"Yan Yan, have your roses bloomed?"
As it was nearly time for bed, Qiu Xi remembered the topic of conversation at the dinner table and, unable to sleep, sought out Shen Yan.
"They should be coming soon."
She hadn't seen them since returning, and to be honest, she wasn't entirely sure if they had bloomed or not.
"Xiao Xi, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
"It's nothing, I just wanted to take a look."
Still unsure, Qiu Xi dared not speak her mind.
She had been thinking about it when they were chatting at dinner, but she hadn't yet understood the specific situation. She feared causing trouble if she spoke.
Although she had the Flower Encyclopedia to back her up, and Little Flower if that wasn't enough, she had to see things for herself before drawing any conclusions.
Upon hearing Qiu Xi's words, Shen Yan immediately waved her hand and agreed, "What's there to it? I'll take you all to see them tomorrow."
"It's good that I haven't seen them in person either. This is probably the first and last time."
She had heard what her father said at the dinner table.
However, she couldn't help much and didn't say much, so as not to add to her father's troubles.
"Alright, then we'll go take a look tomorrow."
"Okay, then get some rest early."
"Mhm."
After agreeing, the two girls also informed Song Daiyao and Liang Yunfei, and then the four of them went to rest.
...
The next day, when the four of them woke up, it wasn't that early.
At least by the time they went downstairs, the house was only occupied by the four of them.
"Yan Yan, are we leaving after breakfast?"
After washing up and finally gathering her spirits, Song Daiyao remembered what they had talked about before bed and asked.
"Mhm, we're going to take a look."
At this time, her parents should already be deep in conversation over there.
"Okay."
By the time the four of them finished eating and were ready to go out, it was almost 10 o'clock.
"We're really waking up at a reasonable hour. After we see the flowers, it'll probably be lunchtime..."
"It's fine, it's a holiday anyway."
"..."
As they walked and chatted, the journey passed by quickly.
"Wow~ It must be beautiful here when all the flowers have bloomed!"
Before they even arrived, the group saw a field of flowers in the distance.
Although they hadn't bloomed yet, they were all buds, and it was likely soon.
Seeing the happy girls, they suddenly spotted a few adults nearby, including Shen's father and mother.
A moment of sadness followed, as they clearly remembered what they had heard last night.
After a pause, Qiu Xi reminded them, "Yan Yan, let's go take a look first."
"Okay."
Since they were already here, they had to see it no matter what.
The group didn't go directly to find the worried adults chatting, but first walked towards the flower fields.
"It's such a shame, such beautiful flowers."
Qiu Xi nodded in agreement with Song Daiyao's words, "Mhm."
These purple-stemmed roses were indeed good, looking beautiful and also very suitable as raw materials for cosmetic products.
Looking at this large expanse, she could roughly understand that Uncle Shen was either planning wholesale or research.
However, it was said that typical black spot disease should appear later. She didn't expect it to be so severe at this point; it was truly unusual.
"Wow! There are also Damask roses over there!"
"Mhm?"
Qiu Xi, who was watching intently, was snapped back to attention by the exclamation and turned her gaze.
Indeed, Turkish roses, which were also expensive!
She hadn't expected Uncle Shen to be so willing to spend, proving he wasn't short on money.
"Mhm... it's just a little scarce, not as many as before."
Shen Yan also noticed this; she hadn't paid attention before.
"..."
Hearing that there were fewer, Qiu Xi was momentarily stunned.
After she reacted, she let out a sigh of relief.
In just one day, she was already getting used to this girl's Versailles-like behavior.
"Let's go take a look."
After Qiu Xi walked over to take a look, she realized that more or less all of them had some kind of disease.
However, recalling the content in the Flower Encyclopedia, Qiu Xi roughly understood the reason, but she still had to confirm it.
"Yan Yan, let's go talk to your dad."
"Huh? Why go over there?"
Her father looked troubled; wasn't it adding to the chaos to go at this time?
"I think I know what the reason is. Let's go ask him."
"Mhm? You know!"
Shen Yan's voice suddenly became much louder, somewhat startled.
"Xiao Xi, are you serious?"
Unbelieving, Shen Yan grabbed Qiu Xi's hand and asked urgently.
"Mhm, but we still need to ask to be sure."
"Then let's go now."
Regardless, since they had an idea, they had to try it. Otherwise, missing out on a fortune would be a terrible loss.
"Mhm."
With that, Shen Yan pulled Qiu Xi and ran towards her father.
Song Daiyao and Liang Yunfei, watching the two run off, were stunned for a moment before quickly following.
"Dad~"
With just a short distance, Shen Yan was already panting, shouting as she ran, truly "sick."
"..."
At least to Shen's parents, their daughter was just like that.
"What is it?"
"Look at you, you don't even act like a proper young lady..."
Nagging...
As soon as Shen Yan ran over, before she could even catch her breath, she was subjected to a lecture filled with love.
"No... Dad, Mom, I'm telling you, it's Xiao Xi... Xiao Xi said she has a way to cure our roses."
"What?"
"What did you say?"
"!!!"
This one sentence startled Shen's father and mother, as well as the person by their side who was so worried he was losing hair.
"Xiao Xi, is what Yan Yan said true?"
Shen's mother reacted first, tightly holding Qiu Xi's hand and speaking urgently.
As soon as she said this, everyone's gaze turned to Qiu Xi.
However, she remained calm, "Auntie, I'm not sure either. I need to ask."
"Ask away, we're all here. Ask whatever you want."
"Mhm."
Saying this, Qiu Xi turned to the planting staff and technicians nearby and asked some of her own questions.
...
It was just a few questions, and Qiu Xi soon understood.
It wasn't much different from what she had imagined.
When she first looked, she had been thinking about whether it had been only a little over a month since the flowers were moved from their sheds.
She also inquired about ventilation and the reasons for the low-lying areas.
"Mhm, we've thought about everything you've mentioned. We've used fungicides and all sorts of things, but to no avail."
"Mhm, because this is truly not a common black spot disease. It might be more like a hybrid mutation of black spot disease..."
"Young lady, are the things you're saying reliable?"
After Qiu Xi said a lot, everyone was a bit skeptical. After all, she was just a second-year university student, and she didn't look like someone who could solve problems.
"Mhm, we can try experimenting."
Qiu Xi could understand. If it were her, she might not believe it either, especially given her age and experience.