The owner of the flower garden was an old man in his sixties who had a teenage grandson with him.
I heard that the son and daughter-in-law went to do business in another place because they saw that growing flowers was not profitable. The old man is the only one left to continue this family tradition.
The old man was very happy to hear that the Li family wanted to buy orchids.
He led everyone to a secluded little shed, a shady spot near the edge with diffused light, where he placed two potted plants.
The leaves are lush and broad, with a few flower stalks emerging from the middle. Only half of them remain, leaning to one side, looking limp and half-dead.
Even though the Li family didn't understand orchids, they could still distinguish between good and bad ones.
There's clearly something wrong with these two potted plants!
Li Lao Er frowned and asked, "Uncle, are you... planning to sell these two diseased flowers to us?"
The old man blushed and stammered for a long time before finally giving up and saying, "Sir, my grandson and I are planning to go and stay with our son and daughter-in-law so we can be reunited as a family. These two Cymbidium orchids, also called Autumn Orchids, are blooming right now."
"It was originally reserved for a distinguished person in the city, but unfortunately my little grandson is a sleepyhead and didn't keep an eye on the beasts at home. They plucked all the flower buds off in a few bites. The distinguished person came to take one look and left, refusing to buy it no matter what. Since you guys are here, I was thinking... I was thinking of giving it a try?"
He said it nicely, but in reality he was treating the Li family like suckers, guessing they didn't know anything about the business, and thinking it was better to sell them off cheaply than to have them stuck with him.
The old lady and Li Lao Er both looked unwell, but Jia Yin struggled to get down and went over to take a closer look.
Actually, the leaves and stems are all intact, it's just that the flower buds are gone.
If it were in someone else's hands, it would probably take a year or two to grow and wait for it to bloom again next year.
But she has a nursery, so it's not a problem at all.
After all, even shriveled melon seeds thrown against the wall can sprout into melon vines, and these two orchids only suffered minor damage!
Jiayin ran back to Grandma Li's side, tugged at her grandmother's hand, and tickled her palm.
Grandma Li understood, guessing that her granddaughter had a solution, but she didn't show it on her face.
She was about to speak when she heard a scream from not far away. A blue mule suddenly ran out from the wooden fence behind, followed by the old man's grandson.
The boy grew angrier the more he thought about it. Because the mule had stolen and eaten the orchids, he couldn't reunite with his parents sooner. So, he picked up a whip and wanted to beat the mule.
As a result, the mule wasn't properly tied up and ran away.
The old man stomped his foot in anger and cursed, "Can't you just behave for a moment? Why did you hit it? Does it think it can spit out flower buds?"
After saying that, he wanted to apologize to the three members of the Li family, but he saw them looking at the blue mule with surprise on their faces!
The old man was completely bewildered and asked cautiously, "Um, sir, would you like to buy these two potted plants?"
Li Lao Er snapped out of his daze, glanced at Li Lao Tai, and seeing her nod, quickly said, "We'd have to take it home and raise it for a year, and there's no guarantee it'll even bloom. It's too risky. Name your price, and if it's reasonable, I'll take it home and try it out."
The old man hesitated for a long time before quoting a price: "Two pots, fifty taels!"
After saying that, fearing that Li Lao Er would think it was too expensive, he added, "I really didn't ask for more. If the flower buds hadn't disappeared, a pot of flowers would have cost fifty taels!"
Li Lao Er waved his hand, pointed to the big blue mule, and said, "Two pots of flowers, plus this mule, that'll be fifty taels in total. If you agree, we'll take it away immediately!"
Orchids and mules?
What kind of combination is this? Did they choose the orchid or the mule?
The old man swallowed hard, thinking that the orchids were half-dead and wouldn't fetch a good price, and the mule was thin and hairy, with no one willing to buy it. If he could get rid of them together, he would finally be able to put his mind at ease.
So he quickly nodded, "Sell."
Li Lao Er asked the question readily, but when he touched his purse, he felt embarrassed; he had only taken a dozen or so taels of silver with him when he went out.
Fortunately, Grandma Li had prepared in advance when she sent her grandson to school, and had put some silver in a hidden compartment in the carriage.
The two of them pooled their money together and it amounted to fifty taels.
So when the Li family's carriage left the nursery, there were two more pots of orchids in the carriage, and a mule was tied to one side of the carriage shaft.
The carriage finally stopped after traveling quite a distance. Li Lao Er and the old lady jumped off the carriage and surrounded the mule, their eyes reddening.
"Daqing? This is our family's Daqing!" Old Mrs. Li asked in disbelief.
“That’s for sure, there’s still a scar on his buttocks,” Li Lao Er replied confidently.
Jiayin leaned against the window, unable to resist touching the back of her head, subconsciously feeling a slight pain.
Back then, when the group had just left the mountains, they saw the Jinsha River wharf right in front of them. Overjoyed, they lowered their guard and were chased by a group of barbarians.
Grandma Li carried Jiayin on Daqing's back as they fled for their lives, but Daqing was shot in the buttocks by an arrow, and it threw off the old lady and Jiayin and disappeared without a trace.
The family had thought that Daqing had died somewhere, but they never expected to run into him here.
The once tall and strong Daqing had become thin and bony, its fur dull and gray, perhaps due to a lack of proper care.
At this moment, it recognized Old Lady Li and Li Lao Er, and a glimmer of light appeared in its eyes. It flicked its tail and sneezed.
"Alright, alright, she's recognized her family!" Grandma Li said happily.
"Hurry home. Fourth Brother is more familiar with Daqing. Let Fourth Brother feed it for a few days," Li Lao Er added.
Old Mrs. Li and Li Lao Er got back into the car, and Ye Shan cracked the whip and hurried home.
Dongmei carefully protected the two potted plants, not wanting them to break due to the bumpy ride.
Don't let the fact that this flower looks unremarkable fool you; once it enters the Li family's gate, it's guaranteed to leave in grand style.
Don't ask her why; the Li family simply possesses this magical ability...
Jiayin was unaware that she had been deified in Dongmei's heart. She was secretly rubbing her buttocks, because the road was so bumpy that even her thick pads were being shaken so much that her bones felt like they were about to fall apart.
Fortunately, Grandma Li held her in her arms and swayed her gently until she fell asleep again.
Li Lao Er was worried that his little niece would insist on going to the restaurant, but when he saw her sleeping soundly with her little mouth open, he was relieved.
The Broken Gold Beach was bustling with activity today.
With no work to be done in the orchards on the mountain and the riverbank fields, the village chief had his eye on the matter and put road repairs and bridge construction on the agenda.
The road from Xindu to Suijintan was already in poor condition, but with the heavy traffic in the last two years, it has become even worse, full of potholes, and every now and then a horse-drawn carriage breaks down.
We really have no choice but to fix it!
Previously, the village heads of Dahuaishu Village and Dawangzhuang Village had agreed to contribute manpower and resources, since Suijintan would be everyone's foundation and support in the future.
So the village chief gathered the three of them together, and they sat under the sign for the auspicious feng shui site, smoking their pipes and discussing the matter.
The village head of Dahuaishu Village, being old and having some experience with the weather, said, "Brother, although we don't have particularly heavy snow in winter, once the ground freezes, it's impossible to start any construction work."
"Look at the weather, winter is definitely coming in another month. Why don't we get on with something big and finish everything before winter arrives!"
This is the third update; stay tuned for an even more exciting episode tomorrow.
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