Chapter 57: Lin Fen's Pleasant Surprise! The Sales Center is Completed!

Chapter 57: Lin Fen’s Surprise! The Sales Center Is Complete!

Lin Fen soon noticed Zhao Moqing’s luggage and asked with a puzzled look, “Xiao Lin, what’s going on here?”

Qin Lin smiled and explained, “Mom, Moqing has moved in. There’s something I’ve been keeping from you—we actually registered our marriage earlier.”

“Registered your marriage?” Lin Fen was clearly shocked by this news. Then she grew anxious and scolded her son, “Xiao Lin, how could you do such a thing? Didn’t you think about how hard it would be for Moqing’s parents to find out?”

“Mom, Moqing’s family already knows,” Qin Lin quickly reassured her.

Zhao Moqing added, “My mom asked me to move in. My parents even said they’d come to visit in a few days!”

She naturally wouldn’t mention that she’d been pushed out by her mother or any family conflicts, not wanting to worry her mother-in-law.

“Really?” Lin Fen could hardly believe it.

“Yes!” Zhao Moqing nodded firmly.

Lin Fen’s face lit up with joy, momentarily at a loss for words to express her happiness. She hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed the suitcase. “You little rascal, what are you waiting for? Take Moqing to sit down, I’ll help bring her luggage into the room.”

Afterward, Lin Fen cheerfully began tidying up. The debts were paid off, and Zhao Moqing had truly become her daughter-in-law. How wonderful.

Qin Lin’s mood was naturally excellent as well. Registering their marriage secretly had always been a thorn in his side, but now that everything was out in the open, he felt much lighter.

Once Zhao Moqing was settled, Qin Lin intended to take her out to buy some toiletries, but Lin Fen stopped him. “There are some women’s items to buy—what are you, a grown man, doing joining in? I’ll go with Moqing.”

“Why don’t you go back to the villa? Mom and I will go together,” Zhao Moqing said with a smile. She too wanted to spend some time with her mother-in-law, especially now that she was living there. After all, building a good relationship was important.

One of the best ways for women to bond is by shopping together.

Qin Lin nodded without worry. His mother adored Zhao Moqing, and she would take good care of everything.

Back at the villa, Qin Lin received another piece of good news.

A man in a suit, wearing a safety helmet, approached him. “Boss Qin, the sales center is now completely finished. You can come inspect it.”

While building the Bougainvillea Sea, Qin Lin had also commissioned the contracting company to construct the sales center. His original plan was to attract tourists with the Bougainvillea Sea and then sell items from the game at the villa.

The man in the suit was Lin, a supervisor at the contracting company.

The sales center was located not far from the reception hall, easily visible. It had been under construction until recently, and after the villa’s opening, the site was fenced off.

The sales center was entirely built in a vintage wooden style. Well, not entirely wood—structural supports and key points obviously couldn’t be wood for safety reasons.

“Supervisor Lin, let’s take a look!” Qin Lin smiled and followed him to the sales center.

The building’s overall appearance was retro, with custom-built fixed sales counters inside. The sales areas and shelving were designed with reference to advanced scenic spot sales centers.

It was built on the scale of a medium-sized supermarket, occupying roughly 800 square meters over two floors.

The second floor was smaller, with an open center, leaving only a circular walkway around the edge.

The cost of materials, labor, and payments to the contracting company meant that after previous payments, there remained over 200,000 yuan of final payment.

Qin Lin inspected the sales center. From the surface, the facilities met his expectations.

He wasn’t an expert in construction and only checked for obvious issues, but the contracting company had a solid reputation and wouldn’t risk it for a single building, so quality wasn’t a concern.

He then looked at the specialty product area, which he had specially arranged. Each counter featured a half-meter vertical card slot, a request he had made.

This way, items from the game displayed on the counters could be accompanied by informational cards for visitors.

For example, a simple grade-1 okra could have a card explaining its effects. Quality couldn’t simply be indicated by a "+1" attribute, so the card would describe the special breeding process that made this okra more potent.

This would help visitors understand why certain items were priced higher than others.

The sales center’s size was too large to be filled solely with items Qin Lin had obtained from the game. Even combined with fruits and seafood gifted by Lin Chong and Wang Wei, it wasn’t enough.

The county government planned to provide support funds. Once contracts were signed and approved, and with the addition of rafting and accommodation projects, they would need to prepare for wholesale supplies of other goods, especially since the second floor was dedicated to snacks. Otherwise, the current inventory would be far from sufficient.

With county support, once funding arrived, the rafting project could likely be operational within a month.

Overall, the sales center was excellent. The pure wooden structure was intended to reduce harmful substances from decorations, allowing it to be used after some time for off-gassing.

After confirming there were no issues, Qin Lin called Chen Dabe, instructing him to lead a team to clean the sales center. Qin Lin also signed the acceptance contract, planning to release the final payment to the contracting company afterward.

Time passed, and by evening, Ma Liwen returned home, beaming with joy. He had first gone to the company to deliver some special-grade watermelons, then had the driver take him home.

The driver followed behind carrying his haul: 30 jin of Xiangshui tribute rice, along with special-grade broccoli, yam, and okra. He had even managed to secure an extra 10 jin of Xiangshui tribute rice from Chen Shengfei after some gentle persuasion.

Upon entering, he found people at home. His wife, Chu Qing, was hosting a young woman holding a child—her close friend Lin Liu. Lin Liu’s husband had an ordinary job, but Ma Liwen still treated him with great respect because his brother and father held prominent positions in the city.

Ma Liwen and Chu Qing had been introduced by Lin Liu.

“Husband, you’re home!” Chu Qing greeted him warmly. “Lin Liu just had a baby but has little milk and was criticized by her mother-in-law. I happened to buy five jin of Xiangshui tribute rice at Li Fei’s luxury goods store and invited her over since she was feeling down. Sister Wu is cooking now; you’re just in time.”

Hearing the mention of Xiangshui tribute rice, Ma Liwen perked up. “What a coincidence—I also got some Xiangshui tribute rice.”

He then had the driver bring in the 30 jin of rice.

Proudly opening the bag, Ma Liwen said, “Wife, no need to waste money buying Xiangshui tribute rice from Li Fei anymore. That guy thinks we’re fools with too much money.”

Seeing the bag of rice, Chu Qing was stunned. “Husband, you’re not seriously saying this is Xiangshui tribute rice, are you? Were you tricked? Xiangshui tribute rice isn’t cheap. My five jin nearly got snatched away by others, and it was only because Li Fei mentioned your name that they backed off out of respect.”

(End of chapter)