Chapter 52: Is This the Farm?

When it came to establishing a new breeding and cultivation farm for blue-ringed jellyfish and looking for a partner, Chu Lin didn’t hesitate for a moment.

Some might think that letting others in on such an obviously profitable venture is sheer foolishness. But in truth, this is a matter of vision.

To be frank, when running a small business, a minor project, or a modest shop, it’s perfectly fine to hold one hundred percent of the shares. But as soon as you aim to grow bigger and stronger, the introduction of capital, talent, distribution channels, and personal networks will inevitably require sharing equity.

Even for your employees, once they reach a certain level, stock options become necessary. So, Chu Lin was never conflicted about this aspect.

Besides, with his game system, there would be plenty more projects like this in the future, so there was no need to fuss over one or two of them.

He would simply find an industry partner with the right connections and take full advantage of their network to get the project up and running swiftly. He would be responsible for breeding and cultivation, while the partner managed the distribution and sales channels.

Most importantly, with the Atlantis Blessing Stone, he had no fear of being double-crossed.

The potential partner Chu Lin had in mind was Chen Feng, young master Chen. After two encounters, he had left a very good impression.

But there was no rush. He decided to wait two or three days, accumulate more blue-ringed jellyfish, and then approach Chen with more convincing evidence.

Otherwise, if he suddenly claimed to have mastered the breeding techniques of blue-ringed jellyfish, boasting rapid reproduction and high survival rates, why would anyone believe him?

Such things require mutual trust.

After that, Chu Lin moved the fresh mantis shrimp and oysters he’d harvested that day out of the game.

Liu Fa soon arrived and took the mantis shrimp and oysters to Zhizhen.

The next day, two more batches of blue-ringed jellyfish appeared, each with more than four hundred. The total now exceeded eight hundred.

On the third morning, another batch refreshed, pushing the tally to over a thousand.

However, today was July 1st, and according to the contract with Liu Fa, today was payday. Chu Lin needed to calculate the wages.

He sat at his computer, connected his phone, downloaded a payroll spreadsheet, and started filling it out.

For now, his little operation could only manage things this way.

Liu Fa's salary was ten thousand a month, and he’d worked twenty-five days last month, which came to 8,334 yuan. Though the month wasn’t complete and full attendance wasn’t technically met, Liu Fa hadn’t taken a single day off, so Chu Lin gave him the five-hundred full-attendance bonus anyway.

He added another five hundred for labor protection.

On top of that, he’d promised a bonus. In reality, bonuses depend on the boss’s mood, the employee’s performance, and the company’s profitability.

Chu Lin was extremely satisfied with Liu Fa—he was reliable and trustworthy, not an easy kind to find.

After some thought, Chu Lin filled in three thousand for the bonus. It wasn’t a huge sum for him, but for Liu Fa, it was considerable, so he didn’t want to give too much the first time.

In total, Liu Fa’s wage for the month came to 12,334 yuan.

Of course, this was just the first month. If his performance remained stellar, Chu Lin had no qualms about raising his salary in the future, letting him earn over twenty thousand, or even more.

…

Liu Fa woke up early, beaming with happiness.

“What’s got you in such a good mood this morning?” his wife Chen Lan asked with a puzzled expression.

“Forgot? It’s the first—payday,” Liu Fa replied, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, right.” Chen Lan patted her forehead. “You used to get paid cash for every delivery job, so I never really considered you drawing a salary. So, how much will you get this month?”

“I worked twenty-five days last month. Roughly calculated, it should be over eight thousand,” Liu Fa said, visibly moved by the figure.

Back when he drove a small truck for odd jobs, he sometimes couldn’t even make eight thousand a month, especially when business was bad.

Those jobs were exhausting, too. He’d have to drive overnight, acting subservient to demanding customers, and always worried if there’d be more jobs to come.

Now, his work was far more relaxed—no need to chase down new orders, just do what Mr. Chu asked. It was simply delightful.

“It really is much better than before,” Chen Lan nodded approvingly.

“By the way, our son should finish his job today. Make sure he heads straight to the farm afterwards,” Liu Fa reminded her as he left after breakfast.

“Got it,” Chen Lan responded.

Upon arriving at the farm, Liu Fa greeted his boss respectfully, “Good morning, Mr. Chu!”

Chu Lin nodded and handed him the payslip. “Master Liu, here’s your payslip. Take a look, and I’ll transfer the money soon.”

Liu Fa had been eagerly awaiting payday and took the slip with a big smile, but when he saw the total, he was stunned. “This much?”

He’d expected just over eight thousand, but with the labor protection and bonus, it totaled 12,334—four thousand more than he anticipated. It was a wonderful surprise.

Excitedly, he bowed to Chu Lin, “Thank you, Mr. Chu, thank you so much.”

“Work hard, and your salary will keep rising,” Chu Lin said, painting a promising future as he made the transfer.

Upon receiving the payment, Liu Fa grew even more enthusiastic. “Don’t worry, Mr. Chu, I won’t let you down. I’ll go deliver the goods now.”

With that, he carefully loaded the mantis shrimp and oysters onto his truck and delivered them to the Zhizhen warehouse.

After the handover, he couldn’t resist calling his wife.

Chen Lan worked as a supermarket stocker. The job wasn’t hard but the pay wasn’t high, and her main pastime was chatting with two colleagues.

Seeing her husband’s call, she answered right away. But upon hearing the news, she was astonished. “How much did you say? Twelve thousand? That much?”

She could hardly believe it—just that morning, her husband said his salary would be just over eight thousand. How had it become over twelve thousand?

She’d always heard her husband praise his boss, but now she truly understood just how generous he was.

The delight on her face was unmistakable. After all, it was four thousand more than she’d expected and even more than her own monthly salary.

“Chen Lan, what’s making you so happy?” a colleague asked.

“Yes, what’s this about twelve thousand?” another chimed in.

Chen Lan hung up and replied, “My husband just got his salary—twelve thousand!”

“Wow, your husband makes that much?” one colleague said enviously. Her own husband only made fifty-five hundred at the factory.

Chen Lan’s smile grew even wider. “My husband’s just lucky—he found a great boss. He even missed five days of work last month; otherwise, he’d have made fifteen thousand.”

This was perhaps the proudest thing she’d ever said to her two colleagues.

She also recalled her husband’s instruction—to have their son head to the farm after finishing his job.

This couldn’t be delayed.

After all, the boss had promised her son a ten-thousand-yuan salary.

To her, this boss was truly a benefactor.

…

At the farm, Chu Lin was carrying a large bucket as he entered the Atlantis map.

By now, the blue-ringed jellyfish had refreshed seven times in Atlantis, each batch over two hundred, totaling about fifteen hundred.

Tomorrow, he could finally invite Young Master Chen for a discussion.

He made several trips, moving all the blue-ringed jellyfish out of the game and into a cultivation pond.

Inside the pond were only egg-bearing shrimp and some juvenile shrimp, which wouldn’t disturb the jellyfish.

Time passed.

By evening, Liu Fa arrived with a young man, burly as an ox, at his side. “Mr. Chu, this is my son Liu Xiao. Son, this is Mr. Chu—greet him.”

Liu Xiao, unable to speak and afraid that his gestures wouldn’t be understood, simply bowed deeply.

Chu Lin was surprised by Liu Xiao’s appearance—rugged and robust, he looked formidable. Put him in a suit with sunglasses and he’d intimidate anyone as a bodyguard.

Since Chu Lin had promised Liu Fa, he was ready to give Liu Xiao a chance. He handed over the prepared contract.

Liu Xiao didn’t read it—he couldn’t recognize many of the words—but as soon as he saw the salary figure of ten thousand, he signed without hesitation.

He was hired mainly to monitor the surveillance cameras. Given his size and strength, should anything happen, he’d be more than capable, and with the dogs, the sense of security would be overwhelming.

After signing, Chu Lin led Liu Xiao to the office, now refitted as a surveillance station, and began teaching him how to use the system.

“Let me show you how to identify different parts of the farm through the cameras,” Chu Lin said, pointing to one screen. “See this car parked at the corner—that’s not far from the main gate.”

Just as Chu Lin was speaking, the car finished parking.

Unbeknownst to him, the two men inside the car were watching the farm—it was none other than Zhong Lei and Ah Pao.

Ah Pao had chosen this spot because it was far enough not to attract attention, yet close enough to keep the farm in sight.

“So this is the place?” Zhong Lei stared at the farm in astonishment.

The young man who once ran a humble seafood shop, seeking him out for supplies and forcing a smile, now owned such a large farm.