Su Xiaoqi let out a giggle upon hearing this.
"What kind of thought process is that? Even if the chef's eyesight was bad, she wouldn't mistake this. It's so big, and there are so many."
He Qiulei nodded upon hearing this, thinking he was indeed being overly concerned.
He embarrassed himself by cupping his forehead and chuckling. He watched as Shen Yun scooped the dark beads into his mouth, one by one, with a spoon.
Encouraged, He Qiulei also began scooping them into his mouth.
"Mmm, delicious, chewy, amazing! What do you call these? They look like black pearls, but they taste completely different."
"Pearls," Su Xiaoqi replied casually.
She didn't expect her simple statement to make He Qiulei's eyes widen.
His face was round and plump, and his eyes weren't large to begin with. Even when he tried his best to widen them, they didn't become much bigger.
Like two black beans, they rolled round and round.
"Pearls, real pearls?" He Qiulei became excited all of a sudden.
Su Xiaoqi smiled slyly, "Of course, where we come from, we call them pearls."
"Good heavens, pearls! One, two, three, four, five, six... I can't count them all! So many pearls, how much money would that be?" He Qiulei wished he could spit out the bead he had just swallowed.
This was actual money.
No matter how particular he was, he had never eaten like this.
As he was feeling heartbroken, he saw Su Xiaoqi smiling 'mischievously,' clearly amused by him, while Shen Yun looked at her dotingly.
If He Qiulei had been confused about anything at first, he understood it all clearly now.
He had fallen into Su Xiaoqi's trap.
Thinking back, since he had entered the family business, he had traveled far and wide to help his family's tea shop acquire the finest teas, making him a man of some experience.
In the South China Sea region, he had personally witnessed locals harvesting pearls, using them to adorn jewelry, and grinding them into powder for face powder.
He had never seen anyone add them to tea.
However, he had seen too many unusual things with Su Xiaoqi during this time, which made him feel like a country bumpkin in her presence.
He lacked confidence in everything, always feeling that whatever Su Xiaoqi said was true, and if it wasn't, then his own understanding must be flawed.
Dominated by this thought, he was made a spectacle of by Su Xiaoqi.
However, he had a good temper and didn't get angry when he realized Su Xiaoqi was deliberately teasing him.
Instead, after understanding that these were not the pearls he imagined, he began to eat them boldly.
He drank a cup and then ordered another, even shamelessly asking Su Xiaoqi to pack some pearls for him to take home.
Su Xiaoqi naturally wouldn't refuse such small requests. She smiled and had Guo'er pack a bag for him, and also had Huaihua teach his servant how to make milk tea on the spot.
Afterward, she inquired about the sliding board business.
"I was just about to tell you. I tried having someone make a sliding board. Fearing they wouldn't know how to sell it if they hadn't seen it, I had the workshop make some while also placing one in the East Market, a place with high foot traffic.
My goodness, people were lining up every day to try it. Seeing that the time was right, I immediately had them released.
Guess what? Did they sell well?" He Qiulei gestured as he spoke, his face flushed like an apple from excitement.
Su Xiaoqi, seeing his demeanor, understood everything. "I suspect they sold quite well."
He Qiulei chuckled, knowing that this couple was not ordinarily intelligent. He decided not to hold back any longer and honestly replied:
"Hahaha, yes, yes, they sold incredibly well. A thousand are gone, and there's a long backlog of orders yet to be fulfilled."
As he spoke, He Qiulei took out an account book from his怀, which contained information about orders with deposits.
Su Xiaoqi took it and glanced at it, realizing that they were all from wealthy families.
This meant that these sliding boards were being sold to private homes.
Indeed, ancient noble families had money, power, and space.
She had specifically asked about the sliding boards not just to know about their sales, but because she had another idea she wanted to discuss with He Qiulei.
She also wanted Shen Yun to hear his opinion.
"What do you think if we add more sliding boards to the East Market, with various shapes and slides, along with other fun toys, and create a large children's amusement park? Would people be willing to pay to play?"
"Children's amusement park?" He Qiulei stated that he understood the four words individually and together, but he just didn't grasp the concept.
He had no concrete image in his mind and no idea what it was.
However, seeing Su Xiaoqi's serious expression, he thought it must be something significant.
Shen Yun also expressed his curiosity. Recalling Su Xiaoqi's description, he said gently, "Is a children's amusement park a place specifically for children to play?"
Su Xiaoqi smiled and nodded, "Yes, yes, yes, my husband is so clever."
Even if he hadn't seen or heard of it before, his mind worked quickly.
"Children should play, as playing is a child's nature. But how big do you plan to build it, and where?" Shen Yun's interest was piqued.
He had read many books in the past and was always subconsciously influenced by them.
He felt that making money was a superficial and vulgar thing.
Although his life was inseparable from money, he had never actively sought to earn it.
But after being with Xiaoqi, he gained a different perspective: making money could also be fun and meaningful.
Like the "Tianxia Liangcang" (天下粮仓) that Xiaoqi had opened earlier, she had successfully broken the complete monopoly of the Su clan in Mianzhou City.
This allowed ordinary people, who had just been affected by natural disasters, to afford affordable rice and seeds.
And after Chen Jin Ji (陈锦记) opened, everyone learned that pastries could be made in different ways, and sweetness was also a different kind of sweetness.
As for the supermarket, it had greatly convenient people's lives.
Now people no longer had to go from one shop to another, as they could buy everything they needed in one place, saving time, effort, and money.
And instant noodles were even more so; they were tailor-made for scholars like them preparing for the imperial examinations.
Finally, they could have a hot meal on a cold spring day.
...
Among the businesses Xiaoqi had started, apart from selling his paintings, all others had profound significance.
Sometimes, he couldn't help but want to study Xiaoqi in depth, but he dared not, fearing he would scare her.
Even when she always brought out things that didn't exist in their era, he, despite being surprised, tried his best to convince himself to accept them calmly.
And not just accept, but also try his best to keep up with her ideas.
"I'm not very familiar with the capital, so I was thinking of asking He Qiulei, and Yi Yi, or perhaps Bao Ge'er could offer some suggestions," Su Xiaoqi thought about conducting consumer research.
After all, her own conception felt like working in isolation.
He Qiulei, listening from the side, was completely baffled. Only when they finished their conversation and mentioned him did he weakly interject:
"Uh, you two, I know my brain doesn't work as fast as yours, and I'm not as smart, but you wouldn't mind explaining it to me a little, would you?"