"They're not just buying blood mushrooms for Qian Duoduo. They are collecting other things too, still paying with petroleum, and it's happening at his own house. All right, let's go see for ourselves. Who would dare scheme against me anyway? Uncle Gou, are we ready?"
"All set, Miss," a firm male voice answered from outside the villa. Uncle Gou stepped in with a black eye patch. "Miss, the boxed meals are stowed in the car. The items for inspection are ready. Emergency supplies and the one-touch life raft are prepared as well."
Jing Shu shrugged. "Then let's go. I'm only worried they're scammers. Qian Duoduo's business always sends a dedicated car to pick people up. I've never had to go by myself. If it's at his home, nothing should go wrong."
She relaxed and followed Su Mali to her ride. Two bodyguards with guns and shields came along. You had to project presence.
The custom executive van pulled out of Banana Community. Jing Shu finally understood the meaning of a luxury car. It was far more comfortable than her family's energy car worth only tens of thousands. Even the speed bumps were imperceptible, and the interior felt enormous.
The roar of rain outside was sealed away. With music playing in the cabin, it felt like a different world, as if the apocalypse did not exist.
Su Mali wore a honey-silk face mask traded earlier for compressed natural gas. She sipped Wangzai milk through a straw, painted her nails, and enjoyed the automatic massaging leather seat. Her only frustration was how many comforts the apocalypse had taken away.
So it was true. The happiness of the rich was beyond imagination.
Normally it took just over half an hour to reach Qian Duoduo's place in Xishan, but they heard the entrance had collapsed in the storm, so they had to detour a long way.
With nothing to do, Jing Shu played with her Rubik's Cube. The seven-layer cube spun in her hands in a blur, restored to six neat colors in moments, then scrambled, then solved again. Su Mali watched with fresh curiosity the entire time.
"We've reached the designated spot, Miss." Uncle Gou switched on the high beams, circled the mountain, and found an abandoned manor at the foot.
Jing Shu had never been to this property of Qian Duoduo's. On the way, they passed the staff quarters, a cluster of guest villas halfway up the mountain, and the planting and breeding zones near his residence. She even glimpsed the castle where Qian Shengqian had teased her last time.
But this place was far from all that, easily ten kilometers away.
The manor gates swung open. The van rolled through and stopped by a two-story Western-style house. The surroundings were so derelict you could no longer tell what this land used to be.
They stepped out in enclosed raincoats. Uncle Gou and the two bodyguards hefted the large bags. The doorman led them in. The two women took off their raincoats and left them by the door.
"This way, please. This way," a young man with a center part said with a smile, gesturing them forward.
A stale, abandoned smell filled the house. Jing Shu frowned.
"Please come downstairs. There is another world below," the young man said lightly.
The two-story house had been empty for a long time, decay everywhere. He brought them to a basement entrance, opened it, and sure enough the underground space was vast and noisy. Jing Shu saw slot machines and roulette tables. It looked like an underground casino.
"Follow me," the young man said. As they went deeper, Su Mali stared curiously at people playing dice, pai gow, and fantan.
Something felt off to Jing Shu. The tone was wrong. In the apocalypse, people still gambled?
The private room they entered was quiet, sealed off from the outside. A fat man lounged half-collapsed on the sofa, dressed sloppily, slippers splayed. "I'm 'Fei Zhuzai', and I collect treasures for Mr. Qian," he said lazily. "I'll take all your blood mushrooms from now on. I hear you have other good things too, right?"
Su Mali nodded. This was not how she pictured a business meeting, but she said, "We only trade for petroleum. These are what we brought. Uncle Gou."
Uncle Gou, the one-eyed strongman, opened each case. The two bodyguards stayed close behind Su Mali, every inch the professionals.
Fei Zhuzai scratched at his toes, eyes lighting up at the sight of the blood mushrooms. He glanced over the urgently needed medicines, the precious matsutake, and the bluefin tuna, nodding again and again. "Very good. Name a bundle price."
Following the rule of business, where sellers ask high and buyers bargain low, Su Mali said, "Make it twenty tons of gasoline in total."
Fei Zhuzai considered for a moment. "Not impossible, but it has to include the next three batches, with blood mushrooms of the same size and quantity."
She did some mental math. Even if Jing Shu took eight tons, there would still be twelve tons left. "Deal."
They reached an agreement quickly. Jing Shu raised an eyebrow. "Since the artificial sun project began last year, both gasoline and natural gas had grown even scarcer. Prices should be higher. Why was this fat man not bargaining at all?"
"Here is my order slip," Fei Zhuzai said with a squinting smile. "Have someone follow me to verify the petroleum. The rest can wait here, and I'll deliver it back to you afterward."
Uncle Gou stepped forward. "Miss, let me handle this. I don't trust anyone else. You can rest here for a bit."
"All right. The sooner the better. Report back at once if there's a problem," Su Mali said, in excellent spirits. See, her father always said she could not shoulder the family's burden. Yet here she was, handling it with ease.
After Uncle Gou left, Jing Shu sat still on the sofa and watched Fei Zhuzai.
Time ticked by.
He had people bring water, drinks, and snacks, but neither of them touched anything. Jing Shu never ate outside when traveling on business. Su Mali simply disdained the fare.
"Have a bite while you wait. Or go enjoy yourselves for a while," Fei Zhuzai suggested. "I hope we cooperate happily. Next time, bring me even more good things."
Jing Shu arched a brow. "Mr. Qian wouldn't need any of this."
"How could you say that? These are all fine goods," Fei Zhuzai chuckled. "Wait here a bit. I'll step out and check the situation."
He turned to go.
Jing Shu narrowed her eyes, taking in the room. "Hold it. Stay right here and keep us company for a while."
Something was wrong. He was being far too agreeable. Payment in petroleum that quickly, yet they had not seen a single drop of it. There was no word from Uncle Gou either.
"I suddenly remembered a matter to attend to. I'll send one of the boys to keep you company."
"Stop. In such a rush to run off, is there something wrong with this place?"