“Where are the flowers?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.
Qiao Mei’s serious expression made the old man laugh. This young lady did not feel that he was lying to her. How interesting.
“It’s not the flowering season yet. You can take a look at the booklet. There’s a picture of it when the flowers are blooming.” The old man smiled and handed a booklet to the two of them.
Qiao Mei flipped through the booklet. There were pictures of all kinds of camellias inside, and in different colors like white, pink and red. There was even one that was actually dual-colored, half the flower was white and the other half was pink.
Qiao Mei pointed at the picture in the booklet and asked, “How much is this variant?”
“Young lady, you have good taste, but this one isn’t for sale. After so many years, I’ve only managed to cultivate this one tree. Take a look at the others,” the old man said.
Qiao Mei rolled her eyes and closed the booklet angrily.
Why did he display it if he did not want to sell it!
“The rest of the camellia plants cost 100 dollars a pot,” the old man added.
“It’s so expensive!” Qiao Mei exclaimed.
The old man glanced at Qiao Mei and felt that her reaction was much ado about nothing. These camellias were the best of their kind.
“These are all rare and exquisite plants. You can’t find them elsewhere. We’re the only place that has such flowers. Do you know what it means for you to be able to chance upon them! Moreover, they’re all more than 10 years old!” the old man emphasized.
Qiao Mei looked hesitantly at the pots of camellia trees beside her.
“But we also have cheap seedlings, ranging from one dollar to five dollars per pot,” the old man said.
Qiao Mei’s eyes lit up as she asked, “What about seeds?”
“Yes, we have that too. It’s 10 cents apiece,” the old man said sulkily.
“Alright, then I’ll take some seeds!” Qiao Mei said happily.
The old man looked at Qiao Mei and nodded before going towards the back to get the seeds for her. Qiao Mei was about to follow him when she had a whiff of a strange fragrance.
The fragrance of this flower was different from the others. It was elegant, refined and very subtle. However, anyone who smelled it would definitely fall deeply in love with it and find it unforgettable.
Qiao Mei looked around for the source of the fragrance and quickly realized that it came from some orchids placed in a corner.
However, the leaves of the orchid were a little withered and hung limply. The flowers were also quite wilted and it was obvious that there was something wrong with the plant.
“Old mister, how much is this pot of flowers?” Qiao Mei asked as she pointed at the orchids.
The old man took a look and said, “That was left here by a Mr. He. He asked me to take a look at the flowers and see what’s wrong with them. He had bought them from me in the past.”
After saying that, the old man lowered his head and continued to look for the seeds. As he searched, he muttered, “It’s really strange. He doesn’t know how to grow flowers, but he insists on doing so. He said that the fragrance of flowers can cure his illness. I’ve spent most of my life growing flowers, but I’ve never heard of such a thing. What a waste of my orchids.”
When Xia Zhe heard this, he frowned and looked at the orchids in the corner. There was only one person in the entire capital with the surname He who would use the fragrance of flowers to treat his illness.
That person was He Ning.
Qiao Mei also noticed Xia Zhe’s abnormal reaction. She walked to his side and whispered, “Is it him?”
Xia Zhe nodded.
“Let’s go, young lady. There are no camellia seeds here. They’re probably in the storeroom. You can both come with me.” With that, the old man led Qiao Mei and Xia Zhe out.
After the two of them left, the orchid plant in the corner completely withered.
The old man brought them to a storeroom that was stocked with seeds. There were also other storerooms at the side that looked as if they were used to keep saplings.
Very few people would come to buy seeds. Usually, only people in the business would do that. Ordinary people would just buy flowers and plants that were already grown.
These kinds of flowers and plants were not like weeds and wildflowers that could grow at will. Some people did not succeed in growing them even if they took good care of them. That was why there was a market for flowers and plants, and there was a reason why they could be sold at astronomical prices.
Xia Zhe looked at Qiao Mei strangely. She usually spent money extravagantly, so why was she so reluctant to buy a finished product that cost 100 dollars a piece and insisted on buying seeds that cost 10 cents each?
He felt that this did not seem like something Qiao Mei would do.
Qiao Mei felt Xia Zhe’s gaze and said proudly, “Don’t you think that I’m especially diligent and thrifty!”
Xia Zhe smiled. This mischievous look of hers definitely did not resemble Qiao Qiang at all.
