Chapter 45 Bonsai
After visiting the magistrate's residence, Song Yushu thought of the children in the orphanage. Originally, she was planning to invite Xiao Jiu and the others over after her own restaurant opened, but given the current situation, she simply couldn't afford to hire so many people.
After sending Uncle Yang back, Song Yushu took a detour to the orphanage.
After winter, the children from the orphanage came out to cultivate the vegetable garden in the yard, and the manager led them to plant many easy-to-grow vegetable varieties.
"Madam Wei is here!" The manager of the orphanage greeted Song Yushu warmly.
"It's been a long time since I've been here. I just stopped by today to take a look," Song Yushu said. He noticed that although the children were still thin, they looked to be in good spirits, so he knew that they had had a good winter.
The children in Xiao Jiu's room were carrying a basket of wild vegetables. When they saw Song Yushu, they forgot all about the vegetables and rushed to her, looking at her with bright eyes.
"Did you go dig for wild vegetables?" Seeing that the child wanted to get close to her, Song Yushu took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Hmm! This is for you," Xiao Jiu originally wanted to pick the small bouquet of flowers that were kept in the house, but after seeing Song Yushu, she handed it over without thinking.
"Thank you, the flowers are beautiful," Song Yushu said, looking at the small bunch of brightly blooming flowers in front of her, a thought forming in her mind.
The next day, suddenly there were more children selling flowers in the county. They would push a small wooden cart full of flowers early in the morning and place it in front of Song Yushu's restaurant. Only one or two children would stay and guard the place, while the others would take a basket of flowers and go out to sell them.
These are all common wildflowers, but they are skillful enough to arrange them beautifully and carve them into various small and cute shapes from wood, on which they plant some unknown wildflowers and grasses, making them look particularly rustic.
To support their business, Song Yushu bought several small potted plants and placed them throughout the restaurant. He also filled bamboo tubes with water in the middle of the tables and inserted different flower branches every day.
This attracted many customers who came to buy food. They found it pleasing to the eye and bought one or two bowls from the small wooden cart to take home and display.
As for the children hawking their wares on the street, Song Yushu also taught them some phrases, instructing them to approach couples on the street and either say things like "may you have a long and happy marriage" or "may you grow old together," or compliment their appearance. In any case, being sweet-talking would always help them sell some goods.
Of course, some people looked down on these flowers, thinking they were picked from the countryside and not worth buying. But since the children from the orphanage had previously sold New Year's goods, many families on the street recognized them and felt some pity and sympathy for them. Those who were able would also help them out, so naturally they wouldn't say much.
Seeing how beautiful Song Yushu's restaurant looked with its flowers, I bought some flowers to decorate my own place.
Song Yushu bought flowers to put in the clothing shop next door. Most of the customers who came to buy clothes and fabrics were women. They saw that her shop was decorated nicely, and since the prices were similar, they were naturally more willing to buy fabrics from her shop. As a result, her business improved a lot.
Other shops followed suit, and soon almost every shop on the street had bought some fresh flowers to decorate. Some even set up flower stands at their entrances, making the place look lively and beautiful, which restored some of the liveliness before the drought.
Of course, within two days, people who came to town to sell wild vegetables saw how popular these wildflowers were, so they also picked some to sell. The smarter ones tied the wild vegetables and wildflowers together, making them both pretty and edible. In less than an hour, the wild vegetables they brought would be completely sold out.
However, Song Yushu was not worried about the flower business at the orphanage declining. After all, there were many children at the orphanage, and the flowers sold, even when scattered, added up to a decent income for them.
A flower-selling frenzy suddenly swept through the town; every shop seemed to want to avoid looking out of place without arranging flowers and buying a few small potted plants.
“In previous years, one could only appreciate the beauty of spring by going out for a spring outing, but now one can smell the fragrance of flowers everywhere on the street,” the teacher in the academy remarked after bringing back two potted plants from outside.
"Why has there suddenly been a trend of appreciating flowers this year? But it's good, I used to not want to go out, but now I want to go out and meet up with a few friends for drinks," another teacher said, also finding it strange but also somewhat delighted.
"It all started with that Wei lady we knew. She was a kind-hearted woman. To help the orphanage earn some income, she encouraged them to sell flowers. Eventually, the villagers learned that wildflowers could be sold, and they started selling them too."
Xue Huai'an listened to the teachers' discussion without saying a word. However, there was a wooden shelf next to his seat with more than a dozen small potted plants on it.
Zhou Chengyu also brought a potted plant that he liked to the academy. The potted plant was about the size of a palm, with moss growing on the carved wooden basin. There was only a small wildflower growing in it, but it looked very pleasing.
As soon as it was placed on the desk, it was surrounded by other students.
"Zhou Chengyu, what kind of flowers did you grow in this little pot? They look much more interesting than the flowers my dad grows!"
"I know, it must have been bought from those kids at the orphanage. I have a big one at home too. I should have bought a small one and put it on my desk."
"To be honest, when you're tired of memorizing things every day, it's nice to look at these little gadgets to refresh your eyes."
Hearing them chattering around her beloved little potted plant, Zhou Chengyu quickly reached out to protect it, preventing them from getting any closer.
When the second teacher came to teach, most of the students' desks in the classroom were covered with small potted plants. The teacher was afraid that they might accidentally bump into them, so he had someone sell flower stands and put the small potted plants by the door. Only then did the students calm down.
Song Yushu hadn't expected that selling wildflowers would have such a big impact, but fortunately, none of the impacts were too bad.
...
The restaurant sold wild vegetables for half a month, but the income was so-so. Song Yushu would occasionally go to the grain shop in town to inquire about news.
She breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the first batch of grain would arrive in a few days. As long as she could buy grain, her restaurant could resume normal operations, and she wouldn't have to worry about making money.
However, Song Yushu also needs to prepare other ingredients properly. Several of the signature dishes in her restaurant require pork, but after the drought, there is not enough food for people to eat, so who will raise pigs?
"Ask your uncle about this. He has acquired land, but he hasn't harvested it yet. He still needs to go into the mountains. If he hunts a wild boar, ask him to save it for you," Wei's mother reminded her when she saw her worry.
“That’s true, but Uncle Yang might not be able to hunt wild boars. I’ll also collect other wild animals. I’ll go ask if there are any other hunters,” Song Yushu said, roused by Wei’s mother’s reminder.
After Song Yushu had secured all the supplies, the idea of raising pigs came to mind again. Previously, raising pigs had not gone smoothly, either because he moved and didn't have time to raise them, or because of droughts that forced him to hastily slaughter them to store meat. Surely there wouldn't be any other unexpected events this time?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
