Xia He did not want to listen to Kong Lu anymore. She threw the oar far away and jumped into the lake.

Xia He knew how to swim from a young age and was a very good swimmer.

“Xia He!” Kong Lu shouted anxiously as he sat on the boat.

Now that there was only one oar left, he did not know if he would be able to row himself to shore. The other oar had already drifted far away.

“Oh my.” Kong Lu sighed.

He had wanted to have a good chat with Xia He, but he did not expect such an outcome.

On the other side of town, Qiao Mei and Xia Zhe arrived at the state-run nurseries in the suburbs. The largest nursery in the capital that bought and sold all kinds of flowers and trees was located here.

Qiao Mei wanted to build a small garden in the courtyard and to make it a spot where they could have tea and take a rest. When her grandfather came over, he would also be able to enjoy spending time in it.

The two of them entered the first nursery. As soon as they entered, their noses were assailed by all kinds of fragrances. The yard was filled with colorful flowers and the air was filled with the fragrance of all kinds of flowers.

As soon as Xia Zhe entered, he sneezed immediately. He did not like fragrant things, no matter what it was. The fragrance of all the flowers mixed together was too complex for him.

Xia Zhe lowered his head and looked at Qiao Mei beside him. The only smell he ever liked was Qiao Mei’s smell. Xia Zhe had to lean closer to Qiao Mei and take a whiff of her body fragrance before his nose felt much better.

“Hello, what are you looking to buy?” asked a staff member as he walked over excitedly.

This young man was in his early twenties and not very tall. When he saw Qiao Mei entering, his eyes almost fell out of their sockets. However, when he got closer, he realized that this young lady was pregnant and there was a cold and stern man staring at him from behind her.

When the young man met Xia Zhe’s gaze, he was so frightened that his hair stood on end.

The whole situation felt like a jackal had taken a fancy to a rabbit, but there was a fierce tiger standing behind the rabbit.

“Do you… have any particularly beautiful flowers, the rare kind that you can’t bear to sell,” Qiao Mei said.

The young man was stunned for a moment and quickly said, “Yes, come with me to the back.”

After saying that, the young man turned around and led the way to the back, not daring to look back. Qiao Mei wondered why the shop assistant’s attitude had changed so obviously.

They passed through the front hall that was filled with flowers and entered the plastic shed at the back. Plastic was very rare during this period of time and plastic sheds could only be found in state-run nurseries. Furthermore, not all state-run nurseries could have as much plastic as they wanted, they still needed to apply for approval.

The flowers and plants in the plastic shed were indeed the more valuable types. The flowers outside were very common, such as different kinds of roses, peonies, azalea and lilies, among others. Inside the shed, there were more tropical plants.

“Master, there are two people here who want to see our camellias,” the young man shouted respectfully towards the small room inside.

An old man walked out of the room with his walking stick and looked at Qiao Mei and Xia Zhe.

This young lady was beautiful and fresh-faced. She was quite a good match for his precious camellias, so they can take a look.

The old man’s camellias ranked top among the nurseries around here. Ordinary buyers would not be able to purchase his camellias, and might not even have a chance to take a look.

The old man nodded and said, “Let’s go.”

He brought the two of them out of the plastic shed and into the glasshouse at the side.

Although glass was not as rare as plastic, the cost of glass was high. It seemed that there must be something even better in the glasshouse.

This glasshouse was very small, with an area of probably only about 100 square meters. Qiao Mei took a quick glance and saw many precious flowers, but there were no plum blossoms. It seemed that the climate and land here were not suitable for plum blossoms.

The old man brought the two of them to the center where there were a few small trees.

“This is one of the best camellia plants in our nursery. Take a look,” the old man said.

Camellias? Where?

Qiao Mei could recognize all the flowers in the courtyard, but she did not see any camellias.

“Old mister… this…” Xia Zhe looked at the old man in confusion.

The old man pointed at the small tree beside him and said, “This is my precious camellia plant.”

Qiao Mei and Xia Zhe stared blankly at the ordinary-looking tree in front of them.

This is a camellia plant?!