Chapter 10: A Man Must Strive to Earn Money!

“Hello, Mr. Chu, this is the Fisheries Bureau of Jiangping District, Min City.” A voice came from the phone. “You’ve purchased the 500-acre shrimp farm on Plot 45 in Taikang Town. The lease for the fishery land is set to expire next month. Would you like to renew it?”

Chu Lin hadn’t expected the call to be from the Fisheries Bureau.

Why had the shrimp farm been so hard to sell before? Aside from the equipment and cultivated shrimp being seized for debt repayment, the lease was also about to expire.

Min City was vast, with five districts and eight counties, each divided into numerous towns. His shrimp farm’s land fell under the jurisdiction of the Jiangping District Fisheries Bureau, so it was perfectly normal for them to call.

Generally, such lease renewals were notified and discussed in advance.

He had already been considering renting more aquaculture land; after all, he still had blessing stones left in the Atlantis map, and upgrading the game map would refresh a second type of animal, providing new cover.

So, he intended to lease another 500 acres of bay tidal flats adjacent to the shrimp farm.

Bay tidal flats were those areas that were a bay at high tide and a flat at low tide—perfect environments for aquaculture.

The coastal areas of Jiangping District were mostly like this, which explained the thriving aquaculture industry there.

With that in mind, he spoke into the phone, “I’d like to renew the lease, and I also want to rent another 500 acres of bay tidal flats. I’ll come to your bureau this afternoon for negotiations.”

“Very well, Mr. Chu. I’ll register your request right away,” the person replied, clearly delighted—it was, after all, part of their department’s performance metrics.

Chu Lin hung up, turned to Huang Bin, who was eating sea cucumber, and said, “Huang Bin, since you’re off work today, come with me to the Fisheries Bureau. You have a car—it’ll be more convenient.”

“No problem.” Huang Bin naturally didn’t refuse such a small favor.

That afternoon.

Chu Lin arrived at the Jiangping District Fisheries Bureau in Huang Bin’s BMW 3 Series.

Since he’d already registered, he gave his name and was ushered into a meeting room.

To his surprise, a deputy director personally came to greet him.

The man’s name was Wang Yu, sporting a shiny, prominent forehead.

“Mr. Chu, you’re truly accomplished at a young age,” Wang Yu began politely, then asked, “I hear you plan to renew the lease for the 500 acres and rent another 500 acres of bay tidal flats?”

That was why Wang Yu was handling the matter personally.

Jiangping District, being on the outskirts of Min City, lagged economically, with aquaculture as its main industry. Their bureau’s targets were always hefty.

But Min City was coastal, and other districts were developing aquaculture too—some even surpassing Jiangping.

The previous owner’s troubles were well known in the bureau; they’d assumed their quota for the year was lost. But this young man had bought the 500-acre shrimp farm and wanted to lease another 500 acres.

That meant an annual rent of 1.1 million, boosting their performance metrics.

It was not something to take lightly.

Moreover, besides the rent, a 1,000-acre aquaculture farm was significant in Jiangping District. If managed well, it would be a great model to showcase.

Chu Lin nodded. “Yes. I want to lease another 500 acres of bay tidal flats adjacent to the shrimp farm. The rent will be paid annually as per the original contract, but I’ll pay for the new land first and settle the original 500 acres before the lease expires.”

Annual payment was more convenient—he didn’t want future hassles. But he only had 750,000 in his account, not enough to pay for all 1,000 acres at once, so this was the best he could do.

“That’s absolutely fine,” Wang Yu agreed readily. He understood: aquaculture farms didn’t turn a profit quickly, and most had cash flow issues, often paying quarterly.

Once the negotiations were settled, everything else was straightforward.

The fisheries bureau would send someone to measure the area, confirm with both parties, attach it to the lease contract.

Finally, they signed, and the contract took effect.

After Chu Lin paid 500,000 for the lease, his account was left with just over 250,000.

But he now held 1,000 acres of seafood aquaculture land.

It was definitely worth it.

Once the Atlantis map upgraded to level two and refreshed new animals, the newly leased 500 acres of bay tidal flats would come into play.

With everything settled, the sun was setting. Wang Yu smiled and said, “Mr. Chu, we’ve reserved a private room at the restaurant next door to thank you for supporting our bureau. Let’s enjoy a good drink tonight!”

“Thank you, Director Wang.” Chu Lin understood—it was a dinner invitation.

Many government departments were linked with business, so entertaining was inevitable.

This was clearly one of the rare occasions for an official dinner.

“It’s our duty, Mr. Chu. We hope your shrimp farm thrives and sets an example,” Wang Yu said sincerely. In Jiangping District, there weren’t many aquaculture farms over 1,000 acres.

For those leasing just a few or a few dozen acres, 1,000 acres was a benchmark.

Most were small-scale farmers in Jiangping.

The group soon arrived at the restaurant, where they were led to a private room by the staff.

Besides Director Wang, several other Fisheries Bureau staff attended.

Chu Lin and Huang Bin were surprised to see among them a strikingly beautiful young woman—her figure and appearance were exceptional, and she had a unique aura from working in government.

Huang Bin’s old habits kicked in; during dinner, he started chatting her up and soon learned her name was Meng Yao.

When the moment seemed right, he said, “Miss Meng, I’m quite interested in fisheries policies. Let’s add each other on WeChat so I can consult you later.”

Wang Yu and the other bureau staff weren’t surprised—young people, after all, were naturally drawn to beauty.

“Mr. Huang, our Fisheries Bureau has an official WeChat account. I’ll add you in a moment,” Meng Yao replied, pulling out her phone and showing him a QR code.

“…” Huang Bin was dumbfounded.

He wanted her personal contact, not the official account.

Chu Lin couldn’t help but snicker.

It was rare for Huang Bin to be rebuffed—clearly, this government girl was different.

Huang Bin could only reluctantly add the official account. Just then, Meng Yao took a phone call and hurriedly excused herself.

Seeing this, Huang Bin knew he’d been defeated.

After the meal, both Chu Lin and Huang Bin had drunk quite a bit. Huang Bin found it troublesome to return to the city, so they checked into a nearby hotel for the night.

The next morning, Chu Lin heard the notification in his mind that tiger prawns had refreshed, and immediately got up and woke Huang Bin.

He needed to return to the farm right away to collect the new tiger prawns.

“Chu Lin, what time is it?” Huang Bin mumbled, trying to lie back down.

“I’ve got work at the farm,” Chu Lin replied, then added, “And you need to go to work today!”

“Ah?” Huang Bin jerked upright reflexively, rushing to the bathroom.

As they left the hotel room, Huang Bin recalled last night’s events. “Chu Lin, that Meng Yao really is different. She won’t even share her WeChat privately—much more disciplined than other girls. I kind of want to pursue her.”

“You want to chase every pretty girl you meet,” Chu Lin exposed him without mercy.

“This time I’m serious,” Huang Bin retorted firmly.

Just as he finished speaking, the door next to theirs opened and out came a man nearing fifty, arm in arm with a woman in her twenties.

The key was, they recognized the woman—it was Meng Yao from last night.

“???” Huang Bin was stunned.

Chu Lin was equally surprised; it seemed he’d drawn the wrong conclusion.

Meng Yao was startled to see them as well, and, afraid of being misunderstood, hurriedly said, “Mr. Chu, Mr. Huang, this is my boyfriend Liu Tao, chairman of Tianhe Group in Jiangping District. We’re both single!”

Boyfriend?

Huang Bin and Chu Lin exchanged looks.

With that age gap, they could almost be father and daughter.

Liu Tao glanced at them briefly and asked Meng Yao, “You know them?”

Meng Yao quickly shook her head, “They came to the bureau yesterday to lease aquaculture land—we met once.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Liu Tao said, completely ignoring the two as he left with Meng Yao.

To him, they were mere nobodies.

After Meng Yao and Liu Tao walked away, Huang Bin couldn’t help but curse, “Damn… so much for being serious…”

Chu Lin comforted him with a pat on the shoulder, “Men, we just need to focus on making money.”

Now he understood—Meng Yao wasn’t just disciplined; she simply didn’t think much of them.

And it made sense. Her boyfriend was a group chairman—how could she care about small fries like them?

And why would a beautiful woman with a good figure and looks be with a man old enough to be her father?

Money, of course.

It couldn’t possibly be love.

Love his age?

Love his thinning hair?

The truth was less believable than a fairy tale.