Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 551: New Home

Zhou Yuwen had Lu Wanting draw out twenty million US dollars from their institutional funds. Fifteen million US dollars was used to purchase the estate, while the remaining five million was allocated for its basic infrastructure.An area of land the size of a small county town was now Zhou Yuwen's private property. It contained mountains, rivers, forests, and various rare wild animals. To be honest, after acquiring this land, Zhou Yuwen had no idea how to develop it. Fortunately, he had an experienced neighbor, Hathaway, the owner of the adjacent estate. She told Zhou Yuwen that he could hire local farmers to work for him, or head to the city bars to recruit some cowboys or more specialized workers.

"Things aren't like they used to be. You can't easily find cheap and stable labor anymore. But as long as you have enough money in your hands, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to work for you," Hathaway said with a smile.

The American continent was great in every way, but the only downside was that labor was far too expensive. Hathaway had earned quite a bit of money from Zhou Yuwen, so she was more than happy to lend him some of the idle farmhands from her own estate to help tidy up his property.

Su Qing and Susan were both designers. Before they started designing his headquarters building, Zhou Yuwen felt they could help him plan the estate first. When Su Qing learned that Zhou Yuwen had bought a massive estate, she was quite surprised. If she didn't have to work in the studio with Susan, she would have loved to visit the estate with Zheng Yanyan and the others.

In the center of this estate stood an abandoned castle. No one had lived in it for a very long time; even the previous owner, Old Brown, had simply lived in a small wooden cabin he built himself.

After discussing it with Su Qing, Zhou Yuwen decided to use Old Brown's small wooden cabin as a starting point. They would construct a two-story Western-style villa for temporary residence, while the castle would slowly be restored over time.

Aside from that, Zhou Yuwen also needed to build a pasture. He planned to hire cowboys to herd all the wild bison and wild horses into his own pasture, transitioning them from wild animals to domesticated livestock.

A few days later, Lu Wanting finally arrived, bringing Zheng Yanyan and the other girls with her.

When Zheng Yanyan arrived, Zhou Yuwen was busy directing the workers alongside Hathaway. Over the past few days, a simple horse stable had already been constructed.

Hathaway loved horseback riding and owned a batch of racehorses that she had purchased at a high price. Zhou Yuwen was also interested in riding, so he had been consulting Hathaway on the subject for the past few days.

Hathaway was generous with her advice. She could tell that Zhou Yuwen was interested in the herd of wild horses on his territory, but she warned him that a beginner shouldn't even think about taming a wild horse. If he was really interested, he could go to the market and buy a racehorse that had been trained from a young age.

However, Zhou Yuwen pointed out that he did not have that kind of money to throw around, as a single racehorse could cost nearly a hundred thousand US dollars.

Hathaway feigned surprise, asking, "Oh, are you short on money?"

Zhou Yuwen explained that when he bought the estate, he hadn't realized that the construction would be the biggest expense, so he needed to spend his funds carefully.

Hearing this, Hathaway burst into laughter. "Don't be discouraged, mysterious Eastern wizard. This land will bring you great wealth."

Zhou Yuwen hadn't expected her to tease him using his own words, and he could only shrug helplessly.

Just as the two were chatting, a sweet voice called out from afar, "Hubby!"

Zhou Yuwen looked up to see Zheng Yanyan waving at him. She sprinted over and threw herself directly into his arms.

Lu Wanting, Shen Yu, and Lu Lin followed closely behind her.

Zhou Yuwen asked them how they had arrived so quickly.

"Don't even mention it. We almost got lost! Fortunately, Sister Wanting has a lot of connections. We had to ask so many people before we finally found this place," Zheng Yanyan pouted.

Zhou Yuwen looked at Lu Wanting and softly said, "Thanks for the hard work."

Hearing this, Lu Wanting offered a shy smile.

Zheng Yanyan looked at the villa currently under construction with great delight. She excitedly asked Zhou Yuwen, "Hey, Hubby, is this whole place our home?"

Zhou Yuwen replied, "Not just here. Over there, and over there too."

He pointed to the hilltop in the east and the birch forest in the west, telling Zheng Yanyan that all of this would be their home from now on.

Zheng Yanyan stomped her feet in sheer excitement. Hooking her arms around Zhou Yuwen's neck, she cheered, "That's amazing! Doesn't that make me a wealthy landowner's wife now?!"

Zhou Yuwen chuckled, telling her she was talking nonsense. In this day and age, there was no such thing as wealthy landowners.

At this moment, Hathaway couldn't help but cough to clear her throat. "Um, pardon my disturbing you, but is this your sister?"

Actually, Hathaway had been wanting to ask this for a while. Wasn't Zhou Yuwen's lover Su Qing? Why was he being so intimate with another Eastern girl? She couldn't understand it.

Seeing the perplexed expression on Hathaway's face, Zhou Yuwen made no attempt to hide anything. He smiled, holding Zheng Yanyan's hand as he said, "Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is Zheng Yanyan. She is my lover."

"What?" Hathaway was genuinely dumbfounded.

Ignoring her shock, Zhou Yuwen calmly continued to introduce Lu Wanting, Shen Yu, and Lu Lin.

These four girls each had their own unique charm. Zheng Yanyan was wearing a pair of tight cropped denim jeans that accentuated her long, slender legs, while her exposed ankles added a touch of playful cuteness to her look.

Lu Lin dressed simply, sporting a pair of black bootcut jeans and a black half-length T-shirt.

Lu Wanting looked the part of a professional career woman in a crisp OL uniform.

As for Shen Yu, she wore a chiffon top paired with a long skirt, exuding the elegant aura of a refined young lady.

Zhou Yuwen blatantly told Hathaway that they were all his lovers.

Hathaway's mouth dropped open in absolute shock, her face the very picture of incomprehension.

Seeing her reaction, Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but laugh. "I'm just joking with you. These are my family members."

"Family?"

"Yes, family."

"You mean, your older and younger sisters?"

Zhou Yuwen replied that she could interpret it that way.

"Alright then."

With Zhou Yuwen's explanation, Hathaway barely managed to wrap her head around it. His previous statement had genuinely shocked her. In truth, Zhou Yuwen had been getting a bit carried away during his few days in the United States, feeling as though he was completely free from societal judgment. But after seeing Hathaway's bewildered gaze, he realized his bluntness was a bit inappropriate and ultimately chose to perfunctorily brush it off.

However, Zheng Yanyan was starting to feel a bit displeased again. Tugging on Zhou Yuwen's hand, she glared at Hathaway with a hint of hostility and grumbled, "Hubby, since when did you start messing around with big foreign women?"

As soon as Zheng Yanyan asked this, Shen Yu and the other girls couldn't help but burst into giggles.

Fortunately, she had spoken in Chinese, so Hathaway didn't understand a word. Even while Zheng Yanyan was glaring at her, Hathaway merely offered her a friendly smile.

Zhou Yuwen lightly pinched the flesh on Zheng Yanyan's arm, warning her not to speak nonsense.

"This is our neighbor."

Zhou Yuwen explained that Hathaway was the owner of the adjacent estate. Hearing this, the girls looked at Hathaway with a newfound respect, as in their eyes, being an estate owner was a highly impressive achievement.

Zhou Yuwen mentioned that since it was still early, he would take them for a tour around the area.

Zheng Yanyan excitedly agreed.

"Oh right, Hubby! Before we came, you said we had a herd of horses here. Where are they?"

Zhou Yuwen replied that they were right by the riverside and offered to take her to see them.

Over the past few days of estate construction, Zhou Yuwen had purchased three Jeeps, which now came in perfectly handy. Currently, all the people Zhou Yuwen had hired were professional bodyguards and cowboys, but he felt these men were unreliable. It would be ideal if he could find a group of absolutely loyal subordinates from back in the East to bring over. This estate hadn't been managed in a long time, so the roads felt a bit dilapidated. Repaving them would likely incur another substantial expense.

During their stroll, Zhou Yuwen told the girls that there was still plenty of unused land here. He asked them for suggestions, promising to carve out a plot of land for each of them to do with as they pleased.

Zheng Yanyan was thrilled to hear this and chirped, "I see those wineries in foreign movies all the time, filled with bottles of red wine worth millions. Do we have one in our estate too?"

"Well, there is a wine cellar, but it's completely empty inside."

"Aw..."

Zhou Yuwen asked Shen Yu if she had any ideas. Shen Yu suggested building a flower garden.

Zhou Yuwen readily agreed, "Then I'll allocate some funds for you to set up a flower garden. The landscaping for our estate will be entirely in your hands from now on!"

Shen Yu was deeply flattered, feeling as though she had just been granted an official position. "Ah? But I don't know how to do anything."

Zhou Yuwen reassured her that it was fine; if she didn't know how, she could learn.

"What about the rest of you? Any other ideas?"

Lu Lin pondered for a moment before saying, "If I remember correctly, carrying 'these' is legal in foreign countries, right?"

Lu Lin made a gun gesture with her fingers. Zhou Yuwen chuckled upon hearing this. "I would have forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. It seems you're quite interested?"

"A little. I just feel that with such a massive piece of land, we need to have the means to protect ourselves, right?"

Zhou Yuwen nodded in agreement, stating she made a valid point. He told Lu Lin to look into acquiring some firearms, so they could each be armed in the future.

Upon hearing that there would even be a supply of firearms, Zheng Yanyan became even more excited. She thought to herself, 'What an absolute dream this life is. My judgment was indeed spot-on. If I hadn't gotten together with Zhou Yuwen, I would probably still be suffering through boring classes right now.'

After spending the whole day exploring the estate, it was clear that more people meant more ideas. Before they arrived, Zhou Yuwen had no clue how to develop this property. But the moment they showed up, they instantly brainstormed everything it needed.

Zheng Yanyan wanted to start a winery, Shen Yu wanted a flower garden, and Lu Lin was focused on arming them. The girls even discussed taking a trip into the city over the next few idle days to buy some chicks to raise.

Zheng Yanyan also insisted on buying sheep and hunting dogs.

Speaking of animals, Zheng Yanyan suddenly remembered the highly popular pearl horse back in their home country and wanted to buy one of those as well.

Zhou Yuwen teasingly asked her, "Do you want to buy some lions and tigers too?"

Zheng Yanyan's eyes lit up, and she immediately asked, "Can we really?!"

Zhou Yuwen chuckled, "I have no idea. We'll have to ask around when we head back."

"Yes! If it's allowed, I want to raise a big tiger!" Zheng Yanyan cheered happily.

Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but find it amusing, pointing out that she wouldn't even know how to take care of it.

"Hehe!"

The group eventually wandered to the edge of the lake, where they saw the wild horses grazing and the herd of wild bison drinking water.

On the way back, they spotted quite a few wild animals in the forest, and even caught a glimpse of a bear. Thankfully, they had their bodyguards trailing close behind.

However, it still felt quite dangerous. They definitely needed to buy some weapons. Additionally, they needed to populate the estate as quickly as possible. As Hathaway had mentioned, Zhou Yuwen could hire local servants, or he could go through an agency to hire maids from Nanyang, India, or even white maids from Europe.

Of course, taking that route would require a significantly larger amount of money.

A single white maid would cost at least over a million a year. They would provide round-the-clock service to the estate owner for nine months, with three months of vacation per year.

When Zhou Yuwen thought about it this way, he instantly felt that he didn't have enough money.

No wonder Hathaway was so broke after inheriting her estate.

Hathaway had mentioned that her situation was only manageable because her estate was actively producing goods; otherwise, it would be even more difficult to survive.

With Zhou Yuwen's current financial strength, catching up to the old-money aristocrats was impossible. He would just have to take it one step at a time.

By the time they returned from exploring their territory, the sky had already grown dark.

For now, Zhou Yuwen and the others were still staying in Hathaway's castle. Hathaway quite liked these friends from the East. During dinner, she teasingly asked, "So, does this mean you all come from an Eastern wizarding family?"

This question left the girls utterly baffled, wondering to themselves, 'What does she mean?'

Zhou Yuwen explained the joke he had shared with Hathaway, which made the girls sigh in exasperation. Lu Lin even shot him a profound eye roll.

After dinner and a quick shower, Shen Yu and the others taught Hathaway how to play a popular Eastern card game. Hathaway was a bit confused at first, but once she got the hang of it, she found it incredibly fun and quickly became addicted.

Ever since entering the estate, Zheng Yanyan had been snapping photos non-stop. From the herd of wild horses they saw earlier to the moment they encountered the bear, her camera had been constantly flashing.

Today alone, Zheng Yanyan had updated her Moments with at least a dozen posts.

Zheng Yanyan's Moments were visible to Tao Tian and the other girls back home, so her captions were straightforward. Her first post simply read: "Sisters! Can you believe it?! Hubby bought an estate in the United States!"

That was followed by a flood of photos and video clips.

For example, she filmed a stretch of forest with the caption: "Here, here, and here! This is all our territory now!"

Zheng Yanyan obviously had to inform her parents about traveling abroad.

When her parents heard that she was going abroad with her boyfriend, they were naturally somewhat reluctant. But Zheng Yanyan insisted on going, and she had previously told them that the young man making massive amounts of money on Wall Street was her boyfriend.

Therefore, even though they hadn't met him yet, her parents still held a deep sense of awe and respect for Zhou Yuwen.

Now, Zheng Yanyan was initiating a video call with her parents.

When her mother asked where she was, Zheng Yanyan proudly declared, "I'm at my boyfriend's estate."

"Mom, look! Here, and here. It all belongs to my boyfriend! No, actually, it's going to be mine in the future too. Look, this herd of wild horses belongs to my boyfriend's family too!"

Zheng Yanyan was genuinely ecstatic at this moment, sending all the photos directly to her parents.

As her parents looked at the pictures, they felt as though they were living in a dream. It all seemed far too surreal to be true.

They even began to wonder if their daughter was being scammed.

"Where is your boyfriend?"

"Huh? He's chatting with his friends."

Holding the video call, Zheng Yanyan had originally wanted to show her parents the castle and the endless expanse of territory outside, but unexpectedly, her mother's first concern was Zhou Yuwen.

Upon learning that Zhou Yuwen was just nearby...

Her mother immediately requested, "Can you turn the camera around? We'd like to say hello to your boyfriend."