Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Han Zhang's love-at-first-sight strategy was working great.

But after all, the two had only just met and spent little time together, so this affection was limited.

Shen Qinglan was not truly naive either. With the example of his parents right before him, the budding feelings in his heart were temporarily held back by his personal page boy.

Meanwhile,

Han Zhang still did not know that his seduction plan had only half worked.

After all, as mentioned before, although his Power allowed him to control plants to eavesdrop on others' conversations, he could not keep it active at all times. So after the initial encounter at the study, he spent all his free time over the next few days on writing the rest of *Tale of Two Souls*, as well as making a Music Box and bubble mixture.

None of these three tasks turned out to be that hard.

He had already written most of the story, so it would be finished soon.

Although making a Music Box was not easy, he was best at the sciences; the principle was simple—the hard part was the craftsmanship.

Fortunately, although this ancient era lagged behind in many ways, craftsmen who could match modern precision machines were not entirely absent. Especially here in the capital, under the emperor's feet, you could find the most skilled craftsmen.

Han Zhang scoured the city, hitting every blacksmith's shop. In the end, he found several suitable ones and commissioned them to forge the mechanical parts for the Music Box.

Making bubble mixture was even simpler. The main ingredient was soap solution, and most modern people know how the saponification reaction works.

After two weeks, Han Zhang had everything ready and went to the study to keep his appointment.

But unfortunately, the plan didn't go smoothly. He did not see Shen Qinglan at the study.

Shopkeeper Wang explained with a smile,

"Sorry, Mr. Han. My nephew recently went on a long trip for his master and cannot make today's appointment. He asked me to convey his apologies and said he will arrange another meeting after finishing his errands for the master. What do you think?"

The words were tactful and sounded reasonable.

But what kind of person was Han Zhang?

He had grown up in an orphanage, worked in society for years before the apocalypse, been a company CEO, and after the apocalypse, he had built his own safe base in a treacherous environment.

If someone really had a legit reason to miss a meeting, they would usually set a specific time for the next meeting. But here, there was only an apology and no other commitment—the message was pretty clear.

"I see. No matter. Then let's talk about the appointment when Brother Wang returns. But this Music Box and bubble mixture were promised to Brother Wang before. Please, Shopkeeper Wang, pass them on to my brother."

"Oh, and the rest of the story is also finished. Please take a look, Shopkeeper."

Han Zhang was momentarily stunned, then seemed to understand something. He didn't push it or ask any questions, simply calmly put on a normal face and nodded.

Smart people don't need a lot of words; they know when to back off.

Seeing his reaction, Shopkeeper Wang admired him greatly and smiled as he handed over 50 taels of silver.

"The Music Box and bubble mixture were mentioned to me by Qinglan. Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Han. This is the agreed 30 taels for the labor fee. The remaining 20 taels are the earnings from this month's story."

"Mr. Han's story is very popular among the young gentlemen and ladies. If nothing unexpected happens, the future earnings should be even more. If you have free time and inspiration, you could write more stories of this kind..."

Although *Tale of Two Souls* was custom-made for Shen Qinglan, the character "Scholar Zhang" was modeled after the top-tier fan favorite, Monkey King, so it was no surprise that he captivated the young ladies and fellows from other mansions in the capital.

Han Zhang smiled upon hearing this. "Thanks for the advice, Shopkeeper. If I have a new story, I will definitely come to you again."

Then he counted the silver, bought a few books on the civil service exams, and left the study.

Watching his calm, unruffled back, Shopkeeper Wang nodded involuntarily.

"Now there's a guy with some backbone…"

……

Meanwhile.

After leaving the study, Han Zhang's expression did not change.

He'd already expected Shen Qinglan might not show.

When he first investigated the situation, he knew that this young lad, Shen Qinglan—while not super crafty and a little naïve—had gotten a solid education from elite tutors and was not as dumb as people said.

He had hoped to turn him into a total lovesick puppy with just one meeting—that was way too unrealistic.

So this failure was completely within his expectations. He was not disappointed or discouraged at all.

If Plan A didn't work, time for Plan B.

He refused to believe he couldn't land this kid!

After thinking it through,

Han Zhang turned his attention to the flower shop next to Babaozhai.

According to his investigation, Shen Qinglan loved pastries, especially the fresh-out-of-the-oven kind from Babaozhai. He would go there several times a month.

Next to Babaozhai was a flower shop. He could use that to arrange a "run into" with Shen Qinglan.

Talking about flower shops gave Han Zhang an idea for making money: flowers!

Whether in ancient or modern times, rare flowers cost a fortune. A nice rare plant could go for thousands of silver taels.

His Plant Power let him grow rare flowers to cash in.

But neither Han Zhang nor the original guy knew much about flowers. To get into this business, he'd need to learn the ropes.

So this was also an opportunity.

So with that in mind.

First step: set up the "tree stump" for his waiting game!

Han Zhang went to the flower shop and boldly talked to the shopkeeper.

"Greetings, shopkeeper. I am a student of Xiangnan Academy. In a few days, my classmates will hold a flower-viewing banquet at their residence and have invited many fellow students, including me."

"But I come from a poor family and know very little about fancy stuff like flower appreciation. I fear I might say something inappropriate at the banquet and kill the mood for my classmates..."

So, out of desperation, I've come to bother you, shopkeeper. Would you let me come and help out in the flower shop for an hour each day, and might you kindly teach me a bit about floral knowledge?

Han Zhang's attitude was earnest, his face full of worry as he played the sympathy card, looking genuinely pitiable.

Having a free helper who was also a student from Xiangnan Academy was great. Doing a small favor now could become a connection if the kid later passed the imperial exams. So the shopkeeper readily agreed with a smile.

You're too kind, young scholar. It's just a small thing, how could it be called trouble?

The shop's little chores are done by the boy. I couldn't trouble you, sir. If you want to learn, just come by whenever you're free. I'll be happy to teach you everything I know. It's my honor...

The flower shop owner beamed warmly, obviously welcoming him.

So you can see how respected scholars were back then.

—

After securing the arrangement to help at the flower shop,

the next step was to create an opportunity for Shen Qinglan to be the "beauty rescues the hero"!

Feeling sorry for the poor and weak is just human nature.

And it's not just men who like to rescue someone down on their luck—women and young gentlemen enjoy it too. Otherwise, where would all those stories come from?

To eat this "soft rice," Han Zhang went all out, using every trick he'd learned in decades of life.

But Shen Qinglan was handsome and had a really cute personality, just what Han Zhang liked.

So he happily plotted away.

But how to create that "beauty rescues the hero" opportunity?

Hiring actors was a no-go—it would leave a trail. It had to be genuine.

Han Zhang looked around and finally settled on Xiucai Luo, a fellow villager and classmate who was his worst enemy and a rival with old grudges.

Since Luo was an enemy, it was fine to use him, right?

So,

Han Zhang switched from his usual low-key style at the academy.

He started going up to the teacher to ask questions in front of Luo, showing off in class, and even butting into Luo's conversations with other classmates, stealing the spotlight.

Xiucai Luo: ???

Xiucai Luo was livid.

He and Han Zhang had been enemies since childhood because of the feud between their clans in the village. He'd always been worse at studying than Han Zhang—from private school to the academy, every exam ranking put him behind, which drove him crazy.

Until recently,

when he sweet-talked Miss Sun, daughter of Master Sun, into marrying him. Master Sun then helped Luo's family squeeze Han's family, making Han Zhang too scared to show his face at the academy for two months. That finally made Luo feel better.

But out of nowhere, just a few days later, Han Zhang dared to compete with him again and even came to provoke him!

Xiucai Luo was cocky and hotheaded.

After all, if he weren't so impulsive, he wouldn't have used his father-in-law's influence right after getting engaged to stir up trouble in the village against the Han clan.

You bastard, Han Zhang! I already had my father-in-law take back the fields your clan rented and made the village head give you a hard time. You should be worrying about your clan's food and forced labor, yet you dare to provoke me? Do you really think I, Luo Ying, can't beat you?

Fine, fine, fine! Han Zhang, you've got balls. Just wait!

The enraged Luo Ying ground his teeth in anger.

Unsurprisingly,

after getting mad, Luo started watching Han Zhang's every move, determined to find a chance to make him pay.

And that was exactly what Han Zhang wanted.

Everything was set.

Once the date was set for Shen Qinglan to leave the house again and go to Eight Treasures Bakery for pastries,

Han Zhang let it slip to Xiucai Luo that he was working part-time at the flower shop.

Knowing Luo, once he found out Han Zhang had stooped to manual labor in a flower shop, dealing with dirty soil and fertilizer, he wouldn't pass up the chance to mock and ridicule him.

Sure enough, when he heard the news, Luo was thrilled.

After only a moment's hesitation, he couldn't resist the temptation to humiliate his enemy and called his friends to head over to the flower shop.