re believable. He continued, "Most importantly, there is an old physician in Suijin Tan with extraordinary medical skills. Originally, even ordinary people in Kyoto couldn't get him to see them, but n...Mr. Wen looked at him familiarly and asked, "Are you a guard from the Hou Mansion"

Li La Er smiled and nodded, "That's right, the other day I was flipping through the flower register and suddenly remembered that there are too many famous flowers here, which might attract troublemakers. So I went to Hou's Mansion and discussed it with the head butler, and temporarily invited a few helpers. Unexpectedly, they really came in handy!"

Mr. Wen heard clearly, but he didn't believe a word.

After all, the person who kept him up half the night can't possibly be doing this on a whim, right

Li Laoer grinned, ignoring his thoughts. He directly instructed a few guards, "Please trouble you brothers, help me ask, who are these people What are they doing here in the middle of the night"

"Yes, Master, rest assured. We will definitely find out what you're looking for!" replied the leading guard.

Then Cao Lao Han found an empty room and took the men in black inside...

Li Laoer and Mr. Wen only drank a bowl of tea and ate a few pieces of snacks as supper, and then came out.

The head guard approached and reported, "Master, these people are from the Wang family's guardhouse. They all have scissors and sickles with them. They intend to destroy all the flowers here and prevent the Hundred Gardens from opening smoothly tomorrow."

Mr. Wen frowned, "This Wang family is truly cunning, but the people they've chosen are too mediocre..."

The leading bodyguard explained, "Master Wen, you see, these people are all skilled in martial arts. If we aren't prepared, they could easily break into the courtyard and escape unscathed after causing havoc."

But this courtyard had never been guarded before, and we were always hiding in the shadows. They didn't find anything when they came to scout beforehand, so they relaxed their guard, which is why we were able to take them so easily.

Li Laodi nodded, "Thank you for your hard work. Keep an eye on these people and make sure none of them die. Keep the scissors and knives too. Tomorrow their master might come over, and when that happens, I'll return everything to its rightful owner."

The guards understood and withdrew.

Li Lao'er instructed Cao Laotou, "Prepare some food for the guards, after all, they have to stand guard for half the night. Don't let them get hungry while staying up late."

"Yes, master!" Old Cao replied immediately.

As soon as he thought about the flowers in his entire courtyard being almost ruined, Cao Lao's back broke out in a cold sweat.

He was eternally grateful for these guards who protected his "darling".

Immediately, he helped with the fire, allowing his wife to roll out noodles and cook them. He also sliced up the cured pork brought by relatives from their hometown, mixed it with bean sprout pieces, and stir-fried a flavorful topping.

The guards, having eaten their fill, asked the four Cao family members to go to sleep quickly and then continued to watch over the peace of Baihuayuan.

Early the next morning, as the sky just began to lighten, Old Cao got up and looked around his courtyard inside and out. He couldn't help but mutter under his breath incessantly.

"Damn things, my roses, several have been trampled!"

At last, he called his son and urged him to take the ladder and re-arrange the rose vines.

Then, as passersby walked by, they saw once again the vibrant flowers blooming all over the wall.

When the sun was high in the sky, Li Lao Tai, accompanied by Tao Hongying and Jia Yin, arrived first in a carriage.

All the customers today are male. It's not actually convenient for them to come here.

But Jia Yin was definitely here to join the festivities, and almost all of the flowers on display were her handiwork. She couldn't possibly miss the grand opening!

Then, Li Lao'er settled them in the west room of the main house in the backyard.

The room is spacious and there's a kang (traditional Chinese bed), so it's convenient for a nap if you get tired.

There was also a small door leading to the ear chamber, making it convenient for the Cao family to enter and exit to attend to him.

Grandma He and Shuiyun Shiling, of course, followed along as well.

Grandma He remained in the room, while Shui Ling and Shui Yun helped Cao's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law take care of the guests' tea and refreshments.

Soon, the first group of guests arrived.

It was precisely Dean Zhou, Mr. Peng, and Mr. Tang, accompanied by several teachers from the academy who had no classes today, along with their personal attendants. With a group of over ten people, they immediately livened up the small courtyard.

Li Lao'er chose an auspicious day and had Cao Laotou set off a string of firecrackers outside the door to celebrate the opening. It was a rather low-key and understated affair.

But the firecracker's outer skin shattered, like red snowflakes falling before the door and against the wall, set off against the roses on the wall, a unique kind of beauty.

This left the flower viewers who arrived later with a sense of amazement even before they entered.

The desire to be beautiful is inherent in all people, and the beauty of plants is most vividly expressed in flowers!

Even the coldest of hearts would crack a smile and find their spirits lifted amidst such blossoms.

The guests included officials from the imperial court, renowned flower enthusiasts from Xindu, scholars from the academy, and close relatives of the Li family like Mr. Liu Lao and Liu Zhiheng.

In all, there were over a hundred guests who received invitations, as well as those who came to join in the festivities even without an invitation.

With so many people wanting tea, snacks, and sliced jade gourds, it's quite a feat.

Grandma He quickly went out to help, and with Zheng Feng and Zheng He, they were able to manage everything.

Li Laoer simply had chairs set up under the eaves and parasols, like those in the school dining hall, placed all over the courtyard.

Thus, the guests each chose familiar companions and sat together in groups. They enjoyed the breeze, ate watermelon, and admired the flowers, truly a delightful experience!

Li Laoer allowed the crowd to wander about, taking a good look at all the potted flowers in the courtyard. Only then did he stand on the steps and greet the crowd with a smile and a bow: "Honorable guests, my elder brother's wine shop often had famous courtesans on display, and many friends complained to me that they didn't have a chance to admire them properly.

"So, I came up with an idea. I'll plant a garden full of flowers and let everyone enjoy the beauty. Then maybe no one will say our family is stingy anymore I really feel relieved now!"

Everyone burst into laughter and bowed in return.

Li Lao'er laughed and continued, "However, this is after all a business deal. I still hope for thriving business. Everyone looks happy, wanting to take their favorite flowers home to enjoy at any time, they should give silver, and the more the better!"

Everyone laughed even louder this time.

Theoretically, businessmen are profit-driven and always seem shrewd and calculating, which is not endearing.

But Lao Er's straightforward admission was surprisingly honest.

Li Laoer pointed to a pot of blooming azaleas and said, “As you all know, our family has been blessed by the emperor’s grace. We have the Feng Shui treasure land like Suijin Beach to settle down in. Now we live a life of ease.”

Our whole family is immensely grateful to the Emperor and to Tianwu. We have often pondered how we could, with our meager abilities, express our gratitude.

This time, when the Hundred Flowers Garden opened, our family set a rule that half of the garden's profits would be donated to charity.

“To take this rhododendron as an example, if it were sold for ten ounces of silver, five ounces would be considered the capital cost, and the remaining five ounces would be used to purchase food, clothing, necessities, and medicine, which would then be sent to the relief agency to assist the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, thus alleviating the burden on the government.

"

“So, our famous flowers here, if anyone has their eye on them, you don't necessarily have to buy them with silver. You can trade them for grain, cotton, medicinal herbs, roots… In short, as long as you offer something we need, you can take the flowers away…”

Here are three more chapters ~~inally, after each of them had taken a single mouthful, they called it quits.For a while, the study hall was filled with joyous laughter.The rest of the classmates just watched them laughing and giggl...