The First Order

Zhou Yingxue was still not awake even after a long time had passed. Furthermore, for most of the time she was unconscious, her body would intermittently flip between hot and cold. It was not that Ren Xiaosu went near her to feel her temperature, but that when Zhou Yingxue’s body started turning hot, it was as though a furnace had been fired up in the house. It was sweltering and scorching.Ren Xiaosu was really worried her brain would be damaged at that temperature.

He lodged Wang Fugui and the others in the houses Zhou Yingxue purchased. Since Zhou Yingxue had purchased a lot of houses, it would be a waste if no one was living in them. Ren Xiaosu felt that Zhou Yingxue’s dream of becoming a real estate investor should have been shattered when that creeper vine attacked the stronghold.

After lodging Old Wang and the others, Ren Xiaosu went back to keeping watch over Zhou Yingxue. He was afraid something would happen to her.

If this maidservant could successfully control the energy the creeper vine had received from sacrificing an entire stronghold, Zhou Yingxue would probably be a great help to him in the future.

However, he had already been waiting for three days. After three days, Ren Xiaosu still did not see any signs of Zhou Yingxue recovering.

However, Ren Xiaosu was not in a rush. After three days had passed, Zhou Yingxue still had a healthy glow on her face and did not show any signs of getting weaker.

He would have to stay in Stronghold 61’s town for some time anyway. According to Old Wang and the others, Yan Liuyuan and Xiaoyu’s whereabouts were still unknown. However, Ren Xiaosu felt that if Yan Liuyuan had not sustained any fatal wounds, the floodwaters would probably not kill him since he was capable of manipulating luck and curses.

So he would have to wait a little longer by Stronghold 61. As long as Yan Liuyuan saw those words in the Hope Media newspaper, he would definitely come to Stronghold 61 to look for him.

As for Yang Xiaojin, he could only think of a different way to find her after reuniting with Yan Liuyuan. After all, Yang Xiaojin did not spend enough time with Yan Liuyuan, Xiaoyu, and the others, so she couldn’t have heard that phrase before.

Ren Xiaosu already knew she was the one for him. As long as she were still alive, they would definitely meet again.

But what surprised Ren Xiaosu was actually the Wang Consortium’s reaction after the disaster at Stronghold 61.

The calamity had brought immeasurable losses to the Wang Consortium, but they suddenly announced that Stronghold 61 had already overcome the crisis during an interview with Hope Media. They were now recruiting new residents for the stronghold, and anyone from the Alliance of Strongholds could come here to live and settle down for the long term.

Although the details were fully summed up in one sentence, this piece of news occupied the entire front page of Hope Media’s newspaper that day!

The Wang Consortium did not state any requirements or mention what kind of people could come here to settle down. They even said they would provide a sum of money to help the people live and arrange suitable jobs for them based on their abilities!

Ren Xiaosu was stunned when he saw this news. He immediately thought of the dirty trick the Wang Consortium had used against the Zhou Consortium. At that time, many of the Zhou Consortium’s refugees fled into the mountains to breed silkworms after the Wang Consortium deliberately started purchasing silk at high prices. This caused a shortage of manpower for the Zhou Consortium’s factories and affected their productivity.

And now?

Who would feel most tempted after reading this piece of news? The stronghold residents of the Zhou and Kong consortiums? Definitely not!

On one hand, the residents of the Zhou and Kong consortiums were not allowed to enter and leave the strongholds freely. On the other hand, they were also leading a good life with their family and friends in their own strongholds. So who would want to leave a place they were familiar with?

However, this piece of news had a different meaning to the refugees!

Ren Xiaosu knew exactly how much those people longed to become stronghold residents since he used to be like that as well!

Right now, the opportunity to become a stronghold resident was presented in front of them and within their reach!

Even if the creeper vine tragedy took place here not too long ago, wasn’t the creeper vine dead? A threat that was dead was no longer a threat.

How many refugees would it take to fill a stronghold that used to have a few hundred thousand residents living in it? Moreover, the Wang Consortium even purposely announced this plan in Hope Media’s newspaper, which had the highest circulation. It would only take a few days to see the effects.

Immediately, the refugees from the factories around the Zhou Consortium strongholds started fleeing northwards. It was no exception in the Kong Consortium either!

Within a week, a lot of the Zhou and Kong Consortiums’ factories came to a standstill. Their strongholds even faced a shortage of vegetables and processed food as a result, while the butchers also rushed to the Wang Consortium’s stronghold with their families. They were afraid they would miss out on the opportunity to become stronghold residents if they were late!

Ren Xiaosu watched this from town silently. In just one week, nearly 20,000 people came to Stronghold 61 and were converted to stronghold residents after going through background checks.

What left Ren Xiaosu a little speechless was that all the waiters in the tavern in town had also moved into the stronghold. Right now, customers had to head into the kitchen to get their own lamb stew as there were no more waiters to serve them. Fortunately, the chef did not leave. Otherwise, the regulars at the tavern would even have ended up cooking their own meals.

Moreover, people from the Wang Consortium’s stronghold approached Ren Xiaosu and the others. They thought they were the local refugees here, so they asked them affably if they wanted to move into the stronghold.

Ren Xiaosu politely rejected them by saying he could not adapt to the lifestyle in the stronghold after having grown up in town.

Since he did not want to move into the stronghold, the people in his group also rejected the offer. There was nothing to feel regretful about. After all, they were different from the real refugees now. They did not feel they would be better off living in the stronghold.

But even though Ren Xiaosu did not want to move into the stronghold, the other refugees in town had already left. This time, Ren Xiaosu purchased the remaining dozen-odd brick courtyard houses in town in one fell swoop.

As the esquires were in a hurry to move into the stronghold, they naturally had no reason to keep the courtyard houses in town. Furthermore, they had to move into the stronghold as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they might not be able to get a spot in the stronghold. Thus, the courtyard houses were all sold for cheap.

When Zhou Yingxue bought the houses, she paid an average of 30,000 yuan each. But when Ren Xiaosu bought them, it only cost him 5,000 yuan a pop!

As the deals were being made, Wang Fugui wondered, “Xiaosu, why are you buying so many courtyard houses near a stronghold that’s just suffered a disaster? Nobody will come here to live.”

“Oh, don’t worry, there will be.” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “There’ll be countless people coming here to live. Old Wang, we’re refugees as well, so don’t underestimate the refugees’ enthusiasm when they get the chance to move into a stronghold.”

99% of the people in the world would not pass up on an opportunity to move higher in the hierarchy. If they could become a stronghold resident, that would mean a chance to make money and lead a better life!

Wang Fugui asked again, “Then why not pay with the money I’m holding for us? The Wang Consortium has already paid me for this batch of goods. This is the first time I’ve earned over a million yuan in a single transaction!”

“It’s fine.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head and said with a smile, “I still have money here. By the way, jot down this account number. You can use the money in it to fund the business. No matter what, you have to continue running the business. After all, we have such a large family to support. In the future, if Wang Yuchi and the others continue with their studies, they’ll also need to spend money.”

Wang Fugui wrote down the account number and asked, “Xiaosu, how much do you have in there? Do you have enough to spend?”

Old Wang thought that since he had made some money through the business, and the money also belonged to Ren Xiaosu, he absolutely must not let Ren Xiaosu suffer anymore.

In the end, Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment. “I think there should still be around 10 million yuan inside.”