Can't afford to pay for the takeout? Stunning CEO: Then pay with your body!

This area in the south of the city has a well-known name in the Jinghai real estate circle – "Devil's Bane".

There are ghost stories in front, muddy terrain behind, and an unfathomable layer of quicksand underneath. Anyone who touches it is doomed.

But this afternoon, a piece of news spread like wildfire throughout the Jinghai business district: Nie Qingcheng of Qingcheng Group has gone mad. Not only did she not cancel the "haunted house" construction site, but she also bought up all 200 acres of unwanted reed marshes and mud pits around it at a 10% premium.

This move completely stunned everyone.

At this moment, the temporary fence surrounding the construction site.

A flashy purple Lamborghini was parked there, its window rolled down, revealing a young face that exuded a sense of superficiality.

Zhou Wenbin, the eldest son of the Zhou family.

With a Cuban cigar dangling from his mouth, he watched Nie Qingcheng directing the excavator into the field not far away, and laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.

"Oh my, isn't this our President Nie?"

Zhou Wenbin pushed open the car door, wearing a pair of limited-edition sneakers, and trudged to the edge of the muddy ground, his tone full of schadenfreude. "I heard you bought this whole muddy pond? What, is Qingcheng Group planning to switch to raising loaches?"

Today, Nie Qingcheng was dressed in a smart workwear style, wearing Martin boots and holding blueprints in her hand. She didn't even look up when she heard the sound.

"If Young Master Zhou is bored, he should go to the temple and burn some incense to pray that his land won't become a burden on his hands."

"Stuck in my hands? Ha!"

Zhou Wenbin, as if he had heard the funniest joke, pointed to the flat plot of land next door that the Zhou family had already acquired, and exclaimed, "My land is a feng shui treasure!"

"As long as the bad luck here doesn't spread, I'll be able to build the most high-end office building in Jinghai next year."

As he spoke, he glanced at Zhang Yan standing next to Nie Qingcheng with a contemptuous look in his eyes: "But you, you listened to the nonsense of this gigolo who lives off a woman and spent 500 million to buy this pile of junk."

"Nie Qingcheng, I think you've been blinded by male beauty and have lost even your basic business judgment."

Several small business owners watching the commotion also joined in the whispering.

Indeed, this was done outrageously.

The bottom of that reed marsh was all silt, and the cost of just filling the soil and laying the foundation would be astronomical, not to mention that strange quicksand layer.

Zhang Yan was drinking a bottle of mineral water when he heard this. He tightened the cap and slowly turned around.

"Young Master Zhou, don't speak too definitively."

Zhang Yan pointed to the rotten, muddy ground at his feet. "What if what's buried underneath isn't a loach, but a golden dragon?"

"Golden Dragon? I think it's more like 'Golden Fertilizer'!"

Zhou Wenbin laughed until tears streamed down his face. "Fine, I'll watch from here!"

"If you can dig anything out of this muddy pit today, I, Zhou Wenbin, will eat this mud right here and now!"

Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow: "You said it yourself, everyone heard it."

He was too lazy to waste words with this spoiled brat and turned to look at the excavator operator who was still hesitating.

"Master, don't just stand there."

Zhang Yan took out the topographical map he knew by heart from his pocket, compared it with the surrounding mountain terrain, and finally walked to a depression overgrown with wild grass.

The area is low-lying and often flooded, yet the surrounding grass grows exceptionally lush, even displaying an eerie emerald green hue in late autumn.

According to the blueprints in "The Thousand Machine Box", this is the water outlet of the "Heavenly Arsenal", which is the drain valve of the cooling circulation system.

Centuries have passed, and with the geothermal energy underground and the pressure of the circulating water, this place has long since become a pressure cooker.

"Right here."

Zhang Yan drew a circle on the ground with his toe. "Dig vertically downwards, be gentle, don't use brute force."

The excavator operator looked at Old Chen, then at Nie Qingcheng.

Nie Qingcheng crossed her arms, her sunglasses covering most of her face, revealing only her delicate chin: "Listen to him, if he damages it, it's on me."

"Okay!"

Now that the boss had spoken, the foreman stopped dawdling and drove the huge bucket over with a rumble.

"boom--"

The first shovelful brought up a large amount of black mud and rotten plant roots, and the stench was so strong that Zhou Wenbin covered his nose and took several steps back.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this flavor is really strong."

Zhou Wenbin fanned himself, looking disgusted. "Nie Qingcheng, are you planning to build houses on this? Sell them to flies?"

Nie Qingcheng ignored him, staring intently at the ever-deepening pit.

Although she trusted Zhang Yan unconditionally, this was still 500 million yuan in real money, and her palms were still slightly sweaty.

Zhang Yan remained calm, even taking out a mint from his pocket, unwrapping it, and popping it into his mouth.

three meters.

five meters.

eight meters.

The roar of excavators echoed across the empty wasteland.

The pit was dug deeper and deeper, and all that remained was mud, which even began to seep out murky groundwater.

The surrounding chatter grew louder and louder.

"It's over, this is a useless pit."

"Five hundred million, that's all gone down the drain."

Zhou Wenbin laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight: "Oh dear, Zhang Yan, where's the golden dragon you mentioned? I don't see even a single loach here! How about I sponsor you two truckloads of fish fry?"

Just then.

Zhang Yan's eyes suddenly narrowed.

He sensed it.

A very subtle tremor came from the ground beneath my feet, as if some enormous creature was awakening underground.

The temperature in the air seems to have risen.

"stop!"

Zhang Yan suddenly shouted.

The excavator operator was startled and instinctively released the control lever, leaving the huge bucket suspended in mid-air.

"What's wrong? Can't you dig anymore?"

Zhou Wenbin continued his sarcastic remarks, "If we run out of gas, I still have some in my car..."

Before he could finish speaking...

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening roar, seemingly from the depths of hell, instantly drowned out all other sounds.

Immediately afterwards, the soil at the bottom of the newly dug pit began to churn violently as if it were boiling.

"Retreat now!"

Zhang Yan reacted quickly, grabbing Nie Qingcheng's waist and propelling her backward more than ten meters.

next second.

A white column of water shot into the sky, accompanied by a deafening roar!

The water column was over twenty meters high, piercing the sky. It was crystal clear under the sunlight, and then it turned into a mist that fell down.

"Holy crap! The water pipe burst?!"

Old Chen was so frightened that he fell to the ground with a thud, his face turning pale. "Where did this water pipe come from down there?!"

Zhou Wenbin was also startled by this sudden turn of events, but he quickly recovered and pointed at the water column, laughing loudly: "Hahahaha! We've ruptured the groundwater layer! Now the foundation is completely soaked! This land is utterly ruined!"

However, as he was laughing, his voice suddenly caught in his throat.

A gust of wind blew, sending the misty spray onto everyone's faces.

Hot.

It's piping hot.

Moreover, the air didn't have the stench of stagnant underground water; instead, it was filled with a faint sulfurous smell, similar to boiled eggs, and even had an indescribable freshness.

"Why is this water... hot?"

Old Chen wiped the water off his face and froze.

He subconsciously stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, his eyes suddenly widening.

"This taste..."

At this point, the workers who had been hiding far away also realized that something was wrong.

What was shooting into the sky was not ordinary groundwater.

That's clearly a hot spring with steam rising from it!

White steam billowed across the construction site, instantly transforming this desolate, muddy swamp into a misty, ethereal wonderland.

Zhang Yan released Nie Qingcheng, patted the water droplets off his body, and a knowing smile appeared on his lips.

"Old Chen, bring me the thermometer and test strips."

Old Chen frantically rummaged through his toolbox for equipment, ignoring the muddy ground, and scrambled to the edge of the puddle.

A few minutes later.

Old Chen's hand holding the testing device began to tremble violently. He was so excited, his face and neck were flushed, as if he had won the lottery.

"Mr. Nie... Mr. Nie!"

Old Chen's voice was cracking, a result of extreme excitement.

"Water temperature 72 degrees Celsius! pH value 7.8! Slightly alkaline!"

"Moreover...moreover, it has a moderate sulfur content and is rich in metasilicic acid and selenium!"

"This is...this is a top-quality selenium-rich sulfur hot spring! It's on par with the one in R country! No, it's even purer!"

boom!

These words were like a bombshell, exploding directly in the crowd.

In Jinghai City, where land is incredibly valuable, especially in this suburb only 40 kilometers from the city center, a top-quality natural hot spring has been discovered.

What does this mean?

This means that this once worthless muddy pond has instantly turned into a treasure trove flowing with gold!

Hot spring resorts, high-end sanatoriums, top-tier private hot spring villas...

This is hardly a plot of land worth 500 million.

If this were developed, it would be worth more than 5 billion!

The smile on Zhou Wenbin's face froze completely.

He stared wide-eyed at the still-gushing hot spring, oblivious to the cigar he dropped and burned his foot.

"No...it's impossible..."

"How can there be a hot spring in this godforsaken place? This is clearly an ominous place..."

He felt his head buzzing, as if he had been slapped hundreds of times.

He was just mocking Nie Qingcheng for buying a bunch of rotten mud.

As a result, when someone shoveled down, they dug up a gold mine!

The so-called "feng shui treasure land" in his hands, lacking hot spring resources, instantly became an unwanted, withered bun compared to this.

"Young Master Zhou."

Zhang Yan walked up to Zhou Wenbin and thoughtfully pointed to the puddle of black mud on the ground.

"You just said that if we dig anything out, we'll eat this mud?"

"The mud is still warm, how about... we do it while it's hot?"

Zhou Wenbin's face turned a deep purplish-red, and he trembled all over. He pointed at Zhang Yan and kept stammering "you, you, you" for a long time before finally feeling a surge of blood rushing to his chest.

"puff--"

He almost coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Let's go! Let's go!"

Zhou Wenbin couldn't bear to stay any longer. He turned around and got into the car, almost failing to close the door. The Lamborghini roared in disarray and sped away as if fleeing for its life.

A burst of laughter erupted on the construction site as Zhou Wenbin fled in disarray.

Nie Qingcheng took off her sunglasses and looked at the magnificent fountain in front of her, her chest heaving violently.

She turned around and looked at the boy standing calmly in the steam.

Sunlight pierced through the mist, refracting a rainbow onto him.

At that moment, Nie Qingcheng felt her heart pounding so hard it was about to jump out of her throat.

This man.

Not only can he cook, but he can also play the piano, fight, and appraise treasures.

Now, with a casual gesture, he has given her a business empire worth billions.

"Zhang Yan".

Nie Qingcheng suddenly shouted.

"Um?"

As soon as Zhang Yan turned around, he felt a fragrant breeze wafting towards him.

Nie Qingcheng didn't care that there were dozens of workers watching around her. She rushed over and jumped on him like a koala, clamping her legs tightly around his waist and showering him with kisses.

"Trojan horse! Trojan horse!"

"Honey! You're amazing!"

"You are my God of Wealth! My living Buddha!"

Nie Qingcheng was so excited that she was incoherent, and tears even welled up in her eyes.

It's not just about money.

This was a huge act of revenge for her in front of the entire Jinghai business community!

From today onwards, who dares to say that the man she chose is a loser?

This is a cheat code that can turn lead into gold!

Zhang Yan helplessly supported her buttocks to prevent the female CEO, whose net worth had skyrocketed, from falling.

"There are so many people watching, Mr. Nie, mind your image."

"I don't!"

Nie Qingcheng buried her face in the crook of his neck, her voice filled with a mix of spoiled arrogance and ecstatic joy, "I'm going to let the whole world know that you're the one who dug this land for me!"

"You can do whatever you want when we get back tonight!"

Even if you want to be on the balcony...

Zhang Yan quickly covered her mouth.

This woman, once she gets excited, starts spouting nonsense; if she keeps going, it'll be censored.

He looked at Nie Qingcheng, who was as excited as a little girl in his arms, and then at the still gushing hot spring.

Five billion is indeed a lot.

But this is just the beginning.

Zhang Yan's gaze pierced through the rising mist, looking deeper into the earth.

This hot spring is merely circulating water used by the "Heavenly Arsenal" to cool its core furnace.

Since the cooling water is still gushing out.

That means...

That "big guy" that has been buried underground for hundreds of years likely still has an intact power system.

If we could dig that thing out...

That's true wealth, enough to rival a nation.

"Wife."

Zhang Yan leaned close to Nie Qingcheng's ear and whispered something.

"Is that all you're satisfied with?"

"This is just an appetizer."

"Seal off this area and have bodyguards guard all the entrances."

A glint of light flashed in Zhang Yan's eyes.

"What we're about to dig up is a hundred times hotter than this hot spring."

Nie Qingcheng looked puzzled, but Zhang Yan didn't say anything, only smiled mysteriously.

The land has been purchased; now it's time to build!

……