Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 643: Chapter 640 The Old Flower Farmer

A flower farmer who was riding a tricycle was preparing to close up his stand, but unexpectedly, a small van burst out of the alley and overturned the tricycle.

The flower farmer’s tricycle was carrying several large, old bonsai. With that collision, the bonsai rolled off the cart and fell to the ground, crushing several of them.

The van driver was scared out of his wits and rushed down to check on the farmer’s condition. After seeing that the farmer wasn’t injured, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But the farmer didn’t bother to check whether he was hurt, his eyes fixed on the toppled old plants. He was completely stunned, stumbled off the tricycle in a few steps, and carefully propped up the old bonsai.

Out of four old plants, three were unscathed, but one pot was shattered, and its roots were broken.

Seeing the broken branches and twigs on the ground, the farmer’s hands trembled as he held the old plant, and seeing the sap oozing from its broken roots, his eyes instantly reddened.

”This seems to be a tea plant, right? This old plant looks like it’s been around for many years. It must be worth a lot of money.”

”Indeed, didn’t you see the owner almost crying? A fine old plant gone just like that. How can he not be heartbroken?”

”The loss from this fall must be several thousand, right? It’s no wonder the owner is anxious.”

”Several thousand? Are you joking? Old plants are not like other flowers and plants, breaking a few branches and twigs is like ruining a person’s face, and it’s even harder to repair, not to mention the broken roots. Even if this old tea tree could be saved, it definitely won’t sell for a high price anymore.”

”...”

Onlookers on the street were discussing the incident, and those who knew about such matters began to enlighten the crowd.

Upon hearing this, the van driver’s face turned pale with fright. He was just an ordinary person, and had never encountered such valuable bonsai; he had thought they were worthless trinkets, unaware of their high value.

While this wasn’t entirely the van driver’s fault, he was young and had never faced such a situation, so he panicked and had no idea what to do.

Seeing the van driver’s ashen face, the old farmer, even though he wanted to ask for compensation, simply couldn’t bring himself to do so. He waved his hand to signal the young man to drive off.

It was the simple and kind heart of a rural person; if he had encountered a more difficult individual, they wouldn’t have even talked about compensation but would have fought to take a piece out of that van driver.

Some people clicked their tongues in admiration of the farmer’s good nature, and others gnashed their teeth secretly, cursing the farmer for lacking sense. After all, it was a rare opportunity to take advantage of someone.

Some commended and others regretted, but no matter what the people thought, after all, it was someone else’s affair. Since the farmer didn’t care, naturally, no one else had the right to intervene.

When the van driver saw that the farmer wasn’t holding it against him, he was both ashamed and grateful, apologizing repeatedly. With a relieved expression, he started the van and left in a cloud of dust.

The van driver may have left, but the old man’s painstakingly nurtured old plant was hard to save. He carefully picked up the pieces of the flowerpot, but Huo Sining clearly saw the helplessness and sadness in the old man’s eyes.

At that moment, Huo Sining felt a pang of compassion and couldn’t help but step forward and ask softly, ”Excuse me, sir, are you still selling this old plant?”

The old man jerked his head up upon hearing Huo Sining’s words, his eyes misty with tears, looking at Huo Sining with surprise, ”What did you say, young lady?”

Huo Sining pursed her lips into a smile, her voice unchanged, ”Old sir, are you selling this tea tree?”

The old man glanced at Huo Sining, the shock in his expression faded, and he shook his head, ”I’m not selling this tea tree.”

Huo Sining was taken aback and asked in surprise, ”Why not?”

The old man smiled, but his eyes were filled with bitterness:

”Young lady, this old tree’s roots are damaged; even if you bought it, you wouldn’t be able to keep it alive. I know you mean well, but I don’t need your pity. I’m a businessman, but I am also an honest flower farmer; I can’t betray my conscience for personal gain, I can’t take advantage of a young lady like you.”

Huo Sining was stunned by these words. If her initial inquiry about the price of this tea tree had been out of a sense of compassion, then now she was truly sincere. No matter whether the flower could be saved or not, at least the integrity of this flower farmer was truly admirable.

”Old sir, I know this flower is damaged, and I’m not pitying you. You definitely can’t sell this flower, but you might as well sell it to me.”

Huo Sining paused in her speech, carefully choosing her words before continuing:

”Old sir, I won’t lie to you. The reason I’m trying to pick up a bargain is that I saw you couldn’t save the flower. I am a student at S University, and my teacher is Professor Yan Xuesong from S University Research Institute. He has a way with flowers; if you sell this flower to me, I will take it to our professor to see if he can save it. I think he definitely can.”

Huo Sining felt that since this flower farmer was here at the market, he must be an ordinary person; not to mention he certainly wouldn’t recognize Professor Yan Xuesong. Just mentioning S University and the Research Institute’s professor was enough to daunt the old man.

Huo Sining couldn’t care less about propriety at this point. Under the pretense of being a student of Yan Xuesong, she was determined to buy this old tea tree.

To her surprise, the old man was taken aback by Huo Sining’s words, raising his head to glance at her, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.

This young lady is Yan Xuesong’s disciple? Impossible. When did Yan Xuesong take on new disciples, and how come he didn’t know?

The old man paused, but quickly realized that the young girl must be deceiving him; otherwise, why hadn’t he seen her at the Institute?

Thinking this, a hint of amusement flickered in the old man’s eyes, and with a smile, he asked, ”You said you’re a student at S University? What’s your name?”

Huo Sining thought the old man didn’t believe what she had just said and didn’t think much of it, replying with a smile, ”Yes, I am a student at S University. My name is Huo Sining. Here is my student meal card, and if you don’t believe me, I can take you to meet my teacher. I...”

The old man glanced at the S University meal card in Huo Sining’s hand and cut her off, asking, ”What year are you in?”

Huo Sining answered, ”Freshman.”

The old man laughed, for he knew from this that the young lady was making things up; Yan Xuesong never took on undergraduate students as disciples. He typically selected his candidates from the graduate school, and especially not a freshman like this girl—how could Yan Xuesong possibly take on such a young girl as a disciple?

”Oh, do you know what kind of flower this is?”

The old man pointed at the pot in his hands with the damaged roots and asked with a smile.