Chapter 41: The First Wave of Guests

In the midst of busyness, it seemed as though time didn’t exist; the alternation between day and night only allowed the weary to steal a momentary rest.

In the last few days of April, Cao Shujie had less time to play with his daughter.

After Cao Tiemin finished looking at the house that day and got a meal from Cao Shujie, he took his two people back to the county town to sort out the design drawings, and then let Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin review them.

Han Dingping and his team spent the whole day drilling the well.

When the cold well water gushed up, Cao Jianguo said, “For our water at home, we’ll come here.”

Wang Yuelan grumbled, “Aren’t you afraid of the hassle?”

“You women always complain, no one’s asking you to do the work. If you don’t like it, don’t drink it,” Cao Jianguo retorted.

After other tasks were finished, Cao Shujie contacted Ji Guangyou, the fruit sapling seller, and drove over to check the condition of the saplings.

Finally, he chose two superior types of kiwi tree saplings.

It’s worth mentioning that kiwi saplings are male and female, and they must be planted together, with a male to female ratio of six to one.

Fortunately, many in Cao Family Village have been planting kiwis and apple trees for years, so they have rich experience in this field.

Ji Guangyou was not foolish enough to deceive Cao Shujie about this.

…

In Yiling City, there is a second-tier university called Yiling University.

Cao Shujie’s sister, Cao Huifang, studies here in the teacher training program and is in the same class as her roommate Deng Miaoshan.

Since the last time she went home with Cao Huifang and saw the blooming fruit trees on the mountain, Deng Miaoshan fell in love with the scene of flowers in full bloom.

However, after returning from Cao Family Village, she spent her weekends visiting orchards around Yiling City. She found that the blossoming of trees there was not as full and beautiful as those at Cao Huifang’s home.

This discovery left her quite disappointed, but she also thought she would like to visit her good friend Cao Huifang’s home again to see the beautiful blossoms.

She selected a dozen photos from what she took and uploaded them to her Weibo and QQ space.

Initially, she didn’t pay much attention, but as time went on, more and more people left comments asking where the photos were taken.

Some classmates who saw the photos in her QQ space kept asking her about the location.

Others accused her of keeping such a beautiful place a secret from them.

In the dormitory, a few female classmates came over to ask her.

“Shanshan, just tell us, where did you take these photos? We won’t eat you,” asked a tall, long-haired, stylish girl named Ye Beiwen.

With the May Day holiday approaching, and a three-day break coming up, Ye Beiwen was wondering where to go.

The photos Deng Miaoshan uploaded to QQ space made a strong impression on her.

“Yeah, tell us, we’re not going to do anything to you,” another slightly fuller girl, Huang Jingmin, chimed in.

The others gathered around her, trying to get answers.

Deng Miaoshan looked uneasily at her good friend Cao Huifang, and the two exchanged a glance. Cao Huifang took the initiative to say, “Ye Beiwen, Huang Jingmin, don’t make it hard for Shanshan. That’s my family’s orchard with the kiwis and apple trees in bloom. Shanshan came home with me during the Qingming holiday and took some photos of the blossoms.”

“What? Are the blossoms in an orchard more beautiful than those in a botanical garden?” Ye Beiwen looked doubtfully at Cao Huifang, feeling she was being deceived.

When Deng Miaoshan heard Cao Huifang reveal the truth, she supported her friend: “Fangfang is telling the truth. I took them in her family’s orchard. Why don’t you believe us?”

“Really?” Huang Jingmin stared unblinkingly at Cao Huifang.

Cao Huifang and Deng Miaoshan nodded almost simultaneously, and Deng Miaoshan said, “It’s true. What do we gain by lying to you?”

Ye Beiwen thought for a moment, with a sly expression, “I still don’t believe it, unless you take me to see for myself.”

“Yes, take me too,” Huang Jingmin quickly added, afraid of being left out.

Others in the dorm also nodded eagerly. A girl named Xu Fang said, “With the May Day holiday free, why not go with Fangfang to her orchard?”

Hearing this, and seeing the interest from the others, Cao Huifang quickly said, “You all want to see, but the flowers are gone now, and it’s fruit-bearing time. What’s there to see?”

“Is that true, Fangfang? Are you lying to us?” Ye Beiwen clearly didn’t believe her.

Nor did the other girls, suspecting Cao Huifang was making excuses.

Huang Jingmin quickly searched the flowering time for kiwi and apple trees on her phone and found that it was between April and May.

She held her phone screen in front of Cao Huifang: “Look, Fangfang, it says clearly on Baidu, flowering from April to May. Is your place special? Just say you don’t want us to go.”

“Hmph…” Cao Huifang was speechless, never expecting her classmates to trust Baidu over her.

Hearing Huang Jingmin, the others looked at her phone and saw that the latest flowering time was early May, so not all flowers could have fallen.

They all protested, clinging to Cao Huifang, insisting on visiting her home.

“Go if you wish, but I’m telling you upfront, the flowers in our orchard have all fallen, and we don’t have many places for you to sleep,” Cao Huifang warned, to avoid disappointment later.

Upon hearing this, the girls nodded: “No problem. There must be hotels in your town, right?”

“Of course,” Cao Huifang nodded.

That evening, Cao Huifang called her brother Cao Shujie and talked about the issue.

Cao Shujie was speechless after hearing it and said, “Fangfang, it’s dark now. How about I go to the orchard tomorrow and take some photos? Everyone’s busy working, no flowers left.”

“Bro, it’s no use; I’ve already told them the flowers are gone, but they don’t believe me, even checking Baidu, saying I’m lying and insisting on seeing for themselves,” Cao Huifang was helpless.

She couldn’t help but complain, “What am I lying to them for?”

“Never mind then, it’s just a meal or two. Let them come,” Cao Shujie finally said.