Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 447: Chapter 281: Million-US-Dollar Land

He had thought drinking would lead to the same intimate atmosphere as yesterday, but Erica actually kept her promise, making no untoward moves the entire time.

They spent two full hours on a single bottle of wine, nibbling on the bread they’d brought for lunch. Instead of watching videos, they sat on the sofa, quietly chatting about amusing things in their lives, the customers they encountered at work, and finally, their childhoods.

What he didn’t expect was that despite Erica’s delicate features and stunning curves—making her a certified beauty in the eyes of both Westerners and Asians—she had actually been ostracized in school as a child because of her looks.

The reason was surprisingly simple: she was too beautiful, like a living doll, and had captivated nearly every boy in school. This, in turn, sparked envy and jealousy among the girls.

It was the age of budding romance, after all. Everyone had a crush on someone.

But if all the boys had a crush on her, what chance did anyone else have?

She was practically pitted against every other girl in school. Rumors started to spread, and to make matters worse, her maternal grandparents’ family suffered a tragedy around that time. Her mother was forced to work multiple jobs, and with her father working out of town, she was essentially left to fend for herself.

Listening to Erica casually describe her emotional journey during that period—from fear to despair, then to numbness, and finally, after being bullied one too many times, a complete explosion.

That this kind of "power fantasy" comeback story, straight out of a movie, had actually happened to this beautiful, fair-skinned, mixed-race woman left Lin Chen astounded. His admiration for her grew even more.

A grade-school girl, with no parents to back her up, had not only endured such pressure but had turned the tables, becoming the toughest kid in school. He couldn’t begin to imagine the mental fortitude required to not completely break down.

"What about you? Does anything like that happen in schools in Great Xia?"

Erica asked. She was taking small bites from a container of red bean and taro paste, marveling at yet another novel flavor. Her curious gaze fell upon Lin Chen, whose cheeks were slightly flushed from the wine.

"Almost never," he said, shaking his head. "I can’t say it’s completely nonexistent. It might happen in some remote or less reputable schools, but it’s unheard of in the vast majority."

"However, the academic workload in Great Xia’s schools is extremely heavy. Kids have to enroll in cram schools starting in elementary school. The competition gets particularly fierce in middle school and high school. Parents in Great Xia see getting into an elite school as their child’s ultimate life goal, believing that a future is only possible by attending a top university and majoring in a good field."

Since she had shared such a deeply buried part of her past, he felt he had nothing to hide and gave her a rough outline of his own upbringing.

Compared to hers, his was incredibly dull. It was just study, study, study, interspersed with figuring out how to slack off, make up excuses to skip cram school, filch money from his parents for snacks, and sneak in time to play computer games or watch TV without being caught.

He even described tiny details, like using a fan to cool down the back of the television after using it, which made her laugh uncontrollably.

Whether it was the alcohol or the fact that they had opened up to each other, the more they talked, the more curious they grew about each other’s countries.

When Lin Chen casually glanced at the time, he was shocked to see it was already one in the morning.

They had been talking for over four hours!

"Alright, I should get back, wash up, and head to bed. I’m especially drowsy after the hot spring. We have to be up early tomorrow, right? Remember to call me. I might not be able to wake up on my own, hehe," she said with a playful smile.

"It’s fine, go get some sleep. There’s no rush. The plan for tomorrow is just to wander around Albany Port. If we have time, we’ll head over to Albion Port. If not, it doesn’t matter. I’ve got plenty of time. But what about you? Is your work okay?"

"It doesn’t matter. Work is just something to pass the time. I work when I feel like it. Didn’t I tell you? I started my own tour guide agency. I’m the boss and the only employee."

"...Rich enough to do whatever you want."

She really hadn’t told him about her work. Lin Chen had assumed she was a government employee like her father. Turns out she was more of a contractor, an outsourced partner.

Since she wasn’t in a rush, Lin Chen, being unemployed, was in even less of one.

For the next week or so, the two of them explored the areas around Albion Port and Albany Port. Their longest trip took them northwest from Albion along the coast, past Long Beach, all the way to the Clackquot Islands—the area with the highest concentration of tourist hotels and resorts.

Their purpose for visiting was simple: to gauge the number of tourists, see where they were from, and conduct some market research. They asked people if they would be interested in a packaged experience that combined a farm-stay with a wilderness survival challenge.

To their surprise, the vast majority of tourists expressed immense interest. Some were even eager to know where their estate would be located.

During this time, they also ran into many fans of the show *Wild Survival* and had to play the part of celebrities on several occasions.

Finally.

After days of effort and negotiations with the relevant local authorities, Lin Chen had obtained a price list and shortlisted several potential areas.

The locations he was eyeing were in remote, undeveloped areas, practically in the middle of nowhere. There was only a single existing road nearby. All other infrastructure like water, electricity, and septic systems would have to be installed from scratch. He’d even have to pay to build his own access roads.

Precisely because of its remoteness, the land was exceptionally cheap. It wasn’t zoned for standard residential or rural use, but as agricultural and forestry land. The price started at $50,000 per acre—roughly 4,000 square meters—with a minimum purchase of 10 acres.

The larger the purchased area, the lower the price per acre.

But correspondingly, the hidden subsequent development costs would also increase.

To buy land in a place like this, besides communicating with a real estate agent, one also had to consult with the relevant local authorities.

Of course, given their current fame and sizable fan bases, the local government was more than happy to welcome their investment, even offering significant incentives and supportive policies.

Once Lin Chen’s business was established here, it would attract large numbers of tourists, indirectly boosting the local tourism industry.

In the end, he spent a full one million US Dollars to purchase a hundred square kilometers of land in the mountainous region between Albany Port and Albion Port.

For comparison, Salt Spring Island’s total area is only 180 square kilometers, and the urban area of Albany Port is just 10 square kilometers.

His purchase was equivalent to over half the area of Salt Spring Island, or ten times the size of Albany Port. It was a staggering amount of land.

To put it in another perspective, 100 square kilometers is roughly the size of the entire Pudong International Airport, or nearly twice the size of West Lake.

If it weren’t for his desire to make the wilderness survival experience more realistic, with a greater sense of mystery and the unknown, he wouldn’t have bought such a massive piece of land.

Although he could build whatever he wanted within this area, it was still designated as agricultural or forestry land. This meant he couldn’t cause widespread environmental damage; at most, he would be permitted to build a private estate, cabins in the woods, and other similar structures.

In other words, as long as he didn’t harm the environment, he had free rein.

In addition to the forests and mountains, the property also included several islands, which would help diversify his future business ventures.

If it really started making money, he could consider expanding later. After all, land here was so cheap.

Andre had already wired back all the money he’d borrowed. In the end, it was just for hospital treatment, and the costs were negotiable. While the final bill was still expensive, amounting to tens of thousands of US Dollars, it was nothing compared to the million-dollar prize money.

Erica was by his side through the entire process, watching him complete every step. Right up until he signed the land purchase agreement, she showed no intention of investing a single cent.

According to her, it wasn’t the right time to invest. Or rather, since Lin Chen’s entire business operation hadn’t been built and there were no customers yet, it didn’t possess any investment value.

Only when he had truly established something and she could see clear potential would she consider investing.

On this point, Lin Chen had to admire her investor’s instincts; she was able to separate business from personal feelings so cleanly.

Any other woman who was even slightly led by her heart would have probably rushed to invest already.

After buying the land, the next step was to hire people to survey the property. This involved fencing off the perimeter and taking stock of the area’s natural resources, flora, and fauna.

Until the survey data came back, he couldn’t decide on a location for the main estate, nor could he plan out the zoning for different parts of the land.

He didn’t stay idle. He went over to Albion Port, rented a house for a month, and secured a stall in a local farmer’s market. His plan was to start filming vlogs there, promoting Great Xia cuisine and gauging the reactions of locals and tourists.

There were many tourists like him, from out of town or even other countries, who fell in love with the quiet life in the remote port town and chose to rent a place for a few months to half a year.

"Welcome, guest from afar. Come with me, I’ll introduce you to the neighbors here."

The person who had rented him the stall was the market’s landlord, a middle-aged European man who looked to be in his fifties, with a grizzled, bushy beard.

Lin Chen’s stall was located toward the back-middle of the small market, with a butcher shop to its right and a seafood vendor to its left.

The landlord led the two of them to the butcher shop first and knocked on the glass countertop.

"Hey, Fatty, stop slacking! We’ve got a new neighbor. Come out and say hello."

"Magnus, you didn’t bring me another competitor, did you?"

The curtain above the glass counter was pulled aside, and a middle-aged man with a beer belly, wearing an oversized white T-shirt, walked out.

"This is the pork guy. He’s the owner," the landlord said. "Everyone here goes by nicknames. It’s easier to remember. From now on, just call him Fatty."

The man wasn’t offended at all. He grinned and extended a hand. "New guy, eh? What are you planning to sell?"