"I...I didn't mean to," Lin Hu said awkwardly, his movements frozen.

"Oh." Duan Linzhou withdrew his hand and looked down at his own hand.

Actually, there was no pain, and it wasn't even red.

Ke Linhu noticed that Duan Linzhou seemed a little aggrieved.

Lin Hu wasn't very good at comforting people. He sat back down and reached out to grab Duan Linzhou's hand.

Duan Linzhou looked up at Linhu, but only saw a sulking person propping up his head with his hand and looking away, leaving only the back of his head visible to him.

Duan Linzhou smiled, a slight curl at the corner of his lips.

What a conflicted person.

The day passed quickly. I didn't accomplish much today, except for drawing a map and planning the layout.

During dinner time, Duan Bohai and Jiang Qiaomei did not allow Lin Hu to come into the kitchen to help.

Lin Hu wouldn't let them in, so Duan Linzhou was naturally kicked out as well, and went to keep Lin Hu company.

Finally, Wen Bo and the other two were conscripted.

Lin Hu sat on the raft, counting the crystal cores traded in the market today. Duan Linzhou was also busy, sitting to the side and tinkering with his own trading market.

He and Wen Bozhi are now both well-known wine merchants; he sells baijiu and fruit wine, while Wen Bozhi sells beer and red wine.

After experiencing three natural disasters, the players' living standards have basically stabilized, and they have extra crystals to buy alcohol.

He was never stingy with money when it came to those drunkards.

Lin Hu also made a lot of money because Duan Linzhou made fruit wine and he bought fruit from him.

His total number of crystal cores is now almost two million level-three crystal cores.

He's getting closer to earning those ten million level-three crystal cores, but of course, he won't just aim for that. He'll also earn some for his living expenses and a little secret stash.

Overall, he should be considered to be in debt for eight million now.

Lin Hu was staring blankly at his shop page when another message notification sounded.

Lin Hu opened his friends list and saw it was Cheng Yuan.

[Cheng Yuan: Boss, someone contacted me saying they have something important to discuss with you and asked you to add them as a friend.]

Important matter?!

Lin Hu couldn't recall having any recent interactions with anyone, but he was grateful for his current title and the presence of "Boss Zhou" behind him.

He figured there must be at least ten thousand people looking for him.

Lin Hu replied to the other party: 【What's the important matter?】

Cheng Yuan wasn't sure either. He noticed that ever since Lin Hu turned off friend requests, many people had been able to find him inexplicably and ask him to come find Lin Hu.

He seemed to understand why Boss Zhou had shut down his friends, become invisible, and come to Shanglin Lake to make contact.

Lin Hu later closed his friend request, and now he also wants to close his friend request.

Cheng Yuan: I don't know, but that person is the head of the Qin family who came from this merged district; his name is Qin Fulang.

Cheng Yuan was unaware of the past conflict between the Qin family and Lin Hu; this was merely a formality.

Lin Hu's gaze lingered on the words "Head of the Qin Family," his brows furrowed in confusion. What was this person up to?

Lin Hu was curious about what the other party wanted to do, so he asked Cheng Yuan to send him the other party's ID number so he could add it himself.

He dared not open any friend requests now; he could imagine being overwhelmed by them and having to search for someone among them.

After Cheng Yuan sent the message, Lin Hu added her as a friend. The message was accepted quickly, and the other party greeted him immediately.

[Qin Fulang: Hello Mr. Lin, is it convenient for me to message you at this time?]

Lin Hu didn't reply immediately. He first clicked on the other person's profile picture, wanting to remember what the other person looked like so he could avoid them if they ran into each other.

He didn't believe the other party was anything of value.

He couldn't possibly be unaware of what Qin Yaowei and Qin Yaoyao had done, especially since his son had been poisoned to death by him.

This kind of hatred, stemming from the killing of one's son, makes it impossible to sit down and have a calm conversation.

Lin Hu wanted to see what this man was up to, but didn't expose him at the beginning: "Of course I won't bother you. May I ask what business Mr. Qin has with me?"

The other party replied to the message very quickly, almost constantly watching the screen.

[Qin Fulang: I heard that Boss Lin is working for Boss Zhou. Would it be convenient for you to introduce me? I have something important to discuss.]

[Lin Hu: Boss Zhou is very busy. It's fine if you need anything, just tell me.]

On the other side, Qin Fulang's eyes flashed with malice, his face full of disdain and resentment, but the message he sent was exactly the opposite.

[Qin Fulang: Young Master Lin, you truly have earned Boss Zhou's favor. Then I'll speak frankly.]

[Lin Hu: Please speak.]

Qin Fulang: I heard that Boss Zhou is looking for someone to partner with for his shop, so I thought I'd come and offer my services. Hopefully, that's not too forward.

Lin Hu: Even if it was abrupt, didn't you say it?

Lin Hu now truly believes what he saw in the chat area before: that the Qin family only managed to rise to the ranks of the wealthy by relying on their son's good looks.

Being brainless is a small matter; being cowardly is a big one.

The person who killed his son is talking to him, but instead of thinking about revenge, he's saying flattering things.

Lin Hu felt that if he cursed him now and then hired people to come to the island to kill him next time, Lin Hu could still respect him as a good father.

[Lin Hu: The shops have been selected, and no more shops will be added at this time.] Lin Hu maintained his businesslike tone.

Qin Fulang: Mr. Lin, let me be frank. I came to see you today not just to discuss a collaboration with Mr. Zhou, but also because of my son.

Seeing that the other party had stated their purpose, Lin Hu chimed in: "What's wrong with your son? Did he get hurt after that and then his skills were inferior? Or is it something else?"

Since things had already turned sour, Lin Hu decided to stop being polite.

On the other side, Qin Fulang slammed his fist on the table in anger when he saw Lin Hu's provocative message.

[Qin Fulang: My son only challenged you to a friendly spar, and you attacked him so viciously. If you don't give me an explanation today, the Qin family will find you no matter where you are.]

Lin Hu raised an eyebrow. It's true what they say, birds of a feather flock together; they're all rotten to the same extreme.

[Lin Hu: What kind of explanation do you want?]

Lin Hu just wanted to see what demands the other party would make, but Qin Fulang took it as Lin Hu being afraid of his Qin family.

Qin Fulang's face lit up with joy, and his expression softened somewhat.

Qin Fulang: I heard your shop is now selling seafood and fruit tea. If you just give me the rights to sell the seafood, I'll consider this matter closed.

Qin Fulang knew that there must be a profit-sharing arrangement between the two parties, and that profit-sharing would definitely be with Boss Zhou.

He wants to secure the sales rights first, and then gradually get in touch with Boss Zhou to increase his share of the profits.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought of transferring all of Boss Zhou's property rights to his own hands and having that Boss Zhou work for him.

But when he thought about how his current strength and subordinates were all obtained through the large amount of supplies he unexpectedly acquired on his first trip to the island, as well as small favors and bribes from his son's flower, he felt a pang of envy.

And now…