The next morning, Li Haochen opened the message Xie Baolian sent, clicked on the phone number and dialed. A few seconds later, the call was answered, and a very pleasant voice came from the other end, much like those female hosts on late-night radio stations, "Hello, who are you looking for?"
"Uh, hello, may I ask if you are Sister Liu Xuan? Aunt Xie Baolian introduced you to help me design the house."
"Oh, it's Mr. Li, right? Sister Lian told me. I need to see the environment to start the actual design. How about this, I have some time now. Is it far from you? If it's not far, I'll go to the site to survey it."
"Is Dalong Village far from you?" Li Haochen asked.
"Dalong Village, it's quite close to me. I'll be right over then."
"Thank you so much. I'll wait for you at the village entrance." After hanging up, Li Haochen took his sickle, went to the convenience store at the village entrance to buy a few bottles of drinks and a bottle of mosquito repellent, then sat on the stone steps at the head of the village to wait.
Soon, a red Mercedes C260L stopped. The door opened, and a beautiful woman in her thirties got out. Li Haochen's first impression was stunning – a graceful figure, alluring and charming facial features, especially her figure, which was unfathomably deep.
Even though he was accustomed to seeing beauties like Murong Yanran and Liu Zijun, he couldn't help but look twice, purely appreciating the beauty, without any lewd thoughts.
After a brief interaction, Liu Xuan surprisingly saw no lewdness in Li Haochen's eyes, which made her doubt her own charm. "Is my makeup not good today?"
"Are you Sister Xuan? Hello, hello."
"Mmm, that's good, you're a handsome guy. I'll have to give it my all to satisfy you, hee hee!"
Li Haochen's face turned dark. He thought to himself, how come everyone Xie Baolian knows is a great temptress? He needed to handle this carefully, or he might fall into a trap.
"Sister Xuan, do you want to change your outfit before we go? My plot of land is on a hill, and it's overgrown with weeds all around."
"Heh heh, don't worry, Sister has encountered all sorts of environments."
However, as soon as she arrived and saw the desolate wilderness, Liu Xuan regretted it. Although Xie Baolian had introduced him, it was always wise to be cautious. Liu Xuan had already quietly gripped a can of pepper spray in her palm.
Li Haochen could also see Liu Xuan's worry. It was only natural for any woman to be afraid when a man and a woman ventured into such a desolate place.
"Sister Xuan, please spray some of this mosquito repellent. There are many insects on the mountain."
To alleviate her concerns, Li Haochen walked ahead, taking his sickle to clear the path.
"He's quite thoughtful."
Li Haochen's thoughtfulness also made Liu Xuan feel a little more favorably, but she still didn't dare to get too close, always keeping about two meters behind him.
The hill was not high, only about ten meters, but the reed bamboo was too dense, making it impossible to see anything once inside.
Although the leaves of the reed bamboo looked thin and soft like paper, the edges of the leaves were very sharp. Li Haochen, leading the way, sustained several small cuts on his arms and thighs.
To prevent the beauty behind him from getting cut, Li Haochen also increased the range of his chopping. After half an hour, they finally reached the top smoothly.
The weather was hot, and the surrounding reed bamboo was tall, with no wind at all. By the time they reached the top, both were sweating profusely. Liu Xuan's black stockings had been cut with many small holes at some point, and the faint scent of sweat filled the air. The scene was too intense, and Li Haochen dared not look further, constantly chanting a purification mantra in his mind.
"Sister Xuan, have a drink first. This darn weather is too hot."
Liu Xuan was indeed very thirsty. She took the drink handed by Li Haochen and drank it down in large gulps.
After resting for a few minutes, Liu Xuan began surveying the area enclosed by the red brick wall. She took photos and recorded data with her tablet, walking and writing. Li Haochen didn't dare to lean over to look; the ripe peach was too toxic.
While Liu Xuan was surveying the data, Li Haochen was not idle. He picked up his sickle and started chopping around the plot of land. About an hour later, a large clearing was made around the plot. It looked much better now.
Liu Xuan's survey was also largely completed. The clearing Li Haochen had made was very satisfactory to her. After re-surveying and modifying a lot of data, she said with satisfaction, "Haochen, your plot of land is really nice, facing the sea with a mountain behind you. If this hill could also be incorporated into the design for a villa area integrating a garden, orchard, and vegetable patch, it would be perfect."
"Sister Xuan, that's exactly what I had in mind. I've leased this hill long-term. Please include all of that in the design. Also, the road needs to be designed, so cars can drive up to the house. The parking space should preferably be wide."
"Mmm, I already have a rough idea in mind, and you should be very satisfied. This will be a great place. I even want to live here for a while, hee hee."
"Sure, it's a three-and-a-half-story house with plenty of rooms. If you like it when it's built, you can come and stay for a few days."
"You said it now, don't forget me once you're done, hee hee."
"Alright, I've been led astray again." Li Haochen covered his forehead with a wry smile, daring not to engage further, for fear of getting entangled and unable to escape.
Although the mosquito repellent had a strong smell, the mosquitoes' adaptability was also very strong. The two did not dare to linger too long and hurried down. It was much faster going down, and they reached the foot of the mountain in a few minutes.
Back at the village entrance, Liu Xuan couldn't wait to turn on the car's air conditioning, tossed her mud-covered high heels into the trunk, and changed into sandals before getting into the driver's seat.
Li Haochen happened to be in front of her. Liu Xuan's movements were a bit too unrestrained, and the scenery under her skirt flashed past... emm, indescribable.
Liu Xuan politely declined Li Haochen's lunch invitation, citing too much work and the need to go back and work overtime on the drawings.
Li Haochen once again felt Liu Xuan's passion for her work. By three o'clock in the afternoon, he had already received the audit plan she sent via WeChat. It was likely that Xie Baolian's connection also played a significant role.
There were two sets of plans. One was European-style, with modern elements and a new garden design, simple yet luxurious, costing over 2.7 million yuan. The other was Chinese-style, elegant and reserved, rustic and generous, with elegant and warm colors. Li Haochen fell in love with the Chinese-style design at first sight, but the price made him hesitate, as it was over 4.5 million yuan, and that was likely after a discount.
The house itself and the asphalt road weren't that expensive, costing around 1.8 million yuan, which Li Haochen could still manage. However, the renovation costs were three times more than the house itself.
"Alas, it's beautiful, but it's expensive. Forget it, the house is for my own use, so spending a little more is fine."
Li Haochen had made up his mind to choose the Chinese design style. Anyway, the construction wasn't a one-time payment. Moreover, he had the coconut grove store and Liu Zijun's 'Yipin Stewed Soup Coconut' supply. This combined generated a net profit of about ten thousand yuan per day, which gave Li Haochen the confidence to choose the Chinese style plan.