Chapter 133: The Fourth Batch of Guests
The three girls threw themselves onto the Berry and Blossom Pathway. Here, there were dozens, hundreds… no, countless varieties of flowers, blooming along both sides of the path in a manner that was both orderly yet naturally carefree.
In the crevices of the cobblestones, dwarf petunias quietly spun their vines. Lin Shuang rushed to catch up, almost tripping in her haste, but she happened to land right in front of a massive cluster of pink wood sorrel, instantly left dazed with happiness.
“This is too beautiful! Sob, I thought the pictures on the flyer were photoshopped, but it’s actually real!”
Every two steps they took, they would stumble upon a new cluster of flowers, admiring, marveling, and unable to move their feet. With great difficulty, they would tear themselves away and stand up, only to be captivated by an even more beautiful flower after another two steps.
Before coming, they had felt that walking five hundred meters to the stream was too far. But now, they only wished this Berry and Blossom Pathway could stretch for five hundred kilometers—it would be best if they could walk it forever!
Ai Jinjin’s phone never stopped clicking: “Oh my god, oh my god! The ten tulip bulbs I planted last year only managed a measly five tiny blossoms, and they looked so scrawny and fragile… There’s a whole sea of them here!”
Because the stalks were tall and slender, they were nestled right in the midst of the other flowers.
The three girls pulled out their phones and snapped photos of each other. The sky was an azure blue, the grass was like a lush green carpet, the flowers swayed gently, and the tree shadows were mottled… everything was breathtakingly beautiful.
They completely forgot that their original purpose was to go camping and wading by the stream.
Back in the old house, Jian Xingxia was already receiving her fourth batch of guests—Qiqi and her parents.
When Qiqi’s father saw Jian Xingxia, he still felt a bit uncomfortable inside.
The last time he went to the kindergarten to pick Qiqi up from school, his attempt to sneak away to buy cigarettes almost caused her to get lost. As a result, the moment Qiqi’s mother found the child, she transferred every single cent of his secret stash of pocket money to Jian Xingxia on the spot.
Granted, since Jian Xingxia had helped return their child, no amount of reward or gratitude was too much, but Qiqi’s father couldn’t help but feel a bit put out by the whole thing.
Qiqi’s mother and Qiqi, however, were absolutely delighted.
The moment Qiqi arrived, she wanted Jian Xingxia to hold her. “Chestnut Sister, huggie!”
Jian Xingxia stepped out from behind the counter and lifted Qiqi into her arms. “Oh my, Qiqi has grown taller! You must have been eating your meals properly lately, right?”
Qiqi’s face flushed a rosy pink. She mumbled and refused to speak, simply burying her head in Jian Xingxia’s neck.
Qiqi’s mother’s eyes lit up, and she quickly coaxed her daughter, “Yes, yes, Qiqi has been very good with her meals lately. Chestnut Sister is going to make delicious food for Qiqi in a little while, and Qiqi will definitely finish it all up, right?”
This time, Qiqi was able to answer: “I’ll finish it!”
Qiqi’s mother and Jian Xingxia exchanged a look, sharing a knowing smile over the joy of coaxing a child.
Qiqi’s mother hadn’t managed to book the large suite, but the bed in the standard room was also two meters by two meters. In Lin Sanniang’s words—Heavens! What a massive bed! It was more than enough for their family of three to sleep comfortably.
“One standard room is one hundred and sixty. Plus lunch and dinner for two adults is one hundred and forty. That comes to exactly three hundred, and after the discount, it’s two hundred and forty.” Lin Sanniang calculated silently in her head.
Over there, hearing Jian Xingxia say the meals were one hundred and forty, Qiqi’s mother quickly chimed in, “You calculated it wrong! Qiqi needs to eat too.”
Jian Xingxia smiled and said, “Little Qiqi is so adorable, we’ll throw in two complimentary kids’ meals for her.”
Although it wasn’t a massive amount of money, being given complimentary kids’ meals and having their baby praised as adorable made both Qiqi’s mother and father beam from ear to ear.
“Qiqi, hurry up and thank Chestnut Sister!”
With that, Qiqi’s mother inquired, “Where is that greenhouse picking activity? Qiqi loves eating strawberries, so we want to take her there to play for a bit.”
The greenhouse side could only be handled by Jian Xingxia—the access control for the greenhouse used facial recognition. She would head over periodically to check the fertilizer, water supply, and the growth of the fruits and vegetables. Although there were never any issues during her checks, it aligned with her academic major, and she also wanted to investigate the system’s technology.
However, Jian Xingxia couldn’t head over just yet. She said, “The picking activity in the fruit and vegetable greenhouse opens uniformly at ten o’clock. I’ll take you over then. In the meantime, why don’t you stretch your legs and wander around the manor first?”
The equipment in the greenhouse was precious, and the harvest had to be weighed, so someone definitely needed to guide them. Qiqi’s family had no objections.
It just so happened that they had noticed the tables, chairs, and benches in the courtyard earlier, along with the peach tree, the beautiful large hens, and the big white geese. Qiqi wanted to go see them immediately.
After receiving Qiqi’s family, the revenue progress for the 10-person target under [Manor Operating Mission Three] became: 4/10.
Jian Xingxia couldn’t exploit a loophole where one person paid and the whole family counted toward the numbers. She could only hope the remaining guests would arrive between nine and ten o’clock. Otherwise, she would have to brace herself and upsell to the guests who were already at the manor.
She didn’t want the guests to experience high-pressure upselling on their very first visit. Over the many years past, she had worried deeply about finances, and she always needed to see the price tag to feel at ease when buying things. She wanted the manor’s guests to enjoy that same peace of mind, choosing the services they needed according to the clearly marked rates without needing to endure extra sales pitches.
While Jian Xingxia was praying for the guests to hurry up inside the old house, Lu’an Village—three kilometers away—was already bustling with activity.
Another car drove into Lu’an Village, but this time it belonged to a local villager, Hu Lin’s family. Hu Lin’s car had been temporarily requisitioned to pick up another guest from the town station, Cai Wei, and his girlfriend, Qin Yue.
Cai Wei usually worked in the town during the week and would typically return to the city on weekends to visit his girlfriend. But with the grand opening of Lu’an Village’s very first guesthouse, Cai Wei, wanting to support the rural economy, had discussed it with his girlfriend and convinced her to come spend a night at the guesthouse this weekend.
Qin Yue, in truth, had not wanted to come.
