The Little Life of a Big Landlord

Chapter 112 Command

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(A tourist friend guessed that Liu Sao's child was Liu Lei's. This really shocked me. I realized that some people's thinking is really unhealthy. They are cousins ​​who share the same grandfather, very close cousins... Liu Sao was bullied, and she called her cousin from her parents' home for courage. How could people suspect her like this? Unbelievable...)

"I'll listen to you..." Liu Zhengfeng immediately wilted.

"Now, right now, find out online which farmhouses offer good value for money..." Zhang Xiaofei said in an imperious manner.

Men are just like that. You can reason with them and they'll try to bargain with you, but if you just give them an order, they'll happily do it: "Longquan Manor? I went there last time, disgusting! I'm not going... Ma Family Peach Blossom Spring? Planting peach trees makes it a paradise? Uncultured... Fan Family Village? I've been there too, boring... Zheng Family Village Little Peach Blossom Spring? That's a newly opened one, I wonder what it's like..."

Liu Zhengfeng clicked on the link to Zhengjia Village Little Peach Blossom Spring, and a webpage immediately popped up on his desktop.

"Oh...this website design is quite unique, and the house has a certain charm..." Looking at the bunch of pictures on the page, Liu Zhengfeng nodded, then clicked on the pictures one by one...

Liu Zhengfeng was stunned... He never imagined that in this day and age, there would actually be a mountain village with such authentic rural charm.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Xiaofei was surprised to see her husband looking so shocked, his mouth agape. She quickly went to her husband's side and looked at the laptop screen. When she saw that, Zhang Xiaofei was also stunned.

"See that? There are cats and dogs, chickens, ducks and geese too. There are two trees in the yard, an old well in the backyard, and the donkey cart is the old-fashioned kind. Why aren't there any livestock?" Liu Zhengfeng said.

"There are notes below..." Zhang Xiaofei said, pointing to the "My Private Garden" link below.

"Click to see..." Liu Zhengfeng quickly clicked the link, and a video window immediately appeared on the webpage.

"So many livestock? Look, what's that? Why is there so much steam? Hot spring! That's a hot spring..." Zhang Xiaofei screamed excitedly when he saw the hot spring appear on the screen.

"That little wooden house is so well built..." Liu Zhengfeng's eyes lit up as he looked at the little wooden house next to the hot spring.

"Wow... Don't let the small size of this fishpond fool you, there are really big fish here..." Zhang Xiaofei's eyes lit up as he looked at the large fish swimming leisurely in the small pond.

"Good heavens, what kind of fertilizer did they use to grow them so big? Can people even eat them?" Looking at the vibrant fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse, Liu Zhengfeng's first thought was that they were grown with fertilizer, otherwise they wouldn't have grown so big.

"Look at those vegetables, how lush and vibrant they are! If they were grown with fertilizer, they definitely wouldn't grow like this..." Zhang Xiaofei immediately countered her husband from the side.

"How about we go here?" Liu Zhengfeng suggested tentatively.

"Okay...I agree..." Zhang Xiaofei nodded immediately.

"Then let's..." Liu Zhengfeng looked at his wife and raised his eyebrows.

"Let's go tomorrow..." Zhang Xiaofei made the decision.

"Okay, let's go tomorrow. Let's pack our luggage today. I'm going to stay there for a month..." Liu Zhengfeng jumped up from the sofa.

"Really... not steady at all, just like a child..." Zhang Xiaofei complained, but she had a smile on her face. Her husband's good attitude was the greatest weapon in fighting against the disease.

So the couple started packing their things, preparing to visit Zhengjia Village the next day.

The next morning, Zhengjia Village became lively.

All the villagers who joined the agritourism program came to Aunt Liu's house and followed her instructions. There were so many people that Aunt Liu's house couldn't accommodate them all, so everyone was in the yard.

"We need to consider everything from clothing, food, housing, transportation, and hygiene. We don't need to worry too much about clothing, since people will definitely bring their own. But shoes are a different story. This is a mountain village, full of potholes and rocks, so we need to prepare plenty of cloth shoes, all sizes..." As Liu Sao spoke, she looked at Pang Shu'er and Tie Saozi. "Pang Shu'er, we'll have to trouble you with these cloth shoes. You and the women in our village can make them together. Sell a pair of adult shoes for ten yuan and a pair of children's shoes for five yuan..."

"No problem, we've got it covered..." Aunt Pang nodded quickly. This was a good job. A pair of cloth shoes was made from old clothes, old sheets, and quilt covers. The soles were only sewn with a little bit of glue. The cost was extremely low. If each pair could be sold for ten yuan, it would be a considerable income.

"...Next is food. We mountain people don't have much good food, at most we eat some mountain produce. I plan to set up a small shop in our village, mainly for our village to exchange food varieties. If tourists ask for something that we don't have at home but other people have, they can get it from the shop. Then we'll keep a unified account and calculate it at the end of the month. We can also get supplies from outside. After all, city people can't always eat our mountain food. The shop will be located in the brigade, and will be managed by the village secretary and the village accountant. The shop belongs to the whole village, not to any one person, so everyone is welcome to supervise and make sure nothing hurts feelings..." Aunt Liu said.

"Okay, no problem..." Zheng Dabao and the village accountant Zheng Daguang responded in unison. The two exchanged a glance and nodded secretly. This Sister Liu really had the demeanor of a general. She was like a general reviewing his troops on the battlefield.

"...Next is the issue of accommodation. That's easy to solve. Every household has spare rooms, and some even have east and west wing rooms. Everyone can clean up their spare rooms and wing rooms. Spare rooms usually have heated brick beds (kang). If we repair the kang, they'll be habitable. The east and west wing rooms usually don't have heated brick beds, so we'll just build them up. We'll light a fire every night, and it'll keep us warm until the next morning. We also need to close the doors and windows tightly to prevent drafts from getting in... As for the living environment, everyone should put up old calendars on the walls, or if you can afford it, you can put up New Year pictures. The roofs also need to be swept. Everyone should put the same effort into cleaning the house for the New Year..." Aunt Liu said.

"No problem, no problem..." The villagers nodded repeatedly.

"Another issue is the registration of tourists' accommodations. When a tourist stays at our house, we must write down their name and ID number. If it's a bad person, we'll have evidence to report it to the police later..." Aunt Liu said.

"We know, we know, safety first..." The villagers nodded repeatedly.

"...Next is the issue of transportation. We have an event where we take tourists to the market, so transportation is a big problem. Every family has a donkey cart. Taking tourists to the market in a donkey cart is what makes it feel like the countryside. Everyone should go back and repair their donkey carts. At the very least, there shouldn't be any thorns or splinters on them..." Aunt Liu said.

"Sister Liu, we only have a donkey cart, but no donkeys..." a villager stepped forward and said.

"Silly... Bao'er's dad raises a lot of livestock, we can just borrow them from him..." Auntie Pang rolled her eyes at the villager and said.

"Alright, alright, whoever has a donkey cart but no livestock, step forward so I can count them. Besides, not all tourists want to go to the market. Sometimes, one or two carts are enough to take them all away," said Aunt Liu.

After a final count, it was found that there were five families who only had donkey carts but no livestock. During the busy farming season, these people would borrow livestock from their neighbors and friends, and then give them some mountain produce or treat them to a meal as a token of their appreciation...

Raising livestock is actually quite troublesome, especially for families with lazy members who simply can't handle the animals.

"...Now let's talk about sanitation. There can't be any manure piles in the village, otherwise, in this hot weather, with flies and a stench, who would dare to come? If anyone has manure, they should just pile it up on their own land. Also, Uncle Bao and I have discussed something, which is to build a biogas digester in the village. Once the biogas digester is built, when everyone cleans their toilets, they can pour the manure into the biogas digester. This will not only keep things clean, but also allow us to use the biogas produced as fuel... Another issue is bathing. City people basically take a bath every day, so each of our families needs to install a solar water heater in their homes... After all, the water heater isn't just for tourists; we can use it too... If anyone doesn't want to pay for it, they can talk to Bao'er's father and borrow it from him. They can pay it back after a year, and there's no interest!" Aunt Liu said.

"Sister Liu, how much will we charge? You need to give us a clear price range," Auntie Pang said at this moment.

"Well, we've combined some industry standards and come up with a reasonable price. Let me tell you all about it. If anyone has any different opinions, you can raise them now. If you don't raise them now, I'll take it as you agree. You can't raise them later... Accommodation is 100 yuan per day in the main room and 50 yuan per day in the east and west wing rooms. For each person's three meals a day, our standard is: breakfast is two eggs, a dish of pickled vegetables, and unlimited porridge; lunch is one staple food, two farm-style dishes, and a bowl of soup. The farm-style dishes must be one meat and one vegetable; dinner is two eggs, a dish of pickled vegetables, and unlimited porridge. It's 10 yuan per person per day. Make sure the portions are generous and that everyone is full..." Aunt Liu said.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Even Aunt Pang, who loves to take advantage of small things, felt a little sorry for them. Although charging only 10 yuan for three meals a day is already very little, and most decent school cafeterias charge around that price, isn't the food we're providing a bit stingy?

"Yeah, it's too cruel..." The group of people all felt a little sorry for them. In their opinion, this was a rip-off. After all, based on the cost of these foods, it wouldn't even cost five yuan a day.

"It's not bad at all. You can do the math. An egg costs 50 cents, and the porridge is unlimited, so let's say one dollar. Pickled vegetables cost 50 cents, so breakfast and dinner alone would cost five dollars. Lunch consists of two farm-style dishes, the vegetarian one for one dollar and the meat one for two dollars, so that's three dollars. And the staple food? Even if we don't eat much, it would still cost one dollar, right? Plus a bowl of soup, let's say one dollar. So how much is that? Three meals a day would cost ten dollars, wouldn't it? You know, we're giving you plenty of food. We might even lose money." Aunt Liu counted on her fingers and gave everyone a detailed breakdown of the expenses.

"Is that how it is? It's really not much?" Everyone was deep in thought, muttering to themselves.

"So, when we think about it, charging 10 yuan isn't really that much..." Auntie Pang did the math in her head, feeling a bit cheated, and was quite conflicted: "But we can't just give them this to eat, can we?"

"If tourists order food, we'll have to charge a different rate: 5 yuan for a vegetarian dish and 10 yuan for a meat dish. If they don't know how to cook it, they can ask the kitchen helper for a processing fee. I've already told the kitchen helper that the processing fee is 1 yuan... As for drinks, beverages, milk, etc., we'll charge separately. If they come from outside, we'll sell them at the market price. If they're homemade, whoever provides them sets the price... I'm warning you in advance! Don't be too outrageous!" Aunt Liu said with a smile.

Hehehe...

Everyone burst into laughter.

"How much will we charge for a bath?" Sister Tie asked.

"The cost of showering is included in the accommodation fee. You do the math. If tourists stay for ten consecutive days, how much money would that be? 1000 yuan, that's 3000 yuan a month. Add the cost of food, and that's 3300 yuan. That's the minimum. The income isn't bad, is it? If the guests order fancy dishes, our income will increase even more. If things go well, 5000 yuan a month is no problem. How much is that in a year? 60000 yuan..." Aunt Liu's words sounded quite tempting.

"Isn't this too idealistic? It's impossible to have tourists every day, right? At most, we might have tourists every half month." Wang Duo suddenly walked in.

"That's not a small amount. That's 1650 a month. In our mountains, we might not even be able to spend that much." Aunt Liu suddenly became alert and stared at Wang Duo with hostility.

"We're having an internal meeting here. What are you doing here?" Auntie Fatty was the first to jump out.

The Zheng family members present all looked at him with hostility, except for Wang Shuisheng, who did not show any hostility. After all, they all shared the same surname, Wang. Although the blood ties were very weak, they were still related by blood.

"Of course I'm here to register. Did Aunt Liu say yesterday that I couldn't register today?" Wang Duo looked at Aunt Liu.

"Since they've come to sign up, of course we welcome them. It's a good thing that our group has gained another member..." said Aunt Liu.

"Then thank you, Aunt Liu..." Wang Duo walked over to Wang Shuisheng, smiled and nodded to him, then sat down in the empty seat next to him.

"We've just talked about food, clothing, accommodation, transportation, and hygiene. Next, we'll talk about supervision..." Aunt Liu cleared her throat. "Overcharging tourists is the biggest taboo in the tourism industry. We're going to be in this business for a long time, so we absolutely can't tarnish our own reputation. So, everyone should be more conscientious and not let small profits blind them to the big picture. This kind of thing really depends on self-discipline."

"We understand that, but what's that called again? Killing a hen and taking its eggs, it's not worth it..." Aunt Fat jumped out again.

"Auntie Pang, that's called killing the goose that lays the golden eggs..." Wang Duo quickly corrected.

"I'm willing to do it. I'll say I'm killing a hen and taking its eggs. What's it to you?" Auntie Pang said sharply.

"I..." Wang Duo touched his nose in frustration.

"Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense. Let's split up now. Auntie Pang, lead the women home to make shoes and tidy up the houses. The men, clean up around the village and move all the manure piles from the roadside to your own fields. Uncle Da Bao and Uncle Da Guang, drive Yang Ming's car to the county town to buy food. It would be best if you could write down the prices of all kinds of food so we can use that as a reference to price our mountain produce..." Aunt Liu began assigning tasks.

"Alright, let's split up... Wang, stay behind for a bit..." Aunt Liu said with great composure.

The group of people went off to do their own thing, making noise and shouting. Only Liu Sao and Wang Duo remained in Liu Sao's courtyard.

"Tell me, what do you want?" Aunt Liu had no faith in the Wang family at all; the Wang family had left a really bad impression on people.

"What do you mean, how is it? Aunt Liu's words are a bit hard to understand..." Wang Duo chuckled, looking bewildered.

"Are you really interested in joining our plan?" Aunt Liu raised an eyebrow, looking quite charming. Wang Duo's heart skipped a beat, even though his heart was already filled with another girl.

"Of course, I'm here to live a real life, not to fight or argue..." The reason Wang Duo was working so hard was to achieve results as soon as possible, and then openly go to that girl's house, and with her parents' blessing, bring her home. Time had to be quick, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure, and if her parents really arranged a marriage for her, she would regret it to death.

It's a melodramatic story about a city girl falling in love with a country boy, only to face strong opposition from her parents. It's somewhat similar to the drama "Chaoyang Gou," but reality is much harsher than the Henan opera.

"Now that you say that, I'm relieved..." Aunt Liu breathed a sigh of relief. "You were late, so let me tell you again..."

"No need... It's just the two of us at your house, it's inconvenient. I'll go ask Uncle Shuisheng instead..." Wang Duo couldn't stay here, otherwise the village would start gossiping.

"Alright, go ahead, I still have work to do..." Aunt Liu is now both the village head of Zhengjia Village and the chief technician of Huaxia Garment Co., Ltd., she's very busy.

"Then I'll go..." Wang Duo nodded to Aunt Liu, got up and left.

"..." Aunt Liu looked at Wang Duo's back, shook her head slightly, turned around and went into the house to get some work. She didn't want to work at her own house, how boring! It was much more interesting to be with that silly girl Wei Qingqing. When she was bored, they could bicker and tease each other. When she was thirsty or hungry, she could just eat at their house. Moreover, she felt a great sense of accomplishment and could show off her dexterity.

"Oh my, Village Chief Liu is here? Your presence is such an honor to my humble abode..." Wei Qingqing, who was knitting on her kang (heated brick bed), teased Liu Sao as she walked in with her work.

"You scoundrel..." Aunt Liu put her work down on the kang (a heated brick bed), climbed onto it, and asked, "Where are my uncle and aunt?"

"Isn't today the tenth of the month? My dad, my mom, Fenghuang Lili, and Fangfang, the five of them hitched up their cart and went to the market in Majiagou. Yang Ming and Zhang Yang are supervising the construction site..." Wei Qingqing rolled her eyes at Aunt Liu and continued knitting her sweater.

"Oh, is that so?" Aunt Liu sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed) and started working.

"Sister Liu, let me tell you, we don't accept tourists. Please don't put our name on your sign. If tourists come, don't try to bring them to our house..." Wei Qingqing suddenly said.

"Ouch..." Aunt Liu accidentally pricked her finger and glared at Wei Qingqing, "Why did you change your mind at the last minute?"

"It's not like we changed our minds at the last minute. We just wanted to find some peace and quiet here. So many people...it's annoying..." Wei Qingqing said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Hmph!" Aunt Liu pouted and snorted, turning her head away and ignoring Wei Qingqing.

"Sister Liu, really, it's really annoying when there are too many people, especially when a bunch of outsiders move in..." Wei Qingqing knew she wasn't being fair.

"That website mainly promotes your family's business. If you change your mind like this, our village's reputation will be ruined." Aunt Liu said dejectedly, mourning the village's tourism industry, which had just begun but was about to be abandoned.

"So what? We only have one spare room. When someone comes, you can just tell them that our spare room is already occupied, right?" Wei Qingqing found Aunt Liu's honesty endearing.

"Hmph..." Aunt Liu rolled her eyes. "That's fine too, anyway, your family isn't short of money..."

"What do you mean you don't need the money? Have you forgotten what I told Aunt Zhang? We never charge for any spare rooms in our house," Wei Qingqing said.

"That makes sense. It's like you've already leased out your spare rooms to Aunt Zhang..." Aunt Liu realized.

"That's right, we're friends and business partners with Aunt Zhang. Letting Aunt Zhang stay at our house for free is just a favor..." Wei Qingqing quickly made her excuse seem legitimate.

"Well, if tourists come to visit your home, you can't turn them away..." Aunt Liu said.

"Of course, we definitely won't charge anyone who wants to take pictures with our pets," Wei Qingqing said.

"What about the hot springs? Are they free too?" Aunt Liu pressed her advantage.

"Dream on..." Wei Qingqing rolled her eyes. She'd never seen anyone like this before. "Five yuan per person, is that alright? It costs five yuan to shower at the public bathhouse..."

"Alright, alright, you're really an expert at ripping people off..." Aunt Liu was satisfied, but she didn't say it out loud.

"You're really biased towards outsiders..." Wei Qingqing was dissatisfied with Aunt Liu.

"Hey! What do you mean by siding with outsiders? We're not that close..." Aunt Liu quickly waved her hand seriously.

"Hmph, isn't Yang Ming now Bao'er's dad? Isn't he Xiao Wu'er?" Wei Qingqing's tone was a little sour.

Aunt Liu's face flushed red instantly, and she said timidly, "You're so quick to anger, you even take jokes seriously..."

"Did I take it seriously? When did I take it seriously?" Wei Qingqing's face also turned a little red.

"Alright, alright, I'm not talking to you anymore..." Seeing that Wei Qingqing was really getting anxious, Aunt Liu quickly packed up her work and tried to avoid her.

"Are you feeling guilty? Otherwise, why did you run away?" Wei Qingqing said sarcastically. If Aunt Liu hadn't left, she really wouldn't have thought there was anything between Aunt Liu and Yang Ming, or that Aunt Liu had any feelings for Yang Ming. But the fact that she left made Aunt Liu seem guilty, which made Wei Qingqing's heart skip a beat.

"Hey Wei Qingqing, are you really taking advantage of my kindness?" Aunt Liu glared at her immediately. "If that's how you talk, I'm not leaving today. I'm going to stay at your house no matter what."

As Liu Sao spoke, she threw the work back onto the kang (a heated brick bed), turned around and went out. Then, a splashing sound of water came from the outer room.

"And let me tell you, not only am I staying at your house today, I'm also eating at your house..." Aunt Liu, carrying several large peaches, apples, and a bunch of grapes, with a few cartons of fresh milk tucked under her elbow, leisurely walked into the east room and sat on the kang (heated brick bed) to eat them with gusto.

Normally, Aunt Liu never served herself food; Wei Qingqing usually did it for her. Today, however, she made an exception.

Watching Aunt Liu happily eating fruit, Wei Qingqing couldn't help but drool: "Give me one..."

Aunt Liu didn't say a word, ignoring her completely, and just sat on the kang (heated brick bed) eating.

"Have you no shame? This is our family's food..." Wei Qingqing glared angrily at Aunt Liu. She was eating other people's food and acting so self-righteous. She had never seen such a person before.

"You call it, and it answers? If it answers, I'll give it to you..." Aunt Liu's reply was somewhat shameless.

"You...eat it, eat it...I heard Fangfang say that they needed to pee at night and didn't have time to run to the toilet, so they peed in the fruit basket. Does the fruit you're eating smell like urine?" Wei Qingqing tilted her little neck, rolled her beautiful big eyes, and stared at the ceiling.

"Wei Qingqing, how disgusting!" Aunt Liu gritted her teeth in anger. The fruit, which was originally quite sweet, somehow had a strong smell of urine.

This is just a psychological effect...

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(End of this chapter)