Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1140 That's a person with a clear conscience.

Chen Hui said, "Overall, that's for sure, since the postal and telecommunications network has just too many branches, no bank can compare. However, from a regional perspective, the postal and telecommunications network is still not good in the short term, as the main deposit and loan customers are in the city, and any bank in the city has more branches than the postal and telecommunications network."

Mailboxes can't be used for deposits. But the sheer number of mailboxes is considerable, and the future is uncertain. Especially in remote areas and small cities, the total number adds up to a significant sum.

Xiao Wei shook his head: "It's too far from us, there's no point in thinking about it. What do you think, should we build a row of buildings along the roadside, or build several scattered around?"

Chen Hui said, "Just dedicate the narrow space here to the park, and that side... Or how about building it like a residential complex? It's a long strip, with some commercial areas, hotels, offices, and then connects to the activity center over there. Anyway, the park is quite big, and you've already left two open spaces, haven't you?"

Xiao Wei said, "We haven't really figured out what to do with those two plots of land. Dean Cheng said the park is already so big, so we should just put some grass on these two plots for now. Or we could just build on them both, and leave them there for now. We can build on these plots after the staff housing area here is finished. We'll figure out how to build them later."

Chen Hui turned to Xiao Wei and asked, "How much does this park charge?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "How about we let people come in for a stroll without charging them, and then we can add some paid services later? I reckon 80% of those who come in are from our neighborhood, so how would we charge them?"

Chen Hui laughed and said, "That's easy. It's normal for such a nice environment to be a bit more expensive than the riverside, right? It has such a large riverside park, so it's normal for the property management fee to be a little higher, right? The entrance fee is one yuan. For a family of three, it's ten days, so thirty yuan isn't too much, is it? And then you say it's a free park, how great is that?"

Xiao Wei said, "That works too. If we include the activity center, gym, swimming pool, and all that, it's pretty easy to run a park. Let's do it that way."

Chen Hui said, "Anyway, the district hasn't said anything about taking it back to manage. They'd rather not have it managed by them, because it would just be a money-losing business for them, believe it or not? Maintaining such a large park would cost at least 500,000 to 600,000 yuan a year, and that's just considering labor costs."

Xiao Wei said, "We still need to get a contract, to be more solid. Let's make it ten or twenty years."

The two entered the Dragon King Temple, where workers were working under heat lamps. Although there was a slight smell of paint, it was warm. An old craftsman, wearing a shirt, sat on a frame, using a brush to outline and fill in the cloud patterns on the ceiling. It was a slow and meticulous process.

Xiaowei and Chen Hui looked up at it, and Xiaowei said softly, "These wooden buildings used to be so beautiful. And so grand."

Chen Hui nodded and said, "It's a pity. Nowadays, it's not suitable for living in. The ventilation is not as good as modern buildings, and it's not soundproof and attracts insects. In fact, even in the past, only palaces and temples would be built like this."

Only emperors lived in places like that. We've seen it; he didn't live there directly, but rather had a small room within a room. Even in ancient times, houses in the north were made of brick and stone. It seems only in the south were they truly wooden houses, and those are different.

Xiao Wei said, "I was just saying, it's not like I really want to live there. It's not a suitable place to live."

Several craftsmen saw the two men, glanced at them, and went back to their work, ignoring them.

Xiao Wei asked an older man, "Master, when do you estimate the work will be finished? Completely finished?"

The craftsman didn't even turn his head. After finishing the stroke and checking that there were no problems, he replied, "By the end of April, or early May, it should be finished. It's slow at the top, but faster at the bottom. This stuff can't be baked too long, or it will crack. It needs to be kept in the shade for a while."

Chen Hui asked, "What are your plans for this place going forward? Can we just go anywhere?"

Xiao Wei shook his head: "Let's fence it off and build a temple, then charge admission. If this place is free, we might as well just demolish it; that would be faster."

Chen Hui looked around and said, "Then we'll have to make a Buddha statue. What are you going to do with people paying money to come in and worship?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's get this done first. In the spring, we'll build a wall and a walkway, add a small garden outside, and construct a few auxiliary buildings for the temple. If all else fails, we can collaborate with other temples and have them send a couple of monks to help with the planning. We can then split the ticket revenue."

The old craftsman said, "This kid's idea is actually quite reliable. We need to make money now. Maintaining this will cost at least 100,000 yuan a year. We need to bring over a few real monks to ensure it lasts. There are plenty of people willing to spend money on incense these days. It doesn't matter where you burn incense. It's all just a matter of everyone trying to fool themselves."

Chen Hui laughed and said, "Master, you dare to say that here? Aren't you afraid the gods will be angry?"

The old craftsman put down his pen, moved back a bit, and then slowly took out a pipe from his pocket, lit a pipe, and said with a smile, "Gods don't have time to care about us. Gods are in their hearts; what are they? They are rules, old customs, and their duty."

"There are gods three feet above your head," doesn't mean there are immortals above your head, but rather that Heaven is watching what people do. You must be worthy of Heaven and Earth and have a clear conscience; you must act according to rules, virtue, and propriety. In the end, it all boils down to having a clear conscience.

Xiao Wei nodded and gave a thumbs up: "Master, you're a genius. You've really figured things out."

The old craftsman said, "These days, people don't care about that anymore. Now, all you care about is making money. Back in the old days, people had to follow rules and etiquette. Children had to learn morality before leaving home, how to speak and act properly. That was the good stuff from our ancestors. Now, haha."

Xiao Wei said to Chen Hui, "I think what this teacher said makes sense. What do you think about our kindergarten offering this class? We can treat it as a way to learn to read."

Chen Hui asked, "Huh?"

Xiao Wei said, "The Three Character Classic, the Thousand Character Classic, and the Family Instructions of the Hundred Schools of Thought, those kinds of texts."

Chen Hui licked his cheek: "What we talk about doesn't matter, but where are you going to find a teacher?"

Xiao Wei said, "Studying Chinese is enough. As long as they can recognize the characters, memorize them, and roughly explain the meaning, that's fine. Do you expect kindergarten children to learn the Five Classics and Four Books? If they memorize them, they'll be imprinted in their brains, and they'll understand them when they grow up. Isn't that how we taught in ancient times?"

The old master craftsman chimed in, "That's right. Back then, we didn't understand anything. If we couldn't recite it, we'd get our hands slapped. We hated our teachers back then. But as we grew older, bits and pieces would pop into our heads, and we'd start to understand them. Some principles don't need to be explained; just remember them, and you'll understand them eventually. If you can't remember them, explaining them to you is pointless."

Chen Hui wasn't interested in this, so he shook his head. The two of them got out of the car and went home.

Chen Hui said, "Actually, I always felt that this bathhouse was a bit redundant. There are already bathhouses in Zhongjie, Huanggu, and Tiexi. A regular bathhouse would have been enough. Now that a hotel has been added, I feel more at ease."

(End of this chapter)