Mobile Homes Secured

The old man opened up.

"If my kids hadn't insisted on taking me into the city, I wouldn't want to sell them either. But there's no helping it—they can't be raised in the city. I'm not doing this for the money."

Ming Jiu agreed, pulling out her phone as she asked, "Exactly. What about Big Blackie?"

The old man sighed. "Gone."

"The little one was gone before it was even a month old. If the big dog were still around, I wouldn't bear to leave it behind and go live with my kids."

"So? Are you taking them?"

Ming Jiu glanced at her sister. Her sister's eyes were practically glued to the two little black balls, and she turned to nod frantically at Ming Jiu.

Yes! This was her dream cat!

Her dream cat was also friends with her sister's dream dog!

Ming Jiu asked, "Would you prefer a transfer or cash?"

The old man smiled and glanced at the cat carrier in Ming Jiu's hand. "All right, you're a good girl. How about this? Add me on WeChat and transfer the money there. Don't delete me afterward—just send me some pictures of the two when you have time. I'll give you a discount too. Nine hundred."

Ming Jiu said, "There's no need for a discount. My sister has always wanted a kitten. I'll take plenty of videos for you later. Don't worry, I'll definitely take good care of them."

The old man held up his QR code. Once they had added each other, Ming Jiu immediately transferred the money and handed over the cat carrier.

The old man opened the car window, took the carrier, and reached in to feel it. The warming patch inside had already started heating up.

"You came well prepared. Girls really are thoughtful. My grandson's about the same age as your sister, and he's wild as anything... Girls are better."

Still muttering, the old man put the two big and small coal balls into the carrier, then reached into the back compartment and pulled out a bag meant for holding a whole case of milk.

"This is their food. You need to switch food gradually. Kittens and puppies can get diarrhea if you're not careful. The vaccination booklet has the dates—just take them to a pet hospital when it's time."

"Little Blackie hasn't learned her name, so you can give her a new one if you like. Black Cat hasn't been named yet."

They really had not been named. Ming Jiu had glanced through the vaccination booklets just now. The dog and cat were listed as "Little Blackie" and "Black Cat," respectively.

"You can't feed them only kibble either, especially the dog. Mix it with the food people eat. Big dogs need that even more—they eat a lot, and feeding only dog food can make them picky, plus it costs more... Just don't give them anything too salty. Big dogs are tough."

Before the dog had even changed hands, the old man had already rambled on about so much. He truly seemed reluctant to part with them.

"Did you drive here, take the bus, or do you live in town? If you're nearby, I can take them straight to your place so they don't freeze. This winter's been freakishly cold."

Ming Jiu took out her car keys. "We drove. The car's parked over there. If you're worried they'll get cold, just drive them to the intersection. We're not going shopping anymore."

"Okay." Without another word, the old man started his little mobility scooter. "I'll take you to the car. You two getting in?"

Ming Jiu politely declined and took her sister's hand, walking quickly ahead. The old man followed slowly behind. When he saw Ming Jiu's car, he was thoroughly reassured.

"Not bad, girl—you've got means! Are you from the city? The city doesn't allow Chinese native dogs."

Ming Jiu said, "We're staying in the city for now. After the New Year, we'll move to Yunjing Scenic Area. It's fine to keep them there."

"Good, good."

The old man agreed, carrying the cat carrier and the cat and dog food into the car. Only then was everything settled.

On the way back, Ming Rong moved from the passenger seat to the back and kept filming the two inside the carrier with her phone.

Their next destination was an integrated housing factory.

Both the cat and dog had already been vaccinated, and the kitten in particular had undergone a comprehensive checkup, so there was no need to visit a pet hospital.

Ming Jiu planned to drive to City L after inspecting the mobile homes, find a pet hospital to buy vaccines and syringes, then vaccinate the two little ones herself later.

The mutation tide was three years away. The canine five-in-one and feline triple vaccines required a booster every year, while the first year required three shots. She would prepare five doses of each and store them in her spatial warehouse. The extra dose would serve as a backup.

Right, she also needed two rabies vaccines. She should prepare those too.

At eleven in the morning, Ming Jiu drove to the factory entrance. Only after speaking with the person in charge on the phone did she drive inside.

Ming Rong continued waiting in the car while Ming Jiu followed the person in charge into the tall, spacious factory building. Her three homestay space capsules and one light steel villa stood inside.

The laundry room conversion was simple, involving little more than changes to the plumbing and electrical systems. Once finished, it could hold at least six washing machines and six dryers.

The conversion of the mall's back kitchen had been more troublesome, but it was already complete.

The finished result was not much different from what Ming Jiu had envisioned. It had four-burner commercial induction stoves, a multifunctional steam oven, electric fryers, slow cookers, and everything else she could need.

The manufacturer had also given her matching kitchenware: iron woks, ladles, large soup barrels for cooking porridge in breakfast shops, frying pans, knives, and more.

After the workers connected the water and electricity, Ming Jiu tested everything. There were no issues at all.

She immediately ordered two more sets of kitchenware and fifty extra soup barrels. The factory had them all in stock, and they could be delivered to the old factory building with the houses shortly.

The steel frames meant to elevate the laundry room and kitchen were also ready. The person in charge had workers start up the crane and assembled one for Ming Jiu on the spot. It was very sturdy.

Ming Jiu borrowed a tape measure to check the steel frame dimensions, planning to visit the water tank factory next to arrange for water tanks, pipes, and pumps.

There was still one homestay space capsule and the light steel villa left. Ming Jiu inspected them carefully. Both were fully renovated, and after Sis System scanned them, the materials proved fairly good as well.

Once furnished with furniture and appliances, they would be ready to live in. It was very convenient.

Everything went smoothly. Ming Jiu opened her trunk, took out the bag of money, paid the remaining balance in cash, and arranged with the person in charge for delivery at around four in the afternoon.

After leaving the integrated housing factory, Ming Jiu drove to a fiberglass water tank factory.

She planned to get several fiberglass water tanks to use as wastewater tanks. That would largely solve the problem of laundry and kitchen wastewater contaminating her space and its water source.

For fresh water, she could simply install pumps by the river to draw water directly. She only needed to prepare several pumps and hand them over to the system for modification.

The light steel villa and remaining space capsule would serve as backup residences for her and Xiao Rong. It did not matter where they were placed.

She planned to put the laundry room and kitchen downstream of the river in the area where her space could be used.

The plan was perfect.

After buying the water tanks and accessories, Ming Jiu drove into City L. She first bought all the vaccines and disposable syringes she needed, then had lunch with Ming Rong.

After eating, Ming Jiu found a physical store and bought six sets of washing machines and dryers, scheduled for delivery at around five. Then she drove Ming Rong around City L, continuing to buy medicine.

During that time, Ming Rong made a small request—she wanted milk tea.

Ming Jiu transformed into an overbearing CEO. She looked up several milk tea chains they often drank from on a delivery app, called each store directly, and ordered one or two hundred cups from each. Once she finished buying medicine, she would drive over to pick them up.

She and Xiao Rong did not usually drink much milk tea. Whenever they occasionally wanted some, they generally made it themselves.

But things like that were strange. Ming Jiu thought of herself—she normally never even thought about spicy strips, but during the hard years of her previous life, she had craved them so badly she could scratch at walls.

When they were everywhere, she had not wanted any. Once there was nowhere left to buy them, though, she became completely obsessed.