Chapter 177 What I Dreamed Of
Aqi went fishing with Donggua and the others, while Ajiu and Wenxiu also had other catches.
When they returned with firewood, the children were also carrying several pheasants and rabbits.
Upon seeing these wild game, Aqi's eyes lit up again.
If they can't sell fish, can't they go into the mountains to hunt and support themselves?
Just as Aqi was thinking this, she heard Madam Min Qiao solemnly instruct, "This time it's fine, but you're not allowed to go into the mountains again. There are wild beasts in the mountains, it's not something to be taken lightly."
Then Aqi's little scheme failed.
Min Qiaoshi naturally had no idea what Aqi was thinking.
She was excited about a message that Ah Jiu and the others had brought back!
When Ajiu and Wenxiu took the children to collect firewood, one of the children accidentally discovered a hot spring while chasing a wild rabbit.
The child stepped into the water and got scalded by the hot water, which gave him a big fright.
Fortunately, Ah Jiu had been by Min Qiao's side for so long that, although she had never seen it, she had at least heard of hot springs.
So he immediately brought his men back to report the matter to Madam Min.
Madam Min Qiao also became interested, "Where is the hot spring? How far is it from here?"
Ajiu thought for a moment, then looked in the direction of the manor before saying, "The hot spring is halfway up the mountain, quite a distance from here. It's closer to the manor though."
"Really?" Madam Min was immediately delighted.
In that case, wouldn't she be able to find someone to renovate the hot spring and then include it within the estate's grounds?
Thinking of this, Madam Min Qiao couldn't help but say, "How long will it take to walk there? Take me there quickly."
After assessing Min Qiao's physical strength and walking speed, Ajiu hesitated and said, "Madam, why don't we have lunch first, and then visit the hot springs on our way back?"
“Alright.” After thinking for a moment, Madam Min Qiao agreed.
Because Madam Min was eager to see the hot springs, her servants didn't dare to delay and quickly prepared a lunch.
After eating a few bites, Madam Min Qiao asked Ajiu to lead the way, and several strong servants carried her to the hot spring.
Originally, Granny Fang and the others wanted to go along, but when they thought about having to be carried up the mountain, they all gave up the idea.
Therefore, they split into two groups and acted independently.
Min Qiaoshi and her entourage headed up the mountain. Fang Mama and the others packed their things and led the children back.
After traveling for about half an hour, Min Qiao's group finally arrived at the location of the hot spring that Ajiu and the others had discovered.
Madam Min looked at the location of the hot spring. It was said to be halfway up the mountain, but it was only about a third of the way up, not very high from the foot of the mountain. Especially from the hot spring, one could see that it would only take half an hour to walk back to the manor.
The hot spring is a square pool measuring about ten feet in diameter.
Min Qiao squatted down and touched the pool water. It was indeed hot, and even a little scalding.
It's summer now, so the pool water is warm, but not scalding. Besides, mountain spring water is usually refreshingly cool.
It seems that this place really is a hot spring pool.
Madam Min then had her men look around again, and they discovered another similar hot spring pool not far away. However, that one was only half the size of the one in front of them.
After that, nothing more was found.
After carefully confirming the location of the hot spring, Madam Min Qiao did not stay long and returned with her entourage.
As soon as they returned to the estate, Madam Min Qiao summoned Wei Jia.
Madam Min Qiao got straight to the point: "A hot spring has been discovered in the back mountain. I called you here so that you could find someone to renovate the hot spring and see if we should expand the current estate or build a separate villa by the hot spring."
Wei Jia already knew that A Jiu and the others had found the hot spring.
As soon as Aqi returned, he ran to her, first asking for money, then asking if she had any way to help the children earn money to support themselves. He kept saying the children ate too much and raising them was too expensive. Then he said the children were incredibly capable; with just a few pebbles, they could fish and hunt—they were amazing!
In short, Ah Qi felt it was a pain that the Grand Madam's money wasn't being spent on the Grand Madam herself.
Having finally managed to get rid of the stingy Aqi, Weijia seriously considered Aqi's suggestion.
Actually, she already had a preliminary idea in mind.
Upon hearing Min Qiaoshi say that there were indeed hot springs on the mountain, and that she even had the idea of building a villa there, Wei Jia, combining this with her previous ideas about the children, immediately had a flash of inspiration.
"Madam, I have an idea."
"Oh? Tell me about it." Madam Min looked at Wei Jia with great interest.
Wei Jia gathered her thoughts before saying, "Aqi came to me earlier and said that those kids have nothing to do and it's not right for them to just freeload. He wanted me to think of a way to find something for them to do to earn money."
Upon hearing this, Madam Min Qiao couldn't help but frown.
However, before she could speak, Wei Jia quickly said with a smile, "What Aqi said is actually quite reasonable. If we don't find something for those children to do, they will be anxious. They are probably always worried that one day they will be kicked out by the Grand Madam and end up on the streets."
After thinking about it for a moment, Madam Min realized that was exactly the case.
The children who used pebbles to catch fish had their eyes light up when they heard her say that they could make fish soup from the fish they caught.
Min Qiao's brows relaxed, and she asked Wei Jia, "What are your thoughts?"
Wei Jia said seriously, "Now that we've discovered the hot springs, and those children need a job to support themselves, why don't we build a hot spring resort that's open to the public?"
"The target audience is the noble ladies in the capital, like the Dowager Madam."
"Hot springs are good for your health, especially in winter, you can soak in them more often."
"Of course, we can't let the ladies come all this way just to soak in a hot spring, can we?"
"Besides, the hot springs are only a small area. If too many people come, there will be long queues."
"So I thought that, in addition to hot springs, our resort could also prepare some other entertainment and leisure activities."
"For example, pitch-pot, darts, rabbit trap..."
"Of course, the older ladies don't have to participate in these activities themselves. They can choose one child from among the children to represent them and compete with the children chosen by the other older ladies."
"The children can also compete, and the old ladies can guess the winner."
"We can brainstorm and think about the specific activities further."
"Anyway, what I want to say is that if we're going to do it, we should rely on the hot spring as a selling point and create an interesting resort to attract the ladies of Beijing to come and play and spend money."
“In this way, Madam will not be bored, the children can earn money, and who knows, Madam might even make more friends like Madam Zheng.”
"Madam, what do you think of my idea?"
Madam Min had been nodding in agreement all along. After Wei Jia finished speaking, she couldn't help but reach out and touch Wei Jia's head. "How did you come up with all these wonderful ideas?"
Madam Min Qiao said with a smile, "You don't know, Granny Fang has been talking about you all this time. She said that ever since Manager Yang returned to the capital and checked the profits of the various shops, he has been praising you endlessly. He's practically calling you a celestial being descended to earth."
"Come on, tell me, where did all these money-making methods of yours come from?"
Min Qiaoshi spoke in a relaxed tone, clearly joking.
But Wei Jia paused for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "Madam, do you believe that these thoughts of mine were all just dreams?"
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