The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 843 - 821 Division of Shares

Chapter 843: Chapter 821 Division of Shares

Madam Tang immediately sent someone back to retrieve silver coins and to bring some nice-looking flower pots from her home.

She couldn’t approve of the flower pots in Manbao’s courtyard.

Such precious orchids naturally demanded equally precious and beautiful pots.

Zhou Lijun brought over some tea, setting it on the stone table in the courtyard, and invited them to drink.

It was then that Madam Tang sat down and started chatting with Manbao, laughing, "People these days love peonies, like the Princess Consort of Yizhou and Second Madam Ji, for instance; they enjoy spending a lot of money on peonies. However, Madam Zhang and I prefer orchids. I have a fondness for plain colors, whereas she adores red even more. One day, I should introduce you to her."

Madam Tang said with a smile, "First, you need to nurture the red champak well. Once it starts budding, then you can propagate and pot it, and that’s when you can sell it at a high price."

She glanced again at the red champak, noticing its leaves and plants seemed healthy, but unsure about the flower’s color, hence she couldn’t conclude definitively.

However, since Manbao had stated that red champak looked better than lemongrass, the color must be quite correct.

Yet Manbao was focusing on another point, "You said the Princess Consort of Yizhou likes peonies?"

Madam Tang looked at Manbao, smiled, and nodded, "Yes, the Princess Consort of Yizhou is famous for her love of peonies."

Manbao nodded, without furthering the topic.

The servant quickly brought the money and flower pots from home, and Manbao personally rolled up her sleeves to transplant the orchid, while Zhou Lijun, fearing she might damage the orchid worth a hundred taels, hurriedly rolled up her sleeves to help.

Zhou Lijun, avoiding Madam Tang, whispered to Manbao, "Little cousin, be gentle."

"Don’t worry. I’ve memorized all the precautionary steps for splitting; it won’t harm it."

Zhou Lijun appeared confused and asked, "Isn’t splitting just dividing it into two? I saw my mother always move it with a large clump of soil together to avoid root damage."

"We don’t do it that way."

She decided to follow Keke’s guidance, started digging from the surroundings very carefully, stripping the soil off the orchid. After closely examining the orchid’s roots and finding the buds and fleshy roots healthy, she smiled lightly and carefully separated the clump of orchids.

She decided to split it into two pots, one pot having four sprouts and the other having two flower buds. She asked Zhou Lijun to fetch some scissors. Initially, Madam Tang stood aside watching and rushed to stop her when she saw her hands with the scissors. However, before she knew it, Manbao swiftly cut some of the roots and leaves away.

Seeing the pained expression on Madam Tang’s face, Manbao said, "Don’t worry, Madam Tang, these parts were just burdensome; it’s better to remove them."

Madam Tang looked skeptical, "Really?"

Manbao nodded earnestly, "Of course. Since I’ve sold it to you, I naturally need to ensure its survival, especially since it’s sold for such a high price."

A hundred taels, their family didn’t even know how many crops they needed to sell to earn that much, let alone Zhou Silang and Zhou Lijun; even Manbao was astounded.

So, taking great care, Manbao pruned the roots of the orchid meticulously, chose suitable soil for potting, and then began planting...

Madam Tang watched her applying wood ash to the freshly cut parts before potting.

Manbao advised Madam Tang, "Don’t water it for the first couple of days, keep it warm, and water it slightly on the third day. If you think it won’t survive, send someone to call me, and I’ll come over to check."

Madam Tang smiled and said, "We do have gardeners in our residence, and I also know some tips about cultivating orchids. It looks quite vigorous, so there should be no problem."

Madam Tang handed the money to Manbao and smiled, "In the future, if you have michelia or champak, you can find me. I like these two kinds of orchids the most."

Lijun couldn’t help but turn her head to look at the study, but Manbao, without turning her head, nodded to indicate no problem.

After seeing Madam Tang off, Manbao returned to the yard and took out the portion of the root she had just trimmed. She trimmed it further, and in the end, only a small piece of rhizome was left. When Lijun saw it, she noticed there was a bud in the rhizome that had been concealed all this time, even she had not noticed it.

The clever Lijun quickly understood and excitedly said to Manbao, "Cousin, we can plant orchids again when we turn around our garden. But these orchids grow particularly slowly; this small piece might take two or three years before we can divide it."

Manbao also nodded regretfully, "Go get the flowerpot; we won’t plant this one in the garden but in a pot."

Lijun said, "But I think it would grow better and faster if it were planted in the ground."

"Of course, it would directly contact the soil and could absorb the earth’s nutrients faster and therefore grow both well and quickly. But I have already agreed to sell all the lemongrass to Madam Tang. Naturally, I can’t sell any lemongrass outside, at least not the same lemongrass plant," Manbao explained. "It would be awkward if the County Magistrate Tang came to our house for tea and saw it in the garden next time."

"Wouldn’t it be seen if it were planted in a pot?"

"It’s for the master if it’s planted in a pot, and I won’t sell it."

After pausing, Lijun remembered something while looking at the small piece of rhizome in her hand, "Cousin, didn’t you mention that you wanted to divide a pot of michelia for Mr. Zhuang?"

Manbao sighed and nodded, "Yes, Madam Tang offered such a high price that I forgot about it at the moment. I only remembered when it was time to move the pot, and it was too late to back out then."

She clutched the rhizome in her palm and eagerly said, "So this piece must survive. I’ve decided to keep it in my room and watch over it day and night."

That way, Keke could help check on it every day. Manbao asked Keke in her mind, "Right?"

Keke remained silent.

Manbao took it as an agreement.

Lijun continued looking towards the study and whispered softly, "Cousin, isn’t there a pot of champak in the study?"

Manbao also looked conflicted but still shook her head and said, "Let’s not sell it then. The master also likes that pot of orchid."

The cluster of plants they had originally dug up together - out of which, only that orchid was potted - was not known by Manbao to be an orchid at that time. She potted it solely because it had the highest points and seemed most delicate, fearing the elements might harm it in the garden.

Its leaves were very delicate, but it had already bloomed last fall, producing a string of very delicate, pale yellow orchid flowers.

Mr. Zhuang liked it very much, so Manbao usually kept it on his desk, occasionally moving it onto the porch to bask in the sun.

From what Madam Tang mentioned, it seemed the yellow orchids were also very expensive.

Manbao planted the rhizome of the lemongrass and hadn’t yet hurried it back to her own room when Mr. Zhuang returned.

It was usually Manbao’s study time at that hour. Seeing her squatting in the flower bed, Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but glance up at the sun, then frowned and said, "Why aren’t you reading?"

Manbao immediately brushed off the dirt from her hands and said, "Just about to, just about to."

Mr. Zhuang nodded and, in the midst of nodding, noticed something amiss. He squinted at the flower garden and asked, "Why do I feel like there are a few orchids missing?"

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