Chapter 62

Sophia had just finished contacting Ronin and also sent a message to Manager Peng from the security company, asking him to come over in the afternoon to inspect the site.

Before, she had to stay and manage the warehouse in town, so even when the security company came, she couldn't spare time to guide them around.

But now that Ronin was back, she had more help.

After the calls, Sophia quickly arrived in town.

Today, the wholesale supplier for grains, oil, rice, and flour was also scheduled to come.

She arrived early and went to check on the pig pens first.

To her surprise, she saw two small wooden boxes placed on top of the trough. She opened them and found shiny gold ingots inside.

Both boxes had the same contents, but one of them had a letter placed on top.

"Sophia, we've received the large equipment you sent. I've briefly reviewed the instructions and intended uses, and they're going to be incredibly helpful for our construction efforts here. In fact, they'll play a significant role in many future projects in the State of Zhao. Thank you so much for your support."

"There's something else I need to ask. I'd like the soldiers to learn how to operate the machines. One computer isn't enough. If possible, could you help us buy a few more? I've enclosed two boxes of gold. I hope it's enough. If not, please don't hesitate to let me know."

Sophia looked at the request and thought, "Two boxes of gold? That's enough to buy ten or twenty computers!"

Those two boxes of gold were worth over a million.

But if they just needed them to watch videos, buying computers wasn't really necessary. iPads would actually be more practical.

A standard iPad costs a little over a thousand, and the better ones around two thousand.

So she placed an order for a hundred iPads.

She ordered them through JD.com. Their delivery speed was fast, and the items were expected to arrive by tomorrow morning.

Because she ordered a large quantity, Sophia made a special request to the seller.

"I'll send you a few videos. Please download them directly onto the iPads. Each one needs to have the same videos."

The seller agreed right away.

They had been running their store for a long time and usually only got orders for a few dozen units. This was the first time someone ordered a hundred at once. A request like this was easy to fulfill.

Once the seller agreed, Sophia sent over the files.

After that was settled, she wrote back to General Yves.

"General Yves, I've prepared a hundred tablets for you. They're a bit different from computers, but they can still be used to watch videos. One for each person. I'll use the leftover money to buy some other supplies for you."

General Yves hadn't expected Sophia to agree so quickly and sent a letter back to thank her.

Led by General Ulric, the army soon selected their first group of trainees.

The four army commanders first picked out 300 soldiers. From those, twenty were selected to receive training.

As for what kind of work they were going to do, the lower-ranking soldiers still didn't know.

Soon after, the army delivered another shipment of food supplies.

General Ulric received the news and gathered the four army commanders.

"The Commander just sent another batch of food. Every soldier participating in the land-reclamation effort will receive one hundred jin of rice or flour and one barrel of cooking oil."

"General Ulric, is this rice and flour meant to be their rations for the next ten days?" one of the soldiers asked.

"No, this is an extra reward. Rations for the next ten days will be arranged separately."

When the soldiers heard this, they all got excited.

Sophia finished delivering the food to the four teams. Then she let them take the food back and divide it among themselves.

After returning home, Sophia called Ronin to ask carefully about what the security company said when they visited today.

Although the security company had already sent Sophia their initial plan and conclusions after checking the site, she still wanted to double-check with her own people to see if everything was true.

Sophia didn't just want to install a security system in the warehouse next door. She also wanted to install one in her villa.

Her plan was to use the entire third floor of her villa to store her antique paintings, calligraphy, jewelry, and other valuables. They needed to be stored properly and securely.

Ronin didn't understand why Sophia was being so careful, even for her own house. Everything had to be extremely tight and secure.

But since he had worked with her for a while now, he knew there were still many things he didn't fully understand. It always felt like there was a fog around her.

Still, he knew one thing clearly: working with Sophia made money. And up to now, nothing they were doing seemed illegal.

So, he was willing to keep working hard.

He still wanted to save up to get married.

"Right now, the first layer of protection at the warehouse will be a wall, mainly at the main gate. Most people just use a door lock or fingerprint scanner. For the wall, they usually use iron netting, but since we hired a security company, it won't be that simple. They quoted us a price. If we go with an electric fence, just the materials and labor will cost six hundred thousand."

"But one thing to keep in mind is the maintenance cost. It's also very high, about two hundred thousand a year."

Even just the yearly maintenance cost was expensive.

And that was only the first layer of protection. The second layer would also have its own security devices. So would the third, and so on.

Elevators, doors, windows – everything had to be protected.

Sophia had already received the initial plan today from Manager Peng while she was still in town. She had also asked him for an estimated cost. He said it would be about three million.

Three million for the warehouse, and another three million for the villa. That would be six million in total.

Just hearing that number made Sophia feel a little pain in her chest. The cost of building those two places was only about six to seven million. Now the security system alone would cost as much as the buildings.

But after thinking about it, she knew it was a necessary expense. There were more and more vehicles passing by the warehouse in town, and it was located in a more remote area. She already had the feeling that some people were starting to take notice.

There were even marks that showed unfamiliar cars had been parked near the gate.

"Alright, I understand."

Sophia decided to personally follow up on the security system project.

"Tomorrow a batch of tablets will be delivered, about one hundred units. They're being sent directly to the warehouse in town. I won't be going there, so bring them back with you when you return."

She gave Ronin the reminder.

After finishing the conversation, Sophia was about to let him go when she suddenly remembered something.

"Ronin, about that batch of cotton quilts and army coats we talked about before, how's the progress?"

They had been busy with other things before, so Ronin hadn't reported back on that matter yet.

He looked a bit disappointed.

"I looked into it. The process is kind of troublesome, and I'm afraid we won't make it in time this year. So for now, we should just get them from wholesalers."

"Boss, I've already checked out a few options. Besides the army coats, I also found some long black winter jackets that are really cheap. Each one costs only about sixty to seventy yuan, and they go all the way down to the knees. You can even sleep in them during the winter without taking them off!"

Ronin had done the work. He had just forgotten to report it.

He sent the link to Sophia.

Sophia took a look and nodded.

"Alright, get ten thousand of each."