That morning, under the old banyan tree in Mule Alley, a group of old men gathered to chat as usual.
Uncle Ge had a newspaper tucked under his arm. He had just returned from his night shift at the government building. His face was greasy from staying up late, but he couldn't hide his excitement. His voice was exceptionally loud:
"Don't you believe it? It was written in black and white in the newspaper this morning."
He opened the Jishi Daily and pointed to a piece of news in the corner. "Look, is it a pot of Clivia in Changchun that sold for this amount?" He pointed a finger mysteriously.
"Ten dollars?" someone in the crowd shouted.
The person next to him scoffed and shouted back, "Ten yuan and it's on the news. If there's no news, just talk about the 2,000-jin pig in the commune!"
"Hahahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter, thinking that this was too outrageous.
Seeing that no one believed him, Uncle Ge waved the newspaper in front of Old Wang and said angrily, "Old Wang, look at us all. I can't really fool you!"
Uncle Wang squinted his eyes, pulled up his reading glasses, looked up and down, and suddenly he cried out "Ouch!", his voice changing tone: "Oh, ten thousand US dollars! My goodness, that's a lot of money!"
The crowd was silent for a moment, and then suddenly, there was an uproar, with exclamations coming one after another!
The pipe Old Zhou was holding fell to the ground with a "clack". He didn't even bother to pick it up. He widened his eyes and asked, "What kind of precious flower is this? Is it worth this price? It's enough for our family to eat for years!"
"Lao Wang, did you see an extra zero? How could such a weird thing happen?" someone else questioned.
Lao Wang also counted carefully and found that his statement was correct!
Uncle Ge adjusted his reading glasses and read from the newspaper, "Now you believe it, right? Look, it even specifically introduces which type of Clivia is better!
The leaves are thick and symmetrical, the veins are clear, and the flower heads are upright. Everyone, take a look and see if you have this kind of flower at home. If you have a few pots, you can live in a small villa!"
He lowered his voice deliberately as he spoke, adding mysteriously, "I heard that even provincial leaders have started collecting them."
Xie Dazui, who was standing on the periphery, had sharp eyes. He looked carefully at the photo of Clivia and his heart skipped a beat.
She tiptoed back home and went straight to the Clivia plant next to the kitchen - that's right!
The shiny leaves and swollen flower buds are exactly the same as described in the newspaper!
The flower bud had cracked open, and the fiery red color inside could be vaguely seen.
She rushed out of the door in a hurry, ran a few meters, then suddenly stopped and turned back.
Like a thief, she quietly took the flowers back to her room and stuffed them under the bed.
He also carefully checked the windows to see if they were closed tightly, fearing that his baby would be targeted.
Then he rushed to the Li family in a hurry.
Li Guifang was cleaning the chicken coop, burying the chicken droppings one shovel at a time directly into the small garden. The smell was so pungent that it went straight into her nose and made her dizzy.
She frowned and cursed, "Stinky chicken shits, it stinks to death." But her hands didn't stop moving, waving the shovel mechanically.
At this time, Xie Dazui rushed over, grabbed her body and shook her!
"Fang'er, Fang'er!"
Xie Dazui grabbed her with such force that Li Guifang stumbled and almost fell to the ground. After stabilizing herself, she said angrily, "What are you doing? You're so jumpy! You scared me!"
Xie Dazui acted as if he hadn't heard anything. His eyes sparkled, and he danced with excitement, as if he had already seen the mountain of banknotes: "We're going to get rich! We've dug up a treasure!"
Li Guifang looked suspicious, covered her nose, took a step back, and asked, "What are you crazy about? Talking nonsense so early in the morning."
Xie Dazui slapped his thigh anxiously, spit flying everywhere. "Don't you believe it! What we picked up is a Clivia, the leaves and roots are exactly the same as the one in the newspaper. Mine is next to the kitchen, and the buds are about to bloom. I can see from the water head that it is definitely the right one!"
When Li Guifang heard this, her heart skipped a beat, but she looked confused.
"What are you talking about so early in the morning? Just your broken flower? What's the value of it? I'm so busy that I don't have time to listen to your nonsense."
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Xie Dazui quickly took out the newspaper from his pocket, which had been crumpled by her and bought from the newsstand on the way.
He pointed at the photo and said, "Look, this is the valuable Clivia mentioned in the newspaper. It has thick, symmetrical leaves, clear veins, and upright flower heads.
The leaves of the pot at home are shiny and the flower buds are cracked. I think it's almost there!"
Li Guifang approached doubtfully and read the newspaper with squinted eyes.
Thinking about the flowers in the corner of his house, he began to mutter in his heart: "Hold on, hold on, the news has just come in, let the bullets fly for a while!"
Seeing that she was only reading the newspaper, Xie Dazui thought she still didn't believe it, so he said while the iron was hot.
"How about we go outside and take a look, what if someone really wants it? That would make us rich. Just think about it, if this flower is really a Clivia, it would sell for a high price.
Then we can buy a big house with a garden, bask in the sun every day, eat meat every meal, and eat whatever we want. How wonderful it would be!
As he spoke, he closed his eyes and began to fantasize with an intoxicated look on his face.
Li Guifang saw the hope in Xie Dazui's eyes and understood that she wanted to take action immediately.
She still wanted her to wait a little longer. If she waited a while longer, the effect would be doubled! But she couldn't say it directly!
So she hesitated again: "But this... what if it's not true? We'll be so happy for nothing and delay our important work."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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