Flowers bought for 100, sold for 1.4 million

Outside the county hospital.

Zhang Hongxing had been loitering there for three hours and had stopped more than one luxury car, but everyone had taken him for a scammer. No one would entrust their life to a stranger of unknown origins like him.

This was the first way Zhang Hongxing had thought of to make some quick money, but he had clearly failed.

Just as he was debating whether to try something else, a group of police officers walked toward him.

Well, someone had clearly called the police.

Given his current identity, Zhang Hongxing could hardly afford a confrontation with the police.

So he turned, slipped into the crowd, and quickly left.

Before the officers could call out to stop him, they realized their target had vanished.

With him gone, they naturally withdrew.

It was hardly a serious matter anyway. If they had lost him, so be it.

After leaving the county hospital, Zhang Cheng headed to the flower and bird market, where he spent 100 yuan on a pot of four-season osmanthus and a pot of rather ordinary-looking clivia.

The money for the flowers had, of course, come from Zhang Jun earlier.

With the flowers bought, he found another deserted corner, then channeled his true qi and began inscribing talisman arrays on the stems of both plants.

It was an array specifically designed to cultivate spiritual herbs, a fine acquisition Zhang Hongxing had seized from an Immortal Lord who specialized in alchemy.

It took a full hour to finish inscribing the arrays on both plants.

Though the two modified plants looked much the same, their very nature had changed. Even the naked eye could discern the vibrant vitality they radiated, while their delicate, unobtrusive fragrance left anyone who breathed it feeling refreshed.

An ordinary person who spent extended periods around these flowers might not live any longer, but their ability to relieve fatigue, soothe the mind, and aid sleep was absolutely dependable.

In a critical moment, the flowers could even be eaten to save a life.

Of course, for now, no one but Zhang Hongxing knew any of this.

Holding the two modified pots, Zhang Hongxing returned to the flower and bird market.

He then borrowed paper and a pen from the shopkeeper who had sold him the flowers and wrote out two price signs: 800,000 yuan for the clivia and 600,000 yuan for the four-season osmanthus.

Then, quite openly, he sat cross-legged on a relatively clean patch of concrete not far from the flower shop.

He placed the clivia and the four-season osmanthus in front of him, one on either side.

His actions soon drew a crowd of onlookers.

"800,000 for the clivia, firm, and 600,000 for the four-season osmanthus, firm. Good grief, he really had the nerve to write that."

"Has this guy gone crazy over money?"

"The flowers do look pretty nice, but those prices... tsk, tsk. Only an idiot would fall for that."

"Hahaha..."

Zhang Hongxing paid no attention whatsoever to their mockery.

When no one approached to ask about the flowers for a long while, he simply closed his eyes and quietly cultivated.

Once the crowd realized he had no intention of arguing with them, they gradually dispersed. Just then, a sprightly old man strode into the flower and bird market.

"Elder Zhuang, you're here."

"Elder Zhuang, looking at flowers again?"

"Elder Zhuang, I just got a lovely pot of single-flowered cymbidium. Would you like to take a look?"

Almost everyone who passed the old man greeted him, their faces wreathed in all manner of smiles. Clearly, this Mr. Zhuang was someone of considerable standing.

After entering the market, Mr. Zhuang headed straight toward the flower shop where Zhang Hongxing had bought his plants.

The shopkeeper came out well in advance to welcome him.

"Elder Zhuang, you're finally here."

The shopkeeper's face was full of smiles.

"Where are the flowers?"

"Inside the shop, just waiting for you to appraise them."

Smiling, the shopkeeper led Mr. Zhuang inside. They stayed there for a full half hour before emerging, and judging by the beaming smile on the shopkeeper's face, the deal had clearly gone through.

"Sun, what's going on over there?"

At the shop entrance, Mr. Zhuang pointed toward Zhang Hongxing. When he had arrived, he had been so eager to see the flowers that he had barely noticed that spot.

"Oh, just some idiot. He bought a pot of clivia and a pot of osmanthus from me this morning for 100 yuan. Not long afterward, he wrote up signs saying 800,000 and 600,000, firm, and set them out there to sell."

"Someone actually did that?" A trace of puzzlement crossed Mr. Zhuang's face.

"Elder Zhuang, I haven't told you a single lie. He even borrowed the paper and pen for the price signs from me."

"He bought the flowers from you, then borrowed paper and a pen from you?"

"That's right. He didn't even hide it from me when he wrote the prices."

At this, Mr. Zhuang grew rather interested. He wanted to see whether the man was a lunatic or had something else in mind.

Perhaps he was simply waiting for someone willing to take the bait...

As people grew older, they tended to overthink things and put more faith in mysterious, inexplicable matters.

By now, few onlookers remained around Zhang Hongxing.

Elder Zhuang easily made his way over to him.

"This fragrance..."

After just two deep breaths of the flowers' fragrance, Mr. Zhuang froze.

In that moment, he felt a stirring unlike anything he had ever experienced, as though something had suddenly come into being within his body. It was an utterly mysterious sensation.

Could this be...

Joy surged through Mr. Zhuang's heart, and two words immediately came to mind: internal energy.

After practicing tai chi for more than fifty years, Mr. Zhuang had believed he would never reach the stage of generating power within his dantian. Yet now, just two breaths of floral fragrance had brought him there.

Was this the flowers' doing, or merely a coincidence?

"Congratulations, sir."

Zhang Hongxing, who had kept his eyes closed all this time, opened them. Naturally, Mr. Zhuang's meager strength could not escape his notice, and his words indirectly resolved the old man's doubts.

"These flowers?"

"The flowers did indeed play a part."

"I, Zhuang Huaide, thank you, sir."

"There's no need. This was also the result of your own hard work."

"May I ask your name, sir?"

"Zhang."

Zhang Hongxing gave his surname, then continued, "If you want the flowers, pay for them. There's no need for anything else." More than half the day had passed since he had gone out that morning, and he had not eaten a bite of lunch.

All he wanted now was to sell the flowers quickly and go home with the money.

"Elder Zhuang, don't let him fool you. He really did buy those flowers from my shop."

Seeing that Mr. Zhuang seemed genuinely ready to buy the flowers, the shopkeeper hurried over to dissuade him. To his surprise, instead of thanking him for the warning, Mr. Zhuang shot him a fierce glare.

"Mr. Zhang, I'll buy these flowers. How would you like me to pay you?"

"Cash."

"Uh... Mr. Zhang, I really can't get that much cash together right away. Perhaps you could give me your bank account number, or..."

"No need. I'm staying in room 208 at the Sincerity Hotel. Just deliver the money there."

With that, Zhang Hongxing stood, made a farewell gesture to Mr. Zhuang, and headed out. His steps were exceedingly slow, yet he moved several times faster than an ordinary person.

The other people noticed little, merely assuming their eyes had played tricks on them.

But Mr. Zhuang's eyes were filled with shock.

"Elder Zhuang, he really is a scammer. You absolutely mustn't give him the money."

The shopkeeper still refused to give up. He did not want to let this chance to curry favor with Mr. Zhuang slip away.

Yet Mr. Zhuang acted as though he had not heard a word.

He walked over to the two plants and gathered them securely into his arms, one pot in each hand. Only as he was leaving did he turn back to the shopkeeper and slowly deliver his verdict.

"Utterly shortsighted."