Chapter 163: 160. Hybrid Fragrant Orchid (Please subscribe, please vote for monthly tickets!)

On the morning of February 22nd, all the elementary school students in Shanghai were dragged out of their warm beds by their parents with bitter expressions on their faces.

At the same time, the parents of the Shanghai elementary school students all breathed a sigh of relief; finally... finally, they didn't have to face their little brats all day long. They felt that if they had to stay with their own little brats any longer, it would be the greatest challenge to their parent-child relationships.

It took less than a week to go from "precious" to "little brat."

It also took less than half a month to go from a peaceful state of mind to the edge of a mental breakdown.

However, not all parents were like this; at the very least, Zhang Ran was not. Zhang Ran loved staying with Zhang Xiaotao and Susu, and just seeing them made him happy for the whole day.

What made Zhang Ran feel a bit depressed was that on the same day, Susu's kindergarten also started, which meant he had to return to the life of picking up and dropping off the children at school every day.

After sending the two little ones to school separately and telling them to listen to their teachers, he stared blankly at the school, not knowing what he should do for a moment.

The things he needed to do now were basically on the right track; Zhang Sicheng's company was developing rapidly, and Zhang Siyan had also started working at Kangshilan.

As for some of his own affairs, they were also being handled, but they required some time; he would only take action once the impact was minimized.

Although he now had some certainty, he still wanted to see if there would be any results from Meng He's side; if there were results, he would change his plan.

However, Zhang Ran didn't stare blankly for long, because someone was looking for him.

"Brother Zhang, do you have time right now?" Qian Zhengkun said over the phone.

"Of course I have time. Do you have something, brother?" Zhang Ran said.

"This matter can't be explained in a moment. If you have time, come to my place; I'll send you a location," Qian Zhengkun said.

After receiving the location information, Zhang Ran and the others drove there, while also wondering what Qian Zhengkun was looking for him for.

It took them nearly an hour and a half of driving to reach the place. This was a suburb, relatively desolate, with quite a few greenhouses nearby.

"Brother Zhang, over here." Seeing Zhang Ran's car, Qian Zhengkun called out.

He Yong parked the car well. After getting out, Zhang Ran said to Qian Zhengkun, "Brother, what exactly is the matter? So mysterious?"

While inviting Zhang Ran to walk inside, Qian Zhengkun explained, "Do you remember the pot of Fragrant Orchid you gave me last time?"

Zhang Ran said, "Of course I remember. Why? Do you want another one, brother? Just tell me directly."

Zhang Ran would absolutely never be stingy with Qian Zhengkun and his wife; not to mention anything else, just what Qian Li had done was enough for Zhang Ran to do so.

Zhang Ran was becoming more and more glad that Zhang Siyan could have a best friend like Qian Li!

He also hoped that the relationship between Zhang Siyan and Qian Li could last forever.

Qian Zhengkun waved his hands hurriedly and said, "No, I don't want... no, I do want it, but that's not... sigh, how should I put it to you? You should come over and take a look first."

Qian Zhengkun was also taken aback by Zhang Ran's generosity. He now knew the value of this Fragrant Orchid, and in his heart, he felt that he understood the value of the Fragrant Orchid even better than Zhang Ran—it was far, far more than 500,000!

So he also hoped that Zhang Ran would make a decision after learning the true situation.

Zhang Ran was also a bit confused about what Qian Zhengkun was talking about; how did he start by saying he didn't want it, and then want it again?

However, Zhang Ran didn't urge him, just followed behind Qian Zhengkun to see what they were trying to do.

They soon arrived in front of a greenhouse. This greenhouse was completely different from the others; the other greenhouses were purely plastic, but this one used specialized greenhouse glass, and even the gate looked quite high-tech.

"This is a place where Lao Zheng and Lao Wu research on their own. They just like to mess with these flowers and plants, and both of them have their own research in this area," Qian Zhengkun explained.

After Zhang Ran walked in, a faint, fragrant scent rushed toward him. This fragrance was very, very faint, but Zhang Ran's spirit was indeed jolted.

Why was this fragrance so similar to the scent of the Fragrant Orchid? It was just much fainter, and the scent was also a bit inferior, far from the lingering aftertaste of the Fragrant Orchid.

When Zhang Ran saw clearly what was planted inside, he was completely stunned!

This was the first time He Yong had seen Zhang Ran in this state; the look that seemed to be mixed with surprise and shock made him freeze for a moment, but the next moment, He Yong quietly stood at the doorway, and without anyone noticing, blocked the only exit gate.

"This... this is?" Zhang Ran's speech was a bit stuttering; he really hadn't expected to see this scene.

Seeing Zhang Ran's appearance, Qian Zhengkun hurriedly revealed a proud smile, "Brother Zhang, you didn't see it wrong; these are all Fragrant Orchids!"

"Impossible!" Zhang Ran immediately shook his head.

Qian Zhengkun's expression stiffened; he had originally wanted to show off, but he didn't expect to be seen through by Zhang Ran at a glance.

However, it wasn't that Zhang Ran had seen through it himself; he just knew that it was impossible for anyone to perfectly replicate the Fragrant Orchid, which was why he was so certain.

Then Qian Zhengkun also sighed and said, "This really can't be counted as a Fragrant Orchid; it can only be considered a defective product."

"Qian, is this Mr. Zhang?" Just as they were talking, a few old men and old women walked out from inside.

These people were all wearing a set of worn-out clothes with scarves around their necks, looking just like old farmers, but their temperament was very different, looking like cultured people.

"Brother Zhang, let me introduce you. This is Lao Zheng, this is Wu Jie..." Qian Zhengkun immediately introduced them to Zhang Ran.

There were five people in total, plus Qian Zhengkun, making six people. Three of them were university professors, and the remaining three were also engaged in research work.

"Professor Zheng, hello. Professor Wu, hello..." Zhang Ran greeted them one by one. For these people who focused on scholarship and research, Zhang Ran felt admiration from his heart.

Lao Zheng and the others also smiled and greeted Zhang Ran, then said, "Mr. Zhang, what do you think of these Fragrant Orchids?"

Zhang Ran said, "Professor Zheng, just call me Zhang Ran."

"Then you also don't call us any professors. Like Qian, we are a few years older than you, just call us brother and sister."

"Yes, just call me Wu Jie. To tell you the truth, I really envy your appearance. If Qian hadn't told us, we really wouldn't have dared to believe that you are already over fifty," Professor Wu also said.

While Zhang Ran was greeting them, he squatted down and carefully examined these Fragrant Orchids.

At first glance, these Fragrant Orchids seemed similar to the ones he redeemed from the game, but looking closely, one could discover the gap between them.

The quality alone was much worse, but the biggest difference was the scent; the scent was much fainter than the Fragrant Orchid, and if one smelled it carefully, it wasn't as pleasant as the Fragrant Orchid. Not only that, but the height of the entire plant was also quite different, being much shorter than a normal Fragrant Orchid.

"Brother Zhang, you also know that for us elderly people, our biggest wish every day is actually to have a good night's sleep, and the Fragrant Orchid you gave to Qian can perfectly solve this problem. So we took the liberty of taking Qian's Fragrant Orchid to study it; please don't take offense," Lao Zheng said from the side.

"No offense, of course no offense," Zhang Ran said immediately, "But looking at these, they should be quite different from the Fragrant Orchid I gave Brother Qian."

"Yes, they are quite different. Overall, it can be considered a failure. I don't know what's going on; no matter what method we use, we can't truly transplant that Fragrant Orchid of yours. We have used countless methods during this period, but none of them worked.

So we used other methods. The only thing that had a little bit of effect was hybridization; this is the result after hybridization," Lao Zheng said with a sigh.