in2ebook Chapter 246: Selling Flowers Again
Chapter 246: Selling Flowers Again
As soon as Mrs. Sun came out, she saw that her old man had disappeared, leaving only Huanxi standing in the middle of the yard, disheveled in the wind.
"Girl, where is your uncle?"
Huanxi turned around, forced a wry smile and said to Da Sun: "Uncle has gone to a meeting. If Aunt is not busy, shall we go and listen together?"
"Why are we having a meeting all of a sudden? What happened?"
Da Sun wiped her hands on the apron around her waist and followed her happy steps to school.
The school was built in the middle of the village, where Lu Fa's house used to be. Now Lu Fa had fled for fear of punishment and disappeared without a trace. He had no descendants, so all his property and land were confiscated.
Lu Fa's house was renovated and the front yard was demolished to build four classrooms, two for girls and two for men.
Lu Fa's house was built for the master to live in. It has four rooms in total, including two bedrooms, a kitchen and a utility room.
The two classrooms are connected, which has the advantage that teachers can teach more children at one time.
If the progress is improved, the students can be divided into classes A and B.
On the way, Huanxi told Da Sun what he had just said to the village chief. When they arrived at the school, the village chief had already started his passionate speech.
The villagers below cheered from time to time, and it was obvious that the atmosphere on the scene had been aroused.
"It's best to have an older woman take care of the patient! If you're interested, come and sign up with me!"
The people below immediately began to whisper to each other, and soon several older women stood up to sign up.
One hundred coins a month is one or two taels of silver a year, and all I earn is washing clothes, cooking, and occasionally making medicine. These jobs are much easier than at home.
And she was the wife of a Jinshi (imperial scholar)—a title we hear about in operas—who rode a horse in a state of majesty, met the emperor, and visited the throne room.
After Huanxi and Da Sun entered the yard, the village chief pulled Huanxi to the middle of the yard without saying anything. Before he could even say anything, Huanxi's toes had already started digging into the ground...
"The teacher from the academy didn't come to our village for no reason! It was Huanxi girl who had to beg him humbly and give him gifts! Only then did he come to this poor and remote place to teach! You should learn to be grateful! There are no ungrateful people in our village!"
What the hell is going on... She was going to give a gift, but... well... the village chief said so...
She forced a fake smile, her toes almost tearing the soles of her shoes apart...
When the people below heard this, they immediately started praising Huan Xi, and praised him like crazy.
Apart from those who said nice things, there were always one or two people who disliked her, but they just looked jealous and were tactful enough to keep quiet.
Huanxi remembered those expressions and forced a genuine laugh. Jealous, huh? You have no other options, yet you're jealous of me?
The village chief was still talking non-stop, Huanxi waited for a while but couldn't help herself... her feet slipped and she sneaked back home.
She said goodbye to her family, asked Yu Yan and Yuan Zhen to look after the house, and asked them to consult the village chief if they had any questions. She then drove to town with He Yuanyuan in a carriage.
She also brought a pot of flowers to sell for money. There was nothing she could do. She really didn't have a penny left, and publicity was a money-consuming job. If she didn't exchange some money, she was afraid that her wife's money would be lost.
When we got to the town, we headed straight to the flower market.
This time, there was no acting, but they went straight to the largest flower shop in town.
I have bought flowers from Shuxiangju here before, and I am semi-acquainted with the owner.
"Miss Zhao, what kind of flowers do you want to see today? We have recently received many fresh flowers, and you will not be disappointed." The owner of the flower shop was dressed very...sultry?
The shopkeeper was a young man in his thirties, quite good-looking, the type that was always attractive. It was mainly because of his attire... how should I put it...
She was wearing a long orange robe with dark patterns, a brown belt around her waist, and several sachets and jade pendants hanging from their waists. Most importantly, she had a flower pinned on her ear, which looked like a small pink rose.
It is said that there were men wearing flowers in this dynasty. She had seen them at the last Lantern Festival, but none of them were as showy as this shopkeeper.
"Manager You, it's been a long time since I last saw you. I'm not here to buy flowers today, but to sell them. I wonder if you'll accept them?" Huanxi said with a smile.
"We have to see what kind of flowers they are. You know, we don't buy everything in our flower shop." Shopkeeper You's tone was slow and playful, and I got goosebumps with joy.
At this time, He Yuanyuan came in from behind Huanxi holding a pot of Ziyun. When Manager You saw it, his mouth opened wide.
"This... this flower... is it the Purple Cloud Orchid?"
Zhao Huanxi nodded and smiled, "Shopkeeper, you have a good eye. This flower is the best among orchids, the Purple Cloud Orchid."
"How much do you want to sell it for?" He frowned. This flower must be expensive... but if he could buy it and give it to the master, the master would definitely be happy.
Huanxi slowly raised a finger.
"One hundred taels?"
Huanxi smiled and shook her head.
"One thousand taels?"
Huanxi smiled and nodded.
"What? It's so expensive! One thousand taels! How dare you shout!"
"Why shouldn't I be afraid to shout? Look at my flower. Take a closer look at its leaves, stamens, and roots. I guarantee there's no orchid as beautiful as mine on the market."
Huanxi was right; this flower was truly one-of-a-kind. Otherwise, Shopkeeper You wouldn't have thought of buying it for his master. They had all sorts of flowers in their flower shop; they only wanted something they had never seen before.
"No, you can be cheaper. This thousand taels can buy a house in Shang'an Mansion. Besides, I'm a flower market here. Normally, I would only charge you five hundred taels for your flowers. One thousand taels is really too high..."
"Shopkeeper, I'll give you this one thousand taels. If you go to the capital, you'll need at least two thousand taels. After all, the Purple Cloud Orchid... most people have never even heard of it, let alone seen it."
It was precisely because the Purple Cloud Orchid was so precious that Boss Zhou was able to get things done so smoothly last time.
His son was disobedient and accidentally killed someone while drinking. If he were a person of low status, he would just have to pay compensation.
The bad thing was that the man who was beaten to death was the cousin of the magistrate of the neighboring county, so he went to seek help from the connections in the Shang'an Mansion to allow his son to avoid the punishment of murder.
Although it was an accident, a life was lost. So the sentence at the time was execution. After some maneuvering, they successfully changed the sentence to a three-year prison sentence, which was only a light term of hard labor. The family could pay some money to secretly rescue the person...
"No, no, girl, please go sell it somewhere else. The price is too high. If I buy it back, I'd be lucky if my master doesn't beat me to death..." He waved his hand, looking uninterested.
Huanxi secretly rejoiced. This person couldn't act. He said no with his mouth and hands, but his eyes never left the orchid pot...
You little brat... you still want to use this trick...
After hearing this, she immediately stood up and said, "Then I won't bother you anymore. I'll take my leave first."
"Yuanyuan, bring the flowers."
"Yes."
The two men walked out of the door in just a moment after talking, got on the carriage and drove away, leaving Manager You gritting his teeth in the store.