Rebirth: Splendid Marriage in the 80s
Chapter 476 Really Dead

Chapter 476: Chapter 476 Really Dead

The black soil in that space was truly miraculous; sometimes, when she dug up some damaged medicinal herbs with broken roots and planted them there, they didn’t even need a day to thrive again.

Before coming here, how violently she had dug up orchids and tea trees in the deep mountains, not caring at all how to carefully preserve the roots. All were dug up with shovels, violent and directly planted in the space.

But now, both the orchids and tea trees were growing wonderfully.

If she moved Uncle Huo’s ancient tea tree into the space, would it be brought back to life?

The ancient tea tree was worth one hundred thousand yuan, one hundred thousand!

If Uncle Huo said that he could eventually earn back ten or even a hundred times the amount, then that tea must be extremely valuable, and she could completely take the route of premium products in the future.

Chiang Xiao had previously heard about how expensive some teas could be sold for.

It’s just a pity that she didn’t have that much money; if she did, she would have bought that ancient tea tree straight away and then no one could have interfered with where she wanted to plant it.

Moreover, since they all said that the tea tree was dead, it shouldn’t be possible to sell it again for one hundred thousand yuan.

But now, she didn’t even have ten thousand yuan, no, not even one thousand yuan.

As she was thinking about this, Uncle Huo came out with those few people and said to Hu Xibing and Chiang Xiao, "Xiao Hu, Miss Xiao Chiang, we’re going up the mountain now; do you want to come with us?"

Chiang Xiao hadn’t expected Uncle Huo to still be interested in visiting the tea garden, but she naturally wanted to go and take a look.

"Uncle Huo, why don’t you rest instead, and we can talk next time."

Hu Xibing was afraid that if they went up the mountain now, Uncle Huo wouldn’t be in the mood to discuss business with him.

However, Uncle Huo shook his head and said, "It’s fine, I can’t let this defeat me. I still want to transport that tea tree up the mountain to let my father take a look; he has always been concerned about this."

It seemed that Uncle Huo’s love for tea had been inherited from his father.

However, his cousin seemed to always be downcast, looking like she had taken a big hit.

At the restaurant, three middle-aged men followed and wanted to go up the mountain as well. From Hu Xibing’s conversation with them, Chiang Xiao knew that these people were the ones Uncle Huo had arranged to meet before. Among them was a man surnamed Jia, who also owned a small tea garden in another city. Although on a much smaller scale than Uncle Huo’s, he had come to learn from their experience. After hearing that the ancient tea tree was dead, he suddenly expressed his indignation, "Uncle Huo, I feel that man surnamed Qu is really not a good person. We all thought the price was already too high, and moreover, his tea garden is so far away. The cost of transporting the tree out of the province would be huge, yet he acted as if he hadn’t considered it and kept raising the price. Was he doing it on purpose?"

"Old Jia, do you mean to say that the man surnamed Qu was deliberately inflating the price of the tea tree?" A man surnamed Wen asked incredulously.

Old Jia nodded. "Anyway, I always thought that seemed to be his intention."

"Now that Old Jia mentions it, I also find it a bit suspicious. At the Tea Trade Fair, we were all gathered together talking when that mountain guy came over, and right after him, the man surnamed Qu also came over. He acted so familiar with us, even though we didn’t know him. He was very eager to suggest that we all go up the mountain to see the tea tree."

"That’s right, he was the one who picked the tea leaves to brew and taste. When it came to bidding, how fiercely he started off, but in the end, I saw him constantly watching Uncle Huo’s reaction. The moment Uncle Huo hesitated, he immediately stopped bidding, and just like that, the tea tree went to Uncle Huo."

Chapter 477 Not So Righteous to Be Happy

Hu Xibing also couldn’t help but interject, "Does this mean that the man surnamed Qu might have colluded with the person selling the tea tree?"

As they talked more, Uncle Huo’s face grew darker.

It wasn’t that their speculation was too absurd, but as he reflected carefully on the behavior of that man surnamed Qu and the fellow who sold the tea tree, he gradually came to believe such a conjecture.

This realization struck him even harder.

Having been in this business for so long, his ancestors once were Imperial Merchants who supplied tea to the Imperial Palace, and yet he had fallen for such a trap and ended up with a dead tea tree.

How could he have failed to see that the tree was devoid of life?

Thinking about how his elderly father would likely be greatly shocked upon learning of this incident weighed heavily on Uncle Huo’s heart. But he knew his father well; he would find out sooner or later, so it might be better to let him take a look now. Perhaps the tree could still be saved?

They had walked up, with green tea plantations lining both sides of the road.

Xiao Chiang caught sight of the rows of tea trees, the vast expanse of green, and instantly felt her chest widen and her spirit lift.

The scenery of this tea garden was indeed quite splendid. It was a real pity that Meng Jinba couldn’t come up to see it.

A small truck followed behind, carrying the tea tree up the mountain first.

By the time they arrived, next to the tea tree stood an old man in his seventies or eighties, carefully observing and stroking the tree.

The villa on Tea Mountain had its years, not new, but had a unique charm. The white walls were mottled, with grass and wildflowers growing at the base, stone doors, stone steps, and in front, a large platform with a pavilion on one side, offering a view of the entire Tea Mountain landscape.

The tea tree had been placed next to the pavilion on the flat ground.

"Dad," Uncle Huo hurried over, standing next to the elder with his hands downcast, looking as though he had done something wrong and did not dare to look up.

Old Man Huo did not look up or glance at him, continuing to observe the tea tree. After a long while, he sighed and said, "You haven’t mistaken the tree; it is indeed a top-quality tea tree. Furthermore, it wasn’t originally lacking vitality. It seems as though it had been dug up before, its roots damaged, left to rot, and then replanted."

"What?"

Uncle Huo was shocked; he had not noticed this!

Old Jia immediately found evidence for his earlier speculation, clapping his hands and exclaiming, "I knew it! That man surnamed Qu must have bought this tea tree before but damaged it. Not wanting to lose money, he teamed up with that man from the mountains to set a trap and ensnare you, Uncle Huo!"

"Where is that man surnamed Qu? Let’s go find him! This is too despicable!"

While they were talking, Xiao Chiang also went over to examine the tea tree closely. With one look, she felt as though thunder was striking directly above her head.

Good heavens!

This tea tree was exactly like the one she had dug up in the depths of Bai Gu Mountain! The growth of the tree, the shape of the leaves, and even the scent of the leaves were all the same.

If this tea tree was considered top quality, then the one in her space was as well?

Heavens.

Xiao Chiang struggled to keep a straight face, refraining from laughing with unrestrained joy. She felt it would be indecent to appear so happy when everyone else was so distressed, akin to twisting a knife in their chests.

Old Huo stood up, dusting off his hands, shaking his head and sighing, "The tea is good, but the tree is beyond saving."