Chapter 87

Returning to the familiar Xiantao Village, Lei Huanxi inexplicably felt a sense of warmth rise within him.

Carrying his luggage, he rushed straight to the fish pond, where he saw Ye Tielong sitting by the edge, lost in thought.

"Big Brother Ye, I'm back, and I've brought you a gift," Lei Huanxi said excitedly.

"Oh, thank you," Ye Tielong replied absentmindedly, his eyes still fixed on the fish pond.

"What's wrong?" Lei Huanxi also looked curiously at the fish pond.

"Something's not right, it's just too abnormal," Ye Tielong threw away the cigarette butt in his hand and lit another one. "Huanxi, the fish are growing too abnormally. Just look for yourself; you've only been gone for a few days..."

As he was speaking, a mandarin fish in the center of the pond leaped out of the water with great effort and then fell back in with a splash.

Lei Huanxi's eyes widened in amazement.

Before he left, the mandarin fish, though growing quickly, were only about half a catty each. But after just a few days in Haishan, the one that had just leaped out of the water was estimated to weigh at least two catties.

This was far too fast.

At this rate, the fish could be ready for harvest in just a week.

The benefits brought by the essence of the dragon far exceeded Lei Huanxi's imagination.

"Big Brother Ye, how exactly are you raising them?" Lei Huanxi tried the same trick again, attributing it to Ye Tielong.

"This is what's bothering me," Ye Tielong looked troubled. "Huanxi, I'll be honest with you, I still haven't figured out how I'm doing it... I'm happy to see the fish grow so big and so fast, but I'm worried. What if I can't achieve the same results in the second pond? How could I face you?"

That was the issue.

Lei Huanxi really wanted to tell him, "Don't worry, with the essence of Xiaopang in the pond, you won't have any problems even if you raise a few more ponds."

Moreover, Ye Tielong was troubled by more than just this.

Logically, in a ten-acre pond with so many fish, some deaths would be normal, and as long as the signs were detected and measures taken in time, it wouldn't be a problem.

But the current issue was that Ye Tielong hadn't found a single dead fish. The fish were more lively and spirited each day.

After raising fish for so many years, this was the first time Ye Tielong had encountered such a strange situation.

"Big Brother Ye, I don't know much about raising fish, so I'll leave it to you," Lei Huanxi said seriously. "But I'm worried that someone might poach you in the future."

"How can you say that, Huanxi?" Ye Tielong was upset by this. "I, Ye Tielong, am not that kind of person. As I said before, you helped me when I was in my darkest hour. I am not ungrateful."

Lei Huanxi chatted with him for a while and then returned home, leaving Ye Tielong there, still frowning and pondering what he had done...

Back home, the two arowanas were very lively. They were worth millions.

Putting Xiaopang into the pond, the two arowanas immediately swam over, swallowing and spitting, diligently performing their cleaning duties.

Thinking about Annie's arrival the next day, Lei Huanxi felt a headache coming on.

Fortunately, the pond was large enough, and Xiaopang was only 20 centimeters long, so he could hide in any corner without Annie noticing.

But the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He said to the content Xiaopang, "Xiaopang, Annie is coming tomorrow. Be careful and don't let her find you."

Oh no, a human woman? That extremely "fierce and terrifying" human woman?

As a divine dragon, Xiaopang couldn't help but shudder and nodded repeatedly.

He had seen with his own eyes how "tortured" Brother Huanxi was by that woman.

Thinking about this, he even lost the desire to have the arowanas clean him. He slipped under a rock, deciding not to come out except for eating and relaxing.

With the money from Mr. Mo transferred to his card, the 300,000 yuan for the lease was now complete.

Lei Huanxi had been thinking about Mr. Mo's words, worried that Zhu Guoxu might change his mind. He wanted to get this done as quickly as possible.

Putting his luggage down, he hurried to the village committee.

But before he reached the village committee, he saw a crowd gathered in the open space outside. Not only were the elderly and women who stayed in Xiantao Village there, but many who had gone out to work had also returned.

Some were squatting, others sitting, as if they were in a meeting.

Two tables were pushed together, and behind them sat Village Chief Xu and several village officials, including Mr. Mo, Guan Zhitao.

"... This time, the village has raised 3.5 million yuan through fundraising, village committee funds, and a loan from the credit cooperative. This money will be entrusted to the Beilier Investment Company... Today, we will formally sign the investment agreement..."

Village Chief Xu was speaking.

Lei Huanxi was shocked. 3.5 million yuan? Xiantao Village had actually raised 3.5 million yuan to invest with Mr. Mo?

Village Chief Xu spoke for a while and then handed the microphone to Mr. Mo.

Guan Zhitao, looking very pleased with himself, described the bright future in great detail. In his words, once the 3.5 million yuan was invested in Beilier, it would soon turn into 5 million, 10 million...

The villagers were completely captivated by this rosy future, and applause broke out.

He spoke for about half an hour and then solemnly signed the investment agreement with the Xiantao Village committee.

Blowing gently on the red seal on the contract, Village Chief Xu was very satisfied. This was not just a simple contract but the beginning of Xiantao Village's transformation into a wealthy village.

"Mr. Guan, let's have a meal. I'll have my family kill a chicken," Village Chief Xu said flatteringly.

"No, thank you," Guan Zhitao waved his hand. "Time is money. Do you know how much more money could be made if this money is transferred to the company's account sooner? It would scare you to death."

"Oh, then I won't keep you, Mr. Guan, I won't keep you," Village Chief Xu thought that if a meal took an hour, he would be losing out. He quickly said to Guan Zhitao.

Guan Zhitao walked to his BMW, about to get in, when he saw Lei Huanxi. He walked over and said with a smile, "Huanxi, I heard you went on a trip? That's great, you must be rich now. What are you waiting for? Put your money in with me. You're the only one in the village who hasn't invested."

"Cousin, I don't have any money," Lei Huanxi smiled. "Besides, I'm not very interested in this."

"Don't blame me when everyone else gets rich and you don't," Guan Zhitao said.

"I won't, I won't," Lei Huanxi pulled Guan Zhitao aside. "Cousin, this is everyone's hard-earned money, their children's education funds, and their elderly's funeral expenses. Are you really sure about this?"

Guan Zhitao was a bit unhappy. "I, Mr. Mo, may be rich, but I'm not the kind of person who would betray my own people. My boss said he plans to enter the American Wall Street and invest in an American high-tech company..."

He looked around and lowered his voice. "Huanxi, I'm telling you this, but don't spread it. Our villagers are uneducated and talkative, but you're different... Do you know what kind of high-tech company it is? It helps the U.S. Department of Defense with military satellites. Think about it, how could this investment go wrong?"

Lei Huanxi suddenly felt that this was becoming less and less reliable.

He hadn't been to America and didn't know about high-tech companies, but he knew one thing.

Helping the U.S. Department of Defense with military satellites? Could a foreign company just invest in it? The U.S. side would likely review such investments more strictly than any other project.

"Alright, I have to go," Guan Zhitao said.

Before Lei Huanxi could warn him, Guan Zhitao had already waved and gotten into his BMW, driving away.

There's something wrong, something is definitely wrong, but no one is willing to listen to me.

"Uncle Xu, Uncle Xu," seeing Village Chief Xu, Lei Huanxi temporarily put aside his doubts and hurried over. "Uncle Xu, I'm here to sign the lease contract."

"What lease contract?" Village Chief Xu seemed to have forgotten about it.

"The lease for Fairy Mountain," Lei Huanxi reminded him. "Ten years, 30,000 yuan per year, a total of 300,000 yuan. The money is in my card."

"Oh, that contract," Village Chief Xu finally remembered. "You really want to lease Fairy Mountain? It won't make you any money. You'd be better off giving the money to Mr. Mo to manage."

Mentioning Mr. Mo, Lei Huanxi shook his head. "Uncle Xu, I want to lease Fairy Mountain. If I lose money, it's my problem. Just tell me if you'll sign the contract."

"Of course, I'll sign it. 300,000 yuan?" Village Chief Xu's eyes widened, then he seemed to remember something. "Quick, call Mr. Mo, no, call Mr. Guan, and have him come back. We'll invest another 300,000 yuan..."

...

The contract was quickly signed.

Lei Huanxi signed it under the name of Fangcun Company, which surprised Village Chief Xu and the village committee. Little Huanxi had actually started a company?

In their eyes, starting a company was a surefire way to make money, and a lot of it.

But they also felt a bit sorry for him. Starting a company might be profitable, but it was also very hard work. How could it compare to investing in Beilier Investment?

Lei Huanxi didn't pay attention to their thoughts and carefully read the contract.

Leasing Fairy Mountain for 10 years meant he would have absolute control over it for the next decade. Now, he just had to wait for Zhu Guoxu to package the Fairy Stone and increase its fame.

Even if there was no immediate news, could he do some preliminary work or explore other potential areas of development on Fairy Mountain?

Village Chief Xu, however, kept nagging about how Lei Huanxi was wasting 300,000 yuan and missing a great opportunity to work with Mr. Mo.

But Lei Huanxi didn't care about that.

For him, Fairy Mountain was now his top priority.

Beilier Investment? Only time would tell the truth about everything.

(Afternoon: Accompanying my father to the hospital for a follow-up. Worried about coming back late, I've updated this chapter early. Thank you for your support, dear readers.)

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