SAG -Chapter 160 The Hybrid Qingxiang Orchid

Early on the morning of February 22, every elementary school student in Shanghai wore a miserable expression as their parents dragged them out of their warm beds.

At the same time, parents across Shanghai collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally…

Finally, they no longer had to spend every single day with their little troublemakers. They felt that if they had to stay with their own little brats any longer, it would become the greatest challenge to their parent-child relationships.

It had taken less than a week for their precious little darlings to turn into “little brats.”

And it had taken less than half a month for their calm mentality to reach the brink of complete collapse.

Of course, not every parent felt that way.

At the very least, Zhang Ran did not.

He loved spending time with Zhang Xiaotao and Susu. Just seeing the two little ones was enough to make him happy for the entire day.

What depressed Zhang Ran somewhat was that Susu’s kindergarten also resumed classes that same day.

That meant he was back to his daily routine of taking the children to school and picking them up afterward.

After dropping the two little ones off at their respective schools and reminding them to listen to their teachers, Zhang Ran stood there staring blankly at the school buildings, unsure what he should do next.

Everything that needed to be done had already gotten onto the right track.

Zhang Sicheng’s company was developing rapidly, while Zhang Siyan had officially joined Kangshilan.

As for his own affairs, they were also progressing. There were simply certain matters that required waiting until the impact could be minimized before he would make his move.

Although he already had a certain degree of confidence, he still wanted to see whether Meng He’s side would achieve any results. If they did, he would adjust his own plans accordingly.

However, Zhang Ran did not remain idle for long.

Someone called him.

“Brother Zhang, are you free right now?” Qian Zhengkun asked over the phone.

“Of course I am. What’s the matter, Brother Qian?” Zhang Ran replied.

“It’ll take too long to explain over the phone. If you’re free, come over to my place. I’ll send you the location,” Qian Zhengkun said.

After receiving the location, Zhang Ran and the others drove over, curious about what Qian Zhengkun wanted.

After driving for nearly an hour and a half, they finally arrived.

It was a rather desolate suburban area, with numerous greenhouses scattered nearby.

“Brother Zhang, over here!” Qian Zhengkun waved as soon as he saw their car.

After He Yong parked the vehicle, Zhang Ran got out and asked, “Brother Qian, what’s this all about? Why so mysterious?”

As he led Zhang Ran inside, Qian Zhengkun explained, “Do you remember the pot of Qingxiang Orchid you gave me last time?”

“Of course I remember,” Zhang Ran replied. “What? You want another one? You only had to ask.”

Zhang Ran would never be stingy with Qian Zhengkun and his wife.

Setting everything else aside, Qian Li’s actions alone were enough to make him this generous.

More and more, Zhang Ran found himself grateful that Zhang Siyan had a best friend like Qian Li.

He also hoped that the friendship between Zhang Siyan and Qian Li would last forever.

Qian Zhengkun hurriedly waved his hands.

“No, that’s not it. I don’t want… no, I do want one, but not… sigh, how should I explain this? Just come take a look first.”

Zhang Ran’s generosity had genuinely startled him.

By now, he already knew the true value of the Qingxiang Orchid.

In fact, he believed he understood its value even better than Zhang Ran did. It was worth far, far more than five hundred thousand yuan.

That was why he hoped Zhang Ran would make a decision only after learning the truth.

Zhang Ran was completely confused.

Why had Qian Zhengkun first said he didn’t want one, then immediately said he did?

Still, Zhang Ran did not press him. He simply followed behind, curious to see what they were up to.

Very soon, they arrived in front of a greenhouse.

This greenhouse was completely different from the others.

The surrounding greenhouses were ordinary plastic structures, but this one was built entirely with specialized greenhouse glass. Even its entrance looked remarkably high-tech.

“This is the private research greenhouse of Old Zheng and Old Wu,” Qian Zhengkun explained. “The two of them love researching flowers and plants, and each has their own area of expertise.”

The moment Zhang Ran stepped inside, a faint floral fragrance drifted toward him.

The scent was extremely light, but it instantly refreshed his mind.

Why did this fragrance smell so much like the Qingxiang Orchid?

Although it was much lighter, and its aroma lacked the lingering richness of the true Qingxiang Orchid…

The moment Zhang Ran clearly saw what was growing inside, he froze in shock.

This was the first time He Yong had ever seen such an expression on Zhang Ran’s face.

A mixture of astonishment and delight.

He stood there dumbfounded for a moment.

Then, almost instinctively, He Yong quietly moved to the entrance, positioning himself so that he unknowingly blocked the greenhouse’s only exit.

“Th-This is…?” Zhang Ran stammered.

He truly had never expected to witness such a sight.

Seeing Zhang Ran’s reaction, Qian Zhengkun immediately smiled proudly.

“Brother Zhang, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. These are all Qingxiang Orchids!”

“Impossible!”

Zhang Ran immediately shook his head.

Qian Zhengkun’s expression stiffened.

He had originally wanted to show off a little, but Zhang Ran had seen through it at a glance.

In reality, Zhang Ran had not figured it out by observation.

He simply knew that no one could perfectly replicate the Qingxiang Orchid, so he was absolutely certain.

Qian Zhengkun sighed.

“That’s true. Strictly speaking, they can’t be called Qingxiang Orchids. They’re only inferior substitutes.”

“Old Qian, this must be Mr. Zhang, right?”

As they were talking, several elderly men and women walked out from inside.

All of them wore old, worn-out clothes with scarves around their necks, looking just like ordinary farmers.

Yet their bearing was completely different.

They carried the unmistakable air of scholars.

“Brother Zhang, let me introduce them. This is Old Zheng, this is Sister Wu…” Qian Zhengkun immediately began making introductions.

There were six people altogether, including Qian Zhengkun.

Three were university professors, while the remaining three were all researchers.

“Professor Zheng, Professor Wu…” Zhang Ran greeted each of them politely.

He genuinely respected people who devoted themselves wholeheartedly to academic research.

Old Zheng and the others smiled and returned the greetings.

Then Old Zheng asked, “Mr. Zhang, what do you think of these Qingxiang Orchids?”

Zhang Ran smiled.

“Professor Zheng, just call me Zhang Ran.”

“Then don’t call us professors either,” Old Zheng replied. “Like Old Qian, we’re only a few years older than you. Just call us Old Brother or Old Sister.”

“That’s right. Just call me Sister Wu,” Professor Wu added. “Honestly, I’m so jealous of how young you look. If Old Qian hadn’t told us, we’d never have believed you were already in your fifties.”

While chatting with them, Zhang Ran crouched down and carefully examined the orchids.

At first glance, these plants looked remarkably similar to the Qingxiang Orchids he had exchanged from the game.

But upon closer inspection, the differences became obvious.

Their overall appearance was noticeably inferior.

The greatest difference, however, was the fragrance.

It was far weaker than that of the true Qingxiang Orchid.

If one paid close attention, it also lacked the refined, captivating aroma of the original.

Furthermore, the entire plants were much shorter than normal Qingxiang Orchids.

“Brother Zhang,” Old Zheng said, “you know that at our age, what we want most is simply a good night’s sleep. The Qingxiang Orchid you gave Old Qian solved that problem perfectly.

“So we shamelessly borrowed his orchid for research. I hope you won’t take offense.”

“Not at all. Of course not,” Zhang Ran replied immediately.

“But from what I can see, these are still quite different from the Qingxiang Orchid I gave Brother Qian.”

“They are,” Old Zheng admitted with a sigh.

“The gap is considerable. Overall, we’d have to consider this a failure. For some reason, no matter what methods we tried, we couldn’t successfully propagate your Qingxiang Orchid. During this period, we experimented with countless techniques, but none of them worked. So we adopted another approach. The only method that produced even the slightest result was hybridization. These… are the results of that hybrid breeding.”