The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 317

Chapter 317

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Tomlinson Enterprise and Seaborn Base were the biggest private fishing operations in the area.

Tomlinson Enterprise had long been the old guard of Grayport’s seafood industry, while Seaborn Base had only been built after the apocalypse. Now the two were competitors, constantly trying to

outmaneuver each other in business.

Emotionally, Nicole leaned more toward Tomlinson Enterprise. It was a family business, and even after surviving the deep freeze, they had stuck with their original trade.

As for Seaborn Base, it was a private base formed after the apocalypse.

Nicole had reservations about private bases and didn’t feel like giving it any more thought.

So she turned the car around and drove to the fishing village office run by Tomlinson Enterprise.

Ever since the extreme heat began, businesses here opened in the evening and closed at eight the next

morning.

Without connections, and with no reason to show her cards, Nicole didn’t reveal her real purpose. She only said she wanted 200 hundred pounds of each per day.

The sales rep dealt with group buyers every day and didn’t show much interest in Nicole’s order. The discount he offered wasn’t much better than retail.

But credit where it was due, their seafood was genuinely good quality.

After that, Nicole went to the Seaborn Base shop not far away.

Their discount was much better, but the products were a step down. Worse, the way the sales rep looked Nicole over made her uncomfortable. It felt less like he was sizing up a customer and more like he was appraising merchandise.

She had seen that look far too many times in her last life.

After three years in the apocalypse, her instincts weren’t likely to be wrong. Nicole had no intention of doing business with them, so she played the part of a poor, clueless outsider.

“It ain’t easy for us to grow a little grain. Seafood is meat, sure, but this place only produces seafood. Can you do three pounds of dried goods for one pound of grain?”

The sales rep kept rolling his eyes at the sour smell of sweat coming off her, looking like he was one second away from having someone throw her out.

Nicole acted unconvinced and muttered loudly at the entrance for a while before leaving.

Once she got back in the car, she and Zeph discussed it.

It looked like buying in bulk from the official exchange or the big companies wouldn’t be realistic. At most, they could stockpile bit by bit.

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Besides, growing grain took time. A large one-time trade wasn’t practical either.

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This place was full of all kinds of people. They were only driving a broken-down car, and several groups had already taken notice of them. Still, these groups were nothing more than small-time thugs. As long as Nicole and Zeph stayed alert, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Zeph suggested, “We can choose a smaller shop with decent quality. The amount we need for daily use already makes us a big customer to them. If they want long-term business, they probably won’t play dirty. And even if someone targets us, we can protect ourselves.”

As for Seaborn Base, he didn’t recommend getting too close to them either.

Nicole had no objection, so they returned to the seafood market and browsed again.

After some bargaining, she chose a batch of decent-quality dried goods and exchanged a total of 200 pounds.

They had just loaded everything into the back of the car and were about to leave when a water tanker blocked their way. A shiny bald head poked out of the window.

“Hey.” Weasel beamed. “Didn’t think we’d meet again this soon.”

Nicole looked surprised. “You came here to load water?”

“Pretty much. You ran off so fast, so I had to settle for the next best thing and come to the fishing village to fill up, then haul it back to sell.” Weasel talked easily, then glanced between them. “So what brings you

two here?”

Nicole lifted the box in her hand. “Picking up some dried goods.”

Weasel looked surprised. Nicole was capable. Why would someone like her buy from a small shop?

But he quickly understood. She hadn’t gotten access to the right channels yet.

Back then, even Sven had spent quite a bit of effort building those connections.

When Weasel learned Nicole’s purchase price, his mind immediately started working.

“Come on. You should’ve said something earlier. That’s quite expensive. If I’d known, you could’ve bought it through my boss. Why come all the way out here?”

He hopped down from the truck and pulled the two of them aside. “I won’t make a cent off you. How about I get you Tomlinson goods at that price?”

Nicole was surprised. “You have a connection?”

“Of course. All our stock comes from Tomlinson.”

Nicole didn’t believe him. Their one-time purchase of dried goods had been even smaller than hers. There was no way they could get such a big discount.

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Weasel flashed a smug, mysterious smile. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. There’s a reason my boss is

the boss. He saved Mr. Tomlinson’s life.”

Calling it saving his life was a bit much. In reality, Sven had helped the old man find medicine.

Fred Tomlinson was in his seventies. In his earlier years, he had been the king of the seafood industry, but after too many years of comfort, he had developed plenty of chronic illnesses.

The disasters came too suddenly, and lifesaving medicine wasn’t easy to find.

Sven had seized the chance and struck a partnership. His side provided the supplies the Tomlinsons needed, while the Tomlinsons gave them a steep discount on seafood.

Nicole hadn’t expected Sven to be so good at building connections.

They moved to a quieter spot and kept talking.

Nicole got straight to the point. “What do you want?”

“Water.”

Nicole paused. She had tasted the well water in the fishing village. Compared with actual seawater, it was much better.

Strictly speaking, this area wasn’t all that short on water, so there wasn’t much demand for it at the local market. Hauling it back to Westbridge to sell meant paying steep tolls the whole way.

“One look at you, and I can tell you’re not really rich,” Weasel said with a helpless laugh. “Sure, it’s the apocalypse, and everything’s gone to hell. But trust me, those spoiled rich girls are still taking wine baths and soaking in milk.”

Sven’s real money had never come from the lower-end market.

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