27: Section 27

“Oh my, the steps I took just going downstairs and opening the door are equivalent to the steps I accumulated over three days in my old rental!”

“I don't think I have neighbors, do I? Who is it?”

Following a mumbled, wry chuckle, Lin Bai opened the door, his face full of curiosity.

Seeing Li Yaoyao outside the door, Lin Bai was momentarily stunned.

The Li Yaoyao right now was different from the casual, homey, or vibrant and delicate looks she had sported before.

Instead, she was wearing a black fitted suit jacket, with a knee-length dark gray skirt of the same color scheme.

Her usually loose, black long hair, which rested on her shoulders, was now pinned up high, making her look extremely sharp and capable.

“Huh? Why is it you?”

“Don't tell me you won the prize too, moved here, and became my neighbor again?”

Lin Bai smiled and teased her.

Li Yaoyao shot him a look, then explained, “It's quite a coincidence, actually. I already work in property management.”

“I didn't expect that after Peach Blossom Dock went on sale, the company that took over property management was mine, so I was transferred here.”

“If you really want to call it that, we truly are neighbors. My staff dormitory isn't far from here.”

Hearing this, Lin Bai was astonished.

He was just joking, but it turned out she really had come over and became his neighbor again.

What a huge coincidence!

Well, if he could coincidentally draw his own ID card number, he shouldn't be surprised by minor coincidences like this.

“Alright, if you have any problems in the future, feel free to contact me. As property management, I will certainly help you solve them!”

This gave her a perfect, legitimate reason to openly help Lin Bai resolve difficulties caused by external factors.

However, the main point was still to find out why Lin Bai wasn't shopping.

The two chatted for a while.

Seeing that Lin Bai wasn't overly suspicious, Li Yaoyao immediately got to the point.

“Oh right, you have so much space here, you must have bought a lot of things, right?”

“Could I come over and collect the cardboard boxes for an auntie on our staff team?”

Of course, she knew Lin Bai hadn't actually shopped online; she was only saying this because she hoped to hear Lin Bai's explanation.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Lin Bai gave a wry smile:

“That's really unfortunate. This time, I don't even have a small cardboard box.”

“In fact...”

“I might even have to sell this house!”

...Chapter 34: Short on Money? That's Easy, Let Lin Bai Win the Lottery!

Chapter 34: Short on Money? That's Easy, Let Lin Bai Win the Lottery!

Selling the villa???

As soon as he said this, Li Yaoyao immediately grew anxious.

This was a villa gifted to him using the power of the state!

The Military Region Leader had even specifically made the area around it as secure and reliable as a copper wall and iron fortress.

Given this, who else besides Lin Bai would be qualified to live here!

Lin Bai offered an awkward smile and continued to explain:

“It's like being able to afford a car but not being able to maintain it. Even if the villa was given to me for free, I can't afford to live here. The combined water, electricity, and property management fees are more expensive than the rent I paid for my old apartment.”

So that's what it was!

Hearing this, Li Yaoyao breathed a sigh of relief.

If these issues became a burden for Lin Bai, Chief Yun and the others would certainly feel even more guilty.

Fortunately, Li Yaoyao still had the authority to handle these minor matters directly.

She immediately adopted a look of sudden realization and smiled, “Don't worry about that!”

“The contract signed during the event explicitly stated that after you moved into the villa, water, electricity, and property fees would be waived for ten years!”

“You don't need to worry about this. You can shop online without any concerns~”

“Huh?” Lin Bai was stunned and couldn't help but recall, “Was that clause in the contract we signed back then...?”

However, since Li Yaoyao was property management, if she said they wouldn't collect the fees, it must be true.

Thinking of this, Lin Bai finally relaxed.

Ten years of fee waiver meant he could live here worry-free.

Having experienced the luxury of the villa, he really didn't want to go back to his narrow rental apartment.

However, Lin Bai looked at Li Yaoyao, slightly speechless: “Why do I feel like you really want my cardboard boxes?”

This was the third time she had clearly hinted that he should shop online and save the express delivery boxes for her.

Thinking of this, Lin Bai couldn't help but suspect her.

Could her family actually be very poor?

Was that why she was trying every possible way to recycle and sell the cardboard boxes for extra income?

But Lin Bai still shrugged and shook his head: “Well, I probably can't help much with that. Even if the utility and property fees are waived, I still don't have the money to buy that many things.”

Huh? The biggest reason he wasn't shopping online was actually a lack of money?

Hearing this, Li Yaoyao felt strange.

She was the one responsible for monitoring Lin Bai's activities.

These past few days, she had seen Lin Bai using that excellent keyboard, completing many design orders every day.

Logically speaking, working at that efficiency, he shouldn't be short on money!

Li Yaoyao couldn't help but pretend to be curious and pressed further: “Lin Bai, are you having some issues with your work?”

After interacting with Li Yaoyao back and forth, Lin Bai was quite familiar with her and didn't mind chatting more.

Since he had been feeling frustrated lately and wanted to vent, he began to explain:

“Yeah, these past few years, Party A has always been the big boss.”

“They always ask you to create 'colorful black,' or want a logo that looks a bit smaller but is simultaneously enlarged overall...”

“After working hard to produce it for them, the payment is often delayed.”

“A month delay is considered good. Some unscrupulous Party A's even say they will use the design and only pay based on the revenue generated.”

“I really can't help it. I only get paid for one out of ten orders I complete, so I can barely maintain my living expenses. Where would I get extra money to shop on Taobao...”

BANG!!!

A powerful palm slapped heavily onto the hardwood round table in front of him.

It was the Military Region Leader, who had learned the news through the wiretap on Li Yaoyao.

Being hot-tempered already, when he heard that the nation's great hero had his income stream blocked by those unscrupulous Party A's, he was furious.

“This is outrageous! A massive company acting as Party A is actually bullying these diligent grassroots workers!”

He wished he could immediately take a gun and shoot those dishonest businesses.

Their actions were completely dragging down the development of the entire Huaguo!

Even executing them several times wouldn't satisfy his anger!

Fortunately, Chief Yun was able to restrain him after much effort.

However, his own expression was not good either.

“It is indeed our oversight!”

“We forgot that under circumstances where Lin Bai cannot expose his abilities or identity,”

“even if the entire income from lin's special medicine was converted into this luxurious villa as a reward,”

“the actual economic benefit is not as great as we imagined.”

The others present also nodded in agreement.

But this also presented a major problem for them.

“Chief Yun, what should we do then?”

“While ensuring Lin Bai's identity remains secret, we can't just directly give him money!”

Someone among them suggested:

“How about pretending to be a design company, giving him some simple orders, and then paying a much higher price?”

But this was immediately rejected.

“That method is too inefficient. Furthermore, based on Lin Bai's history, the design orders he accepts are always the most basic, usually not exceeding four figures.”

“Even if we deliberately pay a much higher price, he might refuse the order.”

After all, there have been many fake Party A's who use high prices to lure designers into scams.

Everyone pondered for a while.

Suddenly, a secretary present noticed a news alert pop up on his cell phone—

Someone had incredible luck: a lottery ticket bought casually won a prize of nearly a million.

“That's it!”

“Winning the lottery is the quickest and most legitimate way to provide cash!”

Hearing this, the leaders present exchanged glances, and a hint of pleasant surprise appeared in everyone's eyes.