Chapter 1: Strange Phenomena in the Underworld

  Ouyang Qing looked at the old village chief and lightly expressed her own thoughts, but as soon as she mentioned the two words "planting flowers", a layer of subtle shadow flashed across the old village chief's face. To be aware, for the old village chief and even the entire Cherry Blossom Village, planting anything other than corn and rice was considered not doing one's proper job, and from the way the old village chief looked at Ouyang Qing's face, this young woman with a decent appearance seemed to have some rebellious intentions.

  "Hmm," the old village chief knocked his pipe against a stone, spat out a mouthful of saliva two feet away, and then said, "What you said is right, that's what city people should do, but... I mean, however, our Cherry Blossom Village is a rural area, a rural area where even food and clothing are not guaranteed. How can we plant flowers? It's like being on the verge of starving to death but still wanting to buy an expensive suit to wear."

  "Village head," said Ouyang Qing, "I say that planting flowers is not just for appreciation. Some flowers have medicinal value and can be sold at a high price to those pharmaceutical merchants. We can make money too, and with money, we won't have to worry about food and clothing."

  The old village chief stood up and walked to the cattle pen not far away, hugged a bundle of hay and threw it into the cattle pen, then walked to the chicken coop to feed the chickens. The countryside in winter is not too busy, so the old village chief just did some trivial things at leisure.

  "Indeed, it's not bad!" After that, he walked back and sat on the stone, saying, "Young people having ideas is good, but we'd better just plant our own crops honestly. You go plant those flowers with high medicinal value and wait for the medicine merchants to come collect them. Our village doesn't have many literate people, nor do we expect or say that we can get rich, so we won't disturb you."

  "Village chief..." Ouyang Qing wanted to persuade him, but the old village chief had already walked into the house, so he could only get up and return to his own dormitory - that messy village office.

  The village had a vacant lot, which was left over from the original land acquisition for the construction of the village office. Although the area is not large, it is already sufficient for Ouyang Qing. He wanted to plant some flowers and grasses himself. As long as he succeeded and made money, the villagers would naturally follow his lead.

  Talk is cheap, the next morning, when the ground was still covered with a layer of white frost, Ouyang Qing got up. He found a hoe in the storage room and began to dig in this poor land.

  Before his death, he was also a rural person and had used a hoe, so now doing some work is not difficult for him.

  After digging for a day, he finally finished digging the soil and then walked to the town. He told people who had flowers and grass that they came to ask for several branches of peony, because it was not the season for planting flowers, but peonies could be planted. So he took the peony branches back and inserted them into the ground, watering and fertilizing every day.

  A week later, the peony flower that was just a branch finally sent out a tender bud the size of a needle tip, indicating that the peony had finally come to life.

  Seeing the peony branches growing as he wished, he was particularly happy. Every morning, he would take a look at the two flowers first, just like taking care of his own children so carefully. Although he still didn't know what it felt like to take care of children, it should be about the same.

  The villagers saw that the official from the city did nothing all day, staying in the village office, and every day he was busy with those two unknown withered branches. So they all secretly ridiculed him, and even some emotional ones would secretly scold him a few times, thinking that such a person could still be an official, it's simply not taking the country's money seriously.

  So, they went from gossiping to insulting, from insulting to anger, and then from anger to revenge. Several villagers had discussed it in private and felt that Ou Yang Qing's behavior was simply corrupting the next generation. If it wasn't stopped, the future of Cherry Blossom Village would be unbearable.

  One night, when the dark sky occasionally revealed a few stars dotting the black curtain, two figures emerged from behind the village hall. The two shadows looked around cautiously, making sure everything was safe before climbing up to the second floor. One of them stuck their head out and pressed their ear against the wooden door, listening for a moment to confirm that Ouyang Qing was asleep. Then, they crept downstairs and walked to the spot where Ouyang Qing had recently dug up the earth. Under the faint starlight from above, they found the two peony branches that Ouyang Qing treasured but the villagers considered a disaster. Without hesitation, they pulled them out, treating them like sworn enemies, and instantly snapped the branches in two. Then, they destroyed the evidence, throwing the two pitiful branches into the village hall's toilet.

  The next day, Ouyang Qing still got up very early as usual. He also looked at his two flowers as usual, but when he came to the place where he planted the flowers, he couldn't find anything. Except for a string of helpless footprints on the ground, there was nothing else.

  His beloved flower had withered away, causing him unbearable heartache. He gazed at the two holes left by the pulled-out stems and couldn't help but let tears flow down. He looked up at the sky and sighed deeply, feeling defeated as he trudged back to his dormitory, then collapsed onto his bed, burying his face in sorrow.

  It's impossible to replant flowers now, as it's almost the twelfth lunar month and the weather is getting colder. The sharp wind cuts people's faces like a knife, and every day is filled with misty rain and overcast skies that make one feel irritable.

  However, during this time, even if the weather is bad, it's inevitable that there's some festive atmosphere. There are still over 10 days before the Spring Festival, and many families are preparing for the New Year goods. In Sakura Village, slightly more affluent families will slaughter pigs and sheep, adding a bit of joy to this impoverished village.

  Ouyang Qing saw the villagers' faces with rare smiles, he missed his friends in the city, so three days before the new year, he packed up and returned to Haicheng.

  Chen Zhenhua and Qian Xiaohong were delighted to see him return, and they prepared to spend the New Year together. Ouyang Qing did not refuse their suggestion, because apart from them, he had no other relatives left, or even if he did, he would be too embarrassed or afraid to go.

  Back in the city, he still couldn't forget about planting flowers. Taking advantage of his free time over the next two days, he wandered around everywhere, asking about rare and unusual flower species.

  That day, which was the last day of the year, he went out to the street again early in the morning and wandered around for half a day without any result. He was already somewhat tired, so he decided to sit down in a coffee shop, rest for a while, and then continue searching.

  He went into a bustling coffee shop at this time, found a table to sit down, ordered a cup of coffee and savored it slowly.

  Suddenly, at a table behind him, two men who were drinking coffee started arguing. Out of curiosity, he turned around and took a look. He saw that one middle-aged man in a black suit with slicked-back hair was arguing with an older man in a gray suit but with a shiny bald head. The old man looked somewhat agitated and angry, while the man in the black suit seemed nonchalant, but still looked out of place in such a refined setting, where people might think them to be uncouth. As they continued to argue, they would occasionally glance around, then lower their voices.

  "I've said it before, this year's harvest is poor and many flower farmers have raised their prices. It's also difficult for me to collect them," the middle-aged man said.

  "We didn't agree on that initially? Now you're saying we can't purchase Golden Flower and Cockcomb Flower, how am I supposed to explain this to the pharmaceutical factory?" The old man said excitedly.

  "I have no way either," said the middle-aged man. "Firstly, it's winter now and these flowers won't be available immediately. Secondly, I also have no way, this spring the weather is quite cold, flower farmers had a poor harvest, and I couldn't buy them in bulk either. Are you not thinking of making money for me?"

  "You!" The old man saw that his opponent was not taking him seriously and became even angrier, for a moment unable to find the words to say.

  The middle-aged man gave the old man a cold look, saw that the old man was just lowering his head in anger, so he shrugged and got up to settle the bill and left.

  Ouyang Qing saw that the man had left, so he hastily walked to the old man's side and sat down, saying very politely: "May I sit here?"

  "Whatever," the old man said with a flick of his wrist.

  "Excuse me," said Ouyang Qing, "I apologize for eavesdropping on your conversation, but I'd like to ask, Uncle, are you having trouble finding the raw materials for medicine?"

  The old man raised his head and looked up and down at the young man in front of him. After a moment, he said: "Do you have these goods?"

  "That's not it," said Ouyang Qing, "but I can cultivate and let villagers plant."

  "That's to say you don't have it ready?" The old man sneered, "You can't possibly make me wait until you sow the seeds, then wait for them to sprout, grow leaves, and finally bloom before selling them to me. You're not going to make me wait slowly for your distant water to come to my nearby fire, are you?"

  "Exactly as you said," Ouyang Qing smiled and said, "and I still haven't found the kind of flower until now?"

  "What's the point of talking then?" The old man scolded and stood up, ready to leave.

  "Listen, I'm a village head in charge of several villages. I've been to that village and the environment is great, the climate is mild, it's perfect for planting high-value flowers. But the villagers there are really backward, they only know how to plant corn and rice, which can't make them rich - as a flower merchant, you should know this too. So I want to try planting some myself first, once the villagers see that it's profitable, they'll follow suit. By then, whatever you need, however much you need, won't be a problem. What do you say?"

  "Not a bad idea, and very practical," said the old man. "I admire this official who thinks of the people..."

  "Thank you for the compliment," Ouyang Qing still smiled and said, "These are what I should have done."

  "What does this have to do with me?" The old man suddenly looked gloomy and said angrily, "Don't waste my time."

  "Uncle," Ouyang Qing said, not getting angry either. He pulled the old man back who was about to get up and leave, saying "Let's talk about it later, okay? To be honest, I haven't gotten anything so far, but you're not satisfied either, are you? If your acquisition goes smoothly, you won't have to sulk here either. So I say, since the result is already like this, why don't you give me some flower varieties? If I succeed, you'll have two places supplying flowers, and even if one place doesn't do well, the other can make up for it."

  The old man fell silent and sat back down. After a moment, he said, "Alright, I'll give you some flower seeds, but I hope to see a surprise from you two years later."

  "Of course!" Ouyang Qing saw that he had agreed, and was delighted to invite him to have another cup of coffee. The two then chatted casually for a long time, until they parted ways at one o'clock in the afternoon.

  Back at Lan Jingqiu's residence, Ouyang Qing was waiting for the old man to call him and send over the flower seeds. As for whether he would actually get the flower seeds, he didn't seem too sure either.