Mingjing filled a basket with fruit. The tricycle used to carry the fruit trees was now empty. She threw the basket into the tricycle and then took a burlap sack to collect more fruit.
Chestnuts aren't very valuable locally. They're easy to store and have a high yield, so their market value isn't high. Mingjing only wants to share them with relatives and neighbors, and only sell them if she can't share them all.
Ming Dahai didn't stop her when he found out. His daughter had her reasons for doing what she did, and he didn't interfere.
When he got home, Sun Yunmei had already prepared a meal and was waiting for him. On the table were durian and a bunch of green grapes, and the table was full of food and wine, which was quite a feast.
"Mom, we've worked so hard, but this is too much!" Mingliang picked up a durian and put it in his mouth.
Sun Yunmei smacked him on the head, "Don't be greedy, someone's coming over later."
As soon as he finished speaking, a black Santana pulled up in front of the door.
The Santana is a long, all-black car that doesn't look particularly attractive, but it's now considered one of the top luxury cars.
A man and a woman got off the car. The man was Xie Jun'an, and the woman looked to be in her thirties and was dressed fashionably. She was delighted to see Mingjing as soon as she got off the car.
"This little girl is really beautiful and has a bright and charming appearance."
After the woman finished speaking, she looked around the yard and nodded in satisfaction from time to time.
“Mingjing, this is the designer Qian Man I told you about. She returned from studying abroad and specializes in designing villas. She insisted on coming to see you after taking your advice last time.”
"Teacher Qian, this is Mingjing. I never expected you to come in person."
Mingjing smiled and pulled up a stool, inviting Qian Man to sit down.
Upon hearing this, Qian Man was even more delighted, feeling that this girl was different from others.
"I found your idea very interesting last time. Did you receive the blueprints? How's the progress?"
Qian Man sat down, and Mingjing handed her a glass of water.
“We are currently digging the foundation. Although my idea is a three-story circular building, I would like to hear your opinion considering typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis.”
"Yes, we often encounter these problems here. We must not cut corners on materials, the foundation must be dug deep, and we must pay attention to the precision of steel bars and building materials."
"If you need it, I can give you a detailed plan, but of course we can't skimp on the materials."
"Of course, safety comes first. I'm very grateful to Teacher Qian for saying that," Mingjing assured him.
After thinking for a moment, Qian Man smiled and said, "I heard you're going to build a seaside villa. Shouldn't you upgrade the entertainment facilities?"
"It's just a farmhouse inn, close to the sea. We'll build a small pond in the backyard for sea fishing. That's all we have for now."
Building the house alone will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then there are entertainment facilities to consider. All things considered, she won't be able to save any money and will end up in debt.
"What about the interior? Wouldn't just having guest rooms be too monotonous? I can help you design themed rooms."
Qian Man studied abroad, and her ideas are at least decades ahead of those of the Chinese people, which coincides with Mingjing's thoughts.
“That’s what I was thinking too. The first floor is a family suite, which can be partitioned off to create a dining room. The second floor has double rooms, and the third floor has a viewing platform and a presidential suite. There can also be couples’ rooms.”
"The rooftop is a garden and vegetable garden, where guests can play and take photos, and it can also be used as a restaurant."
"That's a good idea."
Afterwards, Mingjing and Qianman had a lot of detailed discussions about the house.
For example, whether an elevator can be installed, and whether the rooms should use wooden floors or tiles.
How can I design an eaves for an open-air barbecue restaurant in the yard that provides shade, shelter from the rain, and is also aesthetically pleasing?
Do we need to install floor-to-ceiling windows on the roof, or is it unnecessary to install any protection and just need to build a high wall?
The two chatted enthusiastically, and Qian Man grew to admire Ming Jing more and more, feeling that she had great design talent.
With nothing else to do, Xie Junan helped Ming Dahai repair the chicken coop.
“Mingjing, all of what you’ve said is fine, but as for the design price, I’ll ask for a thousand. I just returned to China, and this is my first client, so it’s a bit expensive…”
Before Qian Man could finish speaking, Ming Jing slapped his thigh in agreement.
How could I disagree? A thousand yuan is an incredibly cheap price, Mingjing said with a straight smile, "Okay! Teacher Qian, it's not expensive. As long as you can design it well for me, I'll pay you anything, even five thousand."
"Teacher Qian, you know a lot about construction. Could you make a list for me of good building materials? Safety is the most important factor, and I don't mind the price."
Qian Man was stunned. She was worried that she had said too much. A thousand yuan was something that an ordinary family could hardly afford. How rich must this girl be?
"good……."
Mingjing brought over paper and pen, and Qianman began writing about building materials.
"Mom, give me the money!"
Without hesitation, Sun Yunmei went inside, took out a thousand yuan, and handed it to Qian Man.
"Teacher Qian, please take good care of this. Once the room is built, we'll invite you to visit, and we'll help you promote it."
Qian Man took the money and nodded.
"Come on, let's eat."
Sun Yunmei invited Qian Man to take her seat.
During the meal, the conversation turned to the house again. Xie Junan couldn't get a word in edgewise, but he was grinning from ear to ear.
He was immediately in a good mood when he saw that Mingjing was wearing the bracelet he had given her.
After the meal, Xie Junan saw Qian Man off. Before saying goodbye, Mingjing gave Qian Man a large bag of chestnuts she had picked up on the mountain, and also gave Xie Junan a small sack.
After everyone had gone far away, Mingjing went into the house and divided the remaining chestnuts. He kept half a bag for himself, sent half a bag to Sun Yang's family, and also sent some to Lao Wang and Lao Zhao.
There were still two sacks of chestnuts left. Although they keep well, they will spoil eventually, and they couldn't eat that many.
Eating too many chestnuts can cause bloating and indigestion.
Mingjing called Huang Daguang and asked him to take the chestnuts to town.
She really didn't care if Huang Daguang embezzled the chestnuts, since it was just a truckload.
In the evening, Huang Daguang returned with the money, a total of 23.6 yuan. After deducting the cost of gas and delivery, Mingjing still had 15.6 yuan left.
You have to understand that the average person's salary is only a dozen yuan or so now, and only a few hundred yuan a year. Fifteen yuan can buy a lot of pork, so Mingjing didn't complain.
Sun Yunmei was sitting in the yard washing clothes when Mingjing began to plot again.
"Dad, do we need a permit to contract out land on the mountain?"
Ming Dahai was squatting by the door smoking when the question reminded him, "It should be needed, I have to go to the Forestry Bureau to ask."
"Then we have to take over the mountain while they're not willing to do it yet. It would be troublesome if someone tried to take it from us."
The mountain wasn't very big, but it had plenty of water, good sunlight, and lots of wild fruits, plants, and animals. They could benefit from taking it over; there was no harm in it.
Sun Yunmei stopped what she was doing and said seriously, "Mingjing is right. If we don't have a license to grow fruit trees, anyone who wants to pick the fruit can do so."
They say it's a wild fruit, and there's nothing we can do about it. We need to get a permit, no matter the cost.
Ming Dahai agreed, "That mountain is actually a barren mountain, but it is under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Bureau. It might cost a lot in contract fees, so we still have to go out to sea."
Building a house and contracting an orchard, children need to go to school, and there are all sorts of household necessities to manage—you really can't do without money.
"The boat should be repaired in the next couple of days, Dad. You can fix that grappling hook one more time. It should be ready by the day after tomorrow. Go to the Maritime Safety Administration tomorrow to register the boat."
"Then I'll go to the forestry bureau to inquire about the contracting procedures and the cost. If it's feasible, we can get more fruit trees, and then we can get some free-range chickens too."
Raising a pig or herding sheep are both ways to make money; you can't put all your eggs in one basket.
Ming Dahai smiled with narrowed eyes, "You've got a good idea. So, are you still going to go to sea? You can make money all you want, don't get yourself into trouble."
“Dad, money will just keep growing. If we have money, we can hire people. It’s not like we can’t afford to. Why don’t you just be the managers and wait to count the money?”
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