[Congratulations, Host. Territory promotion complete. You can unlock +2 buildings. Reward: 10,000 copper coins.]
With the system notification, Zhou Bai's Lord panel refreshed.
The first thing she looked at was the requirements for the next upgrade.
[Requirement 1: Population reaches 1,000 (Not met)]
[Requirement 2: Territory buildings reach 8 (Not met)]
[Requirement 3: Lord reaches lv.10 (Not met)]
The first and third are manageable, but the second made Zhou Bai frown slightly.
The territory needs to have 8 types of buildings. Even with the original ones plus the ones unlocked from this reward, it's only 6 types—so she still needs to find two more. Wood, stone, and other materials are easy, but there's no sign of any architectural drawings yet! No idea how to get those? But since there's a requirement, there must be a solution.
For now, she set it aside and continued to unlock buildings.
After reviewing the newly added buildings in the introduction, and seeing some overlap with previous types, Zhou Bai chose the ones she'd planned to unlock next.
[Basic Tailor Shop], [Level 1 House].
After confirming these two, Zhou Bai, experienced as she is, went ahead to buy the missing materials from the System Store and prepared everything before unlocking.
[Spend 10 gold coins, 1,000 units of wood, 1,000 units of stone, and 100 units of linen to unlock the Basic Tailor Shop?]
[Spend 5 gold coins, 1,000 units of wood to unlock Level 1 House?]
"Yes."
[Basic Tailor Shop constructed. Currently no tailor. Self-service mode activated. System selects products: Shirt (white), Shorts (white). Produce?]
[Level 1 House constructed. Can be built repeatedly. Please specify quantity.]
Shirt and shorts were urgently needed, so Zhou Bai naturally chose to produce them; the required material was still linen.
[Shirt: Linen *4]
[Shorts: Linen *6]
The System Store sells linen at 4 copper coins, meaning their costs are 16 copper coins and 36 copper coins, respectively. Zhou Bai set her prices at 40 copper coins and 60 copper coins, then put them on sale.
As for housing, Zhou Bai priced each at 6 gold coins—a price where she could earn a profit. She didn't dare to overcharge for log cabins made of wood. Besides purchasing, Zhou Bai also added an option for renting: 100 copper coins/day. Renting is more profitable in the long run than selling; she decided to keep that option, giving people with limited funds a chance.
Because of limited funds, Zhou Bai temporarily built 10 units.
At the moment of confirmation, the gold coins in Zhou Bai's account rushed out in a flood.
And within the territory, twelve buildings rose out of the ground.
Someone noticed and immediately shouted, "Hey, look! Lots more buildings just popped up over there!"
Everyone looked, surprised; some even rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
"The territory's upgraded to Level 1 village, definitely brought by the promotion." Li Xingteng said excitedly, "Just like the games we played, once you meet certain conditions, the territory upgrades. Come on, let's check it out!"
Led by Li Xingteng, a group quickly rushed toward the new buildings.
Zhou Zhengping and Ding Qiurou knew Zhou Bai was behind this. They glanced at her and followed the group, just slowing down a bit to keep a little distance.
Zhou Bai lowered her voice a bit, "I've unlocked the tailor shop and Level 1 houses—the Level 1 houses are ten units. Let's go buy one so we have somewhere to sleep tonight."
After a moment's thought, she added, "The cost for a Level 1 house is about 5 gold coins, my price is 6 gold, renting is 100 copper coins per day."
"That's a pretty reasonable price. But to rent, how many houses can you build with the cash you have?" Zhengping cast a sidelong glance at Zhou Bai.
"That's why I wanted to ask Mom and Dad—are you interested in investing in the territory's real estate business?" A keen glint flashed in Zhou Bai's eyes. The landlady business she never started before the apocalypse could continue right here! Even more profitable than before. Totally win-win.
Ding Qiurou looked at her daughter's little calculations, smiled gently, and waved her hand, directly transferring a sum of money to Zhou Bai, "Here—300 gold coins for you to use however you want. If you need more, just ask!"
The family's financial power was in Ding Qiurou's hands. After the property exchange, Ding Qiurou held a considerable fortune. Now that her daughter was clearly starting a business, as parents, they'd support her!
[Hope Village Resident Ding Qiurou gifted you 300 gold coins. Accept?]
Zhou Bai looked at the notification in front of her, a smile tugging her lips. "Then I'll take it—and I'll pay you interest in the future."