He Qiu Lei's face was filled with a pitiful expression, and Su Xiao Qi said with a laugh, "A children's playground, it's actually quite literal, a place specifically for children to play.
Think about it, if there were a large courtyard in the capital right now, filled with novel toys like slides, would adults be willing to spend money to bring their children to play?"
He Qiu Lei's eyes narrowed and flickered, and he said hesitantly, "Although I don't have children, I would definitely be willing to take him, but I don't know what others think."
Although he was projecting his own feelings onto others, everyone's thoughts were different, and he indeed couldn't use his own ideas to gauge others' thoughts.
Even though he really wanted to boast about this idea.
Because he sensed a business opportunity in Su Xiao Qi's words, a completely novel concept, and that was enough. The rest didn't matter.
He believed that with Su Xiao Qi's ideas and his own methods, they could definitely make a fortune.
"Since you're also interested, why don't we look for a location? The location needs to be good, and the space needs to be large enough," Su Xiao Qi requested.
Fearing she hadn't explained clearly, she added, "I'll make a plan later."
He Qiu Lei was overjoyed and kept saying, "That would be great."
As he was leaving, he suddenly remembered that his main purpose for visiting Su Xiao Qi today was to discuss the matter of the "Heavenly Granary."
The shop had already opened, and he wondered how her inventory was.
Su Xiao Qi pointed to the backyard and handed Zhang Yu a key, saying, "Of course, it's ready."
There were at least five hundred shi of grain inside, which he could sell for a long time.
He Qiu Lei left happily and immediately sent cargo carriages back upon his return.
Su Xiao Qi had Li Shushao, along with the two young servants she had bought earlier, help with the loading and delivery.
As a result, it took a full day to move everything with five carriages working simultaneously.
Su Xiao Qi watched the scene and thought to herself that if this continued, she would need to stock goods next to the shop in the future.
Otherwise, the constant back and forth was too troublesome.
The key was that she could control the goods into the space with her mind, but to gain people's trust, she had to watch them work so hard.
Alas, what a sin!
In the following days, Su Xiao Qi felt somewhat anxious.
It wasn't for any other reason but that she was waiting for Shen Yun's results, that is, the list of candidates who passed the imperial examinations.
The process was undoubtedly agonizing.
Su Xiao Qi felt even more nervous than during her own college entrance examinations.
Although she kept telling herself that with Shen Yun's talent, it wouldn't be difficult to pass the imperial examinations and become a jinshi.
She was also afraid that her arrival might have affected some things.
As of now, she had already changed the course of many events.
Therefore, she was really hesitant to make a 100% guarantee.
Fortunately, in late March, Xiao Yi and his group arrived in the capital.
Su Xiao Qi received the letter and sent Li Shushao to pick them up at the Ten Mile Pavilion in the southern suburbs of the capital.
This pavilion was located ten li along the official road in the southern suburbs and was the mandatory route for people entering the capital from the south.
Li Shushao waited there from the morning and finally met them after an hour.
As soon as they met, Li Shushao became excited, jumped off the carriage, and greeted them, "Xiao Yi, Little Magpie, Xiao Sanzi..."
There were six people from Mianzhou City. Fortunately, the carriage they hired was large enough, otherwise, it would have been quite uncomfortable to be squeezed inside during the journey.
"Hey, Brother Shushao, Brother Shushao," Xiao Yi stepped forward to greet Li Shushao.
They were very familiar with each other when they were in Mianzhou City, and they often worked together, so their relationship was very close.
"You've finally arrived. The young mistress has been mentioning you these past few days," Li Shushao said as he led them into the carriage he was driving.
The carriage they had arrived in was dismissed.
In the late afternoon, the group finally arrived at Mao'er Hutong.
After Su Xiao Qi received the news that they were arriving today, she had sent Li Shushao to pick them up early in the morning and had been directing everyone at home to prepare.
The letter stated that there were six people arriving.
Xiao Yi, Xiao Sanzi, Xiao Si, Little Magpie, and Xiao Liu, Xiao Twelve.
Three boys and three girls.
The boys were easy to arrange; they would stay in the vacant west wing in the front courtyard, three to a room.
As for the girls, they would stay in the west wing of the backyard.
Bedding and some daily necessities had been prepared in advance, and if anything was missing, they could be purchased from the supermarket she and Du Yiyi opened.
Su Xiao Qi planned to take them to buy these things after they arrived.
This seemed more appropriate, as she wasn't sure what they needed, and if she bought the wrong things, she was afraid they wouldn't like them and wouldn't feel comfortable telling her.
Therefore, going together was the best option.
Seeing how much Su Xiao Qi, as the hostess, valued the people who were about to arrive, the people working below also picked up on the subtle cues.
Originally, they thought that the people about to arrive were just servants of the family, like themselves.
They might also live in servants' quarters similar to theirs.
Therefore, in terms of preparation, they were following their usual allowances.
But now, it was different.
Su Xiao Qi didn't notice at first, but Zhao Momo discovered their actions and told her.
"They are all my brothers and sisters. Although not biological, they are closer than biological kin." After all, her persona in Daliang was that of an orphan.
Zhao Momo understood the implication.
She immediately went before the servants and reprimanded them severely.
"Do what the master orders, and do it with all your might. Where does all this picking and choosing, and chattering, come from?"
Zhao Momo was a steward from the Duke's Mansion, and even without saying anything, her presence exuded a more intimidating aura than ordinary people.
Therefore, the servants in the household were actually afraid of her. Besides Shen Yun and Su Xiao Qi, she was the most authoritative person in the Shen family.
After arranging the rooms, bedding, and some daily necessities for Xiao Yi and the others, Su Xiao Qi immediately went to check on the kitchen.
The person in charge of cooking today was Huaihua.
She had recovered after her miscarriage.
Furthermore, Su Xiao Qi had been giving her medicinal herbs to help her recover during this period.
Now, she had greatly recovered. Zhao Momo disliked that she got pregnant before marriage and then lost the child.
Thinking she was unlucky, she didn't want her to be too close to Su Xiao Qi and directly assigned her to the kitchen to work as a cook with her mother, Lian Shi.
Unexpectedly, this seemingly unintentional act led to an unexpected benefit.
As soon as Huaihua entered the kitchen, she displayed extraordinary culinary talent.
Firstly, the dishes she made had a special flair.
Secondly, Su Xiao Qi would occasionally come up with ideas for modern dishes and snacks.
Because she was afraid that everyone would not be able to replicate the taste she wanted, Su Xiao Qi would go to the kitchen herself to cook.
After cooking twice, she discovered Huaihua's brilliance.
She was exceptionally talented in cooking. As long as there was a recipe, regardless of whether she had tasted it or not, she could basically make it, and the taste would be seven-tenths similar on the first try.
Su Xiao Qi was extremely surprised and delighted.
From then on, she didn't let Huaihua do anything else but to make the new recipes she occasionally gave her.
As a result, people from the Duke's Mansion and the Princess's Mansion began to enjoy delicious food.
Because Su Xiao Qi had Huaihua make new types of food, after she successfully tested them, she would have them delivered to the Duke's Mansion and the Princess's Mansion.