The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 857 - 835: Destined with You

Chapter 857: Chapter 835: Destined with You

Madam Tang, although just the wife of the county magistrate, had notable connections through both her husband’s and her own family. Therefore, when she sent out invitations to Governor Ming’s wife, Madam Ming, and the Commander’s wife, Madam Huang, both promptly agreed to attend.

Second Madam Ji and Madam Wei of course wouldn’t refuse either.

On the day of the gathering, the weather was fine and sunny. Manbao along with Bai Shan and Bai Erlang had transported all the flowers to Ganxiang Pavilion, placing them in the private room reserved by Madam Tang.

To highlight the nobility and elegance of the yaohuang and moutan peony, she had set each between two clusters of white peonies.

Not only did this arrangement accentuate the yaohuang and moutan peony in the center, but it also made the white peonies appear even more delicate and precious.

The four ladies arrived on time and coincidentally met at the entrance of the restaurant, where Madam Tang, having arrived a step earlier with Manbao, greeted them with a smile saying, "There’s an old saying that timing beats early preparation, and how timely it is to meet you here so I can welcome you upstairs."

Since Governor Ming and County Magistrate Tang shared a good relationship, Madam Ming and Madam Tang were also on good terms. She laughed and said, "You had me excited for a moment there, thinking you were specifically here to welcome me. Turns out it’s just a coincidence."

Joking with each other, Madam Tang invited the four madams upstairs. As soon as they entered the private box, everyone’s attention was drawn to the flowers on both sides.

On one side, five pots of white peonies surrounded a pot of yaohuang, and on the other, five pots of white peonies encircled a pot of moutan peony. Each of the flowers, whether yaohuang, moutan peony, or white peony, looked exceptionally beautiful.

Madam Huang, who had a particular fondness for peonies, couldn’t help but move forward two steps, fixating on the pot of yaohuang.

Second Madam Ji had already learned from her maid the previous day that Manbao indeed had well-cared-for moutan peony. However, she hadn’t expected them to be this impressive, momentarily taken by surprise.

Seeing the variations in their expressions, Manbao couldn’t help but smile smugly to herself.

After ordering tea, Madam Tang introduced Manbao to everyone, "This is a young friend of mine. She’s exceptionally good at growing orchids, and unexpectedly, she knows some people and also has peonies, which are absolutely beautiful. Thinking of how all of you madams appreciate peonies, I decided to invite you to enjoy the flowers as well."

Madam Huang, having regained her composure and looking at the trio standing beside Madam Tang, who were dressed ordinarily but exhibited a refined demeanor, asked with a light smile, "What does your family do? How can they trust such big business negotiations to you?"

Bai Shan intercepted Manbao and responded first, "Our family isn’t into trading; we just found it interesting and happened to come across some nice flowers, so we played around with buying and selling them. We are students at the prefectural school."

Madam Huang was slightly surprised, glanced at the composed Madam Tang, then smiled, "I see, you are willing to sell such fine flowers?"

Her attitude turned a bit more serious.

Manbao laughed, "Good flowers should be nurtured by those who appreciate them. We just happened to come across them by chance but couldn’t keep them forever, so we thought about selling them."

However, Madam Huang suspected they were trying to use the flowers to curry favor, so even though she still liked them, she became more cautious and chose not to speak so freely anymore.

Second Madam Ji, however, had a different take than Madam Huang. She genuinely believed that the younger group was selling the flowers to please them; others might not be the case, but they didn’t need to do so at her place.

Their family had hosted a banquet recently and had even invited them, with Old Madam specifically wanting to introduce Bai Shan and Zhou Man into their circle, but the two had not shown up.

Coupled with last night’s maid vaguely mentioning that the Zhou Family seemed to disdain their offered price, Second Madam Ji understood that the three were purely motivated by money.

So, she just wanted to know how they intended to sell these flowers.

Second Madam Ji directly inquired.

Manbao said, "The white peonies aside, as we have plenty and I assume the madams will not dispute, but we have only one pot each of yaohuang and moutan peony, so I thought the highest bidder should take them."

Only then did Madam Huang look up, glanced at Manbao, then at the two young men standing beside her, and seeing no objections from them, she straightened up a bit and asked with a light smile, "The highest bidder takes them?"

Manbao nodded.

Madam Huang lightly clapped her hands and laughed, "Should we just openly bid against each other?"

Manbao responded, "That wouldn’t be necessary. Since all the ladies are acquainted, open bidding might harm the harmony. Instead, we could write down the flower we wish to purchase and the price we’re willing to pay on a piece of paper. We’ll then open it on the spot, and the highest bidder will take the flower."

Madam Huang understood immediately and turned to Second Madam Ji with a smile, "This method is indeed nice."

Bai Erlang then took out pen and paper from a nearby bookbasket and ground some ink for them.

The four madams glanced at each other and each, with a slight smile, picked up their pens and fell into thought.

If they had to call out their bids, it would be uncomfortable for Madam Wei to compete with Second Madam Ji, and for Madam Ming to vie with Madam Huang. This silent writing down of prices was better; it meant if they won the bid, it was due to luck rather than intentional rivalry.

Everyone present loved flowers, and since it was a romantic spring day and they were all planning flower-viewing parties, having an extraordinary flower to show off at home would be quite a boast.

Both Madam Huang and Second Madam Ji were aware of this.

Thus, they pondered for a moment then slightly increased the amount they had in mind before writing it down on the paper.

Manbao collected all the papers, opened them directly in front of everyone, and then spread them out for all to see.

It was clear and straightforward, with absolutely no possibility of cheating.

As everyone leaned in to look, Madam Huang couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth upward, and Second Madam Ji was momentarily startled before she turned to look at Madam Wei.

Madam Wei couldn’t help but laugh, "I didn’t expect my luck to be so good today."

Madam Huang also nodded with a smile, "It’s quite good indeed. To think that my bid and Madam Ming’s were so close, yet I won."

It just so happened that both Madam Huang and Madam Ming had their hearts set on the yaohuang, so they only bid on that, while Second Madam Ji, although she preferred the moutan peony, had set prices for both. But luck was not on her side; one bid fell short of Madam Huang’s and the other couldn’t surpass Madam Wei’s.

Manbao gathered up the papers and looked at them, her face beaming with joy.

The four madams were slow to react when Madam Tang laughed, "So, is it settled then?"

Madam Huang smiled and nodded.

Manbao took the opportunity to ask, "Madam Huang, wouldn’t you like to pair it with two pots of white peonies?"

Madam Huang hesitated, as her bid had been quite high, and buying white peonies on top of that...

Manbao smiled warmly, "The white peonies are very cheap, only sixteen taels each."

Madam Huang was surprised, "That cheap?"

"Yes, that’s the price I offer to other friends as well."

Madam Huang then joked, "I just purchased this pot of yaohuang, and you didn’t consider giving me a pot of whites?"

Manbao shook her head, "I have a connection with the sixteen taels."

She looked up at the four madams with a smile, "I think the madams and the white peonies would be well suited."