Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 5

Cui Xiyun gave Jiang Rui a few bags of flower seeds. She felt that this boy, who seemed so obedient, was also very thoughtful. No one knew exactly what had happened with the Clivia, but it was clear that Jiang Rui had something to do with it. Cui Xiyun wanted to thank the boy properly, but if the gift was too valuable, it would look like the Zhou family was being too distant and trying to pay off a debt, which would be inappropriate. She couldn’t pretend nothing had happened either, and she was at a loss for what to give Jiang Rui.

At this time, Jiang Rui asked for a few bags of good flower seeds. Whether he had an ulterior motive or was simply acting like a child who wanted something, it saved Cui Xiyun a lot of trouble. She had many good seeds in her possession; they weren’t particularly valuable, and since her sister-in-law was in the flower business, they had no shortage of them. Yet, they weren’t cheap either. The seeds of rare flowers could be more expensive than the flowers themselves, and some weren’t even sold to the public. They were the perfect gift of thanks.

After getting the seeds, Jiang Rui spent a few days clearing a piece of land near the wooden house in the Secret Realm and built a flower garden. Fortunately, he could use his cultivation techniques freely in the Secret Realm, which made the work incredibly easy.

These seeds were different from the withered Clivia. Each one was full of life. It didn’t take long for them to show signs of sprouting after being planted in the Profound Soil.

Among them, a single peony sprouted the fastest and grew much better than the other flowers.

Whenever he had free time, Jiang Rui would enter the space to tend to the flowers and meditate. To meticulously care for these flowers, Jiang Rui specifically found a jade slip about cultivating flowers and trees in the wooden house’s Scripture Library, titled The Classic of Plants.

The Classic of Plants contained extensive knowledge of countless plants, including their appearance, cultivation methods, and effects. Many common flowers from the modern world were also included.

Jiang Rui didn’t plan on becoming a flower farmer, so he just skimmed The Classic of Plants and focused on memorizing the knowledge about flowers like peonies, chrysanthemums, and orchids in the garden.

The flowers in the Secret Realm were nurtured by spiritual soil and the surrounding spiritual energy. When a plant was mature and had enough spiritual energy, it would bloom. Two months later, except for the first peony that sprouted, all the other flowers, whether their blooming seasons were the same or different, bloomed all at once. The entire garden was a sea of flowers, with spiritual bees buzzing and flying among the blossoms.

Jiang Rui was very curious about that one peony. He had thought that he made a mistake while caring for it, but after examining it with his spiritual consciousness, he found that there was nothing wrong with the peony. He still couldn’t figure out why it hadn’t bloomed.

Looking at his garden filled with a hundred flowers in full bloom, Jiang Rui’s smile was as gentle as jade.

Which one should I sell first?

After a few small exams, Jiang Rui had solidified his position in the top ten, and he rarely fell out of the top five. It wasn’t that he lacked the ability. In fact, he had used the money his uncle had given him to buy high school textbooks in Qing City and had been studying them. The knowledge for middle school was no longer a challenge for him. However, he preferred to play dumb and act weak rather than being too flashy.

Jiang Rui finished fifth in the final exam. Even so, Jiang Jianjun and He Fulan were ecstatic. Their son’s homeroom teacher said that while Jiang Rui’s grades weren’t the absolute best, he was consistent. Second year of middle school introduced physics, and the difficulty of all subjects increased. With the pressure of entering the third year, everyone’s grades fluctuated wildly. Some students who used to always rank first would sometimes drop out of the top ten. There were very few students like Jiang Rui who could consistently stay in the top ten.

Zhou Yang’s grades had regressed a lot, dropping out of the top twenty and placing him in the middle to low range. He was better at liberal arts, and science subjects always pulled his scores down, which made Cui Xiyun very worried.

Jiang Rui couldn’t change Zhou Yang’s aptitude for science, but he could teach him some tricks for doing problems. Every weekend, Jiang Rui went to Zhou Yang’s house to tutor him. In her gratitude, Cui Xiyun often gave Jiang Rui things that others had given her, such as tonics and high-end cigarettes and wine, to take home to his parents.

Jiang Rui refused a few times but eventually accepted them, planning to send Cui Xiyun some of the honey once his beehive was built and the first batch was ready for sale.

Jiang Rui had already placed two pots of ordinary flowers from the Secret Realm in his parents’ room, but they were blooming exceptionally well. He Fulan didn’t know much about flowers and didn’t think much of it, assuming her son had just dug up some wildflowers from somewhere. She was delighted and praised her son.

The two of them, inhaling the scent of the flowers every day, found their physical and mental health improving. He Fulan’s insomnia hadn’t returned in a long time, and Jiang Jianjun’s minor lung problems had also gotten much better recently.

However, neither of them attributed it to the flowers. They just thought it was because things at home were going smoothly, and they were in good spirits.

Because the spiritual bees came from the Secret Realm, Jiang Rui didn’t know the exact number, and since there weren’t many near the flower garden, he only built one beehive. The spiritual bees had a short honey-producing cycle and a good yield. Half a month later in the outside world, the beehive produced its first batch of honey, which was about fifty kilograms.

Before Jiang Rui could figure out how to sell the honey, Cui Xiyun showed up at his house.

Jiang Rui’s parents knew about Cui Xiyun. She was the mother of their son’s classmate, a city dweller who was very generous and often had her son bring high-end goods back for them. The couple felt very bad about it, but their son said that the Zhou family had too many of those things to use, and it was the perfect fee for the tutoring. Although the Jiangs hadn’t met Cui Xiyun before, they had always had a good impression of her.

Cui Xiyun had clearly come for a reason, but it seemed like she was hesitant to bring it up. Seeing this, Jiang Rui suggested that he take her on a walk around the village.

“Auntie Cui, did you come here to ask me something?” Jiang Rui walked beside Cui Xiyun with his head down. His long, thick eyelashes created a particularly obedient look.

The teenager beside her, around fourteen or fifteen, hadn’t fully matured yet, but she could already see the gentle and refined man he would become. His skin was as white and flawless as beautiful jade. From head to toe, he was exquisite.

Jiang Rui had a good temper, was intelligent, sensible, and meticulous. He was neither servile nor overbearing in his interactions. Cui Xiyun found it hard to imagine how outstanding this boy would be ten years from now.

“Auntie came here to ask you something,” Cui Xiyun’s voice was gentle.

Jiang Rui nodded. “Please don’t be so polite, Auntie Cui. What is it?”

Cui Xiyun said, “It’s about the Clivia. After you brought it back, it slowly started to recover. My sister-in-law took it home not long ago, and now it’s growing even better than it was before.”

Jiang Rui had a vague guess as to what she was going to ask. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for for a long time.

“My sister-in-law originally treated this Clivia as a treasure and wouldn’t sell it, but because of some financial issues, she sold it at a high price a few days ago. Not long after, the buyer suddenly came back, saying he wanted to buy another one just like it. A rare Clivia isn’t that easy to find. My sister-in-law finally managed to get one from a friend and sent it to him, but the buyer said this one was too different from the previous one, and not nearly as good. My sister-in-law’s Clivia was good, but it couldn’t compare to her friend’s. My sister-in-law has a quick temper and almost got into an argument with him. When I heard about this, you were the first person I thought of. As a flower lover, I know that people don’t reveal their cultivation secrets to outsiders, and I respect that. I won’t pressure you, but if you can, Auntie would like to ask you for a favor.”

Cui Xiyun’s words were very clear.

Jiang Rui was silent for a moment before he said, “Can I meet the buyer?”

Cui Xiyun was stunned for a second, then smiled. “Of course. I understand. Flowers and people both need fate, especially a good flower.”