Ye Qiu first went to Hundred Flower Garden. It hadn’t been long since sumr ended, and many flowers had withered. As there were only a few species of Chinese roses and they were not very appealing, Hundred Flower Garden had only planted a few of them, and that was rely to prove that there actually were that many varieties planted in the garden. Since there wasn’t much to exchange in the market anyway, the roses in Hundred Flower Garden remained the sa ones, with no plans for change.
Then, Ye Qiu went to the flower market. Although it was called a flower market, there were only a few stalls actually selling flowers. The rest were selling antiques, calligraphy and paintings, fish, and handicrafts. The Silver hairpin and pig pendant that Ye Qiu had bought for Xiuya and the others were purchased from a jewelry store on this street.
This season, the flower vendors mainly displayed callias and chrysanthemums, and the variety of Chinese roses was indeed scarce. Ye Qiu spent a while searching before finding them tucked in a corner of a store, and because they weren’t much appreciated, he got them for a really cheap price.
"Ye Qiu?" After buying the flowers, as Ye Qiu was preparing to rush ho with his donkey cart, soone called out to him.
"It really is you!" The person was a man in his thirties, square-faced and not very tall but muscular. He was accompanied by a woman and two children around ten years old.
"Uncle Wei." Upon seeing the person, Ye Qiu narrowed his eyes slightly and showed no expression on his face. This person was none other than the village chief Ye Baomin’s younger son, Ye Wei, who served as a Governnt Official in the county.
"This is your cart?" Ye Wei exclaid in surprise, finding it hard to believe.
"Hmm, Uncle Wei and Aunt Wang, are you heading back to the village?" Ye Qiu asked politely.
"Yes, we haven’t called for a cart yet, so why don’t we hitch a ride with you?" Saying so, he nonchalantly tossed his luggage onto the cart.
Ye Qiu saw a flicker of disdain in Mrs. Xiao Wang’s eyes, and Ye Wei’s two children were also dragging their feet, clearly looking down on Ye Qiu’s cart. They should think about the fact that at least he had a donkey cart, while they didn’t have one at all. What was there to look down upon?
Speaking of Mrs. Xiao Wang, she and Elder Sister-in-law Mrs. Wang, the wife of Ye Wei’s elder brother Ye Ming, were cousins. The husbands of the two sisters-in-law, one destined to be the village chief and the other a county Governnt Official, had a predictable influence in the household. This put Ye Wei’s younger brother Ye Gang and his wife Mrs. Huang in a difficult position. Mrs. Huang, who had given birth to Ye Baomin’s eldest grandson Ye Ping, remained inconspicuous in that household, seldom seen around the village. Previously, Ye Ming had talked about Ye Lin training to enter the governnt office, but Ye Ping hadn’t received such opportunities.
"Hey, why buy so many Chinese roses, they’re not attractive and too thorny. If you ask , you should plant orchids instead, like that Orchid in my study that cost nearly one hundred taels of Silver!" boasted Ye Wei.
Ye Qiu looked up as Mrs. Xiao Wang and her two children also raised their heads, flattering him, "Really? Uncle Wei is truly remarkable. I can’t believe it, Xiuya and Xiutong like flowers, yet I can only afford to buy these cheapest Chinese roses."
"Not remarkable, not remarkable, it’s just a necessity. Being an official is all about keeping up appearances, imagine if soone visits your ho and you don’t have sothing presentable."
"Still, Uncle Wei is impressive, not only did you buy a house in the county but you can also afford such expensive flowers."
"Haha, just average, just average. But, Uncle Wei heard that you tested for child student last year, if you pass as a Scholar in the future or are lucky enough to pass the examination, you could do the sa." Ye Wei patted Ye Qiu’s shoulder, boasting as though encouraging him.
This ti, Ye Qiu really laughed inside. What, if he really passes the examination in the future, is that just luck in Ye Wei’s eyes? He hadn’t heard of anyone who could pass the examination by luck alone, wouldn’t that be unfair to others’ years of hard study?
Ye Qiu didn’t want to argue because he knew very clearly where the money for Ye Wei’s house and flowers ca from. Ye Wei was just a Governnt Official, earning at most twenty taels of Silver a year. Mrs. Xiao Wang had no livelihood, so where did their money co from? It was either extorted from the people or supported by Ye Baomin, but where did Ye Baomin get so much money? Did Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Huang know about this?
The village chief lived at the head of the village, while Ye Qiu’s ho was at the far end. Ye Qiu simply took Ye Wei and the others ho first, and it happened to be Mrs. Wang who opened the door.
"Uncle Wei, next ti I go to the county, I’ll co and see that Orchid in your yard that’s worth over 100 taels!" Ye Qiu shouted loudly before he left. His eyesight was good, and he saw Mrs. Wang’s face instantly change from joy to displeasure, then she pursed her lips and hurriedly drove away with the cart.
Seeing Mrs. Wang’s displeased expression, neither Ye Wei nor Mrs. Xiao Wang took it to heart. It was just a bit of silver, after all. With his status as a Governnt Official, hadn’t he earned many conveniences for his family over the years? Therefore, they didn’t even bother to explain.
Mrs. Huang was selecting vegetables in the courtyard; she naturally heard what Ye Qiu said. However, she had no reaction, and seeing Mrs. Wang’s unpleasant face, she actually felt a bit relieved.
"Where’s dad?" Ye Wei and Mrs. Xiao Wang, brash as always, sat down on the chairs in the main hall and asked with an air of authority.
"Elder sister-in-law, make so tea, please. I’m dying of thirst," Mrs. Xiao Wang commanded without politeness. The two were cousins, but since marrying into this family, she had taken to addressing them by their family roles, and thus had been calling her elder sister-in-law for over ten years.
"Oh, one would think they are guests here!" Mrs. Wang huffed in response.
Unfazed, Mrs. Xiao Wang leisurely asked, "Elder sister-in-law, how is Ye Lin coming along with his training? I heard from Ye Wei that the recruitnt standards for Governnt Officials are getting stricter!"
Mrs. Wang glared at Mrs. Xiao Wang resentfully but ultimately went to make the tea for the sake of her son’s future.
In the courtyard, Mrs. Huang curled up the corners of her mouth and didn’t join the conversation; since this couple wasn’t going to help her son, why bother going over to get snubbed?
Mrs. Xiao Wang glanced at Mrs. Huang and curled her lip—such a hopeless case. No wonder her father doesn’t value her, and her son is of no use. They’d better not bla her for not supporting them when they suffer after the division of the family property.
When Ye Qiu returned ho, Xiuya and Xiutong had already cleared out the wasteland behind the house, which had previously been a vegetable garden but was now expanded by more than half. Seeing their vigorous efforts, one could tell they took the task of growing flowers very seriously.
For a mont, Ye Qiu doubted his decision again. It seed that growing flowers was not such an easy job after all. He only hoped they wouldn’t get too sunburned.
"Where did these flowers co from?" Ye Qiu asked, pointing at several lilies and peonies.
"They were a gift from Wang Po. Seeing us breaking new ground to plant flowers, she insisted on bringing them over," Xiuya replied.
Ye Qiu nodded, deciding to be even kinder to Wang Po and her family in the future.
However, if he knew that they were so attentive because of Xiuya, he might not feel as good as he did now.
"Co, these are the flowers we bought today. Let’s plant them first." What Ye Qiu didn’t ntion was that among them were two Orchids he had mixed in himself. Selling flowers, naturally, the more varieties the better. Now he was carefully introducing two new species, but perhaps later when he had his own large flower garden to start breeding new varieties, it wouldn’t be necessary to be so cautious.
User Comments
0 comments from readers