Chapter 395

Old Man Lan didn't elaborate on the flower's name; he merely mentioned briefly that its discovery was related to a cat, and when people pressed for details, Old Man Lan clammed up and refused to say anything.

Fortunately, everyone's attention is now focused on that pot of flower; although they find it odd that the flower's name contains the word "cat", this is not the time to quibble over the name, and they all just want to take a few more looks at the pot.

Recently, Old Man Lan has been mentioned repeatedly because of this pot of flower; the fact that he cultivated an orchid worth over ten million has become a hot topic in the family compounds of two districts. Originally, Old Man Lan already had considerable fame for growing high‑grade, precious orchids, and now his reputation is even greater.

Whenever Old Man Lan runs into acquaintances these days, they ask him, "Old Lan, bring out your pot of Jade Cat so everyone can have a look; stop hiding it all the time!"

Unfortunately, after the flower bloomed and was named, Old Man Lan's nursery no longer plans to open to the outside; even those on good terms can't expect to slip in the back door. Old Man Lan has contacted people and is preparing to send this pot of flower to the Botanical Garden. Before sending it over, he doesn't intend to let anyone see it; only when a few persistent types bother him to the point of exasperation does he allow them a brief glance. As for those whose cheek isn't thick enough, they can only be turned away at the door. So sometimes you still need a thick skin.

Zheng Tan also heard that two old men, wanting to see the orchid, couldn't find Old Man Lan, saw that the wall of the small flower nursery wasn't too high, so they fetched a ladder and climbed over. Being old, their movements weren't very agile and their reactions weren't quick; they almost got hurt. Afterwards, Old Man Lan caught on to this and laughed about it for a long time.

No matter how you put it, after three years of obscurity, Old Man Lan has finally gained face this time.

This flower exhibition lasts a long time, from two days before the 11th to around the 20th, because this year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the nation, so provincial and municipal leaders decided to hold a large flower show to celebrate.

The flower show is divided into several sub‑venues and one main venue, so that residents of each district can see the exhibition at the park or square nearest their homes. Old Man Lan and some professionals, however, have set their sights on the main venue at the municipal Botanical Garden, where more precious and rare flowers will be displayed.

Many of the flowers in the main and sub‑venues are solicited from the public, but many of the featured ones are still provided by people Old Man Lan knows from the flower‑loving circle; they haven't brought all their prized flowers to the Botanical Garden, leaving one or two pots in other sub‑venues so that those places also have premium displays for the public to view. Of course, the sub‑venues also have dedicated security staff, so there's no need to worry about damage.

Moreover, the old men still take their prized "heart‑favorite" varieties—the trump card flowers used to boost their own prestige and embarrass others—to the main venue of the Botanical Garden. There they have professional‑grade display tables with protective windows, as well as more specialized personnel and connoisseurs. Although this isn't an expo‑type event, in a sense it has already been regarded by some as a small exchange meeting.

What is the exchange meeting for?

To exchange flower‑growing experience?

Yes, that naturally exists.

Then what?

Just like a class reunion, showing off and flaunting wealth are inevitable.

While others show off cars, houses, and watches, they show off flowers, grasses, and trees. The old men still feel good about themselves, considering this an art, a high‑level spiritual enjoyment, not a vulgar money‑driven exchange.

Whenever Zheng Tan hears those old men from the compound boasting like that, he inwardly scoffs at them—a bunch of old‑acting children. Though they put on an air of superiority in front of college students or young teachers, in private they're just old kids who still compare themselves, still get into fights, and still do things that make people laugh and cry, such as the wall‑climbing incident of the past two days.

In the morning, Zheng Tan followed Jiao Ba out; while strolling around the small flower nursery, he happened to see Old Man Lan sneaking out like a thief. After checking that no acquaintances were nearby, Old Man Lan quickly locked the courtyard gate, patted his hands, and went home.

At such an early hour, Old Man Lan had already finished arranging the flowers inside; I don't know when he got up, but he probably came out around five o'clock. This is clearly to prevent others from coming looking for him.

Upon seeing Zheng Tan, Old Man Lan's face broke into a smile full of wrinkles.

"Hei Tan, the flower exhibition will still last a week, but tomorrow we few old men have agreed to take the flowers over; at that time you can follow your cat dad and them to have a look."

Old Man Lan and the others certainly won't keep their prized possessions on display the whole time; a day of exchange is enough—why stretch it to a week? Apart from the crowds during the Golden Week of the 11th, the Botanical Garden is now much more spacious, and there won't be any disturbances, so they can rest easy.

Moreover, Old Man Lan's earlier words revealed two points. First, the old fellows' prized possessions will all be on display tomorrow. Second, the "Little Jiao" Old Man Lan referred to is Jiao Ba; since he said that, it means Jiao Ba and his family will also go to see them—tomorrow is Saturday, and Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi will be there, so the whole family can go. Third, as a rule, the Botanical Garden normally doesn't allow pets inside, but on ordinary days with few visitors the staff tend to look the other way; however, during the flower exhibition it's relatively difficult for pets to get in. Yet Old Man Lan can suggest that Zheng Tan come along, which shows he has surely smoothed things over with the Botanical Garden—perhaps the necessary permits were already given to Jiao Ba.

Being able to go to the Botanical Garden to see the flower exhibition together with the Jiao family, Zheng Tan is naturally delighted—he can go out with the whole family, get close to nature, what a wonderful way to relax.

And he enjoyed another privilege.

Zheng Tan also knew that Old Man Lan had told Jiao Ba and the others, if they wanted to sell this pot of flower, his advice was to hold off for now, not rush to sell, not fear a crash in the orchid market. Every year there are some orchid exchange meetings and expos attended by notable figures from the circle, both domestic and foreign, many of which are not open to the public. After all, at these exchanges everyone brings their own heart‑favorites, which are valuable, and they can't afford mistakes. By taking them to exhibit, as long as the orchid's fame grows, more people will want to buy, and the price will naturally rise, possibly even multiplying several times.

Jiao Ba seems not to have the intention of selling it, which relieved Old Man Lan and naturally improved his mood, for it means the orchid may stay in his old man's hands for several more years.

After Old Man Lan left, Zheng Tan didn't plan to climb into the small flower nursery to look at the flowers; he actually wasn't very interested in them anyway, and besides, since Old Man Lan had already been to the nursery, he must have tightened the security there, so even if he went in he wouldn't see that pot of flower.

Just as he was about to leave, Zheng Tan's ear twitched and he looked over.

Jingzhang jumped down from a tree on the corner, walked a distance along the perimeter wall, glanced at Zheng Tan, and seeing that Zheng Tan had no intention of jumping in, he himself moved, climbing over the wall to go inside.

Just like those who are fixated on the orchid, Jingzhang, ever since he saw that pot of orchid, has continued to be fixated on it. However, Old Man Lan's defenses against him are already well practiced; he has never let Jingzhang see the orchid again, and even if Jingzhang comes every day to stand guard, he never gets the chance.

Does Jingzhang not understand Old Man Lan's warnings?

Not necessarily.

Having known Jingzhang for six years, Zheng Tan knows this guy's intellect is fine; moreover, a cat that has long interacted with humans in human society can also understand some words.

Don't think they don't understand; they simply don't want to obey, they're just playing dumb.

The reason Jingzhang repeatedly steps over the line is purely that he knows Old Man Lan can't do anything about him, and he himself wants to look at and nibble the flowers, so he pretends not to hear, shaking his ears to fling away whatever is said.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the wall to look, and indeed, Jingzhang could only prowl outside the cat‑proof net; he couldn't enter the flower shed either, and could only nibble on the surrounding unprotected trees and small wildflowers.

With Jingzhang causing a ruckus there, Zheng Tan jumped onto a tree and looked up at the sky.

Although it had rained and cooled a bit around the 11th, now that the sky has cleared the temperature has risen a little, and tomorrow should also be a big sunny day.

That's right; Old Man Lan and the others wouldn't go if it weren't a big sunny day, and they would certainly have worked out all the weather and geographic conditions in advance for any arrangements.

Just as Zheng Tan had thought, the next day was indeed a big sunny day, and moreover the sky rarely turned blue and clear, unlike the usual hazy gray.

The Jiao family of four, plus one cat, drove their car toward the Botanical Garden.

On the way, Jiao Yuan kept asking about that pot of orchid. He had only returned from school the previous night, knowing only that on Saturday they would go to the Botanical Garden to see the flower exhibition; the details about that orchid were still told to him by Xiao Youzi. When Zheng Tan first brought the orchid back, Jiao Yuan also knew, and there was no need to conceal it; besides, he had heard some gossip from the compound, but at the time he didn't connect it to his own family.

The Botanical Garden isn't far from Chu Hua Da Xue; it takes over twenty minutes by car to get there. If there weren't a mid‑journey traffic hold‑up, it would probably take only ten minutes.

Lan Tianzhu acted together with his grandfather Old Man Lan; Xiong Xiong's mother and Xiong Xiong would arrive a bit later; Su An's family and Shi Rui's family acted together. The Jiao family were among the earliest to arrive.

The parking spot is still some distance from the Botanical Garden's main gate, because during the flower exhibition the pedestrian flow is still higher than usual, and as the main venue the Botanical Garden naturally draws more people driving in, so it's impossible to let everyone drive right up; there simply aren't that many parking spaces near the gate.

Of course, those with special permits can still get through—for example, Old Man Lan and his companions have such permits, and they have long been old acquaintances with the Botanical Garden staff.

Although Old Man Lan had given Jiao Ba the credentials that would allow Zheng Tan to enter, in order not to be too conspicuous Zheng Tan still first squeezed himself into the backpack, feeling a bit wronged.

To be low‑key as a person, so too as a cat.

It's impossible to let Xiao Youzi and Jiao Ma carry the backpacks; respecting the elderly and loving the young, Jiao Yuan also wouldn't let Jiao Ba bear them—Jiao Yuan is already a senior in high school, taller and stronger than Jiao Ba, so who else would carry them if not him?

As they walked toward the gate, Zheng Tan saw from the backpack zip seam a sign nearby, and volunteers in uniform were handing out plant distribution maps of the various zones inside the Botanical Garden, on which some prohibited areas were clearly marked; today several places are not open to the public.

Just then, a black sedan came slowly driving by.

"Why can that car drive in? It doesn't seem all that special." Jiao Yuan asked. Just now, when they passed the outer perimeter, someone was stopping cars from entering, which is why they had parked farther away.

"There's a pass stuck on the car's window." Jiao Ba explained.

Jiao Yuan gave an "oh" and didn't dwell on it. Privileges always exist; we can have them, and others can too.

Zheng Tan then poked his head out of the backpack to watch that car, which was moving at not‑fast speed, and he felt that as the car drove past earlier, something inside had been staring at them. (to be continued...)

ps: Speaking of the flower exhibition, today when chatting with a friend we brought up each city's city flower, and I knew nothing about it—ask me three questions and I'd still be clueless.