BXBX NOVEL Chapter 099: Getting Rich First to Drive Others to be Rich
After careful consideration, Qin Mian decided on the types of food to sell after halting the selling of spicy hot soup, hot pot, and barbecue in the restaurant. They were noodles, dumplings, steamed stuffed buns, meat burgers, steamed dumplings, steamed sponge cake, and daily soup. The noodles were the first unique colored noodles. Colored noodles were not difficult to make. For example, to make green noodles, squeezed the juice of green vegetables into the flour, kneaded them into a dough, let it rest for about a quarter of an hour, and then pressed them out with a noodle machine. Other than that, pumpkin made into yellow noodles, purple amaranth made into purple noodles, and even fruit juice could add appropriately into these. Besides containing rich nutrition, it had an exquisite taste while giving the diner a beautiful visual to enjoy. Dumplings and steamed stuffed buns were popular with children and mainly focused on the stuffing. The meat burgers, steamed dumplings, and steamed sponge cakes were not yet available in this world.
As for the soup, the seasoning was the most important thing. Eating meat burgers, steamed dumplings, and steamed sponge cake made one feel thirsty. After buying soup, one could also immensely enjoy eating. The business of the restaurant would be good with these special menu put on the signboard.
After writing all the details on the paper, Qin Mian asked Lei-Qin Le to give it to Yue Dong in the town.
It was the first ten days of the sixth month. The families that had cultured paddy seedlings early had already planted them; those who were late still trampled on the mud in the paddy field.
After buying all the bricks, tiles, and timber needed to build the house, Qin Mian let Steward Fu ask the villagers who had finished farming to help build the house. The villagers were very happy. They had been getting along for such a long time, so they all knew that Qin Mian and Lei Tie were generous. The payment for working for them should not be bad.
The construction started in the bedroom as they needed to make a passage from the bedroom on the first floor. Qin Mian and Lei Tie temporarily moved to the central room; it was for outsiders to see. At night, they would rest in the space. The modern double bed in the space was more comfortable than the heatable brick bed outside.
Looking at the workers enthusiastically working in the distance, Steward Fu carefully explained to Lei-Qin Zhong’s group, “During this time, people come and go in Leisurely Farm Residence. We must watch out for these. Don’t let them harm the things in the garden.”
Lei-Qin Zhong was the eldest and also the calmest of the nine armed-servants. “Steward Fu, don’t worry. We will secretly watch them.”
Over there, Zhang Dashuan, Wu Di, Fang Wu, and Jiang Dayou chatted while building the wall. It was the first time they came in after the walls of Leisurely Farm Residence were built. Envy and admiration wedged in their words, but there was a sense of pride in their hearts. It was not the first time they worked for Lei Tie Family. So what did it mean? It meant that Qin Mian and Lei Tie valued them the most from among other villagers. As long as they got along well, they could surely benefit from the association in the future.
Uncle Fang led Qin Mian and Lei Tie to check the peach trees in the orchard. The weather was good recently. The peaches were turning more pinkish.
Uncle Fang laughed cheerfully and affirmatively said, “Tiezi and Tiezi’s wife, it can’t be wrong. We can harvest the honey peaches in four or five days.” Ever since he started working in the orchard, his spirit got increasingly better. Occasionally, he got some fruits from the owner. He also felt comfortable in body and mind and even appeared younger. His peers in the village were envious of him.
“Then, we have to get large baskets and ladders ready in advance,” Qin Mian said to Lei Tie.
Lei-Qin Shun said, “I will inform Steward Fu later.” There were only six cherry trees. When they harvested the cherries, they only made six double ladders temporarily. It was not enough now, so they had to go to the town to order it in advance. There were many fruit trees in the garden, but the double ladders were too few.
After finishing the main issue, Uncle Fang pondered for a moment and then looked at Qin Mian and Lei Tie, “There is one more thing. Many people asked me to inquire. This old man wants to ask for them.”
Qin Mian chuckled. He motioned to Uncle Fang to walk under the shade of a tree, lest he caught in the heat. “Uncle Fang, you want to ask the matter about vegetables?”
“Haha.” Uncle Fang said, “I say, Tiezi’s wife is clever. Tiezi and Tiezi’s wife, you don’t blame the villagers for thinking like this. They are people who have been poor for most of their lives. Naturally, they want to find a way to earn more money.”
Lei Tie nodded lightly.
Qin Mian said, “Uncle Fang, don’t worry. We understand. But you have crossed more bridges than we did; you are an experienced elder. You must be able to guess what’s going on in Double Xiang House. It’s an indisputable fact that local customers are limited. Currently, Double Xiang House does need a lot of vegetables. As you also know, we grow a lot of it in our house.”
Uncle Fang nodded his head, “That’s so. Rest assured, I will make it clear to them so they will understand. You’re busy. I’ll go there again.”
Qin Mian stood in the shade of the tree, frowning slightly.
Lei Tie lifted his (QM) head and gently rubbed between his eyebrows with his thumb, “Worry?”
Lei-Qin Shun sensibly fell behind.
Qin Mian held Lei Tie’s other hand and carefully said to him, “A-Tie, besides Eating Savory Restaurant, we have Double Xiang House. If we do other profitable businesses, the imbalance in the hearts of the villagers will intensify. Some people will surely think so. We are from the same village, and we used to farm like everyone else. But why are we so rich now and they are so poor? Those who are not in the right mind may even sabotage us secretly. We can’t expect to be as close as family with all the villagers, but at least we should live in peace with them. So, I have a plan. When we have a firm foothold, I will give other villagers an idea and drive the whole village to be rich together. In this way, they don’t have time to envy us. It’s just that it’s not the right time for us. But some villagers seem unable to hold back.”
Lei Tie said, “Start from Li Zheng [the village head].”
The remark awakened Qin Mian with a start. There were too many things that happened in this time that Qin Mian had forgotten Li Zheng. He stroked his chin and thought.
Lei Tie pointed out, “Li Zheng’s two sons are good.”
Suddenly, Qin Mian laughed. Seeing that no one was around, he gave the man a quick kiss on the lips, “I have an idea! First of all, we help Li Zheng Family, Brother Zhang Family, and Wu Di Family to get rich, making the three families and our family form a four-footed balance of forces. Later, we can let them distract the villagers’ attention from us. Secondly, it is also good for us to get rich first and drive others to be rich in the future. What do you think?”
“Four-footed balance of forces. Good.” After Lei Tie nodded, he frowned, “But, it’s hard for you to think of ideas to help the three of them to make money.”
Qin Mian’s eyes glowed with self-confidence. “Don’t forget where I came from; this is not a problem. We know the situation of Brother Zhang Family and Wu Di Family, but I don’t know much about Li Zheng Family.”
“Lei-Qin Shun,” Lei Tie called Lei-Qin Shun.
“What is your command, Eldest Young Master?”
Qin Mian said, “Find out things about Li Zheng Family as soon as possible. If you don’t know how to do it, you can ask Uncle Fu.”
“Yes. Thank you for your advice, Little Young Master.”
“Go ahead.”
After laying down his worry, Qin Mian felt much better. He took Lei Tie to the flower bed and said, “I don’t know what’s going on in the old house. If the Third Brother and Fourth Brother have separated, we must support them first. They are pitiful.”
Lei Tie saw Lei-Qin Le and Lei-Qin Xin just come back from herding.
“Ask Lei-Qin Le.”
“Yes, that fellow is the most inquisitive.” Qin Mian also saw Lei-Qin Le. It was unknown what he said with Lei-Qin Xin that made them laugh. Qin Mian waved him over.
Lei-Qin Le saw it and handed the ox rope to Lei-Qin Xin and came running.
“Eldest Young Master, Little Young Master!”
“What’s the situation at ‘that side’?” Qin Mian asked.
Lei-Qin Le said in a low voice, “I was about to report this to Young Masters. Yesterday morning, ‘that side’ bought a 15-year-old maid.”
“I know that.” Qin Mian said, “How’s the maid?”
Lei-Qin Le said, “The maid is called Xiaoxi. Old Master bought her to take care of Madam Wei. As soon as Xiaoxi came, Old Madam Du tried to win her over. Yesterday afternoon, she not only secretly gave Xiaoxi a big chicken drumstick but also gave her 10 Wen. This morning, she asked Xiaoxi to take advantage of Madame Wei’s inattention and let her fall accidentally…”
Qin Mian was shocked, and his heart turned cold. He knew that Wei Shi’s pregnancy had an impact on Du Shi, but he never thought that Du Shi would dare to have such an idea!
Lei Tie stared at Lei-Qin Le as he said in a cold voice, “Presumptuous! Do you know what you can say and what you can’t say?”
Qin Mian pushed aside the willow twigs in front of him and kept silent. He understood that A-Tie wasn’t speaking up for Du Shi. After getting along for such a long time, he and A-Tie both believed that Lei-Qin Le was not a person who didn’t know the gravity of things. However, they still needed to knock some senses into him, lest he made mistakes due to carelessness.
Lei-Qin Le’s face drastically changed. He knelt on the ground with a plop and anxiously said, “Eldest Young Master, what I said is true. If there is half a lie, you and Little Young Master may sell me off.”
Lei Tie looked cold and silent.
Qin Mian asked again, “Afterward, what happened?”
Lei-Qin Le said, “Xiaoxi disagreed and told Madam Wei about it. Madam Wei was angry. In front of Old Master, Madam Wei said she had arranged Xiaoxi earlier, for fear Du Shi would bribe anyone they bought. It turned out that Xiaoxi was the younger sister of Madam Wei’s good friend when she was a maid.”
Qin Mian shook his head slightly. As expected, Du Shi and Wei Shi were not on the same level. “How do you know such a secret thing?”
“The sound of their quarrel was so loud that the neighbors could hear Madame Wei’s words clearly,” said Lei-Qin Le.
Qin Mian squinted; it’s kind of interesting. In other words, Wei Shi intended to make the matter known to all. This way, Du Shi not only dared not to harm her child but also helped to take good care of them. Otherwise, once something went wrong with Wei Shi’s stomach, even if Lei Daqiang believed it was not Du Shi’s doing, many people in the village would not believe her. By then, Du Shi’s reputation would completely discredit.
As expected, Wei Shi was smart. However, Du Shi’s failure to see Wei Shi’s weakness did not mean that Qin Mian couldn’t see it either. Therefore, he was not worried that Wei Shi would come to provoke him and Lei Tie.