Chapter 175: Flowers
Translator: Lonelytree
After having dinner, Liu Chunhua knocked on Xiao Lingyu’s room door. She was worried. “Lingyu, are you okay? Are you not feeling well?”
“Fourth aunt, I’m fine!” Xiao Lingyu replied, “I’m sleeping.”
“You should come and eat something first!” Liu Chunhua said, “You’ll get hungry in the middle of the night if you sleep with an empty stomach.” Due to the pregnancy, Xiao Lingyu was indeed hungry. She took out the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her eyes were red. She teleported to the farming space and washed her face with the spring water. When her eyes were no longer swollen, she immediately went out of the space and said, “Okay, Fourth Aunt, can you get me a bowl of noodles?”
Hearing that, Liu Chunhua was relieved.
She came to the kitchen and saw that mother Xiao was tidying up the kitchen. She said, “Second sister, let me do the dishes. Lingyu said that she wants to eat a bowl of noodles.”
Mother Xiao frowned and said somewhat worriedly, “What’s wrong with this child? She was fine when she went to the county town in the morning. Why did she become uncomfortable when she came back in the afternoon? Is It a cold?”
Mother Xiao spoke as she began to boil the water. She covered the lid and wiped her hands with a towel. She took out the noodles from the cupboard. She put them aside, took out some scallions, washed them, and chopped them up. After thinking for a while, she took out an egg from the cupboard.
Liu Chunhua washed the dishes and said worriedly, “Second sister-in-law, I think I heard Yu ‘Er crying in the room just now. Although it wasn’t very loud, my ears were very sensitive. Second Sister, did something happen to Yu ‘Er in the county town?”
“What?” Mother Xiao was shocked. She knew her daughter well. Xiao Lingyu was a strong-willed child. She rarely cried. When she heard Xiao Lingyu was hiding and crying, Mother Xiao knew it had to be something serious.
Mother Xiao said worriedly, “No, let me take a look!”
Liu Chunhua stopped her. “Second Sister, we should finish making the noodles. We can ask her later.”
Mother Xiao thought about it. “Okay, you’re right.”
Xiao Lingyu came out of the room and saw that Father Xiao and village chief Xiao were still sitting in the living room. Their expressions were a little solemn.
She greeted them and said, “Father, Village Chief!”
Xiao Zhengyang came back to his senses and asked, “Yu ‘Er, how are you feeling? Are you still feeling unwell?”
Xiao Zhengyang did not know that Xiao Lingyu had been crying.
The Village Chief also asked, “Yes, Lingyu, do you feel better?”
Xiao Lingyu nodded. “I’m fine. I’m just hungry. I’ll go and see if mom has made the noodles.”
Xiao Zhengyang nodded and said, “Okay!”
When Xiao Lingyu walked into the kitchen, her expression was lively. “Mom, you’re done with the noodles?”
Mother Xiao and Liu Chunhua looked at Xiao Lingyu. They couldn’t detect any traces of tears. This confused Liu Chunhua. Still, she asked worriedly, “Yu ‘Er, are you alright?”
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, “Fourth aunt, I’m fine! Look at me, don’t I look fine?” The redness in her eyes had subsided, and no one could tell that she had cried.
Mother Xiao stared at her with a suspicious expression and asked, “Yu ‘Er, your fourth aunt said that you were crying in your room. What’s going on?”
“What?” Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, “Mother, Fourth Aunt must have heard wrongly. Fourth Aunt, I wasn’t crying.”
Now, even Liu Chunhu wondered if she had misheard everything.
Mother Xiao stared at Xiao Lingyu for a long time. In the end, she only said, “Alright, your noodles are ready. Take the bowl and go eat.”
Xiao Lingyu was indeed a little hungry. Now that she smelled the fragrance of the noodles, she was even hungrier. “Hmm, it smells so good!”
After Xiao Lingyu left, Liu Chunhua frowned. “Perhaps I was wrong.”
Mother Xiao shook her head, “Chunhua, I don’t think you’re wrong. Yu ‘Er must have used some method to clean up the signs. However, since she doesn’t want us to worry, we’ll just go along with it.” Sometimes, they couldn’t help how stubborn and headstrong how Xiao Lingyu was.
Xiao Lingyu walked back to the living room with the noodles. Xiao Zhengyang and the village chief were still sitting there with serious expressions. Xiao Lingyu asked, “Dad, what’s going on?”
Xiao Zhengyang asked seriously, “Yu ‘Er, do you know that some of the flowers in our courtyard are extremely precious? They are worth hundreds of thousands.”
“What?” Xiao Lingyu was also surprised when she heard this. “Are those flowers that precious?” Xiao Lingyu was in her room when Old Master Gong gave the detailed prices of the flowers. She knew they were expensive, but she didn’t expect them to have such impossible prices!
“That’s right!” Xiao Zhengyang explained, “During dinner, the old master said the giant crinum lily is worth around five thousand RMB. The sword-leaved cymbidium is worth fifty to eighty thousand RMB. The chrysanthemum with the beard is actually a rare breed called Si Zang Zhu Lian…”
Xiao Lingyu’s mouth fell wide open. Now she understood why someone ordered Lan Hongxing to snatch their flowers in her previous life. The culprit feared that her family would find out the flowers’ worth. After all, the Xiao Family was almost at the end of their rope. With the flowers, they could earn a lot of money.
This confirmed Xiao Lingyu’s determination to root out that culprit. In this life, her family already knew the value of these flowers. However, she had no idea if the culprit would come again or not.
“Yu ‘Er, what do you think we should do with these flowers?” Xiao Zhengyang asked, “Should we sell them or continue to keep them? But if we keep them, where should we keep them? I don’t feel at ease keeping them in the courtyard.”
If no one knew about the value of these flowers, he would keep the flowers in the yard. However, many people outside the door heard the old master. They couldn’t keep the flowers where they were. If they wanted to care for the flowers, they had to watch over them all the time. But who had the time?
Xiao Lingyu thought for a moment and suggested, “Dad, why don’t we give these flowers to the old master?”
“Huh?” When Xiao Zhengyang and the village chief heard this suggestion, they were somewhat dumbfounded. Could they give away such expensive flowers just like that?
The village chief couldn’t help but say in surprise, “But these flowers are worth hundreds of thousands. Are you giving them away just like that?”
Xiao Lingyu took a sip of the broth and said, “Village Chief, who knew the flowers were so valuable before the old master arrived? If someone did, they would have stolen them a long time ago.”
The village chief nodded, “That’s true. Before this, we only treated them as normal flowers. Who would have thought that a wildflower dug up from the mountain would be so valuable?” At this point, the village chief paused and said with a smile, “I believe the whole Taoyuan Village will go up the mountain to dig for wildflowers tomorrow.”
The most valuable flower Xiao Lingyu found was worth more than 50,000 RMB. That was more than what a normal farmer could earn in a lifetime!
However, Xiao Zhengyang said, “I don’t think we need to wait until tomorrow. There will be many people going up the mountain tonight to dig wildflowers.” If they waited until tomorrow, the wildflowers might be gone already. A large group of people would be heading up the mountain tonight.
The village chief frowned. He suddenly stood up and said with a grave expression. “This is not good. It’s too dangerous to go up the mountain at night. There are poisonous snakes and wild beasts. Zhengyang, I have to send a notice not to let them go up the mountain!”
Xiao Zhengyang nodded and said, “Yes, you’re right, village chief. It’s too dangerous. You should try to persuade them!” But if they refused to heed the advice, then what could they do?
The village chief left in a hurry.
Mother Xiao and Liu Chunhua came out of the kitchen. Mother Xiao asked, “Has village chief left?”
Xiao Zhengyang said, “Yes. The values of the flowers in our courtyard are too shocking. We reckon people will go up the mountain tonight to dig up the flowers. The village chief is worried about dangers at night, so he went to stop them.”
Mother Xiao nodded. “He’s right.”
Liu Chunhua smiled, “Second Brother and Sister, you have such good luck. You dug up a flower in the mountain, and it’s worth tens of thousands. You picked up a flower someone dumped, and it’s also exceptionally precious. You have a treasure trove in your courtyard, but it must be worrying, right?”
Xiao Zhengyang smiled helplessly, “You’re right. We don’t know what to do with the flowers. If we don’t guard them, the flowers will disappear in the blink of an eye. But we can’t guard them 24 hours a day.”
Liu Chunhua suggested, “Why don’t you sell them?”
“Sell them?” Xiao Zhengyang frowned. “Yu ‘Er told us to give the flowers away!”
“Give them away?” Mother Xiao and Liu Chunhua were surprised.
“Yu ‘Er, why do you want to give them away?” Liu Chunhua asked in confusion.
Xiao Lingyu ate a bowl of noodles and did not feel full yet. However, in order to avoid being discovered, Xiao Lingyu did not say anything.
She said, “The flowers are only precious in the eyes of those who know how to appreciate them. Father, mother, fourth uncle, who knew these flowers were so precious before the old master came?”
The three nodded. “No one did.”
“I remember how excited the old master was when he entered the courtyard and saw the flowers. He managed to list out all of them. He even told us the values of these flowers. This shows that he is a flower lover and an upright person.” Xiao Lingyu explained, “If he wanted, he could have hidden the values of the flowers from us. Then, he might have asked us for the flowers. Would we have given them to him?”
“Of course!” Xiao Zhengyang said. After all, if someone liked the flowers, he would give them away generously. He would be happy that someone knew how to appreciate the flowers.
“That’s right!” Xiao Lingyu said, “The old master clearly loves these flowers. Therefore, he will raise them well.”
“But Yu ‘Er, these are more than 100,000 RMB!” Liu Chunhua said, “Perhaps you can sell them to the old master?”
Xiao Lingyu said, “Fourth Aunt, without the old master, we would have thought these flowers are not even worth several cents. So we should sell them based on the price we know. I doubt Dad would ask people for several cents, and he’d give them away!”
“Hmm.” Mother Xiao and Father Xiao looked at each other and didn’t know what to do.
Xiao Lingyu didn’t mean to use the flowers to bribe Old Master Gong, but she really thought the flowers should go to someone who knew how to appreciate them.
In her previous life, her family’s fate had changed because of these flowers. However, she didn’t like the changes the flowers brought.
Old Master Gong was Xiao Tong’s great-grandfather. Since he liked these flowers, she would consider them as a gift for him from Xiao Tong. Once Xiao Tong was born, she hoped that Old Master Gong would spare her and Xiao Tong on account of this kindness.
Xiao Lingyu was planning a backup plan for herself and Xiao Tong. She didn’t know what would happen after Old Master Gong found out the truth. But it didn’t hurt to have an ally in him.
After thinking for a moment, Father Xiao made a decision and said, “Okay, we’ll do as Lingyu said and give these flowers to the old master. I’ll move these flowers to him tomorrow!”
But Mother Xiao had other concerns.
She said, “These flowers are so valuable, someone will come to steal them. If we give them to the old master, will we bring him trouble? He’s new here and unfamiliar with the place. What if something happens?”
Mother Xiao was more attentive and quickly thought of this.
“You’re right!” Xiao Zhengyang frowned.
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, “Dad, Mom, don’t worry. Ordinary thieves won’t be able to enter that courtyard.”
“Yu ‘Er, what do you mean?” The three asked curiously.
