"Okay, I'll find time to get a deeper understanding later. Right now, my funds are a bit tight."
"Mm, you consider it yourself. Also, when are you and Yanran planning to tie the knot? Your mother and I are eager."
"Uh… after some more time. We're still young!"
"It's time to establish a career and settle down. Don't make us wait too long. Your mother mentions this matter every day, hehe!"
Little did Li Haochen know that if he hadn't, why would they have brought him sea horse soup and other strange concoctions to nourish him? However, a huge goal still loomed in his mind – ten billion. Even with the spatial dimension, it would still take time.
As the two walked out of the study, Xie Baolian and Murong Yanran had also retreated into their room. It was likely that these two mother and daughter-in-law were also having a private chat about women's matters.
Li Haochen went to take a bath first. When he came out, a bowl of sea horse soup was already placed in the room. Murong Yanran, lying half on her side in a seductive pose, beckoned him with her finger and smiled enchantingly, "Drink the soup and go to sleep..."
A tug-of-war that lasted more than half an hour then ensued.
Late into the night, after their exertions, the couple, energized, embraced and chatted.
"Didn't you have over a hundred million last time? How did it all get spent so quickly?"
"Invested it. You, my husband, have so much capital, but I haven't even seen a down payment yet. I have to work extra hard, hehe!"
Murong Yanran's heart warmed, and she immediately chided, "I don't ask for anything. I would have married you even if you were a penniless beggar."
"Then can I interpret that as you wanting to support me? Hahaha!"
"You can understand it that way, hehe!"
"Alright, stop fooling around. I have something to tell you. My father just said..."
Li Haochen repeated what Ling Hanfeng had said and asked, "It's a pretty good opportunity. What do you think?"
"If that's the case, we could explore real estate. But we're not familiar with it. With no direction, we might end up with bloody heads."
"That's what I thought too. Different fields have different challenges. Even with my father's help, he can't always step in. It wouldn't be good for him. However, I do have a good idea."
"Shops!"
"Shops!"
The two spoke in unison, their insights sharp and in sync. Their eyes met, and they both laughed.
"Great minds think alike, hahaha!"
"So what if we do? The crucial part is this."
Murong Yanran made a gesture indicating a lack of money. Li Haochen knew very well that even with this immense opportunity, without capital, he could only watch.
In truth, he did have money. In his spatial dimension, there was an imperial green jade bracelet worth over a hundred million. Mortgaging it could yield fifty to sixty million, but that was reserved for Murong Yanran, and he couldn't touch it. If anything were to go wrong, where would he find another one?
"Forget it. Without substantial capital, we can't play this game. However, we could buy a few well-located shops. They would be good for opening a store in the future, hehe!"
"I still have thirty to forty million here. Why don't you use it first?"
"No, the resort opposite is about to open. Your hotel needs to keep some funds in reserve."
Seeing Murong Yanran about to say more, Li Haochen immediately interrupted, "Alright, although it's a pity, you can't earn all the money. Don't think about it so much. Let's go to sleep. We have to return to Binhai tomorrow."
The previous night's exertion had consumed a lot of energy, and they still had a long drive ahead. Both were somewhat restrained and soon fell soundly asleep.
The next morning, Li Haochen and Murong Yanran left the municipal compound under the reluctant gaze of Xie Baolian. However, they did not leave Yuanshi, as Zheng Xiyuan had called to say the property deeds had been processed.
Having been there once, they could still vaguely remember the route. An hour later, they arrived at the sales center, where Wei Guoqiang and Zheng Xiyuan were waiting at the entrance.
Seeing Li Haochen and Murong Yanran step out of a Smart car, they were taken aback. They hadn't expected someone who could afford a villa worth nearly a hundred million to be so low-key, driving only a car worth a little over a hundred thousand. They were filled with admiration.
"Mr. Li, Miss Murong, please come inside!"
Upon entering Wei Guoqiang's office, Zheng Xiyuan handed Li Haochen a brown envelope and said, "Mr. Li, please take a look."
Li Haochen nodded, took out the documents from the envelope, and reviewed them. Seeing no errors, he closed it and handed it to Murong Yanran.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome!"
After some pleasantries with Wei Guoqiang and the others, they left. However, before departing, Li Haochen subtly suggested that they consider buying a shop or two, without elaborating, leaving it to them to seize this wealth-generating opportunity based on their own fortune.
Unexpectedly, after Li Haochen and his party left, Zheng Xiyuan took her commission of over three million and bought two small commercial properties in the city. It seemed she had profound faith in Li Haochen's words.
Back in Binhai, Murong Yanran had matters to attend to and returned to the hotel. Li Haochen, meanwhile, was contemplating finances. The substantial opportunity in Yuanshi kept reappearing in his mind, refusing to fade. Although he claimed not to care, he was actually quite anxious. This was the best shortcut to achieving his ten-billion goal.
"The conch store makes about five thousand a day. The bamboo processing plant averages only ten thousand in daily profit. And then there's my ten percent stake in Yeguo Xinxiang, which brings in at most thirty thousand a day.
"As for the fleet of fifteen fishing boats… well, it's the closed fishing season now. Fishing barely breaks even, or it's a slight loss. We can only make significant money after mid-August.
"The coconut groves are doing well, but the income won't start until the end of the year. By then, the early advantage will be lost. Alas… I'm short of money!"
After much thought, the only option was to mortgage the jade bracelet, but he was really reluctant to use it.
"Must I really just watch this tremendous opportunity slip away?"
Li Haochen was deeply conflicted. He even neglected the important task of setting up the spatial dimension, sitting on the courtyard's lounge chair, lost in thought.
Before he knew it, the sun had set. A cool breeze brought Li Haochen back to his senses.
"Forget it. What's destined to be will be. What's not, no amount of effort can force. I'll just let nature take its course."
The next day, Li Haochen resumed his busy schedule. In addition to nurturing coconut seedlings and setting up aquaculture cages, he now had two more important tasks: placing mussel meat in the bait boxes on the Butterfly Bay net fences and setting ground traps.
It had to be said that the biggest beneficiary of the closed fishing season was undoubtedly Li Haochen. He was shocked when he saw the extent of it.
There were so many fish in Butterfly Bay that throwing a stone in would cause a frenzy of grabbing.
Li Haochen felt a slight urge to sell some to Murong Yanran's hotel, but he reconsidered. It was the closed fishing season. Supplying so much wild seafood at once could attract unwanted attention. It would be better to keep them in the aquaculture cages for now.