"Oh dear."
The next morning, Li Haochen, deep in slumber, rolled over and tumbled off the sofa, his forehead hitting it with a thud that immediately raised a large bump.
Rubbing his throbbing forehead, Li Haochen pushed himself up and looked around. "Uh, I slept in the living room all night?"
"Awake? Ah… what happened to your forehead?"
Seeing the large bump on Li Haochen's forehead, Xie Baolian immediately dropped her handbag and rushed forward, looking concerned.
"Mom, it's nothing, just bumped it a bit. By the way, where's Yanran? Did she go back?"
"She went back to the hotel long ago. She'll be very busy these days. Your dad's team is going to inspect tomorrow."
"Uh, what's up?"
"Yanran's hotel is fully booked in a few days. Your dad said some foreign dignitaries are visiting, and the provincial governor will also come. It's quite a big event. No more chatting, I'm going to be late. Breakfast is in the pot, and you can cook an egg yourself and put it on your forehead later."
Xie Baolian spoke like a machine gun, rattling off a stream of words before rushing out.
Walking into the kitchen, she brought out her breakfast. After a few bites, she suddenly remembered something, sprang up, and rushed to a corner of the yard.
Seeing that the two mangosteen trees were still vibrant, their roots covered with soil and watered, it seemed like the work of either Murong Yanran or Xie Baolian.
He returned indoors, finished the rest of his breakfast, grabbed a cowhide fixing rope, and drove his little Aima to the flower market.
Upon arriving at the flower market, there were not many customers, possibly due to the early hour. There were many stalls, all of the same size, selling pots, basins, flowers, tools, fertilizers, and even quite a few goldfish. The variety of plants wasn't extensive, mostly common ones like pothos, ZZ plants, and money trees. There were also vegetable and fruit seedlings.
Looking at the green trees, red flowers, and vegetable and fruit seedlings, Li Haochen wanted to buy some to take back, but since his house wasn't ready yet, he suppressed the urge.
He chose a shop selling pots and picked out two soft plastic pots, the cheapest kind. Since they were only for growing seedlings, he could easily cut the plastic pots a few times and remove them when transplanting.
He also selected a pruning shear, some rooting agent, nutrient solution, and fertilizer. As he was walking out to get his car, a stall by the entrance that dealt in old coins caught his attention.
He crouched down to look at the large advertising paper on the tripod. It had all sorts of pictures, including ration coupons, medals, paper money, coins, and even some old furniture. Li Haochen only glanced at them; his target was the price of Yuan Datou.
"Got it."
Li Haochen found the comparison chart for Yuan Datou's eye-grade coins and saw that it was no different from what he had imagined. The price of 158 was also similar to his own estimation, and he was quite tempted. Before he could speak, the middle-aged stall owner, dressed in slacks, leather shoes, and a white t-shirt, squinted and smiled, "Boss, are you buying or selling?"
"Uh? Isn't this for recycling?"
"Hehe, there's buying and selling."
"If this Yuan Datou is in large quantities..."
"Boss, give me a price for this silver coin, and I'll sell it if it's suitable."
At this moment, a young man in a floral shirt somewhat anxiously handed over a silver coin. The stall owner didn't take it directly but gestured with a tray for the young man to place it down.
As soon as he picked it up, the middle-aged man's joy flashed across his face. He looked at the anxious young man and said with a nonchalant expression, "Your Republic of China Year 3 Yuan Datou is of average condition. 130."
"Goodbye!"
Saying that, the young man picked up the silver coin. Just as he was about to leave, the middle-aged man stopped him. "Hey, hey, hey, boss, if the price isn't right, we can negotiate. Business is all about bargaining, right? Hehe."
"Don't tell me you can't tell this is the signed version of Zhongyuan. I'll give you one more price. If it's suitable, we'll trade; if not, then goodbye!"
"Damn it, so he's an expert, but he seems quite eager, hehe!" the stall owner thought to himself. He began to calculate, pretended to be deep in thought, and after a while, quoted a price, "12,000."
The young man hesitated, as the price was clearly not what he expected. "Boss, this coin is..."
"I'm sorry, this is the highest price I can offer," the middle-aged stall owner interrupted the young man. Seeing his urgency, he showed a smug look, as if he had him cornered.
"Alas~" The young man sighed heavily. "Alright, it's this price."
"Good, good, good. Let me confirm it again." The stall owner was overjoyed. He picked up the silver coin again and examined it carefully. A minute later, he transferred the money and happily pocketed the Yuan Datou.
After receiving the transfer information, the young man turned to leave. He glanced at Li Haochen, who was squatting on the ground, and smiled, saying, "Don't be like Lu Bu teasing Diao Chan, hehe!"
Li Haochen understood the implication, stood up, and smiled and nodded at the young man.
Of course, Li Haochen wouldn't be foolish. Hearing that it was 12,000 for one coin, he had already given up the idea of trading with this stall owner. There were about 1,000 coins in his space. If he found a few like this, he would make a fortune. How could he sell them to him?
"Damn, so not all of these things are worth a hundred bucks. Fortunately, I saw this scene. Otherwise, I would have been sold and still counted money for them."
As Li Haochen muttered to himself, the stall owner hadn't forgotten him.
"Boss, you said you had a lot in large quantities. Don't worry, the price is absolutely fair. What do you say?"
This stall owner was quite something. He actually remembered what Li Haochen had said after such a long time. With such a sharp mind, he was bound to get rich. In Li Haochen's opinion, the stall owner had probably made a considerable profit from the single silver coin he had just traded.
"You misheard. Have a good day."
Li Haochen turned around, got on his electric bike, and with an excited heart, he couldn't wait to rush home. Unfortunately, even with the throttle fully open, it was still this fast. He couldn't rush it.
The speed could be adjusted by adjusting the adjustable resistor on the controller, but there was no need. If he got caught, he would be fined, his vehicle confiscated, and he might even be detained for a few days to serve as a volunteer directing traffic at an intersection. It wasn't worth it.
Upon returning home, Li Haochen's anxious mood had calmed down considerably. After all, they wouldn't disappear from his space, and besides, he couldn't distinguish the differences between the silver coins himself. It would be better to search for information online and verify them one by one.
He picked up a hoe and a large feed bag and headed to the back mountain. He found a plot of barren land, cleared the weeds on the surface, revealing the dark gray soil. "What a shame for this fertile land."
Indeed, most rural residents nowadays have moved to cities to live, and the elderly who remain at home don't have the energy or strength to manage much land, so it gradually falls into disuse. Even if some bosses contract it, they mostly plant fruit trees, which are easy to manage and highly profitable. Once fruit trees are planted, fertile land becomes barren land. It's difficult to turn it back into fertile land.
Li Haochen dug out more than half a bag of soil and carried it back to plant. He removed the yellow soil covering the surface and cleaned it with clean water. The root system was not damaged, so the survival rate should be quite high.
He added some bottom soil, placed the mangosteen seedlings into the pots, and filled them with an appropriate amount of soil.
Li Haochen picked up a small plastic bucket, mixed some rooting solution. These two mangosteen seedlings were relatively large plants. Soaking them would be troublesome, and spraying would not be very effective. He had to resort to root drenching. However, due to soil leakage and blockage, multiple root drenchings might be needed to achieve a satisfactory effect in promoting root growth.