“Then you guessed wrong, hee hee!”
“Huh??”
Li Haochen’s eyes widened as he looked at Murong Yanran, momentarily forgetting what to say.
“Ten billion yuan, might as well take it if it’s free.” With that, Murong Yanran took a black gold card from the drawer, handed it over, and said with a smile, “Here, the card is for you. Go sweep the shops in Yuanshi.”
“You’re really taking it?”
“What do you think? Nine out, thirteen back. This interest can’t be shortchanged, okay.”
“...”
In fact, there was no such thing at all. She would absolutely not give up even a sliver of the hotel’s shares, not even to her aunt.
This ten billion yuan was obtained by Murong Yanran using the hotel land as collateral from Li Qianqian. Of course, Li Qianqian also used her authority to significantly increase the collateral limit. Otherwise, this land would only be worth five or six hundred million at most.
The reason for mortgaging it to Li Qianqian was also for a reason. Firstly, it allowed for maximum collateralization. Secondly, if something unexpected happened in Yuanshi and the funds could not be recovered, having her there could at least delay things.
As for why she mortgaged it to give money to Li Haochen to invest in Yuanshi?
The first reason was that she was also optimistic about Yuanshi’s prospects. The second, and most important reason, was of course Li Haochen.
As the saying goes, one thinks of something during the day and dreams about it at night. Li Haochen had been thinking about this matter day and night for the past two days. As his bedmate, how could she not know? Hence, this scene unfolded.
The two were affectionate for a while, their hands and tongues almost becoming involved in more intimate acts. If Murong Yanran hadn’t just received a call from the floor manager, they might have indeed had an in-depth exchange in the office.
“That’s about it, let’s go!”
After tidying up their appearance and confirming everything was in order, she linked arms with Li Haochen and they walked out together.
“Miss Murong, Mr. Li, please come in!”
Seeing Li Haochen and the two arrive, Hong Tao and Li Yandai both stood up with smiling faces. This caught Li Haochen and his companion by surprise, leaving them unsure of their intentions.
Logically, both families were trillion-dollar entities, several grades above Murong Yanran. Why were they so polite?
“Mr. Hong, Mr. Li, we’ve heard much about you!”
The four sat down, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward, with neither side knowing how to start the conversation appropriately.
Finally, it was Li Haochen who broke the stalemate, asking, “Mr. Hong, Mr. Li, may I ask why you’ve asked Yanran to meet today?”
“This…”
Hong and Li hemmed and hawed. They knew what they wanted to say, but their mouths seemed unreliable and unable to open. After a while, they finally said, “Miss Murong, we mainly wanted to apologize to you. We may have done some things incorrectly before. We hope we can put aside our misunderstandings and also hope to reach some strategic cooperation with you, what do you think…”
Murong Yanran and Li Haochen exchanged glances, both somewhat surprised. They were here to apologize and seek cooperation? What was going on?
Seeing their silence, Li Yandai immediately said, “We did indeed go a bit too far. We hope you can give us a chance to compensate. To show our sincerity, we will transfer the rights to use the aquaculture sea areas in the northern district to you. What do you say…”
“Since you’re sincere, we’re not unreasonable either. What’s past is past. A transfer is not necessary; as long as we can receive seafood normally in the future, that’s enough.”
Although she didn’t know why the two had become so respectful, in business, it was all about profit. The two parties had no mortal enmity, so it was best to reconcile if possible.
“There will be absolutely no obstruction. Additionally, we would like to cooperate with you, Miss Murong.”
“Cooperate? Tell me more.”
“As you both know, after the Mu family declined, the aquaculture sea areas in Binhai are controlled by us. For the past few months, the farmed seafood has reached the sales specifications. We wish to supply Binhai Grand Hotel. What are your thoughts?”
Murong Yanran pondered for a moment and agreed to the cooperation. She indeed needed it.
“Good!”
Of course, this was just a verbal agreement for now. After the formal signing of the contract, with everything in writing, there would be no need to worry about any tricks.
Seeing Murong Yanran agree, the two were overjoyed. This was a good start. Establishing a connection with the top families behind her was the first step.
With misunderstandings cleared and a basis for cooperation established, the four chatted very happily. As they talked, Li Yandai brought up Li Haochen, saying, “Mr. Li, I heard you’re heavily involved in coconut farming.”
“It’s just a small venture. How can it compare to your Li family? Hehe!”
“A small venture?”
Li Yandai’s mouth twitched. He inwardly scorned Li Haochen. Nearly a million trees were planted, and he called it a small venture?
“Does Mr. Li have sales channels? If you don’t mind, I can provide some.”
“Oh, thank you very much then, hehe!”
Li Haochen’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. He was in dire need of channels and naturally wouldn’t be polite.
Li Yandai’s mouth twitched again. He was indeed not being polite.
After the banquet, Murong Yanran felt as if she were dreaming. She hadn’t expected things to be resolved so perfectly and inexplicably. It was truly beyond expectation.
However, Murong Yanran still planned to change the model. As the saying goes, two tigers cannot coexist on one mountain. Although the misunderstandings had been resolved, conflicts would surely arise again over time. It was better to change now, so the customer base would not have any conflicts.
The next day, after waking up and having breakfast, Li Haochen got into Wei Dayong’s taxi and set off for Yuanshi. Today, he was going to sweep through the shops.
When they arrived in Yuanshi, it was almost five in the afternoon. Li Haochen didn’t go to Xie Baolian’s place. With ample funds now, he had to race against time to sweep the shops.
Although he was here to sweep shops, he couldn’t just buy blindly. It depended on the geographical location, surrounding environment, traffic, and amenities like healthcare and schools.
Li Haochen asked Wei Dayong to drive him to the entrance of Yuanshi No. 1 Middle School. He had done his homework last night; this was one of his targets. Diagonally opposite was the Children’s Palace, and two main roads led to the city center. Behind were hundreds of five-story yellow-walled old houses. Don’t underestimate these dilapidated houses; they used to be配套 for civil servants and are now good places for retired cadres to enjoy their twilight years, so the foot traffic here is very large.
He walked into a stationery shop. It was just after school, and the place was teeming with people. In a space of only about 60 square meters, there were no less than forty to fifty people squeezed inside choosing stationery, all students from No. 1 Middle School. Students came and went, and business was booming. The cashier aunt could have been collecting money until her hands cramped, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Li Haochen knew that haste makes waste. Now that business was good, it was definitely not the right time to inquire. He left the stationery shop and went to the fast-food restaurant next door. The business there was like a battle.