The target of billions was merely a matter of time for Li Haochen. Although Li Qianqian hadn't specified a timeline for reaching a net worth of billions, it certainly wouldn't be indefinitely.
Li Haochen could have ignored Li Qianqian; what business was it of his aunt what he did with the person he was with? However, he couldn't disregard Murong Yanran, especially since he had finally found this familial connection. Moreover, as a man, he couldn't let his maternal family look down on him, nor could he give them any excuse to gossip about their relationship.
After thinking for a long time without any good ideas, he decided to maintain the current situation and focus on solidifying the aquaculture industry in his space.
Li Haochen sighed, stood up, and checked the time. It was about time.
He took out the shrimp paste and scooped some into two large plastic buckets, adding a few handfuls of sand and mixing them evenly.
Carrying the two filled buckets, he found two suitable spots and began digging sand pits, ensuring the top edges of the buckets were level with the beach. He then packed the sand tightly around the buckets, but he had to wait for over an hour for this to set.
The waiting time was considerable, so it couldn't be wasted.
The tide was receding at this time, and many sea snails would crawl out at night. Li Haochen picked up the buckets, put on his headlamp, and grabbed his metal clamp, heading towards the rocky area to the south.
Li Haochen had come at the right time. Look, there were many sea snails clinging to every rock – conch snails, whelks, periwinkles, and more. The variety was rich, and the numbers were pleasing, large and small. It seemed no one had collected snails here for over two months.
Li Haochen took them all, big or small. As long as he saw them, they couldn't escape his grasp. His space's Kyushu Island was vast, and he could raise countless more. He wished he could catch tens or hundreds of tons to put in there.
In less than half an hour, a net bag was full, weighing over ten pounds. That was a lot. After sending them into his space, he immediately came out to continue.
He went to the spot where he had found the abalone before and, fortunately, found over ten more small abalone, the size of pigeon eggs. Abalone were precious things, and when fattened, they would be worth a lot.
Unfortunately, the numbers weren't many. He didn't know where the batch of super abalone he accidentally acquired from Luzhou Island last time had gone. Even the small ones were nowhere to be found. Although they were in the sea within his space, he couldn't sell them if he couldn't find them. This was a source of great frustration for Li Haochen. He should have kept them in a fish preserve.
Since he had found a dozen or so this time, he couldn't just carelessly throw them back into the sea. Fortunately, he had a fine-mesh net box, which was perfect for keeping them.
After almost two hours of collecting, the harvest was very generous. Li Haochen sent sea snails into his space four times, which was a substantial amount.
He hadn't checked the rocky area to the north yet, and he assumed there would be no less there than here. However, the tide was starting to rise, so he couldn't afford to linger. If he delayed any longer and the tide reached the sand crab traps, all his efforts would be in vain.
Returning to the beach, Li Haochen walked directly to the traps. Even before he reached them, he could hear the rustling sounds from inside the buckets.
Upon closer inspection, Li Haochen was overjoyed. There were undoubtedly over a hundred crabs in the buckets, crowding together and showing their claws. Some had broken crab claws at the bottom, either from fighting or from being too crowded.
Some had also completely succumbed, which made Li Haochen's heart ache. Fewer money-making crabs.
After pouring these two large buckets of sand crabs onto the space's beach, Li Haochen added some dry wood to the bonfire and crawled into the tent to sleep.
Waking up the next day, Li Haochen was startled by the wet sand at his feet. No wonder he had felt the ground shaking while sleeping last night. The high tide had come up to his inflatable kayak. Fortunately, it was tied to a coconut tree trunk, or it would likely be drifting in the Pacific Ocean now.
The tide had receded, and the rocky areas were completely exposed. Li Haochen, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity. He hadn't checked the northern side yet.
Carrying the buckets and clamp, he walked to the north. Arriving there, he found, as he had imagined, a great many sea snails clinging to the rocks, even more than in the southern area last night.
Li Haochen happily collected them while singing. With each stride, the net bag grew heavier.
Unconsciously, the tide began to rise again, which finally made Li Haochen realize he needed to go back. He looked around and exclaimed, "Where am I?"
Everything around him was unfamiliar. He couldn't see any sign of the beach. Seeing the seawater rushing in below, he quickly retraced his steps. Any further delay would mean staying there for seven or eight hours.
His pace back was significantly faster. Even so, it took him an hour and a half to return to the beach. It seemed he had walked several miles.
"No wonder there were so many sea snails over there. It turns out this reef line is so long. It looks like there's still quite a distance to go. I'll have to come back and strip it clean again sometime."
He recalled that he had collected no less than ten net bags of sea snails in the northern rocky area. This was a truly immense quantity. Combined with yesterday's harvest, his trip to the island had been incredibly fruitful. With the arrival of this batch of sea snails, in two years, it would surely multiply a hundredfold.
"After this sea trip, it's time to sweep through the sea snails in Butterfly Bay as well."
After packing his belongings and cleaning up the life garbage he had brought, he pushed the inflatable kayak into the water to return to the boat.
It took about seven or eight minutes. As soon as he boarded, Li Haochen went into the kitchen. Checking the time, it was only ten o'clock, which was a bit awkward. Breakfast was over, and lunch hadn't arrived yet. After some thought, he decided to combine the two meals and eat early, as he had a lot of work to do.
It would take 40 minutes for the rice to cook, and he wouldn't waste this time. Li Haochen was already busy planting coconut seedlings in his space. Forty minutes in his space was 80 minutes, enough to plant over a thousand seedlings.
Having completed his daily seedling work, Li Haochen brought out a few coconuts. He hadn't had them in a long time and missed them dearly.
Taking out the special forces knife, he shucked several coconuts in just a few strokes. A good knife was truly a good knife, worth the over a thousand yuan.
After shucking a few coconuts, the rice was also ready.
He hadn't eaten breakfast this morning, and now the smell of rice made his stomach rumble incessantly.
After eating, Li Haochen rested. Although he had many things to do, he believed in a balance between work and rest to avoid diminishing returns.
After about an hour of rest, his mental and physical energy were at their peak. Li Haochen then boarded the inflatable kayak to retrieve his fish traps. He used the same method as yesterday: pull one trap, bring it into his space, come out, and throw another one down. After more than an hour, he had gone through all fifty fish traps.
The harvest wasn't as good as yesterday's, but it was still decent. He caught over ten groupers, the largest weighing seven or eight pounds, which was very good. He also caught some sea bass, black bream, and the like, but not many, only three or four of each.