s account received a transfer of 15,000,000,000.
The family repeatedly counted the zeros, confirming it was 15 billion.
Surprised by Wu Dahai’s speed, Lin Ba didn’t hesitate either and immediately transferred 1 billion as a service fee to him.
He also subtly placed an order for a batch of weapons and another shipment of oil.
Wu Dahai instinctively felt there was something off about Lin Ba, but having been in this line of work for a long time, he knew what questions to ask and what to leave alone.
As long as the other party paid, that was all that mattered. Seeing how generous Lin Ba was, he was more than happy to continue cooperating.