The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 844 - 822 Value

Chapter 844: Chapter 822 Value

Manbao chuckled and said, "I’ve sold it."

Mr. Zhuang, "...Didn’t you say you were going to transplant a pot for me?"

Holding the pot in her hands, Manbao replied, "Mr. Zhuang, it’s right here. I’ve planted it for you. It’s spring now, and it won’t be long before it grows."

Mr. Zhuang stared at a pot of soil and was speechless for a long while.

The mentor and disciple exchanged a silent look for a moment, then Mr. Zhuang asked, "How much did you sell that orchid for?"

Manbao stretched out two fingers.

Mr. Zhuang asked, "Two hundred taels?"

Manbao, surprised, asked, "Mr. Zhuang, how did you guess correctly right away?"

Mr. Zhuang looked at his disciple for a while, and feeling somewhat uneasy, he decided not to make her feel too comfortable either. He said, "Last time, Uncle Master Lan and I attended a literary gathering. Uncle Master Lan mentioned in passing that we had plain white orchids at home, and someone immediately offered to buy them all for two hundred and eighty taels. However, I found the buyer too mercenary, so I didn’t agree and didn’t tell you about it."

Manbao clutched at her chest, at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhuang finally felt a little pleased, turned around, and left. After taking a few steps, he turned back to take the pot of flowers from Manbao’s arms and carried it back to his room.

Manbao followed with a drooping head, "Mr. Zhuang, this flower shouldn’t be watered for now; it might be better if I take care of it. Are orchids really that expensive? You’ve never mentioned it..."

Mr. Zhuang was adamant about keeping the pot of orchids in his own room and casually responded, "Common orchids aren’t expensive, but this is a plain orchid, which is quite rare."

He glanced at Manbao and said, "It’s only slightly inferior to the champak in the study."

With that, Mr. Zhuang immediately set down the pot he was holding and headed towards the study.

Manbao followed and said, "You can rest assured, Mr. Zhuang, I didn’t sell the orchid in the study. I know you like it..."

When Mr. Zhuang saw that the orchids in front of the writing desk were still there, he breathed a sigh of relief and picked them up to move back to his room. He said seriously to Manbao, "This orchid is still young, it should be transplanted next year. Don’t always think about selling it for money; you’re not short of it."

"I wasn’t before, but now I am."

Mr. Zhuang stopped in his tracks and looked at her, "You’re short of money?"

Manbao nodded with a distressed expression, explaining how she needed a lot of money to buy medicinal materials.

Mr. Zhuang hadn’t expected her to recover so quickly after finding out about her past and to think about advancing her medical skills even further.

Unable to help it, Mr. Zhuang revealed a smile of approval and handed her the pot of champak flowers, saying with a laugh, "Don’t sell this orchid lightly. If I’m not mistaken, this should be Qing Mountain Jade Spring from the building orchids, better than the few clumps of orchids growing in the garden."

Mr. Zhuang, clearly knowledgeable about orchids, added, "It was damaged when transplanted last year and had been neglected before, which is why the flowers it bore were rather frail. Nurture it for another year, and when it flowers in the summer and autumn..."

Mr. Zhuang paused, then continued, "I do know a few people who might pay a lot for it."

Manbao, puzzled, asked, "It’s just a pot of flowers; it can’t be eaten or used as precious medicine. Why is it so expensive?"

Mr. Zhuang laughed and said, "Everything in the world has its value. Orchids, with their noble and pure character, are dearly loved by some. Just as women love gemstones and pearls, and warriors favor fine horses and blades, they are willing to spend a fortune on things they love. Thus, there are also those who would spend a fortune on orchids. If someone believes it’s worth that much, they’ll spend the money to buy it."

Manbao fell into contemplation. Mr. Zhuang handed her the pot, and she didn’t react until after he had left. Realizing it, she hurriedly embraced the flower and chased after him, "How much is this pot of flowers worth to you, Mr. Zhuang?"

Mr. Zhuang laughed, "A hundred pieces of gold."

So if someone were to offer a hundred pieces of gold, Mr. Zhuang would hesitate to sell it.

Manbao said, "Teacher, why did you give the flower to me again?"

"Because in the teacher’s eyes, knowledge is worth more than a hundred pieces of gold. You are here to learn, so what if it means giving away a pot of orchids?"

Manbao, holding the orchids seriously, said, "But in my heart, the teacher is priceless. Since you like this pot of flowers, of course we should keep it."

Mr. Zhuang then touched her nose with a smile, "You’re quite the slick one. Why didn’t you think that way when you were selling the michelia?"

Manbao chuckled, "Didn’t I keep a piece for the teacher? Although it’ll take a year or two to bloom, we can wait, can’t we?"

Mr. Zhuang was no longer anxious about the pot of orchids. He waved his sleeve, "Alright, take it back to the study room. Go wash your hands, class is about to start. Did you review your lessons today?"

Manbao turned around and walked away, holding the orchid.

Beside her, Zhou Lijun watched nervously as she carried the orchids, afraid she might accidentally break them.

When Zhou SiLang returned, Zhou Lijun excitedly told him about the day’s events.

Zhou SiLang, who had earned just over a hundred coins after a day out, widened his eyes and rushed towards the study room.

Inside the study, Mr. Zhuang was teaching Manbao while Zhou SiLang didn’t dare to enter, so he peeked through the window at the orchid on the desk.

Zhou Lijun also came closer, and their expressions were identical.

Zhou SiLang swallowed hard and asked in a low voice, "Did Mr. Zhuang really say that the orchid is worth a hundred pieces of gold?"

Zhou Lijun nodded seriously and whispered back, "Yes, a hundred pieces of gold. That’s the value Mr. Zhuang has in his mind. From what I gather, to a wealthy flower lover, it’s probably worth even more."

Zhou SiLang’s legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a flop, but he still desperately clasped the window, saying in a daze, "My goodness, a single flower so valuable, if we had known, those flowers beside our neighbor’s garden used to be scattered all over the yard..."

Zhou SiLang felt regret, "If only I had known, I should have transplanted all the weeds from the edge of the neighboring vegetable garden."

"You’ve been grumbling about that for a long time," Zhou Lijun said. "Who would have known all this in advance?"

"It’s not that. We don’t recognize these flowers and grasses, but Mr. Zhuang does. Why didn’t he tell us?"

Mr. Zhuang, who was teaching Manbao, heard the murmuring outside the window. Although he could not make out what they were saying, he could guess the topic from their tone and sighed helplessly. After finishing the lesson, he put away the books, "That will do for today. Take a look at this yourself, memorize the text, and ask me if there’s anything you don’t understand later."

Having said that, he left.

Zhou Lijun pulled her Fourth Uncle aside and once Mr. Zhuang had returned to his room, the two immediately scurried into the study.

They paid no attention to Manbao, who sat reading, but went straight to Mr. Zhuang’s desk to carefully examine the pot of orchids.

Zhou Si turned it left and right, failing to see just where it could be worth a hundred pieces of gold.

Zhou Lijun reached out to touch a leaf but was slapped away by Zhou Si who said, "It’s worth a hundred pieces of gold. How much would one leaf cost? Don’t touch it recklessly."

Manbao couldn’t concentrate on her book anymore. She walked over and looked at them, "Lijun has been watering it quite often all this time."