Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 22

Volume 02 Chapter 22: No Poor People In The Survival Training

"Don't look down on my family. I have made my decision. Let's go. What do you mean by the mindset of minor peasants? This is called the mentality of a bright mind." Wang Juan didn't give Zhang Xiao'bao another chance to continue to belittle her family and she had made up her mind.

"Then let's go. We'll get Housekeeper Zhang to follow us. We should see if we can buy some horses from there. Mare's milk is quite good too. It can be bought and made into cheese locally, and then transported back here for the children to eat. It can also be made into other dishes too, but we first need people to get used to eating these kinds of foods."

Zhang Xiao'bao didn't really care whether he went or not. If they did go, then they would just be playing around anyways and it was nice to go outdoors too. There was nothing about Wang Juan's father that he was dissatisfied with. Everyone's way of thinking was different. He can't expect everyone to follow his and Wang Juan's arrangements, could he?

In the future, he will have to ask his mother to tell stories to Wang Juan's mother, and subliminally teach and guide Wang Juan's father, so that he does not always want to get ahead of others. Even though everyone has this kind of mindset, it was best to suppress it as much as one can. The two families needed to communicate with each other more frequently, and discuss any ideas together.

"Okay, then let's prepare. We will have to go over there in just a few days. I heard that this time, the duration will be longer. The older children have to stay for ten days, and the younger ones have to stay for three days. Let's just treat it as reminiscing the past. Let's tell my family about this decision. My mom keeps worrying about the two of us. My mom is the better one of the two; I have no clue what my dad is thinking about the entire day."

Seeing that Zhang Xiao'bao also supported her, Wang Juan knew that Zhang Xiao'bao's was accommodating her. She could never teach her father, let alone change who her father was. She could only try to influence him as much as possible. Thinking of making influences, she nudged Zhang Xiao'bao and asked,

"I've already taken this into consideration. We'll use the madam strategy'. We'll get my mother to often tell your mother what happens if a person doesn't stay level-minded. There are many stories of this kind--we can just ask my father." Zhang Xiao'bao spoke about the idea he had come up with just now.

Wang Juan was not satisfied with this, "How slow would that be. I want it to be fast, so that he can mature more quickly."

"Then we'll have to get him to come in contact with some prudent people. If he sees a lot of these types of people next to him, he will naturally learn from them. Let your dad go out and communicate with those kinds of people. Send Song Jing'gong to follow him too, so that he doesn't get tricked too badly by those people. Some sufferings are okay though. In fact, it's good if he gets slightly tricked a few times."

This time, Zhang Xiao'bao came up with one of the most supportive and effective methods. It was just like when parents want their children to walk more steadily, they can only let the children fall over a few more times. There were no other methods that were faster than this.

"You have worked so hard, Xiao'bao. You even have to worry about my family." Wang Juan rested her chin on her hands as she thanked him.

"No, this is not hard work, this is joy. When you can do the best you can for your family, you should feel the things that are part of the process. Whether it is sweetness or pain, it is still a form of joy."

Zhang Xiao'bao spoke as he reflected on his thoughts. He was never saddened by things like this before.

"Yeah, it's joy. It really is joy. Xiao'bao, you are so kind. Hurry up and prepare. If we're lacking anythng, then we need to immediately get someone to make it for us. Since this is survival training, then it has to feel like surviving in the wild."

Wang Juan pinched Zhang Xiao'bao's face as a reward, and then she began to wonder what should be brought there. She and Zhang Xiao'bao each had a sharp needle in their sleeves. In addition to this, they needed a small shovel that can be used for digging. They also needed a blanket, a hat to protect against the sun, some premade medicine, an iron bowl, a small knife, rope, salt, a backpack, and flint for fire. The flint they needed was the type that can create a spark when struck lightly since she and Zhang Xiao'bao were not that strong.

Wang Juan listed off all of these items to Zhang Xiao'bao. After listening for a while, Zhang Xiao'bao suddenly said, "Let's get people to make some small shovels and bowls---the type that children use when they pretend play. Those items can be treated as products given by the sponsors. It must be high quality, and it must not cause harm to the children. The words carved into it should be Between the Water and Clouds'. Later on, when this becomes a bigger business, we will still use this brand name."

"Good idea. Starting from an early age, the children will have this idea ingrained into their minds that Between the Water and Clouds' is a good place, and the products from there are also the best. We will let the name Between the Water and Clouds' accompany them as they grow up. Should the Between the Water and Clouds Restaurant also sponsor anything?

Let's find a few cooks from the restaurant to cook the food. The ingredients should also be provided by the restaurant. This must be implemented quickly, otherwise, when those scholars' are competing in the intelligence games, others will know about the benefits of sponsoring and will try to steal this business opportunity. "

As soon as Wang Juan heard what Zhang Xiao'bao said, she also input her thoughts. This type of business model where the consumers were targeted since they were a child was the most powerful kind of tactic. When she was young, there were also many things that she can't forget even now. For example, when someone mentions a doll, the first word she thinks of is barbie'.

With the decision made, the two of them started to get busy. A special type of bag needed to be made for them: it had two straps that went over the shoulders and another strap that went around the waist, and the fabric had to be durable. The clothing they wore can no longer hang loose.

Someone was sent to report to Wang Juan's house so that her parents would stop arguing. They were told that the two children had decided to go. Housekeeper Zhang went to the other manor to discuss the sponsorship with Li Xun. All the things needed would be provided by the Between the Water and Clouds.

Housekeeper Zhang was also relieved. It was written on the paper that the things used in this game can only be produced by the Between the Water and Clouds, and no one else was allowed to join in.

After Housekeeper Zhang left happily, Li Xun got the middle-aged man, who was hiding behind the folding screen, to come out, and he said, "Shi'fu, are the owners of this Between the Water and Clouds short-sighted? They are actually willing to give out so much money. Look at what's written on the contract---they're paying for everything. Even the carriages used to get to that place is provided by the Between the Water and Clouds.

There are three locations. Now that I think about it, there will be a lot of children that are participating. Even three to five hundred taels of silver might not be enough to pay for all of the expenses. See, it's written here that they will take care of all of the foods the children will eat, and they promised that the ingredients would be good. They're also paying for the toys and prizes that will be given to the children. I really don't understand. "

While listening to Li Xun's words, the middle-aged man looked at the words on the paper, and also wondered what was the purpose of giving out those things. Was it just to please Li Xun? How could they spend a few hundred taels of silver just to please Li Xun?

"No, it's not that simple. There must be other things that we didn't think about. The amount of money is actually not that much. They're earning quite a bit of money everyday from Little Luo'shui River alone.

That's right, the Little Luo'shui River. I heard that at the beginning when they were buying that place, nobody actually wanted that place. However, when the place was owned by them, they built a wharf, a restaurant and other places there. This made a lot of people envious, or even jealous."

"Shi'fu, are they going to do the same thing to that place as they did with Little Luo'shui River? But they didn't ask for anything. No matter how I look at it, it still seems like they're giving away money for nothing. I think they're acting like fools. Just by looking at the children on their manor, it's quite obvious that they really like children."

At this moment, Li Xun suddenly had an idea. After speaking, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case. In particular, since there were two children on the two manors, it made sense that they were spending money on the children because they liked children.

"It's not as simple as you think. Let's wait and see. Things will be more clear later on. Everything about the Zhang Manor appears to be so different from elsewhere."

Li Xun did not refute, and he nodded, "Okay, let's wait and see. I'll go find a person to ask how many children have signed up by now."

*

News from the restaurant has been received, and they learned that more than 30 people have signed up in the past two days. Those children were sent here by rich and notable families. Those who were further away did not arrive here yet. Nobody from the Zhang and Wang manor signed up since the duration of the game was too long so people feared that it would disrupt the children's studies. The only children from the surrounding manors that signed up were the two little manor masters. The other residents' children didn't dare to come.

"Why aren't they going?" Wang Juan wondered. It was such a good opportunity. Not only can the children have fun, the accompanying parents could also eat delicious food for free and sleep in tents for free, and not a single coin has to be spent. It's a good thing. They'll also get a gift in the end."

"Of course they're afraid. What kind of person is Li Xun? Everyone who came that day saw how wealthy and powerful he was. When they think about how there will be so many rich and powerful people gathering together, they will worry that their children might bump into those people and they won't have the money to pay for compensations. Those who live far away, how would they have time to send their children here? They also don't have the time to accompany their children around. How much work will they have to put aside?"

Zhang Xiao'bao finally understood this now. The poor families' children won't come. Being poor didn't mean that the parents don't care about their children. If their children came, then their parents would have to come too and too much time will be wasted.

"Huh? In other words, our plan failed this time?" Wang Juan thought about it for a bit, and she came to the same conclusion.

"We didn't fail. The purpose was to get Li Xun involved. Whether there are poor children or not, he will still find this interesting. Next time, we'll find something else for him to do. Furthermore, children from poor families aren't under strict control. They spend their entire day running around in the village. If you throw them into the mountains, they will be able to find food to eat, so why would they need to be trained?

Zhang Xiao'bao didn't feel like they failed at all. It was enough to just achieve their goal.

"Okay, then let's get to know the rich and powerful people to see how they speak and do things, and we will learn from them. I'm guessing Li Xun will bring the children from his manor."

When Wang Juan talked about Li Xun, she smiled. She knew what Li Xun was going to do.