74: Chapter 8 Heartache 74: Chapter 8 Heartache “How much can you offer?” Lin Xiaoguai asked indifferently.
The boss was startled, then quickly caught on and exclaimed excitedly, “I can gather twenty-six thousand.
If there’s more time…”
He pondered for a moment, “Half a month.
I can definitely get thirty thousand in half a month.”
“Deal, I’ll give you this Er Qiao,” Lin Xiaoguai said succinctly.
She was so straightforward because she could tell that the boss was offering a sincere price.
With someone else, they might have tried to deceive her and maliciously buy the flowers at a low price.
Shen Chi felt a pang of frustration, having never seen business done this way.
Yet the boss was overjoyed, rubbing his hands together as he said, “Wait here, I’m going to go get the money.”
Having said that, he left Lin Xiaoguai and Shen Chi in the shop and hurried out.
“With these flowers, how did you grow them?” With no one else around, Shen Chi couldn’t help asking, driven by his curiosity.
Even though he didn’t understand these Flower matters, he knew that something that made the boss willing to pay such a high price must not be easy to grow.
“Just till the soil and water, that’s how they grew,” Lin Xiaoguai responded nonchalantly.
Shen Chi was silent, feeling as if he was being mocked.
Could it be that his wife was scorning his lack of education?
Suddenly, he recalled something; although he had never considered himself uneducated — indeed, it was true, and those university students boasting of seventy or eighty thousand weren’t necessarily better than him — he felt a bit unsure when it came to Wanwan.
Could it be that his wife’s educational level was quite high?
Why did everything seem so simple in her eyes?
At that moment, the boss hurried back, shoulders hunched, and pulled out a bundle of money wrapped in newspaper.
“Here is thirty-four thousand.
Count it, and if there’s four thousand short, I’ll gather it and give it to you later.
Could you leave your address?”
Lin Xiaoguai looked at Shen Chi, “You count.” Having a readily available helper, she naturally didn’t mind taking it easy.
Shen Chi reluctantly moved forward and began counting the money wearily.
Lin Xiaoguai then left their address and said to the boss, “In that case, the remaining flowers at my house might be too much for you to handle.”
The boss was startled, then suddenly remembered the green peony mentioned yesterday which he hadn’t seen today, and became both excited and remorseful.
After thinking it over, he gritted his teeth and proposed, “What do you think about this?
I know a few customers with significant influence who always welcome rare plants.
If you’re willing, you can consign the flowers in my shop.
I’ll contact those customers, and when the flowers are sold, all the money goes to you, without me taking a cut.”
He thought it through clearly; since the lady was so understanding, he had to repay her generosity with kindness.
Lin Xiaoguai agreed as readily as before, “Done, I’ll bring the flowers over in a couple of days.”
On the way home, Shen Chi looked at the large amount of money in his hands with a complex expression.
Although he also withdrew a large sum from Liu Lao’s, comparing his ability to earn money with Wanwan, it seemed insignificant.
Suddenly, he felt an immense pressure, similar to a modern man who marries a powerful woman.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept his wife earning more than him due to his male chauvinism, but their situation was a bit special.
He hoped that one day Wanwan would have the same feelings for him, but until then, he felt he needed to bind her to him in other ways.
Marriage, son, money, material things — everything he could give her.
He didn’t wish for Wanwan to be independent; it made him feel unnecessary and insecure.
At least, that was how he felt before Wanwan fell in love with him.
Back home, Shen Zhangming, Luo Yufang, and Shen Xiu, looking at the newspaper-padded large sum of money on the table, were somewhat dazed.
Shen Xiu blinked and said, “Wasn’t it said that a pot costs only a few hundred to a few thousand at most?
How did just two pots sell for so much?”
“Liu Xiajuan was ripped off,” Lin Xiaoguai said nonchalantly, her attention soon diverted by her continuously squirming son in her arms.
She didn’t mention that when Liu Xiajuan came to ask for flowers, she had picked some of the lesser quality ones for her, keeping the good ones for herself.
“What’s going on, who is Liu Xiajuan?” Before the other three had the chance to express their opinions on the matter, Shen Chi keenly noted the delicacy of the situation.
There was never an intention to deliberately hide it from him, and upon his inquiry, Shen Xiu quickly recounted the incident, ending with a burst of indignation, “Isn’t it just because they thought brother had sacrificed himself that these people dared to bully like that?”