Chapter 88: You Want Me to Grow Vegetables? Ha, Maybe in My Next Life

After destroying the hidden surveillance camera and wiping away all traces, Lu Jianshen let out a long, deep breath.

Man, it really hadn’t been easy for him.

To be honest, his mood right now was a little complicated, though he couldn’t quite say why.

Feeling annoyed, he needed to vent on someone.

With that thought, Lu Jianshen pulled out his phone and dialed Feng Xiao’s number.

Feng Xiao picked up quickly on the other end.

“Hey, Brother Shen, what’s up?”

“You picked up that fast. Don’t tell me you’re secretly reading webnovels behind your dad’s back again?”

“Hehe, Brother Shen, you know me too well!”

“You useless bum! Of all the things you could be doing, you choose to read novels?”

“Fine, read if you want, but at least read something worthwhile like the Four Great Classics or some economics. Why are you reading CEO romance trash?”

“If you really wanted, you could be a CEO yourself, couldn’t you?”

“How do you even stomach those ridiculous, brain-rotting plotlines?”

“If you’ve got that much free time, why not start helping my sister with the greenhouse vegetables tomorrow?”

“She’s got four greenhouses sitting empty.” Lu Jianshen fired off like a machine gun.

“Come on, Brother Shen, I just got home a few days ago!”

“Did you forget that I stayed at your sister’s—no, our sister’s orphanage for over a month?”

“I was digging up trees for a whole month, alright?”

“My hands got calluses, you hear me?”

“Brother Shen, these past weeks haven’t been easy for me!”

“I finally finished planting all those trees and just got home to rest for a couple of days. Cut me some slack, will you?”

“And seriously, what kind of overbearing CEO spends his free time digging holes and planting trees?”

“That’s usually the job of some clueless assistant, not the CEO himself.”

“Unlike them, I’m your loyal bro, Brother Shen!” Feng Xiao cried out on the other end.

He’d nearly worked himself to death planting those trees for over a month, okay?

Well, to be fair, it was only tough at the beginning. After a while, he got used to the workload.

In fact, over the past month, he’d even picked up a bunch of combat techniques from the orphanage’s security staff.

He felt stronger than ever, with a great appetite and boundless energy.

He’d memorized every child’s name and personality at the orphanage and could now chat and play with them like a natural.

Oh, and the most ridiculous part?

Even though he’d been working nonstop for over a month, instead of losing weight, he’d actually bulked up and gained some muscle!

The food at the orphanage was just too good.

Every meal was different, and he ate his fill every time.

But ever since he got home, his appetite had noticeably dropped.

Still, no matter how good the food was, he didn’t want to go back to working again!

It was exhausting.

And there was no pay.

In the end, he didn’t even get a thank-you banner!

All he got were a few little red flowers from the kids.

Tch, what was he supposed to do with those?

They weren’t edible!

As he took the call, Feng Xiao jumped up from the couch and stood in the living room, staring at a framed picture on the wall.

He couldn’t help but grin as he looked at it.

Inside the frame was a drawing from a little girl at the orphanage named Song Li. It showed him bent over, planting trees.

At the bottom of the frame were those so-called worthless little red flowers he’d just mentioned.

“As your good brother, shouldn’t I share in your blessings and your burdens?”

“Alright then, it’s settled. Tomorrow at 2 PM, see you at the orphanage.”

“Don’t forget to bring Xu Ming along.”

With that, Lu Jianshen hung up.

Sure enough, after scolding Feng Xiao, he felt much better.

Hmph, serves him right. Ever since he found out that Lu Qingqiang and Lu Fangyuan were the real and fake heiresses, he’d been buzzing in Lu Jianshen’s ear nonstop.

One minute it was “The real young miss is about to go dark,” the next it was “The fake heiress is about to stir up trouble.”

Telling him to stay on guard.

As a result, Lu Jianshen had been on edge every single day lately.

But in the end, none of Feng Xiao’s predictions came true.

His sister was the best sister in the world!

Feng Xiao was the real troublemaker.

And the best way to deal with a troublemaker? Put him to work.

Keep him too busy to read those absurd novels.

Hmph, looks like not only is the family lost without him, even his friends need his constant supervision!

Ah, truly, he was amazing—clever, perceptive, and full of heart. The one and only Lu Jianshen!

Just as he was basking in his own brilliance, his phone rang again.

It was Madam Lu.

“Hello, Mom? What’s up?”

“Who were you talking to for so long? Why haven’t you come down yet? Didn’t I tell you at lunch to help out at the flower house?”

“Where are you?”

“Your sister’s already there, watering the flowers and vegetables.”

“You’re her second brother. Can you be a little more reliable?”

“…Got it, Mom. I’m coming now.” Lu Jianshen hung up and headed downstairs, resigned.

Sigh!

Once he finished dealing with the flower house, he’d give Fatty Huang a call.

His sister had mentioned that she planned to keep a few boxes of bees in the greenhouses.

The kind with five frames per box, costing only about 500 yuan each.

Not expensive.

After all, last time when Fatty Huang provided some small animals for her mountain project, it wasn’t long before his dad set up a major collaboration with the Huang family.

That deal brought the Huangs a net profit of at least a small fortune.

Fatty Huang himself received plenty of praise and rewards.

Hopefully, he’d seize this new opportunity too~

Just as Lu Jianshen reached the entrance of the family’s flower house, he heard two visiting socialites chatting inside.

They weren’t speaking loudly, but he could hear them clearly.

“What was Madam Lu thinking?”

“She spent tens of millions, maybe even over a hundred million, building this flower house, and now she’s using it to grow vegetables?”

“If you want to eat vegetables, just go buy them.”

“Sure, organic ones are a bit pricey, but the Lu family isn’t exactly strapped for cash.”

“Why go to such lengths just to swat a mosquito with a cannon?”

“Sis, that analogy is… kind of funny.”

“But maybe Madam Lu has her reasons?”

“What reasons? Don’t tell me she’s growing alien vegetables from outer space?”

“Vegetables are vegetables. What’s the big deal?”

“Are they supposed to taste like meat or something?”

“If you ask me, growing flowers makes more sense!”

“Raise a good orchid and it can sell for millions!”

“Sis, that’s… well, how should I put it.”

“You think the Lu family cares about a few hundred thousand or even a few million?”

“Whatever Madam Lu wants to grow, that’s her call.”

“Besides, if you think about it, growing vegetables isn’t so bad.”

“Flowers are only for looking at. Vegetables are different.”

“They’re nice to look at, and you can eat them too.”

“From planting to harvest, just thinking about it gives a sense of accomplishment.”

“Say what you want, but I’m not into vegetable farming.”

“You want me to grow vegetables? Ha, maybe in my next life.”

— Translator’s Notes —

– the Four Great Classics: Refers to the four most famous works of classical Chinese literature: ‘Journey to the West’, ‘Water Margin’, ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, and ‘Dream of the Red Chamber.’