America: The neighbor's wife is so incredibly hospitable!

The tea is ready.

Katie took a sip, and her eyes lit up.

Even the cheapest Lipton tea bags become fragrant after using that underground river water.

"Let's get down to business."

Chen An put down his cup and looked at Katie. "You didn't come here today just to see if I'm dead or not, did you?"

Katie put down her cup, her expression becoming more serious.

"You're right. My uncle... Robert, asked me to pass on a message to you."

"The Smith project wasn't just a resort. They tampered with the exploration reports."

Katie lowered her voice, "They found signs of a rare mineral vein underground at that construction site."

"It seems to be... lithium ore, or some kind of rare earth element. The so-called search for water sources is actually about finding the direction of the mineral veins."

Chen An's pupils suddenly contracted.

Lithium ore?

If that's the case, then everything makes sense.

Why would they be willing to pay such a high price for this godforsaken piece of land?

Why use the mayor's connections to forcibly requisition the property?

Because if it's a mine, its value isn't just a few hundred thousand, but hundreds of millions!

"That devil's throat..." Chen An thought of that bottomless cave.

Perhaps that underground river is not just water, but also the entrance to that enormous treasure?

"Mr. Robert said that if you trust him, he can help you find a professional geological team to conduct an investigation."

"Of course, it was done in secret," Katie said seriously.

Chen An remained silent for a moment.

There is no free lunch.

Robert is a businessman, and he must have done this to get a share of the profits.

However, rather than letting a robber like Red Rock take it away, it's better to bring in a stronger ally.

"Tell Mr. Robert that the survey is possible."

Chen An raised his head, his eyes sharp. "But I have one condition."

"What?"

"I want Red Rock to get out of Montana completely. If he can do that, he'll get a share of everything underground."

Katie looked at the boy in front of her.

In that dimly lit living room, his ambition and boldness shone brighter than the flames in the fireplace.

"I will pass on the message."

Katie stood up. "And...that dog is nice. Don't let it bark at my car next time."

Before leaving, she glanced at Sarah, who had been asserting her dominance from the side, and suddenly gave a sly smile.

"By the way, ma'am. Next time, if you don't want to show it, remember to cover up the hickey on your neck. Your foundation isn't even applied evenly."

After saying that, she walked away with her head held high, like a rooster that had won a fight.

"you!"

Sarah clutched her neck in anger, her face flushed red, and turned to Chen An, "An! Look at her!"

Chen An laughed and pulled Sarah into his arms.

"Alright, why bother arguing with a little girl?"

He kissed the hickey on Sarah's neck again. "It's my medal, why are you covering it up?"

Sarah instantly lost her temper and slumped into his arms.

"Well... I'd like to have a nice meal tonight."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Eat... a hot dog."

Chen An glanced at Zeus, who was diligently guarding his territory by the door outside the window, and then looked at the beauty in his arms with eyes full of spring water.

"Okay. The kind with double the sauce."

………………

It's not cheap to wean a modern farm off its dependence on the power grid.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

That tech geek with the mohawk hairstyle from yesterday is back again.

This time he brought a larger truck, loaded with twenty high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar panels.

There is also a heavy lithium iron phosphate battery pack.

"Chen, are you sure you want to put these on top of that broken barn?"

The mohawk-wearing guy chewed gum and glanced at the somewhat old red barn next to him.

"I'm afraid that if the wind gets too strong, it will blow the roof and the roof panels away."

"Don't worry, I reinforced it last night."

Chen An stood at the bottom of the ladder, wearing goggles, directing the hoisting operation.

"I'll put the battery pack in the basement where the temperature is constant. I don't want the batteries to freeze and fail before winter even arrives."

Sarah, wearing her practical denim shorts, was helping to hand over a screwdriver and a bottle of water.

Her face radiated the joy of rebuilding her home.

Whenever the mohawk-wearing guy glanced at her figure a few extra times, she would immediately take Chen An's arm, asserting her ownership through her actions.

I worked for a full four hours.

When the last line is connected.

"Beep—"

The inverter emitted a crisp start-up sound.

The green indicator light on the control panel is lit, showing that the current power generation is rapidly increasing.

"It's done!" the mohawk-wearing guy whistled. "10 kilowatts of installed capacity, plus 50 kilowatt-hours of energy storage."

"Unless you plan to grow marijuana in a greenhouse and need to keep hundreds of UV lights on 24 hours a day, this amount of electricity is enough to power both of your houses."

Chen An looked at the meter.

From this moment on, even if the county power bureau pulls out that power pole...

He can still live a civilized life with hot water, heating, and even Netflix.

This is the strongest source of confidence in this capitalist society: self-sufficiency.

After seeing the installation team off, Chen An spent all the budget he had originally set aside for buying a car.

Now, he only has a few hundred dollars left in his account for living expenses.

"Ann...did we spend too much?" Sarah asked, looking at the brand-new control cabinet.

Although happy, she was also a little distressed about the money, "That's over ten thousand US dollars..."

"This is called infrastructure investment."

Chen An wiped his sweat, hugged her from behind, and kissed her on her slender neck.

"Don't worry about the money. The person who will actually deliver the money will be here soon."

The voice just fell.

A black Lincoln Navigator slowly drove into the farm.

………………

The car door opened.

Robert White walked down, leaning on a walking stick.

Following behind him was the bodyguard who remained vigilant at all times.

There was also a little old man with gray hair, wearing thick-rimmed glasses and carrying various instruments on his back.

Good afternoon, Chen.

Robert glanced at the newly built solar system and nodded approvingly.

"It seems you spent my $5,000 signing fee wisely."

"These days, energy independence is freedom."

"It's just to avoid being held hostage by those bureaucrats."

Chen An went up to him, without exchanging many pleasantries, and his gaze fell on the little old man. "And this gentleman is?"

"Dr. Evans, a senior geologist at the Colorado School of Mines," Robert introduced.

"He came to see the stones."

Chen An made a "please" gesture.

"Since we're here, let's go check out that 'money-swallowing' hole."

Without further ado, the group, led by Chen An, even had to slightly pull Sarah along.

She insisted on going along, because as the lady of the house, she needed to know what was buried in her own land, and headed towards the "Devil's Throat" in the back mountain.

Zeus was freed from his chains by Chen An and led the way like a loyal beast.

Its massive size and terrifying presence made Robert's bodyguard instinctively put his hand on the holster in his pocket.