The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 493

Chapter 493

Tom shot his wife a sharp look. “Besides, whenever Nicole hires us to build something, she never tries to haggle us down. Try working for someone else and see how they treat you. Don’t get greedy when she’s already been good to us.”

His wife knew he was right, but she still looked worried. “With so many people moving tomorrow, do you think the road will be safe?”

“More than 100 of us are traveling together. If that still isn’t enough to keep us safe, then I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

Tom sighed.

“Stop worrying. Captain Landon has already helped us line up work. The younger, stronger people can join the security patrol or work on the farms. Ronald and I know carpentry, so we won’t have any trouble earning enough food.”

As Nicole and the others reached the front gate, they happened to run into Alex.

Nicole smiled and greeted him. “Captain Landon, been a while.”

Alex seemed to be in a good mood. “Oh, hey. Are you and Zeph doing okay?”

“We’re doing fine.” Nicole waved as they left. “See you in the new district.”

On their way out, they passed several soldiers patrolling the area. The military hadn’t fully withdrawn yet, but it probably wouldn’t be much longer.

Once they returned to the new district, Nicole and Zeph worked together to unload the gate.

Installing it took some effort.

Sven happened to drive by and stopped to help. “Did you hear they formed a homeowners association?”

Nicole rarely interacted with the other residents, so she genuinely hadn’t heard.

Judging by Sven’s tone, though, he sounded both irritated and angry. Apparently, he had only just found out himself.

The board members had already been chosen without either household being notified. The rest of the neighborhood couldn’t have made the divide between them any clearer.

Even though they all lived in the same villa district, the wealthy residents had shut the two families out and formed the HOA without them.

Nicole didn’t care. As long as she could live there openly and mind her own business, she was satisfied. Ideally, everyone would pretend she didn’t exist.

Sven was different. He wanted to be accepted into high society.

If Nicole had guessed correctly, he had invited several wealthy acquaintances to his housewarming party, but none of them had shown up.

“The Robinsons named the neighborhood Brighton Estates. They’re also putting together a forty-person security patrol, with two shifts covering the neighborhood around the clock. Every household has to pay 20 pounds of food a month in HOA fees. The first month will be 50 pounds to cover guard booths, staff housing, landscaping, and other neighborhood improvements.”

1/2

+15 Benus

Knowing he had only been told after everything was already decided made Sven curse inwardly. Those snobs really did look down on anyone they considered beneath them.

Nicole was much calmer. “Is one of the Robinsons the HOA president?”

“The Robinsons’ butler, Peter Livingstone, is the president. They also personally chose the other six board members.”.

The richest family in Westbridge certainly knew how to make an entrance. They had barely returned, and they had already taken complete control of the neighborhood.

Nicole thought for a moment. “I can understand charging more the first month, but isn’t 20 pounds every month a little steep? With 50 households, that’s 1,000 pounds of food. Do they really need that much?”

Sven didn’t care how much they had to contribute. What infuriated him was the insult. Every other household had been told to pay in refined staples, while only their two families were allowed to use cheaper crops.

What was that supposed to mean? Just who did they think they were looking down on?

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify