Madam Tang immediately sent someone back to retrieve silver coins and to bring some nice-looking flower pots from her home.
She couldn't approve of the flower pots in Manbao's courtyard.
Such precious orchids naturally demanded equally precious and beautiful pots.
Zhou Lijun brought over some tea, setting it on the stone table in the courtyard, and invited them to drink.
It was then that Madam Tang sat down and started chatting with Manbao, laughing, "People these days love peonies, like the Princess Consort of Yizhou and Second Madam Ji, for instance; they enjoy spending a lot of money on peonies. However, Madam Zhang and I prefer orchids. I have a fondness for plain colors, whereas she adores red even more. One day, I should introduce you to her."
Madam Tang said with a smile, "First, you need to nurture the red champak well. Once it starts budding, then you can propagate and pot it, and that's when you can sell it at a high price."
