"Only a little over three hundred people? Sigh. Well, a few is better than none."

Hearing this, Ouyang Jun was speechless.

’He managed to recruit nearly the entire batch of recent retirees in one go, and he still thinks it’s not enough!’

But then he thought about the scale of Fang Chenyi’s enterprises and relaxed.

It had to be said that Fang Chenyi’s new commercial district had caused an unimaginable sensation behind the scenes.

While it attracted a lot of attention, it also received special consideration from the higher-ups.

After all, a massive project that benefited both the country and its people was always going to be well-received.

If that weren’t the case, how could Ouyang Jun have possibly helped him recruit over a hundred retirees?

He chatted with Ouyang Jun a little longer, asking for his help in recruiting another batch of people and discussing the matter of maritime navigation rights.

According to Ouyang Jun, the navigation rights were nothing to worry about. He just needed to take the ship’s purchase documents to the maritime affairs department to register it. After all, the vessel was still considered a Huaxia ship.

DRING DRING DRING~

He had just put his phone down when it started ringing again.

Fang Chenyi was taken aback. He thought Ouyang Jun had forgotten to mention something and was calling back.

But when he saw the name on the screen, he froze. Demo Did. ’Why would that guy be calling me?’

The name instantly made Fang Chenyi think of the Mona Lisa hanging in his parents’ villa. ’He’s probably calling about that painting.’

’Seriously, this guy... Calling me in the middle of the night. That’s pretty out of line!’

He answered the call and couldn’t help but complain.

"Old Di, calling in the middle of the night? Don’t you sleep?"

Demo Did chuckled slyly on the other end.

"Hehe, sounds like I called at a bad time."

Hearing that laugh, Fang Chenyi was at a loss for words. ’Why does he sound so sleazy?’

After a moment’s thought, it dawned on him. ’The guy must think he interrupted me while I was... busy.’

He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Damn it, Old Di, did you forget about the time difference? It’s after one in the morning here!"

Just as he expected, the person on the other end was stunned for a moment, followed by an embarrassed laugh.

"Hehehe, sorry, Boss. I honestly forgot. I was wondering why you’d be asleep when it’s only a little after nine p.m. here. I thought maybe you were... getting some exercise in."

Just as he thought. Fang Chenyi waved his hand dismissively and cut him off with a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, cut the crap. It’s the middle of the night. You’re lucky I wasn’t asleep yet. Alright, spit it out. I’m about to go to bed."

On the other end, Demo Did sounded a bit sheepish as he said:

"Uh, I just wanted to ask, Boss, if I could borrow that Mona Lisa for a bit. I was shooting my mouth off to some people and told them I had the real Mona Lisa. They all believed me, and now I’m in a bit of a bind."

After hearing Demo Did’s story, Fang Chenyi could perfectly picture the guy bragging his head off.

He shook his head in amusement. Truth be told, ever since he’d met the guy, he had been a pretty decent person, and a very loyal friend.

Since he was asking to borrow it, Fang Chenyi couldn’t really refuse. After all, the guy had bought him antiques worth hundreds of millions last time, hadn’t he?

With that in mind, Fang Chenyi teased him a little.

’My first thought was to have him come pick it up, but then it occurred to me that my ship, the Ocean Harmony, is docked in Dubai Port right now. In that case, I might as well just fly over myself. It would be a good chance to check on my cruise ship and make sure Captain David hasn’t been up to anything funny.’

With that decided, Fang Chenyi told him he was planning a trip to Dubai anyway and would bring the Mona Lisa with him.

Demo Did, of course, had no objections. This was perfect! ’Once the Boss is on my home turf, I can really show off for him!’

After hanging up, he saw it was nearly two in the morning. He took a quick shower, then went back to the bedroom, wrapped his arms around his wife, and went to sleep.

「The next morning」

Fang Chenyi got up bright and early with Bai Menghan.

It was just a little after five a.m. Seeing Fang Chenyi awake so early, Bai Menghan was astonished. ’Did the sun rise in the west or something? Why are you up so early?’

Seeing the way Bai Menghan was staring at him like he was some kind of freak, Fang Chenyi rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Xiao Hanhan, what’s with that look? What, you think I’m not allowed to be hardworking for once?"

In response, Bai Menghan simply said two words: "Yeah, right."

After some playful banter, the two of them left their villa and walked over to Villa Number One, where the rest of the family was already having breakfast. Soon, everyone would be heading off to their respective companies. The only one not yet up was Fang Jinjin, who had nothing to do now that her exams were over.

Everyone was taken aback when Fang Chenyi arrived, and his father was the first to start teasing him.

"Well, well, what’s this? Did the sun rise in the west today? Why are you up so early, kiddo?"

Fang Chenyi was left speechless by his dad’s teasing. ’Looks like my reputation for being lazy is really set in stone around here.’

Shaking his head in resignation, Fang Chenyi really wanted to retort, ’You think I’m lazy? You have no idea. While you’re all sound asleep at night, I’m out there struggling in a pile of trash, okay!’