Su Qingluan looked at Mu Xingzhi, who was wearing a long robe with a wide belt and fluttering sleeves, and had the demeanor of an immortal from otherworldly world. She then glanced at the little girl behind her who was sleeping with her drool dripping down her face, and felt a little conflicted.
It's not that she looks down on people, she really doesn't think Mu Xingzhi is the type of person who can take care of children.
However, Mu Xingzhi seemed to know what Su Qingluan was complaining about. He smiled gently and pointed at the half-filled basket of mushrooms at Su Qingluan's feet that she had ignored for a long time: "Qingluan, you can leave the basket with me. It won't be too late to pick it up when we get to your door."
"So, Mr. Mu, are you going to hold this backpack?" Su Qingluan looked at the size and volume of the backpack, and then looked at Mu Xingzhi's "slender and frail" figure - although he was very tall and straight - she always felt that putting the backpack in his arms would not be the right thing.
"This will block my view..." Su Qingluan's face was full of confusion.
Besides, the country road was still a little muddy after the rain. If Mu Xingzhi accidentally drove the wheelchair into the ditch while failing to see the road in order to help her, she would be committing a serious sin.
Mu Xingzhi smiled and shook his head: "You can put the backpack behind you." As he said that, he reached out and patted the back of the wheelchair, then turned his gaze to the straps of the backpack.
Su Qingluan suddenly realized that she had gotten stuck in a rut. She quickly thanked him, first using her stronger right hand to support her sister, and then with her left hand, quickly hooked the basket onto the back of the wheelchair. This way, the wheelchair was helping to "carry" half the basket of mushrooms.
Seeing that Su Qingluan was ready, Mu Xingzhi slowly turned the wheelchair and walked slowly towards the Su family.
Because the road was muddy in many places, Mu Xingzhi's wheelchair moved slowly. Su Qingluan also slowed down her pace and followed him leisurely, chatting casually.
As they chatted, Su Qingluan was still thinking about whether there were any resources that could help the villagers of Huaxi Village make money together, so the topic involuntarily turned to Huaxi Village: "Hey, our village, although the scenery is beautiful, it doesn't have any special products."
"Specialties?" Mu Xingzhi was used to Su Qingluan's quick thoughts, so even though they were talking about sightseeing one moment and then jumping to the topic of the village the next, he didn't react too surprised. Instead, he asked, "What specialties does Qingluan want from the village?"
As for Su Qingluan, it was because Mu Xingzhi could always give an appropriate response no matter what she said, which put her in a particularly comfortable conversation environment. So when talking with Mu Xingzhi, she would unconsciously become more and more casual and relaxed - this was also the main reason why she accidentally said "heretical words".
"For example, some minerals, or some rare local delicacies, or some very unique and beautiful scenery..." Su Qingluan muttered somewhat dissatisfiedly, "It's a pity that Huaxi Village doesn't have any of these."
Mu Xingzhi's eyes flickered slightly: "Why does Qingluan want to do this?"
Su Qingluan didn't notice the slight change in Mu Xingzhi's expression, and continued to talk on her own, "Don't you think that if Huaxi Village had a special product, our neighbors here would all become better off?"
She still had a basic fear of this era, so she didn't say anything about "common prosperity for all people". She just explained it in terms that were easier to understand in this era:
"Although our Huaxi Village enjoys a peaceful life and enjoys good weather year-round, rarely experiencing disasters, it is surrounded by mountains and is located in a remote area. If it weren't located on a must-go route, it would probably be deserted."
She sighed, "Under these circumstances, without any notable local specialties, it's incredibly difficult for the folks here to make ends meet."
"But I heard that Qingluan's family is becoming more and more prosperous." Mu Xingzhi said with a smile.
Su Qingluan shook her head. "The restaurant business relies on repeat customers. But the permanent population of Huaxi Village and Lefeng County is limited, so we can only rely on pedestrians. We're still at the turn of summer and autumn, and with the autumn exams approaching, there will naturally be more customers. But in a month or so, when the weather gets colder, it will be difficult."
She was confident that with her cooking skills, no matter where she cooked what kind of food, even if she was only open for half a year each year, she could earn enough money to support the expenses of the entire Su family.
But what about the other people in the village?
Even the fact that a helper could earn twenty or thirty copper coins in addition to a temporary meal would make them scramble to help, and everyone even put in 120% of their effort just to be chosen first next time...
"So I thought, could I use local materials and turn things that were previously unnoticed, like wild fruits, wild flowers, and wild grasses, into local 'specialties' and then..."
"Then what?" Mu Xingzhi lowered his eyes slightly, blocking his gaze, making it impossible to see the look in his eyes.
Once Su Qingluan's thoughts started to wander, they tended to fly up and down, making it difficult to control them. She imagined the most ideal state and couldn't help but smile:
"If we can find a specialty product, we can develop a complete industrial chain from mining, production, transportation, to sales. That way, everyone will have work and money to earn, and life will get better and better, right? Even better, we can come up with some kind of gimmick to attract people from outside, whether to settle down or travel..."
Where there are people, there is consumption, and where there is consumption, there is money to be made!
The more Su Qingluan thought about it, the more excited she became. As a result, she returned to reality from her fantasy. She turned her head and saw Mu Xingzhi staring at her with an inexplicable expression.
"..." Oh no, she wasn't paying attention and fell into excessive delusion. Would she be considered a psychopath? Su Qingluan muttered to herself with a guilty conscience, wanting to say something to make amends.
"Um... Actually, I'm just imagining it. Don't take it too seriously. Just treat it as a daydream..."
While she was making some incoherent excuses, Su Qingluan was secretly complaining to herself: "I've let you get carried away! I've let you talk without restraint! Even if Mu Xingzhi accepted everything you said with a smile, it's because he's well-mannered. Who knows what he'll say about you being unrealistic!"
As if to prove that Su Qingluan was right, Mu Xingzhi shook his head and said, "If there really are any precious minerals or herbs, they must be inspected by the government and confiscated. Ordinary people must not touch them."
Look, look! Su Qingluan thought to herself: Sure enough, it was regarded as a fantasy!
"But if it's just ordinary food or flowers, it's fine..."
Eh? Su Qingluan was stunned: Mu Xingzhi was actually seriously considering the feasible plan she mentioned?
"But..." Mu Xingzhi turned around and looked deeply into Su Qingluan's face. "Please allow me to ask you, why are you acting like this?"
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