Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 162 Installer

The woman spat and continued, "Look, this lone, seemingly reliable installer has been targeted by several companies at the same time. They're all vying for him to come and install their products right away. Everyone wants to survive, so it's no wonder they're fighting tooth and nail to the point of almost coming to blows! If you ask me, they deserve it!"

The old woman's rapid-fire words left Xu Xiaoyan frozen in place! She had been so focused on stockpiling coal, reinforcing the house, and storing food and water that she had overlooked one crucial element—her space contained a smokeless coal stove, a cast-iron wood-burning stove, a complete set of exhaust pipes and insulation materials, but the problem was, they were all just parts! None of them were installed!

Her family has a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) for warmth, but the kang can't burn continuously day and night. The stove has a limited capacity and requires constant fuel replenishment; there's also the impact of prolonged burning on the kang's structure; and most importantly, what if there's a crack in the kang or the flue becomes clogged? Her original plan was to alternate between using the kang and a portable stove, using the stove during the day and sleeping on the heated kang at night, which would ensure continuous indoor heating while allowing for flexible adjustments and saving fuel.

But now, jolted awake by the chaotic scramble and the old woman's words, she suddenly realized a terrifying truth: she couldn't just put the coal stove and iron stove in the middle of the room and light them! The smoke from those burning things, especially the colorless and odorless carbon monoxide, could be deadly! It could kill someone silently in their sleep within minutes! Did she even want to live?!

Installation! Professional installation! Sealed flue, safe wall penetration, effective fireproofing and heat insulation... she didn't do any of these! All her heating plans were based on the premise that "the furnace was installed properly," a premise she had completely ignored before! Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

After the initial shock came immense relief—thankfully, she'd found it now! There was still time! She needed to find a worker to install the furnace immediately! No, she had to seize this opportunity! This was her last chance!

She no longer cared about watching the excitement and rushed into the crowd where people were fighting and scrambling for the food!

"Make way! Please move aside!" With her more agile figure and a reckless ferocity, she forcefully pushed aside the two people blocking her way who were still blaming each other. Caught off guard, the two stumbled as she pushed them. Just as they were about to get angry, they saw that it was a young girl and were stunned for a moment.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xu Xiaoyan had already squeezed to the innermost circle, almost face-to-face with the sweating, nearly collapsing renovation worker. As she squeezed, she shouted in a clear voice, "Worker! Worker! One more person! Give me a price! I can pay the full amount in points right now!!"

Her voice carried an air of arrogance, as if she had plenty of money and just wanted things done quickly. The men who had been arguing fiercely stopped abruptly, turning around in astonishment and anger to look at this unexpected and arrogant "Cheng Yaojin" who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The renovation worker, surrounded in the middle, looked as if he had seen a savior, and his tired and desperate eyes suddenly lit up.

"Who do you think you are? Don't you know about first come, first served!" The burly man in the leather jacket was the first to react, glaring angrily.

"That's right! We've been arguing and discussing it for ages! We have points too!" The man with glasses quickly chimed in, while gripping his master's arm even tighter, as if afraid of having them snatched away.

"Little girl, stop causing trouble! We're busy right now!" The bald, middle-aged man frowned and scolded.

Seeing that the breakthrough she had just made was about to be closed by these desperate competitors, Xu Xiaoyan's mind raced. She knew that in this extreme situation, simply promising to pay points was no longer enough to secure priority. She had to come up with something more attractive, something that could be redeemed immediately, and something that might be "harder" than points in the current market environment.

Without further hesitation, Xu Xiaoyan raised her voice sharply, "Master! The original installation fee will be the highest market price, not a penny less, settled in full on the spot! Also—" She deliberately paused for half a second to attract everyone's attention, then clearly and deliberately threw out her offer, "I'll add five more packs of instant noodles! As extra compensation and a fee for your hard work!—Give it to you now! Immediately!"

"Instant noodles?!" The word instantly silenced the small, noisy area around them. Everyone's expression subtly changed, and the faces of the competitors showed a mixture of anger, as well as surprise and hesitation.

The allure of extra food, especially instant noodles that can be prepared simply by adding hot water, providing calories and salt, and are easy to store and carry, might even surpass the mere increase in points at this moment.

Points can be redeemed for things, but the market is currently chaotic, and it's uncertain whether you can immediately get the food you want. These five packs of instant noodles, however, are real hard currency that you can immediately stuff into your bag, a guarantee to fill your stomach and replenish your energy.

The renovation worker swallowed involuntarily. He was in this line of work, always on the go, and knew all too well how precious food was these days. Points were certainly nice, but these extra five steaming hot "hard meals" were even more precious.

She deftly spun her backpack to the side, and using the opening of the backpack and her own body as cover, she took out five packets of braised beef flavored instant noodles.

Almost the instant noodles she took out, she shoved the five heavy "chips" into the hands of the renovation worker!

The familiar red and yellow brand logo and the tempting beef noodle pattern on the packaging bag are still clearly visible in the dim light, which is more impactful and persuasive than any verbal guarantee or promise of points!

The renovation worker looked down at the five packets of instant noodles that had suddenly appeared in his hand, and his face instantly lit up with an almost ecstatic expression! He gripped the noodles tightly, quickly opened the side pocket of his dusty tool bag, carefully stuffed the five packets of noodles inside, zipped it up, and even subconsciously pressed it down with his hand.

Having done all this, he looked up, glanced around at the competitors who were still stunned, their expressions shifting, and announced directly, "Alright! Stop arguing! Listen to me!"

He pointed at Xu Xiaoyan, his tone leaving no room for argument, "This young lady is now number one! Not only did they promise to pay her the full amount, they even added this extra—" He patted the side pocket of his tool bag containing instant noodles, the meaning clear, "When I, Old Li, work, I only care about honesty! As for the rest of you bosses, let's be reasonable. We'll arrange it according to the system time you paid your deposit or full payment on the platform! I, Old Li, will go to each one, I promise I won't sleep tonight, I'll work my ass off, and I'll try to cover as many as possible!"