Li Hao Chen and the others, completely unaware of the undercurrents, continued their days as they had before.
On this particular day, after finishing his work in the spatial realm, Li Hao Chen took a taxi to the warehouse. The sea had only been open for a few days, and Dai Chang Run and his crew were returning with full loads. Having missed the opening ceremony, Li Hao Chen, as the boss, felt obligated to attend today's celebration of the first bountiful harvest since the sea opened.
"Uncle Dai, everyone, hello. Congratulations!"
"Our benefactor is here! Come in and sit."
Dai Chang Run greeted Li Hao Chen with his usual respect, as did everyone else.
"Please, don't be so formal."
Dozens of people gathered, eating and drinking, the atmosphere extremely good. This time, with fifteen ships, most of them had returned fully loaded, and even those not fully loaded had seen a significant harvest.
Li Hao Chen had been shocked when he received the transfer notification that morning. In just three days, the fifteen ships had brought in over 1.7 million. Of course, this was due to the initial opening of the sea, and the yield would likely return to normal levels in a few days.
Everyone drank heartily that night, and Li Hao Chen was no exception, though he didn't get completely drunk.
After chatting with everyone for a while, Li Hao Chen left. When he returned home by taxi, Alice was at his place again.
"Hey, why do you keep coming to my place every day? I'm telling you..."
"Don't be like that to me!" Alice immediately put on a pitiful, teary-eyed look and said, "I have nowhere else to go, so I'm here to stay for a while."
"What?"
Li Hao Chen's voice sharpened. He wasn't fooled by her pitiable act, still believing Alice had ulterior motives. She had repeatedly tried to get Murong Yan Ran to fire her, but Yan Ran had refused, calling her a highly talented individual. He didn't believe it. Now she wanted to stay with him for a while, which seemed impossible.
He quickly went into the room and pushed open the bathroom door.
"Ah~"
"What about me? What are you screaming about? I'm asking you, Alice wants to stay here for a while?"
"Really, you should knock before coming in." Murong Yan Ran, startled, covered herself. Seeing it was Li Hao Chen, she nonchalantly continued while bathing, "She hasn't found a place to live yet, and it's not good for her to stay in a hotel every day. With so many empty rooms at home, I invited her to stay for a while. It won't be long."
"That's not good either. With an outsider here, it makes many things inconvenient for us."
"What's inconvenient about it? Just lock the door, right? Don't you think so..."
With that, Murong Yan Ran struck a seductive pose, her alluring body, veiled by the misty steam, appearing even more captivating.
As a bathroom battle was about to erupt, Alice downstairs was meticulously observing the layout of the house, constantly simulating in her mind where an enemy might attack.
After a tour, she took out several miniature warning devices from her small bag and hid them in inconspicuous locations. Having finished inside, she went outside. Although there were surveillance cameras, they were mere trifles to her, with too many blind spots.
Alice strolled leisurely through the garden, appearing to admire the scenery, but in reality, she was using her advanced skills to launch the warning devices into hard-to-find nooks and crannies.
After completing this, she took out her phone and opened a secret program. Suddenly, the entire phone interface changed dramatically, displaying a three-dimensional graphic of the entire villa. Countless flashing red dots appeared around it, resembling a spider's web.
Looking at the various points on the screen, Alice circled the perimeter again. Upon her return, she checked her phone screen again and finally revealed a satisfied smile.
When she returned inside, Murong Yan Ran had just come downstairs. Seeing her flushed cheeks, she knew what had happened.
"Alice, here are some toiletries. The room has bedding and blankets, all in the cabinet. They're new, don't worry."
"Thank you so much, Boss. You're so good to me, I want to pledge myself to you, hee hee!"
Murong Yan Ran's mouth twitched. Alice's personality was too capricious, her thoughts and actions too open, and her beauty was extreme. She regretted bringing her back. She decided to go back and check on her own men at home, making sure they didn't have too much alone time with Alice.
Alice was indeed a very capable person. Murong Yan Ran couldn't understand why she would stoop to working at her hotel. "Is it really because she's heartbroken and wants to get away from the painful memories?"
"Hey, hey, hey, Boss, what are you spacing out about?"
"Ah... nothing. I was just thinking about something and got distracted. It's getting late, you should get some rest."
With that, Murong Yan Ran returned to her room on the second floor, filled with questions. The next morning, Murong Yan Ran naturally took Alice with her back to the hotel for work, and they returned together in the evening. She even made sure to take a bath with Li Hao Chen, preventing any solitary encounters between him and Alice.
And so, day after day, with Alice's arrival, life became a little more relaxed and interesting.
One evening, Li Hao Chen received a call from Huang Hai Bo. The project at Niu Wei Bay was completed. Although it was a pity it wasn't finished before the sea opened, it didn't matter. With the earnings from his trip to the United States and his fifteen fishing boats, he wasn't in a hurry anymore.
The next morning, Li Hao Chen woke up early and drove to Huang Hai Bo's place. After obtaining the gate key, he headed to Niu Wei Village to open the market.
Two to three hours later, he finally arrived. The driving experience was excellent. He was surprised that the bumpy roads had been filled and smoothed with gravel. It seemed Lu Ying Shan, the village secretary, had some foresight.
He hadn't informed her of his visit this time. As an unmarried woman, it wasn't good for him to be in contact with her so frequently. Gossip was powerful, especially in villages, and things could change. He didn't mind for himself, but it would be bad to affect her reputation.
After parking the car, Li Hao Chen walked in. A few minutes later, a three-meter-high iron gate completely separated Niu Wei Bay from the outside.
He observed that it was very sturdy and equipped with barbed wire and surveillance cameras with no blind spots. The security measures were well done.
Walking inside, he could vaguely see a shimmering silver barrier stretching two to three kilometers across the distant sea, looking like an impassable chasm from afar.
To Li Hao Chen's surprise, a small floating dock made of foam had been set up on the beach. A brand-new 8-meter boat with a fiberglass hull and a small awning was docked there. A small house, converted from a shipping container, had been erected on top of the beach. The thoughtfulness of it all deserved special recognition.