Zhang Yu's gaze went straight to the last item.
Out-of-print collector's edition.
Complete set.
It sounded reliable.
He didn't have much gold, but this was connected to the Hundred Flowers Brew quest.
The quest reward was one summoning chance and a thousand gold.
Spend five hundred, earn a thousand, and get a free summon on top.
No matter how he calculated it, he couldn't lose.
"Purchase."
[Ding!] [Purchase successful: Out-of-print collector's edition: Complete Shinobi World Flower Compendium, complete set.] [Gold -500.]
The next moment, a thick set of books appeared in his system storage.
Zhang Yu reached in and took it out.
Thud.
A stack of thick, finely bound books landed on the flower shop counter.
Ino jumped.
"What's this?"
Zhang Yu pushed the top book toward her.
"A flower compendium."
Ino looked down.
Several large characters stood out on the cover.
"Complete Shinobi World Flower Compendium."
There was smaller print beside them.
All-regions collector's edition.
Ino had only meant to glance at it, but after she opened the first page, she froze.
The pages contained more than just flower names.
Their places of origin, blooming seasons, colors, scents, uses, picking precautions, and preservation methods were all clearly documented, as were their connections to the climates, soils, and medicinal properties of various regions across the Shinobi World.
Most astonishing of all, each flower was accompanied by a terrifyingly detailed hand-drawn illustration.
Roots and stems.
Leaf veins.
Petal patterns.
Changes before and after blooming.
Even the differences between similar flower species were listed separately.
The more Ino read, the more quietly she breathed.
She had grown up in the Yamanaka Flower Shop and considered herself familiar with quite a few flowers.
Yet on the very first page were several varieties she had only heard older florists talk about.
She flipped farther ahead.
Icebell flowers from the Land of Snow.
Water-mist lotuses from the Land of Waterfalls.
Red-sand roses from the Land of Wind.
Ringing-light vine flowers from the Land of Lightning.
There were also ancient flower species that had long since disappeared from trade.
Ino's eyes lit up.
"This book..."
She looked up sharply at Zhang Yu.
"Sir, where did you get this flower compendium?"
Zhang Yu didn't explain. He simply pushed the remaining books toward her.
"The complete set."
Ino fell silent on the spot.
She stared at the whole stack of books, nearly losing her grip on her little scissors.
To someone who knew flowers, these were no ordinary books.
They were a treasure trove.
Information a florist might never see more than a few pages of in a lifetime was now sitting in a complete set right in front of her.
Ino couldn't resist turning a few more pages.
The more she read, the harder it was to stop.
"They even recorded the three variants of evening primrose separately..."
"This preservation method is so detailed, too."
"Wait, Kirigakure has this kind of blue-petaled flower?"
"Isn't this the variety that was rumored to have gone extinct ages ago?"
Her voice grew quieter and quieter as she practically sprawled across the counter.
Her blond hair fell beside the pages, shining in the sunlight.
Seeing her like this, Zhang Yu immediately knew where things stood.
It was right up her alley.
To others, this flower compendium might be nothing more than reference material.
But to a girl like Ino Yamanaka, who came from a family of florists, it was an irresistible temptation.
Sure enough, the system notification sounded.
[Ding!] [Detected intense desire for knowledge in key individual Ino Yamanaka.] [Event quest triggered.] [Quest name: The florist girl's astonishment.] [Quest requirement: Show Ino Yamanaka the Complete Shinobi World Flower Compendium and awaken her desire for floral knowledge.] [Quest complete.] [Reward: 500 gold.]
Zhang Yu could barely keep the corners of his mouth from rising.
He had just spent five hundred gold, and the system had immediately given him five hundred back.
Wasn't that getting it for free?
He had also maximized his purchasing efficiency while he was at it.
Zhang Yu's mood immediately improved considerably.
He tapped the counter.
"Ino, help me cross-reference these with the compendium."
"I need a hundred different kinds of flowers."
Only then did Ino come back to her senses.
"A hundred kinds?"
She paused, then looked at the flower racks in the shop.
"We have quite a few kinds, but the ones we usually keep in stock are varieties that can be bought around Konoha, preserved, and sold on a daily basis."
"If we cross-reference them with this compendium..."
She quickly flipped through the book, then turned to scan the racks.
Once she switched into professional mode, her movements immediately became brisk.
"This is a white bellflower."
"This is a gold-thread chrysanthemum."
"Fragrant wisteria, short-petaled moon orchid, Konoha camellia, slender-leaf iris..."
As Ino named them, she took flowers from the racks.
She wasn't picking them at random.
Each time she took one, she checked it against the pages.
Soon, a little sea of flowers had piled up beside the counter.
Red, white, purple, blue, yellow, and pale pink.
Their mingled fragrances filled the little shop.
As Zhang Yu watched the number steadily increase, he felt more at ease.
The quest was finally making progress.
The busier Ino got, the more excited she became.
At first, she had simply been helping a customer gather his order.
Before long, she was checking the compendium for herself.
Whenever she matched a flower, she couldn't resist taking another look at its entry.
"So you can actually force this one to bloom earlier?"
"No wonder I always failed to preserve it before. It has to be kept away from heat and strong light."
"This flower can't be kept with red-root grass? Their scents will mix..."
The more she read, the more amazed she became.
The information was incredibly practical.
It wasn't something an amateur had made up.
Only someone who truly understood flowers, their origins, and how to preserve them could have compiled it.
Ino suddenly had a feeling.
If the Yamanaka Flower Shop had a set of these compendiums, the shop's floristry skills could improve by at least a great deal.
It wasn't just about selling flowers.
Cultivation, preservation, arrangements, and medicinal uses would all benefit.
Watching her expression change, Zhang Yu felt a secret thrill.
This was the power of superior knowledge.
Somewhere else, he might have had to do some persuading.
But with Ino, putting the compendium on the counter was more effective than a hundred words.
More than half an hour later, Ino finally stopped.
She sorted the flowers batch by batch, tied them into bundles by type, and wrapped them in paper.
"Sir, I've checked them against the book."
"There are over seventy kinds of flowers in the shop that match exactly."
Zhang Yu's brow twitched.
"Only seventy-odd kinds?"
Ino nodded, her tone serious.
"That's already quite a lot."
"Many varieties in this compendium aren't commonly found in Konoha, and some even come from other countries."
"Some are too rare for an ordinary flower shop to keep in stock at all."
She raised a hand and pointed to the pages.
"These ones, for example, have to be found near wooded mountains and wetlands."
"These aren't in season, so you'll have to wait."
"As for these, I can ask a flower merchant to make inquiries, but it'll take time."
Zhang Yu thought it over and found it acceptable.
A hundred kinds of flowers was no small number to begin with.
Getting more than seventy in one go was already quite efficient.
"All right."
"Pack up all the ones you have."
"Keep an eye out for the rest for me."
Ino nodded at once.
"No problem."
She began packing them up with practiced hands.
But as she worked, she couldn't help looking at the compendium again.
The look in her eyes was obvious.
She wanted it.
She really wanted it.
Ino bit her lip, but in the end, she couldn't stop herself from asking.
"Sir, where did you buy this flower compendium?"