Chapter 89: I Love Growing Vegetables, Growing Vegetables Makes Me Happy

Today, Madam Lu invited a total of seven guests to her flower appreciation gathering.

These seven women had very different personalities, but they shared two things in common.

First, their husbands were all businessmen from Jiang City, each with some level of business cooperation with the Lu Family.

Second, they all had a passion for gardening and a fair amount of knowledge about flowers and plants.

So, as soon as two of these ladies arrived at the entrance of the Lu Family’s flower house, they couldn’t help but start chatting about flowers and vegetables.

But as they chatted, they suddenly realized something…

Their entire conversation had been overheard by none other than the Lu Family’s Second Young Master, who had apparently been standing behind them for quite some time.

The moment they realized this, both women felt a wave of awkwardness.

It was like that moment when you’re caught gossiping behind someone’s back.

“Hehe, Second Young Master, why didn’t you say anything when you came over?”

“Or maybe, Mrs. Zhang, your voice is just too loud and your hearing’s not what it used to be, so you didn’t notice me?” Lu Jianshen said lazily, his tone carrying a natural air of mischief.

“Oh? Is that so? Then that must be it.”

“These past few days, I’ve been wearing headphones to study. I suppose wearing them for too long has affected my hearing.”

“I’ll make sure to get it checked at the hospital soon.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Second Young Master,” said the woman addressed as Mrs. Zhang, quickly brushing aside her embarrassment with a smile.

“No need to thank me.”

“Second Young Master, would it be alright if we head straight into the flower house now? We wouldn’t want to disturb Madam Lu,” the other lady asked.

“Not at all, please go right in.”

Although Lu Jianshen was a bit unruly and carefree in his behavior, as long as no one crossed his bottom line, he was still quite proper and courteous in his interactions with others.

He led the two women inside, and soon they reached Madam Lu and Lu Qingqiang.

What followed was a round of warm and friendly greetings.

During this time, Lu Qingqiang stood quietly behind Madam Lu, a gentle smile on her face.

As expected, once the greetings were done, Mrs. Zhang pointed at Lu Qingqiang with curiosity.

“Madam Lu, this young lady is truly lovely. Who is she?”

“She looks so familiar! I know now—you’re the director of Jiang City Loving Heart Orphanage, aren’t you? Lu Qingqiang?” said the other woman, known as Mrs. Xue, with a hint of surprise in her voice.

“Yes, that’s me. Hello, ladies, I’m Lu Qingqiang,” she replied with a smile.

“Director Lu, so young and accomplished!”

“I never would’ve guessed that one of Madam Lu’s guests would be someone I’ve seen on TV,” said Mrs. Xue.

“Seen on TV? Isn’t Madam Lu’s daughter, Lu Fangyuan, the rising star in the entertainment industry?” Mrs. Zhang looked confused.

“Sister, it’s obvious you don’t check Weibo or follow the news much, do you?”

“Not long ago, there was an incident in Jiang City where a mentally ill person went on a rampage with a knife.”

“During that event, staff from the Loving Heart Orphanage responded immediately. They subdued the attacker and treated the wounded.”

“If it hadn’t been for them, those injured people might have bled out and died on the spot.”

“This morning, the victims who had been helped by the orphanage went there to express their gratitude for the staff’s selflessness and compassion.”

“Several media outlets went to cover the story.”

“Afterward, Director Lu even kindly invited them to stay for lunch.”

“And by noon, the Loving Heart Orphanage was already trending on social media,” Mrs. Xue explained.

“What was trending?” asked Madam Lu, curious.

She had spent the previous night reading and worrying about how to explain the situation with Lu Fangyuan to Lu Qingqiang, so she hadn’t slept well.

After watching Lu Qingqiang’s interview this morning, she had gone back to bed and missed the trending news Mrs. Xue mentioned.

“There were several trending topics.”

“Some were about the interviews, some recapped the incident.”

“But most of them were about the orphanage’s food.”

“Director Lu, if you don’t mind me asking, I saw a photo on Weibo showing twelve bowls stacked on top of each other. Someone claimed one of the guests ate them all.”

“Is that true?” Mrs. Xue asked, her face full of curiosity.

Twelve bowls of sour soup noodles!

Even if the bowls weren’t huge, they weren’t exactly small either.

She really couldn’t wrap her head around it. Who could eat that much in one sitting?

Had the person not eaten for three days?

Or was the sour soup noodles at the orphanage cafeteria truly that delicious?

“It’s true,” Lu Qingqiang replied.

In fact, after finishing those twelve bowls, that person had eaten other dishes too.

“Oh my, then your orphanage meals must be amazing!” Mrs. Xue exclaimed.

“Of course!”

“The food at Qingqing’s orphanage is top-notch.”

“All the ingredients are fresh.”

“And the chef is incredibly skilled.”

“Madam Lu, you’ve tried it too?” Mrs. Xue asked.

“Of course!”

“Oh, I almost forgot to introduce her.”

“This is my daughter—Lu Qingqiang.”

“So she’s Madam Lu’s daughter? No wonder I thought you two looked a bit alike the moment I walked in,” Mrs. Xue said, a look of realization on her face.

“What? She’s the Lu Family heiress?”

“Then what about Lu Fangyuan?” Mrs. Zhang’s jaw dropped slightly, clearly eager for gossip.

The fact that Lu Fangyuan had entered the entertainment industry under a different name wasn’t public knowledge, but those close to the Lu Family were well aware.

“Fangyuan? She…”

“Mrs. Zhang, Lu Fangyuan is my younger sister,” Lu Qingqiang said.

Madam Lu glanced at Lu Qingqiang, then began to explain.

“When I gave birth to Qingqing, Old Lu and I were traveling.”

“We ran into an accident, and in the chaos, we accidentally switched our baby with another woman’s daughter in the same maternity ward—Lu Fangyuan.”

“And that mistake lasted over twenty years.”

“It was only recently that we finally found Qingqing.”

“When Fangyuan found out, she said we should all return to our rightful families.”

“But Qingqing said her adoptive parents had already passed away, and even if Fangyuan returned, she’d have no family to go back to.”

“So she suggested we recognize Fangyuan as her sister and let her continue living with the Lu Family.”

“Fangyuan, being the strong-willed girl she is, said she had already lived under Qingqing’s rightful identity for so many years.”

“She didn’t want to be selfish anymore, so she packed her things, returned to her hometown, and went back to work at her company.”

“To be honest, both Qingqing and Fangyuan are good girls.”

“I owe Qingqing too much, and I will make it up to her from now on.”

“Even though Fangyuan is no longer part of the Lu Family, she’s still the most promising young actress under our company.”

“And she’s still Qingqing’s sister.”

Mrs. Zhang looked utterly stunned, while Mrs. Xue, though surprised, kept her composure.

She smiled and said, “Madam Lu, what a remarkable twist of fate.”

“Miss Qingqing truly embodies the grace of the Lu Family—kind, noble, and warm-hearted. She’s a wonderful young lady.”

“If my daughter had even half of Qingqing’s qualities, I’d be over the moon.”

“And that Fangyuan girl, raised by the Lu Family, is clearly just as remarkable.”

“When we get home, I’ll be sure to have my daughter learn from Qingqing.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Zhang quickly chimed in.

“Exactly! Sometimes, life really does take unexpected turns.”

“Isn’t that the truth? But let’s keep this matter between us, ladies. Please don’t spread it around,” Madam Lu said.

“Of course!” The two women nodded eagerly.

What Madam Lu said was a subtle warning.

She wasn’t forbidding them from spreading the news.

She just meant they couldn’t spread it recklessly.

They mustn’t damage Lu Qingqiang’s reputation, nor could they trample on Lu Fangyuan.

Sigh.

As expected of an elite family, there was always some strange gossip brewing inside.

And today’s gossip? It was delicious.

After chatting a bit more, Madam Lu led the two women on a tour of the flower house.

During this time, the other five guests arrived one after another.

Among the five ladies were Fatty Huang’s mother, Mrs. Huang; Feng Xiao’s mother, Mrs. Feng; Da Cong’s mother, Mrs. Zhou; and Mo Chenjing’s mother, Mrs. Mo.

Xu Ming’s biological mother had passed away from illness, and the stepmother at home had taken her place after being the mistress.

In their social circle, people looked down on women like that.

So whenever there were events, she was never invited.

The last lady was Mrs. Fang, who lived in the villa not far from the Lu family.

Lu Qingqiang quickly experienced the enthusiastic welcome of her second brother’s friends’ mothers.

First, Mrs. Huang grabbed her hand warmly, looked her up and down, and showered her with praise.

She praised her like a rare treasure, so much that Lu Qingqiang almost floated away.

Then Mrs. Zhou pulled her over and continued the compliments.

While praising her, Mrs. Zhou even took off a large gold bracelet from her own wrist and slipped it onto Lu Qingqiang’s.

That bracelet was heavy—at least over 80 grams.

No sooner had Mrs. Zhou put the bracelet on her than Feng Xiao’s mother stuffed a thick red envelope into her hand.

As she forced it into her palm, she praised Lu Qingqiang for running the orphanage so well.

She said it was thanks to her that Feng Xiao had grown up so quickly.

She even called Lu Qingqiang their family’s great benefactor.

Lu Qingqiang was still trying to process all this when Mrs. Mo pulled her aside.

With a regretful and remorseful expression, Mrs. Mo said that if she had known earlier, she never would have let Mo Chenjing go on that business trip with his father.

Because of that trip, they had missed out on so much.

She then forcibly handed Lu Qingqiang a bank card, saying it was a donation to the orphanage.

The card’s password was six zeros.

After that, she earnestly begged Lu Qingqiang.

Next time there was any farming or manual work, she must let her know.

She insisted on sending Mo Chenjing over to help.

Not just to help, but to pay to help.

For every day Mo Chenjing worked at the orphanage, the Mo family would cover a full day’s worth of food expenses for the children.

Lu Qingqiang was speechless.

This was a real mother, no doubt about it.

Even if it cost her, she was determined to pack up her own son and send him to the orphanage to do hard labor?

Unbelievable.

She wondered how Mo Chenjing would react if he found out.

Would he secretly mutter, “Mom, oh my dear mom, having you is truly my blessing”?

While Lu Qingqiang’s imagination was running wild, Mrs. Fang came over and pulled her away.

Mrs. Fang looked at her excitedly and asked, “Qingqing, when you get the chance, could you give me some of those vegetable seeds from your family?”

“You have no idea. A few days ago, your mom gave us some of the vegetables she grew.”

“At first, I wasn’t interested in trying them.”

“But then I accidentally took a bite, and it was like a revelation.”

“My goodness, who knew homegrown vegetables could taste that good?”

“Of course, I’ve grown vegetables before too.”

“But to be honest, the ones I grew were nowhere near as good as the ones your mom gave us.”

“I thought about it and finally figured it out…”

“The seeds you provided must be top-quality.”

“Only with high-quality seeds and proper gardening skills can you grow vegetables that taste that amazing.”

“Qingqing, your mom said you really know your stuff.”

“If you have time, come visit Auntie’s place.”

“I’ve already cleared out my entire backyard garden, just waiting for you, my little expert, to come and give me some guidance.”

“Don’t worry, Auntie won’t waste your time for nothing.”

“Let’s say… one million per hour. How about that?”

“…” Lu Qingqiang.

Such a simple, ordinary request. Nothing unusual at all.

So should she agree, or… agree?

The appearance and actions of these five women left Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Xue completely stunned.

Especially Mrs. Fang’s final offer, which left Mrs. Zhang utterly dumbfounded.

Huh?

What was going on?

Had she really fallen behind the times?

Was growing vegetables actually the new trend now, not flowers?

Otherwise, why would not only Madam Lu dig out part of her garden to grow vegetables, but even Mrs. Fang was willing to pay a million just for guidance?

Could homegrown vegetables really taste that good?

She still wasn’t convinced.

But two hours later, Mrs. Zhang got her answer in the most direct way possible.

During those two hours, the ladies wandered around Madam Lu’s flower house.

As they strolled, they exchanged compliments and gossiped.

They praised the flowers in Madam Lu’s flower house, and they truly were beautiful.

There were even several nearly extinct varieties that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

As for the gossip, there was no end to it.

In-laws, husbands, children, daughters-in-law—there was always something to talk about.

Lu Jianshen, seeing the opportunity, pulled Lu Qingqiang aside and took her out for a bit.

Two hours later, Madam Lu had the staff prepare afternoon tea, along with pastries, fruits, and other refreshments.

Included were several dishes made from vegetables grown in their own garden.

There was stir-fried baby greens, cold spinach salad, and a vegetable salad.

The salad featured homegrown crystal radish, carrots, lettuce, purple cabbage, and cherry tomatoes.

The cucumbers and loofahs weren’t ripe yet.

Otherwise, Madam Lu would have definitely had the kitchen serve up a loofah soup and a cucumber salad.

She also had the kitchen prepare spinach, tofu, and vermicelli buns using their own spinach.

There were also scallion beef buns and napa cabbage pork buns.

Mrs. Zhang had been curious all this time.

So when Madam Lu invited everyone to help themselves, she didn’t hold back.

She picked up a scallion beef bun and took a small bite.

Hm? It was surprisingly delicious.

By the time she finished one bun and looked up, the others were already halfway through their second.

Not only that, they were all using their chopsticks to quickly grab more food.

She hurriedly picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a piece of crystal radish from the salad.

And was instantly blown away.

What on earth? Why did this crystal radish taste so good?

Crisp and refreshing, with a hint of spice and sweetness.

It was absolutely delicious!

She quickly grabbed some stir-fried baby greens.

Heavens, how could baby greens be this sweet, fresh, and tender?

And that lettuce—oh my, so crisp and delicate…

If you wrapped it around sizzling grilled meat and took a bite…

Wouldn’t it be enough to make someone faint from joy?

After the meal, Mrs. Zhang didn’t want to leave.

Shamelessly, she stayed behind and started pestering Madam Lu for her vegetable-growing secrets.

Mrs. Xue teased her from the side, “Sister, didn’t you say before that if someone asked you to grow vegetables, you’d do it in your next life?”

“Huh? What? I said that? I don’t remember!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I love gardening. Growing vegetables brings me joy!”

“As soon as I get home, I’ll have someone clear out a space so I can focus on growing vegetables!”

“…” Mrs. Xue and Madam Lu exchanged glances.

— Translator’s Notes —

– thick red envelope: A traditional Chinese gift containing money (hongbao), typically given for celebrations or as a gesture of goodwill; the ‘thick’ means it contains a generous sum.