The Filial Beauty

Oaks prepared another batch of purification potions for Banner and, after leaving behind enough cash, set off on his return to New York.

The experimental equipment was naturally left to Banner, and Banner, having secured a powerful ally, had no intention of remaining in this beautiful tourist city—mostly because there were far too many English speakers here.

Oaks did not ask where he intended to go, but he did leave behind his contact information in New York.

This was not just for Banner to reach out for more potions when his supply ran low; if Banner ever came to a realization, Oaks could also lend him a hand in achieving coexistence with Hulk.

Brooklyn, New York, Emerald Dream plant shop.

"Whoa, Mr. Oaks, you're finally back!"

Zhang hurried over, cradling Goose in his arms, his face full of pleasant surprise.

"The shop is almost sold out of everything. Ah, I've felt like the air has been wrong for the past two days! You wouldn't believe it, but after finishing my classes these past few days, the thing I looked forward to most was coming back here to breathe the clean air. I couldn't even bring myself to sell the last few pots..."

"Feel free to sell them; I can restock tonight."

Oaks stretched his limbs wide and collapsed onto the sofa. Goose struggled out of Zhang's arms, hopped onto Oaks' lap, and sprawled out.

"So, how was watching the shop by yourself these past few days?"

Oaks gently scratched Goose under the chin, and she began to purr contentedly.

"Of course, Mr. Oaks!"

Zhang followed him over, sat down opposite Oaks, and began gesturing excitedly.

"Your plants are so expensive, yet they sell so well. There really are a lot of rich people out there! And that recovery potion—do you know what? It actually sold!"

Zhang splayed his five fingers, his expression one of pure disbelief.

"And the beautiful lady who bought it did so just to remove a scar. Five thousand dollars, flat. A tiny bottle the size of a thumb, and she didn't even blink before taking it!"

At this point, Zhang looked pained again.

"Sigh, it's a waste of its true value. The amount I used to wipe down the leaves back then must have been worth hundreds of dollars, right?"

Oaks rolled his eyes. If this guy knew that Oaks had given Banner several large soda bottles full of purification potions—which were even better than that recovery potion—back in the Amazon, he would probably faint.

"Alright, stop acting so pathetic. You spend all day in this environment; the benefits you've received are no less than what you'd get from wiping down a tiny bottle of recovery potion."

After communicating with Goose and confirming that no suspicious individuals had been lurking around since the recovery potion was sold, Oaks nodded with satisfaction.

"I'll restock tonight, and the air quality will shoot right back up. For now, you can close the windows—anything new happening lately?"

"Ha, as a matter of fact, yes."

Zhang nimbly ran to close the windows and brought back a newspaper.

"Look, the pressure regarding environmental protection has been mounting, and Stark Industries is taking the brunt of it. A new round of air quality assessments for New York just came out, and it's ranked the worst in the nation yet again."

"Stark Industries? Don't they use the Arc Reactor for power?"

Oaks took the newspaper, puzzled. If we're talking about air pollution, a single Arc Reactor should be able to cut Stark Industries' carbon emissions significantly. Besides, Stark Tower is a research facility; at most, it only houses a few experimental production workshops.

"Are they expanding the factories in Long Island and Queens? Is the New York government demanding they release their environmental impact reports?"

Oaks curled his lip.

"Stark Industries claims to be the most advanced multinational corporation; would they really overlook their emissions? Has the Mayor of New York lost his mind, trying to make an example out of them?"

"Hey, word is that some extremist environmental groups are marching in the streets, claiming the expansion hinders New York's greening efforts. The city government is probably just putting on a show, right?"

Zhang spoke as if he were an expert.

"They released their environmental impact report pretty quickly, though. Authoritative testing agencies, very impressive data."

"Hmm..."

Oaks looked at the environmental impact report for the new Stark Industries factory in Queens attached to the newspaper.

Ding-a-ling—

A customer had arrived, and Zhang hurried off to greet them.

"Ah, miss, welcome! What can I help you with?"

The customer was a young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair. Her large eyes were lively yet elegant, and a faint smile played on her lips. Zhang was stunned for a moment—what a beauty!

"Hello. I heard this plant shop is the best in all of New York."

The blonde beauty's eyes lit up the moment she stepped inside. She quickly noticed the stark difference between the indoor and outdoor air—just from Zhang closing the windows a moment ago, the powerful purification capabilities of the magical plants were already making themselves felt.

"Wow, such comfortable air..."

She widened her eyes in pleasant surprise.

"No air purifier?"

"Of course not, ma'am."

Zhang had seen plenty of customers asking this over the past few days, so he smiled and explained:

"I only just closed the windows a few minutes ago. The greenery in our shop is a special breed cultivated by the boss—exclusive, you know. There are only these four pots left now.

We usually keep the windows open when the shelves are full."

"Ha, that's perfect. Looks like I came at just the right time."

The blonde beauty walked over to a Magic Peace Lily, a popular indoor houseplant known for its air-purifying properties.

But the magic version here was on an entirely different level from the ordinary ones—

As the blonde beauty approached the plant, she could clearly feel the air becoming fresher.

"My aunt is getting on in years and comes to her old house in Brooklyn every year to recuperate.

I just got her settled in today, and the neighbors told me your shop has been quite famous lately. I'm glad I came."

She nodded in satisfaction and gave a bold wave of her small hand:

"Only four left? I'll take them all! Let me know when you restock so I can come back!"

"Uh? Ma'am, the prices for our greenery here... why don't you try buying just one first?"

Zhang glanced at Oaks, who was frowning at his newspaper. This was what Oaks had taught him to say; he usually suggested this to anyone who wasn't a regular customer, because one of his plants cost as much as ten from anywhere else!

Normally, ordinary plants of this quality would cost about 50 to 100 dollars, and even the expensive ones wouldn't exceed 200 dollars.

But the total price for the four pots the blonde beauty wanted was 4,500 dollars!

"It's fine. I asked the neighbors and got the details. My aunt is a traditional old English lady; she feels uncomfortable if there aren't any flowers or plants in the house.

Since these special plants work so well, being ten times more expensive is nothing."

The blonde beauty flashed a golden smile:

"My aunt's pension is quite high, and it's better spent on this than in a hospital."

"..."

Zhang had a retort stuck in his throat, unable to spit it out for a long while.

You really are a filial beauty!

"Heh, Stark Industries really is loaded."

The blonde beauty and Zhang turned their heads to see Oaks, who had been lying on the sofa, place Goose on his shoulder and stand up with the newspaper, looking both amused and exasperated:

"Ha, they're installing central air purification systems in all the offices of the new plant. The cost is equivalent to an entire production line, plus the energy consumption, maintenance, and consumables... tsk tsk, what a waste."

Zhang spread his hands helplessly:

"Yeah, I noticed that too. I even did a quick calculation; the installation cost for the two factories could buy several houses like yours in a year."

"...Ahem, if they spent their installation fees on our plants, they could keep the windows open and enjoy an oxygen bar every day. Plus, they'd only need water and sunlight, saving enough to buy several two-story houses a year!"

The blonde beauty's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this.

That makes so much sense!