For the entire afternoon, Li Haochen fished frantically. When he tallied his catch, he was startled to realize he had caught 93 fish in just one afternoon. If he hadn't been delayed by Liu Yuxuan's matter, he definitely would have broken a hundred.
The others also had considerable hauls. The worst, Makailai, had over forty fish. Everyone wore joyful smiles.
As dusk began to fall, everyone stopped fishing and returned to the restaurant for dinner. They all gave Li Haochen thumbs-ups.
"Haochen, how come you catch fish so quickly? And they're not small either. I only got pufferfish or sea bream, not a single valuable one," Li Zhigang said with a touch of envy.
"Old Li, it's the same for me. The most expensive one was only a three or four-pound grouper. I watched that kid Haochen, he had several humpback red groupers weighing four or five pounds each. His afternoon's catch alone could be worth a bluefin tuna."
"Brother Li, Brother Le, who told you I'm better looking than you? Look at the fish I caught, most of them are female, hahaha!"
At dinner, Zhang Yuan was still absent. It was assumed he hadn't yet recovered from his ordeal. After eating, Li Haochen packed a meal and left it outside Zhang Yuan's door, knocked, called out, and then left.
The catch from the morning was already very good, and Li Haochen wasn't in a hurry to continue. He didn't go out to the open sea, so his mobile signal was still decent. Back in his room, he initiated a video call with Murong Yanran. Unexpectedly, only a few exquisitely carved toes were revealed. Then, with a dizzying shift, the screen changed. Murong Yanran smiled playfully at Li Haochen on the screen, "Do they look good?"
"Super good. If I could touch them... uh, Mom, you're here too?"
Xie Baolian suddenly darted into the screen, occupying half of it. Seeing Li Haochen's video, her smile bloomed. "Son, stand up and turn around to let me see."
"Uh...?"
"I'm not an owl, hurry up."
Li Haochen's face turned dark. He was about to say something when Xie Baolian's fierce gaze, transmitted from miles away, shot through the screen. Startled, Li Haochen quickly got up and awkwardly struck a pose like a model.
"Hmm, not bad. You haven't gained weight or lost any. Alright, you two continue your sweet nothings. I still have to do my toes." Seeing that Li Haochen was unharmed, Xie Baolian felt relieved and immediately darted away from the screen, allowing the young couple to have their intimate moment.
"How's everything at home? I just saw the news, the large plot of land next to the hotel is going to be developed into a super five-star hotel and an offshore amusement park?"
"Yes, the Mu, Li, and Hong families have joined forces to acquire this land."
Seeing a hint of worry in Murong Yanran's eyes, Li Haochen comforted her, "It's okay. Having more money doesn't necessarily mean you can oppress people. Besides, this resort area won't be completed overnight. It will take at least a year or two. In that time, earning a hundred billion or so will be enough for us to retire, hehe!"
"Pfft... you treat a hundred billion like a few dollars, making it sound so easy. Alright, I'm fine. It's you, though. The internet has been full of criticism these past two days. Are you okay?"
"What can happen? Eat when I should, sleep when I should, I'm living the life."
"Mmm, no matter what, you are the greatest hero in my heart."
Since they were outside, their video call wasn't too intimate. After exchanging sweet nothings, they ended the call.
When he came out onto the deck, they were already fishing. Seeing their flushed faces, their catch could be easily imagined as substantial. Zhang Yuan was among them, but he lacked his usual vitality, speaking little. Even when he caught a fish, he seemed indifferent, appearing somewhat dispirited. However, when Li Haochen came out, he did approach and thank him.
While Li Haochen was enjoying his fishing, in a private villa on the outskirts of Binhai, Mu Zhengtao was toasting and chatting amicably with two other men.
"Come, Old Hong, Yandai, to our successful cooperation!"
"To our successful cooperation..."
"Damn it, one old fox and one young fox, neither is willing to yield an inch. If this piece of land wasn't so large that I couldn't swallow it whole, it wouldn't be your turn." Mu Zhengtao watched the two men leave, his face filled with displeasure, and he drank his sorrows alone.
Not long after, Zhang Ziqi walked in, "Husband, how did the talks go?"
"The talks are settled, but the cost is not small. We are currently short on funds, it seems we'll have to abandon this seafood network."
"Abandon? Then we..."
"I know what you're going to say, but we have no choice but to abandon it. Without the 40% sales revenue from the Hong family's hotel chain, given the current situation, we'll lose several hundred million a year. It's better to cut off our limbs to save the body and focus on developing this resort area." Mu Zhengtao took a sip of his wine, reluctant to abandon his life's work.
"By the way, why has Shaoyang been so quiet lately? It's almost the end of the month, shouldn't he be pestering for money every day? Have you given it to him?"
"What, he's not causing trouble now and you're worried? It's fine. Old Liu mentioned yesterday that Shaoyang has calmed down a lot now."
Mu Shaoyang had indeed calmed down a lot recently, even touching his greatest indulgence, 'call girls,' less often. This was because he had been busy deploying his masterpiece: staging his own kidnapping and extorting money from his father.
"Uncle Liu, has everything been arranged?"
"Young master, everything is in order. We can implement it tomorrow."
"Oh, that's good. Also, are those who are playing gangsters reliable? Make sure there are no slips. I've been holding back from having fun lately. Once the money comes in, I'll find some people and go out to sea for a few days, hehe."
Liu Zhenhua gave a sinister smile, thinking to himself with a chilling sneer, "My dear young master, of course, they are reliable, because they are real gangsters, hahaha..."
The next evening, Mu Shaoyang drove to the suburbs with Liu Zhenhua. Looking at the dark, desolate, and sparsely populated suburbs, he couldn't help but feel a trace of apprehension.
"Uncle Liu, why are we coming so far? How about..."
"Young master, we're almost there. If we don't find a secluded place, it won't feel real, hehe."
Mu Shaoyang looked at Liu Zhenhua, who was focused on driving, and felt that something was wrong. His sense of unease grew heavier. He immediately felt a desire to retreat and blurted out, "Uncle Liu, I don't want to do this anymore, let's go back."
"Hehe, my dear young master, the show has already begun. How can it be interrupted before it's over? Don't you agree? Hahaha!"
Mu Shaoyang looked at Liu Zhenhua, whose expression had suddenly changed. He was greatly alarmed, his scalp tingling. He had guessed what he was about to face, and anger surged within him. He lunged forward to grab the steering wheel.
Liu Zhenhua was prepared. He drove an elbow straight towards Mu Shaoyang's nose. With a cry of pain, Mu Shaoyang's face was covered in blood as he clutched his nose, immediately losing the ability to resist.
"Hmph, if you behave, you might live a little longer..."
A few minutes later, the car stopped in an open, abandoned warehouse. Several strong lights shone into the car, and the door was opened. A set of teeth, whiter than the strong lights, was revealed.
"Welcome to Gotham City... Hahaha!"