The issue must start with that begonia. After Zhuo Feng decided to bring the begonia to the horticulture class, he took the plant with him the next day.
As soon as that begonia was presented, all the students gathered around it, and all the ridicule they had directed at Zhuo Feng the previous lesson disappeared.
Even Mei Xiang in the classroom was stunned by that begonia for a moment.
That begonia was pruned very well, each cut was just right, and each snip was clean and decisive. The shape of the potted plant was also very aesthetic, and all the students present couldn’t stop praising it.
Zhuo Feng still remembered the insults Mei Nian had previously thrown at Bai Juyi, and demanded an apology from Mei Nian in front of the whole class.
Mei Nian was not an easy opponent either. He pointed to the begonia and asked Zhuo Feng how he had pruned it and what the benefits of such pruning were. The bonsai was not Zhuo Feng’s work. Naturally, Zhuo Feng couldn’t answer and stood in the classroom, stammering and hesitant.
"Who knew that Mei Nian would not just let it go, saying that Bai Juyi and his disciples were all the same, that the Shen Zhou Red Snow was not really cultivated by Bai Juyi; he was nothing but a charlatan, fishing for fame without any real knowledge. Hearing this, Yezi got angry and demanded the daffodil back immediately. She also decided not to attend the useless horticulture class anymore," Feng Xing explained, realizing that Mei Nian was very likely related to Mei Xiang.
Hold on, a relative of Mei Xiang? That means she’s also...
"The most infuriating thing was what Mei Nian said next. Not only did she refuse to return the Shen Zhou Red Snow, but she also declared that she had already destroyed it. You know, Yezi is a person of her word. After winning a prize with that daffodil, she was concerned whether Mr. Bai’s spirit in heaven would mind. When she heard the daffodil was gone, she impulsively started a fight with Mei Nian," Feng Xing said, arriving at the police station only to find Zhuo Feng already beaten black and blue.
"What? Yezi got beaten up and yet she’s detained for public security reasons? That’s totally unreasonable. Don’t the news say every day that we’re a society ruled by law? To get into a scuffle with a cultivator and come away with just flesh wounds is actually considerate, but Zhuo Feng is her own aunt! How can she let others bully her?
"The battery itself isn’t the most serious part, as the students present all said it was a mutual fight, both starting at the same time. But during the fight, Yezi also smashed one of Mei Nian’s potted plants, two antique flowerpots, plus a pair of heirloom garden scissors said to have a few hundred years of history. Roughly estimated, the damages are said to cost several hundred thousand," Feng Xing heard the news and was dumbfounded; those few items were worth as much as a whole apartment of theirs.
"Uncle, where does this Mei Nian live? Let’s go find her," Xiao Xian said, also getting angry. This Mei Nian was really taking things too far.
Finding Mei Nian was not difficult. Even after Zhuo Feng got into trouble, Mei Nian still attended her unfinished horticulture class. She was giving a lecture when Feng Xing and Xiao Xian burst into the classroom.
"What, it’s you again? I’ve said many times, either pay up or let your wife rot in jail," Mei Nian said, not even lifting her brow, continuing her pruning, demonstrating basic trimming techniques.
"The three-year-old Dutch cardamom over there has insect pests on its lateral branches. To completely eradicate the pests, trimming alone is not enough," a strange voice sounded near Mei Nian. This time she raised her brow slightly, and the rhythm of her scissors slowed down.
"What’s your remedy for saving it?" Indeed, the potted plant in Mei Nian’s hands was infected with pests, and since trimming during the class was mostly done by students, not Mei Nian, she had brought over the diseased plant.
None of the many students in the room had noticed it, yet a random girl who barged in had pointed it out immediately.
"To save it, there’s only one way," Xiao Xian picked up the scissors and with a swift movement, snip, cut the cardamom in half.
"Xiao Xian, how could you?" It was over. Feng Xing was utterly miserable. One was , the other was too; they hadn’t settled the previous debt and now another one was added.
Mei Xiang, seeing the cardamom potted plant cut into two, suddenly spoke, "Did you prune that begonia? Tell me, why did you cut it like that?"
Seeing that Xiao Xian didn’t respond, Mei Nian continued, "Okay, I take back my words. Bai Ju seems to have taken two good disciples. I won’t dwell on the previous woman’s matter anymore." Mei Nian’s generosity was a bit astonishing.
"But it seems you’ve forgotten something. The Shen Zhou Red Snow, whether or not it was originally the Mei Family’s, became Mr. Bai’s property after Granny Mei gave it to him. For decades, he tirelessly crossbred and cultivated it, and without his painstaking effort, the world would have lacked a treasure like the Shen Zhou Red Snow, which would be a huge loss for the horticultural world," Xiao Xian finished speaking, and a few students in the classroom couldn’t help but nod along.
"You want the flower? Fine. Tonight at eight, meet me at Mei Garden north of the city. Remember, come alone," Mei Nian replied briskly.
Fu Zi’s message begging for votes, hmm, reappearing in the world,
Countdown ** minutes to the deadline of double tickets on the 7th,
I’m already at 4K a Chapter, the cultivation brother is going abroad again, Yezi has already evaporated, Xiao Xian is about to rock,
What are you all waiting for?
(Do these have any causality? Nope, I just mean, dear kind-hearted female Bodhisattva donors, please give me your tickets~)
**(To be continued. If you work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)