The Blessed Farm Girl Has a Spatial Storage
Chapter 89: Buying Saplings

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Buying Saplings

Zhao Dong thought for a moment and said, "Could you help me see if you can find some hawthorn, peach trees, date trees, and persimmon trees? Shopkeeper, please see what you can get and buy some for me."

The shopkeeper looked at Zhao Dong in surprise. "So many kinds?"

Zhao Dong smiled sheepishly. "Well, I have a lot of sloped land that isn’t suitable for crops, so I thought I’d plant some fruit trees. That way, the family will have fruit to eat."

This Zhao Dong fellow is a bit foolish, the shopkeeper thought. What farming family would dare not plant crops in their fields? Fruit can’t substitute a proper meal; they might go hungry if they’re not careful. Still, there was no real connection between them, and it wasn’t his place to advise him.

Besides, there was no reason to turn down business that came knocking, so he nodded and asked, "Alright, I’ll see what types I can find for you. Oh, by the way, about how many saplings of each kind do you want?"

Zhao Dong pondered for a moment. "Shopkeeper, how much does a fruit sapling usually cost?"

The shopkeeper stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Common fruit trees like hawthorn and date are fairly cheap, around ten to twenty coins per sapling."

Zhao Dong nodded, made a quick mental calculation, and said, "In that case, if you find them, please get me about fifty saplings of each kind."

Once they reached an agreement, they signed a contract, and Zhao Dong paid a deposit.

Zhao Dong chuckled. "Alright, Shopkeeper. I’ll have to trouble you with this then."

The shopkeeper smiled. "Not at all, you’re too kind."

After exchanging these pleasantries, Zhao Dong was about to leave when he noticed Zhao Zhitong still staring intently at the flowers.

Zhao Dong called out helplessly, "Tongtong, we need to go now."

Just then, Zhao Zhitong ran over, her eyes sparkling, and clung to Zhao Dong’s arm, pleading, "Dad, let’s buy two pots of peony flowers to take home, please!"

Hearing this, Zhao Dong paused, then said disapprovingly, "What would we do with those?"

Zhao Zhitong pouted. "To put in the house, of course! They’re so cheerful. Daddy, just imagine, if you could see such beautiful flowers every morning when you wake up, wouldn’t that put you in a wonderful mood?"

Even the shopkeeper couldn’t help but chuckle at Zhao Zhitong’s words.

But Zhao Dong remained firm. "No. I don’t need to see flowers when I wake up. Seeing you, my little flower, already makes my mood great. Be good now, we can’t just waste money. If you want to decorate your room, you can go with your Sister Yaya to pick flowers on the hillside when we get back. There are plenty of flowers there."

Zhao Zhitong refused. "No, no! I want to buy these! These are beautiful!"

The reason Zhao Zhitong suddenly insisted on buying the flowers went back to a moment earlier. While Zhao Dong was finalizing the agreement with the shopkeeper, she had been squatting in front of the peony flowers, chatting with Grandpa Bai.

She had asked Grandpa Bai how peonies were grown, and he had explained it to her.

Peony flowers can be propagated asexually. This means you can cut a small section from the parent plant, stick it in the soil, and it will grow into a new peony flower.

This gave Zhao Zhitong an idea. She asked in amazement, "So, if I have one peony flower, does that mean I can have countless peony flowers?"

Grandpa Bai paused for a moment, then nodded. "...You could put it that way."

Zhao Zhitong’s eyes lit up as if she’d spotted a huge business opportunity. "Wow, that’s amazing! I want to buy them and take them home to plant. Then I can grow lots and lots of them and sell them for lots and lots of money!"

Thinking of all that silver pouring in, Zhao Zhitong was absolutely thrilled.

However, Zhao Dong felt that buying flowers was a waste of money and remained firmly against it, even trying to pull her away.

Just then, Zhao Zhitong wriggled free. She put one small hand on her hip, extended her other hand towards Zhao Dong, and said fiercely, "Then give me my money! I’ll use my own money to buy the flowers!"

Zhao Dong still refused.

Zhao Zhitong pulled back her hand, pouted, and threatened, "Daddy, if you don’t agree, I’m going to cry! And if I cry, I might just tell everyone about Daddy’s secret stash of money!"

In the end, after Zhao Zhitong deployed her triple threat of pestering, tears, and blackmail regarding the secret stash, Zhao Dong couldn’t hold out any longer and finally relented. He bought her two of the cheapest peony flowers available, which still cost ten taels of silver.

Thrilled to have her flowers, Zhao Zhitong didn’t care that they were many times cheaper than the ones the wealthy man from earlier had bought. She happily ran out, clutching her treasures.

Behind her, Zhao Dong followed, also carrying a pot, his face a mask of anguish.

One flower for five taels of silver—what a ripoff! This little money pit!

When Sun Mei and the others saw Zhao Zhitong and Zhao Dong emerging from the flower shop, each carrying a potted flower, they were quite surprised.

Sun Mei exclaimed, "Ah, Husband, why did you buy two pots of flowers? If you want to decorate the house, I could bring you a whole cartload from the hillside!"

Hearing his wife’s reproachful tone, Zhao Dong shrugged. "Ask your precious daughter."

Sun Mei looked at Zhao Zhitong. "What happened?"

Zhao Zhitong hugged her flower, stuck out her tongue playfully, and chirped, "I threw a tantrum by rolling on the ground and crying!"

"Aiya, you little brat! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself, throwing a tantrum like that!" Sun Mei said, exasperated. She then turned to Zhao Dong. "How much did one of these flowers cost?"

Zhao Dong set the flower down on the cart and held up five fingers. "Five taels each."

Sun Mei almost bit her tongue. She whispered, "That expensive!"

Zhao Zhitong chimed in, adding fuel to the fire, "Mother, these are the cheapest ones! That uncle who left just before us bought one for a hundred taels."

She then placed her own flower on the cart and, panting a little, scrambled up after it. Beaming, she said, "Mom, when I grow lots and lots of peony flowers, I’ll sell them for lots and lots of money! Then, I’ll buy meat for Dad and Mom to eat, and new clothes for you to wear!"

Hearing their little girl’s words, any lingering anger Zhao Dong and Sun Mei felt dissipated.

Sun Mei looked at Zhao Zhitong curiously. "You little girl, do you even know how to grow flowers?"

Zhao Zhitong grinned, then said with surprising confidence, "Nope! But I can learn! It’s really simple. You just cut the branches of this peony flower into small pieces and stick them in the ground, and that’s it!"

Sun Mei was speechless. "..."

She had grown roses at home before, and the principle was indeed the same as for these peony flowers; that was how you propagated them. Whether they could actually make money, however, was another matter.

So, she patted Zhao Zhitong’s small head. "Alright then. You can explore how to grow lots of peony flowers yourself."

They could just consider the ten taels of silver as an investment in their daughter’s practical education. Hands-on experience was beneficial for a child’s development, after all.

Zhao Zhitong beamed, delighted to have her mother’s approval.

Next, the group headed to the clothier’s. Sun Mei went inside to buy fabric and furs, explaining that she wanted to get some new clothes and shoes made for the children.

Zhao Cheng, in particular, was ten years old but still wearing clothes from when he was eight or nine. The sleeves were too short, and the fit was awkward.

While Zhao Dong and the children waited outside, Zhao Zhitong, Zhao Yu, and Zhao Ya sat on the cart. Zhao Yu and Zhao Ya were currently fascinated by the two potted plants, especially Zhao Ya; like many girls, she had a fondness for beautiful flowers.

Even Zhao Cheng kept drifting over to take a look.

Zhao Ya exclaimed, "Wow, this flower is so beautiful!"

Zhao Yu nodded. "Mhm, it has so many petals! And it blooms so big, much bigger than the wildflowers."

Zhao Cheng also nodded repeatedly in agreement.