The next morning, Li Haochen and Murong Yanran, dressed and ready, carried all the worship items to the entrance of Butterfly Bay. Huang Haibo and two employees were already there, transporting steel and some cutting and welding tools.
The items were not many; these two days were spent on the base layer. The bridge deck and railings were being produced by professional factories, and only the corresponding data needed to be provided.
After moving the steel and tools, Huang Haibo checked the time. "Haochen, we can start."
With experience from two previous shop opening ceremonies, Li Haochen handled the arrangements skillfully. Huang Haibo made a few minor corrections and nodded.
After offering three sticks of incense and setting off a string of firecrackers, which crackled for several tens of seconds, the worship ceremony was completed with Huang Haibo reciting some words.
After tidying up the worship items, Murong Yanran approached with several red envelopes. She gave two red envelopes to Huang Haibo and the two employees, acting like the lady of the house.
"Haochen, you are truly blessed," Huang Haibo said, looking at Murong Yanran and smiling at Li Haochen.
Murong Yanran smiled faintly. "Haochen, I'll head back first. I'll bring you lunch later." She picked up the worship items, nodded to Huang Haibo and the others, and left.
"Let's get to work," Huang Haibo said to the two employees.
Upon seeing the dozens of steel bars Li Haochen had hammered into the rock face, he had a dark expression. "Haochen, you're messing around here, this is very dangerous."
Li Haochen's old face flushed, and he scratched his head sheepishly. "Uncle Bo, I only brought you guys because I knew I couldn't do it myself, hehe!"
"However, the steel bars you've put up are quite useful. We don't need to prepare separate footings for our construction; once the first one is fixed, the rest will be easier."
"Alright, you guys carry on with the construction. I don't understand these things, but I have some strength. Just tell me if you need me to do anything."
Because drilling was required, the drill bits of the drilling machine needed constant water cooling. However, there was no water at the entrance, so Li Haochen had to act as a water carrier. Fortunately, they had brought three large containers, which would last for half an hour.
The ones doing the construction were a young man named A Xian, who was quite honest and very diligent in his work, and another named A Xiong. Both looked like honest men, and both were Huang Haibo's apprentices and employees.
A Xian, wearing a safety harness, was lowered below the cliff with the drilling machine to begin his work. A Xiong above assisted and managed safety. They seemed to have worked together for a long time, cooperating very smoothly. Huang Haibo was on top, cutting and welding steel.
The sea rock was too hard. It took A Xian more than 20 minutes to drill a 63mm x 500mm deep hole. After finishing, he switched to a 32mm drill bit and drilled an angled hole in the corresponding position below for support.
After completing the two holes, A Xian was drenched in sweat. After a two-minute rest, he moved half a meter and continued drilling. Because water was needed for cooling, Li Haochen had to constantly transport it back and forth, effectively without a break. Finally, unable to endure it, he ran home to get three more large plastic buckets to alleviate the pressure.
Meanwhile, Murong Yanran had already started preparing lunch for them. The meat would be the roasted pork and salted chicken from the morning's worship. She only needed to prepare the rice and cook some vegetables.
Through recent research and study, it was as if she had opened up all her meridians; her cooking skills had improved by leaps and bounds. Cooking rice and stir-frying vegetables were no longer a problem for her. However, she hadn't mastered many meat dishes yet and didn't dare to show off.
Li Haochen only knew that Murong Yanran was learning to cook, but he didn't know that she often studied late into the night, watching videos in the early hours and filling a large notebook with her notes.
After packing everything, she took a three-kilogram Qilin watermelon from the refrigerator. She initially thought of getting some iced beer but decided against it, considering the safety of working at heights.
When Murong Yanran arrived at the construction site, Li Haochen and the others were already resting in the shade at the entrance. The weather was too hot, and the construction was difficult, leaving them all exhausted.
"Master, you've worked hard. Please eat first."
Murong Yanran placed the food in front of Huang Haibo and the others. She then went to Li Haochen and took out a towel from home to wipe the sweat from his face.
"Are you tired?"
"To be honest, very tired!"
"Uh… shouldn't you say you're not tired? Hehe!"
"..."
"Hurry up and eat. What do you want to eat tonight?"
Li Haochen thought for a moment. "Tonight, you can eat at the shop. I'll eat out with Uncle Bo and the others. They've worked very hard."
"Okay."
Having worked hard all morning, they were all hungry and picked up their lunch boxes, eating voraciously.
While Li Haochen and the others were eating, Murong Yanran had already cut the iced watermelon.
"Haochen, I'm going back. I have classes in the afternoon. Master, there's watermelon over there. Take a break after eating before you continue working. It's very hot. Thank you for your hard work." Murong Yanran said goodbye to Li Haochen and the others and then left.
After eating and resting for a while, Huang Haibo and the others resumed work. Li Haochen looked at the full six buckets of water and thought it would be better to buy a water pipe, as transporting it back and forth over a hundred meters was too tiring.
Since the distance from home to the entrance was at least 260 meters, Li Haochen bought three 100-meter rolls of 6-centimeter soft hose. Due to the weight, he had to connect them one by one.
It took over an hour to connect the water pipe, which exhausted Li Haochen like a dog. Despite being tired, he was all smiles. The temporary exhaustion was exchanged for long-term ease, so why wouldn't he smile?
Although the water pressure was insufficient, and the flow was like a trickle, it was enough for their needs. In the afternoon, A Xiong took over the drilling. The six holes drilled in the morning had already been fitted with steel bars and welded, making them very stable.
They continued working until 7 PM before packing up. The construction difficulty was indeed great. In a day, only 20 holes were drilled, covering about 10 meters, which was too slow. Completing the entire project would take at least a month.
"Well, Haochen, we're heading back now. We'll come again tomorrow."
As Huang Haibo opened the car door, Li Haochen immediately stepped forward, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Uncle, it's already so late. Let's go out for a meal."
Finally, unable to refuse, they went together to a food stall by the beach.
"Uncle, I'll toast you. We've all worked hard."
"Haochen, don't be so formal. We're paid for this, so it's our job."
"Yes, Brother Li, don't be so polite." A Xian and A Xiong next to them chimed in.
After several rounds of drinks, they were all chatting happily, constantly discussing construction matters. Li Haochen also shared his thoughts. "Uncle Bo, honestly, the current progress is a bit slow. Is there any way to speed things up?"
"Actually, the slowness now is because only one person is drilling. If there were two people drilling, it would at least be twice as fast," Huang Haibo said hesitantly. "For two people to drill, two people would be needed above to assist for safety. We need to find more people."
Upon hearing Huang Haibo's suggestion, Li Haochen understood. "Uncle Bo, how about this, you help find two more people to assist. Safety must be guaranteed. Let's calculate it by the day, how about 200 yuan per day?"
"Alright, I'll make arrangements."
Because he had been drinking, Huang Haibo called his son to drive them back. Li Haochen did not go to the coconut shop; he went home, showered, and went to sleep.