94: Chapter 94 This land now belongs to the Li family!

"Gu Zeyan and Shen Yu."

Li Li held his phone, silent.

One of those names was truly nauseating.

"Does Shenghui Entertainment know I'm also on this show?"

There was only uneven breathing on the other end of the line. The accompanying director was playing dead.

"Fine, got it." Li Li switched the phone to his other hand. "Thanks for the heads-up."

"Teacher Li, you don't have any objections, do you?" the director asked tentatively.

"I'm no teacher; just call me Li Li. What objections could I have?" Li Li leaned against the wall. "If they want to ride my coattails, let them. I just don't know if this is about chasing clout or just rushing to their own doom."

He hung up.

The Company's plans were quite ambitious.

He was currently the hottest amateur in the domestic entertainment industry, Jiang Rumu's "rumored CP."

Shoving Gu Zeyan over here to appear on screen together would guarantee buzz.

Unfortunately, the Fire Department special service squadron wasn't a film studio.

That was a place where you actually had to enter burning buildings, handle fire hoses, and climb ropes. Gu Zeyan, a pampered young master who needed an assistant to unscrew his mineral water bottle, going to the Fire Department?

This wasn't filming a show; it was just adding to the Fire Department's rescue difficulties.

Li Li shoved his phone into his pocket. If entertainment was being delivered to his doorstep, he might as well watch.

He pushed open the door to the finance office.

Teacher Wang was moving a thick stack of archive boxes onto the table, patting the dust off them.

"The documents you wanted are all here."

Li Li pulled out a chair, sat down, and opened the one on top.

The paper was yellowed, and the edges were curled.

The more he read, the more his heart sank.

Three hundred and fifty children—these weren't three hundred and fifty healthy kids who could eat and run around.

The classification was extremely complex.

Orphans and abandoned infants under long-term government guardianship. Children whose parents were incarcerated or whose guardians couldn't be found, temporarily placed by the Civil Affairs Bureau.

And the most difficult category: the sick.

Congenital heart disease, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, severe autism.

These children required twenty-four-hour special care and even regular medical intervention.

Li Li flipped to the staff roster.

Setting aside the kitchen auntie, the gatekeeper uncle, the cleaning lady, and part-time staff, there were fifteen full-time teachers actually responsible for looking after the children.

Fifteen.

Li Li grabbed a ballpoint pen from the side, wrote the number on a piece of scratch paper, and drew a heavy circle around it.

Three hundred and fifty divided by fifteen.

One teacher watching twenty-three children.

This wasn't a job; it was risking their lives.

"Teacher Wang."

"Yes?"

Li Li pointed at the roster. "How many hours do these fifteen people sleep every day?"

Teacher Wang pulled over a chair and sat down, pounding her lower back.

"They split into morning, afternoon, and night shifts. When the seasons change and colds and fevers hit, working forty-eight hours straight is the norm. Old Liu fell asleep standing in the hallway last month, toppled over, and chipped half a front tooth."

Li Li closed the file.

"Hire people. There's a shortfall of at least thirty. Special care nurses, psychological counselors, rehabilitation therapists—we need to get them all."

Teacher Wang gave a bitter smile.

"Hire people? With what money? The monthly government subsidies are just enough to feed and clothe the children. Social donations depend on luck; last month we only received two boxes of bread near its expiration date. Even if you paid off the loan today, the money in the account wouldn't last a few months."

Li Li tapped his fingers on the desk.

Without money, everything is impossible. But the one thing he feared least was making money.

Li Li stood up and walked to the wall.

On the wall hung a topographical map of the front of Mount Qingcheng. A large area was circled in red ink.

Fifty thousand square meters.

This was the empire Zhang Guifang had left him.

Currently, the orphanage's built-up area was only ten thousand square meters; the remaining forty thousand was all wasteland, vegetable plots, and a small patch of forest behind the hill.

There was a wild hot spring in the forest; all the children from Li Li's time knew about it.

Li Li reached out his finger and traced the map.

Mount Qingcheng, a tourist hotspot. The high-speed railway station was just two kilometers away.

Using this location to grow cabbage was a waste of a heavenly treasure.

He stepped back two paces, staring at that green area. A 3D model automatically generated in his mind.

"Teacher Wang, is the wild hot spring in the forest behind the hill still there?"

Teacher Wang paused, stunned. "It's still there, but the water flow isn't much. Usually, just a few old men go there to soak their feet. Why?"

"Flat land, forest, hot springs, transportation hub."

Li Li turned around. "We aren't selling this forty thousand square meters; we're developing it ourselves."

Teacher Wang's eyes widened. "Develop? Build what?"

"An international chain parent-child hot spring resort hotel."

Li Li spoke extremely fast; his architect's occupational disease was acting up.

"Physically separate the orphanage from the commercial zone. The commercial zone will focus on high-end family travel. Build a jungle zip-line project relying on the hill behind, and use the hot springs to create private in-room baths. Then, set up some study tour projects to host winter and summer camps from first-tier cities."

Teacher Wang listened, dumbfounded. "This... can it work?"

"Why wouldn't it? We have the biggest gimmick: charity. Thirty percent of the hotel's profits will go back to the orphanage. Rich people love this kind of consumption where they can enjoy themselves while accumulating merit. At the same time, the hotel's service, logistics, and security positions can prioritize employment for some people with mild disabilities or adult orphans."

Li Li walked back to the table and pulled over a sheet of white paper.

He quickly sketched on it with a pen.

In less than three minutes, a sketch of the resort hotel's layout took shape.

"A closed commercial loop."

The pen tip stabbed heavily into the paper. "As long as we pull this off, the orphanage won't just be self-sufficient; we'll be able to hire the best doctors and teachers for the children."

Teacher Wang looked at the sketch and swallowed hard. "How much will this cost?"

Li Li stopped his pen. He calculated in his mind.

"The land is free, but construction costs, plus renovations and operations... conservatively estimated, 150 million."

The finance office was deathly silent.

Teacher Wang's newly ignited hope was extinguished. "You could sell me, see if I'm even worth ten thousand."

Li Li ignored her.

150 million. He had less than 20 million in his account right now. It was impossible for a bank to approve a commercial loan of over 100 million for a non-profit organization.

Who could he get to invest?

Li Li took out his phone and opened WeChat.

The profile picture pinned to the top. Jiang Rumu.

At the Ala Country presidential banquet, this young lady had just secured an endorsement contract worth 200 million USD.

200 million USD. Converted to RMB, that was 1.4 billion.

A ready-made angel investor.

Li Li typed with one hand.

"Senior Jiang, are you interested in doing charity?"

He sent it. Recalled it.

He typed again.

"Mumu, I have a project that's a guaranteed win with no losses, an extremely high annual return rate, and it accumulates great merit."

He sent it. Recalled it.

Li Li turned his phone face down on the table.

To trick Jiang Rumu into paying, he needed a strategy. He couldn't be forceful; he had to make her feel like she held the dominant position.

This woman appeared cold and aloof on the outside, but in reality, she was a total dork who was extremely protective of her own.

As long as he laid out the wretched state of the 350 children before her, painted a picture of her as the "Charity Queen," and threw in some pitiful behavior.

Given her nature of loathing capital manipulation, she would absolutely pay up just to slap those profit-seeking businessmen in the face.

This had potential.

He was just planning how to write the business proposal.

"Brother Li Li!"

Jiajia's voice came from downstairs. It was tearful.

Li Li walked to the window and pushed open the glass.

Outside the iron gate, four cars had stopped at some point.

Two black Audis, one Toyota Coaster, and a Range Rover.

The car doors opened one after another. A dozen or so people got out.

Some were wearing neat dark jackets, slicked-back hair, and briefcases tucked under their arms. The others were in suits, with potbellies.

The leader was a fat man; the Green Submariner watch on his wrist was dazzling in the sun.

The fat man walked up to the iron gate and slapped the door frame hard twice. The iron gate made a harsh clanging sound.

"Open up! Where is Zhang Guifang! Make her come out!"

The gatekeeper uncle walked out holding his tea mug and asked through the iron bars. "Who are you looking for?"

A middle-aged man in a jacket next to the fat man stepped forward. "I am Deputy Mayor Wang from the town, and this is General Manager Liu from Hengtai Construction. We are here today to discuss the acquisition of this land."

Teacher Wang, standing behind Li Li, turned pale upon hearing this. "Acquisition? Who said anything about selling the land!"

Li Li looked back at her. "What's going on?"

Teacher Wang was so anxious she kept rubbing her hands. "For the past few years, people in the town have been eyeing our land. They say we're occupying the latrine without doing anything, affecting the overall planning of the Mount Qingcheng tourist area. They've sent people to talk a few times before, but the director chased them away with a broom. Why did they have to come today..."

Taking advantage of the director being hospitalized to force their hand.

Li Li turned his head, his gaze passing over the windowsill and landing on the group of people below.

The fat man was still slapping the gate. "Old man, open the gate now! Can you take responsibility for delaying the town's key development project!"

The gatekeeper uncle wouldn't have it. "The director isn't here, I'm not letting anyone in!"

The fat man got angry and kicked the iron gate hard.

"Giving you face and you don't want it, huh! Believe it or not, I'll have people flatten this crappy courtyard of yours tomorrow!"

The loud noise scared the children in the courtyard. Several little ones started wailing.

Jiajia spread her arms to block in front of the children and shouted at the gate. "You aren't allowed to bully us!"

Li Li withdrew his gaze and rested one hand on the window sill.

"Teacher Wang, lock all the documents in the safe."

He straightened the hem of his clothes and turned to walk out.

"This land belongs to Li now."