Magnolia Sapling

“Nan Mo?!”

Mr. Kong took the ink strip lovingly and looked at Jiang Danhe in shock. “This, this, this…”

“I got this by chance. I thought of you immediately, so I brought it to you. Don’t mind that it’s such a small piece.”

Mr. Kong quickly shook his head. “No, I don’t mind at all…”

A fingernail-sized piece of Nan Mo could be exchanged for a whole house.

This was not a joke. Nan Mo was equivalent to gold and silver in the eyes of scholars. Anyone who had a piece would want to show it off to everyone.

A small piece was already so powerful. If there was a bigger piece or even a long strip, he would have fainted on the spot from excitement. Fortunately, he had strong willpower. Mr. Kong closed the box excitedly. “This is great! This is great!”

Nan Mo is truly worthy of its name. It was a rare ink that was hard to come by. It was almost impossible to produce a perfect ink stick in a hundred years. Mr. Kong was so excited that his entire body was trembling. He didn’t expect to see Nan Mo again within his lifetime.

At this moment, Zhuang Zhuang ran over and called for them to eat.

“Danhe, go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

Mr. Kong tried to put on a calm demeanor as he spoke.

Jiang Danhe nodded thoughtfully and walked out with Zhuang Zhuang. At this moment, Teacher Kong should be given some time to himself.

After the two of them left, Mr. Kong stomped his feet hard. His legs had gone numb from excitement and he had almost embarrassed himself.

After calming down, he carried the box like a baby and walked into the room where he sleeps at night. It was not safe to hide it in the cabinet or on the bed.

Mr. Kong bent down and pouted. He held the treasure box in his hand and refused to put it down. He felt that it was not safe anywhere.

In the end, Mrs. Kong had to drag him out after calling out to him several times.

After dinner, Mr. Kong gave Zhuang Zhuang a few days off. He could come back after Jiang Danhe returned to the capital.

The three of them were very happy. Xiaoguo had this plan in mind, but she was too shy to bring it up first. After all, the boy had just taken a long break. They didn’t expect Mr. Kong to suggest this, and therefore, they agreed to it happily.

Mrs. Kong was the only person who was unhappy. Before they left, she hugged and kissed Zhuang Zhuang—she was very reluctant to part with him. Of course, if one ignored the fact that she kept touching Jiang Danhe from time to time, it would be easier to believe that she was reluctant to part with Zhuang Zhuang only.

Jiang Danhe helped Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang safely onto the horse’s back before getting on himself.

As he was not riding alone, Jiang Danhe did not dare to go too fast. He could only move forward slowly. Along the way, he even made a trip to the noodle shop. No matter what, he was back. He had to say hi to his brother-in-law.

They played until the afternoon and left before the noodle shop got busy.

After dinner, the three of them lay in bed. Xiaoguo suddenly thought of something and got up. She said to the two of them, “Tomorrow is the big fair. Shall we go to the market?”

She still had to buy some flower seeds.

“Okay!” Zhuang Zhuang and Jiang Danhe had never had any objections to her words. They basically listened to whatever she said.

Before dawn the next day, the three of them set off on the donkey cart without even eating breakfast.

When they arrived at the county later, they would go to the noodle shop to eat. After eating, they would go to the market.

When the three of them arrived at the noodle shop, it was still early and there were no customers around. They ordered three bowls of noodles and rushed to the market after eating.

Since it was the big fair, there was bound to be more traffic, Xiaoguo was afraid that if they didn’t leave now, they would have problems getting to the fair.

As usual, she parked the donkey cart at the entrance of the noodle shop and walked towards the entrance of the market.

In any case, she was not going to buy anything heavy. She was only planning to buy some seeds .

“Zhuang Zhuang, hold your father’s hand tightly, understand?”

Xiaoguo looked around and saw that the crowds were starting to come in, so she reminded Zhuang Zhuang worriedly.

“Got it!” Zhuang Zhuang grabbed Jiang Danhe’s big hand tightly and nodded at Xiaoguo to reassure her.

It had been a long time since Jiang Danhe had attended the morning fair in Yonghai County. To his surprise, there were as many people at the fair as there were in the capital.

At the thought of this, he picked up Zhuang Zhuang and let him sit on his shoulder. Then, he took Xiaoguo’s hand and wrapped his arms around her to protect her from the oncoming crowd.

Sensing his movements, Xiaoguo couldn’t help but smile.

With Jiang Danhe around, Xiaoguo felt much more comfortable shopping. Zhuang Zhuang was also very excited. What he saw at an elevated position was very different. He had a wide and unblocked view.

“Mother, Mother, there’s a seed shop here.”

Zhuang Zhuang had a good view and could definitely see further than Xiaoguo, so he was in charge of guiding the way. Jiang Danhe was the one leading the way, and Xiaoguo just had to follow.

Xiaoguo arrived at the stall easily. As she looked around, she saw that the stall was selling seedlings instead of flower seeds.

Flower seedlings were even better. The chances of survival were higher.

“Sir, what kind of flower is this?”

“What?”

Xiaoguo was stunned. What a familiar conversation. She had been so focused on looking down at the flower seedlings that she had not noticed the stall owner. Now that she looked at him, she realized that he was the one who had told her that flower seedlings were only sold at the big market!

“Sir, so you sell flower seedlings too!”

It wasn’t clear if the old man recognized Xiaoguo, but he did hear her question. He nodded and said, “Yes. I sell seedlings too!”

Jiang Danhe and Zhuang Zhuang did not understand their conversation at all. Zhuang Zhuang looked down at Jiang Danhe strangely and gave him a look that said, “Do you know him?”

Jiang Danhe shook his head. “No.”

“What flower seedling is this?”

Xiaoguo repeated herself, much louder this time.

“China rose. It’s the right season to plant it.”

Xiaoguo nodded and continued asking, “Is there anything else?”

“This is a magnolia sapling. If you plant it now, it will grow into a big tree in a few years.”

The old man had a lot of seedlings. Xiaoguo listened attentively and thought for a moment. She asked for two Chinese rose seedlings. After all, the plot at home was small. When the Chinese roses mature, there will be a lot of them.

But… she was also very tempted by the magnolia seedling. When it grows into a big tree, it will provide shade, but more importantly, magnolias smell good.

There was a magnolia tree in university. During springtime, when the flowers bloomed, they would emit a faint fragrance. Every time she passed by the tree, she would make sure to take a few deep breaths.

“Should we take the magnolia saplings?”

Xiaoguo couldn’t make up her mind and asked Jiang Danhe.

“Get it if you like.”

Jiang Danhe could tell that she was tempted. Although she said that she wanted the china roses, her eyes kept looking at the magnolia plants.

Xiaoguo’s thoughts were seen through by him. She turned her head in embarrassment and said to the old man, “Give me a magnolia sapling.”

Although the old man’s ears were very bad, his hands and feet were very fast. He quickly wrapped it up for her. “Plant it as soon as possible. Don’t leave it out for too long.”

“Okay!”

Jiang Danhe handed over the money first. “Is there anything else you want to buy?”

Xiaoguo happily took the seedlings and shook her head.

Jiang Danhe took the seedlings. Xiaoguo didn’t want him to take them. After all, Zhuang Zhuang was heavy enough. It was too tiring for him to carry everything.

“Put Zhuang Zhuang down. I’ll hold on tightly to him.”

Seeing that Jiang Danhe was not going to pass her the seedlings, Xiaoguo asked Zhuang Zhuang to come down. It must be very tiring to have such a heavy load on his neck.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Danhe shook his head and said, “Zhuang Zhuang, hold on tight.”

“Oh!” Zhuang Zhuang received his order and wrapped his arms around Jiang Danhe’s neck. “Done!”

After freeing his hands, Jiang Danhe held the seedlings in one hand and held Xiaoguo’s hand in the other. “Let’s go.”

Xiaoguo was stunned for a long time. “He’s so capable!”

On the way back, they came across a rabbit seller. Zhuang Zhuang was tempted and stopped moving forward.

“Zhuang Zhuang, you have to attend school everyday and you can’t bring a rabbit with you. If you leave it at home, I will have to take care of one more animal. There are already a lot of small animals at home.”

Zhuang Zhuang was playing with the little rabbit, and when he heard Xiaoguo’s words, he gave up on the idea of keeping it as a pet immediately.

He could not tire his mother out!