Chapter 199: Rare Plants
At this moment, the purchase for the neighbouring house had been settled and Zhou Wenzhi’s family had occupied that house.
Zhou Defeng glanced at his son who had just recovered from his wounds. His recovery was incredibly quick.
Now, Zhou Yanchao could even move around to water the plants.
"Yanchao," Zhou Defeng called out to his son, who immediately turned over to look at him curiously.
"Father, what’s the matter?" Zhou Yanchao saw his father’s confused and complicated expression.
Zhou Defeng pointed to the potted flower plants which were on the verge of dying a few days earlier. He couldn’t believe that these plants all had dried leaves just a few days ago.
"Did you do something to the plants?"
Upon hearing that, Zhou Yanchao immediately went over to check it one by one. "They look healthy. There doesn’t seem to be any problem..."
He twitched his mouth and reminded his son. "Did you remember who these plants looked like before you got beaten up?"
Zhou Yanchao pursed his lips. Why did his father have to bring up his embarrassing moment? But then his eyes fell on the potted plants.
There were orchids and some peonies. The orchid ones were just recently purchased from some hunters who had found them in the woods.
They were the kind of rare orchids that could fetch a high price if their family could take care of it carefully, but then, a few days later, the plants seemed to have undergone some stress and began to show some signs of disease.
Perhaps the hunter who was inexperienced with plants had handled it wrong.
Zhou Defeng also didn’t have much hope for them. He just treated it as his loss that he had bought them with a considerable amount of money and they ended up dying.
"Father, aren’t those the orchids we bought from that hunter?" Zhou Yanchao finally remembered. His eyes were wide in surprise.
He pointed at the peonies. "These peonies are also rare varieties. We thought they weren’t suitable for the environment here, but..."
Zhou Defeng nodded, and his eyes were full of scrutiny. "You didn’t do something?"
"Father, what could I have done?" Zhou Yanchao said helplessly. "I was beaten up, remember? I only went out to water the plants today."
They were already hopeless at these plants, so they didn’t check them much. Unexpectedly, the moment they checked them again, these plants were thriving healthily.
Each orchid and peony was lush and green, still fresh with the droplets from watering.
Zhou Defeng stroked his beard, and he remembered that it was the Xiao family who had been taking care of the plants for the past few days.
They had just moved out a day ago, but this morning, they still came to water the plants. They were so enthusiastic, especially the youngest one.
She was so optimistic about these plants, even the dying ones. Could it be related to them?
"Father, have you figured it out?" Zhou Yanchao asked eagerly. He also wanted to find out.
From the ever changing expressions on his father’s face, he guessed that he must have guessed the reason.
If they could find a way to revive such plants, they wouldn’t need to be picky and could buy all the rare plants. After all, the chances of them surviving would be higher.
Zhou Defeng shook his head. "You focus on watering the plants. Do some exercise."
He wanted to ask his clients to see whether they had found out about Xiao Yuyan’s whereabouts. His eyes settled on the snow white orchid in the middle.
It was one of the rarest varieties.
If he offered this one to these nobles as a reward, they might use more of their power to help find Xiao Yuyan’s whereabouts.
After all, such plants were the most suitable gifts they could get if their superior liked such things. He knew that these nobles sometimes buy potted flower plants not for themselves, but as a gift for people with higher rank.
"Son, bring the white orchid to the shop next time."
Besides a few stalls in the market near the outskirts of the Capital, they also had a shop in the deeper area.
Zhou Defeng began to tell his son about what he should do. The latter was taken aback when he heard it, but he still listened carefully.
"Uncle’s family is indeed really pitiful," Zhou Yanchao sighed. "They have been looking for so long and still haven’t found a single clue."
He patted his chest. "Father, don’t worry, I will do as you say. This snow white orchid is highly sought after, so it should be effective."
***
Xiao Yuanwei had heard that the person he was looking for would return this week, so he had sent his subordinates to check on him everyday.
Besides that, he also had been looking for updates from his men about the progress of Xiao Yuyan’s search.
"Master, we have uprooted a few places suspected to sell people in the Capital, but we still haven’t found Miss Xiao Yuyan’s whereabouts." Han Tingxun reported.
Xiao Yuanwei frowned, obviously unhappy.
Not long after, another guard interrupted and reported.
"Master, His Excellency has returned."
Xiao Yuanwei got up and headed to the door with quick steps. Before he passed by the door’s threshold, he turned to Han Tingxun and ordered. "Continue searching."
Han Tingxun nodded seriously at the order.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yuanwei walked toward his carriage, heading toward a certain mansion near the palace.
The place was quiet, a little eerie with a heavy atmosphere despite the fact it looked nothing out of ordinary.
His attendant immediately went to the guards before Xiao Yuanwei was allowed entry. He went toward a certain direction like he had done it many times over.
Upon arriving in a particular courtyard, someone was already waiting for him. He was sipping a cup of tea, unfazed by Xiao Yuanwei’s appearance.
Xiao Yuanwei sat in the chair opposite of him.
"There is a family coming from Hejia Village to the Capital. Are they really my wife and children?"