Yu Jingyuan had arrived looking terrifying enough to make anyone wary.

The bodyguards inside the villa nearly mistook him and his men for the prisoner gang coming to raid the place.

Zhou Yichen immediately led the team out to confront them, only for Tang Xiaoman’s voice to come from behind.

“I’m the one who asked them to deliver supplies.”

She stopped Zhou Yichen and the others, then stepped forward.

Yu Jingyuan wiped the sweat from his brow and ordered his men to put away their weapons. “The roads aren’t safe anymore. My brothers had no choice but to carry some tools to scare off anyone with bad intentions.”

Tang Xiaoman nodded in understanding. “You brought everything?”

“I rented a boat specially and delivered it myself.” Yu Jingyuan pointed to the fully loaded bed of the diesel four-wheeler. “Everything you asked for is here.”

Tang Xiaoman had them drive into the villa courtyard.

One of Yu Jingyuan’s men, nicknamed Ironhead, immediately questioned it. “We agreed on doorstep delivery. Why do we have to go inside?”

Though they had put away their weapons, their eyes remained full of vigilance.

Since the disaster began, they had seen too much blood and killing. People’s hearts were treacherous; you could never be too careful.

Were they being lured inside so their escape route could be cut off?

Yu Jingyuan glared at him. “Do you listen to me, or to yourself?”

Ironhead shrank back at once. “You… you, Boss.”

The diesel four-wheeler drove into the courtyard and, at Tang Xiaoman’s direction, stopped in front of Warehouse Three.

Lu Jingming unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Yu Jingyuan ordered his men to carry the heavy threshing machine and corn harvester inside first, then move in the jade.

“The threshing machine works for both rice and wheat. The corn harvester can also harvest sugarcane and cotton. Instructions are included. I also threw in some common spare parts, wrenches, and engine oil.”

“And this is the jade you requested—over eleven hundred jin. We’ll just count it as one thousand.”

Compared with the last time he had delivered goods, Yu Jingyuan looked noticeably more weathered.

If business hadn’t been so difficult, and if Tang Xiaoman hadn’t offered such a high price, he wouldn’t have paid a fortune to rent a boat and personally risked the trip with his brothers.

Only they themselves knew how many close calls they’d had along the way.

Tang Xiaoman inspected the goods and paid without hesitation.

They had agreed on ten kayaks and three assault boats in exchange for the two machines. She also gave him two air pumps and ten liters of diesel as a bonus.

These watercraft were rare, hot commodities on the market right now—especially the diesel, which was known as liquid gold.

At the sight of the supplies, Yu Jingyuan beamed. Even the tense men behind him brightened, unable to hide their delight.

Tang Xiaoman then brought out a heavy leather case.

When she opened it, stacks of cash were packed neatly inside.

It was the money she had pried out of Gu Heng’s private stash. If she didn’t spend it soon, it would turn into worthless paper.

“Ten million in total. Count it.”

“No need. I trust Miss Tang.”

Yu Jingyuan closed the case decisively and had Ironhead carry it out of the warehouse.

Tang Xiaoman walked at the back and casually brought out a heavy backpack.

“You and your brothers came all this way to deliver these goods. You’ve worked hard. There are snacks and drinks in the bag—eat them on the road.”

Yu Jingyuan thanked her repeatedly and accepted it.

The backpack was heavy in his hand. When he opened it, delight flashed across his face again.

Beef jerky, pickled chicken feet, duck necks, duck wings, potato chips, sunflower seeds, cashews, preserved fruit, small French bread rolls, spiced tofu jerky, hawthorn rolls, hawthorn cakes…

All individually packaged snacks, the kind women and children loved most.

There were also drinks—cola, Sprite, juice, lactic acid milk, apple cider vinegar—packed into the bag until it was full.

Yu Jingyuan was deeply moved. “These are rare goods now!”

Then he couldn’t help sighing. “After the rain and floods, we could still salvage some food from underwater. Packaged stuff, at least, hadn’t gone bad. But after that flash flood, everything under the water got buried under a layer of sludge. If you want to dive for supplies now, you have to scrub the surface clean by hand just to see what it is…”

Life after the disaster was far from easy.

He handed the packed backpack to Ironhead. “Once we’re back on the boat, divide this evenly among the brothers. Everyone can bring something good home for their wives and kids.”

Ironhead was overjoyed. The way he looked at Tang Xiaoman softened immediately.

“Thank you, Boss. Thank you, Miss Tang.”

This Miss Tang was beautiful and generous.

No wonder their boss liked doing business with her.

Yu Jingyuan waved, signaling the others to go out first. He stayed behind to speak a few more words with Tang Xiaoman.

“…On the way here, we ran into several groups trying to rob us. Luckily, our brothers were armed, and there were enough of us, so they didn’t dare do anything reckless. But we did run into a group of bald men. They were vicious—charged straight at us to block the boat. In the end, I had to pull this out before they backed off.”

As he spoke, he drew a handgun from his waist.

Zhou Yichen, who had remained silent beside them, instantly grew alert, his finger hooking over the trigger of the handgun at his own waist.

Tang Xiaoman’s expression didn’t change. She understood Yu Jingyuan’s implication at once.

“You can get firearms?”

“As long as the price is right, there’s nothing I can’t get.”

Yu Jingyuan blinked. “In times this chaotic, Miss Tang should stockpile more hard weapons for self-defense. Just in case.”

Tang Xiaoman didn’t waste words. “What’s the price?”

Yu Jingyuan immediately perked up. He removed the tactical belt from his waist, showed her several compact handguns, then pulled out a catalog.

“Besides handguns, I can get AK rifles, Gatling light machine guns, sniper rifles—though they’re expensive. All types of ammunition too, and hand grenades. The prices aren’t something ordinary people can afford. But Miss Tang has plenty of supplies, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

While they were speaking, shouting suddenly broke out outside.

Ironhead hurried back in, furious.

“Boss! Someone’s robbing us!”