Chapter 17: Flower Seeds
Yu Xian said, "If you rely on your own two hands to earn a living, you won't need to do any of those household chores."
Eldest Miss Ming was a fake heiress now; her former glory and arrogance were relics of the past. Although Yu Xian had taken her in temporarily, she couldn't shelter her forever.
It was better to teach someone to fish than to simply give them a fish.
Yet the young lady refused to let go of her aristocratic pride and couldn't endure the slightest hardship, which was the very root of Yu Xian's headache.
As if proving her point, Eldest Miss Ming flatly refused: "This lady will never do something so utterly humiliating!"
By noon, Yu Xian finished two oil paintings. While waiting for the paint to dry, thirst set in; reaching down for the thermos by her feet, she twisted it open only to find it empty.
Meanwhile, whether from hunger or sheer exhaustion, Eldest Miss Ming had fallen asleep on one of the café's outdoor rattan chairs.
Once the paintings were dry, Yu Xian packed them away, stowed her easel, folding stool, and gear into the art case, and prepared to get lunch.
Walking over to the young lady, she went to wake her: "Wake up."
Ming Ruixi fluttered her eyes open. Outside the café's patio umbrella, the midday sun blazed scorchingly. Yu Xian stood backlit before her, a soft, hazy silhouette identifiable only by her outline and the art case in hand. Her stomach churned and growled again, bringing a wave of wretched nausea. Dazedly, she murmured, "Yu Xian, I'm so hungry... It hurts so much."
Seeing the miserable agony written across the girl's small face, Yu Xian felt little stir of emotion: "I'm heading to lunch. Do you want to stay here and sleep, or come with me?"
Naturally, she would follow along. Ming Ruixi forced her eyes fully open, scrambled to her feet, and obediently trailed behind her.
"Yu Xian, are you finally going to let this lady eat?"
Ming Ruixi watched as Yu Xian led her straight to the very restaurant where she had dined the day before. Seating herself with composure, Yu Xian began ordering several dishes.
"One serving of braised prawns, one pickled pepper fish fillet, one tribute pepper snowflake rabbit, stir-fried choy sum, and a bowl of fish maw double-boiled with black mushrooms and chicken feet."
"That's all for now." Yu Xian handed the order slip back to the server, taking a slow sip of hot tea.
"Wait, add a freshly crushed handmade lemon tea as well," Yu Xian tacked on a drink.
The server checked off the boxes: "Understood, please wait a moment."
From the moment Yu Xian rattled off the first dish, Ming Ruixi had been swallowing her saliva uncontrollably. Resting her elbows on the tabletop, her eyes brimmed with eager anticipation.
"Yu Xian, this lady knew you wouldn't be so heartless."
Listening to her praise, Yu Xian offered only a silent, faint smile.
Dish after dish arrived at the table, wafting rich, tantalizing aromas into the air. Ming Ruixi waited eagerly for Yu Xian to lift her chopsticks—once the host moved, she could dig in as well.
Yet she waited and waited, only to see Yu Xian take the handmade lemon tea from the server's hands and place it right in front of her.
Ming Ruixi: "...?"
Yu Xian slid the bowl and chopsticks away from the young lady's side of the table: "Drink up. This is your lunch."
Staring at her calm, deadly serious expression, Ming Ruixi realized with mounting horror that she wasn't joking in the least. She truly intended for her to drink a beverage while Yu Xian enjoyed the entire feast spread across the table.
"Yu Xian! You've gone way too far!" Ming Ruixi was on the verge of tears, forced to watch helplessly as an entire table of delicacies had nothing to do with her.
"Too far?" Yu Xian met her gaze with cool detachment. "Refusing to give you food is going too far? Then have you ever considered that I have no relation to you whatsoever? What gives you the right to demand shelter so brazenly, expect me to clean up all your messes, and leave me without a single word of genuine gratitude in the end?"
Ming Ruixi felt the words slice into her with unbearable sharpness, provoking a surge of rebellious resentment. Yet she choked it down, her eye rims flushing vivid red: "Didn't I do chores for you? I served as your canvas! Last night I even let you use your bare hands to paint on me... And yet you treat me like this today! Do you know how much this hurts? Even my own parents never treated me like this!"
Seeing the tears threatening to spill from the girl's eyes, Yu Xian pulled her gaze back, unmoved: "I'm not your parents."
I am only someone you once humiliated.
Eldest Miss Ming stood up, glaring at her through tear-streaked eyes before turning on her heel and bolting out without looking back.
Only Yu Xian remained at the table. Staring at the feast before her, she sat lost in thought for a long time. In the end, she never lifted her chopsticks either, calling the server over to pack everything up to go.
Returning to Yu Xian Inn, Eldest Miss Ming's bedroom door was tightly shut. Yu Xian stood before her door for a brief moment before heading back to her own room for an afternoon nap.
In the afternoon, a white pickup truck delivered forty to fifty ceramic flowerpots of various sizes. Yu Xian went down to take delivery, having the driver unload them right beside the empty plot of land.
The rumbling roar of the truck's engine stirred Eldest Miss Ming from her sleep. Trembling with weakness, Ming Ruixi dragged herself out of bed, tear stains still lingering on her cheeks. Walking to the window to look out, she saw that the cleared plot of ground had been freshly turned at some point—the dark soil looked loose and soft.
Down below, Yu Xian counted the pots. After confirming there were no cracks and that the quantity was correct, she settled the payment.
As the pickup truck pulled away, Yu Xian turned back into the inn. Ming Ruixi heard her footsteps ascending the stairs. A moment later, she walked past her bedroom door toward the balcony, busied herself with something for a while, and then headed back downstairs.
Ming Ruixi sat on the bay window ledge, staring lifelessly with hollow, famished eyes at the silhouette working in the open plot. Wearing white rubber gloves and holding a small trowel, Yu Xian was scooping soil into one of the ceramic pots.
What was she planting?
Flowers? Or decorative greenery?
Ming Ruixi felt her stomach growling again. Left with no choice, she made her way down to the kitchen to pour some water to drink.
The moment she stepped inside, she heard a pressure cooker sitting atop the gas burner. The vent weight was whistling rhythmically as it released steam, wafting the sweet, earthy aroma of stewed mung beans through the room.
Ming Ruixi checked the refrigerator, hoping against hope to find something ready to eat.
Upon opening it, she was greeted by an array of takeout containers.
Ming Ruixi instinctively assumed that Yu Xian had brought them back for her, but dismissed the thought the very next second. The cold words Yu Xian had spoken at the restaurant were still vivid in her mind.
Yu Xian was no relation to her; she had zero obligation to tolerate her spoiled, unruly behavior. Even if she brought takeout back, it wasn't necessarily meant for her—more likely, it was simply because Yu Xian couldn't finish it all and saved the leftovers for her next meal.
At this thought, Ming Ruixi silently closed the refrigerator door. No matter how famished she was, an exalted heiress like her would never stoop to stealing food. Besides, she knew how to weigh the difference between a single meal and having three meals secured every day going forward.
It was just that the present hunger was pure agony to endure.
Gulping down several large cups of cool boiled water, Ming Ruixi walked out of the kitchen with a stomach full of sloshing liquid. She had planned to go upstairs and lie down, but paused on the stairs, changing her mind and heading out the front door toward the open plot of land.
Ming Ruixi noticed several small tin boxes nearby containing tiny black seeds. The tins were neatly labeled: Canterbury bells, chamomile, lisianthus, mallow, sweet alyssum, and more.
Beside them sat root-balled potted greenery waiting to be transplanted—snake plants, gardenias, areca palms, money trees—along with several unidentified cuttings.
Ming Ruixi walked up to Yu Xian, staring blankly as she leveled the soil in the pot. Seeing a chair placed to the side, she sank weakly onto it. Hating the uncomfortable sensation of the dirt against her shoes, she kicked them off and curled her legs beneath her on the chair seat. Then, looking down at Yu Xian, she asked, "Are you switching careers to become a flower farmer now?"
Yu Xian glanced at the way she was sitting and answered, "You could put it that way. Leaving this plot empty serves no purpose. Planting flowers adds decoration, and secondly, during the peak season when tourists flock to town, foot traffic here will increase. If anyone takes a liking to them, I wouldn't mind selling them."
Eldest Miss Ming: "And if nobody likes them?"
Yu Xian: "Then I will... admire them myself."
Yu Xian resumed her work while Ming Ruixi sat curled on the chair, watching her. In her entire worldview, the concept of manual labor simply did not exist.
She was the Eldest Miss of the Ming family. Born with a silver spoon, she was someone whom others fawned over and served hand and foot. There was never an instance where she served someone else, let alone breaking her back with exhausting physical toil.
Yet her empty stomach served as a ruthless reminder that she was starved to the brink of collapse.
Her pride and aristocratic dignity couldn't fill an empty belly.
Watching Yu Xian's seemingly effortless, rhythmic motion of shoveling soil, Ming Ruixi wondered if she could trade her labor for a meal.
"Yu Xian..." Ming Ruixi called out in a fragile voice.
Yu Xian looked up, watching the delicate girl muster up the courage to speak: "If this lady helps you shovel soil, will you give me food to eat?"
Eldest Miss Ming repeated with deep grievance, "I'm really so hungry..."
Yu Xian's gaze swept over the girl's rounded, pearl-like bare feet resting on the chair. She inexplicably recalled the utter disgust on the heiress's face when her shoes had gotten stuck in the sticky yellow mud on the hillside.
At the very least, taking the initiative to trade labor for food was no small feat for her.
Yu Xian said calmly, "Get down from that chair first. Do the work, and then we'll talk."
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