Because he had been drinking, he dared not drive under the influence. After informing Chen He and the others, he did not go to the shop in the afternoon. Of course, he also explained the reason to Murong Yanran.
Sitting in the hall and looking at the contract in his hand, Li Haochen shook his head and gave a wry smile, "I signed the contract before I even got the money. This is a bit hasty."
In fact, the reason Li Haochen was so eager to rent Butterfly Bay was that he was seen by two people collecting shells when he came out this morning. At that time, he was carrying a large roll of safety rope. Although they didn't see how he got out, it was only a matter of time before they figured it out. Then, he would have no claim to anything in Butterfly Bay.
"There's still a shortfall of 125,000. My share from the shop should be around 40,000, and there are two days left..." Li Haochen was calculating with a calculator.
"Haochen, what are you calculating with that calculator?"
"Ah..." Li Haochen patted his chest, startled by Murong Yanran's sudden appearance.
"Did you do something you regret? What are you afraid of in broad daylight?"
Li Haochen rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "If someone spoke behind your back like that, you might hang onto me like a sloth."
"Right, don't you have class?"
Murong Yanran made a packet of ginseng tea and handed it over. "You called earlier saying you had been drinking. I was worried about you, so I skipped class and came back."
Li Haochen drank the ginseng tea, feeling warm.
"I didn't drink much, just a little bit."
"What are you tinkering with the calculator for? Are you short of money?" Murong Yanran asked curiously.
Li Haochen scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. "Uh, yes, a little. I just went to rent Butterfly Bay from the village chief..."
"Yes, that's it. I had a little to drink because I treated the village chief to a meal earlier."
After hearing this, Murong Yanran took out a bank card and placed it on the table without a word. "There's 300,000 in here. The secret is my birthday."
"You don't need that much."
"Take it. You might need it for other things."
Li Haochen did not stand on ceremony. He was short of money. He picked up the bank card and smiled, "Am I a kept man now?"
"Are you white?"
"Well, a dark-faced kept man is fine too."
"Pfft, hahaha!" They both burst into laughter.
"Yanran, consider this money as your investment. We'll split the profits from Butterfly Bay fifty-fifty."
"You decide. I'm broke anyway. You'll have to support me for the rest of your life," Murong Yanran's latter sentence was as quiet as a mosquito's hum, and her face was flushed red.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."
"It doesn't matter if you didn't hear. I'm going back to class."
Watching Murong Yanran leave, Li Haochen smiled happily and clenched his fist, "Never mind a lifetime, I'll support you for ten lifetimes."
With money in hand, Li Haochen immediately went to the bank to transfer the funds. As soon as the money was in place, Huang Haiyuan called. Listening to his voice, he was overjoyed.
After chatting with Huang Haiyuan for a while, he hung up. There were still important matters to attend to.
Li Haochen went to Haibo Stainless Steel Shop outside the village. Huang Haiyuan had introduced him to this shop when they were chatting earlier and said that it was his cousin's place, and he would get a great discount if he mentioned his name.
Li Haochen naturally didn't believe there would be any discount. He'd be lucky if they didn't rip him off. Of course, he had to give them some face, as long as the price wasn't too outrageous.
"Sizzling sizzle"
Li Haochen walked into the shop and saw a man in his early fifties welding security bars with an eye mask on.
Hearing the sound, the man stopped, took off his eye mask, and said, "Boss, what do you need?"
"Are you Uncle Haibo? My name is Li Haochen. Uncle Yuan introduced me."
Huang Haibo thought for a moment, "Oh, my memory. He just told me about you. He said you wanted to make a gate, right? Please, come in and sit down."
Huang Haibo poured a cup of black tea and handed Li Haochen a picture album. "Boss Li, it's not good tea, just make do. All the gate designs are here. Please take a look and see if they suit you."
Li Haochen took a sip of tea and did not dislike it. He picked up the album and flipped through it. He quickly finished the thick album but did not find anything he liked.
"Uncle Haibo, do you have any larger ones, like those villa courtyard gates, but not so extravagant? Simple and practical would be fine."
"Is that so?" Huang Haibo stroked his chin and thought for a moment, "Do you have any special requirements for your gate?"
"To be honest, I've rented Butterfly Bay and want to install a large gate at the entrance. It needs to be rust-proof and sturdy, mainly to prevent others from entering."
"What? You rented Butterfly Bay?" Huang Haibo's eyes widened, and his voice became sharp.
He looked at Li Haochen again. "You weren't fooled by Haiyuan, were you?"
"Uh... no, no, I rented it myself."
Huang Haibo's mouth twitched. He thought, "He's not an idiot, is he?"
"Alright then, let's weld it on-site. That way, we can make improvements as needed according to your requirements."
"That's fine. When can we start?"
Huang Haibo looked at the time, "It's still quite early. Let's go now."
Huang Haibo, with his extensive experience, quickly gathered the necessary materials and tools. He drove a small truck and called an employee to accompany him.
Huang Haibo was a villager of Dalong Village and knew the stretch of road leading to the entrance of Butterfly Bay like the back of his hand. He had prepared in advance.
Since the entrance could only be reached by passing through the beach, these materials had to be carried by hand. Li Haochen also lent a hand. Fortunately, it wasn't too far. It took about an hour to move all the materials and tools to the entrance.
The materials and equipment were in place, but the electricity hadn't been connected yet. Li Haochen's house was the closest to the entrance, so he volunteered. As soon as he shouldered the roll of more than two hundred meters of wire, he regretted it. He was so tired that his tongue was hanging out.
After connecting the electricity, Li Haochen returned with two red envelopes. They were only 20 yuan each, just a token gesture. It was the start of work, and they wished for good luck and smooth progress.
Soon, the sound of metal cutting could be heard. Watching the two men work, Li Haochen didn't understand and didn't want to get in the way. He went directly to the village store and bought two packs of Hard Shuang and a chilled large watermelon.
"Uncle Bo, brother, take a break. Have a slice of ice-cold watermelon and a smoke." When Li Haochen returned, they had already dug several deep holes of 30 centimeters and fixed several large frame stakes.
The two men did not stand on ceremony. They took the watermelon and ate it with big mouthfuls. On such a hot day, a mouthful of ice-cold watermelon was truly refreshing.
"It's almost October, and it's still so hot."
"Indeed. With rapid development, the environment has deteriorated. In the past, this kind of weather was unheard of."
After taking a drag from their cigarettes, they chatted for a while and then resumed work.
By five in the afternoon, the gate had a rough shape. To increase the stability of the gate, several large stainless steel pillars were filled with cement slurry, and several expansion bolts were welded at the bottom to secure them.