Mr. Zhuang: "...Didn't you say you wanted to move a pot for me?"
Man Bao picked up the flowerpot in his hand and said, "Sir, it's here. I planted it for you. It's spring now, and it won't take long for it to grow."
Mr. Zhuang looked at the pot of soil and was speechless for a while.
The master and apprentice looked at each other silently for a long time, and then Mr. Zhuang asked: "How much did you sell the orchid for?"
Man Bao stretched out two fingers.
Mr. Zhuang asked, "Two hundred taels?"
Man Bao was stunned and asked: "Sir, how come you guessed it right the first time?"
Mr. Zhuang looked at the disciple for a while and felt that he was not feeling well, so he decided not to make her too comfortable and said: "Last time I attended a cultural gathering with your Uncle Lan, and Uncle Lan mentioned to others that we have something in our family.
At that time, someone offered me a price of two hundred and eighty taels to buy the plain white orchids, but I felt that the people who bought them were too utilitarian, so I didn’t agree, and I didn’t tell you.”
Man Bao covered his chest and was speechless.
Mr. Zhuang finally felt a little happy when he saw this. He turned around and walked away. After taking two steps, he turned back and took the flower pot from Man Bao's arms and took it back to the house.
Man Bao followed behind with his head drooped, "Sir, we can't water these flowers for the time being, so why not leave them to me to raise? Are orchids so expensive? I've never heard of you mentioning this..."
Mr. Zhuang insisted on putting this pot of orchids in his room and casually replied: "Ordinary orchids are naturally not expensive. This is a plain orchid, which is rare."
He glanced at Man Bao and said, "It's just better than the pot of yellow orchid in the study."
Having said this, Mr. Zhuang immediately put down the flowerpot in his hand, turned around and headed towards the study.
Man Bao followed behind and said: "Sir, don't worry, I didn't sell the pot of orchids in the study. I know you like it..."
When Mr. Zhuang saw that the orchid in front of the desk was still there, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and held it up to move it back to the room. He said seriously to Man Bao: "This pot of orchid is still small. Wait until next year to transplant it. Don't always
If you want to sell it for money, you are not short of money."
"There was no shortage before, but now there is no shortage."
Mr. Zhuang stopped and looked at her, "Are you short of money?"
Man Bao nodded sadly and told her how much money it would cost to buy raw medicinal materials.
Mr. Zhuang did not expect that she could recover so quickly after knowing her life experience, and wanted to improve her medical skills.
Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but smile with relief, and handed the yellow orchid in his hand to her, smiling: "Don't sell this pot of orchid easily. If I admit it correctly, this should be the Qingshan Jade Spring in Jianlan, which is better than the ones planted in the garden."
A few orchids are better."
Mr. Zhuang obviously has some research on orchids, saying: "The vitality was damaged when I transplanted it last year, and no one took care of it before, so the flowers that bloomed were a little weak. I will raise them again this year until they bloom in summer and autumn...
"
Mr. Zhuang paused and then said: "I know a few people, and they might pay a lot of money to buy it."
Man Bao was very confused and asked: "It's just a pot of flower. It can't be eaten or made into precious medicine. Why is it so expensive?"
Mr. Zhuang said with a smile: "Everything in the world has its value. Orchid has a noble character. Some people love it very much, just like women love gems and pearls, and warriors love horses and swords. They are willing to throw thousands of gold for it, so naturally
Some people who love flowers spend thousands of gold on it. Some people feel that it is worth the price, so they will spend the money to buy it."
Man Bao was deep in thought. She was so stuffed with all these things that she didn't react to the flower pot. After she realized what she was doing, she hurriedly chased him with the flower in her arms, "How much does this pot of flower cost, sir?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said: "One hundred gold."
So if someone offers a hundred gold, Mr. Zhuang will hesitate to sell it.
Man Bao said: "Why did Sir give me the flowers again?"
"Because in the eyes of Mr., knowledge is more valuable than a hundred gold. You are here to learn knowledge, so what if you just give me a pot of orchids?"
Man Bao held the orchid and said seriously: "But in my heart, sir, you are priceless. Since you like this potted flower, you naturally want to keep it."
Mr. Zhuang nodded her nose and said with a smile: "You are so naughty. Why didn't you think so when you sold Bailan?"
Man Bao chuckled and said, "Didn't I leave a piece for my husband? Although it will take a year or two to bloom, we can afford to wait, right?"
Mr. Zhuang was not nervous about the orchid at the moment. He waved his sleeves and said, "Okay, take it back to the study. Go and wash your hands. Class will start soon. Have you reviewed your homework today?"
Man Bao turned around and left while holding the orchid in his hands.
Zhou Lijun on the side looked at the orchid in her hand and swallowed nervously, fearing that her sister-in-law might accidentally break the orchid.
When Zhou Lang came back, Zhou Lijun excitedly told him what happened today.
Zhou Lang, who had only made more than a hundred coins after going out for a day, opened his eyes wide and walked towards the study room.
In the study, Mr. Zhuang was teaching Man Bao. Zhou Lang didn't dare to go in, so he lay by the window and peeked at the orchids on the desk inside.
Zhou Lijun also came closer, and the expressions on the faces of the uncle and nephew were the same.
Zhou Lang swallowed his saliva and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Zhuang really said that the pot of orchids is worth a hundred gold?"
Zhou Lijun nodded solemnly and replied in the same low voice: "Yes, it's a hundred gold. This is still the price Mr. Zhuang wants. I hear what he means. In the eyes of rich philanderers, the price may be more than this.
"
Zhou Lang's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a snap. However, he still held the window tightly and said in a daze: "Oh my god, a flower is so expensive. You know, these flowers next door were just thrown everywhere in the garden."
inner……"
Zhou Lang felt distressed, "I should have shoveled all the grass next door to the vegetable garden."
"You've been talking about what my sister-in-law wants to dig for a long time," Zhou Lijun said: "How could there be so many people in the world who knew this earlier?"
"No, we don't recognize these flowers and plants. Mr. Zhuang seems to recognize them. Why didn't he tell us?"
Mr. Zhuang, who was teaching Man Bao, listened to the chatter outside the window. Although he couldn't hear clearly what they were saying, he could tell with his toes what they were talking about. He sighed helplessly and stopped after finishing a paragraph.
He started the book and said, "Okay, let's stop here today. Take a look at it yourself first, and then memorize the text. If you have any questions, ask me later."
After that, he left.
Zhou Lijun dragged her fourth uncle to one side, and when Mr. Zhuang returned to his room, the two of them immediately got out and slipped into the study.
They didn't pay attention to Man Bao, who was sitting upright and reading a book. Instead, they came to Mr. Zhuang's desk and looked at the pot of orchid seriously.
Zhou Lang looked left and right, but he couldn't see where it was worth hundreds of gold.
Zhou Lijun reached out to touch the leaf, but Zhou Lang knocked his hand off. He said, "Where is the hundred gold pieces? How much is this leaf worth? Don't touch it."
Man Bao couldn't read the book anymore. He walked over and looked at the two of them and said, "Lijun always watered it."