ryethenovel Chapter 13 [The Seeds of Wealth]
Chapter 13 [The Seeds of Wealth]
To earn a living, he used to dig out the pond mud from his hometown, which was rich in the remains of various organisms, package it as "pure natural ancient lotus pond mud," and sell it online to flower and plant enthusiasts.
Unexpectedly, business was quite good, so I joined some high-end flower enthusiast forums and WeChat groups.
Would you say this counts as accidentally trespassing into the imperial palace?
The place is mostly frequented by wealthy people with plenty of free time who treat gardening as a career. A single pot of a famous orchid or a rare bonsai can easily cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
For them, money is not the issue; their ultimate goal is to help their precious children grow up better.
"They're the ones."
Xu Ye: Plan is in place!
I dug out my WeChat account, which I hadn't used in a long time, and logged into the WeChat group called "Jiangnan Elegant Gathering".
The group had hundreds of people chatting enthusiastically about a newly auctioned "ghost orchid" that had fetched an astronomical price.
Xu Ye silently watched the screen for a while, then opened the photo album and saved the before-and-after comparison photos of the potted plant that had come back to life.
I carefully edited a text, switching it to a tone that was both asking for help and showing off, and then posted the picture and text together in the group.
Xu Ye: "Dear experts, I need your help. I was cleaning out my old house the other day and found a small jar of ancestral fertilizer, it's all black. My orchid, the one on the windowsill, was almost dead, its leaves were already turning yellow, so I tried sprinkling a tiny bit on it, and... this is what happened. Does anyone know how this works? Is there something wrong with this stuff?"
They deliberately didn't use the name "Jiurang," only saying it was an ancestral flower fertilizer.
After the post was published, the group was silent for a few seconds.
Soon after, the news flooded the screen like a waterfall.
"Is this photoshopped? The contrast is too exaggerated; it can even revive dead grass?"
"Is the poster desperate to sell something? These days, even scammers are so educated, they're even making up a family heirloom story."
"It's fake. The speed at which the leaves unfold and the appearance of new buds are completely inconsistent with the laws of plant growth, unless you soak it in a genetically modified solution."
Most of the responses were skepticism and ridicule, which was entirely within Xu Ye's expectations.
He didn't respond; he just waited.
Sure enough, amidst the skepticism, a dissenting voice emerged.
He received a private message from someone whose contact name was "Master of Tingyuxuan".
Master of Tingyu Pavilion: "Young man, did you take this picture yourself?"
Xu clicked on the other person's profile picture, which showed an antique courtyard with several uniquely shaped bonsai trees arranged in a pleasing manner.
He recognized the online name; it belonged to one of the most active big shots in the group, surnamed Wang, who was said to be doing big business in the provincial capital and had a glass conservatory at home with collections worth tens of millions.
Xu Ye: "President Wang? I took the picture myself, just now."
Listening to the Rain Pavilion Master: "Did you... sell pond mud in the group before?"
Xu was secretly delighted that the other party actually remembered.
Xu Ye: "Yes, Mr. Wang, you have a really good memory."
The Master of Tingyu Pavilion remained silent for a few minutes, seemingly lost in thought.
Listening to the Rain Pavilion Master: "Your pond mud is quite good; I've used it to grow bowl lotus. Do you still have that family-inherited fertilizer you mentioned? I'd like to buy some to try; name your price."
The fish has taken the bait.
Xu suppressed his excitement and began his performance.
Xu Ye: "Mr. Wang, to be honest, this stuff was left to me by my great-grandfather. There's only one small jar, and I don't even know what it's made of. I wouldn't dare sell it carelessly. If your precious bonsai gets damaged from using it, I can't afford to compensate you."
Master Tingyuxuan: "It's alright, I'll bear the consequences myself. Name your price, consider it an experiment for me."
Perhaps it was a deliberate attempt to make things difficult.
Xu Ye: "This...it really isn't about money..."
Master Tingyuxuan: "One gram, one thousand yuan. Send me one gram, consider it a research sample. How about it?"
One gram equals one thousand!
Good heavens, even Xu Ye, who has experienced the evolution of civilization, was somewhat frightened.
This price is many times more expensive than gold.
But they also knew that the other party was testing them, demonstrating their financial resources and determination.
Xu Ye: "Well... alright. Since you've put it that way, Mr. Wang, I'll give you a gram. But I must make it clear first, this stuff is for research purposes only, and we are not responsible for any problems that may arise."
Master of Tingyu Pavilion: "Great!"
The deal is done.
Xu found the smallest resealable bag, used a small medicine spoon to scoop one gram of Jiurang into it, sealed it, and sent it out via the fastest same-city express delivery.
After doing all this, he turned off his phone, leaned back in his chair, and felt like he had just fought a battle.
Success or failure hinges on this one move.
……
Inside the glass conservatory on the rooftop of a villa in the provincial capital.
Mr. Wang, the owner of Tingyuxuan, was sighing over a bonsai tree.
It was a Huangshan pine tree, with gnarled branches twisting and turning like a dragon, planted in a Ming Dynasty purple clay pot, worth nearly a million.
But at this moment, most of its pine needles have withered and fallen off.
He consulted all the renowned horticulturists in the province and used the best pesticides, but to no avail.
When the deliveryman called, he was preparing to contact someone to get rid of the pine tree.
Upon receiving the small package and opening it, Mr. Wang almost burst out laughing.
Just a tiny bit of colored powder, packaged in a cheap sealed bag, costs a thousand dollars?
"Fine, let's try anything, even if it's a dead end."
Following Xu Ye's instructions, he mixed the entire gram of 9-gram soil into a large jug of mineral water and then watered the roots of the Huangshan pine.
After doing all that, he ignored it and turned to tend to the other flowers.
One night passed.
The next morning, Mr. Wang came to the greenhouse as usual, and his gaze inadvertently swept over the potted Huangshan pine.
Overnight, withered trees came back to life!
On the originally withered and yellow branches, countless emerald green buds have sprouted!
The remaining pine needles have also become firm and green again, radiating vitality!
Mr. Wang rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
He strode forward, leaned closer to observe carefully, and even gently touched the newly sprouted buds with his hands.
it is true!
He immediately took out his phone, filmed a video of the resurrected Huangshan pine, and then rushed into the "Jiangnan Elegant Gathering" WeChat group.
Without saying a word, he first sent a "group chat bombing" red envelope containing two thousand yuan.
He posted the video and then kept tagging Xu Ye in the group.
Master of Tingyuxuan: "@Xu Ye! Amazing! It's practically a miracle drug! Brother Xu, do you still have any of that fertilizer? I'll take as much as you have! Price is no object!"
One stone caused a thousand waves!
The group chat exploded!
If Xu Ye's pictures might be suspected of being photoshopped, then Mr. Wang's video and that famous Huangshan pine tree in the industry are absolutely impossible to fake!
"Holy crap! Mr. Wang's Huangshan pine tree is alive?!"
"Is...is this true? Didn't they say they were going to get rid of it yesterday?"
"What exactly is that fertilizer? Its effects are incredible!"
In an instant, Xu Ye's WeChat notification sound went off like crazy.
My private message list was flooded with hundreds of unread messages, all asking to buy my family's heirloom fertilizer.
Mr. Wang called directly, so excited he was almost incoherent, but the core message was the same: I want it all, however much you have!
In the end, the two agreed that Xu would also set aside ten grams, at a price of two thousand yuan per gram.
A few minutes later, Xu Ye's phone vibrated, and a bank text message popped up.
[Your account ending in xxxx received a deposit of 20000.00 yuan on x month x day. Your current account balance is 23451.27 yuan.]
[Anthir Era 1452: Wise King Kaz offered his first share of gold to his god.]