"Speaking of Sichuan, this callia was actually brought from there," unlike Zhu Shijun, Bai Juyi seems different; living alone for decades without anyone to talk to, now that he is running out of oil and the lamp is dimming, he instead wants to talk more. But every ti he speaks, that thick phlegm with a bloody taste surges up his throat.
"Okay, Mr. Bai, I’ll listen to you, take your ti," Xiao Xian sat by the bed.
"Hehe, good kid, don’t mind my ramblings. She used to always complain that I talked too much," Bai Juyi began talking about the past. Every elderly person has a common affliction—liking to talk about the good old days—but Bai Juyi’s reminiscences actually had so substance to them.
From Bai Juyi’s story, Xiao Xian learned that Bai Juyi was from Xiangtan, lost his father at a young age, went to Yunnan with his mother, and started working in horticulture at the age of six, starting from a soil prep worker, to a pruning master, and later to a gardener.
"Actually, there’s not much to talk about in my life. I’ve only been in one profession for decades, even for pruning flowers and branches I’ve only ever used one pair of scissors. Do you know which flower I am best at growing?" After speaking for a while, Old Man Bai felt relieved, and his complexion seed to improve a bit.
Xiao Xian glanced at the pot of callia. To say it was a callia seed incorrect. That pot of "Red Powder Eighteen Students" looked pretty nice, but from Xiao Xian’s discerning eyes, accustod to seeing exotic flowers and rare herbs, it was not the most coveted. Bai Juyi... "Could it be chrysanthemums?" With the character for chrysanthemum right in the na, it should be a chrysanthemum, right?
"Ha ha... cough cough, many people guess the sa as you, thinking it’s chrysanthemum. Actually, the na Bai Juyi was changed for by my master back then. There were five of us studying horticulture together: Plum, Orchid, Pine, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum. I was the last to join, hence I took the character for chrysanthemum. My real na is Bai Juyi, but my master thought it sounded too literary, so he changed one character," Old Man Bai’s eyes shone with delight as he recounted his learning experience from those years.
As the enjoyable conversation went on, Zhuo Feng ca in. She had brought so porridge earlier, but seeing that Old Man Bai had little appetite, she went out to buy a bunch of bananas. Seeing Xiao Xian present and Old Man Bai talking and laughing, her face, slightly pale from days of toil and running around, brightened with a smile.
"What are you guys talking about so happily? Why is there a pot of callia here, it looks so familiar, isn’t this the callia from Old Man Bai’s house the other day? That’s not right, this pot of flowers grows really uniquely, Eighteen Scholars?" That day, when Zhuo Feng ca downstairs upon hearing sothing, she saw the potted plants in Bai Juyi’s house as well. Not having ti to marvel, she clashed with those villains. Zhuo Feng studied agriculture in college, and her family has maintained a garden at ho since her grandfather’s generation, where they also grew a few white callias known as "Lion’s Roar."
As a child, she heard her grandfather ntion a precious variety of callia called "Eighteen Scholars", yet she never had the chance to see it. By a twist of fate, she saw it in the hands of an old neighbor whom she didn’t get along with.
"Didn’t expect you to understand as well, Zhuo Miss. Rather than let that kid sell all my plants, I’d rather give them to you. About the past, I was wrong, being cantankerous and not wishing others well. This is the key to my house; it’ll trouble you to move out any potted plants that catch your eye from my room. Whether to sell or give away, it’s up to you to handle." Bai Juyi did not talk about why he ended up moving from Yunnan to Beijing, nor why he lived a lonely life.
Upon hearing this, Zhuo Feng did not dare to agree, insisting on refusing, as each plant Xiao Xian randomly picked up was an "Eighteen Scholars"; Bai Juyi was too generous.
"Take it, if I rember correctly, this callia originally had a Late Qing porcelain pot paired with it. That brute knows nothing about flowers, it would be undersold if sold at all, better to give it to soone who cares about planting. If you really feel awkward about it, just fulfill an old man’s request," Bai Juyi was a flower enthusiast, thinking of those who only knew to asure his precious plants with money, his heart felt uncomfortable.
Xiao Xian repeated the events of encountering those people and the callia being smashed, then being put into a foam box, as Zhuo Feng listened and frowned along, weighing her options and finally taking the old man’s key.
As for Old Man Bai Juyi’s request, it was simple; just asking them to find a daffodil pot in his house while moving the flowers, and a daffodil bulb that had been dried on the balcony corner.
After leaving Old Man Bai’s hospital room, Zhuo Feng and Xiao Xian chatted again. The old man had since laid back down on the bed. His previous vitality was like a fleeting blossom. Bai Juyi looked over at the empty bed beside him; the bedsheet had already been changed, revealing a sterile scent through its whiteness.
"Little miss, what I’m best at isn’t callias or chrysanthemums. I’m best at horticultural pruning. My days are numbered, and that ’Shen Zhou Daffodil’ bulb will probably never have the chance to break through the soil. My dear partner, I have still failed to et your expectations," Bai Juyi’s heart palpitated wildly, covering his mouth with his hand as it coughed softly.
He felt warmth on his hand; spreading his palm open, there was a pool of Heart Blood. The deep red color was like a chrysanthemum blooming in autumn.
After asking Xiao Xian about recent happenings, Zhuo Feng brought up Old Man Bai’s situation, "Sigh, I’ve asked around, and he has no relatives. His partner seems to have passed away many years ago, he never remarried, nor did he have any children. I think he doesn’t have much ti left."
"Aunt, we can’t just let Old Man Bai pass away like this. The flower pots he talked about, we should help find them, and those potted plants, I feel those are also a concern for Old Man Bai; we absolutely cannot let those bad people ruin those flowers." After returning ho, Feng Xing had also co back from work.
The three of them discussed and decided to organize all of the flowers from Old Man Bai’s ho before that unfilial nephew of his could co over. As for the daffodil bulb and pot, they’d deliver them to Old Man Bai in the morning.
Upon reaching the downstairs door, turning on the light as they opened it, all three were stunned.
**
Thank you "Fen Shou" for the pair of pink tickets, a dicine that relieves fatigue~ Hiding in the corner with a sneaky grin, the extra update credited with twenty pinks will be tomorrow; I’m a bit stuck with the text.
The extra update will be around three in the afternoon, and the other three watches will be at the usual tis. I was planning to read the stocked good books on my shelf this weekend, but now I can only wait for the National Day vacation with my tiny handkerchief. Thank you again for your support. (To be continued. If you like this work, welco to send your recomndation tickets, monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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