Chapter 15 – Money Still Left to Spend

Tang Xiaoman stocked up on another hundred freshly roasted ducks.

As she strolled down the street, she continued her shopping spree.

Fried chicken shops, milk tea stores, dessert cafés—she visited every storefront along the entire street, stocking up on every flavor of food she could find.

Every time she stepped out of a shop, her hands were loaded with freshly made food and drinks. She stuffed everything into her vehicle, shut the windows, and quietly transferred it all into her storage space.

Tang Xiaoman’s only regret was that her space was limited.

All food, medicine, drinks—anything with an expiration date—had to be stored inside the space, where it could remain fresh and warm indefinitely.

As for the bulky and heavy items, she had already moved them to the club’s storage room. Once the villa renovation was finished, she would move them there.

To free up even a little more room, she had turned into a master of organization, packing everything as tightly as possible.

But no matter how hard she compressed things, less than five cubic meters of space remained.

Just then, Lu Jingming called.

“The medical equipment, medicines, vaccines, and family planning supplies you requested have all been arranged. Once you pay the remaining balance, they can be shipped.”

It should have been good news, but Tang Xiaoman’s face fell.

Five cubic meters… she had no idea whether that would be enough to fit all the medicines and vaccines.

Fortunately, the many pieces of medical equipment didn’t require refrigeration. They could be stored in the apartment area of the space that didn’t have preservation functions.

Although that area was also getting crowded, she could temporarily move them to the club’s storage room if necessary.

In addition, sealed alcohol, canned goods, and cigarettes could also be taken out temporarily.

In short, the space had to prioritize medicines and fresh food—anything that required preservation and warmth for survival.

Her mind was racing through these calculations, but her mouth answered quickly.

“Alright. Send me the final amount for the balance, and I’ll transfer it immediately.”

After thanking him, she hung up.

Following the amount Lu Jingming sent, she transferred the payment and let out a soft sigh of relief.

With the medical supplies secured, the most critical part of her stockpiling plan was finally complete.

She was just about to celebrate this milestone with a good meal when another unfamiliar number called her.

Tang Xiaoman felt irritated just looking at it.

She didn’t even need to guess—it had to be someone from the Gu family or the Su family.

Gu Heng was in trouble now.

Big trouble.

The Gu and Su families had exhausted every connection they had and still couldn’t bail him out again. Now they were desperately harassing Tang Xiaoman, trying to get her to sign a letter of forgiveness.

Tang Xiaoman had no interest in wasting time arguing with them.

She simply hung up and blocked the number.

But the endless harassment calls became unbearable.

So she went to a service center and got a new SIM card, removing the old one.

She sent a mass message to the people she actually needed to stay in touch with, informing them of her new number.

Only those people would be able to reach her now.

Finally, Tang Xiaoman’s world fell quiet again.

She wandered through the food street, dazzled by the glowing advertisements for each shop’s signature dishes.

There was so much food.

Far more than she could ever eat.

And aside from the five cubic meters she had reserved for medicines and vaccines, her storage space couldn’t fit even a single extra dish.

Tears welled in her eyes at the thought.

What a tragedy.

Tang Xiaoman stuffed herself with a huge meal and let out a satisfied burp.

Once the apocalypse began, food like this would never exist again.

Glancing at the time, she saw it was only 7:30 p.m.

Instead of returning to the club, she continued wandering.

She pushed open the glass door of a jewelry store, then suddenly stopped.

…Why had she come here?

After the apocalypse began, not only would cash rapidly lose its value—markets for antiques and calligraphy would collapse too, followed by jewelry becoming completely worthless.

When survival itself became difficult, who would care about wearing such things?

Yet Tang Xiaoman had still been drawn in by the glittering displays.

Women were naturally attracted to beautiful, sparkling objects.

She was no exception.

The apocalypse was cruel—but who said life couldn’t still hold a touch of romance?

Besides, she wasn’t short on money.

If she liked something, she would buy it.

Tang Xiaoman stormed through jewelry stores, gold shops, and silver boutiques, spending five to six million yuan in one breath.

Afraid of attracting thieves, she returned to her car after each purchase and stored the items in her space.

While she busied herself, she didn’t notice that the jade bracelet on her wrist had become clearer and more luminous.

After spending nearly ten million yuan on gold, silver, and jade jewelry, she finally felt satisfied.

Checking her card balance, she still had more than sixty million yuan left.

The remaining payment for the Tianlai Mountain Villa renovation was about five million.

The four high-grade safety pods and twenty oxygen packs she had ordered would cost over two million.

As for the bodyguards’ salaries, she would first pay those who were eliminated and dismissed, then issue the first month’s wages.

Once the apocalypse began, they wouldn’t need money anymore.

They would need survival supplies.

Most of the resources she had stockpiled were for herself. As for supplies for her team, she would leave that to Zhou Yichen.

As long as the money reached him, Zhou Yichen would undoubtedly handle the task flawlessly.

Looking at the large balance still left in her account, Tang Xiaoman felt an odd sense of helplessness.

So much money—and nowhere left to spend it.

—

When Tang Xiaoman returned to the club, Zhou Yichen had already led the team in repelling another group of attackers.

“Miss Tang, people from the Gu and Su families came to cause trouble several times today. We’ve already driven them away,” Zhou Yichen reported.

“Woof!”

Fu Bao stood proudly with his head held high.

Zhou Yichen added helplessly, “Fu Bao performed very well too. I already rewarded him with a chicken drumstick.”

Tang Xiaoman nodded with satisfaction.

“You all did well.”

She glanced at the neatly lined-up bodyguards and realized there were more people now.

Counting them, she found there were sixteen in total—including Zhou Yichen.

The team was now complete.

But…

Among the five new arrivals, four were female bodyguards.

It seemed Manager Zhang had first tested the waters by sending three women. When Tang Xiaoman didn’t object, he added four more.

Employers usually preferred male bodyguards, and female bodyguards generally earned less.

The reason was simple: their physical strength and combat power were typically lower.

But Tang Xiaoman paid everyone the same salary.

By filling the quota with seven female bodyguards, Manager Zhang had clearly gotten quite a bargain.

After all, the contract only required them to be “without family ties.” It didn’t specify gender.

The real issue was that male bodyguards with no family attachments were harder to find.

So Manager Zhang simply recruited the often-overlooked female bodyguards to make up the numbers.

Tang Xiaoman showed no sign of dissatisfaction.

On the spot, she assigned the bodyguards numbers.

Except for Zhou Yichen, the fifteen bodyguards were numbered according to their weight—from 01 to 15.

Those at the front of the lineup were clearly the muscular men.

Those toward the end were the female bodyguards.

“For now, you’re numbered by weight,” Tang Xiaoman announced. “In five days, there will be an assessment. Your numbers will be reassigned based on your real abilities. The last five will be eliminated.”

Her gaze swept across the fifteen bodyguards before settling on Number 01.

Number 01 shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny.

“Miss Tang… is there a problem?” he asked nervously.

Tang Xiaoman looked genuinely surprised.

“Oh? Your chest is bigger than all the female bodyguards’.”