Pastoral Daily Life

Chapter 20

The power of nature, the reward given by the panel when he had saved the clivia; Lu Lingxi had explored it for a long time, trying to figure out what exactly the power of nature was. He did not expect to discover the use of the power of nature at this time.

Facing the prompt on the panel, Lu Lingxi did not immediately make a choice. Did he want to save it? Of course he did, but he did not dare to save it now. He didn’t know how the panel would save it, and in case there was too much commotion and the wild spring orchid was saved in front of everyone, he would probably be dragged off to be studied as a monster.

As he hesitated, the old men squatting on the ground picked and chose and took away a few plants that did not appear to be completely “dead”. They didn’t pick up the orchid with the broken roots, obviously not hopeful that it could be saved at all.

Su Weizheng also knelt down to pick it up with interest, and while doing so, he said to Lu Lingxi, “Don’t look at some of these flowers that look like they are dying. They can be saved if they are lucky enough to meet an expert. Come and take a look at them too, some of them are really pitiful.”

Lu Lingxi obediently squatted beside Su Weizheng, keeping his attention on the spring orchid with broken roots.

Su Weizheng quickly noticed Lu Lingxi’s gaze and smiled, “What? Xiao Lu wants to try?”

Lu Lingxi nodded and carefully picked up the spring orchid.

Orchids are plants with tenacious vitality, and sometimes they can grow new roots even after their roots are broken. But this orchid looked drooping, otherwise the guys before him wouldn’t have left it behind without picking it up. But Lu Lingxi was young and vigorous; Su Weizheng looked at him as if he were his own grandchild. At this time he would not say anything to pour cold water on him. Instead, he joked, “Xiao Lu has ambition. If you bring this spring orchid back to life, you must let the old man take a good look at it, I will also learn from it.”

Lu Lingxi nodded seriously. With the panel’s tips, it should definitely be possible to raise it.

Because of this spring orchid, Lu Lingxi’s attention was no longer on the flower market, and he just thought about going back as soon as possible to save the spring orchid. But Su Weizheng had asked him to come to the flower market and they were only halfway through, so Lu Lingxi was too embarrassed to say he was leaving now. Su Weizheng noticed what he was thinking and suggested with a smile that the two of them should stop here for today. He was getting old and could not walk anymore, so they could continue next time.

Lu Lingxi was a little embarrassed, “Grandpa Su…”

Su Weizheng smiled, “Go, go. I can catch up with Su Lang if I go back now. If that brat didn’t go out, I’ll bring him some breakfast.”

Lu Lingxi had not thought of Su Lang for a while and always thought that Su Lang returned to Zhongjing. It was a bit strange. “Dr. Su did not return to Zhongjing?”

Su Weizheng shook his head, “The brat resigned. Now he’s joined some kind of volunteer organisation for leukaemia and is out running around every day without coming home.” Although his tone seemed to be complaining, Su Weizheng was actually quite happy in his heart. In the past, when Su Lang was in Zhongjing, the two of them would not see each other more than a few times a year. Now Su Lang stayed in Fengcheng; although he ran outside every day, he had to go home late at night, so they could see each other almost every day.

“Resigned?” Lu Lingxi heard that Grandpa Su was quite satisfied with Su Lang’s current job, but he wondered why Su Lang had resigned. The Lu family was so powerful that when he and his brother were first hospitalised, the hospital had specially arranged a team of experts to be in charge of his brother’s treatment throughout the whole process. Su Lang was one of these experts. Lu Lingxi had heard the little nurse mention in private that although Su Lang was young, he had experience studying abroad and was highly valued by the hospital, one of the hospital’s key targets for training. Arranging him into the expert group was also to pave the way for future development. Why should he resign with such a good future?

Su Weizheng remembered the reason why Su Lang resigned, sighed and said vaguely, “A patient under his care had an accident. He was affected by it and couldn’t pass the hurdle in his heart, so he quit.”

“Oh.” Lu Lingxi could see that Grandpa Su was not willing to talk about it, so he did not continue with the topic. He didn’t really associate this incident with himself, he just felt quite sorry for Su Lang.

The two separated at the entrance of the flower market; Su Weizheng’s home and Tiny Garden were not in the same direction. Lu Lingxi watched Su Weizheng walk away before taking Dahei to jog all the way back to Tiny Garden. After closing the door, Lu Lingxi carefully placed the broken-rooted spring orchid on the table.

The white panel surfaced again. The plant is dead, consumes the power of nature to save it?

Lu Lingxi was about to click “yes” when he suddenly thought of Dahei. What if the panel caused too much movement and scared Dahei? He looked down at Dahei, who was crouching at his feet, quietly watching him. Lu Lingxi hesitated for a few seconds whether to shut Dahei out, squatted down and stroked Dahei’s head, seriously admonishing, “Be good, hide behind me, something strange might happen later. Don’t be afraid.”

Who knows whether Dahei understood Lu Lingxi’s words. He rubbed against Lu Lingxi’s palm, gave a low bark and quietly lay down on the floor.

Lu Lingxi smiled and carefully chose “yes” on the panel. His heart surged. How would the panel save the spring orchid? Would it suddenly emit a white light like in a sci-fi movie? Or would the orchid suddenly disappear and reappear with its roots already intact? All sorts of strange and weird thoughts flashed through Lu Lingxi’s mind, but the reality was – nothing happened.

Lu Lingxi: “……”

He stared at the spring orchid for a long time, and really nothing happened. There was no white light, no green light or any light at all, and the spring orchid didn’t suddenly disappear. Undeterred, Lu Lingxi scanned it again and the information on the panel about the spring orchid changed. Lu Lingxi couldn’t help but freeze as he glanced at it.

Plant name: Wild Spring Orchid

Plant needs: Rooting

Plant viability: Very low

Lu Lingxi’s gaze swept over the plant needs and plant viability. He was a little disappointed but on second thought it seemed that this was the way it should be. It had been nearly a month since he had discovered the panel, and although he still couldn’t figure out exactly what the panel was, he probably had some guesses. The panel was still fundamentally an aid, it wouldn’t function too much against nature. Combined with the previous sentence, Lu Lingxi thought that the panel’s so-called “save” probably meant that the spring orchid was alive again and no longer in a dead state, but whether he could eventually raise it or not would still depend on his efforts.

After thinking about this clearly, Lu Lingxi quickly got busy. Although the orchid’s roots were severely broken, as long as there was life there was still a ray of hope. He remembered that in general, when orchids had few roots or the roots were not too severely broken, there was a special method of “drawing out the roots”. First of all, the orchid needed to be cleaned, especially the roots, and thoroughly disinfected. After disinfection, wrap the orchid’s broken roots in water moss to create a clean, aerated, moist and fertiliser-free environment for the orchid’s roots. After this, place the orchid in a ventilated place out of direct sunlight. In a few days the orchid’s new roots would slowly grow out. Once the roots had grown well, it would be just as if the absorption function of a human body was restored; then the orchid could be given nutrients gradually until it was completely revived.

Both the disinfectant cleaning solution and the water moss were available in Tiny Garden. Lu Lingxi first adjusted the disinfectant solution in the right proportion, then soaked the dried water moss in water and waited for it to thoroughly absorb the water. Only after the preparatory work was done did he start to carefully clean the orchid.

By the time Tiny Garden opened its doors at nine o’clock, the broken-root spring orchid had been carefully wrapped in water moss and placed not far from the doorway to ensure that it would not be exposed to sunlight but would have enough air and light.

The white panel quickly appeared. The treatment of the wild spring orchid was successful, reward +1 plant heart.

It was just a plant heart, not the power of nature. As soon as the thought flashed by, Lu Lingxi couldn’t help but laugh, feeling that he was too greedy. Last time he saved the clivia, he got a little bonus of the power of nature unexpectedly, and after discovering that the power of nature was so special, he couldn’t help but look forward to it this time too. Thinking about it was really too greedy. To him, being able to bring this wild spring orchid back to life was already the biggest reward of all.

Lu Lingxi always remembered Su Weizheng’s remark that this spring orchid, when raised well, could be worth three hundred thousand when it bloomed.

Three hundred thousand… Lu Lingxi in the past had no concept of money at all; he did not need to spend money nor did he have a place to spend it. After this experience of being reborn, Lu Lingxi had realized the importance of money, and three hundred thousand was definitely a huge amount of money for him now. With this money, he could open his own little gardening shop and run it during the day and enrol in a study class at night. Wang Shuxiu could also quit her job and not have to work so hard. Or they could sell the house and go to another city, without having to worry about Lu Yishui continuing to pester them after losing money again.

Lu Lingxi stared at the spring orchid and imagined the bright future ahead. He turned his head to see Dahei, smiled and stroked his head, “Dahei, keep an eye on this spring orchid, all your chicken legs will depend on it in the future.”

Dahei narrowed his eyes and moved forward a few steps, lying at the foot of the table where the spring orchid was placed.

Lu Lingxi: “……”

At lunchtime, Lu Lingxi told Dong Zhi funny stories about Dahei, especially the bun incident in the morning. He was the first to laugh before he finished speaking. Dahei had really brought him a lot of joy since he was around.

Lu Lingxi was laughing when Yan Yue pushed the door and walked in. At the first glance, his attention was completely caught by Lu Lingxi’s smile, and the parched feeling inside him instantly disappeared, as if a clear spring washed him from head to toes, his whole body getting cool and clear.

“Mr. Yan.”

After riding in Yan Yue’s car once, Lu Lingxi felt they were familiar and immediately greeted him with a smile.

Lu Lingxi’s greeting was like the charming song of the siren. Yan Yue took two uncontrollable steps in Lu Lingxi’s direction, his heart desperately clamouring to get closer, closer. Fortunately, what was left of his self-control restrained the behaviour of his legs, and Yan Yue stopped a step away from the young man.

“Are you here to see Dahei?” Lu Lingxi asked with a smile in his eyes, unaware of Yan Yue’s odd behaviour.

This close, the boy looked at him intently. Yan Yue could see his own figure in the boy’s dark, clear eyes, and his heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. So much so that he didn’t even hear the boy’s question and just looked at him steadily.

“Dahei!” Lu Lingxi called out to Dahei with a tilt of his head.

Dahei, who had been lying at the doorway being completely ignored by Yan Yue, wagged his tail, slowly got up and walked over to squat in front of Yan Yue.

The dog and the man looked at each other for a long time, and then Dahei barked at Yan Yue in a low voice.

The corners of Yan Yue’s mouth curled up unconsciously. Stupid dog.

After seeing the boy and patiently staring at Dahei for half an hour, Yan Yue could not find a reason to stay any longer. As soon as he left, Dong Zhi hesitantly looked at Lu Lingxi, remembering a rumour he had heard last night when he was eating nearby.