The next morning, Li Fan arrived at the supermarket early. There were many tasks to accomplish today, starting with giving the employees a holiday.

Upon entering the supermarket, he found it closed, as the 27th of each month was reserved for inventory checks.

They would check the stock of incoming and outgoing goods, sales, losses, and discrepancies, and then reconcile the accounts. Based on the sales of each item, they would determine the next month's order quantity.

This was a tedious process, but Li Fan didn't bother with it, as these goods were only temporarily stored here.

Once the underground fortress was completed, he planned to transfer all the goods there.

In the office, Li Fan sat in the main seat, while six people were already seated on the guest sofa: two women and four men. Wang Xueli introduced each person to Li Fan.

They were suppliers of grains and oils, fruits and vegetables, seafood, fresh poultry and meat, daily necessities, and snacks and beverages.

After getting to know everyone, Li Fan got straight to the point and said:

"Everyone, I didn't invite you here today for supermarket matters. I have a big business deal to discuss with you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the suppliers chimed in:

"We heard from Manager Wang that it's about online sales, right? We were just discussing it."

"Yeah, in today's society, if you don't keep up with the times, you'll be left behind. We've heard about online sales but don't know how to get into it."

"I heard that some online sales can sell tens of millions worth of goods in a single live stream."

"Physical store sales are declining day by day. If we don't adapt, we'll be obsolete."

The grain and oil supplier, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a large belly, asked:

"Mr. Li, how do you plan to collaborate?"

Li Fan handed out a pre-prepared list of supplies to each person and said:

"Our media company is quite large and covers a wide range, so take a look at the list and see how much you can handle.

My requirements are quality and quantity. We might become long-term partners, so please don't take this lightly."

The suppliers picked up the list and were increasingly shocked as they read it. Rice, grains, oil, fruits, vegetables, dried goods, snacks, drinks, cleaning supplies, things that run on the ground, swim in the water, and fly in the sky.

There were also flashlights, lighters, power banks, even nails, hammers, screwdrivers, cigarettes, and alcohol—red, beer, and white.

Five full A4 pages, densely packed, left them speechless. This wasn't just about live streaming sales; it was like a small army moving into a village.

What kind of large-scale company was this, covering all life's necessities?

After a lengthy discussion, they finally determined each person's responsibilities. Even so, the six major suppliers only solved less than 60% of the supply needs.

The beef and lamb supplier, a man in his forties from Guanzhong named Ma Yan, asked after reading the list:

"Mr. Li, I mainly deal in beef, lamb, pork, and poultry. I can also find large channels for fresh seafood, but where should I deliver them? Have you rented a cold storage?"

Ma Yan's question was a wake-up call. Indeed, meat is not like grains and oil; it doesn't store well.

Li Fan didn't have any spatial abilities. Even in the doomsday scenario, he hadn't heard of spatial storage abilities.

Even if he could get awakening potions now, it would only be for spatial teleportation, not storage. Preserving freshness was a big problem.

After pondering for a while, he sighed helplessly. Why do protagonists in novels always have spatial abilities, while he started as an ordinary person?

"How about this, Mr. Ma, do you have any cold storage available?"

"Yes, I have four empty ones that I can rent to you."

"Great, could you also help me contact an ice rink? I need a large amount of ice."

"No problem, I often deal with ice rinks in my business. When do you need it? How much do you need?"

Li Fan thought about it. He planned to find a construction team in the afternoon and complete the underground project within 10 days and the above-ground project in five days.

Even if it meant spending more money, he wanted the underground fortress completed in half a month. So he said:

"Deliver it to the foot of the Liyuan Mountains in 10 days. Our company is constructing there. Your goods should also be delivered on the same day. Is that okay, everyone?"

"No problem!"

"There's plenty of time."

"Don't worry, Mr. Li, we won't delay."

They then discussed their respective shares and quantities, signed purchase contracts, and paid a 30% deposit on the spot, with the balance to be settled in three months.

Just the deposits alone amounted to 50 million.

After the discussions, Li Fan saw the suppliers off and called Wang Xueli over, saying:

"Sister Xueli, how are you planning to spend your holiday?"

Wang Xueli was delighted because she hadn't had a proper break in a long time, so she excitedly replied:

"I'm planning to travel to Sanya. Would you like to join me, little boss?"

Li Fan was speechless, internally thinking: Going to Sanya now is like lining up at a crematorium.

He asked about her plans to subtly remind her to stock up on some living supplies. Whether she could survive depended on her fate.

Although Wang Xueli had been good to him, was nice, pretty, and generous, Li Fan wouldn't take her with him to seek refuge. Human nature is the hardest to test.

"Sister Xueli, things aren't very stable right now. I advise you not to go. Stock up on some living supplies, especially water, and stay at home."

Wang Xueli looked at her little brother in confusion and asked:

"Did you hear something?"

Li Fan nodded and said:

"Did you see yesterday's red glow?"

"Yes, but the experts said it was a normal phenomenon."

"Sister Xueli, our country's experts are as reliable as someone with diarrhea. Can they be trusted?

A professor of astronomy at our school speculated that there might be significant temperature fluctuations soon.

If you trust me, prepare some supplies for the next month and stay home, watch some shows, and read some books."

Seeing Li Fan's serious demeanor, Wang Xueli nodded unconsciously and agreed:

"Okay, I'll listen to you and stay home. If you have free time, come over, and I'll cook for you."

"Alright, I'll come and taste your cooking when I have time. I have some things to do, so I'll be off."

With that, Li Fan left the supermarket and headed straight to his father's friend's real estate company.

His father's friend, Xu Jiayin, was the most famous developer in Chang'an Prefecture, having made his fortune during the real estate boom years ago.

He was a comrade of Li Fan's father in his younger days and had taken good care of Li Fan after his parents passed away. Xie Debiao had been eyeing that storefront but hadn't dared to make a move, fearing Xu Jiayin.

Arriving at the top-floor office of Shuda Real Estate, Li Fan found Xu Jiayin, who immediately questioned him:

"You brat, I thought after your parents passed, you'd cut ties with me. What brings you here today?"

Li Fan smiled sheepishly and said:

"I have something to ask of you."

Xu Jiayin was taken aback. He had watched this child grow up, knowing him to be gentle, humble, kind, and confident, yet inwardly strong-willed.

It was this personality that endeared him to Xu Jiayin.

So he was curious about what Li Fan needed from him, teasingly saying:

"Well, this is rare. A kid who'd rather deliver food than touch his adoptive parents' inheritance is asking me for help. Let's hear it."

Li Fan, having rehearsed his words, said:

"I'm planning to set up an online media base on our old home's land. You're the expert in construction, so I wanted to ask for your help in finding a construction team!"

"Oh, is that all? I thought you were running for president of Eagle Sauce Country! I'll get you a construction team, designer, supervisor, and geological team."

Li Fan quickly took out the design plans he had prepared from his backpack and handed them to Xu Jiayin, saying:

"Uncle Xu, this is the design for my media base. It's for a special purpose, so it's different from ordinary frame shear walls. Please take a look."

Xu Jiayin took the design plans and studied them, his brows furrowing deeper as he read.

"What is all this? Are you building a military base? Over seven meters high, with four underground levels."

Li Fan had already thought of how to explain it away, saying:

"It's for a live streaming base! Sometimes we need to set up scenes and hang curtains inside. It can't be too low."

Xu Jiayin picked up the office phone and gave an instruction. Shortly after, a man in his thirties wearing glasses walked in.

"Chairman, you called for me."

Xu Jiayin handed over the plans and said:

"Xiao Chen, this is my comrade's son. He wants to build some kind of media base. Take a look at these design plans and see if there are any issues."

The designer took the plans, looked them over, asked a few questions, and gave a positive answer.

"Alright, you two go ahead. Have the second engineering team handle it. Meet all the requirements.

Brat, come visit the house when you have time. Your parents are gone, but don't lose all your connections. You'll need them when you enter society."

Li Fan smiled and nodded, then left with the designer.

Actually, Li Fan wanted to warn Xu Jiayin, but swallowed his words.

Because during the scorching heat and the corpse tide, Xu Jiayin and his daughter lived quite comfortably until the great migration separated them from Li Fan.

Half an hour later, Li Fan brought the designer to the Liyuan Mountains, pointed to a piece of land, and said:

"This is the spot. Based on my design plans, how long will it take?"

The designer, named Chen Xiang, adjusted his glasses and calculated, saying:

"It might take a month."

"That's too long. Can it be completed in half a month?"

"Even if we rush, it can't be done in half a month. The concrete frame shear walls are quick, but the later brickwork requires manual labor..."

Li Fan interrupted:

"No brickwork needed, just pour concrete."

Chen Xiang was stunned, incredulously asking:

"All concrete? That will significantly increase the cost."

"You don't need to worry about that. Just pour concrete. How long will it take?"

"If it's all concrete, about 10 days."

Li Fan nodded in relief and stated his requirements:

"First, the concrete must have an internal insulation layer.

Second, the underground water diversion system must be properly arranged, don't worry about the cost.

Third, leave several hidden ventilation shafts.

Fourth, prepare two power systems, one connected to the municipal grid and the other to an internal generator.

Fifth, make the sewage treatment system discreet.

Sixth, most importantly, the two above-ground levels and the watchtower must use military-grade concrete."

Chen Xiang, who had been numb, finally reacted upon hearing about military-grade concrete.

"Military-grade concrete requires reporting."

Li Fan knew that military-grade concrete needed to be reported to the local police department, but such issues were minor for Xu Jiayin.

Otherwise, he would have just found any construction team. So he firmly said:

"Just do it. Uncle Xu will handle the reporting."

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Chen Xiang didn't dare offend Li Fan and immediately agreed, then asked:

"What about the interior design? What style do you want?"

"Just a simple decoration will do."

The reason for buying so much food and building such a large fortress was to store supplies.

After the two-month natural disaster period, Li Fan planned to leave the fortress and rescue Fan Youyou and his other early teammates.

Every time he thought about it, he sighed, wishing he had spatial abilities to avoid the hassle of moving supplies back and forth.

Following that, Chen Xiang led Li Fan back to the real estate company. The costs were calculated at a whopping 30 million yuan. After signing the contract and making a 20-million-yuan advance payment, construction officially commenced that very afternoon.

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Proofreader: Peter Pan