Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 512 - 510

Chapter 512: Chapter 510

"It’s a shame to just use it for irrigation, without farming any fish or lotus roots."

"Right, why didn’t I think of planting lotus roots? That way, we can enjoy the lotus flowers in summer and sell fresh lotus roots in the fall."

"Put some shrimp in this pond, build a few straw sheds by the pond, and create a nice place for fishing and shrimping." Xiao’er looked around the terrain by the pond and suggested.

"I don’t even know how to raise fish, let alone shrimp." Du Yijin shook her head.

"Don’t worry about that, we also have a pond like this in our estate where we grow lotus, fish, shrimp, and crabs. They all grow very big and tasty." We also have pearl clams. Of course, Jingrui didn’t mention this part.

Xiao’er wanted to facepalm, their growth was definitely related to her special water treatment.

"Really?" Du Yijin looked incredulously at Jingrui.

Jingrui felt a little embarrassed under her deer-like gaze. He casually shifted his gaze to the pond, "Yes, for real."

Although it was the use of the spacetime aid that helped everything grow exceptionally well in the pond at home, this method indeed worked, so Xiao’er also nodded her head, "Now is the perfect time to plant lotus roots, and you can add fish fry in May. I can send someone over to teach the village chief."

"Thank you, Lord Rui’an. I will also have the village chief get some lotus root seeds." Du Yijin said excitedly.

"We have lotus seeds in our estate, I’ll send some over!" Jingrui proposed.

"Oh, I couldn’t!" Du Yijin shook her head.

"It’s just some lotus seeds, doesn’t worth anything, and the seeds from our house are better than those outside." Xiao’er also chimed in.

"Then let me pay you for the seeds." Du Yijin didn’t like taking advantage of others.

"Miss Du, don’t worry about it. We don’t sell these lotus seeds. When we used to live in the village, if anyone had good leftover seeds, they’d give them to their neighbors for free. My mother was good at farming, and our crops were always better than others’. Every year, she would choose the best vegetable or fruit for seed saving, and when our own garden was fully planted, the remaining seeds would be given to friendly neighbors. It’s much better than wasting them." Xiao’er persuasively said with a smile.

"Well, many thanks to Lord Rui’an and Young Master Shen." Du Yijin gave in after hearing this. Further refusal would seem ungrateful.

To her surprise and admiration, Lord Rui’an freely spoke of her humble origins in the village even in front of the Sixth Prince.

Many people mocked Lord Rui’an behind her back for her humble origins, calling her a crude country girl who had hit the jackpot to become a high-flying phoenix.

Yet, Lord Rui’an was completely unperturbed by it, not ashamed of her humble origins, her ability to maintain composure in the face of both honor and disgrace was undoubtedly admirable.

When Du Yijin looked again at the Sixth Prince, there was no change in his expression as Lord Rui’an spoke of her village life. Walking alongside Lord Rui’an, his gentle gaze revealed his fondness for her even to an outsider like Du Yijin.

He truly didn’t mind her humble origins at all.

The two of them looked so perfectly matched as if they were a golden boy and a jade maiden made for each other.

The path to the back mountain was a narrow field trail, but due to frequent use, it was fairly flat.

They quickly reached the hot spring.

Xiao’er dipped her hand into the hot spring water, it was very hot! Even hotter than the hot spring at their estate, no wonder the villagers built a bathhouse here to bathe in this water during winter.

However, the high temperature of the water was a good thing, since she planned to lead the hot spring water with a pipe into each of the villas nearby. The higher the temperature, the better. As long as the pipe was wrapped with a thick layer of insulating cotton, the water temperature would not be too low in winter, even for the villas far from the spring source. If it was still too low, it could be heated slightly.

The collaboration between Xiao’er and Du Yijin hinged upon this hot spring.

Xiao’er planned to rent this hot spring for ten taels of silver per month, that is, Du Yijin would have an extra 120 taels of income each year without doing anything.

For her, it was like a pie falling from the sky!

"What does Lord Rui’an think of the hot spring?" Du Yijin asked with high expectations.

"The temperature of the spring water is quite high, which saves me a lot of trouble." Xiao’er commented with a satisfied nod.

Hearing that, Du Yijin smiled, "The hot spring is indeed hot. Let’s go. I’ll show you around the estate to help you with the layout of your water pipes."

Xiao’er nodded her agreement.

Shangguan Xuanyi helped Xiao’er stand up and continued to explore around.

Today Xiao’er had already instructed her estate manager to buy the lands around and a large plot of uneven sloping lands.

Xiao’er planned to construct several tiers of Western-style villas on the nearby land, each with separate hot spring bathhouses for males and females within.

This would be convenient for families coming here for the hot spring.

After a tour, she had become familiar with the general terrain. Following the principle that water flows downwards, Xiao’er had a rough idea of how to lay out the pipes.

"Do you think people will come to a hot spring resort here, Lord Rui’an? In fact, many large families have their own hot springs in their estates. They might not come here." Du Yijin thought about it again when she returned home. This cooperation was definitely making money for her, but it seemed a bit risky for the Marquis Shengping Mansion.

Building so many houses would require a lot of silver investment. What if no one wanted to stay in them to soak in the hot springs?

Du Yijin looked at the scenery in the distance. To be honest, the surroundings could not be described as beautiful. So why would anyone want to vacation here?

"Miss Du, don’t worry. In fact, I plan to build not only a resort, but also a zoo within the vicinity. Once the zoo is completed, I’m sure many people will bring their children to see the animals. So, the resort will not lack occupants."

"A zoo?" What’s a zoo? Du Yijin looked puzzled.

Xiao’er explained to her what a zoo was.

She had explained the concept twice today. The first explanation was given to Shangguan Xuanyi during their journey here.

Listening to her explanation, Du Yijin seemed thoughtful.

After checking out the terrain, Xiao’er decided to take her leave: "Miss Du, we are leaving now. We still have to check out the terrains for building the resort and the zoo."

Coming back to her senses, Du Yijin responded: "There are only my estates in the vicinity. It’s almost lunchtime. If you go back to the Imperial Capital after checking the terrain, you will certainly miss lunch. If the Sixth Prince and Lord Rui’an don’t mind, why not make do with lunch at my place? Though it can’t compare to the delicacies at your mansion, it offers freshly made hot dishes."

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