4 Chapter 4

"Nini, do we need any other staff on the island?" Tong Shu looked down at the little fox.

Nini thought for a moment, then counted on her fingers: "Mao Mao Restaurant needs chefs and waiters, Xiu Xiu Clothing Store needs tailors and shop assistants, and the hospital needs doctors and nurses..."

[Long-term mission: Island owner, please continue recruiting suitable staff to restore the island to its former prosperity!]

[Long-term task: Island Master, please continue to upgrade the encyclopedia to enrich the island's resources!]

Before Nini could finish speaking, two notification sounds rang in Tong Shu's mind.

Two long-term tasks have been released this time, and it seems there is no time limit. I just don't know what the final reward will be.

However, Komorishima wasn't in a hurry, but Tong Shu was. With the deadline fast approaching, there was so much preparation to be made.

Tong Shu quickened her pace, moving between the various buildings on the island and collecting all the remaining blank name tags. Fortunately, these places were all placed in the same area when the island was built; otherwise, it would have been a waste of time to run all over the island.

When Tong Shu came out of the island, dinner was already set on the table.

However, there was no one in the restaurant.

Tong Songming was seen helping Tong Shu's grandparents stuff supplies into Tong Shu's backpack, while Tong's mother, Shu Hua, stood to the side with a list, marking each item as it was put into the bag.

"Shushu is back." Tong Songming looked up, his hands still busy. "Dad bought all the appliances at the appliance store today, and your mom also bought a lot of daily necessities online. Online shopping is slower, but it should arrive in the next couple of days."

Tong Shu nodded: "Let's all think together about what else we need. We need to be prepared for the possibility that we won't be able to buy anything in the future, so let's buy everything we can."

Grandpa Tong said, "We need the seeds, hoes, rakes... there's land inside!"

"I need to buy some blood pressure medication; hopefully it won't be expired..."

"You should prepare several quilts, because they won't keep you warm after a few years."

...

Tong Shu wrote down her family's suggestions one by one in her memo. In the past few days, the family had been buying things, and the neighbors had knocked on the door several times, intentionally or unintentionally, to inquire about the situation.

It seems that after making arrangements for my mother, I'll have to put on a good show.

After all, people cannot live independently of society. As the last secret base, the island must not be discovered by anyone unless absolutely necessary.

When Tong Shu was filling in Shu Hua's information, she tried it on the doctor's name tag, but she couldn't fill in the name no matter what she tried.

It seems that while employees on Komori Island don't actually need to do any work, they still need to possess certain professional skills.

Then Tong Shu wrote her mother's name on the chef's name tag, and this time it went very smoothly. It seems that Xiaosen Island also highly approves of Shu Hua's cooking skills.

Having witnessed her family members suddenly disappear and reappear before her eyes, Shu Hua quickly accepted the existence of the island. After following Tong Shu into the restaurant, Tong Shu received another reward.

[Congratulations to the island owner for successfully recruiting the chef! You have received 200 Forest Coins. The island now has four employees, and the salary system is officially in effect. Employees will receive 30 Forest Coins for every hour they work on the island.]

That's great. It seems the island isn't as ruthless as it appears. 30 Sen coins is more than enough to sustain one person's daily needs for a day.

Tong Shu was quite satisfied.

Tong Shu and Shu Hua did not linger on the island. After receiving the reward, Tong Shu took Shu Hua out.

Tong Songming was stuffing some scraps into the packaging of the appliances to make them look less flimsy.

Tong Shu called a truck with her phone, and then she and Tong Songming carried the packaging shells to the elevator.

"Oh my, Mr. Tong, are you renovating your house?" A woman from across the street peeked out from behind her door, fanning herself. Her daughter also poked her face, covered in acne, out from behind the door.

“Jiajia’s mom,” Tong Songming smiled at her, “We haven’t been home for a long time. When no one uses a appliance, it starts to break down. We might as well replace it.”

"Isn't your Shushu always at home? I don't see her going out, she doesn't even cook, does she? All the appliances are broken, aren't they?" Shi Pingxiang looked the father and daughter up and down with a mocking expression.

“We’d rather leave the house empty than sell it. A poor laborer is a poor laborer; this is the only house they can save up in their entire life,” Shi Pingxiang’s daughter, Hao Jia, chimed in from the side.

When this residential complex first opened for sale, Tong Songming took a liking to the location. His daughter was about to graduate from university, and he had saved up some money. After discussing it with Shu Hua, they bought a unit, intending to use it for their retirement so that the family could live together for a few more years.

After the renovation was completed, thinking that the new house should not be without people, we persuaded Tong Shu's grandparents to move in with Tong Shu first. However, the elderly still preferred the life in the countryside, so Tong Shu moved into the new house alone first, and the family will be reunited after Tong Songming retires in a few years.

Not long after, Shi Pingxiang's family moved in. After several attempts to get close to Tong Shu and inquire about her, they discovered that Tong Shu lived alone at home, and they began to have designs on her.

Hao Jia keeps complaining that she wants to live in a big house, but the large apartments in the same neighborhood are ridiculously expensive. If she could buy Tong Shu's house at a low price and combine it with other apartments, she could save a lot of money.

Unfortunately, no matter how much they pleaded and begged, Tong Shu only said one thing: "The house belongs to my parents, and they don't plan to sell it."

After that, Shi Pingxiang's family kept making small moves. Sometimes they would secretly throw garbage bags in front of Tong Shu's house, and sometimes they would tell other neighbors that Tong Shu would go home with different men at night. It wasn't until Tong Shu's mother, Shu Hua, heard about these things and called Tong Shu's two uncles to come and reason with them that the family finally calmed down.

However, this incident also created enmity between the two families.

"Your family is so rich, why don't you move out and live in a villa?" Tong Shu glanced at Shi Pingxiang and Hao Jia, and then carried her things into the elevator with Tong Songming.

"Hey you!" Shi Pingxiang had just extended a finger when the elevator doors closed.

"Tch!" Shi Pingxiang rolled her eyes. "Replacing home appliances, even the pig trough is trimmed with gold."

After saying that, he turned around and went back into the house, slamming the door shut.

------------------------------

Downstairs in the apartment building, many elderly men and women gathered together, fanning themselves and chatting.

The elderly are always worried that they will get "air conditioning sickness" from too much air conditioning. Even when the temperature is over 50 degrees Celsius, they still come out to the lobby every day to chat about what's going on in the building.

"Master Tong, are you busy?" an old lady greeted him.

"Yes, all the appliances in my house had broken down after not being used for several years, so I replaced them all while I was home."

"That's a huge project."

Tong Songming nodded and, together with Tong Shu, put the items into the back of the truck. Because it was too hot, the truck driver was no longer providing moving services; otherwise, it would cost extra.

"Xiao Tong, I saw a lot of takeout orders arriving at your house last night. What are you doing? The food is coming in truckloads!"

"Oh, those are supplies our company bought for our annual meeting. My home is close to the venue, so they asked me to handle the purchasing. They were picked up today." Tong Songming lied without batting an eye.

"Oh, I knew it. There are only three people in Xiaotong's family. How could they possibly eat all that stuff themselves? It would just go bad."

...

After the father and daughter finished moving their belongings, they got into the truck under the watchful eyes of the elderly folks and had the driver take them to their grandparents' home in the countryside.

After going back and forth a few times, it got dark.

After returning home, the father and daughter hurriedly ate dinner and then began purchasing emergency supplies online.

Tent, sleeping bag, flashlight, power bank, life jacket, waterproof bag, fire extinguisher...

If a large-scale disaster breaks out, it will be necessary to relocate with the main force. Tong Songming thought long-term. If the ground collapses, it may cause groundwater to surge up. He asked Tong Shu to buy waterproof and flood-resistant equipment as well.

The father and daughter worked until midnight before finally returning to their rooms to rest.