Chapter 162 – Flower Tea
The rose bush made it clear it needed to think things through.
Xia Lu Nong had no choice but to wait in the cold wind.
Even though the rose bush’s words were harsh, Xia Lu Nong could sense its underlying concern.
Entrusting your fate to someone else was never easy, even for a plant.
The rose bush didn’t make them wait long. About ten minutes later, it said, “I can give you a piece of my main body, but my main body must be placed alongside the honeysuckle’s.”
Xia Lu Nong immediately agreed. “No problem. You can grow your roots together, with your leaves facing in different directions.”
The rose bush added, “That’s just the first condition. I have a second condition.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
The rose bush demanded, “I’m giving you my main body to live better in the future. After you take it, you must give me a certain amount of power every day.”
Xia Lu Nong didn’t agree right away. “Providing power daily is too difficult. Sometimes we have to leave, and it wouldn’t be convenient to come down from the mountains every time. How about you change the condition? For example, we can help you grow to a certain point every quarter or half year.”
The rose bush’s branches tapped the ground, seemingly deep in thought.
After a moment, it reluctantly agreed. “Fine. I want to grow at least fifty centimeters every month. If you can’t meet that, I’ll leave you.”
Xia Lu Nong breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s doable. Do you have any other requests?”
“Just those two,” the rose bush replied. “If I have any other needs later, I’ll discuss them with you.”
Xia Lu Nong smiled. “Glad to be working with you.”
The rose bush shook its branches. “Dig up one of my roses. Whichever one you dig, it will be considered part of my main body.”
Xia Lu Nong hadn’t expected the bush to let him choose. He turned to his brother. “Bro, give me a knife. The rose bush agreed to give us a part of its main body, and I’ll dig it up myself.”
They hadn’t brought any farming tools like a hoe or shovel, so they had to use a knife for everything.
Xia Huo Qu glanced at him, saw that he wasn’t asking for help, and handed him a knife, blade down.
Xia Lu Nong walked over to the rose bush and chose a pink double-petaled rose, then began digging.
The rose bush moved its nearby branches to give him room to work.
Once it moved aside, Xia Lu Nong noticed that beneath the rose bush’s beautiful flowers, the stems were covered in sharp thorns.
The tips of the thorns were black, resembling poisoned daggers, looking extremely menacing.
Xia Lu Nong hesitated for a moment.
The rose bush shook its branches proudly. “What? Scared? If you don’t treat me well, I’ll take revenge.”
Xia Lu Nong asked, “Are those thorns poisonous? What happens if someone accidentally gets pricked?”
The rose bush boasted, “We’re just partners. You shouldn’t be prying into my survival secrets.”
Xia Lu Nong said seriously, “The foundation of our cooperation is that we aren’t harmful to each other. There will be many humans in the place where you will grow, and if your thorns pose a significant threat to them, we’ll have to reconsider our partnership.”
The rose bush’s vines shook in defiance, refusing to answer.
Xia Lu Nong didn’t back down, standing there quietly and watching it, waiting to proceed.
After a while, the rose bush begrudgingly replied, “They’re not very poisonous. If humans get pricked, they’ll just be paralyzed for a bit.”
Xia Lu Nong said, “Can you give me a branch with thorns? We need to study it.”
“Why do you humans always have so many requests?” the rose bush said, annoyed. “You’re not straightforward at all. Fine, fine, fine, take the thorny branch. Do you still want my main body?”
“Yes.” Xia Lu Nong smiled after receiving the thorny branch. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Xia Lu Nong quickly dug up each rose bush.
The roses looked healthy, with vibrant flowers.
Xia Lu Nong inspected the rose bush and touched its roots, discovering that they were rotting. When he pinched them lightly, the ends crumbled like tofu dregs.
Frowning, Xia Lu Nong infused the bush with some energy, hoping it would recover.
After receiving the energy, the rose’s roots grew rapidly.
At the same time, Xia Lu Nong heard the rose bush’s cheerful voice in his mind, “Your energy is really useful. Give me more!”
Xia Lu Nong was startled. “How are you still conscious?”
The rose bush retorted, “Didn’t you say you wanted a part of my main body? How could it not be conscious?”
Xia Lu Nong had interacted with the honeysuckle’s main body before, assuming that plants would lose consciousness after being separated from their main body. He hadn’t expected the rose bush to be an exception.
His thoughts raced, but he said nothing, simply giving the rose bush more energy as requested.
Overjoyed, the rose bush wiggled its branches, and even its roots twitched, as if it was admiring its newly rejuvenated roots.
Xia Lu Nong said, “Now that we’ve reached an agreement, we have other things to attend to, so we’ll head back.”
“Wait!” the rose bush called out. “I heard from the honeysuckle that it gave you many petals?”
Xia Lu Nong looked at it and asked, “Are you going to give me rose petals too?”
“If you want, that’s possible, but you’ll need to trade some energy for them,” the rose bush replied. “The energy in my petals is much stronger than the honeysuckle’s. Want to trade?”
Xia Lu Nong agreed, “How do we trade?”
The rose bush bargained, “Give me the energy first, and I’ll see how much it’s worth in petals.”
Xia Lu Nong, not one to haggle, didn’t argue. He raised his hand and transferred most of his energy into the rose bush.
As the rose absorbed the energy, its branches quivered, making a whistling sound.
Its branches danced so joyfully that Xia Lu Nong could practically feel how thrilled it was.
Standing beside the bush, Xia Lu Nong patiently waited before saying, “It’s time to give me the petals.”
“No problem, bring something to hold them,” the rose bush said cheerfully. “Bring something big.”
Xia Lu Nong turned and called to his brother, “Bro, get me a sack. I traded with the rose for some petals.”
Xia Huo Qu didn’t ask any questions and retrieved a sack from the armored vehicle.
Xia Lu Nong opened the sack and asked the rose, “What now?”
“Wait a moment, I’ll get the petals out for you,” the rose bush replied.
The large rose bush in front of him started swaying.
Xia Lu Nong watched as nearly every rose branch began to move.
The branches worked together like hands, passing something from afar.
Soon, a large brownish-yellow bundle was dragged over by the rose’s branches and placed in front of Xia Lu Nong.
Xia Lu Nong realized that it was a bundle wrapped in dried branches and leaves, emitting a unique floral fragrance that filled the air and lifted his spirits.
The rose said, “My petals are inside. You can open it and take a look.”
Without hesitation, Xia Lu Nong used his knife to cut open the dried branches and leaves.
As soon as the bundle was cut open, dried pink and purple petals were revealed inside, and the fragrance became even more intense.
The rose bush boasted, “These are all petals I dried in the sun on my branches. The scent is very strong. Once you taste them, you’ll see. Not a bad deal, right?”
Xia Lu Nong gave it a thumbs-up. “You even dry your own petals for later use?”
“Of course. The honeysuckle told me that humans love this kind of thing. I’ve stored many petals. If you want more, you can always come back and trade.”
Xia Lu Nong imagined that if the rose bush had a human form, it would be grinning ear to ear.
He smiled at the thought. “I would love to trade more, but I don’t know if I have anything else that would interest you.”
“I only want energy,” the rose bush quickly replied. “Other than energy, I don’t need anything else.”
Xia Lu Nong said, “I can’t store my energy, and I’ve used up most of it today.”
The rose bush replied, “You can consider staying nearby for a couple of days. Don’t worry, if you stay, I can guarantee your safety.”
Xia Lu Nong chuckled. “That’s not my decision. I’ll need to discuss it with my companions.”
The rose bush snorted twice but said nothing more.
There wasn’t a flower pot in the armored vehicle, so Xia Lu Nong used a bucket, filled it with soil, and planted the rose bush’s main body in it.
Thanks to the energy he had given it earlier, the rose was thriving.
Xia Lu Nong and his team drove a bit farther away.
The golden eagle circled above, accompanying them as they moved away from the sea of roses.
Once they were far enough, the group ensured that the rose bush couldn’t communicate with them or attack, and then Xia Lu Nong placed it inside the armored vehicle before getting out to meet with the others.
They needed to take the opportunity to eat lunch as well.
The weather was bitterly cold. To conserve fuel, they hadn’t used much heat, and the armored vehicle was freezing.
As soon as they got out, everyone rubbed their hands and stomped their feet to warm up, quickly starting a fire for heat.
Seeing that they had started the fire, Xia Lu Nong immediately began boiling water to brew rose tea.
The water was ready in no time, and Xia Lu Nong tossed the rose petals into the kettle to steep.
Kong Zhi had already shifted back to human form and was wearing a down jacket. Xia Lu Nong handed him the freshly brewed tea and quietly asked, “Are you cold?”
“It’s not cold.” Kong Zhi wrapped his arm around Xia Lu Nong, grabbed his hand, and whispered, “Feel my hand, it’s much warmer than yours.”
Xia Lu Nong’s eyes curved into a smile.
The two of them were a couple, but in front of others, they couldn’t act too intimate. After briefly touching hands, they let go.
After exchanging warmth, Xia Lu Nong poured the rose tea for the others.
This time, everyone got a share of the rose tea.
The fragrance of the rose petals filled the temporary base.
Yan Xi Nian held his cup of tea and said, “I’ll take a sip first. If it’s fine, then the rest of you can drink.”
Xia Lu Nong’s intuition was sharp. The moment he touched the rose petals, he knew that there was probably no issue with the tea.
However, Old Liu and the others trusted Yan Xi Nian more.
Xia Lu Nong understood that his brother Yan Xi Nian was backing him up, so he didn’t object.
In front of everyone, Yan Xi Nian lifted his cup and slowly took the first sip.
The tea was still a bit hot, and as the warm liquid entered his mouth, it seemed to awaken every cell in his body.
The rich fragrance of the rose tea rose, whether through his mouth or his nose, gently spreading throughout his senses.
Yan Xi Nian felt as though he had just woken up from a long afternoon nap, leaving him in a state of relaxed contentment.
Without realizing it, his expression shifted several times—first calm, then surprised, then enjoying it, followed by relaxation, and finally a sense of comfort.
In less than half a minute, he displayed a variety of expressions like a changing mask.
Ba Niu, watching eagerly, couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “So how does it taste? Captain Yan, tell us!”
Yan Xi Nian took another leisurely sip, holding his cup with both hands. “I’m savoring it. What’s the rush?”
Then he turned to Xia Huo Qu and said, “Huo Qu, you should try it and see how it feels.”
Seeing Yan Xi Nian’s expression, Ba Niu figured the tea was likely safe.
Unable to wait any longer, he immediately picked up his cup and took a big gulp.
After a moment’s pause, he raised the cup again and gulped down the rest in one go.
That was enough to reassure everyone, and without hesitation, they began drinking their tea with delight.
For a while, the only sound in the quiet temporary camp was the gurgling of tea being gulped down.
After finishing his cup in one go, Ba Niu wiped his mouth and, holding his empty cup, said to Xia Lu Nong, “Xiao Nong, is there more tea?”
There was indeed more, and Xia Lu Nong smiled as he refilled Ba Niu’s cup.
Seeing this, Yan Xi Nian sighed, “Such a waste of fine tea!”
Ba Niu ignored the sarcastic remark, happily downing his second cup and quickly pouring himself a third, making him one of the few to enjoy three cups of rose tea.
With the third cup in hand, he sat on a low stool, sighing contentedly, “This is what you call ‘the quick-handed get the goods, the slow miss out.”
