Shen Wuqiu grabbed her neck with one hand and pulled her down, "Stop talking nonsense..."
"Yes, sir..."
During the romantic season when the flowers are in bloom, you can enjoy their beauty even at night.
As the rapeseed flowers faded, the temperature rose day by day, and soon the sweltering month of May arrived.
Perhaps due to the faster temperature rise this year, the Gesang flowers, which are said to bloom in late May, bloomed in early May.
Most people in Jingrong Village had never seen a Gesang flower before, so they were quite curious when Lao Du set up this base.
So when the Gesang flowers were just starting to bud, many villagers with nothing better to do would go and see them several times a day, taking photos to post on social media.
Although Lao Du doesn't care about the villagers' publicity, he's still happy for everyone to spread the word.
To show his goodwill, Lao Du even made a promise to everyone that once the flowers were in full bloom, he would not charge any relatives or friends of the villagers who came to see the flowers if they had an acquaintance to bring them.
While waiting for the flowers to bloom, Lao Du was not idle. He started making various promotional posters. When the first batch of flowers bloomed, he had not yet opened the park to the public. He first invited a group of people to warm up the scene. He also invited a group of beautiful women who played the guzheng to play the guzheng in the sea of Gesang flowers.
When Shen Wuqiu first heard Su Yunzhi and the others talking about this, she thought it must be a bit out of place. However, when the promotional posters came out, she realized that Old Du was really good at marketing. She hadn't been to the Gesang flower sea yet, but when she saw the huge promotional poster hanging at the entrance of the village, she was already a little tempted.
In addition, Lao Du also launched a promotional project for a flower sea and hot air balloons. In short, Lao Du had one set of marketing strategies after another.
Shen Wuqiu couldn't help but worry for him, "Boss Du, although the road to Jingrong Village is now in, it's too remote. Aren't you afraid that all your marketing expenses will be wasted?"
"You have to risk your cubs to catch the wolf. Let me tell you, in this age of rapid information dissemination, every business relies on marketing. Have you heard of a trendy term called traffic monetization? Today I invest money to generate traffic, and tomorrow that traffic can turn into money for me."
Shen Wuqiu did not refute, "I hope so."
After thinking for a moment, Lao Du decided to be frank with her, "To be honest with you, this project is also a government-supported project. The initial investment was actually provided by the government, and the later operation and management are my own responsibility. If you can't make a splash in this area, you'll definitely lack momentum later on. If the returns are good this year, the government will provide even more support. If the response is mediocre, I'm telling you, it will be difficult for this base to last for two years."
Although Shen Wuqiu hadn't gotten involved in this area, he understood what Lao Du was saying and said a few words from the heart: "For me, I naturally hope you succeed. If Jingrong Village wants to have greater development, it needs people like you to lead the way. I won't hide it from you, if your base here is stable, I will also develop that big reservoir on the dam into a unique tourism project."
"That would be perfect." Old Du immediately patted her shoulder. "If you need any help, just let me know."
Shen Wuqiu smiled and said, "Of course, I won't stand on ceremony with you."
A note from the author:
Love you all, muah!
Chapter 148
By the end of May, Lao Du's cosmos flowers had reached their peak bloom, and his chrysanthemums had also begun to open.
When the summer breeze blows, the terraced sea of flowers surges with waves of vibrant colors, making it a breathtaking sight whether you are immersed in the flower field or viewing it from outside.
Although the flowers were in full bloom, Lao Du didn't seem to be in a hurry to open for business. He didn't charge anyone who came to admire the flowers, no matter how far away they were. He would just mingle with the tourists whenever he had free time, chatting with them about his flower-growing experiences, and occasionally taking photos with them.
Even Mr. Shen couldn't quite understand his behavior.
"Could it be that Old Du's Gesang flower base is specifically there to add a tourist attraction to our village?"
Although Shen Wuqiu didn't understand Lao Du's actions, she also disagreed with her father's statement. "It shouldn't be. I talked to Lao Du about this before. He said that although the Gesang flower base has received government support, if it wants to receive long-term government support, it will have to see the returns."
"Since we also need to consider revenue, and he doesn't charge any fees, how do you think he makes money?"
"They call this 'casting a long line to catch a big fish,'" Zhao Jiujiu said, finding the father and daughter nosy. "Even when you're slaughtering a pig, you have to lure it over first, right?"
"What's the point of casting a long line to catch a big fish?" Mr. Shen frowned, not very pleased with her words. "These flowers are blooming so beautifully now. In a while, they'll all have withered, and then what will be beautiful to look at?"
Zhao Jiujiu scoffed, "You're clearly an amateur. Gesang flowers have a long blooming period; if properly cared for, they can bloom for several months."
This was outside of Mr. Shen's knowledge. He blinked and asked, "How can this flower last so long?"
"If they can't stay open for that long, won't they be eager to fleece their customers?"
Unable to argue with her, Mr. Shen mumbled a few indistinct words and then pretended to drink tea while holding his teacup.
Zhao Jiujiu ignored him and caught a glimpse of Simao secretly reaching under the coffee table to hook the grapes on it. She found it amusing and secretly reached out to press down on the little feet that were stealing the grapes.
She used a little force, but Si Mao couldn't break free. So she cautiously poked her little head out from the coffee table. When she saw it was her dear great-aunt, she meowed affectionately.
The little round-faced girl's sweet and soothing meows would make Zhao Jiujiu want to give her anything, even a star, let alone steal a grape.
"Tsk tsk, our little darling is growing up so fast!" Zhao Jiujiu said as she lifted Simao from under the coffee table and placed him on her lap, then used her free hand to peel grapes for Simao.
The sweet Sunshine Rose is the sweetest fruit of the season. Si Mao ate one and was still meowing and begging Zhao Jiu Jiu to peel it for him.
"Aunt, don't spoil her. She's eaten quite a bit these past two days. This morning, Mom told me that Simao's poop was a little soft, so she probably has diarrhea. We can't let her eat too much." Shen Wuqiu was afraid that Zhao Jiujiu wouldn't be able to resist her little darling's sweet words, so she simply moved all the fruit plates on the coffee table into the cupboard.
"Meow~" Simao watched with longing as her mother took the grapes away, her face turning into a little bitter gourd. She licked her lips, still feeling unsatisfied, and even licked Zhao Jiujiu's fingers that were peeling the grapes.
Zhao Jiujiu rarely showed such affection to cubs. Her fingers felt strangely itchy from being licked, but she still let Simao lick them to her heart's content. "Why don't you give Simao another one? Look how much the child is craving it..."
“She’s just greedy.” Shen Wuqiu walked over and tapped Si Mao’s forehead. “Of the four sisters, she’s the only one who isn’t picky about food.”
"Meow~" Simao looked aggrieved.
Zhao Jiujiu's heart melted, and she quickly shielded Simao, saying, "Oh dear, look how wronged our little darling is."
Shen Wuqiu chuckled as she looked into Simao's eyes. After a moment, she stood up and looked outside again. "The sun is almost setting, it's not hot anymore. How about we take the kids to see the Gesang flowers?"
Zhao Jiujiu has been busy with her son's important life event for the past two months and hasn't come over for quite some time. She only came this time because she was tricked into coming by Gesanghua in her WeChat Moments.
As it turns out, the people who came to admire the flowers didn't even glance at them after two days. They complained that it was too early and there was dew, or that the midday sun was too strong, or that there were mosquitoes at night.
Compared to admiring the flowers, Zhao Jiujiu preferred to pet her own fluffy little ones. She glanced lazily outside and was about to refuse when she heard Su Yunzhi say, "It's good to take the little ones out for a run while there aren't many people around. Otherwise, something might happen when there are more people coming to see the flowers later."
Since that's what they said, Zhao Jiujiu felt embarrassed to refuse, and she rubbed her forehead against Simao's, asking, "Little darling, do you want to go see the flowers too?"
Simao wasn't particularly interested in going out; she just meowed listlessly as a reply.
Er Mao, who was playing with the cloth mouse by herself, heard that she could go out for some fresh air. She immediately let go of the cloth mouse and ran over. When she saw that no one was paying attention to her, she let out a loud "meow" in annoyance.
Shen Wuqiu squatted down, picked her up, patted her back, and then waved to the three little ones who were still playing in the rocking horse: "Shu, Da Mao, San Mao, go out and play."
Upon hearing that they could go out for some fresh air, the three little ones immediately jumped off the rocking horse.
After Sanmao got lost once, none of the kids ever went down Huashan Mountain again.
Simao, a lazy foodie, didn't want to go out and play, but her older sisters longed for the outside world.
Zhao Jiujiu is a meticulous person. Before going out, she made a special effort to tidy herself up. Not only did she tidy herself up, but she also dressed up her children.
Unfortunately, apart from Sanmao, the other kids didn't really agree with her aesthetic sense. Only Sanmao happily put on the little floral scarf she had prepared.
As Shen Wuqiu and his family passed by in a grand procession, Old Du was seeing off a group of tourists. Seeing them pass by, he hurriedly said goodbye to the tourists in front and immediately followed them, saying warmly, "The busy man finally has time to stroll around my garden."
Having dealt with many people, Shen Wuqiu had learned a bit of polite conversation: "Isn't this all saved up to support Boss Du's opening?"
No one dislikes hearing nice words, and Old Du's face was all wrinkled from smiling. "You're too kind," he said.
Shen Wuqiu glanced around. A single cosmos flower was indeed inconspicuous, but such a large patch of them, with the white, red, and pink flowers swaying in the breeze, was breathtaking. Although the fragrance was not strong, it was hard not to feel refreshed and happy in such a beautiful scene.
Even a straight man like Mr. Shen couldn't help but exclaim, "When we were planting rapeseed before, how come we never noticed how beautiful the flowers in this area could be?"
"That's because you're capable and have to do more work; you don't have the leisure for such things."
Mr. Shen waved his hand and asked, "When does Mr. Du plan to start charging?"
"In the next few days, I'll say." Old Du was quite honest with Shen Wuqiu. "Isn't the Dragon Boat Festival just around the corner? Let's take advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday to see how things are going."
Shen Wuqiu jumped onto the next level of the field ridge, looking down at the entire sea of flowers. This scenic area had no fences separating it, and the entrances were all over the place. "So how much do you charge here?"
"Sixty-eight yuan for a ticket." Old Du followed her and jumped onto the ridge of the field. Following Shen Wuqiu's gaze, he roughly guessed what she was thinking and continued, "As for the toll booths, there will be two. One will be the road entrance from your village, and the other will be the road entrance from Linjiawan. As for the toll collectors, we will recruit two from your village and two from Linjiawan. I will keep my promise. As long as they are relatives or friends from your two villages, I will not charge them."
Shen Wuqiu thought for a moment, then asked jokingly, "Aren't you afraid of running into those opportunists who will first collect money from tourists and then bring them over as their own friends and family?"
Old Du hadn't thought of this, and paused for a moment: "Probably not, right? Wouldn't more people coming and going be beneficial to the development of your two villages? You know, with more people coming and going, they'll have to eat with someone, right? They'll bring some money with them, won't they?"
"I was just joking." Shen Wuqiu smiled, chatted with him for a few more minutes, and then took the kids to take pictures in the flowers.
Old Du didn't mind the trouble and followed them through the flower bushes. After telling Shen's father a lot of little-known facts about growing flowers, he even offered to take pictures of their whole family.
Beautiful scenery complements beautiful women.
A beautiful woman complements a beautiful scene.
Add to that a few intelligent cubs, and every frame you capture looks like a photo editing app.
After taking the photos, Lao Du shamelessly insisted on keeping a few to use as promotional posters.
After some haggling, Shen Wuqiu couldn't resist the man's shamelessness and agreed to let him use the children's photos as promotional posters.
A note from the author:
I helped my parents plant corn today, so it's a bit late.
Chapter 149
When the Gesang flowers are in full bloom, the rapeseed fields in Shenwuqiu enter the harvest season.
Meanwhile, the bayberries planted on Xishan Mountain are beginning to transition from greenish-blue to red. Shen Wuqiu is counting on this bayberry orchard for a bumper harvest this year, so she is paying much more attention to the bayberries on Xishan Mountain than last year.
To improve the taste of the bayberries, a lot of effort has been put into fertilizing the bayberry trees.
However, all that effort was worthwhile. Compared to last year, the bayberry trees are producing a much larger quantity of fruit this year. In early May, the dark green leaves were already laden with green bayberry berries. By the end of May, the small green berries looked like swollen steamed buns, each one plump and pleasing to the eye.
Two days before the Dragon Boat Festival, Uncle Zheng couldn't wait to pick a basket of bayberries and take them to Huashan to show off.
When he arrived, Su Yunzhi was just coming out of the house, preparing to go back to her original home. When she saw him carrying fresh bayberries, she followed him into the house with a look of delight.
"Wow, I thought the bayberries would ripen slower this year. A couple of days ago, when Wuqiu said she was going to release a batch of bayberries for the Dragon Boat Festival, I was saying it was too early. I didn't expect them to be so red in just a few days!"
"That's right." Uncle Zheng was too lazy to change his shoes and didn't go to the hall. When he saw Shen Wuqiu and the others coming, he went straight to the stone table in the yard with his basket. "My dear niece, see, I didn't lie to you. I said we could pick the first batch of bayberries by Dragon Boat Festival and we can pick them now."
Shen Wuqiu has been busy around the Bashang Reservoir area these past few days and hasn't been to Xishan for several days. She was very happy to hear that the bayberries would ripen in time for the Dragon Boat Festival.
The first batch of ripe bayberries were all the same size, each one looking plump and juicy. Their deep red color, almost black, made them look incredibly tempting. Su Yunzhi picked two and examined them from left to right in her palm, becoming more and more satisfied with them. She then asked, "Did you pick these specially, or are all the bayberries this good this year?"
"I just randomly picked two trees and picked the red ones." Uncle Zheng said, popping one into his mouth. The sweet taste was mixed with a hint of tartness, and the smooth texture could awaken the taste buds instantly. Uncle Zheng swallowed it whole, pit and all, smacking his lips with a look of enjoyment. "This is what a bayberry should be like. I'm not bragging, but I've been eating bayberries for decades and I've never tasted one this good."
"I think you're just self-promoting," Su Yunzhi said with a smile, while popping one into her mouth. Taking a bite, the refreshing sweet and sour taste immediately filled her mouth, and the taste at that moment was truly amazing.
Su Yunzhi paused for a few seconds before swallowing the bayberry. "I must say, it's actually quite delicious."
Gu Miaomiao squeezed in as well. As soon as she saw the fresh bayberries, she reached out and grabbed a handful. She ate several in a row and exclaimed, "They taste even better than last year's!"
After saying that, she wiped the last one in her hand and fed it to Shen Wuqiu's mouth.