When Lu Lingxi arrived home in the evening, he smelled a gorgeous fragrance from a distance. It smelled like tomatoes and like a rich sauce. The aroma filled the whole building, and before Lu Lingxi could do anything about it, Dahei was already dripping saliva remorselessly.
Lu Lingxi flicked his finger on Daheiâs head, his tone intimate. He still remembered when he first met Dahei, Dahei didnât even dare to eat a full meal, for fear that eating too much would make people dislike him and abandon him. In just a few days, Dahei had revealed his nature as a foodie, and almost half of the tomatoes ripening in the backyard ended up in Daheiâs stomach. Even he, Wang Shuxiu and Yi Hang couldnât outeat Dahei.
After talking to Dahei, Lu Lingxi was about to look for the key when the door opened from the inside and Wang Shuxiu looked at him strangely, âWhy are you back so early today?â
âI had to close the shop early because of something,â Lu Lingxi said obediently.
Wang Shuxiu left the door open and looked at Lu Lingxi who squatted at the door to wipe Daheiâs paws. The corners of her mouth twitched and she ordered, âYouâre back just in time, I made some tomato sauce. You can pick some tomatoes later and take them and some sauce to Yi Hang and his family.â
Yi Hang and Lu Lingxi were good friends, and Lu Lingxi found a job thanks to Yi Hang. Wang Shuxiu saw that Yi Hang liked tomatoes, so when she made tomato sauce, she didnât forget him.
Lu Lingxi nodded, washed his hands and didnât go to Yi Hangâs house but squeezed to Wang Shuxiuâs side.
Wang Shuxiu was in the kitchen watching the tomato sauce boil. Juicy tomatoes were boiled with soy sauce, plus some ground meat, salt, glutamate and other seasonings. The whole kitchen was shrouded in a peculiar aroma, much stronger compared to the fragrance in the building.
Dahei squatted in the kitchen doorway, his eyes glowing as he gazed at the thick sauce in the pot.
Wang Shuxiu glared at him in amusement and hurried Lu Lingxi out of the kitchen. âGo, go, what are you doing here, itâs hot here. Hurry up and take Dahei out.â The kitchen of the old house was small and there was no air conditioner, so Wang Shuxiu was already hot and sweaty. Now there was another person and a dog in the kitchen, and they were all crowding around her, so Wang Shuxiu felt like she was about to die of heat.
Lu Lingxi didnât leave, but took a stack of newspapers and dutifully fanned Wang Shuxiu. As he did so, he said, âMom, I have something to tell you.â
âWhat?â Wang Shuxiu said casually, not caring much.
Lu Lingxi deliberated and said, âYou know the gardening shop where I work, right? The shop owner, Sister Du, is going back to her hometown, and IâŚâ
Before he could finish, Wang Shuxiu interjected quickly, âIs it that you donât have a job anymore? Itâs okay, Mom will support you.â
Lu Lingxiâs heart felt warm; the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously. He clung to Wang Shuxiuâs arm affectionately, shook his head and whispered, âIâm taking over the shop.â
âWhat?â Lu Lingxiâs words were tantamount to a bomb. Wang Shuxiuâs voice rose and she eyed him suspiciously, âWhere did you get the money?â The little bastard didnât do anything bad, did he? Wang Shuxiu muttered in her heart.
It would be complicated to talk about this matter clearly, and if one really wanted to look into it, one had to start with Lu Yishui. Lu Lingxi was not stupid and didnât want Wang Shuxiu to worry, so he skipped over the previous events and started with the sale of the spring orchid this morning. However, he didnât dare to say that he sold it for 300,000, but only that he sold it for 100,000 and bought the shop together with another person, the two of them being in half-and-half partnership.
To Wang Shuxiu it sounded like she was listening to a fairy tale. A broken flower he had picked up sold for 100,000?
âYou take your mom for a fool, huh?â
ââŚâŚâ Lu Lingxi said seriously, âItâs true.â
Wang Shuxiu fiercely turned off the fire, âLittle bastard, youâre not joking?â
Lu Lingxi shook his head; he had already said the price was two hundred thousand less.
Wang Shuxiu was no longer in the mood to make any tomato sauce. She wiped her hands haphazardly and pulled Lu Lingxi into the living room, âCome on, tell Mom whatâs going on?â
Dahei struggled for a while between the iron pot exuding a rich aroma and Lu Lingxi, but chose Lu Lingxi and squatted quietly at his feet.
Lu Lingxi habitually stroked Daheiâs head and re-told the whole story in a shortened and redacted form. Wang Shuxiu finished listening and began to worry about another matter. âWhat about the guy youâre in partnership with? Donât be stupid to be sold and still count the money for the other party!â
âNo, Big Brother Yan is a good man.â Lu Lingxi defended Yan Yue.
Wang Shuxiu thought about it and slapped the table, âAll right, a good guy or a bad guy, whatever. He is in partnership with you, so invite him to come and have a meal together some day.â
âOh.â Lu Lingxi obediently agreed, thinking that Yan Yue had helped him a lot, so it was really time to invite Yan Yue for a meal. He just didnât know if Yan Yue was used to home-cooked food. He shouldnât be too picky, right?
No matter how apprehensive Wang Shuxiu was in her heart, fearing that the little bastard would suffer, Tiny Garden was neatly put under Lu Lingxiâs name, in black and white; even the legal person on the business licence was changed to Lu Lingxi.
During this series of events, Lu Lingxi kept a very low profile and didnât deliberately publicise the change of ownership, but other shop owners on the street soon knew about it. Dong Zhi was the first to jokingly ask Lu Lingxi if he wanted to hold a grand opening ceremony, but Lu Lingxi rejected this idea. He thought it was pretty good as it was now, and he wasnât even going to change the signboard of Tiny Garden. It would still be the same as before anyway, and it was good enough that everyone knew that the owner had changed.
Dong Zhi laughed and discussed with a few other shop owners to chip in and give Lu Lingxi a silver ecological fish tank, along with several goldfish of various shapes and sizes. To paraphrase Dong Zhi, water represented wealth and fish also represented wealth. With flowers, grass, water and fish, Xiao Xiâs shop could be considered to be blessed with a unique source of wealth.
Lu Lingxi didnât believe in this, but accepted it because it was a kind gesture from everyone. The main thing was that Dahei liked this fish tank very much. Since the fish tank was placed on the cashier counter, Dahei had another pastime of looking at the fish every day, crouching under the counter with his eyes following the fish inside the tank. Fortunately, Dahei was a dog and not a cat, otherwise Lu Lingxi would have been worried about the lives of these fish.
He didnât know if it was really the fish tank that brought in the fortune, but before Lu Lingxi could straighten out the things in the shop, Brother Han, who hadnât been here for a while, once again came looking for him.
âXiao Xi, Xiao Xi.â Brother Hanâs loud voice sounded from far away. Lu Lingxi, who was tidying up the cabinets, stopped and looked over to see Brother Han walking in, his head sweaty. âThis damn weather is so hot,â Brother Han couldnât help but complain.
Lu Lingxi poured a glass of ice water and brought it to Brother Han, who drank it all in one gulp, then sighed in relief, âItâs so comfortable here, Xiao Xi.â
Because the shop was full of flowers and plants, Du Lin hadnât installed air conditioning before, and naturally Lu Lingxi wouldnât either when he took over. But although the shop didnât have air conditioning, it wasnât hot at all. The lush greenery filled all the spaces in the shop, and when you were inside, you unconsciously had the illusion of being in the wilderness. The dryness in your body was swept away and you felt refreshed and indescribably comfortable.
Lu Lingxi smiled. He was so used to the environment in the shop that he felt hot when he went outside. âSomethingâs happened, Brother Han?â
âYes!â Brother Han confirmed, âIâve come to you on business.â
Brother Han worked in a public institution and they had just received notice that a superior was coming for inspection in a few days. After thinking about it, Brother Hanâs chief decided to buy some potted plants and put them in the offices for decoration. Brother Han had long wanted to persuade the chief to buy some potted plants to improve the environment and for the employees to have something to rest their eyes on when tired of working. This time he was happy to hear about the plan and volunteered to do the job. The first person he thought of was Lu Lingxi. The green plants in the young manâs shop were really good. Brother Han didnât know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the pot of clivia at home was indescribably refreshing when he got close to it, similar to the feeling he had when staying in Tiny Garden.
With a little selfishness, Brother Han thought about setting up many pots like this in the office. âXiao Xi, what do you recommend?â He simply handed over the choice to Lu Lingxi.
There were actually some rules for placing flowers and plants in the office. The first rule was that they needed to be easy to take care of. After all, no one in the office was a professional in raising flowers and plants, and Lu Lingxi himself couldnât go to see them every day. If it happened to be some delicate plants that were difficult to raise and they died in two days, it would ruin the brand of the gardening shop. In addition to easy maintenance, Lu Lingxi thought of choosing some large-leaved plants or succulents. An office was, after all, an office, and green decorations should be mainly elegant, creating a quiet, simple and bright environment. One or two pots of flowers with more vivid colours could be placed here and there for embellishment, but more fresh green plants were better.
When Lu Lingxi mentioned this, Brother Han nodded. âWhatever you say, Xiao Xi.â
Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and took the initiative to ask: âBrother Han, what kind of flower pots do you want?â
Anyone who had ever raised flowers knew that there were many different kinds of pots, and different plants needed different pots. But most people who purchased plants for the office liked the pots to be in a unified style, so Lu Lingxi had to ask.
Sure enough, Brother Han hesitated for two seconds and said, âLetâs make it uniform, how about brown clay pots?â
âOkay!â Clay pots were quite breathable and water-permeable, and the pots were also weighty, so the plants were not likely to tip over. The only trouble was that the pots were heavy and not very convenient to carry, but since it was an office and the location shouldnât change casually, it didnât really matter.
There were many offices in Brother Hanâs unit, so the overall amount purchased was quite a large one. Lu Lingxi patiently recorded down all that was needed. After this deal was done, at least a quarter of the shopâs green plants would be gone. After the two of them made a deal, Brother Han readily left a deposit of three thousand yuan, and the rest was to be paid when Lu Lingxi went to deliver the goods. Brother Han had great faith in Lu Lingxiâs character, and after making an appointment for the time and place of delivery, Brother Han left in a hurry.
Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one in the shop, Lu Lingxi began to work on the order. What Yan Yue saw when he came over was Lu Lingxi biting the tip of the pen, writing and drawing on a blank piece of paper.
âWhat are you doing?â
âBig Brother Yan, youâre here?â Lu Lingxi was a little surprised. He hadnât seen Yan Yue for a week since they came back from their trip to the plant nursery that day. It seemed that Yan Yue had been busy with something but the two of them were in touch by phone every day.
After not seeing Lu Lingxi for a week, Yan Yue missed him terribly. Under the pretext of seeing what Lu Lingxi was doing, he quietly squeezed beside the young man, almost sticking to the young manâs body. Lu Lingxi didnât notice anything and happily pointed out what he had written before to Yan Yue.
âBig Brother Yan, look, Brother Han has ordered over thirty potted plants from us. This is the biggest deal Iâve done since I came to Tiny Garden.â
The total amount of Lu Lingxiâs so-called biggest deal was only tens of thousands of yuan, and the profit left after removing the costs was not much, so it was nothing in comparison to Yan Yueâs wealth. But as he looked at the boyâs elated expression, as he watched the boy bite the pen and calculate the final profit, as he watched the boy carefully record this business deal, his heart suddenly softened. This was their business, his and the young manâs, the one that belonged to just the two of them. This sense of accomplishment was much stronger than the one when Yan Yue had signed a contract for Hopewell Group, making millions, or even the sense of accomplishment brought to him by Dezhi Investment.
Yan Yue met Lu Lingxiâs bright eyes and nodded solemnly, saying, âXiao Xi is amazing!â
Lu Lingxi curved his eyes and smiled happily.
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