"Right, is there a problem?" Lin Xiaoguai asked.
Little Niangao attended the primary school in the Military District compound, where most of the students were from within the compound, and the teaching staff and environment were no worse than outside schools.
"You should strengthen his awareness of safety," seeing Lin Xiaoguai’s puzzled face, Shen Chi explained, "This spring, during a field trip, the daughter of one of my subordinates went missing. It was only because the child’s uncle went to Shanghai to find her that she was recovered."
He frowned, "They were lucky, it was just an accidental loss. If it had been child traffickers, it would’ve been awful."
Lin Xiaoguai also furrowed her brow, "I’ll be careful." Her son might be smart, but she couldn’t be too cautious with this kind of thing.
"And that vast piece of land, what are your plans for it?" Shen Chi took a comb and started brushing her hair while asking.
"I’m planning to design it into a farmhouse. Once the design blueprints are ready, I’ll look for construction workers to start the project," Lin Xiaoguai shared her initial plan.
"What about hiring workers? What are your thoughts?"
Lin Xiaoguai hesitated for a moment, then tentatively suggested, "Post a hiring notice?"
"No, that’s too dangerous. It’s usually just you, grandpa, and grandma at the farmhouse. You must be extra careful about safety. What if you hire someone with bad intentions?" Shen Chi rejected the idea.
"What should we do then?" Lin Xiaoguai also felt that it was too hasty upon hearing his words.
After placing the comb aside, Shen Chi pulled her down to lie beside him and thought for a moment, "How about this? Many of my subordinates come from rural areas. They are married with children but can’t bring their families over because they don’t meet the conditions. The farmhouse is close to the compound and you offer accommodation. Wouldn’t it be the most cost-effective to hire their families as workers?"
"People from rural areas who can find work are few, and they don’t dislike farm work. I assume neither the military spouses nor their families would mind. Of course, you have to be strict in selecting them based on character," Shen Chi added.
What he didn’t say was, since these were his subordinates, their relatives would naturally not dare to cause trouble for Lin Xiaoguai as the wife of their superior. They might even go out of their way to please her, adding an extra layer of security.
Lin Xiaoguai thought it was a good idea, too, but what she considered beneficial was the positive impact this would have on Shen Chi’s reputation in the military. Since Shen Chi’s enterprises were known to take care of veterans and military families, the rank-and-file soldiers and officers held great respect for him. The higher-ups had also rewarded him several times. Now, the farmhouse could serve another group of military families, which could contribute to paving his way for promotion.
After all, they needed to hire people, and whether they were military families or not didn’t matter to her as long as they were good people and worked hard. Why not do something that served multiple purposes?
They made the decision happily, and what followed was content not suitable for children.
The next day, Lin Xiaoguai packed her things early in the morning and sought refuge at Han Shouzhen’s place.
Upon hearing her situation, Han Shouzhen didn’t hesitate at all to take her in, leading her to the study room and saying, "This place is only used by Ping’an when he’s doing his homework. Old Wan and I don’t need it. Whether you want to write articles or draft plans, I won’t disturb you. There’s a pile of laundry waiting for me at home."
When she was alone in the study room, Lin Xiaoguai took out her notebook and began planning the farm.
— Don’t misunderstand, she wasn’t so versatile as to be able to draw design blueprints. She just planned to jot down her requirements and then take them to the exchange shop to place an order.
The exchange shop wasn’t like the interdimensional trade system found in novels that allowed face-to-face transactions with people from other dimensions, but it did allow users to place orders. It worked like a bounty system—you posted your requirements with a suitable price, and others with the exchange shop system who had the capability and willingness would take on the order and trade with you until you were satisfied.
Of course, not many chose to use this kind of bounty because the amount of Gold Coins required was usually quite high. Lin Xiaoguai had taken on quite a few bounties before, but most were for specific creative works and mostly, came after she had gained more patents for her ideas and became well-known.
Three thousand mu was a large area, and one percent for buildings was thirty mu, which was equivalent to the size of a residential community. Lin Xiaoguai didn’t intend to waste it. She had witnessed the booming real estate industry in the future.
Although at this time, some might look down on houses within the farmhouse, as people began to value green living, especially in Capital City, the houses within the farm would become sought-after. So, apart from her own house and a store, she planned to build the rest as apartment buildings, maximizing the value of that building area.
The farm needed to be surrounded by walls, and then there had to be the main gates... She hesitated but decided to have one on each side. Based on her memory, one gate would lead to the store; another would serve the compound’s production supply to the military; another for her family and friends; and the last one for the farm workers and their families.
Then there was the location of the residential area... Although she wasn’t planning to sell it for the time being, the farm could only accommodate a fraction of the workers in the apartments. The rest, when housing prices rose, she planned to sell depending on the market. To fetch a good price later, she didn’t want to cluster the apartments together, but rather spread them at two scenic corners of the farm. This would facilitate comings and goings and also prevent the issue of affecting the lighting and ventilation of some of the apartments if they were too centralized.
Additionally, the farm was meant to operate continually. If non-employee residents moved in and roamed the farm at will, that wouldn’t be ideal. No one could guarantee that future residents wouldn’t partake in theft.
Even Capital University had its unexpected incident with Lu Rong; she dared not be too optimistic.
After consideration, she decided to create a garden within a garden, dividing the farm from the residential area. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)