Strange Life of a Cat

Why hurry?

Zheng Tan could guess that the problem was the pot of orchids, but Zheng Tan wasn't sure why.

What went wrong near flowering? Or some other accident?

Old man Lan has always protected the flowers very well. Moreover, when Zheng Tan passed by that day, seeing the momentum, Old Man Lan would basically not allow other people and animals to approach. Zheng Tan was just the discoverer of orchids, and Old Man Lan was extra merciful. .

If it is not due to other people or things, is it Lanhua's own problem?

Zheng Tan knew that although the orchid looked very similar to the ordinary Tieguxin orchid, it was difficult to distinguish it by looking at the leaves alone. I didn't see anything wrong, it was only after careful study that I found out that it was different.

In order to find out the reason, Zheng Tan squatted in front of old man Lan's door on the third floor and guarded it. When Mrs. Zhai was not at home, the door of old man Lan's house was basically closed.

While Zheng Tan was squatting in front of the door and waiting, Er Mao went out to throw out the garbage and gave Zheng Tan a strange look. He didn't understand what Zheng Tan was doing here, and Zheng Tan ignored him.

Finally, after ten o'clock, the old lady Zhai came back from the outside, opened the door and followed Zheng Tan in.

The old lady went into the kitchen to cook, and she was not worried that Zheng Tan would cause damage in the house. Over the past few years, Zheng Tan had never caused trouble here, so the old lady was relieved.

After bringing out a small plate of fish balls, Mrs. Zhai saw Zheng Tan looking for someone from room to room, and knew that he was looking for Mr. Lan, so Mrs. Zhai smiled and said, He went to the library, because the pot of orchids hasn't bloomed recently. People become anxious about things, alas, when it comes to flowers, they are like this, stubborn.

Has not bloomed?

The old man Lan talked about the fact that it only takes three or two days to bloom. Zheng Tan also looked at it that day, and the buds really looked like they were about to bloom, but for some reason, there was no follow-up reaction when they were about to bloom.

The old lady was washing the vegetables while nagging at Zheng Tan. Listening to her, it meant that the old man Lan didn’t know the reason why the flowers hadn’t bloomed all the time. After I finished, I went directly to the school library. I guess I couldn’t find the answer and I wouldn’t come back to eat at noon. I forgot the time as soon as I sat there studying, and the old lady had to deliver the meal when it was ready. You can't eat in the library, but there is a special rest area, and there is also a rest area for employees. The old lady knows the people there and said hello.

As for why old man Lan is in such a hurry, one is that he doesn't know why the flowers don't bloom, and the other is the flower show held in the city in October.

After the past three years, the old man Lan did not continue to study other orchids. After the basic care, most of the rest of the time was spent on this strange orchid. Only after raising it can Old Man Lan really know how difficult it is to take care of this pot of orchids. Originally, Old Man Lan thought that it would take five or six years or even longer to see the blooms, but he did not expect that it would bloom in the third year .

The excitement in Old Lan's heart when he saw the flower buds was incomprehensible to others. In the past three years, others have said that Professor Lan went crazy because of a pot of cheap orchids, and joked behind his back. In the past, at the National Orchid Expo every year, the old man Lan would bring out a pot or several pots of orchids. The pots and pots were all high-quality goods, and every orchid that was brought out would be quoted a high price. It's over, many people in the circle of orchid cultivation know old man Lan's name, and because of this, everyone also knows that old man Lan has not participated in the Lamb Expo for three years because of a pot of cheap orchids.

Many people have told old man Lan that since you have a lot of high-quality orchids on hand, why don’t you show them to everyone? Even if you have rewarded them before, you can reward them again. I don’t know that the price of the orchids in your hand will increase once you reward them. ?

It's a pity that old man Lan was stubborn, and all his thoughts were spent on the orchid that Zheng Tan brought back. He just wanted to raise this pot of orchid well, and see what's the difference between its flowers. As for the others, he He also didn't want to take the award-winning orchids out for exhibitions. He didn't have this habit, and he didn't raise new varieties in recent years, so he simply didn't participate in the Lambo Expo.

Old man Lan doesn't really care about whether this pot of orchids is high-quality goods or not. He just wants to know the difference between this pot of orchids and ordinary iron bones. Once he gets into this alley, old man Lan won't come out. useless.

A few days ago, old man Lan promised the organizer of the flower show that he would take out several pots of orchids in his hand to participate in the flower show. In addition to the few pots of award-winning orchids that old man Lan has now, this pot of orchids is also in the flower show. In his plan, he wanted more people to see this pot of orchids that was suspected to be a natural mutation. But now, there are flower buds, and it looks like it will bloom soon, but it has not bloomed. Although it is still September, if it does not bloom until October, I will miss the flower show. It's a pity.

Hearing the old lady Zhai's nagging, Zheng Tan thought in his heart, is it not yet time to bloom?

When Zheng Tan found it three years ago, it was already October, and it was still after the National Day holiday. Could it be that this flower really has to wait for a while?

Different orchids have different flowering periods. There are many varieties, and the flowering periods are also very different. Even Jianlan Suxin, the flowering time is also different.

Old man Lan walks back and forth between his home, the small flower garden and the library every day. He took pictures every day and made detailed records. He didn’t find the answer, so he recorded it first, and then looked for the answer when the time came. At the same time, Old man Lan also found some like-minded people who have researched orchids in the school to help, but unfortunately there was no way, and he didn't dare to try it lightly.

The only thing that made old man Lan feel better was that those who had seen the pot of orchid buds would all praise him. After all, the appreciation angles of the experts are different from Zheng Tan's.

So, for the next period of time, every time Zheng Tan passed by the small flower garden and jumped on the fence to look in, he would find that there were several old men watching the place where the pot of orchids were placed, and sometimes they would quarrel for a long time because of the points they raised. .

They thought the same as old man Lan, and felt that this pot of orchid was probably a natural mutation of iron bone, which was worth studying, but the problem of not blooming now has its own reasons and opinions.

Some orchids take longer from budding to flowering, one to two months or even half a year, but now the buds of this potted flower have grown like this, and anyone looks like it will bloom soon. But it has been stuck here.

In short, no matter what the reason is, as long as the flower buds are still healthy and normal, it is a good sign. An old man said.

They couldn't find a solution, but the orchid is still healthy now, it's just that the buds don't bloom, it's better than a sick one, then there's really no way, it's rare that everyone is looking forward to it this time.

In the anticipation of everyone, September passed quietly, and the military training for new students was over. One day I can wear a short-sleeved vest, and the next day I can wear a layered jacket. It is uncertain, and many freshmen who are not used to it still catch a cold.

The changing weather did not stir up ripples in the hearts of those old men. Old man Lan was no longer as anxious as he was at the beginning. He felt that maybe this was God's will. Watching the date of the flower show gradually, the buds of this pot of orchids were It has been in the same state as it was a month ago, the old man Lan thought, probably this flower has no chance for the flower show.

Over the past month, Old Man Lan has recruited many friends in the circle to help, but he is still helpless. However, because of this, orchid friends in the circle of orchids know that Professor Da Niulan in the circle has raised a very different pot of iron bone. The leaves of this flower look similar to ordinary iron bone, but the buds Ruyu, it shouldn't be Fanpin, but the buds have remained the same for a month, and they haven't bloomed yet.

Now no one is making fun of the old man Lan for spending three years of energy dedicated to serving this pot of rumored to be quite cheap orchids, but looking forward to when it will bloom, so that everyone can see and see.

One day, when Zheng Tan went downstairs, he found that the door of the old man Lan's house on the third floor was ajar, and the old lady inside was cleaning. Zheng Tan squeezed open the door and went in.

After seeing Zheng Tan, the old lady Zhai had someone to nag with again, so she started nagging with Zheng Tan. It's nothing more than the orchid matter, and only this can make old man Lan feel stubborn and make the old lady talk about it.

The pot of orchids is blooming, and they are all squatting in the small flower garden, and they don't even have time to eat. The old lady said. It is very helpless for old man Lan to forget to eat every time when orchids are involved, but this time old man Lan is not the only one who forgets to eat.

When Zheng Tan came to the small flower garden and turned in, he found the place where the pot of orchids was placed. There, there were already seven old men with gray or silver hair squatting in front of the pot of orchids. Like living.

Is this playing the seven dwarfs? Zheng sighed.

Besides these seven old men, there was also a cat squatting beside them.

The sheriff didn't know when he came here, because there were seven old men here, and the wire door outside was not closed. The sheriff who loved to eat flowers came in when the seven old men were not paying attention, and the seven old men only cared about going in. Looking at the flowers, I didn't notice a dangerous person squatting next to me.

What's even more strange is that the sheriff, who has an inexplicable obsession with gnawing flowers, just squatted aside and watched obediently, without opening his mouth.

The seven old men and one cat just squatted there for an unknown how long, Zheng Tan's legs ached for them, and he was afraid that these elderly men would fall down when they got up from squatting for a long time.

While thinking, Zheng Tan walked over.

After smelling it, Zheng Tan knew that it was the same flower he saw in the mountains back then.

The five buds are all blooming now, just like the flowers in Zheng Tan's memory, with the feeling of jade quality, if you don't know that this is a real flower, you may think that it is carved from jade.

Zheng Tan was able to look at the flowers in a daze back then, and now the seven old men and the police chief are probably also in a daze.

Zheng Tan thinks that although the flowers are very good, compared to the ones he saw in the mountains, there is still a small gap. The best proof is that Zheng Tan didn't stay in a daze right now. Of course, it may be It was Zheng Tan who developed immunity to this.

It's not a problem to stay like this all the time, Zheng Tan squatted to the side and looked at the seven people and one cat staring at Hua, yawned loudly, and made a long sound of Ah——.

Finally someone came back to his senses, and so did the sheriff.

Hey, hurry up, it's the sheriff!! An old man shouted.

The old men didn't bother to continue looking at the flowers. They guarded against the sheriff like a thief, and they were relieved until they drove the sheriff out.

The Sheriff is a nympho, everyone knows that.

The old men stood up slowly and beat their legs. Fortunately, they didn't fall down, but their legs hurt after squatting for a long time.

Looking at the time, everyone realized that they had watched it for so long without knowing it.

Old man Lan also started to chase people away, he treasures this potted flower.

Not in vain for three years, not in vain for three years!

Old man Lan's eyes were red with excitement.

Lao Lan, whether you want to sell these flowers or not, you make an offer, and I'll buy it. An old man said.

Come on, Lao Lan, let yourself appreciate the flowers first, and don't rush to sell them. Another old man said.

Yes, yes, it's better to spend more time with yourself. Several other people also echoed.

They said so, but they all thought in their hearts when they would talk to old man Lan in private.

Rare, this flower is rare.

When they left, the old men turned their heads three times at a step, and they didn't want to take their eyes off the pot of orchids.

Hey, Lao Lan, your flower should be a natural mutation. I haven't seen one like yours yet. Have you given it a name? asked a person who was driven out by Old Lan.

The old man Lan paused in his chase, said hmm, and glanced at Zheng Tan when the others were not paying attention.

Zheng Tan: ...

This old man is really strange, what do you want me to do by naming you orchid?