After three rounds of wine and five courses, Prince Jun nudged Zhang Zilin beside him, their eyes meeting.
Zhang Zilin, understanding his cue, turned to Li Haochen and said, "Haochen, I heard you bought quite a few shops in Yuan City?"
"A few," Li Haochen replied. He wasn't surprised by her question; a little digging would reveal that much.
"A few?" Zhang Zilin's lips twitched. It was hundreds, not a few. She shot him a glance before smiling, "Are you hiding this from an old classmate? It's hundreds, you know. Do you think I don't know? Don't worry, I'm not looking to borrow money, hehe!"
Li Haochen looked at Zhang Zilin and Prince Jun, guessing her intention. It was likely about the shops.
As if on cue, before he could speak, Zhang Zilin continued, "I want to open a few branches over there. Would it be possible to rent some from you?"
"You're opening them?" Li Haochen glanced at her with interest and a smile.
"Oh, why so many questions? Just tell me if it's possible or not!"
Zhang Zilin blushed. It wasn't truly her opening them. If it weren't for her husband, she wouldn't have asked.
"When an old classmate asks, how can I refuse? Otherwise, you'd report me to Teacher Liang, and I'd have my ear twisted, hehe!" Li Haochen teased Zhang Zilin before turning to Prince Jun. "Mr. Wang, please discuss the specifics with my management manager. I'll let him know."
"Thank you, Mr. Li!"
"I should be going now. Goodbye!"
After Li Haochen left, Prince Jun's curiosity grew even more. He also intended to get acquainted with Li Haochen. Owning over 400 shops, worth eight to nine hundred million, not to mention the Yinjiangshan development project, these two alone already surpassed his family's assets by several times.
"Wife, was your classmate really that poor just three years ago?"
"Why would I lie to you? For those few years in high school, a few of us classmates racked our brains trying to invite him for a meal."
"Do you think it's possible that a wealthy family specifically arranged for him to experience that?"
"You watch too many novels. Come on, why are you worrying so much? Accompany me to my parents' home tomorrow. Dad's birthday is in a couple of days."
Leaving Huiyue City, Li Haochen first called Liu Xinyuan, informing him about Prince Jun's matter, and then drove back to Niuwei Village.
After careful consideration, Li Haochen decided to lease the entire mountain. He didn't want anyone to discover the secret of the gold mine there, or his ambitious "Niuiwan Grand Enclosure" plan would become troublesome.
"Boss Li?" Lu Yingshan, who had just left the village and was about to head out, saw Li Haochen returning and asked with confusion, "Didn't you go back?"
"I came back because there's something I need to ask you."
"Oh, I see. Go ahead."
"I'd like to ask, does the large mountain behind Niuiwan belong to your village?"
"Boss Li, are you looking to lease the mountain?"
"I have that idea."
As Li Haochen spoke, Lu Yingshan guessed part of his intentions. It turned out to be true.
"Our village only owns about two hundred mu of land on the Niuiwan side of that mountain. The rest belongs to Daze Village. However, nothing much can be grown on that mountain, which is why it's been abandoned for so long."
"Can you introduce me?"
"No problem with that."
Li Haochen drove Lu Yingshan towards Daze Village. It wasn't far, just around the other side of the mountain. It was also a village that wasn't well-off, though slightly better than Niuwei Village. The population was also substantial, around three to four hundred people.
Lu Yingshan had already called Zhang Bin, the Party Secretary of Daze Village, from the car. As soon as Li Haochen and his group arrived, they were greeted, "This must be Boss Li, welcome, welcome!"
"Hello, Secretary Zhang!"
Upon arriving at the village committee office, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Haochen got straight to the point. "Secretary Zhang, Secretary Lu, since you're both here, I won't beat around the bush. I want to lease this mountain. Are there any issues?"
"No problem, no problem~"
As soon as Li Haochen finished speaking, Zhang Bin eagerly agreed. He was thrilled that a boss was interested in this land. Renting it out would at least bring in some money. It was just a barren mountain, full of rocks and unsuitable for cultivation.
"We have no issues either."
"Great, what's the price?"
Zhang Bin and Lu Yingshan exchanged glances. After excusing themselves from Li Haochen, they walked out to discuss. "Yingshan, what price should we set? How about one hundred [yuan] per mu?"
"Uncle Bin, have you gone mad for money? If you dare to ask for one hundred yuan per mu for this kind of mountain, aren't you afraid Boss Li will just turn around and leave, making all our efforts futile?"
Zhang Bin sheepishly scratched his head and asked with a dry laugh, "Then what would be a suitable price?"
"Our village is asking for fifty yuan per mu. As for yours, I wouldn't dare to decide."
"Are you trying to play games with your uncle again? Fine, we'll match yours. At least we'll have some income, and the village won't have to live so frugally anymore, hehe!"
"Boss Li, both our villages have agreed: fifty yuan per mu."
"Okay, draft the contract. We'll head to the city later to finalize this matter."
After reviewing the contracts from both villages and finding no issues, Li Haochen signed them. He then drove the two to the district office to complete the online procedures for leasing the forest land. Afterward, he went to the city. With Liang Bingkun's help, obtaining land use certificates and other permits wasn't a major problem, though the necessary fees still had to be paid, as per regulations.
Once all procedures were completed, Li Haochen sent the two back to their village and drove back to Binhai. Since he didn't have a co-driver with over three years of driving experience, he didn't take the highway. Fortunately, he had his "wicked" map, so he wasn't afraid of getting lost on the slower roads. However, he had to be careful at village intersections, slowing down significantly and concentrating. It wasn't people he feared, but stray dogs and cows.
If he accidentally hit one, he should flee immediately and not wait for villagers to arrive. At the very least, he should drive to a safe distance before stopping to call the police. As for why? If you have the wealth and influence, feel free to stay and try your luck.
It was past nine o'clock in the evening when he returned to Binhai. As soon as he drove into the villa, the courtyard was filled with cars. He recognized them as belonging to Liu Zijun and Chen He.
"Thirteen orphans, eighty-eight points, pay up, pay up, hahahaha!"
As Li Haochen pushed open the door and walked in, Murong Yanran's shout made his expression turn dark. He looked towards the side hall, where Murong Yanran, Liu Zijun, and Zhang Qianqian were playing Mahjong.
Seeing Li Haochen return, Murong Yanran didn't forget to flaunt the several hundred yuan she had just won before... of course, ignoring Li Haochen and continuing her game.
Li Haochen twitched his lips and walked over to Chen He and the others.
"Third brother, come have a drink."
"Drink what? Aren't you driving later?"
"Driving? Look at them. Do you think they'll stop anytime soon?"
"Indeed, I'll have to spend the night at your place tonight."
Li Haochen looked over again, shook his head, and sighed with a wry smile, "Which scoundrel invented this infernal thing."