Chapter 31
While Ning Qingxi was recruiting people everywhere to expand his team, Huo Yanci was also busy arranging his wedding.
Of course, proper etiquette was essential. A matchmaker brought betrothal gifts and betrothal letters. Ning Qingxi hadn't prepared a dowry for herself, so that was Huo Yanci's responsibility. The two of them were busy with their own things until Huo Yanci brought people to take her measurements and make her a dress. Only then did Ning Qingxi realize with a start, "When was the wedding date again?"
Huo Yanci: "Tomorrow."
Ning Qingxi: "?!"
"..." Huo Yanci said irritably, "Look at you, you don't care at all. The wedding dress will take at least three months to finish, and you..."
As she spoke, Huo Yanci looked down at Ning Qingxi's stomach.
Ning Qingxi didn't receive his signal and waved her hand, saying, "It's okay, I'm just busy these days... I've already done the general outline of the garden, do you need to show it to someone first before refining it?"
Huo Yanci pondered for a moment: "Why don't you talk to the people over there first? I'm a complete novice, and I really don't understand what you're saying."
Ning Qingxi gave him a big kiss on the forehead: "You are my lucky star! You don't need to worry about the rest, I'll take care of it myself."
Huo Yanci had become a bridge in the middle, serving no other purpose than to act as a go-between.
After Ning Qingxi met with the royal garden architect, Huo Yanci's bridge became even more useless.
In the capital, there are many excellent garden designers, including some who have participated in the construction of large-scale gardens. However, people who have been in high positions for a long time are prone to neglecting their true purpose. They were originally famous in the capital for their garden design skills, but later they became so famous that their designs were hard to come by. It was as if they would lower their status if they were to leave their posts too easily.
However, Ning Qingxi did not have these flaws. She was not limited to a certain style of garden design, and she was poised and elegant in her speech and behavior. She spoke eloquently about garden design, which made people admire her. Therefore, everyone praised Ning Qingxi.
After leaving the house, Ning Qingxi felt refreshed and said, "Look at you! There are so many masters here, and I've been working on this all by myself for half a day, only to produce a bunch of rubbish!"
Huo Yanci: "...So, you were actually kicked out?"
Ning Qingxi chuckled and said, "How could that be? I was the one who introduced me. If I were kicked out, wouldn't that be a slap in your face?"
"So you're saying you've produced a bunch of bullshit?"
Ning Qingxi sighed and said, "Because I just realized that there is a sequence to learning and a specialization in one's profession [1]. Some people can do those things that I can't understand no matter how hard I try."
Huo Yanci: "...So?"
Ning Qingxi said happily, "We have a clear division of labor. I am responsible for the overall theme of the garden."
She excels at finding the essence in the details, so once she sets the main theme, she can add the finishing touches, and leave the rest to the professionals.
She was in a great mood. As a result, the workload was reduced by more than half, her workload was greatly reduced, and she had time to do her own things. In addition, Zhang Fuhu said that he could help her as a middleman and share some of the money with her.
Ning Qingxi smiled and said it was no problem, then immediately forgot all about it.
There's no way around it; a person's energy is limited. She already has enough to take care of, and she can't handle anything else.
When Zhang Fuhu came to inspect the garden again, he couldn't help but sigh as he watched it take shape: "If this were in the capital, wouldn't it shock the whole city?"
Ning Qingxi also sighed, "If you could get a piece of vacant land in the capital, not to mention me, even Huo Yanci would be begging you to play with him."
Zhang Fu was puzzled.
When did this person become so sharp-tongued? His words are barbed and cutting, every sentence is like a dagger to the heart.
After slapping him, Ning Qingxi gave him a sweet treat: "It's alright. The location here is also quite good. When you come out with your friends, you can casually mention that you have a garden here. It's quiet and elegant, with beautiful scenery in all four seasons. How impressive would that be?"
Zhang Fuhu thought about it and realized it was true.
He quietly built a large garden, which is quite pleasing to the eye, especially since, from his perspective, the garden truly meets his requirements of being both elegant and spacious, which is no easy feat.
But there was something else he was most curious about: "Since you need so much money every month, I'd like to know, where does it all go?"
"..."
Speaking of this, Ning Qingxi had to have a serious talk with him about it.
She pointed to the thin rocks in the garden and said, "Please look at these."
Zhang Fuhu looked at the pile of strangely shaped, ugly creatures: "Extraordinarily ugly."
"That's right!" Ning Qingxi said against her conscience. "This is a unique stone from the South. Standing here, it's so graceful. Guess how much it cost to transport it here?"
Zhang Fuhu: "..."
He was somewhat reluctant to know.
However, the landscape architect was determined to prove his innocence. Holding the ledger, he pointed to the shocking number and said with a pained expression, "These few stones that you call incredibly ugly, we used a lot of them. I didn't waste this money, did I?"
Zhang Fuhu: "...I'm not wronged."
"Very good." Ning Qingxi then led him to see the Four Seasons Garden. The rockery and landscaping there were already completed. The buildings weren't the main elements, so their outlines were already visible. "Please look here again! Every single one is meticulously crafted. Look at these stones. In all four courtyards, is there a single place where I cheated?"
Zhang Fuhu: "...No."
"Besides that..."
Zhang Fuhu was an outsider, and listening to Ning Qingxi's introductions was like Sun Wukong listening to Tang Sanzang chanting scriptures—it was incredibly annoying.
Finally, Ning Qingxi introduced the place that he was most interested in.
His bedroom!
"Mr. Zhang, please take a look! These small white stones are not available in the capital; they were transported here, which cost a lot of money. Is that normal? This hitching post..."
In short, you have to spend money everywhere.
Zhang Fuhu felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this.
I thought the scenery was nice, so I put one in my garden. But who would have thought that Ning Qingxi would be so decisive and take my words about not being short of money to heart? Every single thing she did was headed towards bankruptcy.
Zhang Fuhu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, which Ning Qingxi watched with glee.
These wicked clients! They know nothing, but they just think they can't spend too much money.
Even though she knew that Zhang Fuhu was different from ordinary clients, Ning Qingxi was still thrilled.
When Huo Yanci entered, she saw Zhang Fuhu looking heartbroken and Ning Qingxi secretly laughing. She asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
Ning Qingxi said with a smile, "Boss Zhang is curious about where all the money invested in this garden went. I have to show him what his money has been used for."
The bulk of the money has already been spent, and it seems that the most expensive building is actually the least valuable part of the place. After Zhang Fuhu finished walking around, he was completely convinced and dared not ask Ning Qingxi a single word again.
Huo Yanci also laughed and said, "We really have to take a look. If I were Boss Zhang, I wouldn't feel at ease either. If so much money goes down the drain, I'd be heartbroken."
Ning Qingxi nudged him: "What nonsense are you spouting? How can you judge a gentleman by your own petty standards? Mr. Zhang is nothing like what you're saying. Mr. Zhang, don't you agree?"
In his early years, Zhang Fuhu relied entirely on loyalty to make a living, so he couldn't stand this kind of provocation. He immediately agreed: "Yes! I can certainly pay for it. I don't care about the money. As long as it's useful, I'd be happy to pay even more!"
Ning Qingxi looked up upon hearing this: "Oh? You should have said so earlier. Actually, I was worried about the budget at the time, so I cut several gardens. Each one of them was outstanding. It hurt me to cut them. Boss Zhang, you should have said so earlier... Hey, Boss Zhang, what's wrong? Boss Zhang!"
Ning Qingxi's words made Boss Zhang's vision go black and he fainted. When he woke up again, he was in Huo Yanci's room.
Ning Qingxi didn't feel comfortable standing here, so Huo Yan resigned to take care of him.
When Zhang Fu woke up, he was being served by Huo Yanci, who had a beautiful smile on her face. Who wouldn't be terrified?
Anyway, he can't.
Just as Huo Yanci was about to feed him the porridge, Zhang Fuhu pushed him away and said tactfully, "How can I trouble you with such a thing? Just find someone else."
Huo Yanci said indifferently, "It's alright, I don't have anything to do anyway. By the way, when are you going back? Oh, it's not that I don't want you to stay, it's just too hot here. The autumn heat is unbearable. Look at you, you've already gotten heatstroke after standing for a while."
Zhang Fuhu touched his sweaty forehead, took the bowl from Huo Yanci's hand and said, "I can do it myself."
Huo Yanci declined for a long time, but couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he could only let the patient eat by himself. He sat next to him, and Zhang Fuhu, keeping his eyes down, observed for a while. He felt that this old man was in a good mood today, so he said, "Do you have some happy news? Why do you look so radiant?"
Huo Yanci didn't care about his strange choice of words, and just smiled and said, "Yes, how did you know I was getting married?"
With a crash, the porcelain bowl fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Just like the vulnerable Zhang Fuhu at this moment, he stared in shock for a long time before exclaiming, "Huh?"
Huo Yanci nodded: "Yes, and Miss Ning."
Zhang Fuhu: "Hmm?"
Huo Yanci said seriously, "The wedding date hasn't been set yet, but I think it'll be about right once the clothes are finished. I'll send you an invitation then, remember to bring a gift."
Zhang Fuhu: "Oh? When did you two start secretly carrying on this affair behind my back? And you even came with her to supervise? It couldn't have started from that time..."
The more Zhang Fuhu spoke, the more sense it made, and he couldn't help but feel even more terrified: "If you already had someone in your heart back then, why didn't you pursue them then? Anyway, you, the Great Prince, are so rich, you could have easily won them over with silver notes, why bother coming here to suffer?"
Huo Yanci joked with him, "Because it's more fun this way, in the middle of nowhere, don't you think..."
Zhang Fuhu couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.
Then Huo Yanci, whose face darkened, slapped him on the back of the head: "In this desolate wilderness, all the craftsmen are men. Don't you think it's dangerous to send a young girl here?"
Zhang Fuhu: "..."
What was supposed to be a perfect opportunity for a lone man and woman was shattered by Huo Yanci's slap.
There was nothing he could do; he genuinely hadn't considered this possibility. In fact, even Lady Ning had never mentioned it to him.
Just as he was pouting and looking aggrieved, Huo Yanci slapped him again and sneered, "What? I told you, and then what? You came along? Then you're the one in the most danger here!"
Huo Yanci had a good time when Ning Qingxi came in from outside with a bowl: "Oh, you're awake? The doctor said you have heatstroke and need to drink some water to replenish your fluids, otherwise it could be quite dangerous. If you ask me, you've finished your inspection tour, why don't you go back to the capital and stay there? What are you always doing wandering around here?"
Zhang Fuhu was completely bewildered. He took the water and drank it, but something still felt off.
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