“That’s right, Xiao Zhou is the most reasonable one.” Before Shen Wuqiu could speak, Lao Du interrupted, “Besides, if you’re really too embarrassed, you can give half to Xiao Zhou. She did a lot of advertising for me during that time.”
"No..." Zhou Xingxing quickly waved his hand, afraid that Shen Wuqiu would transfer the money to him in the next second. "If you dare to transfer the money to me, I will break off all ties with you immediately!"
"..." Shen Wuqiu was too lazy to pay attention to her. Seeing that Lao Du insisted, she stopped insisting. Besides, raising children is indeed quite expensive; and from another perspective, this money is also hard-earned by the children themselves.
With that thought in mind, she accepted it without hesitation.
However, Lao Du's purpose in coming here was not just to give the kids advertising fees. After seeing that Shen Wuqiu had accepted the money, he didn't bother with beating around the bush and went straight to the point: "I heard before that you wanted to set up a fishing club in the Bashang Reservoir area."
As soon as he spoke, Shen Wuqiu guessed his intentions and, without beating around the bush, nodded, "What, does Boss Du have something on his mind?"
Old Du smacked his lips, making no attempt to hide his intentions. "I definitely have some ideas, but I can't just be wishful thinking, can I?"
Shen Wuqiu found his words quite interesting. "Then, Mr. Du, tell us your thoughts, and let's see if this is just wishful thinking on your part?"
Boss Du scratched his head and said, "Tell me the truth, have you finalized your plans yet? If you have, I won't say anything more. If not, let's see if we can cooperate to pull off something big."
"We originally planned to start construction this month, but the weather is too hot, so we've put it on hold for now and will reschedule after the hottest days of summer."
Mr. Du slapped his forehead, "It's better to be lucky than early."
Seeing that there was still hope, Lao Du began to share his thoughts: "I had nothing to do before, so I went with Secretary Cao and the others to check out the area on the dam. I also took a stroll around the villages and mountains near the dam reservoir. I think that area is quite suitable for leisure activities."
Seeing his excited, spittle-flecked manner, Su Yunzhi quickly poured him another glass of cool boiled water.
Old Du didn't stand on ceremony. He took the cold water and drank it all in one gulp. After thanking him hastily, he continued, "I think it's a waste to just set up a fishing club in such a good location. I was thinking of building a manor nearby."
Shen Wuqiu had considered setting up a manor, but the transportation to and from the reservoir area and nearby villages was poor. The roads were still old, built many years ago, and many sections were unpaved, making them bumpy and uneven after rain. Furthermore, setting up a manor was far riskier and required a much larger investment than starting a fishing club. Although Gu Miaomiao's family was wealthy and didn't need to worry about money, as a mature and independent human, Shen Wuqiu preferred to create wealth through his own efforts unless absolutely necessary.
However, if you have a reliable and financially well-funded partner, then you can think about this idea again.
Shen Wuqiu's mind started working, but he remained calm on the surface. "Boss Du has been to that area and should know that the transportation there is not good. Besides, building a manor is not a small amount of money."
Old Du waved his hand. In his opinion, as long as Shen Wuqiu was willing, this wouldn't be a problem. "Before coming to you, I had already talked to Secretary Cao about this matter. Transportation is not a problem. I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. You know that Secretary Fang, right? He was transferred down from above, but he's not being exiled; he's here to gain experience. At the latest, around New Year's Day, the roads in Qixing and Mingxing villages will be readjusted and rebuilt."
Shen Wuqiu raised an eyebrow. "Boss Du is quite well-informed."
Old Du patted his chest, showing no modesty whatsoever, "I dare not speak for other things, but I can know about the planning of all the villages and towns under our small county as soon as I want to."
To be honest, Shen Wuqiu highly approves of Lao Du's ability, and it's something she needs. After being back in the village for so long, she's realized that many things require building good relationships with these leaders to get things done; otherwise, even a simple document can make her run herself ragged.
"So, what kind of estate is Mr. Du planning to build?"
“My idea is that the bigger the better, like a resort-style manor. Qixing and Mingxing are typical villages with vast land and sparse population, and a lot of land has been abandoned. When we get the approval, we can build some fountains and other ornamental features. I don’t believe we can’t keep people here.”
As soon as he spoke, Shen Wuqiu had a rough idea of what the manor would look like in her mind. However, she was always a cautious person and did not follow Lao Du's idea. Instead, she asked him, "So, how does Boss Du plan to cooperate?"
When it came to cooperation, Lao Du tentatively said, "I have no objection to how we cooperate."
“Mr. Du knows that I am a novice in this field and my experience is certainly not as broad as yours. However, I also know that investing in a manor is not a small amount of money, nor is it something that can be accomplished overnight.”
"You're being too modest," said Boss Du, taking a sip of tea and chewing on some tea leaves.
He had visited the Shen family's tea house several times. The brewed tea had a refreshing aroma with a hint of bitterness, but once chewed, the fragrance was incredibly soothing and refreshing. He liked it very much, so he always chewed the tea leaves along with the tea leaves before swallowing them. Only then did he continue, "You are a steady and reliable person. It's rare to find young people these days with your composure, and that's what I admire most about you. It's precisely because I value this quality that I'm considering cooperating with you."
As for this investment, you don't need to worry at all. I'm not exaggerating, but I can easily afford to invest in a 300-500 acre estate. However, I'm getting older, and my energy is limited. I'm thinking of doing something, but I worry about not being able to handle it. And I only have one daughter; she only wants to study design, unlike you.”
Old Du's words were truly heartfelt; like Uncle Zheng, he genuinely admired Shen Wuqiu.
His sincerity made Shen Wuqiu a little embarrassed. "I'm not as good as you think," she said.
Old Du waved his hand, looked at Mr. Chen with great envy, and said, "If I had a daughter like you, I would have so much less to worry about."
Upon hearing him say this, Gu Miaomiao immediately became alert. In front of Lao Du, she deliberately intertwined her fingers with Shen Wuqiu's and said in a high-pitched voice, "Our Qiuqiu is really lovable. But luckily, you are mine now."
"..." Sure enough, being sarcastic and sarcastic is contagious. Look, even Gu Hanhan is being sarcastic and sarcastic now.
Old Du was a sensible man. He knew that Gu Miaomiao was just there to annoy him, so he wasn't angry at all. Instead, he found it amusing and deliberately teased, "Yeah, if I had known earlier that Wuqiu liked girls, I would have married my daughter off to him long ago."
"It's as if Qiuqiu is definitely going to get married."
"That's not necessarily true. Let me tell you, my daughter is also very beautiful. Although she's not as capable as Wuqiu, she's still a pretty girl."
Gu Miaomiao snorted, "So what? Qiuqiu still likes me the most."
Old Du couldn't help but chuckle, looking at Shen Wuqiu with a smile, "Wuqiu, she's younger than you, isn't she?"
Shen Wuqiu was a little unsure how to respond. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded and said, "He is a few years younger than me."
Old Du: "I knew it!"
Gu Miaomiao, puzzled, looked at Shen Wuqiu, then at Lao Du: "What do you mean?"
"I praised Miss Gu for being innocent and carefree." Old Du paused, deciding not to tease her anymore, "She and Wuqiu are a match made in heaven."
Gu Miaomiao loved hearing this kind of talk, and her expression immediately softened. "You have good taste."
Old Du smiled, took a sip of tea, and then talked to Shen Wuqiu about investing in the manor.
However, investing is not something that can be done on a whim. The group sat in the courtyard chatting for an afternoon but did not come up with a concrete plan.
Old Du wasn't in a hurry and didn't urge Shen Wuqiu to express her opinion, afraid of putting pressure on her. Before leaving, he specially comforted her: "Wuqiu, you don't need to rush this matter. This is just my opinion. If you have any concerns or other ideas, that's fine with me."
Shen Wuqiu nodded.
Although Shen Wuqiu did not express her opinion, Lao Du's words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in her heart. Her mind began to draw up blueprints for building a large estate.
So, she couldn't stay idle any longer and would take her whole family to visit various manors around the county town whenever she had free time.
After half a month of this, with the full support of her aunt Zhao Jiujiu, Shen Wuqiu's desire to build a manor became even stronger.
She's a person who acts on her impulses; once she had an idea, she took the initiative to contact Lao Du.
As soon as Lao Du heard that she had an idea, he couldn't wait to come and talk to her in detail.
After discussing for a month, the two finally finalized their cooperation plan: Shen Wuqiu would be fully responsible for the management of the manor, while Lao Du would mainly provide funds and connections, handle the site, and get the relevant approval documents. As for the profit and loss, the two would split the profits 50/50.
Old Du is also a man of action; after the two signed the contract, he began to prepare for the matter.
Considering the new road plans for Qixing and Mingxing villages, which would prevent large trucks from entering and make construction difficult, Shen Wuqiu discussed with Lao Du that the construction of the manor should be put aside for the time being, and the fishing club should be arranged first.
Old Du had no objection to this.
Because the manor was about to be built, Shen Wuqiu decided to rent a three-story villa in Mingxing Village, which is closest to the Bashang Reservoir.
This little villa is quite new, but only an old lady lives in the huge house with her grandson. The old lady's son died in a car accident two years ago, and her daughter-in-law mourned him for a year and a half before remarrying at the end of last year.
The house was too big, and there were too few people living there; it was eerily empty.
When the old lady heard that Shen Wuqiu wanted to rent a house, she was incredibly enthusiastic and offered to waive the rent.
Shen Wuqiu originally wanted to rent an empty building, but seeing how enthusiastic the old lady was, and feeling sorry for the two of them, she rented it anyway. As for the rent, she was determined to pay it. Firstly, you can't judge a book by its cover, and who knows what kind of trouble the old lady might cause later; secondly, it was a written contract, a transaction between cash and money, so if there were any conflicts later, it would be easier to resolve them.
After signing the contract with the old lady, Shen Wuqiu began to hire people to renovate the empty second and third floors.
At the same time, she also hired workers to build a fishing platform on the dam reservoir side.
Meanwhile, Lao Du started his publicity campaign.
However, this kind of promotion is not as easy as promoting Gesang flowers. After all, flower viewing can be done by any group, but fishing is very targeted to a specific group.
In addition, the location of the dam reservoir is more remote than Jingrong Village, and the transportation is not as good as that of Jingrong Village.
Therefore, until the end of November, apart from a few groups of relatives and friends introduced by Lao Du to come and show their support, no outsiders came.
Shen Wuqiu wasn't in a hurry, but his father was, so he painstakingly cultivated a new hobby—fishing. To this end, he even called over Gu Junshan and his wife, asking Gu Junshan to take him fishing at the dam reservoir whenever he had free time, hoping to increase the area's popularity.
With Gu Junshan accompanying her, Shen Wuqiu felt at ease letting her go. Seeing that her father was always running around there, she simply let him go and manage things there, while she stayed home to take care of the child.
After the kittens turned one year old, their habits changed a lot. They used to love being kittens, but since their first birthday, except for Si Mao, who is lazy and spends most of his time in cat form, the other kittens love to turn into little babies crawling all over the place.
In Daiying's words, "The little ones need to practice walking now. If they stay in cat form, they won't be used to walking upright on two legs when they transform into human form later."
Clearly, only Si Mao didn't care about these things, because while her older sisters were crawling all over the place and slowly walking with the help of their walkers, she was either fast asleep in the corner of the sofa or lazily playing with her toys on the cat tree.
In short, unless her older sister yells at her, she won't willingly turn into a baby.
A toddler learning to walk is much harder to take care of than a kitten jumping around the house. One person simply cannot keep an eye on them. Shen Wuqiu deeply felt the hardships of new mothers.
For example, right now:
Sanmao was pushing her sunflower-shaped stroller around the living room, swaying back and forth. She turned around to take a sip of water, but before she could even swallow it, she heard her daughter wailing.
When she turned around, she saw her third daughter lying on her back, her fair face covered in snot and tears. Meanwhile, Er Mao, who was pushing a little tiger stroller, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was laughing at his younger sister's misfortune.
She experiences scenes like this three or four times a day, so she's used to it. She takes a deep breath, quickly picks up her delicate daughter, checks her head to make sure she's not hurt, and then pats her back to comfort her: "Okay, okay, baby, don't cry."
"Hit! Hit!" Sanmao cried, pointing her little finger at Ermao.
What Shen Wuqiu found strange was that although the children were developing very quickly in other aspects, when it came to speaking, the four sisters were all the same. Although they would occasionally utter a few clear individual words, they couldn't say a single one of them when asked to call their mother.
Shen Wuqiu was extremely helpless. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped away her tears while comforting her, "Okay, Mom will teach your sister a lesson. Our baby, don't cry anymore."
Hearing her say that, Sanmao stopped crying, wrapped her arms around Shen Wuqiu's neck, and hiccuped pitifully.
Shen Wuqiu held her in one arm and bent down to push Sanmao's sunflower walker to the corner.
Er Mao stopped laughing and pushed the little lion walker, following closely behind her.
Shen Wuqiu initially didn't want to pay attention to her, but after ignoring her for a while, she thought that she was just a one-year-old child and couldn't bear it anymore. She sat down on the sofa with Sanmao in her arms and asked, "Did you bump into your little sister on purpose?"
Er Mao hesitated for a moment, but still nodded honestly.
Shen Wuqiu rubbed her temples. "What did I tell you? Your sister is still small, and you're still small too. What if you both get hurt if you bump into each other and fall? I'd be so worried about you."
Er Mao pouted, looked down at the little butterfly on his shoe, and didn't say a word.
"Mommy talked to you." Shen Wuqiu was exasperated with the little one. When her older and younger sisters were still crawling, this little one could already stand up while holding onto the cabinet. Now that her sisters have just learned to walk while holding onto their walkers, she can run all over the house. But she's also restless. Whenever Sanmao is learning to walk while holding onto her walker, she pushes her walker all over the house, deliberately bumping into her sister's walker.
"Mm." Er Mao nodded.
"Then come over here now and apologize to your sister."
Er Mao stood still for several seconds before moving over and tugging at San Mao's little hand.
Sanmao didn't want to talk to her and dodged her little hand, not letting her hold it.
"Your sister has already apologized to you, so you should forgive her too..."
Sanmao hesitated for a while before finally holding hands with Ermao.
Seeing that the two sworn sisters had made up, Shen Wuqiu breathed a sigh of relief. She lowered her head and kissed Sanmao on the forehead, then kissed Ermao on the forehead. "Alright, sisters should love each other. You can't bully your sister anymore."
Er Mao nodded.
Shen Wuqiu smiled and patted the little tuft of hair on her head. "Alright, go back to playing."
Er Mao immediately pushed his little tiger stroller away again.