Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 539 The Secret

The first man to rush in, wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt, almost tripped over the threshold because he was in such a hurry that he staggered a couple of steps before regaining his balance.

But he didn't care about being embarrassed and ran straight towards the counter without looking back, as if he was afraid that if he was a second too slow, someone else would snatch something away from him.

The noise outside the door subsided briefly as they poured into the hall.

But soon, similar arguments came from behind the closed glass door. It was hard to hear clearly through the door, but the intensity of the arguing could be felt from a distance.

Xu Xiaoyan stood on the steps without moving, squinting at the glass door that had closed again, her mind racing.

The second batch of relocation policies has only been in effect for a little over an hour, and these people are really fast.

It was clear they had run all the way here; their shoes were covered in mud, their clothes were half-soaked with sweat, and their hair was plastered to their foreheads. They looked disheveled but also filled with a kind of indescribable urgency.

She suddenly remembered that she had run all the way from the main urban area in the same state more than an hour ago.

At that time, she had only one thought in her mind: to reach the satellite city before the deadline and keep the land she had chosen.

But as she watched these people rush into the trading center, a thought that she hadn't considered before suddenly popped into her mind.

When the first batch of policies were released, there was a one-hour time limit.

At that time, there were still many people in the main urban area of ​​Qing City who were watching, hesitating, and wavering, and not many people actually set off immediately.

At least the groups of people Xu Xiaoyan encountered on the road numbered only a few dozen, which is not even a drop in the ocean compared to the entire population of Qing City.

So here's the question: were all the first batch of permanent land parcels really "snatched up"?

When she heard on the radio that "the first batch of permanent plots of land in various satellite cities have been snapped up," she subconsciously believed it.

After all, the logic of scarcity marketing is there: release a piece of lucrative meat first, let the first batch of people grab it, create a sense of scarcity, and then the later people will panic.

This is a trick played by the higher-ups; she figured it out while she was on the road.

But now, seeing how eagerly these people rushed into the trading center, she suddenly had another guess.

What if not all of the first batch of plots were selected?

Most of the land that is supposedly "snatched up" is actually still vacant. The system just marks it as "selected" to create a false sense of urgency.

When the second batch of people see that the good plots of land have been snatched up by others, it will generate more anxiety and competition.

Standing on the steps, Xu Xiaoyan thought about it more and more and felt that this speculation was very reasonable.

The first batch of policies was just bait; the real purpose wasn't to get those few dozen people to choose a lot of good land.

Instead, it allows all residents of Qing City to see that some people are scrambling for land, some are running around, and some have already settled down in the satellite city.

Once this herd mentality is ignited, when a second or third batch of policies are released, no one will hesitate anymore.

She recalled what she had just seen in the trading center; there were only three or four people in the hall, making it very deserted, which corroborated her suspicions.

Xu Xiaoyan gently shook her head, turned around, and stepped down the stairs.

Regardless of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, her land rights have been confirmed, and owning a piece of permanent land is something countless people yearn for.

Right now, she needs to find a temporary place to stay until her house is built.

Eight days is neither a long nor a short time; you can't just sleep on the streets or make do with whatever corner you find.

Xu Xiaoyan patted the strap of her backpack, turned around and walked along the main road into the depths of the city.

She noticed something she hadn't paid much attention to before: there were significantly more people on the street than when she first arrived in the city.

When she passed through the city gate checkpoint just now, she could only see a few scattered pedestrians on the road, but now the flow of people on both sides of the main road has obviously increased.

Some people were hurrying along carrying large and small bags, while others were standing in front of the roadside notice board, peering at something.

Several children were squatting and playing next to a newly planted sapling, chattering and laughing.

Xu Xiaoyan slowed her pace, her eyes scanning the buildings along the street, trying to find a place that looked like a management service organization.

She had only been in the city for a short time and was not yet familiar with the layout; most of the shops along the street were closed or under renovation.

Occasionally, you can see one or two small shops that have opened, with the owners sitting on stools at the door smoking and their eyes scanning every passerby.

She hesitated for a moment, then decided to ask someone.

Just then, a woman in her fifties was standing on the roadside ahead, wearing a floral short-sleeved shirt and carrying a cloth bag. She looked like she had been there for a while.

Xu Xiaoyan quickly caught up and greeted her politely, "Hello, Auntie, I'd like to ask if there are any places to rent around here? I need to stay for a few days."

The older woman turned around and looked her up and down. She probably noticed the large backpack on her back and her travel-worn appearance, and immediately realized that she was a newcomer.

She stretched out her right hand and pointed to a rather conspicuous large building to her right front, her tone cheerful:

"Look over there, that gray and white building, that's the official guesthouse. It's not expensive, the environment is okay, there's hot water and beds, it's quite convenient."

Xu Xiaoyan looked in the direction she pointed, and sure enough, there was a five-story gray-white building about two hundred meters to her right.

The exterior was much neater than the surrounding temporary prefabricated houses, and a blue sign hung in front of the door that read "No. 5 Satellite City First Guesthouse".

"Thank you, Auntie!" Xu Xiaoyan said.

The woman waved her hand and said, "It's alright, go ahead. I heard there are a lot of people coming these days, and if you go too late, you might not get a room."

Xu Xiaoyan nodded and quickened her pace toward the building.

Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the guesthouse was larger than she had imagined, with a spacious lobby at the entrance and clean glass sliding doors.

Two pots of lucky bamboo were placed on either side of the door. Although the leaves were a bit wilted, they at least added some life to the room.

She pushed open the glass door and went inside. The lobby was much brighter than the outside, with a soft white light emanating from the ceiling lights overhead and light gray tiles on the floor.

The reception area is a long, semi-circular counter with a dark, marble-like surface.

Sitting behind me was a staff member in a light blue uniform, a woman in her thirties, with her hair tied up at the back of her head and a professional yet kind smile on her face.

"Hello, what service do you need?" The staff member stood up when someone came in, placed his hands on the counter with a proper and friendly posture.