The Gu family offered a sky-high price for tetanus and rabies vaccines.

Unfortunately, vaccines were scarce now, and the true heavyweights who had them didn’t lack money. They cared more about their own lives.

Before the disaster ended, they had to keep enough life-saving medicine for themselves, just in case.

As time passed with no response, Old Madam Gu grew frantic and doubled the purchase price again.

Huo Kai took the initiative to contact the Gu family’s housekeeper, saying he could help them acquire the life-saving medicine and vaccines—but the price would be steep.

The Gu family’s housekeeper was already beside himself with anxiety. Hearing this, he was overjoyed. “As long as it can save our young master, the Old Madam is willing to pay any price.”

Huo Kai listed the terms.

“Yunnan Baiyao spray and safflower oil are one kilogram of gold per bottle. Tiger balm patches are one jin of gold per box. Two bottles of iodine or alcohol for one jin of gold. One tetanus vaccine for eighty kilograms of gold. One rabies vaccine for one hundred twenty kilograms of gold—or equivalent jewelry, antiques, paintings, calligraphy, nanmu, sandalwood, or rosewood furniture.”

“And let me make one thing clear—I’m doing this purely out of kindness. I’m not taking any service fee. If you think it’s expensive, don’t buy.”

The housekeeper was stunned. “This… I’ll have to discuss it with the Old Madam…”

Old Madam Gu nearly screamed as if flesh were being cut from her body. “How can it be this outrageously expensive? Isn’t this robbery during a fire?”

But Gu Heng was her only remaining grandson. If he died, the Gu family line would be completely cut off. Who would she rely on in old age?

Though her heart ached, Old Madam Gu had no choice but to urgently sell off family assets and exchange them for gold.

When they still couldn’t gather enough, she took out jewelry, antique jade ornaments, and even her collected paintings and calligraphy.

Huo Kai invited an antique appraiser to verify the true value of the exchanged items and convert them into equivalent gold.

It wasn’t until after eight that night that they barely scraped together the amount.

To buy more medicine, Old Madam Gu even took out the ancestral jade ruyi and sandalwood furniture.

Huo Kai had someone bring out a small medicine refrigerator with a battery pack and handed it to the Gu family’s housekeeper.

The housekeeper opened it, saw the two vaccines and several trauma medicines inside, and rushed it back to the Gu residence.

The surgeon’s house-call fee was one kilogram of gold. He agreed to stay at the Gu home for twenty-four hours to ensure Young Master Gu’s safety.

After checking that the medicine and vaccines were fine, the doctor injected Gu Heng with both vaccines.

Gu Heng was fed a Yunnan Baiyao pill. Servants sprayed his wounds, then applied safflower oil.

At that point, the doctor reminded them, “The other injured people also need medicine. You’ll have to buy more trauma medication. There are six of them in total—this much medicine isn’t enough.”

Old Madam Gu felt as though more flesh were being sliced from her body. Her heart and liver both ached, and she kept sucking in sharp breaths.

“With medicine this expensive, how could we possibly afford more? They’re all young anyway. Their bodies recover fast. Give them decent food and drink for a while, and they’ll heal.”

To exchange for Gu Heng’s two vaccines and trauma medicine, she had not only sold part of the family property, but also handed over all the antiques, collectibles, paintings, calligraphy, jewelry, gold, silver, jade—and even her beloved jade ruyi and Eight Immortals sandalwood table.

Many of those old objects were ancestral treasures of the Gu family.

All gone.

Old Madam Gu felt scorched with pain. How could she bear to spend more money on bodyguards and a female assistant?

Too expensive.

Far too expensive.

Shu Jia, wrapped up like a dumpling: “…”

So she had been beaten because of Gu Heng, yet her boss’s family wouldn’t even buy her a single bottle of medicine?

—

Steward Hong brought people to deliver the exchanged goods to Villa 98 and returned the battery-powered medicine refrigerator.

Tang Xiaoman thanked him and set aside one-third of the supplies.

“These are for Young Master Huo…”

“Young Master Huo said he won’t take commission. He wants you to owe him a favor instead. When he wants to collect, he’ll come to you,” Steward Hong relayed honestly.

Tang Xiaoman: “…”

In that case, she wouldn’t be polite.

After seeing Steward Hong off, she shut the door and stored everything in her space.

With Huo Kai’s expert appraiser checking the goods, she trusted their authenticity.

Sure enough, soon after being stored, all the items were swallowed.

The virtual screen showed the static space had expanded by 410 cubic meters, reaching 4,200 cubic meters total. The five-story villa expanded by 65 square meters, totaling 665. The garden gained 28 square meters, reaching 203.

Ever since she stored the yacht, the once-packed space had expanded by another 1,500 cubic meters.

As long as she wasn’t storing massive items like another yacht or large helicopter, she could hoard freely again.

Tang Xiaoman could no longer remember how much gold, silver, jade, jewelry, antiques, and solid wood her space had consumed.

Its appetite grew larger by the day, and its size expanded with it, making her feel as if she were raising a gold-devouring beast that could never be fed.

Fortunately, the Gu family still had a substantial foundation.

She should be able to fleece them for a while longer.

Once the Gu family was plucked bare, she would think of something else.

Tang Xiaoman picked up the walkie-talkie and called, “Captain Zhou? Come to my room.”

—

When Zhou Yichen knocked and entered, his expression didn’t look particularly good.

“You could have called my phone.”

Her one announcement over the walkie-talkie had made sure every teammate knew: the boss had summoned him again.

Tang Xiaoman noticed the suspicious flush on his face and blinked. “Oh? Are you angry, or embarrassed? Your face is red.”

Zhou Yichen: “…”

Working for this boss required more than a strong body ready for overtime at any moment.

It also required a heart with extraordinary resistance to pressure.

Otherwise, he would either die from anger or be scared to death.

Tang Xiaoman handed him a glass of iced black tea. “Cool down. We’ve got real work to do.”

Zhou Yichen drank a few mouthfuls of cold tea, rolled up his sleeves, and volunteered. “We can start.”

“Mm. You’re getting better and better at this.” Tang Xiaoman praised him with a smile and pulled him into the space.

Zhou Yichen looked at the expanded space in amazement. “It’s growing fast.”

“Let’s clear out the villa’s dining room and kitchen first. We’ll be using both often from now on,” Tang Xiaoman instructed.

The two moved quickly, transferring the furniture crammed into the first-floor kitchen and dining room into the static space. That would make it convenient to cook and eat inside the space villa in the future.

Once they finished organizing, Tang Xiaoman took him to the garden.

After the space’s repeated upgrades, the crops in the black soil had reached a bountiful harvest.

Golden wheat ears bent the stalks heavily. The corn cobs were full and plump. The sweet potatoes had matured.

It was time to harvest.