During the conversation, Manbao saw that the peony flowers she had ordered still hadn’t arrived, so she couldn’t help asking, "Haven’t you shipped them yet?"
The seller hurriedly said, "Wait a moment, the robot hasn’t come; I’ll ship it in a bit."
Keke directly told Manbao, "He’s lying. I searched the transaction records of his store. For such a large transaction volume, the robots are always on standby."
Of course, the seller couldn’t hear their conversation. He continued talking on the other end, but Manbao was no longer willing to listen, saying, "You better send me the goods quickly, otherwise I’m going to cancel the order and buy from someone else."
Feeling the change in Manbao’s attitude, the seller quickly said, "Manbao, I’ll send you some peony seeds as well. If you have any questions, just ask me, and remember to come to me if you need anything in the future. All right, the robot is here; I’m going to ship your goods now."
Manbao waited for a while, and Keke reminded her that the package had arrived. Up to now, Manbao had been very curious about how it was possible for the goods to be shipped and received almost instantly.
Naturally, Keke didn’t tell her.
Manbao took the items out of the system and began to unwrap the package. Two pots of only half-bloomed white peonies appeared, with a large bag. and a small bag placed beside them.
Manbao first checked the large bag, found it was fertilizer, and put It into the system; she also put the two pots of peonies away.
She then picked up the small bag to look, discovering a large bunch of seeds inside. She sniffed them with curiosity, feeling that the seeds from the future looked only slightly bigger than theirs and didn’t seem too different.
After storing everything, Manbao opened the door and went out.
Daji was about to go out to pick up the young masters from school and, seeing Manbao come out, asked, "Miss Man, are you heading to the academy?"
Manbao shook her head, "I won’t go today. You go ahead."
As Manbao wasn’t going to the academy, Bai Shan no longer stayed in the Book Collection Tower to read. He borrowed two books and came out. returning home with Bai Erlang.
Bai Shan handed Manbao one of the borrowed books, saying, "They don’t have the book you were looking for on planting peonies and orchids."
"How many shelves have you looked at?"
"I’ve searched through the shelves on the first floor. Not a single one. So I asked Mr. Wu, and Mr. Wu said there’s no such book in the Book Collection Tower. He hasn’t even heard of such a book."
"Although planting peonies and orchids is picturesque, no one has ever written a book about it. There are articles appraising orchids and peonies, but they are few as well. Would you like to see them?" Bai Shan said, "If you want to read them, I’ll ask Mr. Wu to help us search."
There were still too many books In the Book Collection Tower. and he had looked through too few. so finding such niche articles required Mr. Wu’s assistance.
Manbao also wanted to see how people of the time appreciated orchids and peonies. She wanted to make money from this, so she needed to see what kind of flowers the people liked and wanted.
Nothing worth having comes without effort.
Bai Shan took note of this matter and asked, "The teacher went out to socialize today; what did you read at home this afternoon?"
"I didn’t read," answered Manbao.
Bai Shan didn’t believe her, "If you weren’t reading, what were you doing?"
"I was researching peonies," Manbao said.
Bai Shan couldn’t help but hiss in surprise, "You’re really getting into flowers?"
"I feel that growing flowers brings in money quickly; it’s the best method I’ve found and can do at the moment."
Bai Shan still couldn’t quite understand, "Shouldn’t we be focusing more on solving the case right now, and using the remaining energy for learning?"
Manbao seriously said, "I am doing both those things. Speaking of which, has Erji come yet?"
Bai Shan shook his head, also somewhat worried, "He hasn’t come yet."
Both of them looked at Daji, who lowered his eyes without speaking.
Manbao and Bai Shan, although anxious at heart, did not dare to visit County Magistrate Tang in the County Governmental Office too frequently without him giving any sign, and even less dared to mention this matter outside.
After all, this was under the Prince of Yizhou’s jurisdiction.
However, Manbao, in order to upgrade Keke and expand its scanning range, was very dedicated to learning and researching every day.
For example, the next day she took some money to the flower market and bought the flowers that Keke had scanned and had not yet recorded. Then she entered her space, carefully took the flowers out of their pots, and handed them over to Keke for separate recording.
As Keke recorded the plants and clumps of soil, it asked, "Host, why are you taking so much trouble to remove the plants from their pots?"
It thought that handing over everything for it to record was much more convenient.
Manbao said, "Because I need the flower pots."
With that, she picked out two pots of just the right size and transferred the moutan peony that she had bought from the mall the day before from its crude pot to her own. After adding soil to the gaps and watering it a bit, it was almost done.
Keke had never expected its host to be so frugal, fully inheriting the habits of the Zhou Family.
As Manbao labored, she murmured, "It’s really too expensive. The flower you liked was a full twelve taels. If my dad knew I spent the price of four oxen on a pot of flowers, he’d definitely die of anger."
Keke remained silent.
Manbao continued, "However, if my dad knew that someone spent sixty-six oxen to buy two pots of flowers from me, he’d die of happiness."
"But they bought the flowers because they know the joy in it, while I can’t appreciate that joy. So, I’d still rather spend my money on buying medicinal herbs. Three plants of medicinal herbs surely don’t cost twelve taels, right?" Manbao rambled on as she planted the peony and sighed, "It’s a pity the herbalists haven’t replied yet, and I suppose it will take them some time to find the herbs."
Speaking thus, Manbao left her room for her study, and after she finished all of today’s lessons, she turned down Daji’s invitation and sneaked out of the house.
Mr. Zhuang, sitting in front of the window, could not help but frown when he saw this.
He asked the cook bringing in the tea, "Has Manbao been running out frequently these past few days when I wasn’t at home?"
"Yes, I’ve seen Miss Man at the flower market several times, looking at flowers for sale," the cook said with a smile. "Miss Man has liked flowers and plants since she was little, and she hasn’t changed even now. But Miss Man is very good at managing the household, she only looks and doesn’t buy."
Mr. Zhuang felt a pinch of heartache as he listened.
Who knew that just as the cook had praised her so, Manbao let someone carry two potted plants back home within half an hour.
Bai Shan, having returned home some time ago and about to go out to look for Manbao, gaped when he saw the large potted moutan peonies being carried in.
Bai Shan asked, "Did you strike it rich?"
Was she really able to afford two pots of such fine peonies?
But Manbao misinterpreted his question, pointing at the two pots of flowers and said, "One pot is eight hundred taels, two pots make it sixteen hundred taels. I did strike it rich."
Bai Shan calmed down a bit, touched her forehead, and said, "You’re not feverish, are you?"
Manbao dodged his hand, "I’m not."
"Then why are you dreaming in broad daylight? These aren’t yaohuang or moutan peony, how could they possibly be worth so much?"
"One of the flower shops in the flower market priced them that way."
Bai Erlang was astonished, "Really, or for show?"
Bai Shan: "For show!"