Considering she had already promised Mao Dazhu to help with the venue setup, Xiao Xian had no choice but to take leave for the second time in a month, and this time it was for seven days. The exhibition lasted for three days, with the first two days for setup and the last two for cleanup.
Fortunately, her intermediate course was going smoothly. Since she mastered "Spirit Stacking," Xiao Xian could successfully plete the synthesis of any plant younger than ten years.
With her "help," the herbs planted halfway up the mountain all rose in grade, and by Wednesday, she had pleted her weekly study tasks.
After reviewing her progress, Romeo One approved her leave. Xuerou had been away from school for a week, and even the usually reticent Romeo One couldn’t help but ask a few questions, suggesting that they should remind Xuerou that she had already exceeded her initial leave request.
"I’ll be back in a day or two, sorry, I have to approve Yiyi’s leave request again," Xiao Xian said nonchalantly.
With both her good friends not at school, Zhang Yiyi simply took three days off to celebrate Mr. Zhang’s birthday back in Tianjin.
When Mao Dazhu persuaded Xiao Xian to agree to help with the expo setup, he boasted grandly, saying that it was an international feast and that many guests from both China and abroad would e to visit.
Having been tricked into selling grass mats last time, Xiao Xian didn’t take Mao Dazhu’s words to heart.
However, distrust aside, what needed to be done still had to be done; she couldn’t offer less than promised for the flowers. After all, this expo was tied to the reputation of South Gate.
A few days ago, when she went to Cherry Valley, she had already walked around the valley. The ancient array there maintained the valley’s winter temperature, allowing the cherry blossoms to bloom earlier than elsewhere in early spring.
Upon reaching Cherry Valley, with the help of the village chief, Xiao Xian did indeed find some cherry blossoms and roses for making flower baskets suitable for the expo.
In the valley, there were two types of cherry trees: one type bore edible cherries, and the other type only blossomed without fruiting, the latter being the type used for ornamental purposes.
When the branches of cherry blossoms and budding roses from Cherry Valley were delivered to the National Convention and Exhibition Center, as designated by Mao Dazhu.
Only then did Xiao Xian slightly revise her opinion of Mao Dazhu’s credibility; concurrently, she felt a sense of helplessness.
"Xiao Xian, I didn’t fool you this time, did I? The National Convention and Exhibition Center alone covers more than 200,000 square meters. This time, the Wan Guo International Jewelry Exhibition is held in Halls D1-2 and D3-4, and I am responsible for setting up Hall D4. Don’t think it’s just one hall; there are more than 500 domestic jewelry panies participating. Hehe, you have to work hard on the setup; the reputation of South Gate all depends on you. I heard that among the three panies responsible for the setup this time, one is a well-known flower chain pany from Hong Kong. The other two are specialized horticultural panies from Europe and America. This time, we’re going to make our mainland flower panies proud," Mao Dazhu said more vigorously, having really spent a lot of effort to get the rights to set up the venue.
Speaking of which, thanks must be given to Old Man Yang. Although Yu Shan Yang still kept his old habits of not interacting much with people from the seniors’ home, he occasionally talked with Mao Dazhu.
That day, upon hearing that Mao Dazhu wanted to vie for the setup rights, Yu Shan Yang sought help from an old friend to mediate, and although he only secured one venue, it was still a big deal for the unknown "Five Gentlemen Flower Art," which was a great opportunity to gain fame and make money.
As Mao Dazhu was energetically boasting, Xiao Xian started to get a headache.
Xiao Xian did not know exactly how big an area of more than 200,000 square meters was, but judging by her estimations, the flowers on hand in two carts were obviously not enough to adequately decorate the entire Hall D4.
She hadn’t expected Mao Dazhu to be telling the truth this time; the area of a single exhibition hall was parable to half of Sacred Heart Middle School.
The cherry blossoms and roses she had prepared were only enough for a small part of the exhibition hall. Getting more flowers from Cherry Valley in time now seemed unlikely.
Even more outrageous was the setup of the neighboring International Pavilion, which was clearly handled by several powerful foreign panies; just the carts delivering flowers formed a long line outside the exhibition hall entrance.
"Master, please stop talking for a moment, are those fresh tulips shipped from the Netherlands over there, and those imported lavenders look foreign too, not to mention that pile of tropical flowers; are you sure we can pete with them?" Xiao Xian felt pletely disheartened as if questioning the heavens.
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