"Never mind them, let them play their game, we'll drink ours."
"Right, cheers!"
Li Haochen and his friends were drinking happily, and the mahjong players on the other side were also having a good time. Where else could you find such cheap thrills for a dollar?
Seeing Murong Yanran so happy, Li Haochen had no objections. As long as she didn't stay up all night, he was fine with it.
Of course, they wouldn't stay up all night. They were all beauty-conscious people, so how could they neglect their skin by staying up late? If it were about absorbing yin to supplement yang, they might be willing, but mahjong all night? No way!
As it turned out, they wrapped up before eleven. Unexpectedly, the biggest winner was Liu Zijun. Seeing her smug look, beaming with joy, you'd think she had won billions.
"Hahaha, I was on fire today, let's go, I'll treat you to supper!"
"Why not cook at home? It's almost midnight."
As soon as Li Haochen finished speaking, the four girls looked at him with smiling eyes, their gazes making him feel a bit uneasy, like facing hungry wolves.
"I'll go make porridge, and you know what to do with the rest, hehe!"
Li Haochen knew exactly what they wanted: sand crab congee. He had no choice but to go out. In fact, it would be faster to get them from his space, but Chen He and Liu Dehui also insisted on going, so they went to the area outside Dalong Village. Although there weren't many, catching a jin or two was no problem.
"Alright, while you're at it, go to the vegetable patch and pick some lettuce, scallions, and large-leaf coriander. Oh, and soak a few noodle cakes; we'll have fried noodles with the congee later, don't let them get too soggy~"
Li Haochen and the other two each carried a bucket and headed for the beach. It wasn't far, only a few minutes' walk. To their surprise, there were still a few young couples being intimate under the coconut trees by the shore at this hour, quite romantic.
Li Haochen and the others had been there before, so they naturally wouldn't disturb others' intimacy. However, they were reminded of their own desires, and it was likely that a great battle would ensue that night.
"Okay, let's get to work, or it'll be past midnight by the time we finish cooking."
The three of them split up to search. He couldn't count on Chen He and Liu Dehui; he had to rely on himself.
Indeed, about half an hour later, when the three reunited, Chen He and Liu Dehui's buckets only contained a few hungry baby crabs. Li Haochen was speechless. Even if they weren't good, they could have caught two or three large ones. They were truly unreliable duo.
When they returned, the congee was almost ready, and the noodles were already fried, looking quite appetizing. However, judging by their appearance, Li Haochen was certain Murong Yanran hadn't cooked them.
While Murong Yanran and the others were setting the table, Li Haochen went to process the sand crabs. The remaining task was up to him.
Soon, a rich, fragrant aroma wafted from the kitchen, whetting everyone's appetite. Before Li Haochen could even bring the dishes out, these guys impatiently rushed into the kitchen to scoop for themselves.
"Hey, be careful, don't burn yourselves."
"This sand crab congee is really good. Yanran, if your hotel had this congee, its business would definitely reach another level."
"I wish I could, but these sand crabs are too scarce, haha!"
Li Haochen smiled without saying a word. He had plenty of sand crabs in his space, and they reproduced and grew particularly fast. A pair of parent crabs could produce hundreds of offspring in a year. Considering there were no natural predators on the sandy beach in his space, after a year, as long as the catch was controlled, it would be inexhaustible wealth.
After eating and drinking their fill, it was already one in the morning. However, Liu Zijun did not stay overnight. With all these couples around, what was the point of staying? Would she have to listen to their concert all night? She didn't have that intention; it was better to go home, lest her fingers cramp.
As Liu Zijun had predicted, that night, three rooms were shaking violently. Fortunately, the soundproofing of the villa was good, otherwise...
The next morning, after breakfast, Chen He and the others left one after another, and Murong Yanran returned to the hotel. Now Li Haochen had a lot of work to do; there were many accumulated tasks.
He first went to the warehouse and moved the coconut saplings that could be planted from his space, waiting for Li Rendong to come and transport them. It was worth mentioning that Wei Dayong's son successfully passed the assessment and was now working with Li Rendong on the truck.
After dealing with the coconut saplings, he immediately rushed to the seafood market to buy a few catties of sea snails and live oysters that had not been pried open, returning to Butterfly Bay. He wanted to conduct some experiments.
Li Haochen arrived at Butterfly Bay and eagerly began his experiments, but the results left him frustrated.
"Why isn't it working?"
Sitting behind the main gate of Butterfly Bay, Li Haochen pondered, "It should work, so why can't I bring them in now? The oyster rafts are also bought, and these are also bought. It's really strange."
This unresolved issue made Li Haochen feel restless. He looked at the oysters and snails in his hand again and thought deeply.
"Is it wildness? Or the length of time after I bought them..."
Li Haochen considered many possibilities, the most likely of which he felt was the time after purchase. To confirm this, he decided to spend some time experimenting. He had to figure this out, as it was crucial for the rapid development of his space.
After trying again and still being unable to bring them into his space, Li Haochen used net bags to divide and put the oysters and snails into Butterfly Bay for breeding.
Then he entered his space; there were still many things waiting for him to do, so he couldn't waste time.
Li Haochen first spent about two hours arranging the supply of sea snails for the next few days. After Gu Xiaonian came to take over, he began the nursery work for the coconut saplings.
He stopped after nurturing over five thousand saplings, followed by installing bamboo stakes and breeding net cages.
After this day, Li Haochen tried to bring these oysters and sea snails into his space every day, but without exception, he failed. However, he did not get discouraged; persistence would eventually lead to experimental success.
In the blink of an eye, another week passed. On this day, Li Haochen, as usual, went to scoop up the two bags of oysters and sea snails as soon as he entered Butterfly Bay and habitually tried to bring them into his space.
"It... it worked, it worked, hahaha!"
Li Haochen looked at the two bags of oysters and sea snails in his hands, cheering and shouting excitedly.
After about ten minutes, Li Haochen's excitement had not subsided, although it was not as intense as before.
"It took fifteen days from buying them to being able to bring them in. This isn't a long time. I need to plan carefully how to achieve the goal of earning billions as quickly as possible."