Chapter 99 - 96: A Small City’s Web of Connections

Chapter 99: Chapter 96: A Small City’s Web of Connections

Although they knew Chen Jingle was exaggerating, there was no doubt that the group of wealthy ladies was coaxed into radiant smiles by his words.

"Oh, what do you mean ’sisters’? We’re almost at retirement age."

Chen Jingle feigned surprise. "I can’t tell at all! I feel like you ladies are in your early thirties at most, right in the prime of your lives."

"Oh my, you’re such a smooth talker. You’re making me blush."

"With such a sweet mouth, young man, you must be really good at making your girlfriend happy, right?"

"Exactly! Your words are music to our ears."

"If only my husband were half as eloquent as you."

Chen Jingle smiled shyly. "You’re mistaken, sis. I’m just telling the truth. If I were really a sweet talker, I wouldn’t still be single."

"No way?"

Hearing this, the wealthy ladies were clearly surprised, their eyes widening. "Are girls’ standards that high nowadays? Even a handsome guy like you can’t find a girlfriend?"

Chen Jingle shook his head. "No, it’s just that my own conditions aren’t good enough."

"Your conditions aren’t good?"

The crowd exchanged glances, even more unsure of how to respond to that. With looks and an appearance like his, anyone who said he wasn’t good-looking was either blind or definitely had problems with their eyes. If these conditions weren’t good, what would count as good?

Chen Jingle offered a helpless smile. "I don’t have a house or a car. I was busy with work in my earlier years, and only started going on blind dates in the last couple of years as I got older. But as soon as they hear I haven’t bought a house or a car, they basically never want to see me for a second date."

Hearing this, realization dawned on everyone, and they expressed deep sympathy.

"Going on blind dates these days, it really is hard to find someone without a house."

"Although houses in Jiangbei are cheaper than over in the Pearl River Delta, they’re still on the high side relative to the local average income."

"Prices have dropped quite a bit this year, and there’s a high probability they’ll continue to fall next year. If you can scrape together a down payment, you could consider getting one then, even if it’s just a small place."

"If you ask me, you could start dating first. If both of you work hard together, there’s still a chance to afford one."

"You could buy a car first. Cars are quite cheap now, and having one would make things much more convenient."

In reality, the wealthy ladies were thinking that with this young man’s physical appearance, if he were willing to marry into a family as a live-in son-in-law, many people would likely jump at the chance. Those with daughters at home even started hatching little schemes right then and there.

The round-faced woman who had spoken first asked, "How should we address you, handsome? Where is your home?"

"My name is Chen Jingle. My home is in West City Niu Jiao Ridge, just past the old textile factory."

"I know the place. It’s right by Ring Road, which counts as the suburbs."

"Calling it the suburbs is putting it nicely. It’s actually just the countryside, although it’s a bit more convenient to get out of the city."

"So what kind of work do you do now?"

Chen Jingle looked a bit embarrassed. "I used to run a small company with a friend in the provincial capital. Later on, we had some disagreements, and since I wasn’t feeling too well physically, I left. Now I’m just lying flat at home. Normally, I just plant flowers, cook, and tease my cat."

The round-faced woman nodded. "You should rest well when you need to. Young people nowadays are actually much more tired than we were back in our day."

Another older lady nearby chimed in, "I’d be more than happy for my daughter to come home and lie flat. Working just to earn those few thousand yuan—it’s not even as much as her dad’s pension."

At this moment, the round-faced woman said, "By the way, Teacher Chen, we have a bougainvillea enthusiast group. Besides the few of us here, there are some other friends, including young people like you. Would you like to join and hang out? You could give us some pointers while you’re at it."

Hearing this, the others immediately voiced their agreement.

"Great idea! Teacher Chen’s level of knowledge is obvious to all of us. I have no objections to him joining."

"The group is getting another master."

"Teacher Chen, you must give me, a novice, more guidance in the future."

Chen Jingle hastily waved his hand. "I wouldn’t dare claim to give pointers. My personal level is just average. We can all just exchange ideas with each other."

"Alright then. Add me, and I’ll pull you into the group."

It was only then that he learned this round-faced woman was named Liu Fang, a middle school teacher.

There were nineteen people in the group; he was the twentieth.

Clear Autumn Water: "Welcome, new friend. Teacher Chen’s knowledge of bougainvillea is very high. Everyone can ask him for advice."

Seeing this, the others figured that since it was someone invited by Teacher Liu, he must have real skills. Instantly, the screen was flooded with various emojis: thumbs-ups, clapping hands, hearts, and confetti.

The group members’ nicknames were all things like "Blooming Wealth," "Empty Valley Orchid," or "Happiness and Good Health."

In contrast, Chen Jingle’s nickname was "Don’t Want To Move Every Day."

It was completely out of place!

Chen Jingle blinked, feeling as if he had entered some formidable circle. He quickly changed his group nickname to "Chen" and imitated everyone by sending three cupped-hands emojis. "Teacher Liu flatters me. I am also still learning. We can chat more when everyone has time."

Teacher Liu then sent some photos of the flowers they had taken today at the bougainvillea nursery base to the group for everyone to admire. For a while, the group chat was bustling with activity.

Meanwhile, at the junior high division of Jiangbei First Middle School.

Class had just ended. Zhong Jing, who was sitting in the office grading students’ homework, glanced at her WeChat messages. She suddenly caught a glimpse of a new member in the flower-raising group she had joined and opened it out of curiosity.

She noticed it was someone pulled in by Director Liu. However, this ID seemed a bit familiar. Moreover, they were already friends? The contact name was Chen Jingle!

Zhong Jing blinked, wondering how he had gotten in and why Director Liu had been the one to pull him in. She had Chen Jingle’s WeChat, but they didn’t contact each other often. At most, she would occasionally ask Chen Jingle if Liang City didn’t reply to her messages in time. Seeing that Chen Jingle had actually been pulled into the flower-raising group by Director Liu, she was momentarily stunned.

She hastily sent him a private message: "How do you know Director Liu?"

Back at the bougainvillea base, after exchanging contact information with Teacher Liu Fang and the others, Chen Jingle said his goodbyes one by one and prepared to leave with the few saplings he had chosen. Just as he finished paying for the flower saplings, he saw Zhong Jing’s message.

He curiously asked back, "Which Director Liu?"

Zhong Jing: "The one who pulled you into the group."

It was Chen Jingle’s turn to be stunned. "Ah? Teacher Zhong, you’re in the group too?"

Zhong Jing explained, "Yeah. This is a flower-raising group started by Director Liu. Previously, it was those two potted flowers you gave our family that caught Director Liu’s attention. After that, I slowly started learning all sorts of bougainvillea knowledge, and then Director Liu pulled me into this group." She added, "Most of the people in this group are wives of officials and wealthy ladies."

GASP.

For the first time, Chen Jingle personally experienced what a small city’s network of connections meant. It turned out the saying that there were at most six degrees of separation between you and a stranger was actually true.

Zhong Jing was curious. "You still haven’t said how you know Director Liu."

Chen Jingle explained, "I was buying flowers over at the Southern Garden bougainvillea base. Director Liu and the others happened to be there too. They saw that the flowers I picked were quite nice, so they asked me to help them pick a few pots as well. Then she pulled me in."

Hearing this, even Zhong Jing couldn’t help but sigh at his luck, meeting so many officials’ wives all at once.

"It’s a pity you’re not in the government system."

This was an elite inner circle that many people would kill to get into, only to be denied entry.

Chen Jingle, however, took it in stride. "There’s nothing to pity. My personality just isn’t suited for that. Oh, right, if you need any bougainvilleas later, have Liang City come get them from me. I just bought a few pots from the nursery base."

Zhong Jing felt her face flush slightly. "Thank you!" Clearly, her previous worries had been somewhat unnecessary.

"Don’t mention it. With my relationship with Liang City, there’s no need for pleasantries."

"Then about Director Liu..."

"You guys can decide."

"Mhm, I understand."

Ending the conversation, Zhong Jing thought for a moment before opening her chat window with Director Liu.

"Director Liu, it’s such a coincidence. You might not believe it, but the person you just invited is the one I mentioned before—my husband’s classmate and good friend, that amazing floral and gardening master!"

Liu Fang only saw Zhong Jing’s message after she returned home.

She was a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected that the handsome young man she accidentally bumped into on her trip to the nursery base—who she initially thought just had a decent skill level—would actually turn out to be the designer of those creative potted bougainvilleas she had praised so highly before. Her own home had many pots of flowers that were his work.

It was no wonder he had all sorts of bougainvillea knowledge right at his fingertips. She mused that this was simply destiny! Liu Fang was instantly delighted.

She immediately sent a message to Chen Jingle: "Teacher Chen, Zhong Jing just told me. I had no idea we shared such a connection."

Chen Jingle replied, "I didn’t expect it either."

He could only say that the world was truly a wondrous place. With this, their relationship became even closer.

Just like that, Chen Jingle added another item to his daily schedule: solving the various little problems that the members of the flower-raising group encountered while tending to their plants.

Meanwhile, Li Beixing returned home from work at noon. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she suddenly sensed something was off. She turned her head to look at the few pots of flowers in the corner of the wall and blinked. They seemed to have been newly placed there.

Entering the house, she saw her mother sitting on the sofa looking at her phone. She asked, "Mom, are there several new pots of flowers in the yard?"

"Mhm, I just bought them back."

Jiang Ziqin looked up, her oval face breaking into a faint smile. "I went to the bougainvillea nursery base in the east of the city with a few friends this morning. I met a rather interesting young man and asked him to help pick out two pots. Along with one I chose myself, I plan to raise them for a while to see how they do."

Li Beixing let out an ’oh’ of understanding. "With the climate around here, bougainvilleas will grow well no matter how you plant them."

Jiang Ziqin retorted, "You can’t say that. The growing environment actually has a significant impact on flowers. Since we have a courtyard, we can choose saplings with well-developed roots and thick stems. It won’t be too late to control their blooming after they grow a bit taller. Later on, we can even switch them to larger flowerpots and prune them into flower balls. That looks much better than the short-branched varieties."

Li Beixing was a bit surprised. "Is there really such a method?"

"Of course! I learned it from someone else too."

"From those friends of yours?"

"Mhm. Raising flowers is quite nice. It doesn’t cost a lot of money, it cultivates one’s taste, and it decorates the courtyard."

Li Beixing waved her hand. "Then you take your time learning. I’m going upstairs first."

"Hey, wait a second." Jiang Ziqin called out to stop her.

"Hmm?"

"I have a question." Jiang Ziqin thought for a moment before asking, "If a man is quite handsome but has been working for a few years and still doesn’t have a house or a car, would you think he’s incompetent and look down on him?"