For three consecutive days, Jiang Ye's life was remarkably consistent.
He'd have breakfast at Isabelle's, spend the day at sea mining fluorite and catching any fish schools he encountered.
He'd also have dinner at Isabelle's, and then leave. He remained unfazed by Isabelle's seductive glances, suggestive words, and lace pajamas, his mind as calm as still water.
Finally, on the evening of the fourth day, Jiang Ye returned to his base vehicle to check his account and was greeted by a pleasing balance:
1-2500-6000 Yuan
One hundred and twenty-five million credits.
A small goal, finally achieved!
Moreover, as the number of digits in his savings increased, even the display format changed. Previously, when his balance was less than one hundred million, it was just a string of numbers. Now, small hyphens were inserted between the numbers for easier reading, separating billions, millions, thousands, and hundreds, making it instantly clear.
Now that the funds were in place, the town plan could commence.
Jiang Ye opened the chat channel, found Xu Yan of White Ant Real Estate in his contact list, and typed a message.
Jiang Ye: Manager Xu, I'm almost at one hundred million. Can we start construction on the town we discussed recently?
Xu Yan: Once the funds are in and you arrive, we can start anytime. From the groundbreaking ceremony to the completion, it should take about two weeks.
Jiang Ye: Great, I'll contact you as soon as I have the money.
Xu Yan: Congratulations on your fortune.
With Xu Yan's assurance, Jiang Ye felt relieved.
The reason he said he hadn't quite gathered the money yet was because construction couldn't begin immediately. Before the town project could kick off, he needed to prepare everything:
People, transportation, and industry.
People, meaning those who would come to live in the town after it was built. There had to be enough people willing to settle here and buy Jiang Ye's houses. Otherwise, if all his hard work in building the town resulted in a ghost town, wouldn't that be a waste of money?
Transportation, even if many colonial administrators wanted to settle here, they needed a way to get here. The terrain of this planet was peculiar, with landmasses separated by vast oceans, like lily pads on a lake. The base vehicles couldn't be abandoned; there had to be a way to transport them across the sea.
Industry, the town's primary attraction for settlers would be profitable industries, providing jobs and ensuring people wouldn't worry about food and shelter once they arrived.
Jiang Ye pondered for a moment, organizing all the aspects he could think of.
He picked up his communication tablet and called Isabelle.
After a dozen seconds, the call connected.
Isabelle was taking a bath, the water covered in white foam. Her upper body emerged from the froth, her collarbones quite prominent. She was holding the tablet, video-chatting with Jiang Ye.
"Sister, I have a question for you," Jiang Ye said. "Does your courier company only serve the Galactic Mall, or can it also handle personal packages?"
"What? Are you sending something to someone?" Isabelle raised an eyebrow. "Why not just use the trading post?"
"It's like this, I plan to build a town nearby and recruit some people to work for me," Jiang Ye explained. "When they come, they'll need to bring their people and their base vehicles. Small trading posts can't transport people, let alone vehicles."
"I see, so you need to transport people and base vehicles? Like a planet taxi?" Isabelle made an OK gesture. "No problem, my courier spacecraft have a high payload capacity. I can transport ten base vehicles at a time. Direct global delivery, very fast."
"What's the approximate cost?" Jiang Ye inquired.
"Transporting ten base vehicles from other continents would take about a day, costing around one hundred thousand credits," Isabelle calculated mentally and stated the price.
Jiang Ye nodded. Transporting people and vehicles, bringing a colonial administrator over, would average ten thousand credits per person. This courier fee was acceptable.
"Alright then, you rest. I'll let you know in advance if I need transport later," Jiang Ye said, reaching for the hang-up button.
"Don't hang up yet!" Isabelle suddenly said. "I have one more thing."
Jiang Ye paused, not hanging up, and waited for her to speak.
Isabelle, however, remained silent, smiling at him.
Then, she slowly rose from the water!
Her movements were incredibly slow, like a movie in slow motion, gradually lifting her submerged body.
The white foam on the water glided over her collarbones.
It slid across the skin of her chest.
The upper contours of her breasts were revealed.
Just as the crucial parts were about to be exposed, the call was abruptly disconnected.
Jiang Ye was stunned, then his face turned red.
Isabelle had teased him again.
He took a sip of cold water to calm himself, and then Jiang Ye called Cao County Citizen.
The call connected instantly, and Cao County Citizen's face appeared on the screen.
"Hello there," she waved at the screen.
"It's something important," Jiang Ye said. "I'm planning to build a town soon and recruit some colonial administrators to live there. Do you want to come? I'll reserve a house for you."
Cao County Citizen's expression was one of bewilderment. The information was too much for her to process immediately.
"What are you talking about? A town?" Cao County Citizen's tone was exaggerated.
"Yes, a town. Many houses with small courtyards will be built," Jiang Ye said. "I plan to gather all the employees together so I can supervise their production. And living together, we can look out for each other if anything happens."
"Wow, that's amazing! But how do I get there?"
"I've contacted a courier company. They have spacecraft that can transport base vehicles and people. It only takes a day," Jiang Ye said.
"Then yes! Of course, I'll go!" Cao County Citizen nodded enthusiastically, giggling happily. "Can I be your neighbor?"
"Sure." Jiang Ye smiled. "Then it's settled. Once the town is completed, I'll send a spacecraft to pick you up."
"No problem! I don't have much stuff, it can all fit in one vehicle," Cao County Citizen made a V-sign.
After a few more casual remarks, they hung up. The matter was settled.
Jiang Ye hesitated for a moment, then called Long-legged Teba.
After a dozen seconds, the call connected.
Amidst piles of clothes and boots, Long-legged Teba stood between the two small mountains, wearing a baggy blue robe. Her slender legs were bare, her feet touching the floor. The hem of the robe was long, reaching her thighs, so it was unclear if she was wearing anything underneath.
"Good evening, Brother Jiang!" Long-legged Teba waved. "I'm tidying up my clothes."
Jiang Ye got straight to the point, informing her about building the town. He also mentioned that she could come by spacecraft.
"If you're willing to come, I'll reserve a house for you," Jiang Ye said sincerely. "Everyone in the town will live together, and we can look out for each other if anything happens. Also, being closer will make it more convenient for us to do business together."
Long-legged Teba's eyes lit up. "Sure! I want to go! Can I be your neighbor?"
"No problem." Jiang Ye chuckled. "The town isn't even built yet, and I've already booked two neighbors."
After a few minutes of casual chat, they hung up.
He let out a long sigh. The two people he interacted with most closely in business were confirmed to be moving in.
Next, he needed to select other tenants.