NABC Chapter 176 The well-fed don't know the hunger of the starving.
Chapter 176 The well-fed don't know the hunger of the starving.
Song Jiaojiao put Wang Ziyi's words out of her mind as soon as she heard them. She didn't care what the Xiao family was like. Her only worry now was that big man. She didn't know if the government could take him down.
After saying goodbye to Wang Ziyi, Song Jiaojiao had no interest in shopping anymore. She thought that she had stayed in the prefectural government for so many days and it was time to leave.
"Young Master Song, Wenxiang Pavilion just came to say that the flower you wanted will be auctioned tomorrow." The innkeeper quickly relayed the message from Wenxiang Pavilion when he saw Song Jiaojiao return.
"Okay, I understand." Song Jiaojiao nodded.
I thought Wenxiang Pavilion wasn't planning to sell that potted flower. Song Jiaojiao didn't react much. She had collected some seeds today and now just wanted to plant them in her space to see if it could upgrade the space.
More than a month has passed since Flying Tiger mentioned the timeframe last time. If it doesn't work this time, who knows how much time will be wasted on the road.
"Mom, you're back!" Mu Xue skipped over, her two little buns bouncing with her movements, the silver butterfly ornaments on them shimmering in the sunlight, looking just like real ones.
Song Jiaojiao squatted down and gently pinched Mu Xue's nose. "Where did Mu Xue go to play today?"
"I went to the east side of the city today. There are so many books there. Look, I also bought a painting. I'll give it to Sister Bai when I get back."
Mu Xue showed the painting she had bought to Song Jiaojiao. It was a painting of a man playing the zither in front of the rising sun. The hazy quality of the painting added a lot of mystery to it.
"Yes, your sister Bai will definitely like it. Okay, go play!" Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.
Back in her room, the first thing she did upon entering her spatial dimension was to plant cherries there. Song Jiaojiao loved these sweet and sour fruits, but the cherries in this basket were far too sour. If she ate them like this, she probably wouldn't even be able to chew tofu by evening.
The cherry tree was planted, but there was no reaction. Taking out the orange-red seeds, Song Jiaojiao couldn't even tell what they were. She scattered them directly into the soil, and before she could react, she was expelled from the space. Her hand was still in the position of scattering seeds.
………………
"Host, the space is upgrading." Flying Tiger's voice came from my mind, and it was easy to tell that it was excited.
"I'm saying, could you at least give me a heads-up next time? You always kick people out so ruthlessly," Song Jiaojiao said speechlessly.
"Host, this is the setting of the space, there's nothing I can do about it!" Fei Hu said helplessly, with a hint of schadenfreude in his words.
Song Jiaojiao: ………………
Fortunately, this trip to the prefecture was not in vain. At least now we don't have to rush to catch our way and can enjoy the scenery along the way.
Now that she was relaxed, Song Jiaojiao decided to go to Wenxiang Pavilion the next day. The flower was indeed beautiful, and if the price was right, she would take it.
The next day,
When Song Jiaojiao led Xu Sen out and arrived at Wenxiang Pavilion, there were already many carriages parked outside.
Song Jiaojiao told Xu Sen to wait for her outside, and went in alone.
The same maid greeted him as before, "Young Master Song, you've arrived. The auction is upstairs, please follow me."
The maid led Song Jiaojiao to the pavilion. The pavilion of Wenxiang Pavilion was openwork like a pavilion, surrounded by light gauze. There were many potted plants around the pavilion, all with flowers in full bloom, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.
There were already quite a few people on it, both men and women. Because it was designed as a pavilion, what the people on it were doing could be clearly seen from the street. There was no distinction between men and women, which relieved Song Jiaojiao.
Everyone else was in groups of two or three, which made Song Jiaojiao seem a bit independent, traveling alone.
With the arrival of the last guest, the owner of Wenxiang Pavilion finally made an appearance.
"Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend Wenxiang Pavilion's auction. Yingying thanks you all." It is common knowledge in the prefecture that the owner of Wenxiang Pavilion is a woman.
"Miss Yingying, please don't stand on ceremony. Everyone is here for Fairy Lingbo, so please start quickly!" A young man waving a fan said with a smile.
Yingying smiled gently and clapped her hands twice. The maid in the shop then carried up the narcissus that Song Jiaojiao had seen last time and placed it on the table that had been prepared in advance.
The pink flowers were in full bloom, even more beautiful than the ones Song Jiaojiao had seen last time.
The flower stalks, adorned with blossoms, sway in the wind, truly resemble a graceful fairy in flight.
"This is the Lingbo Fairy, which took three years to bloom." Everyone crowded forward, afraid of missing a single glance.
“Miss Yingying, name your price. I’ll take this flower today,” said a plump old man adorned with gold and silver jewels.
"Everyone, this Water Lily was painstakingly cultivated by Yingying day and night. She felt that such a beautiful flower shouldn't be enjoyed by herself alone, so she gathered everyone here."
Knowing that all of you are flower lovers, Yingying won't say much more. The rules are clear to everyone: highest bidder wins. The starting bid for Fairy Lingbo is 100 taels of silver.
As soon as Yingying finished speaking, everyone started making bids.
"I'll offer 110 taels."
"150 taels."
"200 taels of silver. Nobody can compete with me for this Fairy Lingbo today. I'm going to have her."
"You think you can win over Fairy Lingbo with just 200 taels? Master Xiao's business is not doing well lately. I'll offer 300 taels."
…………
Watching everyone argue so heatedly over a single flower, Song Jiaojiao couldn't understand it at all. It was just a daffodil, was it really worth it?
Song Jiaojiao had indeed lost interest, and in the end, the Lingbo Fairy was sold to the fat old man dressed as a nouveau riche for 860 taels of silver.
This price is more expensive than all the plants and seeds she bought. It's true that the well-fed don't know the hunger of the starving. People here can spend a fortune on a single flower, while farmers spend all day in the fields just to have something to eat.
Seeing that there was nothing interesting about it, Song Jiaojiao left early.
Once on the carriage, Xu Sen was asked to go to the cloth shop to buy some needles and thread, as the gold leaves they had recently acquired had not yet been sewn into their clothes.
I bought a lot of pastries to snack on on the way.
"Xu Sen, let's go back. Did you buy everything you needed for the journey yesterday?"
"Reporting to Madam, only dry rations remain to be purchased; everything else has been prepared," Xu Sen said.
"Okay, let's stay one more day tomorrow, and then we'll set off the day after tomorrow!" Song Jiaojiao thought that she didn't have anything else to do, and she had already toured almost the entire prefecture, so it was time to leave.
Back at the inn, Song Jiaojiao informed everyone about the matter, and Mu Xue was overjoyed.
She had already explored the entire prefectural government in the past two days and was now bored. Fortunately, it was time to set off.
"Xiaoxiao, later you sew the gold leaf into the young lady's inner garment and the silver leaf into your own inner garment. In case something unexpected happens later, at least you'll have some money to spare."
Give some more to your brother and the others, and let them figure out how to hide it well on their person.