Chapter 16: God Bless Us with Mountains and Rivers [2]
Lou Femin interrupted her, his face finally a bit less pale.
"Currently, it's valued at around 6.5 million dollars, Lady Yunxia, but that's excluding transaction fees, drone inspection, and the holding fee if you're securing it before building. The total might push closer to 7 million, depending on how fast we move."
"Yunxia, that's a bit high, don't you think?" Mei looked at her, trying to check if her friend was really going to buy the land at such a high price. After all, if Yunxia was building a safe house, the expenses would be high, even with their funds. Yunxia's inheritance was still with the lawyers, and she had been holding off collecting it in fear that she would be bullied into giving it to Yu'er.
Yunxia clasped her hands together, thinking with a smile, clearly unfazed by the price. In her head, she was planning how she would turn refugees into hard labor.
After all, once the world ended, nowhere would be safe.
People would either be frozen to death or dehydrated to death.
Either way, once the military got everything under control for a few years, safe houses would be built. But there would be scarcity of food and resources — so much so that even the presidents of conflicting countries, if not already dead, would be forced by the pressure of citizens to reconcile with one another in order to distribute food and supplies.
But even then, incidents like spoiled food and poisoning still occurred.
Oh well, it's better not to think too much. After all, the real me was born five years after the first stage of the apocalypse, so I built a natural resistance against cold. Or in other words, I mutated. And by the looks of it, this body had that same mutation. But I wonder how high the price was back then… probably in the trillions of dollars. But who buys land during the apocalypse?
Finally, Yunxia spoke up, glancing at him with an icy glare.
"Do you take me for a fool?"
The man, noticing her anger, tried to calm her down.
"N-no, it's that… that really is the price of the land."
Yunxia scoffed. "Tsk, tsk… are you really planning to use such scamming techniques on me?"
"No, no, it's not that. It's just that the price over the years has gone up, and also because there are multiple buyers—"
Yunxia froze. Multiple buyers? What did he mean by that?
Grabbing the man by the shirt, she growled angrily.
"I'm buying it at that price."
How dare this man try to scam her? She only had a little more than 15 million dollars, and construction would take a lot of money.
"Damn it," she muttered, letting him go.
"Why don't we negotiate?"
Mei, who hadn't realized she was holding her breath, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Phew, that was close.
She didn't know how strong Yunxia was, but one thing she knew was that the Yunxia she knew could hold grudges — and she wouldn't rest until she had revenge.
Yunxia sat down, looking at the man with a smile that would give anyone nightmares for days.
"Alright, let us negotiate like the adults we are."
Lou Femin, seeing that smirk, had cold sweat rolling down his back.
She's a tough one, he thought.
Deciding to hear her out, he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
"S-so, what price is your budget?"
"Four million," Yunxia responded curtly. Even the calm Mei nearly fell off her seat.
Buying a mountain with such facilities at just 4 million was way too low — even lower than the market price.
"Y-Yunxia…" Mei called out, trying to talk reason into her friend.
Yunxia glanced at Mei, narrowing her eyes slightly as a warning.
"So, what do you say, Mr. Lou?" She returned her gaze back to the chubby man.
Lou Femin's fingers twitched nervously. "Four million is a little too low, Lady Yunxia… honestly, the owners would never accept that."
"Then why am I talking to you instead of them?" She leaned forward slightly, the smile still on her face but her tone colder than before. "Are you a middleman or a messenger?"
He gulped. "I-I'm simply relaying the value as given, and I can help negotiate—"
"I am negotiating," Yunxia cut in sharply. "And four million is my offer. Not because that's what I think it's worth, but because that's all I'm willing to part with for now. The rest, I can invest in development and security."
Mei watched, eyes darting between them, lips pressed tight to avoid interfering again. Yunxia was in full control now — like a general giving a choice between surrender or death.
Lou wiped his forehead again. "Alright, alright… let me call the owners. But I can't promise anything."
"You don't need to," Yunxia replied, leaning back with that same cruel calm. "You only need to convince them that no one else will put the land to better use than I will. And if they're smart, they'll accept while the offer still stands."
That last sentence made the man pause mid-turn. There was something in her voice — a weight. Like this wasn't just about land. Like if he lost her as a buyer, something worse might follow.
"Understood," he muttered and stepped aside to make the call, hand trembling slightly as he brought his phone to his ear.
Mei finally let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding again and whispered under her breath, "Damn, you're scary."
Yunxia simply smiled, eyes still fixed on the man as he walked away to negotiate for her… or possibly to save his own skin.
---
A few minutes later
The negotiations were successful, and she ended up paying 4.6 million dollars instead of the original 6.5. It was below the estimated value too — a quiet win.
Mr. Lou adjusted his glasses. "Alright, I'll prepare the documents now."
Step 1: Sale Agreement
They started with a sale agreement — a formal contract that confirmed the terms of the sale, the agreed amount, and both parties' details. Yunxia read through each page before signing.
Lou printed two copies. One for her, one for the office records.
"This is just the agreement," he explained. "The actual title transfer comes next."
She nodded, flipping through the pages without saying much.
Step 2: Title Transfer Process
Lou sent the documents to be registered with the Land Registry Office. Since it was already cleared land, the process didn't take long — about 30 minutes for the system to update the ownership.
During the wait, she sat quietly, scrolling through her phone while Mei waited beside her.
Step 3: Payment & Confirmation
Once the registration office confirmed, she made the payment through a secured transfer. The money was sent directly into escrow — a temporary account that held the funds until the title was confirmed.
Lou's phone buzzed. He checked it, then looked up.
"Payment received."
Step 4: Receiving the Land Documents
An hour later, a courier arrived from the local land registry with a folder containing the official documents — her name now listed as the new owner.
"This is the deed," Lou said, handing it over. "Keep it safe. We'll also send a digital version to your email."
She opened it, double-checked the name, and tucked it into her bag.
Guess God really helped her.
Next up: getting workers, materials, food, weaponry… but first of all, more funds.