Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Too Exaggerated
Yu Jing's eyes were certainly not clairvoyant, she was just good at observation. Moreover, she had been with Lin Anran in the rental bookstore for a long time and had seen Tang Rui quite a few times. Tang Rui's behavior didn't seem to be wrong, but when you like someone, you can't hide it in your eyes.
"I can tell," Yu Jing smiled, pointing to her eyes. "I was tired of reading at the rental bookstore, so I looked up to relax, and I noticed Mr. Tang was looking at you."
Lin Anran was not sensitive to Tang Rui's gazes. That was because many people looked at her openly or secretly. She had gotten used to being looked at a long time ago. As long as there was no malicious intent, she would ignore it.
Lin Anran didn't deny it and said frankly, "He's going to Hong Kong to develop his career."
Yu Jing looked at Lin Anran. "Going to Hong Kong? That's great. I know a lot of people want to work and earn money there. Hong Kong, just across the river from Shenzhen, is really prosperous. The monthly salary is over ten thousand. There's no comparison."
"Let's not talk about him anymore. I'm sorry to bother you taking care of Anli today. I think she's become more open-minded and her brows aren't as furrowed as before." Lin Anran was very grateful for Yu Jing's help. Although she was also a candidate who would be taking the adult college entrance examination this year, she really couldn't empathize with Lin Anli's situation, and her words of persuasion sounded a bit empty.
"We are friends. I'm happy to help you, just like when we were in night school and you helped me learn English." Yu Jing said with a smile. Lin Anran had helped her many times, and it was great that she could finally help.
Lin Anran and Yu Jing smiled at each other. Friends help each other.
They had dinner at home. Lin Anhua took the initiative to say that he would be the chef for the Lantern Festival dinner. Lin Anran gave Aunt Zhong a holiday, and Aunt Zhong went home to reunite with her family for the Lantern Festival. Now Lin Anran brought Lin Anli and Zhang Yan to help Lin Anhua. The four of them were busy in the kitchen, working together to prepare a sumptuous dinner.
"It's actually quite delicious." Lin Anran tasted each dish first and looked at Lin Anhua in surprise. Could it be that this kid really has some talent for cooking?
"Sister, I'm washing dishes and vegetables in the kitchen. I'll learn from you when I have time." Lin Anhua said proudly.
Master Hao tacitly agreed to the act of stealing skills, but it depends on how smart the people working in the kitchen are. Whether they can learn skills depends on the individual. It is not easy for Lin Anhua to steal skills. Every time Master Hao cooks, his apprentices will gather around him, blocking other people from watching.
"But what I made myself is still not good enough. It's totally not as good as the braised pork made by Master Hao." Lin Anhua said this, but it did not stop him from reaching for the braised pork with his chopsticks. There was no trace of discouragement on his face.
Lin Anran asked curiously, "I heard that Master Hao has a golden tongue. After tasting a dish, he can tell all the ingredients and seasonings used in it. Is that true?"
Lin Anhua's eyes lit up: "Really, sister, Master Hao is the best chef! He is the champion of the national cooking competition, blah blah..." He remembered very clearly all the honors that Master Hao had won and could talk about them at length.
Lin Anran was extremely surprised. It turned out to be true. Lin Anhua really had a good vision and chose such a great master for herself. She could only wish Lin Anhua to get what he wanted.
"Then do you know if you have a talent for cooking?" Lin Anli also asked. She was very worried about whether Lin Anhua could successfully become his apprentice. Since Master Hao was so powerful, the apprentice that Master Hao wanted to accept must also have some skills.
Everyone looked at Lin Anhua.
Lin Anhua blinked: "Me? Can I endure hardship and hardship?"
Lin Anran and the other two were stunned, but it was obvious that Lin Anhua was not wrong. He was diligent, but as for whether he had talent, the three outsiders couldn't tell. He definitely didn't have a golden tongue like Master Hao, and not every chef had one. It was good to have this advantage, but it shouldn't be a problem if he didn't have it, right?
"Let's eat first." Lin Anran finally spoke.
After dinner, Lin Anhua took over the dishwashing job, and Lin Anran was happy and relaxed. Boys who love to work will have good luck, hahahaha.
"Sister, what do you want to tell me?" Lin Anli followed Lin Anran to the study.
Lin Anran briefly recounted her conversation with Teacher Xu to Lin Anli, "I'm just offering this advice. You know your own academic progress best. If you feel you can keep up with the second-year curriculum, then don't change. If you're struggling, give yourself more time. Your parents are supporting your education, so you don't have to worry about money."
Lin Anli frowned and said, "I take the second-year high school courses with the teacher. Some of them I can learn, but for some, I need to ask the teacher and classmates to understand." After living here, because the night college near the factory is far away, Lin Anli is now continuing to attend classes at the night college where Lin Anran attended before. The teachers who teach high school courses at the night college are some experienced high school teachers, one of whom is the teacher of the high school that Lin Anli is about to attend.
Lin Anran knew that Lin Anli was able to keep up after switching to night school and was not falling too far behind.
Lin Anli said anxiously, "Sister Yu Jing said that the knowledge I learned in the first year of high school is not solid. Sister, can I do a set of first-year high school exams first?"
"Okay, I'll check your academic performance at the same time. I'll get you a set of test papers tomorrow." Lin Anran said with a smile.
"Thank you, sister." Lin Anli breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Anran did not keep Lin Anli for long. After Lin Anli left the study, she hurried back to her room to study. Lin Anran stayed in the study to read.
In the end, Lin Anli was in the first year of high school.
After packing up the twins and sending them away together, one to high school and the other to be an apprentice at Guangming Hotel, Lin Anran felt relieved. Even though she didn't intend to take care of everything for Lin Anli and Lin Anhua, it was different after all because she brought the twins back home. She had to take some responsibility and couldn't just leave them alone. After all, Lin's father and mother could pay for their tuition, but they lived too far away and couldn't do anything, so the task of taking care of the twins fell on her.
Fortunately, Lin Anli and Lin Anhua are very obedient, otherwise Lin Anran would never bring them home.
"I feel like I'm a mother." Lin Anran complained in a low voice.
Zhang Yan heard it from behind but pretended not to hear it.
"Boss Lin, Boss Liu will come to Shenzhen the day after tomorrow. Let's go see his Phalaenopsis together then. Oh, I can see it with my own eyes this time. I'm so excited now." Cheng Dacai said excitedly, rubbing his hands.
When Lin Anran heard this, he also became excited: "Great, Boss Cheng, we are lucky. We can see the Phalaenopsis orchids before the Orchid Expo officially starts."
Cheng Dacai laughed heartily: "That's right, most people really can't see it. Only those who have a good relationship with Boss Liu would be willing to let others see it."
"So, Boss Cheng, you're also sending an orchid to participate in the Orchid Expo this time?" Lin Anran was curious.
Cheng Dacai nodded. "Even if I don't win a prize, I'll still send my orchids to the competition in the name of my company. It'll definitely earn me some fame. The Orchid Expo is the best place to make connections. Everyone has orchids, and starting with orchids can open up a conversation. We can't miss this great opportunity. Boss Lin, it's a shame you don't plan to participate in the competition."
"There's nothing to regret." Lin Anran shook her head. She didn't think there was anything to regret. She sold the Phalaenopsis and Clivia, and had millions more in her card. Otherwise, she would still be the nanny in Zhou Heyuan's villa. How could she live in Mingyuan Villa, sleep until she wakes up naturally every day, not have to do housework, work and study leisurely, and be so comfortable.
"That's right." Cheng Dacai also thought about it. Everyone gets what they want. Lin Anran is happy with it, so why should others feel sorry for her?
Cheng Dacai invited Lin Anran to see a Clivia he was preparing to enter into the Orchid Expo. He said directly, "Boss Lin, you should know that after Lu Chuanwang's Clivia was frequently featured in the newspapers, there was a new Clivia craze, and the price of Clivia has been driven up quite a bit. This time, I plan to follow the trend and enter this Clivia into the competition to join in the fun."
Lin Anran looked down at Cheng Dacai's Clivia and replied, "I know the price of Clivia has dropped a bit now."
Cheng Dacai said, "It's not really a decrease. The price of a good Clivia is still high. I don't know how many people want to grow a Clivia that can sell for five million like you. There are many people who want to get rich overnight."
As long as the news about Clivia selling for five million is still there, there will be no shortage of speculators.
Lin Anran smiled.
"My Clivia is quite ordinary, right?" said Cheng Dacai.
Lin Anran thought for a moment and said, "Its flowers are very beautiful."
Cheng Dacai: "Yes, its flowers are eye-catching and you can't help but take a closer look. This is the most impressive one in my shop."
After seeing Cheng Dacai's Clivia, Lin Anran negotiated another deal with Cheng Dacai. She also wanted to buy a batch of rose branches for cuttings. All the ones she bought before had been transplanted from the greenhouse garden to the open-air garden outside. The temperature in Shenzhen is very suitable now.
Lin Anran now has experience in planting roses by cuttings, so she decided to increase the planting area. The front and back gardens of her villa are very large, so if she plants more roses, and waits for them to bloom in a few months, she will have a beautiful rose garden where she can both appreciate and pick the roses. Just thinking about it makes her happy, hehe.
After closing a deal, Cheng Dacai beamed, "Boss Lin, are you planning to buy more aloe vera? You've grown so many of them?"
Lin Anran nodded: "Yes."
"Okay, I've taken note of it. I'll deliver the goods to your villa as soon as possible." Cheng Dacai agreed without asking any more questions.
If Jinyuan Villa was not being renovated, Lin Anran would have to use the garden of the villa anyway. In any case, her garden could not be left empty.
For the first time, Lin Anran considered buying a plot of land to plant flowers. She could buy it, she'd make a note of it. The key now was to cultivate the plants in her garden. She wondered how many generations of aloe vera she would have to cultivate before she could produce effective aloe vera gel without the need for a cheat code.
After the cooperation was agreed upon, Cheng Dacai started gossiping, "The money that the Xue siblings transferred out is very likely irrecoverable. None of us who invested in it were able to get it all back."
As he spoke, Cheng Dacai raised a finger, indicating that this was all he and Zeng Feng could get back.
Lin Anran blinked, guessing it couldn't be ten thousand? That was too little, should it be a hundred thousand?
"I don't know who these people are who took our money. The Xue siblings, Xue Kai, went on a whirlwind trip to Hong Kong and Las Vegas, living a luxurious life with our investors' money. Xue Ya refused to cooperate with the police in their investigation to recover the money. Because of this, their sentences were increased and harsher. She didn't transfer the money to enjoy it herself, so why wouldn't she cooperate?" Cheng Dacai sighed. "They must have contacts in the US, but they haven't been found yet. They say the money was transferred through many hands."
Lin Anran knew that Xue Ya and Xue Kai would have to stay in jail for a long time because they refused to cooperate with the investigation.
"I heard that the government investment promotion staff have started to conduct more rigorous background checks on investors coming to Shenzhen." Lin Anran suddenly changed the subject.
Cheng Dacai nodded: "That's true. I almost got scammed this time. Fortunately, I was lucky and finally got most of the money back."
The government actually did not suffer any losses, but there were serious mistakes in this work. This is a very serious problem and we cannot let it go simply because there was no loss in the end. I heard that the staff involved in this incident experienced a major job reshuffle.
Hearing this, Lin Anran lowered his eyelids slightly and raised the corners of his lips.
Cheng Dacai didn't notice the subtle change in Lin Anran's expression. He was still sighing, "The Xue family was originally a done deal. Who could have imagined this? Boss Lin, let me tell you, there's word from above that if any wealthy family's offspring comes to invest in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the future, hehe, they'll be subject to all sorts of background checks."
Lin Anran: "Isn't that great?"
"By the way, Boss Lin, the villa next to your house that has been sealed off is going to be sold. I wonder who will be your neighbor in the future. I hope this time it will be a neighbor you get along well with." Cheng Dacai said.
"Boss Cheng, thank you for your reminder. I hope the same as you." Lin Anran just wanted a peaceful neighbor. Although the neighbor would not really bother her, she would still occasionally meet the neighbor when she went out.
"Hahaha, it's me! Miss Lin, you didn't expect this, did you?" Wang Simei stood at the door of Lin Anran's house and happily announced, "From now on, Miss Lin, I'll be your neighbor. I can just walk out and come to your house!"
Wang Simei was extremely excited and kept chattering to Lin Anran about her friends wanting to snatch the villa from her, but she reacted faster. Although she didn't have enough pocket money, she was smart and persuaded her mother to buy the villa for her. She moved in on the same day she bought it.
"It's you. You're my neighbor, not bad." Lin Anran welcomed Wang Simei, the new neighbor. Her hope was not disappointed. The new neighbor was not a troublesome person. She had a bright smile on her face.
Wang Simei's face lit up when she heard this. She rubbed her hands excitedly and said, "Ms. Lin, is your family busy? I happen to be free and can help you."
Lin Anran raised an eyebrow: "Free?"
"It's free! You can ask me to pay for it!" Wang Simei said. It is said that those who are close to water get the moon first. She moved to the house next to Lin Anran just to get there first.
"No need, I asked someone to help, but if you want to come in and take a look, come in." Lin Anran turned around and led the way in.
Wang Simei said happily: "Then I will definitely not cause any trouble for you."
After entering the villa garden and seeing the people hired by Lin Anran planting rose branches by cuttings, Wang Simei screamed excitedly and ran faster than the owner Lin Anran.
Lin Anran was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but shook his head with amusement. Seeing Wang Simei actively joining in to help, he ignored her and let her go.
"Ms. Lin, you're growing more and more plants in your garden. That's great, wonderful!" Wang Simei, who had personally helped plant the aloe vera seedlings, was very happy. She also helped water them, feeling very capable. "Is there anything else I can help with?"
Lin Anran shook his head: "No, I'm going out now, go play with your friends."
Wang Simei blurted out: "What's the fun in playing? It's better to grow aloe vera!" After that, she suddenly covered her mouth with her eyes wide open.
"You are not Wang Simei. Wang Simei is not like you." Lin Anran said with a serious face, and then she couldn't hold it anymore and laughed. Who would have thought that the arrogant rich girl would become so down-to-earth now?
Wang Simei: “…”
Wang Simei covered her face and ran back to her house next door to hide. She couldn't believe that she would actually say such words.
Lin Anran packed herself up and went to the agreed-upon place to meet Zeng Feng and Cheng Dacai. After a brief greeting, she asked curiously, "Boss Liu called me earlier and said he hired a lot of bodyguards. He also said he hoped I wouldn't be scared. So how many bodyguards does Boss Liu carry with him?"
Zeng Feng gave the correct answer: "Boss Liu brought eight bodyguards with him when he came from Taiwan. After arriving in Shenzhen, he temporarily hired eight more bodyguards, making a total of sixteen."
Lin Anran was stunned: "...Ah? Sixteen?"
But aren't there too many bodyguards? Sixteen bodyguards surrounded Boss Liu from front to back, from left to right. Just imagining it, the momentum was a bit scary.
Zeng Feng explained, "For Boss Liu, sixteen bodyguards are never too many. He even plans to hire a few more to protect the Phalaenopsis orchids during the Lanzhou Expo. The value of Phalaenopsis orchids is no longer what it used to be."
Cheng Dacai said seriously: "It is impossible to accurately estimate the value of Phalaenopsis orchids now. The asking price starts at tens of millions."
Boss Liu specially greeted Lin Anran and the other two at the door. Boss Liu looked energetic and rosy-cheeked. He looked completely different from when Lin Anran first met him. Boss Liu suddenly looked several years younger.
"Boss Lin, welcome, welcome." Boss Liu warmly invited Lin Anran in, patted Cheng Dacai affectionately, and chatted with Zeng Feng for a few words. Then the four of them walked into Boss Liu's villa lively.
It's like there's a bodyguard every step of the way! Lin Anran couldn't help but be amazed. Not even a fly could fly into this villa.
Boss Liu took them straight to the point - to see the Phalaenopsis orchids of Taiwan.
When seeing the Phalaenopsis orchid from the treasure island, everyone was stunned speechless by the extremely pure white color, as if their minds were captivated. No wonder some people say that this Phalaenopsis orchid has the ability to charm people. Such rare beauty in the world is enough to charm people.
Lin Anran only thought of the word "beautiful". Photos and videos were not enough to capture the beauty of this white Phalaenopsis orchid from Taiwan. Only by seeing it with your own eyes could you truly feel this beauty.
Boss Liu was the first to come to his senses. He looked at his precious Phalaenopsis orchid every day, and was always captivated by it. However, his resistance was stronger than others. He coughed gently to call the others' attention back. Then, seemingly generous but actually boasting, he said, "Boss Lin, I wouldn't want anyone else to get close to my Phalaenopsis orchid, but I'm happy to let you. You can get close to it and smell it carefully. You won't smell any fragrance, but perhaps you will discover something else."
The white Phalaenopsis orchids of Baodao generally have no obvious fragrance. The majority are fragrance-free, and those with fragrance are also very elegant and fresh.
Lin Anran and the other two approached the Phalaenopsis orchid out of curiosity. They were tactful enough not to reach out to touch it. Boss Liu was watching closely from the side, so who would dare to reach out?
Lin Anran closed her eyes slightly and moved her nose. At first, she didn't notice anything, but after a while, she seemed to smell a refreshing fragrance. When she tried to smell it again, she couldn't smell it anymore, as if it was just an illusion. She waited patiently. Suddenly, she opened her eyes abruptly, staring at the Phalaenopsis with a burning gaze. The two hands she had stuffed in her pockets were ready to move -
She really wanted to reach out and touch the Phalaenopsis orchid.
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