Lu Qianqian left the flower buds alone.
She planned to wait until they fully bloomed before picking them.
Today, she only harvested the flowers that had already opened.
After all, if she didn’t pick them, the petals would eventually fall off on their own.
“Little Sister, why did you call me back?”
Lu Zhengguo hurried into the backyard from outside.
The moment he finished speaking, he was stunned by the sea of purple flowers before him.
Even as a man, he couldn’t help being captivated.
The flowers were simply too beautiful.
“Good heavens!”
Lin Gui, who had come with him, gasped in surprise.
These were real flowers.
Actual blooming flowers.
Up until now, flowering plants in Great Xia had been extremely rare.
The mango and guava trees had blossomed as well, but their flowers weren’t particularly eye-catching, so the Lu family hadn’t thought much of them.
The flowers before them, however, were different.
They were vibrant, elegant, and impossible to ignore.
Lin Gui stammered,
“L-Little Sister…”
“These flowers are incredibly valuable.”
“Why are you plucking off the petals? Won’t that reduce their value?”
A whole flowering plant could be sold for a high price.
Wealthy families loved ornamental flowers like these.
The problem was that blooming plants were so difficult to find.
Lu Qianqian plucked several more petals and dropped them into her basket before finally looking up.
“Big Brother, I need your help.”
“Could you go into town and see if you can buy some pork fat?”
“The kind that’s almost entirely fat.”
“If you can’t find any, then buy pork belly instead.”
“About ten jin should be enough.”
As she spoke, she pulled out a tael of silver from her sleeve.
In reality, she had taken it from the System Storage.
There was no safer place than her system warehouse.
Lu Zhengguo finally recovered from his shock.
“Don’t we still have meat at home?”
“Why buy more?”
“If we buy too much, it might spoil before we can eat it.”
He assumed his little sister was simply craving meat.
After all, they’d purchased plenty just yesterday.
“I’m not buying it to eat.”
“I’m using it to make something.”
“Just help me buy it.”
“And fifty copper coins from this silver are your errand fee.”
She smiled.
Lu Zhengguo: Σ(⊙▽⊙”a
Lin Gui: Σ(⊙▽⊙”a
Both of them were stunned.
Fifty copper coins?
Just for running an errand?
A laborer working all day at the docks wouldn’t necessarily earn that much.
“N-No need!”
Lu Zhengguo waved his hands frantically.
“It’s only a quick trip. I don’t need any money.”
If his mother found out he’d accepted fifty copper coins, she’d probably beat him to death.
Grabbing the silver, he immediately ran off.
Lin Gui also came back to her senses.
Truthfully, she wanted the money.
Very much.
But she knew her mother-in-law’s personality.
If she dared accept it, there would be no peace in the household afterward.
Watching them leave, Lu Qianqian felt helpless.
Why wouldn’t anyone believe she was serious?
Forget it.
When her brother came back, she’d give him the money in front of everyone.
Surely then they’d accept it.
Returning to her work, she continued collecting petals.
The two Cold Beauty flower bushes provided an enormous amount.
Soon she had filled an entire basket.
Even then, several fully bloomed flowers remained on the bushes.
She decided to leave them for now.
If she needed more later, she could always pick them.
Among the children, Lu Pan naturally loved flowers far more than the boys did.
Especially flowers she’d never seen before.
The elegant purple blossoms completely captured the heart of the three-year-old girl.
For a moment, she even forgot how afraid she usually was of her aunt.
Standing a short distance away, she stared at the flowers with sparkling eyes.
“Auntie…”
“They’re so pretty.”
Lu Qianqian smiled.
“Do you like them?”
Lu Pan nodded immediately.
She really did.
In fact, she’d never seen flowers like this before.
Taking a pair of scissors, Lu Qianqian cut a single Cold Beauty blossom and handed it to her.
“This one is yours.”
“Find a jar and put some water in it. It should stay fresh for several days.”
Lu Pan wanted to refuse.
Flowers this beautiful had to be valuable.
But she couldn’t resist.
Carefully accepting it, she said softly,
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Lu Qianqian smiled.
“If you like flowers, you can come pick some yourself in the future.”
Lu Pan blinked.
The aunt she had known before was completely different.
The current Auntie was so kind.
She hoped she would stay this way forever.
“Auntie, let me help you with something.”
After receiving the flower, Lu Pan immediately wanted to help.
“Then bring me a bamboo drying tray.”
“Okay!”
The little girl happily ran toward the front courtyard.
She first found a small jar, filled it with water, and placed her flower inside.
Only then did she hurry to the storage room to fetch a tray.
By the time Lu Qianqian returned to the front courtyard, Lu Pan had already brought one.
The tray was handmade by the family and was normally used for drying food.
It was the perfect size.
The entire basket of flower petals fit neatly on it.
Since the Cold Beauty flowers had been created directly through the system, the petals were perfectly clean.
There was no need to wash them first.
Just as she finished spreading the petals out to dry, Old Madam Lu and the others returned from the fields.
Earlier, when Lin Gui had called Lu Zhengguo home, everyone had worried something serious had happened.
Since the fieldwork was nearly finished anyway, they rushed to complete their tasks and return.
The moment Old Madam Lu entered the courtyard, she noticed her daughter working with something beautiful.
“Qianqian, what are you making?”
Her question immediately drew everyone’s attention.
Liu Zhaodi, following behind Lu Zhengjun, saw the petals and her eyes lit up.
Several thoughts instantly began turning through her mind.
“This is something I grew today.”
“Yesterday, when I was in the prefectural city, I visited a place called Moon Tower.”
“They sell a product called Moon Soap.”
“So I thought I’d try making something similar myself.”
The entire family was shocked.
Who hadn’t heard of Moon Tower?
It was one of the most famous luxury shops in the prefectural city.
The products there were known to be expensive treasures.
And now Lu Qianqian was saying she wanted to make something similar?
How could they not be surprised?
“Qianqian, can it really be made?”
Old Madam Lu trusted her daughter completely.
Still, she couldn’t help worrying.
If it didn’t work, her daughter might be disappointed.
“Mother, just wait and see.”
“I’ll definitely make it.”
“And when it’s finished, you’ll be the first person to use it.”
“Good! Good! Good!”
Old Madam Lu beamed with happiness.
Her daughter truly was the best.
After arranging the petals, Lu Qianqian asked,
“Mother, do we have any gauze cloth?”
Old Madam Lu thought for a moment.
The family actually did.
Years ago, they had purchased some gauze for making tofu.
After they stopped making tofu, the remaining cloth had simply been stored away.
“Yes.”
“I’ll go get it for you.”
Since there was nothing else they could help with, Old Master Lu and the others returned to their rooms to rest.
Meanwhile, Liu Zhaodi sat near her doorway.
As she watched Lu Qianqian busily preparing her project in the courtyard, her eyes darted back and forth.
Clearly, she was plotting something.
Before long, Old Madam Lu returned carrying a piece of gauze cloth.
“Qianqian, is this the one you need?” she asked.