After seeing off the last table of guests, Chen Lin collapsed into a chair and let out a long breath.
So fucking exhausting.
Who said being the boss was easy?
He had been on his feet from noon until late at night, and his heels were practically about to throw off sparks.
No way. I can't take any more of this!
I need to become a hands-off boss as soon as possible!
He called his second uncle, Chen Guofu, his second aunt, Liu Shuqin, and Li Xiaoyue over to the stone table in the courtyard.
The gentle night breeze swept away the day's noise and sweltering heat.
"Uncle, Aunt, from now on, I'll leave all the guest service in the front courtyard to you."
Chen Lin looked at them, his tone serious.
"Just think of yourselves as the owners of this farmstay."
"Xiaoyue, you'll handle the money, bookkeeping, and payments. You're our general manager."
He put particular emphasis on the words "general manager."
"The kitchen gets smoky and greasy, so don't cook every day anymore, Aunt. Just drop by to help keep an eye on things occasionally. Don't wear yourself out."
Chen Guofu and Liu Shuqin exchanged a glance. Neither had any objections.
By now, every decision Chen Lin made had proved afterward to be right in ways they would never even have dared to imagine. Beyond marveling at how old they had grown and how far behind the times they were, all they felt was complete trust.
"All right. You make the decisions."
Chen Guofu took a puff of his cigarette. Under the dim yellow light, even the wrinkles on his face seemed to relax, revealing an unmistakable pride.
This boy really has grown up. He's made something of himself.
Li Xiaoyue pinched the hem of her clothes. Hearing the words "general manager," she felt warmth well up inside her, and her eyes began to sting.
She had never expected Chen Lin to place so much trust in her.
I mustn't make another mistake! I absolutely can't let him down!
The next day, dawn had barely broken.
A white Porsche Panamera drove into the village, followed by an engineering survey vehicle bearing the words "Yicheng Construction Group," towing a specialized survey boat.
Chen Shuting, the wife of the Yicheng Construction Group's owner, whom Chen Lin had previously contacted through Song Qiuya, had arrived with her team and surveyors.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group headed straight for the reservoir.
Chen Lin accompanied them aboard the specialized survey boat.
The boat was small, but it was packed with precision instruments.
It moved slowly across the broad expanse of water, circling the entire reservoir as the team began collecting data.
The site Chen Lin had chosen for the Water Restaurant lay right on the boundary between the waters of Chen Family Village and Mang Village, in the central area where the reservoir was widest.
After more than two full hours of meticulous surveying.
The boat returned to shore.
A dark-skinned survey engineer wearing a hard hat approached Chen Lin with a stack of freshly printed charts and began explaining.
"President Chen, according to our survey, the average water depth at your chosen site is around seven meters."
"However, there's a roughly two-meter layer of silt on the bottom. Beneath that is about three meters of sand."
The engineer pointed to a sonar chart.
"Based on the speed of the ultrasonic waves, there should be a layer of hard bedrock beneath the sand. That's good news. It means the foundation will be very stable."
Beside him, a refined-looking designer wearing gold-rimmed glasses adjusted them and took over.
"President Chen, given the scale of your Water Restaurant, if we use piles with a diameter of 1.5 meters, each underwater pile will need to reach a depth of at least twenty meters, possibly deeper, to ensure absolute safety."
He paused, then gave a figure that made Chen Lin's heart skip a beat.
"Our preliminary estimate is that the restaurant's foundation will require around two hundred reinforced-concrete underwater piles."
"In other words..."
The designer looked at Chen Lin, his voice clear and grave.
"The piling alone will cost approximately fifteen million! Including construction and interior finishing, even sixty million probably won't cover the entire project!"
As soon as the engineer finished speaking, a deathly silence fell over the reservoir shore. Even the wind seemed to stop.
The surveyors and designers Chen Shuting had brought all sucked in sharp breaths.
Fifteen million for piling?
Sixty million wouldn't cover the whole project?
What kind of joke was this?
They were all industry professionals, and they knew perfectly well what those figures meant. Even in a coastal city with terrible ground conditions, the foundation for a thirty-story commercial tower would cost no more than that.
And that was with the fucking survey showing good ground conditions! If they were bad, wouldn't it run to twenty or thirty million?
Insane!
This project was impossible!
Everyone's eyes converged on Chen Lin. They could practically picture the young boss flying into a rage or simply walking away.
Yet Chen Lin merely stood there quietly.
He did not even blink.
There was not a trace of shock, anger, or even the slightest hesitation on his young face. He was as calm as if he were listening to the day's weather forecast.
That extraordinary composure instead made Chen Shuting's heart, and those of her team, give a sudden jolt.
Chen Shuting was secretly stunned.
Did this young man have no concept of what sixty million meant?
No. Impossible.
The only explanation was that this amount barely counted as money to him!
Just who was this President Chen? His financial resources were downright terrifying!
The way Chen Shuting looked at Chen Lin changed in an instant.
"President Chen, does your company have experience with building over water?" Chen Lin finally spoke, breaking the strange silence.
Chen Shuting gave a start and snapped out of her shock. Wild delight immediately spread across her face.
He hadn't given up! He actually wanted to keep going!
"Yes! Of course!" She nodded hurriedly, speaking faster. "Our Yicheng Construction Group has specialized construction teams dedicated to water conservancy projects and specialized structures! They're extremely experienced! Our company built the Yicheng Third Cross-River Bridge and West City Wharf!"
Chen Lin knew nothing about the technical intricacies of construction, nor did he want to waste any mental energy on such details.
Time was his most precious resource.
"President Chen, I'd like to entrust this to you." Chen Lin looked her straight in the eye. "I want you to take full responsibility for the Water Restaurant's design, approvals, construction, and final interior finishing."
"Of course..."
Chen Shuting's heartbeat instantly quickened. She had never expected Chen Lin to give her so much trust and freedom to work!
If this project could actually be completed, it would be a landmark achievement for the Yicheng Construction Group! Its promotional value and influence within the industry could never be measured in money.
There was no other Chinese-style restaurant built over water on this scale anywhere in the province, or even the country!
"Rest assured, President Chen! We'll definitely..."
Chen Lin raised a hand to interrupt her and stated his terms directly.
"I'll add another ten million to your budget."
"I have only one requirement: it must be finished within three months!"
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