Li HaoChen leaned close to Xie Baolian's ear and said, "Yanran's birthday is in a few days. I'm planning to surprise her. Your son is going to propose."
"That's wonderful, absolutely wonderful!" Xie Baolian was so excited. She then smiled and asked, "Have you prepared the ring? I must tell you, you can't be casual about this. Women place great importance on it."
"Here, take a look. If you want to support your son, hehe!"
Xie Baolian couldn't take her eyes off the auction advertisement featuring a dazzling pink diamond set. But when she saw the starting bid of one hundred million yuan...
"Don't look at your mother like that. That's eight zeroes. Even selling you and your father wouldn't be enough."
"Don't worry, your son will handle it."
"Son, this is an auction. The price might go up to several hundred million. Do you have that much money?"
"Haven't you forgotten about the Yin Jiangshan property development? I've already arranged for Zhou Shijiang to start sales. I believe we should be able to recoup some funds in the next couple of days, and acquiring this jewelry set should be no problem."
"Ah, thinking about it, we missed out big time. Your father only gave me a small gold ring on a string back then, and I was overjoyed."
Li HaoChen knew she was just saying it. He smiled and replied, "Your son won't forget his mother after he gets a wife. I'll definitely get you, his mother, a nice set of jewelry then."
"Having the intention is enough, don't waste the money. Just hurry up and give me two chubby grandsons. That would be the best jewelry."
"Alright, alright, I'll work overtime when we get back, okay?"
With that, Li HaoChen went inside to cook. He had come prepared, otherwise, finding food in this remote area would have been quite difficult.
The next day, Zhou Shijiang called early in the morning. "Boss, all 800 units in the first phase are sold out. Shall we continue?"
"So quickly?"
"Of course, it's fast when there are no distribution fees. If we hadn't imposed purchase limits, some customers would have bought several units. However, this has offended quite a few people."
"Who cares about them? By the way, how much have we recovered in total?"
"Over five hundred and thirty million yuan."
Li HaoChen thought for a moment and said, "How about this, sell the second phase as well. Keep the last three phases for the end of the year. Have finance transfer the money to my account later."
Zhou Shijiang's call brought Li HaoChen some joy. He hadn't expected the funds to return so quickly. Of course, he hadn't forgotten about the thirty billion yuan he still owed. However, the jewelry set for the proposal was more important now. He wasn't worried about his debt at all, as the coconut fruit would be listed by the end of the year.
At ten-thirty that night, he received another call from Zhou Shijiang. The second phase of 1200 units was also completely sold out, recovering nearly nine hundred million yuan. Li HaoChen was thrilled. With sixteen to seventeen hundred million in hand, he didn't believe he couldn't secure the jewelry set.
The next morning, Li HaoChen called Xie Baolian. "Mom, I have to rush to the auction house in Modu. I told Yanran I'd be here for a few days, so could you help cover for me?"
"Alright, I know what to do. Be careful when you go out."
After hanging up, Li HaoChen drove to Binhai International Airport. To save time, Li HaoChen risked a traffic violation by speeding on the highway. Fortunately, the journey was safe, and he finally arrived at the airport at three in the afternoon. Any later and he would have missed his flight.
The plane ticket was booked when he left Yuan City, so he could board directly upon arrival. The first-class cabin was quite crowded this time, with only two empty seats in his row, the rest were all occupied.
From the conversations of several imposing middle-aged men behind him, he learned that they were all heading to the auction house. This made Li HaoChen a little worried.
"Even here, so many people are going to the auction house. Although they might not all be going for the jewelry, with more people, someone is bound to be interested. It seems like it will be a fierce competition this time."
He didn't overthink it; it was useless. It was beyond his control. If seventeen hundred million wasn't enough, then it was simply not meant to be.
Having driven all the way here, he hadn't eaten a single bite and was hungry. This was the perfect opportunity to try the first-class cuisine.
"Miss, please give me a bowl of sea cucumber soup, shrimp balls, and fried rice. Thank you!"
"Certainly, please wait a moment."
The food was served quickly. Because it was a short flight, very few people in first class ordered meals; even if they did, it was just a drink and some snacks.
While Li HaoChen was enjoying his meal, a minor conflict was occurring in the economy class.
"How unlucky. Can you move this thing away?"
The man glanced at a wooden urn on the seat next to him and said unhappily to the woman beside him.
The haggard-looking woman glanced at the man and reached out to stroke the urn, saying, "I bought two plane tickets, and besides... he is not a thing. He is my husband, a hero of the country."
"I don't care if he's a hero or not, but this dead thing here is bothering me..."
The man'