Chapter 30: No Freeloader Gets a Free Ride Here

Many hands made light work. It didn’t take long for the club to be completely emptied out, everything crammed into three seven-seater vans before heading straight for Tianlai Villa Estate.

Outside, the heat was so intense it felt like the world was being roasted alive. The streets were deserted—no pedestrians, barely any cars.

And yet, Tianlai Villa was anything but quiet.

First came the coal trucks—four full loads before everything was finally unloaded.

The liquor shop owner and the outdoor supply store owner practically tripped over themselves trying to impress their “VIP customer.”

“Miss Tang, besides the two hundred tons of premium anthracite, I specially prepared a ton of oak charcoal and hickory charcoal for you—high heat output, long burn time, and a pleasant aroma!”

“And from my side, along with two hundred tons of top-grade anthracite, I’ve prepared a ton of aged applewood charcoal and coconut shell charcoal. Great for heating—and even better for barbecue, with a rich fragrance!”

Tang Xiaoman had the two shipments stored separately and made it clear: if the quality held up, there would be more business to come.

The promise of profit had both men grinning from ear to ear. Braving this near-lethal heat suddenly felt more than worth it.

They lingered inside the villa, savoring the cool air and endlessly praising the powerful ventilation system—until Fubao bared its teeth and barked them out. Only then did they leave, reluctantly.

Lu Jingming walked over. “Should we register the license plates for the three vans the bodyguards brought?”

Tang Xiaoman waved it off and turned to Zhou Yichen. “Send a few people to return the vehicles and get the deposit back. Then go buy three Wuling Hongguang vans.”

In a disaster-ridden world, nothing beat the rugged reliability of a Wuling.

Zhou Yichen immediately assigned No. 02 and No. 03 to handle the return and purchase, instructing them to use the refunded deposit to buy the new vehicles.

Then he sent No. 01 and No. 05 to negotiate early lease termination with the club’s landlord and recover the security deposit.

They had barely settled into the workflow when another vehicle arrived—this time delivering jade.

The man who stepped out was the “Jade Shopkeeper.”

“Hello, miss. I’m Yu Jingyuan. I deal in wholesale jade—everyone calls me Old Yu.” He rubbed his thinning hairline with a self-deprecating smile. “I may look older, but I’m only thirty-two.”

“Nice to meet you, Old Yu. I’m Tang Xiaoman.”

She didn’t bother with polite reassurances about his appearance. “Unload everything into the warehouse. I’ll inspect the goods personally.”

—

Using “inspection” as an excuse, Tang Xiaoman cleared everyone out, then swept all the jade into her space.

What happened next made her eyes light up.

The ten million yuan worth of jade was completely absorbed—and in return, it expanded her space just as much as fifty million yuan worth of gold bricks had.

The living area grew to 133 square meters. The ceiling rose another ten centimeters. Total volume reached 440 cubic meters. The garden expanded to 26 square meters, growing taller as well.

The only thing unchanged was the timer—it still accumulated three hours of usable time per day, now totaling thirteen and a half hours.

The jade bracelet on her wrist became even more translucent, shifting from icy clarity toward a glass-like brilliance.

So jade really was more valuable than gold—at least to her space.

“So that saying is true… gold has a price, jade is priceless.”

With that realization, she stepped out and immediately placed another order with Yu Jingyuan—thirty-five million yuan worth of jade, urgent delivery.

His grin nearly split his face. “Alright, latest in three days—”

“Make it tomorrow,” Tang Xiaoman cut in. “Do whatever it takes to deliver by tomorrow morning.”

In her previous life, after a week of extreme heat came catastrophic floods. This time, the heat had already lasted two days. She couldn’t shake the feeling that disaster might come even sooner.

Yu Jingyuan hesitated, then gritted his teeth. “Fine… but it’ll cost extra.”

—

Tang Xiaoman paid an additional one million as a rush fee. Yu Jingyuan immediately mobilized every connection he had to source high-quality jade.

She had only one condition—authentic goods.

After sending him off, she pulled Zhou Yichen aside and whispered a few instructions.

He looked surprised. “Withdraw everything?”

“Everything. In cash.”

She knew what was coming. Once disaster struck, banks would collapse, ATMs would be submerged. Money in accounts would become meaningless numbers.

She transferred another two million to Zhou Yichen. “Go to the bank immediately.”

“It’s a large amount. We might not finish today—probably need to queue into tomorrow,” he assessed.

“Take whatever you can today. Schedule the rest for tomorrow. And call No. 01 and the others—any refunds or deposits should be taken in cash. Use account funds for purchases, but bring back physical money.”

She handed him her pickup truck keys.

Zhou Yichen quickly gathered No. 04, No. 06, and No. 07. Armed and ready, they drove off toward the bank.

Meanwhile, No. 08, No. 09, and No. 10 got to work setting up rooms, installing cooling fans and surveillance equipment.

Lu Jingming approached again. “Is there anything I can do?”

Tang Xiaoman didn’t hesitate. “Go home and pack. Bring everything you and Shanshan might need. You won’t be going back for a long time.”

He had questions—many of them—but something about her presence made him comply without protest.

“I understand.”

“Xiaoman-jie, what can I do?” Shanshan skipped over, eager to help.

Tang Xiaoman pulled a tablet from her bag—actually from her space—and handed it to her. “Download some cartoons you like. It’s yours now.”

With everyone assigned tasks and Fubao guarding the villa, Tang Xiaoman set off again—this time to a grain and oil depot.

She bought five thousand jin of rice, five thousand jin of flour, one hundred jin of dried noodles, and one hundred barrels of peanut oil—paying extra for delivery to her rented private garage.

Once the delivery truck left, she stored everything in her space.

Next stop: a poultry breeding station.

She purchased one thousand fertilized chicken eggs, one thousand duck eggs, one thousand goose eggs, and five thousand quail eggs.

Since she transported them herself, the station even threw in a small incubator for free.

She loaded everything into her garage, shut the door, and stored it all away.

Now she had space—plenty of it.

What she didn’t have was time.

Disaster could strike at any moment. She was racing against the clock.

—

By the time she returned to the villa, it was dinner time.

The moment she stepped out of the car, Shanshan came running up to her.

“Xiaoman-jie, dinner’s ready!”

Tang Xiaoman took her small hand and walked inside.

After combining the two villas, each floor now spanned five to six hundred square meters.

The first floor housed a massive kitchen, a large dining hall capable of seating at least twenty people, separate restrooms—and everything else had been converted into storage.

Zhou Yichen had ordered dinner from a nearby restaurant. The delivery carts were pushed straight into the dining hall.

The bodyguards were already eating.

Lu Jingming and his daughter had their own four dishes and a soup. Shanshan even carried her plate over to share with Tang Xiaoman.

Zhou Yichen looked up. “I saved you a portion.”

Tang Xiaoman took her meal and sat down.

As she ate, her gaze swept across the dozen or so people in the room.

The pressure hit her all at once.

How much wealth would it take to keep all these mouths fed?

They had a new base now.

And tonight, the full-scale stockpiling operation had to begin.

Good teammates pulled their own weight.

She had no intention of keeping freeloaders.