The sun shines on the sea.

In the distance is a canoe. Two tourists wearing life jackets are paddling it near the coast. Seabirds are circling in the sky.

There are some fishing boats docked at the small pier, not many in number, only a dozen or so. Considering that there are only so many people on the entire island, and there are not many tourists with limited spending power, people often come directly to the pier to buy fish in the morning and evening. There is fierce competition among vendors, and the commonly used currencies are francs and US dollars.

Han Chudong bought a few groupers yesterday evening and grilled them over charcoal on the beach. They tasted pretty good.

A few big fish only cost three US dollars, and five coconuts only cost one US dollar. The prices of staying in hotels and purchasing external daily necessities are relatively high, but the local specialties are very cheap. The buildings are generally European in style. They were just developed a few years ago and most of them are still very new. Overall, it is quite comfortable to live here.

A week had passed since arriving in St. Barts. On January 3, 1975, the company had already welcomed back employees who had finished their vacations, but Han Chudong had not yet returned to the United States.

This morning, we welcomed the designers to help build the single-family houses and also expand and renovate the resort. There is a small airport on the island that can only accommodate small planes with a passenger capacity of more than ten people, which also needs to be renovated.

Driving the convertible Porsche 911 himself, Han Chudong once again came to the small cafe on the beach. After sitting down at a random place, he said, "Good morning, Newt. As usual, a cup of American coffee with less ice."

"Morning, Mason. Have you had breakfast? I made a chicken and ham sandwich and I'm going to add it to the menu."

A white man named Newt grew up in Miami, Florida. His father is Greek and his mother is French. He is nearly 30 years old and currently makes a living from this small cafe, which sells coffee during the day and turns into a bar at night.

Han Chudong had already had breakfast, but he still bought a sandwich. After taking a bite, he nodded and praised, "It's beyond my expectation. If there are more ingredients, make a few more for my bodyguards and secretaries to try. I have been eating too much sea fish recently, and my stomach is uncomfortable, including mine."

"It's okay to eat sea fish. The bad stomach may be due to drinking coconuts. Although it is sweet and delicious, it can't be drunk as water. We Miami people have long been tired of drinking coconut water." After quickly counting the remaining bread and chicken, Newt looked up and said, "I can probably make ten more sandwiches. If I had known, I would have prepared more ingredients. Didn't the beautiful lady come with you today?"

"Well, Helena should still be sleeping. At least she was still sleeping when I left. Ten servings are enough. You can count them on me when you pay the bill later."

Han Chudong had just arrived in St. Barts and had already met some people. Maybe it was because they all spoke English. He came to this cafe every day. He liked the feeling of being treated like an ordinary person on this island.

Although most of the land and industries on the island belong to Han Chudong, most residents have no clear idea of ​​how much wealth he has, so they get along with him more casually. For example, when he went to the dock to buy fish yesterday, the vendor slaughtered him as if he were an ordinary tourist. After paying for the fish, he asked for a tip and even charged extra for cleaning the fish belly. He bargained for this little money and finally only exempted himself from the labor cost of slaughtering the fish.

It is hard to imagine that he would be happy after being cheated, but he really enjoyed it. If you look into the reasons, it is mainly because he can feel the strong atmosphere of life, and money itself becomes a secondary thing.

While enjoying the sandwich, Newt handed him the coffee. He was drinking coffee and reading the magazine from October last year. Han Chudong suddenly said, "I plan to expand the number of guest rooms in the resort, use the local advantages to develop the duty-free business, build some commercial streets, and sell watches, handbags, jewelry, etc. that are expensive in other places. Since it is duty-free here, the price will be much lower than other places, especially diamonds. I will also renovate the airport and cooperate with some American travel agencies. Maybe we can attract a large number of American tourists, and you can also gain more customers."

"Wow, this is really good news. Many people around me rely on tourists to make money. However, it is very inconvenient and expensive to come from Europe or the United States, so it can only attract some wealthy people who have money, time, and like quietness."

"I don't plan to attract too many tourists. I just want to increase the popularity of the island a little bit, so that I can make a contribution to the island residents. If more people come to travel, the locals will have more opportunities to make money."

"Mason, if you really want to do something, I think it would be better to build a school. One of the important reasons for the population loss on the island is that the schools are relatively poor. Everyone wants their children to get a better education. Some people will never come back after going out to work."

After listening to what the cafe owner named Newt said, Han Chudong nodded decisively and said, "I won't care if people want to leave, but I will consider building a school. The plan is to run this place like a small city, and the hospital will be more advanced."

"That's great. Only minor illnesses can be treated on the island. People will choose to go to France for treatment. The round-trip airfare alone costs a lot of money. Fortunately, almost everyone has medical insurance. Rich French people like to open companies here. If we can unite to boycott, I believe they will be willing to give more benefits in order to protect their own interests. So for teachers and doctors, as long as you find the right department, you can have them sent from France at no cost to you."

The reason why St. Barts can attract so many wealthy people to travel is that they register companies here, which is also an important reason, similar to the reason why Han Chudong went to Puerto Rico.

They will probably come here for vacation more often in the future, so Han Chudong thinks it is necessary to build good relationships with the locals and is happy to help out a little in this matter.

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

I continued chatting with Newt, taking the opportunity to understand the needs of the locals. After staying for more than an hour, drinking coffee and flipping through two magazines, he drove away and said that the next meeting might have to wait until next year.

He planned to go home tomorrow morning to help his mother buy a private school near Beverly Hills. The deal was almost done at the end of last year. The fund management company was willing to transfer the school for more than 4 million US dollars, and they were just waiting for Han Chudong to go back and sign.

Sitting in the Porsche convertible, he went to discuss some things with the mayor. When he returned to the hotel, he found Helena Bergman swimming. Han Chudong also changed into a pair of swimming trunks. During this time, he chatted with a shareholder of a French fund management company. The topic was nothing more than the recent financial situation...