Chapter 108: Working Together to Help Out
The three of them headed up the mountain, though they didn’t actually have to do any strenuous climbing. After walking a little over a kilometer, they found a bamboo grove.
Jian Xingxia had the scholar select the bamboo suited for bamboo weaving.
The scholar inspected them one by one, muttering to himself. After selecting a few stalks and telling Jian Xingxia, he quickly dashed off to the side—he was still terrified of Da Hei.
Da Hei was also wary of him.
Standing on opposite sides, both wanted to be near Jian Xingxia but neither wanted to get too close to the other.
As a result, Jian Xingxia had to pass messages back and forth between them.
“Da Hei, this one, that one, and these few over here. Cut them all down and bring them back.”
Da Hei complied without a word, raising his machete and chopping away.
For bamboo stalks as thick as a child’s arm, Da Hei could fell them with a single stroke and carry them away directly.
The scholar trembled on the side, yet he had to steel himself to continue selecting. “And this one…”
After picking out over ten stalks of bamboo, Da Hei dragged them back all by himself.
Upon returning, Jian Xingxia had the scholar weave bamboo under the tree, while Da Hei continued to clear land for farming. She herself needed to head down the mountain.
The various business applications she had submitted to the village committee a few days ago had finally cleared the administrative pipeline, and Hu Da had notified her to pick up the certificates.
Opening a guesthouse was truly no small feat. She needed a business license, and she also had to register the guesthouse and complete fire safety filings.
There was no food delivery or restaurants in the mountains, so Jian Xingxia had to provide meals for the guesthouse guests. No matter how simple and home-cooked the meals were, she still had to obtain a food business permit and a public place hygiene permit according to regulations.
Fortunately, Hu Da worked in the Poverty Alleviation Office and possessed a complete, fast-track channel for university students returning home to start businesses. They had already helped Jian Xingxia process most of the paperwork in advance.
The Poverty Alleviation Office’s desire to improve the village’s impoverished situation was exceptionally urgent.
Jian Xingxia quietly instructed Da Hei, “He will weave bamboo, and you will farm. Don’t interfere with each other. But if he tries to enter the house or go deeper into the mountains, apprehend him.”
Da Hei nodded solemnly, his expression dead serious.
He was highly adept at this; protecting the master, the master’s house, and property was one of the core duties of a Kunlun slave.
Knowing that the scholar wasn’t a member of the nobility out to capture a Kunlun slave, Da Hei wasn’t quite as afraid of him anymore.
If he needed to be tied up, he would tie him up!
Jian Xingxia rode her tricycle into the village, where Hu Da and the others were already waiting at the village committee office.
“Xiaxia, this is the mobile government services center. They’ve brought over all the certificates you need to open the guesthouse and the pick-your-own orchard. Just sign and collect them here.”
Jian Xingxia obediently signed her name and checked the documents.
The staff from the mobile government center encouraged her, “We need more people like you who are willing to come back and build their hometowns. A wonderful place like our Jinmen Town relies on you to promote it. Once your guesthouse opens, we’ll bring our families and friends to support you when we’re on vacation.”
Jian Xingxia was more than welcoming. “Your work is fantastic too, resolving problems for the villagers and saving them from traveling and waiting in lines. Thank you for your hard work!”
Jian Xingxia had learned from Hu Da and Wei Liang that over the years, whenever the elderly in the village needed to renew their ID cards or set up online payments for electricity meters, staff members would come directly into the mountains to handle it, saving the villagers from running around.
From the bottom of her heart, Jian Xingxia respected and admired the staff of the Poverty Alleviation Office.
She had the system’s help, which allowed her to launch the guesthouse as quickly as possible.
But the staff of the Poverty Alleviation Office truly used their own two feet to traverse every inch of the land, swapping their sweat for development opportunities.
With the certificates in hand, a staff member added Jian Xingxia on WeChat. “If you have any questions down the line regarding tax filing, operations, promotion, fire safety, or hygiene, feel free to ask us. We’ll be hosting a series of township revitalization seminars in the second half of the year. If you have time, you can come listen.”
“Alright, thank you so much!”
After sending off the staff, the members of the Lu’an Village office gathered around.
“Xiaxia, when is your guesthouse opening? We’ll all go take a look then.”
“Xiaxia, you’re amazing! You’re the very first person in our village to open a guesthouse.”
“Xiaxia, does your guesthouse need to hire people? We can host a job fair in the village or collaborate with nearby villages…”
Jian Xingxia quickly declined. She did intend to help Lu’an Village develop, but not just yet.
She smiled apologetically. “Calling it a guesthouse is an understatement; it’s really just a residential house. I don’t even know how business will be yet! If I can get one or two guests a day, I’ll be thanking my lucky stars. There won’t be much work, so I should be able to manage on my own.”
Jian Xingxia thought for a moment, then added, “Plus, I’ve contacted some friends online to come do volunteer work. If there’s a lot of chores, I’ll probably rely on volunteers first.”
The village officials felt it was a pity, but they understood completely.
Everyone was feeling anxious, unsure whether Jian Xingxia’s guesthouse could actually take off.
“However, the date for the trial run is set for three days from now. It will run for a week to see if there are any issues. If all goes smoothly, we’ll officially open a week later. If there are problems, we’ll resolve them before opening.”
The village officials nodded. “That’s exactly how it should be done. Work hard, and if you face any issues, just come find us.”
Jian Xingxia smiled. “Actually, I do have one.”
“Huh? Speak up then!” Several village officials in the office crowded closer, wishing they could do something for Jian Xingxia’s guesthouse right this second.
Jian Xingxia smiled and said, “I don’t plan to make the trial run public. I only intend to invite a few friends and acquaintances to experience it. Those living in town are fine since they can drive here themselves, but for those coming from further away, I might need someone to pick them up from the station.”
When the guesthouse opened, Jian Xingxia would certainly be up to her ears in work and wouldn’t be able to leave the old house.
This task of picking people up could only be entrusted to the villagers.
She had already thought it through: for matters inside the mountains, she would try her best to use temporary laborers, while matters outside the mountains could be handed over to the villagers.
As soon as she said this, Wei Liang and the others agreed immediately.
“That’s easy! Let Little Hu Liu handle the pickups. Give him the village tractor to use!”
“Huh?”
Picking up guests with a tractor?
Qi Shan, a university student village official who had passed the exam to work in the village a few years prior, quickly intervened, “Let’s not do that, Chief. I think we need at least a minivan. If we really drive a tractor over… guests will want to turn right around and leave as soon as they arrive.”
Qi Shan was too embarrassed to say it out loud.
Back when she reported for duty, the village had driven a tractor to pick her up.
The incessant clank-clank-clank of the tractor rattled all the way from the town back to the village, transforming Qi Shan from a young, quiet university student into a soot-faced country girl.
Drawing from her own experience, Qi Shan stated, “We need a minivan at the very least.”
Jian Xingxia agreed. Although she rode a tricycle herself, she couldn’t let tourists sit in a tricycle; that would drive customers away too easily.
Hu Da and Wei Liang discussed it among themselves. “If we’re looking for a minivan, we’ll have to hire someone from the town. But the cost would be high; a round trip would cost at least fifty yuan.”
After all, it was over ten kilometers from the village to the town, and it was a winding mountain road that wasn’t easy to drive. After helping to pick someone up, they would have to drive back empty.
Jian Xingxia nodded. “That’s fine. This money ought to be spent.” You have to spend money to make money.
Running a business involved a mountain of miscellaneous details.
But Jian Xingxia was highly confident. If nothing else, the road rewarded by the manor upgrade system and the pick-your-own orchard were enough to attract people. The fear lay in no one coming, but as long as people arrived, she was confident she could make them stay and thoroughly enjoy the mountain scenery.
After a brief discussion with the village officials, the village extended all the support they could offer to Jian Xingxia.
“Hu Ming, Fangfang, and those kids happen to be on vacation. When the guesthouse opens, let them give people directions in the village.”
“When Little Hu Liu isn’t going to town to sell milk tea, let him wait at the old house. Whatever you need, Xiaxia—whether it’s fish or vegetables—just have him fetch it from the village and calculate the money later.”
“I’ll have someone sweep the road in advance to keep it clean, so tourists will feel comfortable when they arrive.”
“For those raising pigs and chickens, tell them to pen their pigs up later on. Don’t let the pigs run wild on the road…”
Everyone pooled their ideas, entirely focused on making Jian Xingxia’s guesthouse open smoothly and retain customers.
Jian Xingxia’s heart swelled with warmth. She felt she finally understood why her maternal grandmother had ultimately chosen to stay in the mountains, living here for an entire lifetime.
However, when Jian Xingxia returned to the old house with her business license and operational permits, the scholar handed her a massive “surprise.”
