Super Rich: It all started when I met a young woman in a sleeper car.

The wall didn't collapse, so the project continued.

The next morning, Chen Xun brought the three women to the construction site.

Yesterday, the "Assassin" load-bearing wall was reinforced and its surface roughened, ready for Yang Xiaotao's mural design to be installed. The workers' clanging and banging marked the official start of the main construction.

Chen Xun walked around in the dust with his hands behind his back.

"Big brother, over here!" Yang Xiaotao called from a distance, pointing to a pile of boards that had just been unloaded. "Look at this color, does it match the 'nostalgic yellow' in my design drawings? I've been watching it all morning, worried that the color difference would be too big."

Chen Xun went over to take a look; the color of the board was a bit dark.

"It's alright, acceptable," he said. "Once it's on the wall and the lights are on, the difference isn't that noticeable."

Yang Xiaotao breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, I was so afraid of something going wrong."

Lin Xinyue walked over with a folder containing a construction progress chart.

"The progress is half a day ahead of our revised plan." She flipped through the forms. "The demolition and waste removal are complete, and the new wall materials have arrived on time. At this rate, the main structure can be completed by the end of the month."

"What about the supply chain contract?" Chen asked.

Li Qian walked over from the other side, holding several documents in her hand: "Just signed them. The equipment for light catering should arrive next week. The fire safety approval has also been obtained, no problem."

Chen Xun nodded.

A thought popped into my head at just the right moment.

【Ding! 】

The investment progress of the "cinema renovation project" has been detected to be progressing steadily.

During the main construction phase, the team had a clear division of labor, and the supply chain integration proceeded smoothly.

[Rebates are being calculated continuously...]

This voice sounds reassuring.

"Okay, keep a close eye on everything," Chen Xun said. "Especially the hidden works, like water and electricity lines. Don't let anything go wrong after the walls are sealed off."

"Understood!" the three women replied.

The morning was spent checking and inspecting various things at the construction site.

At noon, the workers took a break, and the construction site became quiet for a while.

Chen Xun and the three women ate boxed lunches in a makeshift prefab house.

Yang Xiaotao ate her rice while scrolling through her phone, looking at the latest trendy store renovation examples. Lin Xinyue was still pressing buttons on her calculator, muttering about material wastage rates.

Li Qian ate quickly, wiped her mouth after finishing, and looked at Chen Xun.

"Big brother, something's come up," she said.

Chen Xun looked up: "Speak."

Li Qian glanced at Yang Xiaotao and Lin Xinyue beside her, and lowered her voice, "Shall we talk outside?"

Chen Xun put down his chopsticks, got up, and walked out of the prefab house with Li Qian.

The sun was shining brightly outside, and there were piles of building materials next to the construction site, but not many people were around.

"What's so mysterious about this?" Chen asked.

Li Qian walked to a shady spot and stopped: "I've noticed these past two days that there are always a few people loitering outside the construction site."

"Who is it?"

"They didn't look like passersby, nor did they look like members of the surrounding shops," Li Qian said. "They didn't come close; they just stood on the opposite street corner, or in front of the convenience store over there, looking this way, and sometimes they even took pictures with their phones."

"What are you filming?"

"They were filming our construction site, the vehicles coming in and out, and our people," Li Qian said. "I took a closer look, and one of the men looked vaguely familiar."

"Who?"

"At the last bidding meeting, Mr. Zhang from Company B, and one of his subordinates were with him," Li Qian said. "Even though he was in casual clothes, I recognized him."

Chen Xun frowned.

Company B? Didn't they fail to win the bid?

"Sure?"

"Ninety percent," Li Qian nodded. "And more than once. I've seen them four times in the last three days. The time is unpredictable, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon."

Chen Xun didn't speak, but quickly went through the thought process in his mind.

Company B missed out on the low bid and is holding a grudge? Are they planning to cause trouble?

Or is there... another reason?

"What do you think?" he asked Li Qian.

"This isn't normal," Li Qian said. "If it were just simple resentment, they might grumble a bit. Sending people to keep an eye on them every day is costly and risky. What are they after?"

"Investigate," Chen Xun said. "Have someone secretly investigate this Company B, especially what connections they have behind the scenes. Investigate carefully, but don't alert them."

"Understood," Li Qian replied. "I'll take care of it this afternoon."

"Be careful," Chen Xun added. "Call me anytime if anything happens."

"Um."

The two returned to the prefab house.

Yang Xiaotao looked up and asked curiously, "What are you two talking about? You're being so secretive."

"Nothing much." Chen Xun sat down and continued eating. "We talked about the supply chain a bit."

Lin Xinyue glanced at Li Qian, but didn't ask any further questions, and continued pressing the buttons on her calculator.

The project continued in the afternoon.

As it was almost time to wrap up work, foreman Lao Zhang came looking for Chen Xun with a serious expression.

"Mr. Chen, there's another situation."

"Go on," Chen Xun said, now almost instinctively responding to the word "situation."

"When we were removing the old ceiling, we found that several electrical conduits and a water pipe buried inside were severely aged," said Mr. Zhang. "The outer sheath of the electrical conduits was brittle, and the water pipe was rusted badly. If we don't replace them, they will definitely become a hazard in the future."

"Change it." Chen Xun didn't hesitate this time. "Change it if it needs to be changed. Don't settle for something that's not right."

"But..." Old Zhang rubbed his hands together, "This budget... needs to be increased. And we'll have to stop some work until the new pipelines are laid."

Lin Xinyue immediately leaned over: "How much more?"

Old Zhang gave a number.

Lin Xinyue quickly did the math and frowned: "We've overspent. It's exceeded our emergency funds by quite a bit."

Yang Xiaotao also came over, and immediately became anxious upon hearing the news: "What should we do? Won't this affect the overall effect? ​​Won't it delay the construction period?"

Chen Xun looked at Old Zhang: "Is it absolutely necessary to replace it? Is there any temporary reinforcement method?"

"Mr. Chen, it's not that I don't want to save money," Old Zhang said with a wry smile. "This stuff is like a person's blood vessels. When they get old, you can just put on a bandage, and it might burst any day. This is a restaurant; water and electricity are our lifeline, and we can't gamble on them."

Chen Xun remained silent for a few seconds.

【Ding! 】

[A sudden increase in demand for investment projects has been detected.]

[Project: Replacement of concealed piping.]

[Investment Nature: Additional budget to eliminate safety hazards.]

[Triggered additional investment assessment...]

The assessment was passed.

[Due to decisive investment decisions aimed at ensuring long-term security and operational stability, an additional rebate factor has been triggered.]

[Rebate calculation in progress...]

The system notification sound reassured Chen Xun.

"Change it." He made the decision. "Increase the budget, and the construction period can be adjusted appropriately, but the quality cannot be compromised. Lao Zhang, immediately draw up a detailed replacement plan and quotation for Xin Yue."

"Okay, Mr. Chen!" Old Zhang hurried over.

Lin Xinyue looked at Chen Xun: "Big brother, about the overspending..."

"Take it from my reserve fund," Chen Xun said. "Don't touch the project funds; ensure the other parts proceed normally."

"Okay." Lin Xinyue noted it down.

Yang Xiaotao was still a little worried: "What about the overall effect..."

"The effectiveness is based on safety," Chen Xun said. "The pipes are buried in the wall, so it won't affect your design. Don't worry."

Yang Xiaotao then nodded.

In the evening, the workers went home.

Chen Xun and the three women stayed in the prefab house to review the situation.

Lin Xinyue reviewed today's progress and additional costs. Yang Xiaotao checked the list of decoration materials to be delivered tomorrow. Li Qian was on the phone, her voice very low.

After Li Qian finished her call, Chen Xun looked at her.

Li Qian walked over, her expression more serious than in the afternoon.

"I found something," she said.

"explain."

"Mr. Zhang from Company B has an older sister who married someone from another city," Li Qian said. "His brother-in-law is in the building materials business, and it's quite a large one. Moreover, I asked around, and his brother-in-law's company has recently been getting very close to a foreign-invested enterprise."

"Out-of-town capital?" Chen asked. "What exactly are they doing?"

"It's an investment company, and I've heard their business is quite diverse, involving real estate, catering, and entertainment," Li Qian said. "They seem quite interested in the local catering market and have been in contact with several projects recently."

Chen Xun tapped his fingers on the table.

Company B... out-of-town capital... surveillance...

When you put these things together, things just don't feel right.

"Your judgment?" Chen asked.

"I think that Company B's failure to win the bid might just be a smokescreen," Li Qian analyzed. "What they really care about isn't the project itself, but the project itself and us as individuals. The people behind them want to find out our background by monitoring us, such as the project progress, financial situation, and team composition."

"After figuring out their background, what then?"

"Then..." Li Qian paused, "either find an opportunity to trip us up, or... wait until we've made some progress before reaping the rewards."

Chen Xun smiled.

Picking peaches?

It's a beautiful idea.

"Continue the investigation," he said. "Especially that out-of-town capital firm, find out their background and true intentions. But on our side, everything remains normal, continue as usual."

"Aren't we going to take any measures?" Li Qian asked.

"Hold your positions," Chen Xun said. "They're just watching from the outside, not making a move. If we make a move, we'll only alert them. Just strengthen monitoring inside the construction site, especially the arrival of materials and key construction points. Just be extra careful."

"Okay." Li Qian noted it down.

"Also," Chen Xun added, "don't tell Xiao Tao and Xin Yue too much about this for now, so they don't worry. Just you and I know."

"clear."

After the debriefing session, the four left the construction site.

It was completely dark.

Chen Xun got into the car but didn't leave immediately.

He took out his phone and checked the bank's app.

The decision to make additional investment in pipeline replacement was made this afternoon, and the rebate has already been credited to my account.

The numbers jumped again.

He put down his phone and looked out the window at the dark construction site.

Construction is underway and money is being made.

But it seemed as if eyes were watching from the shadows.

This feeling isn't very pleasant.

But there's nothing to be afraid of.

there is always a solution to a problem.

He started the car and drove into the night.

The project still needs to be done, and it needs to be done well.

As for those eyes lurking in the shadows...

He'd chop off anyone who dared to reach out.