Chapter 25: Could something be wrong?
After Violet left the shop, Jen led her to a bigger wholesale shop. They walked through the crowd of people, sticking close together.
When Violet learned that the wholesaler specialised in premium grains, she immediately expanded her order, adding other varieties to her earlier ones. She purchased twenty tons each of black rice, red rice, wild rice, medium-grain rice, fragrant pearl rice, and premium sushi rice.
She also ordered an additional twenty tons of the highest grade of jasmine rice, once she learned it came from a superior harvest.
Earlier, she had bought only one type of beans, flour, vegetable oil, and sugar, so for the rest of the time she spent in the market, she concentrated on other varieties.
In the next shop, she focused almost entirely on beans and legumes. She ordered forty tons of kidney beans, black beans, navy beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, great northern beans, lima beans, black-eyed peas, mung beans, adzuki beans, soybeans, chickpeas, and split peas. She also purchased red, green, brown, and black lentils in bulk.
Dried legumes could remain edible for years if stored properly, but she didn’t need to worry about moisture; her spatial inventory would preserve everything in the same condition, even decades from now.
Violet bought fifty tons each of all-purpose flour, bread flour, cake flour, whole wheat flour, self-rising flour, pastry flour, rye flour, oat flour, rice flour, corn flour, potato flour, almond flour, and coconut flour.
By the time she was done with this shop, it was already past 11 am. She decided to halt her spending, given her next important engagement.
Since Violet had ordered tons of products, they couldn’t all be delivered at once, so the wholesalers gave her what they had in their warehouse, promising to complete the rest of the delivery within days.
Whenever she was asked why she was purchasing so much, Jen quickly told them they were opening a shop in the city.
The logistics team, comprising the three trucks and drivers she’d hired the day before, carried everything she’d bought to the warehouse.
By the time Violet got back to the hotel, her entire body felt sore. She dropped onto the couch in the sitting area, one hand clamped over her shoulder, her head throbbing.
But there was no time to rest, she only had an hour and thirty minutes before it struck 3 pm. So she swung into action immediately. Jen did her makeup, transforming her once more into Kierra Adams.
"Do you want me to drive? You seem to be in a hurry." Jen said as she gathered her makeup things into the box.
Violet shook her head. "No need. I’ll drive myself. We’ve had a long day, you should rest." With that, she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She wore simple jeans, a tank top, and a pair of sneakers, dressed down deliberately so she wouldn’t look out of place once she got there.
The car was parked in the underground parking lot. Violet stole a quick glance at her wristwatch as she walked towards it. Then she remembered she didn’t have a driver’s licence. She kicked herself internally, making a mental note to get one.
Since she’d already told Jen to rest, she reasoned it wouldn’t be kind to ask her to drive after all, so Violet called a designated driver instead.
It took twenty minutes for the driver to arrive.
Violet slid into the car gracefully before giving him the address. The faint scent of leather mixed with her perfume settled in the car.
Thankfully, the drive to the site was only twenty minutes. So even though she arrived five minutes past the scheduled time, she was still grateful.
"Please stick around, I’ll let you know when I’m done so you can take me back." Violet told the driver, who nodded before she stepped out. It would have been easier to drive around herself, but she couldn’t, and she didn’t want to raise any suspicion with the driver.
The development site stretched across what looked like several hundred acres of cleared and half-cleared land. Some parts were marked out with surveyor’s stakes and construction fencing, while others stood untouched, yet to be demolished.
In the distance, a massive billboard stood tall and proud, displaying an artist’s rendering of the finished ultra-modern city.
Violet was surprised to see people still carrying out business there. From what she’d read in the news, the entire property had already been acquired and the residents properly compensated. ’Could something be wrong?’
She walked around the place, taking note of the general layout, where the roads were expected to run, which sections had already been thoroughly cleared, and which still had old buildings standing.
She needed enough detail to sound convincing when she spoke to Leo tomorrow.
After walking for about an hour, Violet felt her legs go weak. She stopped by a building marked with a red cross sign, signifying it was slated for demolition. It was a restaurant.
There was no one but a young girl inside.
Violet clasped her hands together, her eyes sweeping through the entire place. A breeze leaked in through the open window beside her, gently ruffling her hair.
Violet smoothed it down before smiling at the waitress standing in front of her. "Good afternoon," the waitress greeted, and handed her a menu after Violet returned the greeting.
"What’s your most popular meal?" Violet asked.
"Our roasted herb chicken with mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables. Everyone asks for it." the girl replied.
"I’ll get that, and a—" the wind stirred the papers beside her. Her nose tingled.
Achoo!
The dust from the papers had drifted straight into her face, and her eyes turned a bit red as she sneezed. She turned toward where it had come from to find a brown envelope resting on the edge of the table. Around it, loose sheets of paper fluttered in the breeze.
On the envelope was the label Jill and Jones. Violet squinted when she saw it. ’Jills and Jones? Why is this here? Was my earlier suspicion right, that Jill and Jones are having trouble in this area?’
"Ma’am, what would you like to add to your order?"