It was past seven in the evening when I finally finished most of the large enclosure. Only the center remained empty, as the stainless steel door to be installed wouldn't be ready until tomorrow.
When it was time to leave, Li Haochen offered to treat me to a meal, but I declined, saying I had to rush back to work on the anti-theft grills.
Upon returning home, Murong Yanran still wasn't back, likely helping out at the shop.
After taking a shower, I had a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something. As I thought, "Holy hell..."
I dashed into the kitchen. The sea bass and black sea bream in the bucket had long since turned belly-up, thoroughly dead and starting to stink.
"I wish I'd just thrown them into the spatial sea. What a waste."
Li Haochen looked at the two dead fish, beating his chest and stomping his feet in regret. They had already started to smell, so they were unusable. He could only take them out to fertilize the dragon eye tree.
"Grumble~!"
Li Haochen patted his stomach. "Alright, buddy, stop calling. I'll take you to find your wife for some food."
Needless to say, Murong Yanran had already saved some food for Li Haochen.
He hopped onto the tricycle, twisted the accelerator, and sped off.
Arriving at the main store, the pedestrian street was already brightly lit and bustling with people. The coconut shop's business was picking up. What surprised Li Haochen was that Xiao Nian and the other two were actually helping out there.
Upon inquiring, he learned that after making all the young coconuts, they had delivered two thousand of them. Seeing that the branch store wasn't open yet, they decided to stay and help.
The three of them were very happy to do so. Firstly, it would make a good impression on the boss. Secondly, they got two free meals, which saved them over twenty yuan. Why wouldn't they be willing? They'd come every day if they could.
"I say, third brother, what have you been up to these past couple of days? You're like a dragon, only showing your head but not your tail." Liang Minfeng was lounging with his legs crossed, sipping Kung Fu tea, looking incredibly at ease.
Chen He and Liu Dehui were no different, enjoying themselves immensely.
Li Haochen took a large bite of chicken drumstick, his mouth slick with oil, his cheeks bulging. "I rented Butterfly Bay. I spent all day welding protective doors at the entrance."
"Huh?"
"Third brother, are you out of your mind?"
"That cursed place, I was scared even after visiting it once. You actually rented it?"
"Get out, get out! My brain is very sharp. You'll know when the time comes, hehe!" Li Haochen looked confident.
Since the matter was settled, further discussion would only lead to more trouble, so everyone accepted the fact with good grace.
"Alright, if you need any help, just say the word. The shop is stable now, and with no need to make young coconuts, we're not busy. Two people are enough, and they can take turns resting."
"Don't worry, boss. When I need free labor, I won't be polite to you, hahaha!"
Chen He's mouth twitched, a dark line appearing on his forehead. "So you're saying we're only useful when we're doing free labor!"
"Mm... pretty much!" Li Haochen mumbled through a mouthful of chicken drumstick.
"You're asking for a beating. Brothers, grab your weapons..."
"Ah... mmm..."
The girls didn't try to stop them; instead, they became spectators. They somehow found a bag of sunflower seeds and watched Li Haochen and the others fool around, cracking seeds and laughing heartily.
Business was surprisingly good today. Two thousand young coconuts were sold out by a little after 8 p.m. It was still early, and they couldn't waste this happy time of making money. Xiao Nian and the others rode Li Haochen's tricycle back to the branch store to transport goods. Murong Yanran and the other girls were at the counter serving customers.
Taking advantage of Chen He and Liu Dehui going to the front to curry favor, Liang Minfeng pulled Li Haochen aside, looking hesitant and a bit embarrassed. "Third brother, I need to tell you something."
Li Haochen looked confused. "What is it? Just say it directly, no need to be so mysterious."
Liang Minfeng glanced around again and lowered his voice. "Uh, I want to... withdraw my share of the profits from the account."
"What happened?"
"Nothing... nothing happened. I... it's like this, in a few days it's Gui Fang's birthday... that's it."
"Hey, that's great news! Of course, I wouldn't question..."
Liang Minfeng quickly covered Li Haochen's mouth, glanced ahead to ensure they were safe, and then let go. "Keep your voice down. If she hears, she'll definitely tell me not to buy it."
"Okay!"
After a wave of customers, the shop began to quiet down. Only one or two customers came occasionally, so it wasn't busy.
Seeing this, Li Haochen immediately called out, "Everyone come over. I have an important announcement to make."
"What's up?" Chen He looked at Liu Dehui and asked.
"How would I know? He's being so mysterious."
Ruan Shanshan chuckled. "Yanran, are you and Li Haochen getting married and we'll get to drink wedding wine? Hahaha!"
Murong Yanran blushed furiously, turned her face away, and didn't respond.
Li Haochen scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. "It's like this, it's been four days since the shop opened, and everyone has worked hard. I want to distribute the profits today, so everyone can be happy. How about it?"
When profit distribution was mentioned, everyone's spirits perked up. Of course, they would enthusiastically agree to such a happy event.
Zhang Guifang, who studied accounting, naturally became the shop's designated accountant. She took out the ledger and the calculator, tapping away furiously. "Day one: 1647. Day two: 1245..."
"Up to now, we have sold a total of 6803 young coconuts, with a total revenue of 102,045 yuan. After deducting the cost of 3.5 yuan per unit, the net profit is 78,234.5 yuan."
When Zhang Guifang announced the final net profit, her whole body trembled slightly, and she swallowed with some difficulty.
"Hiss~"
Everyone gasped. Although they had some expectations, they were still startled, their breathing quickening.
Liang Minfeng was calculating on his phone. Due to nervousness, he had to redo the calculation several times before succeeding.
His eyes widened, and he sat there grinning foolishly. "Hehe, am I... am I dreaming? I made fifteen thousand in just 4 days?"
Chen He and Liu Dehui's dazed expressions weren't much better than Liang Minfeng's.
This was in the tens of thousands. They had never encountered such a massive surge, feeling as if they were on a boat in a storm, dizzy and disoriented.
"Ding~ Ding~ Ding..."
Zhang Guifang performed the settlement operation on the computer according to the four-person ratio. With four notification sounds, Li Haochen and the other three's faces bloomed like chrysanthemums, their eyes almost disappearing.
Having made a fortune, Li Haochen, as the major shareholder, was not stingy. He pulled out a thousand yuan from his wallet and gave Murong Yanran and the other three girls 300 yuan each. Of course, Ah Long and the other two were not left out; each received 100 yuan.
The four girls also smiled like crescent moons upon receiving the money, already planning where to spend their earnings the next day.
As for Ah Long and the other two, they were beaming with joy. Not only did they get to eat for free today, but they also earned a 100 yuan bonus. They were so thrilled that they already had the idea of selling coconuts for Li Haochen for the rest of their lives.