Lu Ao had never heard of Harumi Mandarin, but he was very familiar with its common name, Harumi Mandarin.
Every winter and spring, he bought quite a lot of Harumi Mandarins.
Harumi Mandarins were sweet, crisp, and tender. The pulp inside each segment was made up of large, plump little vesicles, and they had an excellent texture when bitten into.
Lu Ao was interested. "Would it be convenient for you to take us to have a look?"
"Of course it's convenient. What wouldn't be?" Old Chen said. "Harumi Mandarin trees were fairly expensive when I bought them. One sapling cost me a thousand yuan. I heard they were introduced from overseas. I didn't have much money, so I only bought five. Two died later, and there are three left now."
Lu Ao was somewhat surprised. "The saplings were that expensive? How big were they when you bought them?"
"Not very big, only up to my thigh. My friend said these saplings were good. Other varieties weren't nearly so expensive."
"Since these saplings are so valuable, doesn't anyone cultivate them?"
"They do. They started cultivating them a few years ago. But nobody knows how good the cultivated saplings are, so they can't fetch a high price. Most sell for a few dozen to a hundred yuan each."
Old Chen led them halfway up the mountain to take a look. "The Harumi Mandarins are planted here."
Lu Ao looked over and saw three citrus trees standing side by side. Each was quite tall, at least three meters high, their canopies spread wide like enormous green umbrellas.
All three Harumi Mandarins were in bloom. Small white flowers either hid among the leaves or poked out from them, adding lively touches to the citrus trees.
Old Chen kept bees in his orchard. Countless little