Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 798: Chapter 794 Shen Wansan

Just two days before school reopened, Huo Sining had planned to deal with the piled-up affairs of Xianyu Shop and Jade Beauty, and then let Li Quan start preparing for the opening of the antique shop in Liulichang.

However, now that Gu Xu had come, she shelved all these plans, and the two of them decided to take a vacation to Zhouzhuang, near S City.

Because Huo Sining had caused quite a stir in Fuzhou, major online forums were buzzing with the news, and it was impossible to hide the information about the Gold-threaded Jadeite and Pigeon’s Blood Ruby. After returning to S City, Huo Sining’s phone was inundated with probing calls and messages. She simply turned her phone off, left it at home, and drove directly to Zhouzhuang with Gu Xu.

Su Qingqing, who usually couldn’t wait to stick by Huo Sining’s side, didn’t follow this time, wisely leaving these two—who always lived apart—a space to be alone together.

Upon arriving at Zhouzhuang, they first booked a hotel. Since it wasn’t a holiday, there were plenty of rooms available.

Seeing Huo Sining properly asking the hotel staff for two rooms, Gu Xu’s eyebrows unconsciously twitched upon seeing the adjacent room numbers, a sly glint flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve into a slightly cunning smile.

Zhouzhuang is a small town in Jiangnan, known as ”China’s number one water town,” founded in 1086 when a local named Mr. Zhou Digong donated land to build the Quanfu Temple.

With a long history, Zhouzhuang is a typical representation of Jiangnan water town scenery, with unique cultural landscapes. It’s a gem of Chinese water town culture and Wu-region Han culture.

Much of the architecture in the town dates back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Within the 0.47 square kilometers of the ancient town, there are nearly a hundred classical residences and over sixty brick-carved archways, preserving the ancient style of Zhouzhuang’s residential buildings, as well as 14 uniquely characteristic ancient bridges.

After driving for more than two hours to reach Zhouzhuang, Huo Sining and Gu Xu didn’t bother resting. They dropped off their luggage at the hotel and started to tour the famous sights of Zhouzhuang.

The town is surrounded by water; everywhere you go, you need a boat. The streets of Zhouzhuang are built along the rivers, with bridges connecting the streets – a typical Jiangnan scene of little bridges and flowing waters amidst households.

Since it had just rained in the latter half of the previous night, the bluestone slabs on the road were still damp, but the weather had cleared up. The air was moist, yet it wasn’t too hot.

In Zhouzhuang, one must visit the famous attractions, from Twin Bridges to Strange Tower to the Eight Views of Zhouzhuang. Huo Sining visited every spot and ended up at the former residence of Shen Wansan, where she and Gu Xu waited in line outside the attraction.

Shen Wansan’s residence, located in the eastern area of Zhouzhuang, although reconstructed according to historical data and original appearances, still gives an impression of the grandeur and wealth of the Shen Family, which was once said to rival the nation’s wealth.

”According to legend, during the Hongwu years of the Ming Dynasty, a wealthy man named Shen Wansan in Shen Family Village found an iron basin on the mountain one day. His wife accidentally dropped a ring into this basin, and to their surprise, the iron basin began producing an endless supply of rings. After obtaining this Cornucopia, Shen Wansan’s family wealth grew immensely, and he became rich enough to compete with the state...”

Before entering the historic residence, a tour group led by a travel agency came in, with the tour guide in the front starting to tell the legend of Shen Wansan.

When the story reached the part about the Cornucopia, a tourist from the group couldn’t help but ask, ”Miss guide, did Shen Wansan really have such a Cornucopia?”

The tour guide’s face immediately showed an embarrassed smile, and someone next to her scoffed, ”Of course not, they’ve said it’s just a legend. How could such a thing exist in the world? If it really did, wouldn’t you just get rich by finding this basin? Then everyone would be looking for this thing!”

The tourists immediately started arguing, with several of them making their cases heatedly.

The tour guide wasn’t a historian, but seeing her guests arguing incessantly over such a matter, she became anxious and quickly yelled out, ”Stop fighting, everyone stop fighting!”

Unfortunately, the tour guide was not very persuasive, and the tourists simply ignored her.

”The Cornucopia naturally does not exist. Shen Wansan’s wealth, which rivaled that of a country, came from his boldness and his sharp financial acumen,” someone said.

Just then, a person suddenly emerged from the old house and stopped the tourists’ clamor with a smile in their eyes, explaining to the tourists.

The tour guide, who seemed to be familiar with this route, instantly changed her expression when she saw the person who emerged, her eyes flashing with excitement and eagerness, as well as a touch of apprehension and embarrassment: ”Director Zou.”

The tourists who had been arguing were taken aback at the sight of the newcomer, especially after hearing the tour guide address the person as Director, they all stopped bickering, gazing at the unexpected speaker with curiosity and probing eyes.

The tour guide was quick on her feet and immediately introduced, ”This is Director Zou from our Zhouzhuang Cultural Tourism Bureau. Director Zou has been professionally studying Zhouzhuang’s culture for over thirty years and is extremely knowledgeable about it. If you have any questions, please ask Director Zou.”

Director Zou gave the tour guide a casual nod and then proceeded to explain, ”Shen Wansan started from humble beginnings, and the speed of his rise, I believe, was due to three factors.”

The tourists, having heard that Director Zou specialized in Zhouzhuang culture, suddenly fixed their eyes on him, eager to hear his analysis.

”Originally, the Shen Family in Zhouzhuang lived off agriculture. Zhouzhuang, with its fertile land, mild climate, and convenient irrigation, has always been an ideal place for growing grain and rapeseed and for raising silkworms on mulberry trees.”

”Shen Wansan came here with his father, mainly relying on the development of agricultural production. One of the ’Eight Views of Zhouzhuang,’ ’Dongzhuang Accumulating Snow,’ depicts the scenery of the Shen estate in those days.”

”In the Yuan Dynasty, Lu Deyuan of Suzhou, the richest man in the region, was very appreciative of Shen Wansan’s intelligence and business integrity. So he gave all his wealth to Shen Wansan and became a Taoist at Kaiyun Hall beside Chenghu Lake. With this generous gift from Lu Deyuan, Shen Wansan became even more powerful.”

”On one hand, Shen Wansan continued to expand his farms and estates; on the other hand, he used Zhouzhuang’s well-developed waterways as a base for merchandise trade and distribution, transporting mainland silk, porcelain, grain, and handicrafts overseas, and bringing back foreign jewels, ivory, rhino horns, spices, and medicinal materials to China, initiating foreign trade activities.”

”Therefore, I believe that the Cornucopia is nothing more than a fanciful tale. Shen Wansan’s accumulation of such wealth was due to the capital given to him by Lu Deyuan, his own foresight, and the advantageous waterway conditions offered by Zhouzhuang.”