Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 510 - 508

Chapter 510: 508

"The Sixth Prince is really fond of Xiao’er." Mrs. Liu Lin observed the interaction between the Sixth Prince and her granddaughter, feeling pleased.

On their second day in the Imperial Capital, Shangguan Xuanyi made time to visit them with many gifts.

It showed that he treated them as his own family, considering them his elders and relatives, because of his affection towards his granddaughter. Otherwise, a prince wouldn’t have to humble himself so. Even if he did nothing, no one would blame him.

Moreover, he patiently waited for his granddaughter today without showing any irritation. She thought it was very rare to find such a man.

She could tell whether a man truly cared for a woman or not.

In her life, she had suffered from her husband’s lack of love. Now, seeing her daughter and granddaughter being loved sincerely, she felt relieved.

"Xiao’er is indeed a lucky girl." Mrs. Liu nodded upon hearing this. She had witnessed the prince’s love for her daughter. It was her daughter’s good fortune to have met such a good man.

"Indeed, we are all living a good life because of her luck." Mrs. Liu Lin sighed.

"Mother, you are indeed a blessed person."

Mrs. Liu then chatted with Mrs Liu Lin for a while and returned to her study. Every night, her family would set aside two hours for family time.

After sending Shangguan Xuanyi off, Xiao’er also returned to her study. As per routine, the family would gather there every night to handle and discuss matters.

In the past, Shen Chengyao and Mrs. Liu learned with their children. Now that they had learned what they needed, this time was reserved for discussion.

Xiao’er told them about her encounter with Du Yijin.

"I heard from my classmates that Mr. Du’s wife prioritize her family of origin. Her family was in decline, and her brother was a gambler. Many years ago, everything in her family that could be sold was sold except for the ancestral house. In recent years, they have been living off the help of their married daughter. Mrs. Du, as the eldest sister, believed that she had the duty to take care of her younger brother and her family. After marrying Mr. Du, she took away most of the Du’s family fortune to fill the pit of her own family’s debt. Mr. Du was a somewhat lofty person and although he worked at the Ministry of Justice, where there was a lot of profit potential, his annual salary was not enough. Therefore, their life has been getting worse." Jingrui shared what he heard from the academy.

"Poor Miss Du has such a step-mother and has to rely on her embroidery work to support the family." Mrs. Liu sighed.

"Indeed, we should help our own family, but she shouldn’t use her husband’s money again and again to pay off gambling debts. This is not help, but aiding and abetting in evil! Such a family only creates endless needs. How can you help when your own family has nothing left to give? It’s merely harming oneself!" Yun’er said indignantly.

"The way of helping others should be carefully considered, otherwise it will harm both others and oneself." Jingrui agreed.

"We should teach others to fish rather than give them fish!" Mrs Liu recalled how poor her family was when she was young, and Xiao’er’s approach was great, so everyone could earn silver.

"What kind of cooperation do you want to have with Miss Du, Xiao’er?" Chengyao asked without commenting on Mr. Du’s present wife. He asked about the main issue.

Everyone turned to look at Xiao’er.

"Didn’t I mention before that I was interested in the ownerless slope land to the east of the suburb?"

The land in the suburb was full of ups and downs, and it was not easy to manage if it was developed into farmland due to its unevenness.

Because the area was large, it was impossible to make it flat, so no one wanted to develop it.

"It’s too difficult to develop that land." Shen Chengyao shook his head.

"I don’t plan to develop it for farming."

"Sister, are you planning to build houses?" Jinghao asked after listening.

"I do need to build houses."

"The land there is uneven. Even if it’s leveled, it would take three to four years for the newly filled up soil to settle down. Only when the ground is firm enough, it is suitable for foundation. Otherwise, the foundation of the house is unstable." Upon hearing this, Shen Chengyao shook his head.

"The houses I intend to build are not for people to live in. There’s no need to level the plot." Xiao’er shook her head in response.

"If it’s not a house for people to live in, then what kind of house is it?" Mrs. Liu asked curiously. Suddenly, she thought of something and felt uneasy.

"Houses for animals. What I want to build is a zoo." Seeing Mrs. Liu’s reaction, Xiao’er understood and hastily answered.

A zoo? Mrs. Liu let out a sigh of relief.

She was afraid that Xiao’er, in order to make money, was ready to do all kinds of jobs.

"Zoo? Sister, what is a zoo?" Xi’er asked curiously.

"It’s a place where various animals are kept for people to see and provide scientific promotion and protection education. I want to open a zoo, then children can meet many animals they rarely see in the zoo. Being desolate, that piece of land is such a waste, let’s buy and build a zoo, initially, the investment will be a lot, but the return will be quick."

"Xiao’er, talk about your detailed plan." Shen Chengyao was interested after listening to this.

Then Xiao’er explained her thoughts in detail.

"Husband, if this venture is successful, the emperor will likely reward us again." Mrs. Liu had become politically sensitive now.

"It’s not for the emperor’s reward." Shen Chengyao shook his head.

He wanted to be a good official, an official who could do more practical things for the people.

The construction process of the zoo and the jobs that would be created afterward would provide many employment opportunities, and many people would find a new way to make a living.

If they could make money and do more real things for the people, why not!

"No doubt, the most important thing is that it can make a lot of money. Just think, once the zoo is built, many people would visit it every day, many people from nearby towns would come to the Imperial Capital, our money bag will keep jingling right?" Yun’er was excited thinking about the copper plates falling into the money bag.

Shen Chengyao:...

His second daughter’s thinking was not on the same track as his own.

"But won’t the animals be difficult to catch?" Jinghao asked worriedly.

"Don’t worry, they will be difficult to catch, but not impossible. I already have a lot of animals in my space, and the animals in my space are more intelligent. If not for having this condition, I would not propose such an idea that appears to be impossible and somewhat shocking!"

"But those animals won’t be easy to keep, right? We’ve never kept them before, what if they die?" Mrs. Liu thought of an important issue after listening to Jinghao’s words.

"There are always people who can keep them. However, those dangerous beasts like tigers and lions are better left out. It’s too dangerous!" To catch these beasts, they will definitely need to hire many people, and they need to give much silver for others to be willing to go.

Also, these beasts are carnivorous, how much silver would they have to spend everyday to buy meat for them? Won’t this be a loss? Yun’er thought.

"These are not problems, the main problem is to build the zoo." Xiao’er confidently answered.