The unimaginable hardware foundation filled Xiao Changkun with delight, while also causing him some unavoidable worry about Ye Chen.
He was no stranger to the world, so in his view, the island before them and its related facilities were no longer something that could be resolved with just tens of millions of dollars; it would require at least hundreds of millions, which meant at least seven hundred million RMB.
Ma Lan was also left speechless in astonishment. Thinking of Ye Chen, she could not help but say with some concern, “Changkun, how much money does it take for a fraud charge to result in execution by firing squad?”
“I do not know either. Let me look it up.” Xiao Changkun said, reaching out to feel for his phone. After patting his pockets and finding nothing, he only then realised that his phone had long since been lost.
Xiao Churan by his side had not expected Tang Sihai to prepare such a luxurious hideout for her and her family, so she could only say to her parents, “Dad, Mum, please stop guessing wildly. Ye Chen invested the money in Bitcoin a while back and made quite a profit. Moreover, I heard him say that the original owner of this island ran into financial difficulties, so everything here was sold at a low price. As you know, global real estate is not doing very well right now, and the prices for these small islands in the South Pacific have fallen dramatically, just like those small-property holiday villas in our suburbs. They were all the rage a few years ago, but now no one is interested in them.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Changkun suddenly understood and said, “Ah, if you put it that way, then I get it. Properties that are purely for holidays really are not worth much anymore. Old Pei bought a small-property American-style villa in the suburban mountains a few years ago during the peak of the holiday villa craze. It was sixty or seventy kilometres from the city centre, and at the time he thought that driving out to the mountains for a weekend now and then would be incredibly comfortable. But after going for a year, he could not be bothered anymore. There used to be some commercial facilities there, but as fewer people went, those facilities gradually disappeared too. When he gets there now, he cannot even find a single small shop, let alone a place to eat, and there is no takeaway either. Now the house cannot sell even at three times off the original price.”
After saying that, he surveyed the stunning scenery around them and sighed, “You say, this place is thousands of kilometres from the nearest continent. Who has the time to come all the way out here? No wonder it is losing money hand over fist.”
Ma Lan did not quite follow, so she just nodded along at the side, then asked a question that struck at the soul, “Do you think, if Ye Chen gets caught, the country will confiscate all these assets of his?”
Xiao Changkun waved his hand dismissively, “Oh, do not worry about that. We are in the bloody South Pacific now! As long as Ye Chen does not get caught and does not sell us out, we can settle down here and live!”
While Ma Lan felt relieved, she quickly said to Xiao Churan, “Churan, you must hurry up and find a way to contact Ye Chen. Tell him to find an opportunity to run out here too! The conditions here are so good. Worst case, our family of four can just stay here and never go back.”
Xiao Churan could only explain, “Mum, Ye Chen still has his own matters to handle. If he runs over here now, he will have no chance of ever going back openly. So he wants to do his utmost to resolve the problem. If he can resolve it, not only can he come find us openly, but we can also go back openly.”
Ma Lan immediately grew excited and blurted out, “If it turns out that way, that would be just wonderful! Otherwise, living in such a great place but not being able to show off to relatives and friends, or post on Moments to brag, that would be such a waste!”
Xiao Churan had long since grown accustomed to Ma Lan’s train of thought.
