Outsider: The Fifth Young Master of the Kang Family

Chapter 43 Lost Money on Flowers
"The flowers are back."

It was almost dinner time when the old maid came back and asked everyone to go out and help carry the flowers.

"Wow, why did you buy so much?" When everyone went out and saw that the car that A Yao borrowed was full of dozens of plates of various flowers, they couldn't help but wonder how much money it cost.

"Hurry up and move. I'll go give a red envelope to the driver first." After Lao Dou moved the biggest peach blossom home, he didn't want to move anymore. A Yao quickly stopped him, "No need, Lao Dou, I've done it all."

"Did you finish it?" The old man was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Did you thank them?"

"Thank him? He should be thanking me for giving him the opportunity to make extra money." A Yao did not forget to work while talking. This was his second trip.

"Wow, what beautiful peach blossoms." The second sister-in-law also came out. She didn't need to move things, so she had been cooking inside. But she couldn't stay there because it was so lively outside.

"If they weren't cheap and beautiful, would your father have run to Chencun to buy flowers?" The old woman praised the beauty of the peach blossoms while also making fun of her husband, haha.

"Master, master, how much does this peach tree cost?" The second sister-in-law was more concerned about the price.

"This peach blossom is a great bargain. They offered a price of 128 yuan, and I bargained for 50 yuan, and they sold it to me." When the old man talked about the price of peach blossoms, he became very proud.

"Fifty yuan? No way? So cheap? Master, you can't buy it in Guangzhou for several times the price." The second sister-in-law's words were half true and half exaggerated. It was indeed cheap, but not as exaggerated as the second sister-in-law said. She coaxed the old man to show his teeth and eyes.

"Dad, how much did you spend on buying so many flowers?" Kang Qirui asked curiously.

"Less than two hundred yuan." Dou was very proud.

"No way? So cost-effective?" Kang Qirui was stunned. It was indeed really cheap.

"Dad, you have to add my two hundred yuan." A Yao brought back another plate of flowers and interrupted when he heard they were talking about prices.

"What do you mean by your two hundred dollars?" My father was very confused.

"Have you forgotten? The bridge toll is 40 yuan, plus the labor fee is 150 yuan, and there is also a red envelope for the driver. The total is more than 200 yuan, right?" A Yao put the flowers on the ground and counted them one by one with his father.

"Dad, isn't this a bad deal?" Kang Qirui calculated that the total cost was 400 yuan. These flowers could probably be bought for around 300 yuan in Guangzhou.

"Yes, Dad, everyone knows that after midnight on New Year's Eve, those five dollars are not worth it." Big Brother Guang also added to the old man's advice.

"Hmph, those are garbage at five dollars a plate. How can they compare with what I have?" The old man's face turned black, but he still spoke stubbornly to save face.

After a long while, they finally finished moving. The second brother came out to call Lao Dou to eat, but Lao Dou still looked depressed and kept saying that he was not hungry. The second brother laughed at him and said, "Why are you so angry? If you don't eat, the two hundred yuan will be back?"

Kang Qirui also advised his father: "Forget it, it's just for the sake of good luck. Just spend the money, as long as it looks good." His father's expression improved a little after hearing this.

"Ah" Just as they were talking, the second sister-in-law screamed in the dining room. The second brother hurried in, followed closely by Kang Qirui. It would be bad if anything happened during the New Year.

As soon as he entered the dining room, he saw his second sister-in-law vomiting, and the second brother quickly asked, "Wife, what's wrong with you?"

Kang Qirui also asked with concern: "Second sister-in-law, are you okay?"

The second sister-in-law took the water from the second brother, drank a big gulp, rinsed her mouth, and spit it out. After several times, she pointed at a dish of something that looked like garlic on the table and said, "What is this? It's so disgusting?"

"Isn't this the garlic sprouts from your southern region?" said the sister-in-law, pointing at the dish.

"Where did you buy it? You must have been cheated." The second sister-in-law thought Xianglan had bought the wrong thing.

"Why does it feel a bit like daffodils?" Kang Qirui fiddled with the dish. It looked very much like daffodils.

"I didn't buy it, I took it from the refrigerator." Xiang Lantian pointed to the refrigerator at the back. "That should be Narcissus." Kang Qirui was basically sure it was Narcissus after hearing it.

"Really, it's gone." The old lady opened the refrigerator and indeed couldn't find her father's Narcissus.

"You too, why are you frying narcissus?" Seeing the second sister-in-law like this, the boss could only scold Xianglan to calm everyone down.

"Will it be poisonous?" asked the sister-in-law cautiously.

"Yes, yes, daffodils are poisonous." The second brother panicked all of a sudden and asked his second sister-in-law, "How do you feel? Is your mouth numb?"

"I don't feel anything." The second sister-in-law smacked her lips, indicating that she didn't feel anything. "Then did you swallow it?" the second brother asked again.

"I just ate one piece and vomited it all out." The second sister-in-law pointed at the vomit on the ground.

"It should be fine then. The roots, stems and leaves of daffodils are poisonous, but the toxicity is not strong. At most it will just cause diarrhea. Second brother, pour a glass of salt water for second sister-in-law. If she really swallows it, the salt water can detoxify it." Kang Qirui explained the toxicity of daffodils and asked the second brother to get the salt water. When the second brother heard it, he went there quickly. The relationship between the second brother and his sister-in-law is still very good.

Sachiko also advised: "Second sister-in-law, don't be angry with the eldest sister-in-law. After eating daffodils, you will become Lingbo Fairy." Lingbo Fairy is a figure in ancient Chinese mythology. She lives in heaven and is famous for being the incarnation of daffodils.

"Yes, yes, Lingbo Fairy." The second sister-in-law said unhappily, "I think you will die first after eating narcissus." When the old maid heard it, she made a "Pooh" sound and made the second sister-in-law spit.

"Since my second sister-in-law can still joke, then everything is fine." Kang Qirui took a strange angle and took the initiative to serve a bowl of soup to my second sister-in-law, "Second sister-in-law, have a bowl of soup to rinse your mouth."

Just as the second sister-in-law took the soup and was about to take a sip, the second brother stopped her and said, "Wait, this soup was also made by the eldest sister-in-law. What if she mistook chrysanthemums for cauliflower?" The second brother was worried, but what he said was a bit too much.

Even the second sister-in-law couldn't stand it anymore and scolded: "How can you talk like that? This meal was made by the eldest sister-in-law. If you have the guts, don't eat it." It's rare for the second sister-in-law to take the initiative to speak to the eldest sister-in-law. The second sister-in-law didn't care. But if you think about it, you can understand it. The eldest sister-in-law is not incapable of cooking. It's just that she didn't expect that the old man put the narcissus in the refrigerator and made a mistake. How could the sister-in-law make mistakes with other dishes? And the second brother said too much, so the second sister-in-law had to come forward to calm the matter down.

"My dear uncle, there will be no daffodils this year." The old woman said to my father with some regret. The three must-have flowers for the Cantonese during the Chinese New Year are oranges, peach blossoms, and daffodils. Now one of them is missing, how depressing.

"That's easy, just ask Dad to go to Chencun again." A Zu is a bit rebellious, and he talks about things that are not related to the topic. Dad was still angry about losing money just now.

"You are such a bad boy, you are always against me, right?" My father patted A Zu on the shoulder, and A Zu became scared and didn't dare to say anything to provoke my father anymore.

"Okay, okay, stop talking about this." The old woman stopped Er Lao and A Zu from fighting, "Let me ask you, how are the fried dough sticks today?"

When Kang Qirui and his brothers heard the old lady's question, they all looked at each other and said, "Oh, they are all fried."

"So fast? What kinds of things are fried?" The old lady was a little surprised.

Everyone looked at A-Zu. He knew what they were buying best. A-Zu said, "We have fried dough sticks, fried dough balls, egg rolls, and sugar rings."

"Huh? Sugar rings?" The old woman suddenly interrupted A-Zu, "You all know how to make sugar rings?"

"Yes, I like it. If I like it, I will make it. I even made a big box." A-Zu still insisted.

"It's a slag." Big Brother Guang said it directly. Kang Qirui was also lamenting that A Zu looked quite smart, but how come he couldn't even buy something right. The old lady had been trying for decades to make something as difficult as a sugar ring, but he bought it and said it was made by the brothers themselves. How could the old lady believe it?
The old woman picked up the chopsticks in her hand and asked each of the Kang brothers, "A Guang, tell me honestly, where did you buy the fried dough sticks?" The eldest brother Guang had no idea how to answer this question, as he was not the one who bought them. She had to signal A Zu to speak for himself. A Zu could only say that he bought them in Hongyunlou.

"They are all grown up, but they are still working together to deceive grandma." The old woman said unhappily, and then looked at Tianxiu who was watching the show, "Xiuzi, how do you think we should punish them?"

"You bad boy, be careful with your words. The profit this year can be big or small." The second brother immediately threatened his son.

"The game console is fun." A-Zu tempted, and Big Boss Guang also took the temptation route: "Do you want to drink Coke first?"

"New Year gifts can be toys or test papers." Kang Qirui took a different approach.

Tian Xiu ignored everyone and said without any fear: "Just punish them by not letting them sleep and making them fry fried dough sticks all night long."

There was no other way, so everyone had to work together after dinner. Fortunately, there were many people in the Kang family, and the oil-fried dumplings were not difficult. After the old woman demonstrated it twice, everyone basically knew how to do it. It was finished before eleven o'clock, and everyone took turns to take a shower. Now the Kang family's house has been renovated, and the three bathrooms are very convenient. Everyone took a shower and went to bed around twelve o'clock.

When he got up the next day, Kang Qirui saw his sister-in-law, second sister-in-law Sachiko and the old maid cleaning the house. "Sister-in-law, you are busy." After greeting his sister-in-law, he said to the old maid, "Mother, you are wearing such a big bag, hahaha." It was really funny to see the old maid cleaning the house with a red plastic bag on her head.

At this time, the second brother also got up and said to Kang Qirui: "Brother, look at this scene, now can we reflect the status of men."

Kang Qirui said while eating breakfast: "Don't say that. There's no such thing as status. It's just division of labor and cooperation." As a new generation of people, Kang Qirui still respects women.

"A Zong, come here." The old woman saw the second brother and called him over, "Hurry up and take Tianxiu to take a bath. It's too dirty to take a bath on the 28th of the lunar year. You can't take a bath on the 30th of the lunar year."

"On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, clean up the dirt" is one of the traditional customs of the people of Guangdong Province. On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the whole family of Guangdong Province will go out to clean the house from top to bottom. According to folk sayings, "cleaning up the dirt" can sweep away "bad luck" and "bad luck". After sweeping away the bad things of the year, people can enjoy a brand new environment and bathe in an auspicious atmosphere during the New Year.

But today is only the 27th day of the lunar year? Kang Qirui was surprised to see everyone cleaning up just now, and now he asked Er Lao to take Tian Xiu to take a bath. Kang Qirui asked directly: "Mom, isn't today only the 27th day of the lunar year?" Er Lao also nodded, also very curious.

"There's only the 29th day of the lunar year this year, but no New Year's Eve." The old maid said while working.

So that's how it is. If there is no New Year's Eve, then everything will be pushed forward one day. So today is the 27th day of the New Year and we have to clean up the mess. Kang Qirui asked the second brother to wait for him, and he followed him.

(End of this chapter)