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The house had already been repaired and was now being renovated. With nothing much to do, Father Lin took Lin Nanzhi and the others to the city to buy some fruit trees and visit Lin Nanye.
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In Wumeng City, the most commonly grown fruits were apples, cherries, and Jiang’an plums (March plums).
The cherries were the small variety, not the large cherries commonly seen in the market. Since cherries had to be eaten as soon as they turned red and became less fresh after just a day off the tree, they were only locally available.
The fruit trees sold at the market were mostly small saplings about a meter tall, which would take years to bear fruit. That wasn’t an option for them, so Father Lin asked, “Boss, we’re looking for mature fruit trees that can already bear fruit.”
“That’s not easy to find, and the price is different too,” the seller replied.
“Can you check for us? We need a large quantity and a variety of trees. Price isn’t an issue.”
“How many do you need?”
Father Lin thought about the hillside and said, “We need cherry, apple, Jiang’an plum, peach, and cherry trees—about 150 to 200 of each.”
“That many?” The seller’s eyes lit up.
He quickly realized what Father Lin intended to do with so many trees and started calculating a price in his mind.
He didn’t have that many mature trees himself, but he knew someone who did. He used to run an orchard, but due to low yield and poor sales, he eventually gave up. The trees had been left untouched in the fields. If he could sell them, he’d make a profit—he couldn’t just let money slip through his fingers.
“How about this,” the seller suggested, **“My friend has 200 apple trees, and I can get 50 peach trees, 100 cherry trees, and 50 Jiang’an plum trees. As for cherries, they’re rare, and I only have three. Would that work?
If it’s not enough, we also have pomegranate trees, raspberry trees, and apricot trees.”**
Father Lin knew that finding this many mature fruit trees wasn’t easy, especially for cherries. If Lin Nanzhi hadn’t mentioned them, he wouldn’t have even known about this type of fruit.
Still, in the end, he didn’t buy them and decided to check other sellers.
To his surprise, they found the right place.
It was a small store that collaborated with wholesale suppliers from other regions, offering a full range of fruit trees. In the end, they bought:
At wholesale prices, the total cost was:
The total came to 42,508 yuan, but they rounded it down by 8 yuan.
The price was relatively cheap now, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
They paid on the spot, placed an order, and the seller arranged for delivery. He also provided his contact information in case they needed more in the future.
Next, they visited other stores for different fruit seedlings, such as strawberries, grapes, and orange trees, purchasing a variety of them, along with many vegetable seeds.
Lin Nanzhi noticed that just by buying fruit trees and seeds, her system points were increasing. Mature trees earned three points each, small saplings earned one point each, but seeds didn’t count.
With all the land she had purchased earlier, she was accumulating points quickly. She started wondering—would planting all these fruit trees increase her points too?
However, since school was starting, she wouldn’t have time to plant them herself.
—-
By noon, they went out for lunch and packed some food for Lin Nanye and Mother Lin. While packing, Lin Nanzhi discreetly added a few drops of red fruit juice into the meals when no one was watching.
The Linglong Eight-Treasure Tree bore fewer high-level fruits, with 18 red-level fruits in total. Once picked, all had to be harvested before new ones could grow. These fruits had to be consumed immediately, or they would spoil within a day.
She had given one to each family member and used one to make juice for Uncle Lin’s family. Now, she used another, leaving only 10 fruits on the tree.
Red-level fruit had lower effects, mainly for beauty, skincare, and longevity. While it wasn’t a cure for Lin Nanye’s condition, it would at least make him feel better.
When they arrived at the hospital, Lin Nanye was busy tapping on his phone, seemingly chatting with someone.
As soon as he saw them, he smiled and greeted them, “Dad, Xuanxuan, Zhizhi, Xiaoxun, why are you all here?”
He put down his phone and tried to get up, but Father Lin stopped him.
“Where’s Mom?”
“She went to get some water.”
“How are you feeling today?” Father Lin asked with concern, while Lin Nanxuan also listened intently. Lin Nanzhi and Lin Nanxun opened the food containers and set out the meals.
Just then, Mother Lin returned, and they let Lin Nanye eat without disturbing him, instead chatting with the other patients in the room.
“Stay in the hospital and take good care of yourself. Listen to your mom,” Father Lin instructed.
Since none of them were doctors, there wasn’t much they could do by staying. Besides, hospital rooms were in high demand. It was a three-person ward, and as the afternoon went on, more visitors arrived, making it quite crowded.
Seeing this, Lin Nanye urged them to head home. Father Lin gave him a few more reminders before leaving with the others.
They had dinner in the city before returning home to watch TV together.
As the weather was getting colder, Father Lin immediately started the stove when they arrived home, making the house warm and cozy. The dim lighting from the lamp added to the atmosphere as they watched the evening news, first the Southern Province News, followed by the CCTV National News.
Just as they finished watching, Uncle Lin walked in.
Uncle Lin was tall and thin, bearing a 70-80% resemblance to Father Lin. He greeted them before sitting on the sofa to warm himself by the fire.
“I heard from Xiaoqin that Lin Nanye is sick. Is it serious?” he asked.
Xiaoqin—Chen Qin—was Uncle Lin’s wife.
Most of the uncles worked in other cities and only came back once when Grandma Lin passed away. Uncle Lin’s family had also been away but had recently returned to renovate their house and build a second floor.
They hadn’t been back long when Aunt Lin heard about Lin Nanye’s condition while chatting with Mother Lin. Concerned that Father Lin might need help but wouldn’t ask, she sent Uncle Lin over.
Hearing this, Father Lin felt warm inside, but his expression remained serious. He sighed, handed Uncle Lin a cigarette, and explained, “The doctor said it’s called…”
Lin Nanzhi filled in, “Intestinal metaplasia.”
“Right, that’s the name. It’s in the early stages, but there’s no effective treatment—just medication and observation, hoping it can reverse.”
Uncle Lin didn’t understand much about the disease, but knowing there was no effective treatment, he furrowed his brows in concern.