The Fragrance of Knowledge Part 2

Yu Zhen looked at his always calm face and, for some reason, saw a hint of indulgence and doting in it. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly averted his gaze, asking, "So, is my idea feasible? Will this work to resolve the Baleful Qi?"

"It will work."

Yin Yan turned his head, looking at his vibrant and lively appearance, and couldn't help but take his hand. "You've thought it through very well. If we only nurture the seeds, the Merit consumption will be much less, and we can also use the Xirang and Boundless Water. Having people with merit plant them will, one, provide job opportunities for those with merit, and two, enhance the effect of the merit. It's killing two birds with one stone. And the idea of having children adopt plants is very clever. Don't worry, resolving Baleful Qi is a good thing; the children will benefit as well."

Yu Zhen was stunned by the hand-holding. He looked up at him, met his focused gaze, and then quickly looked away again, responding, "It's good that it'll work... Um, it's getting late. We still haven't bought gifts for Dad and Xiao Le. Let's hurry."

If you're going to put on a show, you have to see it through. Since he had said the reason he wasn't going home was because he was secretly preparing gifts for the family, then he had to produce these gifts.

The gift for Chou Feiqian was easy; the essential oil was already made, and perfume would be quick to make as well. But gifts for Yin Hexiang and Yin Le were a bit difficult. He didn't have any gifts suitable for men on hand, so he still had to go shopping to see if there was anything appropriate to buy.

In the end, after much shopping, the two returned empty-handed.

The Yin Family was too wealthy. Yu Zhen had limited money, so the things he could afford were probably things Yin Hexiang and Yin Le would look down on and have no use for. And the suitable gifts were all very expensive.

Yin Yan offered to let him use his card, but Yu Zhen refused.

How could he give a gift and have someone else pay for it? Absolutely not.

"It's the thought that counts when giving a gift," Yin Yan began to reason.

Yu Zhen looked at him and asked a question from the depths of his soul, "Are you unwilling to go shopping with me anymore?"

Although he was an old antique and his understanding of this world was not yet complete, Yin Yan still had the necessary survival instincts. He fell silent for two seconds, then decisively stood up and said, "There's one thing you can definitely afford, and Father will definitely have a use for it."

"What is it?" Yu Zhen asked eagerly.

Yin Yan put his hands in his pockets and replied, "Ginseng."

"..."

Yu Zhen calculated the amount in his savings and recalled the price of ginseng on the market. He felt that Yin Yan was indeed unwilling to go shopping with him anymore.

That night, Yu Zhen was woken up by Yin Yan. The two went out under the cover of darkness, heading straight for the largest mountain in the suburbs.

Yu Zhen was sleepy-eyed. "Are we going to cultivate?"

"No." Yin Yan turned the steering wheel and stepped on the gas to accelerate. "We're going to buy ginseng."

Buy ginseng?

Yu Zhen sat up with a jolt, completely awake now.

An hour later, the car stopped at the foot of the mountain. Yin Yan led Yu Zhen up the mountain, finally stopping in front of an ancient tree halfway up.

"Tell the Mountain God you're willing to exchange Merit for ginseng."

It was pitch black all around, with only the cold wind whistling. Yu Zhen glanced at Yin Yan's very reliable expression, stepped forward, and repeated the words to the ancient tree.

The ancient tree didn't respond; there was only the sound of the wind in his ears.

Yu Zhen tilted his head, giving him a skeptical look.

Yin Yan looked at the ancient tree, reached out and patted the trunk lightly, then withdrew his hand and said, "Try again."

He didn't know if it was his imagination, but the ancient tree seemed to tremble.

Yu Zhen felt that what the two of them were doing right now must look ridiculous to outsiders. He cleared his throat and repeated the words again, even condensing a little golden light on his fingertip and touching the tree trunk.

A sense of intimacy was returned. The golden light was absorbed by the ancient tree, and then with a snap, a branch of the tree fell off, turning into a ginseng root still covered in soil in mid-air, landing right in Yin Yan's palm.

Yu Zhen: "..." It actually worked.

The two made their way back. Yu Zhen started to get sleepy again and asked vaguely, "Then what would be a good gift for Xiao Le?"

Yin Yan turned up the heat in the car and replied in a low voice, "He has the college entrance exams next year. He must focus on his studies."

"Huh?" Yu Zhen looked over, his eyes full of curiosity.

Yin Yan reached out and covered his eyes, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly as he replied, "And knowledge is priceless."

A warm feeling was transmitted from the other's palm. The sleepiness suddenly intensified. Yu Zhen slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep leaning against the back of the seat.

The two didn't return to the villa until New Year's Eve. Chou Feiqian complained a couple of times, but thinking that they had been delayed because they were buying gifts for them, she wasn't truly complaining. After just a few words, she warmly welcomed them to eat.

After the reunion dinner that night, Yu Zhen finally brought out the gifts he was giving. Chou Feiqian and the others, who had seemingly forgotten about it, immediately perked up, all of them staring intently at the several boxes he took out.

Yu Zhen felt embarrassed being stared at, his face flushing slightly. He stood up and first handed the smallest box to Chou Feiqian, saying, "This is for Mom. It's essential oil and perfume I made myself. See if you like it. If you don't, I'll get you something else."

"You made it yourself?"

Chou Feiqian's face was full of pleasant surprise as she eagerly took the box.

When she heard from Yin Yan that Yu Zhen was preparing New Year's gifts for them, she had thought to herself that this child, Yu Zhen, was too earnest and the gifts he prepared probably wouldn't be too spectacular. She had made up her mind to act surprised and delighted even if she didn't like the gift, to make the child happy.

But now that she actually had the gift in her hands, her surprise was genuine and required no pretense.

Handmade essential oil and perfume!

She had her own cosmetics company, so she knew that these things could indeed be homemade, but she never expected that a boy like Yu Zhen would be so thoughtful as to make these for her.

This gesture was simply too heartwarming. She became even more determined that even if the essential oil and perfume Yu Zhen made weren't good, she would praise them greatly, praise them well, and put on the best performance of her life to express her love for this gift.

With this thought in mind, she opened the box. Inside were two exquisite little bottles. She looked up at Yu Zhen with a smile, first taking out the bottle that was probably perfume and spraying a little on her wrist.

A fresh, elegant, but clearly rose-based fragrance diffused, instantly dispelling the smell of food in the room. From the nasal cavity to the brain, wherever the scent spread, a soothing and relaxing feeling followed.

Chou Feiqian couldn't help but let out a sigh. What she felt was not just surprise, but shock.

This is amazing! The subtlety of this fragrance doesn't seem homemade at all!

Her professionalism from managing a cosmetics company kicked in, and she quickly unscrewed the essential oil to smell it.

Another, slightly richer scent evaporated, layer by layer, becoming more and more enticing, until at its peak, it was as if a rose was slowly blooming before her eyes, so beautiful it was dazzling.

She opened her eyes and looked at the small bottle of rose essential oil in her hand, somewhat speechless.

This craftsmanship was in no way inferior to those highly-paid technicians in her company.

After the surprise and shock, a feeling of being moved slowly surfaced in her heart.

As everyone knows, rose essential oil is difficult to make because it wastes too many raw materials and is too energy-consuming.

No wonder Yu Zhen took so long to prepare the gifts. For just this small bottle of rose essential oil, if Yu Zhen made it all by himself, he probably had to work tirelessly for a long time to get it.

"Mom loves it. You've worked hard, Xiao Zhen." She treasured the essential oil and perfume, wishing she could immediately hug Yu Zhen and cuddle him, but her composure as an elder held her back. She only lowered her head, took a red envelope out of her housecoat pocket, stuffed it into his hand, and said, "Here. May you have peace and success in the new year."

"Thanks, Mom."

Seeing that she liked it, Yu Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked at Yin Hexiang, handed over the medium-sized box, and said, "Dad, Happy New Year."

"Mm, good boy." Yin Hexiang accepted the gift with reserve, maintained a serious expression as he opened it, and then his eyes widened uncontrollably before he quickly closed the box. "This is a good gift. Xiao Zhen is very thoughtful."

Saying that, he also took out a red envelope and handed it over, still with a serious expression, making it impossible to tell if he was satisfied with the gift or not.

Yu Zhen thanked him and took the red envelope, a little unsure of his attitude. On the other side, Yin Le couldn't wait any longer and leaned over, reaching out to touch the last box in front of him. "Brother Yu, this one's for me, right? I knew Brother Yu was the best. Hehe, what did you get me? Is it that latest model I was talking about the other day..."

The box opened. A set of test papers lay neatly inside. It was very thick, filled with the fragrance of knowledge.

Yin Yan spoke up at the right moment, his tone so calm it was infuriating, "Xiao Le, you have the college entrance exams next year. You have to hurry up."

"Hahaha." Chou Feiqian couldn't help but laugh out loud.