18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 254

Jasper, who wanted to take his time and do a meticulous job, had no choice but to passively accept. "Alright, we'll cover the meals. We'll pay you a salary in provisions when the time comes."

"Let's not spoil them," Austin warned, "They are under contract after all."

He called them over for a break and asked excitedly, "How do you plan to renovate the place?"

Stella shared her plans of reinforcing the outer walls, building a greenhouse on the rooftop and in the backyard to grow vegetables and raise chickens and ducks.

Austin nearly dropped his cigarette in surprise, "Everyone else is putting in swimming pools and you're planning a farm?"

"We've spent everything on this house, and we can't afford any extra luxuries," Stella said bluntly, "I can live without swimming, but I can't live without food."

Austin laughed heartily, "You've got the right idea. Growing your own food is way more practical. Once you're done, I'll take a leaf out of your book."

They were both savvy people, especially Stella. She was not one to be taken advantage of. Despite the struggles of the past three years, she was doing better than ever. So, following her lead was a no-brainer.

However, Austin was a bit hesitant about the idea of installing broken glass on top of the high walls, "Why bother? It's not enough security. I could get you some electric fencing instead."

Stella wasn't against simplifying things, but an electric fence around the entire property would require a lot of materials. After three years, those were not easy to come by.

But when it came to finding supplies, there were very few things Austin couldn't handle.

Stella smiled, "I'll leave it to you then, Austin."

The height of the electric fence was a crucial factor. Too high and it risked collapsing, too low and it wouldn't offer sufficient protection. They calculated the correct height and asked Austin for help, planning to barter the materials with food.

Austin readily agreed, "Just let me know what else you need and I'll sort it out."

They had most of what they needed, except for assembling the greenhouse which neither of them had experience with.

"No problem," Austin assured, "Rob knows his stuff. He can help you out."

Seeing that the construction crew was still hard at work, Stella decided to start cooking, "I'll whip up something for dinner. Don't expect anything fancy though."

Having tasted her cooking before, Austin was looking forward to it. He rolled up his sleeves and joined in.

Stella started cooking with Rosie and Cooper assisting. The meal was simple: sweet potato and rice, dried beans with bacon, dried radishes with pork belly, dried cabbage salad, and a large pot of sweet potato leaves.

Despite the simplicity of the meal, everyone enjoyed it, including Austin.

Monkey and others brought their own bowls and forks. They were blunt peasants with no sense of etiquette. They would scoop up a good amount of rice, grab a bunch of vegetables, and crouch down on the ground to eat.

"Mmm, the food you made is delicious, Stella!" said Monkey, eating a lot because he was famished.

Though Monkey made good money, he had a wife and child at home to provide for. They could not afford to eat till they were full at every meal. The food cooked by Stella was wondrously aromatic. In comparison, his wife's cooking, on the other hand, tasted worse than pig feed, and he still had to compliment her for it. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The others, including Austin, were in the same situation. Austin did not lack food, but he could not cook. Most of the time, his crew cooked for him. Compared to Stella's cooking, it was barely edible.

"Jasper, you've struck gold with Stella," Austin complimented.

Jasper agreed, "Indeed, I must've done something right in my past life."

With the hard work done for the day, the crew packed up and headed to Austin's house to crash.

They were up and at it again in a few hours. Their efficiency astounded Stella and Jasper, and they had to scramble to keep up with the supply of materials.

Within a day, the three-meter-high walls were up and ready.

Next up was the renovation of the house itself. The walls needed a layer of plaster, which required three layers due to the thinness of the walls: a layer of cement mortar, a layer of mixed mortar, and a layer of white mortar for the surface. Each layer had to be thicker than the last, with the main aim of soundproofing the house.

Shawn used to work in a renovation team in his early years. After the apocalypse, he latched onto Austin's coattails and became a middleman. He wasn't living in luxury, but compared to most survivors, he was doing quite well. So, here he was, going back to his old trade with confidence, directing Monkey and others in their work.

He got carried away and started gesturing at Austin, "Boss, you're not applying the cement evenly enough."

Austin didn't rush to respond. Instead, he hit the back of Shawn's head with a trowel, "Are you instructing me?"

Shawn immediately backed down, "No, no, no, I wouldn't dare! Boss, take a break and have some water. I'll apply the cement."

Austin tossed him the tool, "Everyone needs to commit fully. If I catch anyone slacking off, there'll be consequences."

Stella and Jasper didn't have time to participate. This group was working so fast that the two were constantly bringing in materials from outside.

"Where did you get all these?" Even Austin was envious, "Can you help us source some so we can finish renovating the villa area? We'll split the profits."

Stella laughed, "Austin, don't joke. It took us over six months to find all these materials. If it were that easy, we wouldn't give you a chance to step in."

Austin thought about it and agreed, resources were becoming increasingly scarce. And after the devastating earthquake, it certainly wouldn't be easy to gather this much material. However, those ceramic tiles were quite lavish.

He could find a way to get his hands on the rest, but he really liked those tiles, "Can you get me some of those tiles?"

Stella agreed, "Sure, I'll ask around, but I don’t know if they have the same ones."

The bathroom was shiny, the floor tiles gleamed, and the garage was remodeled as well.

As for the external wall renovation, tiling was too extravagant. Applying cement was sufficient as it could withstand the erosion of wind, rain, and smog.

Tall walls enhanced the security of the premises. The cement-laden walls looked humble and low- key. If a wave of homeless people ever targeted the villa area, their first target would likely be the glittering, luxurious villas.

Austin had his hands full managing the crew and ensuring everything was done properly. In less than ten days, all the renovations, except for the glass house, were completed.

The newly renovated house needed to be aired out, so all the windows were left open during the day, and they camped on the rooftop at night.

Stella handed over the high-strength, translucent glass to Austin's crew. "The glass house isn't a priority. Work on it when you have time. Focus on the pressing matters first."

Constructing a glass house required other materials, but Stella trusted that Austin would figure it out.

In addition to the glass, Stella also provided tiles, enough to refurbish the villa, which would offset the costs of the glass house and electrical grid.

In terms of bartering resources, Austin was quite satisfied.

As for the labor fees of Monkey and his crew, Stella had specifically inquired with the construction team in the villa district and offered them a 10% higher wage than their current pay.

It was important to note that most places didn't offer meals, but Stella did. She provided corn, fresh and aromatic. The crew craved for it, yet due to the boss' intimidating authority, they dared not accept it.