I Hoard Supplies and Raise a Child in the Wasteland World by Drawing Cards (GL) - Chapter 5
When she returned home, six or seven workers were rushing to finish the welding. Because Lin Ran was such a good client, the foreman in charge stayed there to supervise, and his service was excellent.
Lin Ran saw the foreman was there and said directly, “I forgot to mention this earlier, but I want to install a few more solar charging panels on the balcony. The more, the better. I also need the electrical circuits in the house rewired so that they can use both the city’s power grid and the charging panels. And the bathroom in my room needs to be renovated with a large water tank that can use regular city water, but once the city’s water supply runs out, it can use the recycled water from the tank.”
The friendly look on the foreman’s face almost broke. It took him a while to process everything before he said, “Well, Miss Lin, you see, it’s like this: we can do it, but how many days do you need for us to finish this time?”
“If we start counting from this afternoon, that’s two and a half days. If we start from tomorrow morning, that’s two days,” Lin Ran said thoughtfully. To be honest, even she felt the time was a bit tight.
The foreman gave Lin Ran an awkward smile. “Miss Lin, could you give us a few more days? It’s really tight, and we have to be mindful of people’s rest times.”
“No. It has to be finished within two days. You can add more money, but you can’t add more time,” Lin Ran said seriously.
The foreman was speechless. “Alright, I’ll go and consult with the company to see how much more of a deposit you need to add.”
Lin Ran nodded. “Okay, let me know as soon as possible. Time is running out.”
“Okay,” the foreman said, sweating. He communicated with the company for twenty minutes before hanging up.
The foreman took a deep breath and walked up to Lin Ran. “Miss Lin, here’s the thing: we can finish if we work urgently. Five of the six sides of your room have already been welded, with only the balcony side left. However, we’ll need to send more workers. The two additional requests you have will cost a total of 300,000 yuan, but since you need it done so urgently, there’ll be an extra 100,000 yuan rush fee. But don’t worry, once we’re done, we’ll help you put everything in the house back in its place, so it’ll be ready for you to move in right after inspection.”
The foreman was worried that Lin Ran wouldn’t want to pay the extra 100,000 yuan, so he smiled awkwardly as he tried to persuade her.
Lin Ran nodded. “Okay. Do I pay the deposit first, or the full amount?”
“You’ll need to pay for the charging panels and the water purification system in full now, as we’re placing a direct order with the local manufacturers. As for the cost of the bomb-proof walls, you can pay that into our company account within a week of completion. This is a special treatment for our VIP clients,” the foreman said with a fawning smile.
Lin Ran nodded. “Alright, 400,000 yuan, right? Who do I transfer it to?”
“This is our company’s bank account. You can just transfer the money directly. As soon as the money arrives, our company will place the order, and the materials will be delivered today. We can start the installation tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m.”
Lin Ran nodded and immediately transferred the money with her phone. The foreman was a little surprised; Miss Lin was too quick to pay. But they loved this kind of straightforward client, as it saved him a lot of effort.
Lin Ran stayed home for a little while but couldn’t stand it anymore. The welding noise was too loud. She simply moved a chair outside and sat in the hallway, scrolling through her phone. If she weren’t waiting for two more deliveries, Lin Ran would have gone back to the hotel by now.
She was scrolling through her phone, trying to find some information, but there was no news about the apocalypse online. People were still talking about gossip and celebrities. As Lin Ran was getting bored, she received a phone call from the delivery driver for the compound crossbows.
Lin Ran looked at her phone. It was only 4 p.m. She got up and walked to the elevator, quickly descending to the first floor. The three hundred crossbow bolts alone were quite heavy, but the movers had dollies, so it wasn’t too much trouble.
The movers made three trips, and Lin Ran had them stack everything in one corner of the living room, leaving some space for the delivery from the outdoor supply store that would be coming later.
After the movers left, Lin Ran went back to her chair in the hallway. Because time was tight, the workers inside were still welding furiously until 6 p.m. The foreman, motivated by a bonus, was holding his ground, ready to tell the workers to go home only if someone came to complain.
Lin Ran, meanwhile, received a call from the outdoor supply store. She hadn’t bought much from them, so the delivery guy brought everything up in one trip.
Seeing that the workers inside weren’t done yet, Lin Ran thought about it and went to the small supermarket downstairs to buy six gift boxes of snacks. She planned to use them to ask for leniency from the neighbors, hoping they would let the workers continue until 7:30 p.m. If it was any later, Lin Ran thought no gift would work, and she didn’t want anyone to call the police.
A little while later, she heard the sound of a door opening next door, so she picked up a gift box and went out. Seeing the young neighbor she met yesterday, Lin Ran held out the gift box and said, “Miss, I’m so sorry. My home renovation is a bit urgent. Would you mind if our workers continue until 7:30 p.m.? This is a small token of my apology. I’m really sorry, but I’m in a hurry.”
Mo Shuyu frowned and took a step back, closing her security door. She glared at Lin Ran, trying to figure out what trick she was up to now.
“What do you want?” Mo Shuyu asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at Lin Ran.
Lin Ran didn’t know what Mo Shuyu meant and replied calmly, “Just what it sounds like. Can we continue the renovation for a little longer? I really have some urgent business these days and want to get it done. The gift isn’t just for you. Look, I have five more. I was planning to give gifts to everyone who comes to complain, so we don’t have a big fight.”
That sounded reasonable. But Lin Ran’s attitude toward her had changed so much. In the past, when Lin Ran looked at her, her eyes were filled with infatuation. Now, Mo Shuyu saw that her eyes were clear and she didn’t seem to be lying. After her body was controlled, she was afraid of these alphas, which made her so sensitive.
Once she was sure Lin Ran had no other motives, Mo Shuyu finally relaxed, but she didn’t accept the gift Lin Ran offered. “7:30 p.m., right? That’s fine. We don’t go to bed until after 9 p.m. You can keep the gift and give it to someone else. And you’d better go and talk to the other neighbors as well. Otherwise, if they come to complain, you’ll be in the wrong.”
“Okay, thank you,” Lin Ran said politely. Mo Shuyu gave her a look, went back inside, and closed her door.
Lin Ran thought Mo Shuyu’s suggestion was a good idea. A little extra effort now would help her renovation progress faster, especially since she still had to install the solar panels and the water recycling system in the bathroom.
Thinking about this, Lin Ran took her gifts and went to knock on the doors of the two neighbors downstairs. The neighbor in 904 wasn’t home, so Lin Ran knocked on the door of 903. An older woman opened the door.
The woman had clearly seen Lin Ran before and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong? Do you need something?”
Lin Ran quickly smiled back, a little embarrassed. “Ma’am, the noise from upstairs is from our renovation. We’re in a bit of a hurry. Would you mind if the workers continue for a little longer? They’ll definitely stop by 7:30 p.m. at the latest. I’m really sorry. This is a small token of my apology. Please accept it.”
The woman saw that Lin Ran was sincere and had a good attitude. She nodded and said, “Alright, 7:30 p.m. is when we’re having dinner anyway, so we’re not asleep yet. But it can’t be any later. You can take this back.”
“No, that won’t do. I already bought it, so please keep it.” Lin Ran said without waiting for the woman to respond. She hung a box of pastries on the woman’s security door handle and quickly headed for the elevator.
The woman grabbed the pastries to give them back to Lin Ran, but Lin Ran was already gone.
The woman’s husband, He Baoping, asked, “Who was that?”
“That girl from apartment 1004 upstairs. She said she was in a hurry with the renovation and wanted to work until 7:30 p.m., and she bought some snacks as an apology,” the woman said with a smile.
“Well, if she’s in a hurry, she’s in a hurry. Besides, we’re not asleep at 7 p.m. anyway. She just needed to ask. Why did she have to buy something?” He Baoping shook his head helplessly.
“It shows that the girl is considerate, unlike some people who aren’t. They renovate whenever they want, day or night, and don’t even talk to their neighbors. At least this girl is a good kid.”
“True,” He Baoping nodded.
After going to the ninth floor, Lin Ran went to the eleventh floor. The people most affected by her renovation were the neighbors directly above and below her, which were 903, 904, 1103, and 1104. The rest wouldn’t be directly affected, so if anyone else came to complain, Lin Ran would apologize then. Anyway, it was only for a few days.
She took the elevator to the 11th floor and knocked on the door of 1103. A man in his twenties opened the door and, seeing Lin Ran, said impatiently, “That loud noise from downstairs couldn’t be from your place, could it?”
“I’m so sorry. Our renovation is a bit urgent, so we’ll probably have to work until 7:30 p.m.,” Lin Ran quickly said.
“Do you know that you’re disturbing my girlfriend and me? I’m telling you, no. If you continue, I’m calling the police,” the man, Wang Wuyang, said. Seeing that Lin Ran was being friendly, he immediately became arrogant.
Lin Ran didn’t want to cause trouble before the apocalypse. She politely handed him the box of pastries. “I know it’s our fault. Please accept this as my apology. We’re all neighbors. Can you be a little lenient? We’ll stop at 7:30 p.m. at the latest.”
Wang Wuyang glanced at the pastries in Lin Ran’s hand. Seeing that they weren’t the cheap kind, his expression softened. “Alright, fine. It’s not for this box of snacks. We’re neighbors, so we should look out for each other.”
“Exactly. Exactly. Thank you,” Lin Ran said with a smile.