"Aunt Ban, would you rather trust an outsider than believe in me?"
Zhao Wenshan was truly crying this time. She had painstakingly built up goodwill with Ban Huafang, seeing that she could advance further, but at the last moment, Chu Jiangyue unexpectedly emerged as a variable.
"Miss Zhao, I think it’s better if we let the facts speak for themselves."
Chu Jiangyue finished speaking and waved her hand above her head, instantly bringing up a giant virtual screen.
On the virtual screen was the surveillance footage at the entrance of Chu Jiangyue’s three-story flat-roofed house.
The footage was crystal clear, with both video and audio exceptionally sharp.
"I can run the Jianglin Hotel here without anyone daring to cause trouble. If Miss Zhao thinks I have a good temper, she’s gravely mistaken.
Let’s take a good look at what kind of white lotus our Miss Zhao really is."
Ban Huafang also looked up and watched some of it, her expression becoming more unpleasant as she watched.
She initially thought Zhao Wenshan might have inadvertently offended Chu Jiangyue in some aspects, but didn’t expect the truth was Zhao herself seeking out provocation and ended up getting burned for it.
"Zhao Wenshan! Is this how you’re securing the construction of the safety corridor for T City?
If Boss Chu hadn’t released the video, I wouldn’t have known you had such intentions!
Boss Chu only met you for the first time yesterday. What grudge do you hold that you must tarnish Boss Chu’s name?"
Ban Huafang was still secretly relieved that her intent to cultivate Zhao Wenshan as an heir hadn’t been shared with anyone.
Otherwise... if she wanted to change the person she was mentoring later, it wouldn’t be as easy.
If she chose two people, there’s a risk they might end up at each other’s throats, a situation Ban Huafang did not want to see.
"Aunt Ban, are you really going to wrong me over a video that may not even be true?
During this time, whenever you’ve felt unwell, it was me taking care of you!
When you need me, you call me dear Wenshan, but when you don’t, you say you’re disappointed in me.
You’re so hypocritical!"
Facing the potential loss of Ban Huafang’s favor, Zhao Wenshan finally showed her true colors.
Ban Huafang looked at the drastically different Zhao Wenshan, almost doubting her own judgment of character.
From the start of the apocalyptic world until now, she hadn’t detected a thing!
It proved that Zhao Wenshan’s display of kindness and resilience during this period was all deceitful.
"Wenshan, I’m truly disappointed in you! You don’t need to come to me anymore in the future."
After speaking, Ban Huafang’s eyes were damp as well.
After all, Zhao Wenshan was the child she had watched survive through hardships from the early days of the apocalypse. To suddenly send Zhao Wenshan away was heart-wrenching for Ban Huafang.
But for the sake of the survivors in T City, she could not afford to leave a negative impression on Chu Jiangyue, or else... T City’s survivors would truly have no chance to turn the situation around.
"I thought you were different from others, I thought you understood me, but in the end, when someone more useful came along, I was discarded like trash!
Ban Huafang, you’re going to regret this!"
With that, Zhao Wenshan shot a vicious look at Chu Jiangyue and Ban Huafang, then turned and stormed out of the office hall.
"Boss Chu, I’m sorry you had to see that. I... perhaps I never truly understood her."
Ban Huafang was sincere towards Zhao Wenshan, but no one expected it to end up like this in the end.
In the future, when encountering Zhao Wenshan, Ban Huafang would have to be cautious.
"No worries. Who hasn’t encountered a couple of scumbags in their youth? Miss Zhao has quite the acting skills; it’s understandable why Base Commander Ban didn’t see through her."
Chu Jiangyue didn’t see it as a joke. Being able to see through Zhao Wenshan’s true nature while it could still be salvaged was a good thing for Ban Huafang.
Unlike her, who was foolish enough to be dragged along by Jiang Zhenzhen for three years, only to end up dead by Jiang Zhenzhen’s hand.
The apocalypse had been going on for so long, and Jiang Zhenzhen had lived long enough; Chu Jiangyue now wanted to end this game.
"Let’s not talk about her anymore and move on to the main topic."
Yesterday, Zhao Wenshan had already informed her of some content, but now that she saw Zhao Wenshan’s true colors, Ban Huafang was very doubtful about whether she had been told the truth.
The fear was that Zhao Wenshan might have been skimming off the top, and if so, Ban Huafang would be a real sucker.
"I mentioned yesterday that the material is in units of 1 meter by 1 meter, costing 1 Gold Coin per meter. You have to calculate how many meters are needed to construct the safety corridor to determine the total cost.
You can refer to the width of B City’s safety corridor for the road width of your safety corridor."
However, the situation at the B City Base was quite different from T City’s situation, and Chu Jiangyue didn’t know if Ban Huafang could come up with that many Gold Coins.
"I’d appreciate it if Boss Chu could help with plotting the route; knowing the total cost is essential for me to plan my funding."
Ban Huafang certainly knew that constructing the safety corridor was expensive, but no matter how costly it was, she had to gather the money together.
The survivors of T City were still counting on the safety corridor for their salvation.
"That’s doable; plotting a route is simple. Please wait a moment."
Relying on Little Fox for a route map wasn’t realistic, so Chu Jiangyue directly opened the navigation system.
Finally, according to the route map provided by the navigation, Chu Jiangyue had Little Fox print it out, storing it in Chu Jiangyue’s system backpack.
With a flip of her hand, Chu Jiangyue took the route map from her backpack.
"Base Commander Ban, have a look. The entire route is 132 kilometers, which means a one-way trip requires only 132,000 Gold Coins, but surely you won’t construct just a one-way road, so you should at least double the Gold Coins."
Ban Huafang took the route map from Chu Jiangyue and immediately noticed the route map with the annotated distance beside it.
The entire route from City B to T City spanned 132 kilometers, translating to 132,000 meters based on the conversion of 1 kilometer = 1,000 meters.
132,000 Gold Coins was no small amount, and it could potentially be more than 132,000 Gold Coins.
"That amount is indeed quite substantial."
Seeing the 132-kilometer distance marked on the map initially made Ban Huafang feel weak at the knees, but for the survival of T City’s people, she had to spare no cost!
"Boss Chu, I’ll definitely raise the Gold Coins as quickly as I can. But if I may ask a bold question, if I first construct a 1-meter-wide safety corridor and later raise funds to widen the road, is that possible?"
Ban Huafang indeed didn’t have that many Gold Coins, but she would find a way to raise them.
Chu Jiangyue raised an eyebrow; that might be a compromise after all.
"That’s doable, but a road only 1 meter wide can’t accommodate vehicles.
Are you sure the people from T City can walk such a long distance to Jianglin Hotel?
Or are they able to find usable motorcycles or electric scooters?"
Chu Jiangyue wasn’t trying to rain on her parade, but walking those 132 kilometers would be utterly exhausting.
Chu Jiangyue’s words reminded Ban Huafang that a 1-meter safety corridor wouldn’t allow for cars; traveling back and forth would require riding or walking.