Chapter 161: Mrs. Wan is invited into the inner house by the mayor, Zhou Biao is shocked
Old Mrs. Wan was glared at by Zhou Biao, but she was not afraid of him. She just glanced at him lightly and turned her head back. It was not her fault that he was unlucky. If he insisted on blaming her, Old Mrs. Wan thought that he might be even more unlucky, right?
Zhou Biao bowed to Qiu Shi and was about to leave. At this moment, he heard Qiu Shi, who had been silent, said to Old Lady Wan very politely, "Old Madam, of course I remember you. Master Lu has told you that if you have any difficulties, just come to me. Please come in."
Zhou Biao almost slipped and tripped over himself. Did he hear correctly? Could this country bumpkin have another identity? Master Lu? Could he be the son of the Lu family in Beijing who came to the border to travel a few years ago?
Zhou Biao was extremely shocked. He stared in a daze as Old Lady Wan and her group were politely led into the yard by Qiu Shi. He was unable to move for a moment.
"Master, shall we hurry back? The mayor only gave us merchants half an hour. The trip back and forth will almost waste our time. These individual merchants are taking advantage of your absence and are trying to squeeze you out."
Seeing Zhou Biao stunned, the housekeeper immediately stepped forward to remind him, but he also felt a little disgusted in his heart and stood a little far away, almost pinching his nose.
Zhou Biao came back to his senses, glared at the housekeeper, and said sternly: "Go pick up my whip and go back immediately. Let Uncle Cai wait first. If the mayor lets everyone go in later, you can let Uncle Cai go in on my behalf. No matter how much money we spend, our family will own more than 20% of this shop."
This time everyone came here for the shops in the trade and exchange center. Merchants have the most sensitive noses and they know best where to make money. Even when the trade and exchange center is still laying the foundation, they have already started planning to buy shops.
These days they waited at the mayor's door every day, but the mayor refused to see anyone.
This is where Qiu Shi’s cleverness lies. He really wants to sell the shop, but if he opens the door to welcome the other party and negotiates the transaction price as soon as the other party arrives, the shop will no longer be valuable, and the other party will inevitably agree to his conditions.
This time, Qiu Shi used up all the reserve funds in the town, and also applied for a construction grant from the county, but he was only able to raise less than half of the money needed to build the trade center. He has been unable to sleep well these days because of concerns about the money.
But even so, he still forced himself not to meet these businessmen easily. It was obvious that as long as he opened the door, money would come to him automatically. However, in order to obtain greater benefits, he left these people alone for four or five days, leaving them outside the door to blow the cold wind every day. The harder it was to get something, the more they would want it. At that time, the biggest beneficiary would of course be him, the mayor. Qiu Shi could be said to be a shrewd and calculating person.
Qiu Shi led Mrs. Wan and her family into the house and sat them down. There was a charcoal fire in the house. Even though it was already February, the wind outside was still sharp. If there was no fire in the house, it would be like an ice cave.
Old Mrs. Wan and a few others stood outside for a while. Their hands and feet were a little cold, but they did not dare to sit as casually as they did at home. They all sat on the chairs properly. Second Mrs. Wan stood behind Old Mrs. Wan, holding the child.
Little Fubao looked at the furnishings in the room curiously, not at all shy, and occasionally looked at Qiu Shi seriously.
But Qiu Shi was questioning Old Mrs. Wan and didn't pay attention to Xiao Fubao.
"Madam, long time no see. Are you feeling well these days?"
When Old Mrs. Wan was greeted by the mayor, she was surprised and happy, but after all, she had experienced life and death exile, and her state of mind was no longer the same as before, but she still managed to remain calm.
Old Mrs. Wan had a smile on her face and lowered her head slightly, which showed a certain respect without seeming humble or fawning.
"Thank you for your concern, Mayor. I am doing fine. We country folk are tough and work with the land all day long. We eat grains and cereals, so we are not that delicate. But Mayor is very busy, so he should take good care of himself."
After saying this, Mrs. Wan took another look at the snacks in her son's hand. She took the snacks from Mr. Wan's hand and placed them on the table beside her. She forced a smile and said, "We country folk don't have much to show for it. This is just a small gift. I hope the mayor won't despise it for being crude. It's our way of thanking him for his help."
Qiu Shi did not refuse and accepted the snacks generously in front of Old Lady Wan. He was a gentleman by nature and spoke gently at this moment, which made people feel less nervous.
Only then did Qiu Shi notice Xiao Fubao, and he unpacked the snacks that Old Lady Wan had brought. There was a shop mark on the packaging of the snacks, so he knew that they must contain pastries or something like that, which should be suitable for children.
"Is this your granddaughter, old lady? She is so cute. How old is she this year?" Qiu Shi opened the snack package, picked up a piece of peach cake from it, stood up and handed it to Xiao Fubao.
"Oh, Mayor, you can't do that. This is for you. Why are you..." Old Mrs. Wan quickly stood up and tried to stop him, but Qiu Shi had already handed the snack to Xiao Fubao.
Little Fubao smiled and stretched out his tender white hands to take the peach cake, and said in a baby voice: "Thank you uncle, uncle is so kind."
The mayor originally just thought that since there was a child present and he didn't have any snacks for the child at home, he just used the things that Old Lady Wan brought to entertain her child. He didn't expect that the child was so smart. The mayor immediately wanted to tease the child. He had never seen such a lovable little baby.
"Oh, the little girl is really sensible. How old are you?"
Little Fubao held the peach pastry against her chest but did not put it into her mouth immediately. She looked at Qiu Shi with bright eyes. She felt that this uncle had a pleasant smell that made her feel very comfortable.
"Fubao is one and a half years old."
Little Fubao nestled in Wan Ersao's arms without any shyness. When she heard Qiu Shi's questions, she answered in a baby voice with a smile on her face, which made her very lovable.
"Wow, your name is Xiao Fubao, right? That's a really nice name."
"Yes, my name is Xiao Fubao, which means I bring good luck to others. Uncle is blessed."
Little Fubao couldn't complete his long sentences and only used a few short words to express his thoughts. However, Qiu Shi was already shocked. Such a young child could already speak so many words and express them very clearly. If this was a boy, he would definitely be a pillar of the country in the future.
Qiu Shi was amused by Xiao Fubao's words and couldn't help laughing. His elegant appearance and hearty laughter made the original atmosphere even more relaxed and harmonious.
Qiu Shi gently pinched Xiao Fubao's chubby little face and said, "I hope your blessing can bring to every poor person in the border area, so that they can get rid of poverty and live a good life as soon as possible."
Little Fubao didn't understand what Qiu Shi said. She looked at Qiu Shi with confused eyes, but her little head was constantly thinking about Qiu Shi's words. Qiu Shi's words were really not something that a one and a half year old child like her could understand. Even Wan Laoer might not understand Qiu Shi's good intentions. After all, one should not meddle in matters that are not within one's jurisdiction. Wan Laoer only had his own family in his eyes, while Qiu Shi had the people at the border in his eyes.
Thinking that there were so many people outside who wanted to see the mayor, and that the mayor had just agreed to meet with them, Old Lady Wan decided to quickly tell the mayor her story and see if he could get through the back door. If not, she would leave quickly so as not to waste the mayor's time.
Old Lady Wan had something in mind, so she stood up and said to Qiu Shi, "Mayor, actually, I have something else I want to ask you this time. I wonder if it's convenient for you?"
A hint of doubt flashed across Qiu Shi's eyes, and then he simply asked: "Madam, please feel free to ask for anything you want. Master Gu has already told me that no matter what you want, I will do my best to help you."
There was a glimmer of excitement in Old Lady Wan's lowered eyes. It seemed that this matter had an 80% chance of success, but she quickly calmed herself down.
"Mayor, this is the case. My family bought a shop in town and plans to open a restaurant next to the wasteland. I heard that a trade center is being built there, and it's right next to my shop. Today, I came to you with an unwelcome request. We have some money, and we want to buy a shop. It doesn't have to be a good one, just one next to my shop."
After saying this, Old Lady Wan looked up at Qiu Shi's expression. Seeing that there was no change on Qiu Shi's face, she finally put her heart at ease.
However, Qiu Shi's words made Old Lady Wan feel anxious again.
"Madam, do you want to buy a shop too? But those shops are only auctioned off, and the highest bidder wins. I wonder how much money you have, Madam?"
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