Lu Zhengjun had been waiting outside for quite a while.
When he finally saw his younger sister and the others come out, he felt nervous despite himself.
However, seeing the delighted expressions on Lu Zhenghui’s and Chen Xin’s faces, he immediately guessed that things had gone smoothly.
The thought left him somewhat dazed.
He never would have imagined that his lazy, spoiled little sister would actually become a certified Florist.
“Second Brother, sorry to keep you waiting,” Lu Qianqian said.
Lu Zhengjun scratched the back of his head and replied honestly,
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Are we heading to Third Sister-in-law’s family now?”
He knew that besides obtaining Florist certification, there was another purpose for today’s trip:
The fruit from the Lu family was being sold to Chen Xin’s family.
“Sorry to trouble you, Second Brother,” Chen Xin said with a nod.
“We’re family. Let’s go.”
The Chen family was considered one of the wealthy merchant families in Tianyuan Prefecture.
The branch Chen Xin belonged to was a collateral branch of the Chen clan and operated primarily through trade.
Meanwhile, the main Chen family in the capital included a First-Rank Imperial Official.
As long as they didn’t commit some unforgivable crime, the Chen family could practically do as they pleased within Tianyuan Prefecture.
As soon as Chen Xin arrived at the Chen residence, servants hurried out to greet them.
“Miss! Young Master Lu! Welcome back!”
Chen Xin nodded.
“Move everything from the cart into the main hall and have someone come weigh it.”
“Yes, Miss.”
The servants quickly unloaded the goods.
Chen Xin then led Lu Qianqian and the others into the Chen family’s reception hall.
Coincidentally, her elder brother, Chen Feng, had not yet left for the day.
Hearing that his sister had returned, he came to greet her.
The moment he entered, he noticed that she had brought members of the Lu family with her.
“So the in-laws have come.”
Chen Feng smiled.
“You should stay for dinner before heading home.”
By now, Lu Zhenghui was already familiar with the Chen family.
He smiled and replied,
“Brother-in-law, our family is waiting for us back home, so we’ll pass on dinner this time. We’ll definitely stay another day.”
Before Chen Feng could respond, he noticed servants carrying two large baskets into the hall.
“What did you buy this time, Little Sister?”
Chen Xin smiled.
“These are fruits grown by my husband’s younger sister.”
She glanced toward Lu Qianqian.
“They’re fresh and delicious, so I asked if our family could purchase them. I paid two hundred copper coins per jin.”
The meaning behind Chen Xin’s words was obvious.
First, she was subtly informing her brother that the Lu family now had a Florist.
Second, she was making it clear that the fruits had been purchased for two hundred copper coins per jin.
Chen Feng’s eyes flashed with surprise.
Back when Chen Xin insisted on marrying Lu Zhenghui, the Chen family had opposed it.
After all, the Lu family was merely a rural household.
The gap between the two families was enormous.
Had Chen Xin not stubbornly insisted, the marriage would never have happened.
Fortunately, Lu Zhenghui had proven himself worthy.
He was intelligent and well-educated.
Obtaining an official degree in the future seemed highly likely.
More importantly, it was obvious that he genuinely loved Chen Xin.
That was the reason the Chen family had eventually agreed.
Chen Feng first looked at Lu Qianqian before turning his attention to the fruit.
The Chen family naturally knew who she was.
A village girl.
And by reputation, a lazy village girl.
Fortunately, she had enough sense not to make life difficult for Chen Xin.
At that moment, the Chen family’s steward finished weighing the fruit.
“Young Master, Miss.”
The steward reported respectfully.
“The total weight is 134 jin. At two hundred copper coins per jin, the total comes to 26 taels and 800 copper coins.”
Having already heard Chen Xin mention the agreed price, he had calculated everything in advance.
Chen Feng nodded.
“Make it thirty taels.”
He looked at Lu Qianqian.
“Miss Lu, what do you think?”
He had intentionally added extra silver.
Florists were valuable people.
Especially talented Florists.
Building a good relationship with one was beneficial to any family.
Of course, not every Florist possessed genuine skill.
Many were merely pretenders.
However, Chen Feng trusted his sister’s judgment.
If Chen Xin said these fruits had been personally grown by Lu Qianqian, then both Lu Qianqian and the Lu family were worth befriending.
Originally, aside from Lu Zhenghui himself, the Chen family had little interest in dealing with the rest of the Lu family.
But now things were different.
Perhaps the two families should interact more frequently in the future.
Throughout the visit, Lu Qianqian had remained mostly silent.
The original owner’s memories contained little information about the Chen family.
She only knew they were wealthy.
She had never truly understood just how wealthy.
Now that she had seen the Chen residence for herself, she realized something.
The Chen family was definitely more than a mere merchant household.
Otherwise, they couldn’t possibly wield such influence in Tianyuan Prefecture.
Clearly, they had powerful connections above them.
“Brother Chen is offering a very fair price.”
Lu Qianqian smiled.
“Of course I have no objections.”
Chen Feng laughed.
“Since you’ve already called me Brother Chen, then I suppose it’s alright for me to call you Sister Qianqian?”
“If you ever have more good products in the future, bring them to me.”
“I guarantee you won’t suffer any losses.”
“Thank you, Brother Chen.”
Lu Qianqian smiled back.
She didn’t refuse.
The Lu family currently lacked the ability to fully protect itself.
Although becoming a Florist provided official protection, unexpected situations could still arise.
Since the Chen family had influence—and they were already related by marriage—there was no reason not to cooperate.
As long as the Chen family wasn’t greedy, everyone could benefit.
“Uncle Gui, bring thirty taels.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
After the silver changed hands, the transaction was complete.
Lu Qianqian and Lu Zhengjun left first.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhenghui and Chen Xin stayed behind to explain how to eat the mangoes and guavas.
After leaving the Chen residence, Lu Qianqian said,
“Second Brother, let’s go to the market.”
“Alright.”
Lu Zhengjun flicked the reins and guided the ox cart toward the marketplace.
On the surface, he appeared calm.
Inside, however, he was completely numb from shock.
At first, learning that his sister had become a Florist had already stunned him.
He knew how prestigious Florists were.
But when he saw those fruits sell for thirty taels of silver, he was genuinely shaken.
Two trees.
Just two trees.
And the fruit from them had sold for thirty taels.
If the trees continued producing fruit in the future…
Wouldn’t their family become richer and richer?
Of course, Lu Qianqian had no idea what was going through her brother’s head.
She was busy admiring the scenery around her.
Tianyuan Prefecture truly lived up to its reputation as a city near the imperial capital.
The buildings were elegant and well-maintained.
There were no obvious signs of poverty or decay.
Perhaps the current emperor was a capable ruler.
Or perhaps local officials behaved themselves because of the city’s proximity to the capital.
Either way, Lu Qianqian didn’t know enough to judge.
Nor did she particularly care.
At the moment, she had only one goal:
To live a good life for herself.