Chapter 237: A Reputation Score in the Sevens
Ever since Jian Xingxia borrowed Lu Mingming’s literacy flashcards, returned them, and gifted him a small bag of lollipops along with a little basket of blueberries, she hadn’t been back to the village.
Zhao Meihua had been eagerly looking forward to reconnecting with Jian Xingxia ever since.
Unfortunately, the opportunity had never presented itself.
Today, Auntie Lu had been running all over the village asking if anyone knew how to make clothes.
Initially, Zhao Meihua didn’t know Jian Xingxia was the one looking for people, so she told Auntie Lu honestly, “Lu Mingming can’t wear the little underpants sold online—they always wedgie his bottom. So I bought a small sewing machine to make him little underpants and undershirts myself… does that count as knowing how to make clothes?”
Auntie Lu pulled Lu Mingming over, yanked down his outer pants to inspect, and declared, “It counts!”
And that was how Zhao Meihua ended up climbing the mountain alongside Auntie Lu.
Along the way, Zhao Meihua felt as though she were in a dream, asking Auntie Lu three times, “Auntie, is Xiaoxia really the one hiring?”
“Auntie, isn’t Xiaoxia’s agritainment manor officially opening today? Why does she suddenly need clothes made?”
“Can this little sewing machine of mine really pull it off? Should I have Lu Xiangshui go down to the town to check and buy a bigger one?”
Auntie Lu grew quite vexed from all the questions, realizing for the first time that Zhao Meihua could be this chatty.
She was clearly one of the more nimble and capable young daughters-in-law among the younger generation in Lu’an Village; why was she so incredibly talkative today?
Zhao Meihua just giggled with delight.
This was a golden opportunity to make a fortune. It only made sense for her to ask a few more questions and make extra preparations.
Didn’t everyone say that opportunity favored the prepared mind? If Jian Xingxia wanted to get something done, wouldn’t it be more secure if she understood it beforehand?
Before long, Auntie Lu and Zhao Meihua arrived at the old house.
There were guests at the old house today, and both of them were dressed in Hanfu—as qualified graduates of the Lu’an Village Ancient-Style Welcoming Attendant Training, they had each been issued their own modified Hanfu.
They could wear it for daily activities, and it wouldn’t look out of place when they came up the mountain.
Jian Xingxia explained her requirements to them: “Some tourists took a fancy to our clothes and want two custom sets made. They’re only staying on the mountain for two days and need them urgently, which is why I asked you to come and help.”
Auntie Lu and Zhao Meihua examined the sample garment Tao Ya had changed out of, turning it over and over as they brainstormed.
“We’ve never made this style before, but don’t you worry, Xiaoxia. This isn’t hard, and I even brought a sewing machine up. We’ll definitely get it done!”
Jian Xingxia arranged for the two of them to make the clothes in the west wing, placing the fifty-yuan mini sewing machine Zhao Meihua had bought online on the table by the window.
Auntie Lu drafted the patterns and cut the fabric, while Zhao Meihua ran the machine to stitch them together.
As for who would make which of the five outfits, Jian Xingxia had a calculated plan.
Lin Sanniang knew professional tailors and embroiderers, and with her larger workforce, they understood Hanfu—or rather, the ordinary garments of the Great Liang Dynasty—much better. Therefore, the three sets required to fulfill the mission were handed over to Lin Sanniang’s sisters.
For the remaining two sets, one was taken back by Shaoyin, and the other became the responsibility of Auntie Lu and Zhao Meihua.
This way, even if these two parties weren’t very familiar with the design and worked a bit slower, they would always be able to produce at least one set.
Furthermore, this arrangement would let the villagers know that the manor now offered a clothing line, preventing any confusion when facing inquiries from tourists later on.
Jian Xingxia had a substantial amount of fabric here, which happened to consist of scraps—perfectly convenient for piecing together the many strips and panels on the hem of Tao Ya’s outfit.
With a sewing machine, the efficiency was indeed significantly higher.
Zhao Meihua summoned every ounce of her focus, pouring her heart into the crafting.
Shortly before five in the afternoon, Zhao Meihua and Auntie Lu were the first to complete a 588-yuan wanderer-style ancient garment. The design was nearly identical to the one Tao Ya wore, but the color palette had been altered to a purple theme according to the guest’s specifications.
The various shades of purple fabric looked like mismatched scraps, but when pieced together, they appeared exceptionally striking and lively.
The customer girl hadn’t left yet, and she went to try on the clothes with absolute delight.
Her companion beside her was green with envy. “Ahhh! How did your clothes get finished so fast? You can wear them to take gorgeous photos today! I want mine too!”
Having delivered the clothes and collected the final payment, Jian Xingxia said happily, “Don’t worry, yours will be ready tomorrow.”
The two girls quickly replied, “We aren’t rushing you; this is already incredibly fast.”
The customer girl’s satisfaction also stemmed from the fact that they had practically watched Auntie Lu and Zhao Meihua work busily the entire day with their own eyes. The two had merely wolfed down a couple of bites of rice at noon before bringing the garment to life, stitch by stitch.
Xingxia Manor’s claim of custom handcrafted ancient attire was the real deal!
Although a sewing machine was used, it was undeniably handcrafted from the measurements, cutting, pattern drafting, stitching, to the piping; even the fabric pieces were selected one by one.
The customer girl was thoroughly stunned. “All this for only 588! Manor Owner, can you really make any money this way?”
The fabric was considered the lowest cost component, but it still must have cost dozens or a hundred yuan, to say nothing of the design fee. Just factoring in the labor of two people busy from morning till night—how could such handcrafted tailoring not cost three or four hundred a day per person?
Two people had rushed for a whole day just to produce this one set.
The customer girl immediately changed into it, snapped photos, and posted them to her WeChat Moments and social apps: “Sisters! Highly recommending a custom Hanfu merchant hidden deep in the mountains! One piece per guest—fabrics, silhouettes, styles, and color combinations can all be chosen! Plus, it’s entirely measured by hand for an absolute perfect fit!”
Her companion helped her snap a wave of beautiful photos, posting them rapidly, and within moments, they gathered a stream of likes, praise, and inquiries for the location.
Jian Xingxia smiled so wide her teeth showed, as if she could already see a mountain of pocket change flying her way.
On the first day of official business, although there weren’t as many people as during the trial run due to the lack of promotional events, the system’s reputation score had risen significantly.
It had already climbed from the five-point range during the trial run into the seven-point range.
This reputation score mechanism was different from the previous positive review mission; it wasn’t determined by customers directly inputting ratings or leaving likes and reviews.
Rather, much like the temporary workers’ job satisfaction, the system extracted the customers’ inner feedback to calculate the score.
Currently, the manor’s scenery, ecology, dining, service, picking, and lodging had garnered widespread praise.
However, the tourists had plenty of complaints as well.
For instance—
“They didn’t say anything about charging for admission before; why are they charging now? Though it’s only fifty yuan and still pretty cheap—and we even get to take home a pound of fruits and vegetables along with a small bouquet of fresh flowers for free—it’s still way more expensive than during the trial run!”
Jian Xingxia had also made the decision to charge for admission after careful deliberation.
Currently, the manor didn’t have many revenue streams; dining, lodging, picking, and camping were the main four, while many of her facilities and scenic views were completely free of charge.
Upgrading the manor to Level 2 required 50,000 yuan in revenue, and the next level would easily start at a hundred thousand, with half a million not necessarily being the ceiling.
Considering that the rewards given for each manor upgrade were highly substantial, Jian Xingxia decided to launch the admission ticket model early to facilitate subsequent development.
Furthermore, the manor’s workforce was still far too small. She was currently employing both ancient and modern people simultaneously just to barely keep things running.
If admission remained free during official business, there would be too many people, leading to a shortage of hands and chaotic management.
During the trial run, someone had picked flowers recklessly and even ruined a small patch of the vegetable patch.
The flowers and the vegetable patch were minor things, but one person causing damage would incite dissatisfaction among other tourists, or even invite imitation.
Charging for admission, raising the entry barrier, and controlling the flow of people actually aligned with the demands of long-term development.
However, since admission was being charged, the tourists’ requirements were correspondingly higher.
“Ahhh! With so many people, there aren’t enough toilets! How long are we supposed to wait in this line?”
“Last time they said we could order farm-style dishes to take out, why aren’t they ready yet? There are only steamed buns for sale, but I want to eat the perilla duck and braised pork! The braised pork made by the manor’s chef is an absolute masterpiece!”
“There are too few activities. How come there are no performances, street stalls, or anything like that? Just natural scenery gets boring after a while.”
“It says there’s a dance performance tonight. That’s great and all, but there’s only one show, and we have to head back this afternoon—won’t we miss it completely? But if we stay behind specifically to watch it… no one has ever seen it before, so we don’t know if it’s worth it.”
“With such a massive stretch of wild grass and lawn out back, it would be awesome if we could ride horses. They should set up some signature activities.”
Reviewing the tourist feedback extracted by the system, Jian Xingxia could only feel that the manor still possessed immense room for growth.
But counting it all up, it had only been a month since she moved back to the old house; she truly couldn’t force her steps to go any faster.
She would take things one by one, slowly. As long as each day was a little bit better than the last, it was progress.
