Chapter 90: There’s Really That Much to Know About Growing Vegetables?

What Lu Qingqiang didn’t know was that when Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Fang, and the others talked about growing vegetables, they weren’t just making polite conversation.

They genuinely wanted to grow vegetables.

As wealthy society ladies, their daily lives could be quite dull at times.

Buying luxury goods, playing cards, dabbling in small investments, getting beauty treatments, tending to flowers, occasionally cooking on a whim.

Attending banquets, socializing with the wives of business partners, joining auctions, charity events, and so on…

Although they were sometimes busy, compared to ordinary people, they had far too much free time.

So when boredom hit, they looked for something fun to do.

Like their latest discovery—growing vegetables.

Growing vegetables was great, even wonderful. Not only did it pass the time, but more importantly…

You could eat what you grew.

Two birds with one stone.

Even Madam Lu, the wife of the richest man, personally went to the flower house to grow vegetables.

She didn’t just clear out a patch of land in the flower house to plant vegetables, she even had people dig up the unused plots around the villa area and sow all kinds of vegetable seeds.

Green onions, garlic sprouts, cilantro, Sichuan peppercorns—you name it, she planted it.

Even the lawn in front of the Lu Family’s house wasn’t spared.

That lawn used to be a meticulously maintained ornamental garden, trimmed by professional gardeners to perfection, full of artistic charm.

There were even several romantic decorations imported from France, specially arranged by the Lu Family.

On a sunny day with blue skies and white clouds, that lawn was the perfect place for wedding photos.

Why? Because it was simply too beautiful.

Some people even offered large sums to rent the space for photoshoots.

But Madam Lu turned them all down.

She said she planned to have the gardeners rework the lawn next year so she could plant flowers there.

Romantic roses along the fence. When they bloomed in season, wouldn’t that be breathtaking?

But before the next year even arrived, Madam Lu had the carefully maintained lawn dug up.

Once the ground was leveled and planned out, it was time to plant vegetables.

The land was reshaped into neat rows by professionals.

Apparently, that made planting more efficient.

Madam Lu said she planned to grow pumpkins, winter melons, strawberries, sunflowers, corn, and more.

When planting, pumpkins and winter melons needed to be spaced apart.

She also mentioned that at first, she wanted to plant potatoes, tomatoes, and cucumbers next to the pumpkins.

But her daughter Qingqing told her that wouldn’t work.

There were rules to growing vegetables.

There’s even a saying: “Don’t plant melons near potatoes, or disease will spread and ruin them.”

It meant that if pumpkins were planted too close to potatoes, the potatoes could suffer from severe late blight.

The tubers wouldn’t even have time to mature before the vines withered.

Plus, planting them together would attract pests like ladybugs.

Also, bitter melon shouldn’t be planted next to sponge gourd or cucumber.

Tomatoes and potatoes shouldn’t be planted together.

Sponge gourd and legumes shouldn’t be planted in the same spot repeatedly.

And so on, and so on.

Besides incompatible pairings, some vegetables couldn’t be planted in the same soil year after year.

Before planting, you had to check the soil quality, water appropriately, prevent pests and diseases, and so much more.

The more they learned, the more they realized…

Wow, there’s really that much to know about growing vegetables?

If you wanted to get good at it, it would take a long time to learn.

Well then, they’d finally found something that could truly occupy their time.

Of course, there was another way to look at it.

If everyone else was growing vegetables and you weren’t, then at the next party, when everyone’s sharing their planting tips and experiences…

You’d be completely out of the loop, unable to join the conversation. How awkward would that be?

Some started gardening to fit in, while others discovered a deep-rooted love for the land and genuinely fell in love with growing vegetables.

Like Madam Lu.

And Mrs. Fang and Mrs. Zhang.

At first, Madam Lu only went to the flower house to dig and plant as an excuse to get closer to Lu Qingqiang.

Later, she started reading books and learning planting tips just so she’d have something in common to talk about with Lu Qingqiang.

When the family sat together, if—just if—Qingqing didn’t know what to say, she could steer the conversation toward gardening.

But once the first batch of vegetables ripened and she tasted them, she truly fell in love with the feeling of growing things.

What she was harvesting wasn’t just vegetables, but a sense of fulfillment.

Even Lu Jianshen, who had followed behind Madam Lu with a reluctant expression to help out, stopped complaining about his mom digging up flowers to plant vegetables after tasting the food made from their homegrown produce.

Sometimes, he even took the initiative to wander into the flower house and water the plants.

As for Mrs. Fang next door, after tasting the vegetables Madam Lu gave her and visiting her tiny garden, she too became interested in gardening.

Mrs. Zhang, on the other hand, wasn’t the most socially adept, but she had a good heart.

Her greatest love was eating fresh, healthy, pesticide-free vegetables, fruits, and meats.

In her words, no matter how many beauty treatments you get, nothing beats eating clean, sleeping well, and staying calm.

So of course, she got interested in gardening too.

Before leaving, she even grabbed Lu Qingqiang’s hand and added her on WeChat.

As soon as they connected, she transferred several payments of 8,888 yuan to Lu Qingqiang, each marked as an unconditional gift.

Why send her money?

Don’t ask. She was happy, she had money, and she felt like it.

From now on, whenever she felt like it, she’d send Lu Qingqiang a little something.

Over time, Lu Qingqiang would definitely remember her.

Then, if she ever messaged Lu Qingqiang on WeChat with a gardening question, she was sure Lu Qingqiang would reply right away.

Hehe.

Even after returning to the orphanage, Lu Qingqiang still felt like the whole experience had been surreal.

She had thought that going home and meeting those wealthy ladies would bring wave after wave of gossip.

She expected judgment, criticism, and disdain.

But instead, none of that happened.

Everyone had been so warm and welcoming!

When she went back, she brought nothing but herself.

But when she returned, the red envelopes and gifts nearly filled her whole car.

It felt like she was being spoiled beyond belief.

Of course, she knew this was largely thanks to Madam Lu.

To help her fit in, Madam Lu kept steering the conversation toward topics Lu Qingqiang was familiar with.

And then there were the heartfelt thoughts she’d overheard from Madam Lu.

The cautious care and quiet protectiveness in those thoughts really warmed her heart.

Come to think of it, the reason everyone treated her so well was probably because Madam Lu had made it clear she was someone to be protected.

That was fine. Lu Qingqiang was the kind of person who returned kindness with kindness.

If someone didn’t like her, she wouldn’t force it.

After all, she wasn’t a stack of cash. Why should everyone have to like her?

She just needed to do what she loved and be the person she wanted to be.

Oh right, now that she had money, she’d made a decision…

She was going to take the kids from the orphanage out for a fun day.

For the past month and a half, they’d been studying or working in the fields nonstop.

It had been tough.

It was time to take everyone to the amusement park and have a blast.

When she shared the news, the kids practically exploded with excitement.

— Translator’s Notes —

– 8,888 yuan: In Chinese culture, the number 8 is considered extremely lucky due to its pronunciation being similar to the word for ‘prosperity.’ Gifting amounts with repeating 8s, like 8,888 yuan, is a way to convey good wishes and luck.