The contract initially stated that Pei's company advocated for the construction of an aquarium.

The Huo family just needs to cooperate with the supervision, since Pei Zhi is the one paying for it.

This led to the Huo Jiayuan incident, where Huo Li not only demanded money but also added a clause to the contract.

The construction of the aquarium was undertaken by the Huo family, with the Pei family's company assisting in the supervision.

The reason is that the Huo family started in real estate, and their staff consists of experts in the construction industry.

Pei Zhi had no choice but to sign the contract because of this requirement.

They said they would send people from the Pei family's company to supervise the construction, but the site was full of Huo family members.

Pei Zhi's initial investment was nearly one billion yuan, originally planned to be at most two billion yuan, which would definitely be enough to build an aquarium.

Even if the Huo family claims they want to build the world's largest aquarium, they certainly have enough money.

But now, the foundation has only been laid for a short time, and the Huo family says they don't have enough funds.

The accounts were written down clearly, and both families knew perfectly well whether there was anything fishy going on.

Pei Zhi really had no choice but to swallow this loss.

"President Pei, as you know, the real estate industry has been in a real slump in recent years."

"I won't even mention the cost of materials, but the workers' wages are also rising. It's normal that President Pei isn't familiar with real estate since he's never worked in it before."

Pei Zhi nodded in understanding, "Mr. Huo is a professional, so whatever Mr. Huo says goes."

Huo Li was pleased with Pei Zhi's tact. "With President Pei's assets, building an aquarium shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Pei Zhi feigned a sigh and said, "The contract has already been signed. Even if I have to sell everything I own and tighten my belt, I still have to pay this money, don't I?"

"However, I remember there's an aquarium abroad that's touted as the world's largest, but the total cost was less than 300 million US dollars?"

"I suppose our aquarium shouldn't cost that much, right?"

Pei Zhi's words were pointed out; she wanted to tell President Huo that it was okay to swindle money from her, but there couldn't be no limit.

We can't expect her to contribute billions just to build an aquarium, can we?

Huo Li understood what Pei Zhi meant: "The aquariums abroad were built a few years ago, and now everything is going up in price."

"However, I estimate that the investment in our aquarium from its initial planning to its opening will not exceed three billion yuan."

Huo Li's words were also a veiled way of asking Pei Zhi to prepare 3 billion yuan, which would then secure the aquarium project.

Pei Zhi sneered inwardly, but pretended to be troubled for a moment before nodding.

"It is indeed a considerable sum of money. I just hope that the aquarium project can be completed smoothly."

Huo Li said firmly, "As long as President Pei's money is in place, President Pei doesn't need to worry about the project."

Pei Zhi leaned back in her chair. "How about we add another clause? I'll invest 3 billion yuan in the aquarium. That's all I have."

"Of course, the Huo family must also ensure that the aquarium is not a shoddy construction project, otherwise they will have to compensate me for my losses."

Huo Li hesitated for a moment, not understanding Pei Zhi's purpose in proposing to add such a clause to the agreement.

The Huo family has been in the real estate business for so many years, the chances of them running into problems building an aquarium are extremely small.

A shoddy construction project is even more impossible.

Seeing Huo Li hesitate, Pei Zhi shook her head and said, "After all, I'm also worried that if 3 billion isn't enough, and President Huo asks for more, wouldn't that be the death of me?"

Huo Li then realized that Pei Zhi had proposed adding this clause to the agreement.

The concern is that the Huo family has asked for too much, and that 3 billion won't be enough to shut them up.

Huo Li said generously, "Okay, then let the lawyer add an agreement stating that if any problems arise in the project, the Huo family will compensate President Pei for all his investment, as well as any additional expenses incurred."

Pei Zhi smiled and said, "Then it's a deal?"

It's a deal.

Huo Li pondered that 3 billion was a huge sum of money.

Once the aquarium is built, at most it will cost a billion yuan, which will fill the pockets of all the departments involved.

As for the remaining two billion, it naturally all went into the Huo family's pockets.

Huo Li thought about the two billion that would soon be in his account, and he found Pei Zhi even more pleasing to the eye.

"How's Mr. Pei's company doing lately?"

"It's the same as always; business has been tough these past two years."

Huo Li shook her head in disagreement, "I could believe it if others said that, but President Pei, you're just being modest."

"Everyone is currently obsessed with gold, so the jewelry business is not easy to do."

Huo Li's expression softened for a moment. "President Pei, based on your intuition, how high can gold prices rise?"

Huo Li also pays attention to the market and knows that gold has been rising since the year before last.

However, the increase was not significant.

This year, prices have skyrocketed, and judging by the current trend, there seems to be room for further increases.

"I estimate that it will continue to rise for at least another two or three years."

"Two or three years?" Huo Li's tone was full of disbelief. "That's unlikely. So far, there's nothing that has been able to rise for several years in a row."

Even in the real estate market, after a few years of skyrocketing prices, didn't it quickly stabilize?

"Gold is different from houses. If you grit your teeth, most people can afford to buy gold."

"For ordinary people to buy a house, they usually have to empty the pockets of all the elderly in their family, and it's not easy to make a deal."

Huo Li nodded thoughtfully; Pei Zhi's words did make some sense.

"Moreover, with the current tight budget, people will hesitate when it comes to expenses of just over a thousand yuan."

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