CHAPTER 396: CHAPTER 387: OBTAINING THE GARDENIA HAIRPIN

Aunt Hong Mei suddenly shouted, startling Han Qiwu into a shiver.

Snapping back to his senses, he quickly asked, "Auntie, what’s the matter?"

Aunt Hong Mei chuckled, "Oh, it’s just this old aunt’s ears are a bit dull, and I tend to speak loudly as a result. Don’t rush to put your things down yet, let me make you a flower ornament. Drinking wine with it will be much more fragrant later."

Han Qiwu: "Drinking wine is more fragrant with a flower? So that’s the proper use of a flower ornament?"

Sitting back in his chair, Han Qiwu quickly asked, "Auntie, do you have any gardenias here? I’d like to wear that."

"Gardenias? You like those, huh? Let me go look for some," Aunt Hong Mei said with a chuckle as she went back into the house and started rummaging around.

A while later, Aunt Hong Mei came out empty-handed and said helplessly, "The gardenias outside won’t bloom for another month and a half. How about a little yellow flower instead?"

Han Qiwu stubbornly pressed, "Auntie, is there anyone in town who might have gardenias?"

"Probably, yes. I have a cousin who grows gardenia trees in her greenhouse. There’s a chance some are blooming now. But she’s quite the character. She doesn’t mingle with others much and has stayed single all this time. Mostly, she just enjoys drinking wine and admiring flowers—she lives like a fairy." Aunt Hong Mei said with a resigned tone. "How about I take you to see her? But I can’t guarantee she’ll give you any."

Something sparked in Han Qiwu’s mind, and he quickly asked, "She likes drinking wine? Foreign wines?"

If it’s foreign wines, that’s easy. Egger has so many on hand—all I need to do is buy some.

Plenty of cash in my pocket!

Aunt Hong Mei waved him off, "Foreign wines? No way. Sometimes she drinks baijiu, sometimes rice wine—she doesn’t touch beer or foreign spirits."

"Rice wine, huh? I brewed a little myself. Auntie, wait here at home for a moment. I’ll go fetch it," Han Qiwu said after a quick calculation. Today, the rice wine in his clay pot should be just right. Might as well bring it over for a try.

"Homemade, you say? Let me warn you, she’s extremely picky. She wouldn’t even drink the wine I made before," Aunt Hong Mei said cautiously, afraid of dampening Han Qiwu’s confidence.

Carrying his basket, Han Qiwu led Aunt Hong Mei into the house, grinning, "Don’t worry, Auntie. Here, have a taste of some strawberries and milk while I go get the rice wine."

Twenty minutes later, Han Qiwu’s basket now carried a bottle of rice wine.

As they stepped out, Aunt Hong Mei gave him a thumbs-up and praised him, "Xiao Han, these strawberries are fantastic! They taste just like the ones I had when I was a kid—purely sweet. Nowadays, strawberries just look good but lack any real flavor."

"If you like them, have some more. I can bring you some another time," Han Qiwu said with a smile.

"That’d be wonderful."

The old and the young pair walked for over ten minutes before arriving at Aunt Hong Mei’s cousin’s house. Before they even got close, an enchanting gardenia fragrance wafted out from the courtyard gate.

Smelling it, Han Qiwu felt a surge of happiness. It seemed there were indeed blooming gardenias here.

"Sister Zhou, you home?"

"Hong Mei? What brings you here?"

Conversations through closed doors were always a bit awkward.

Aunt Hong Mei gave Han Qiwu a helpless glance, bracing herself as she said, "Sister Zhou, a college student from the city wants to trade some rice wine with you for a few gardenia flower ornaments. Would that be alright?"

The door creaked open, and Sister Zhou, dressed in a white dress, gave Han Qiwu a once-over and asked directly, "Where’s the wine from?"

"I made it myself."

"Is it a family brewing technique?"

"No, just something I figured out on my own."

After Han Qiwu spoke, Sister Zhou was momentarily stunned. She glanced at Aunt Hong Mei, then said, "Let me see it."

Han Qiwu felt a wave of relief. If she was willing to try the wine, that was good enough.

He was only worried she wouldn’t even taste it.

Han Qiwu set down his basket and carefully took out the bottle of rice wine from its glass jar.

The rice wine made in the clay pot was highly transparent—if not for the label, it could easily be mistaken for sugar water by looks alone.

Sister Zhou said nothing, but judging by her expression, it was easy to imagine her inner reaction: *Is this it?*

She took the wine, opened the lid, and tilted her head back to take a small sip.

As it touched her lips, her face showed a complex expression. Then she took another swig directly from the jar.

Aunt Hong Mei was stunned.

She didn’t spit it out??

She knew very well that if her cousin didn’t like a wine, she wouldn’t force herself—she’d spit it out without hesitation and move on with her life.

Han Qiwu smiled faintly, already calculating how to exchange special minerals for a much-needed cushion to ease his aching back.

Oh, my poor old back—it’s finally going to get a break.

Sister Zhou continued sipping from the bottle, one drink after another. Before long, she had polished off all the rice wine, her cheeks now tinged with a rosy flush.

"This wine is good. Xiao Han, isn’t it? If you need flowers in the future, bring me some wine to trade," Sister Zhou said with a gentle smile before turning to retrieve a beautifully crafted gardenia flower ornament from inside.

The ornament used a dried gardenia branch as its core, adorned on both sides with delicate white gardenia petals. It exuded an elegant simplicity.

Most remarkably, the flower ornament seemed to faintly emit a glow.

"Thank you, Sister Zhou." Han Qiwu accepted it with both hands, glancing at its properties in the process.

[Gardenia Flower Ornament]

[Purpose: Decoration]

[Special Effect – Sleep Aid: Wearing it induces instant sleep.]

[Note: The gardenias bloom and bloom.]

After reading, Han Qiwu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, "The special effect sounds great, but I don’t really need it."

Even without it, I fall asleep instantly anyway.

"Here, try some of my mulberry wine," Sister Zhou said, flipping her hand to produce two glasses of dark purple wine, handing them to Han Qiwu and Aunt Hong Mei.

"Xiao Han, we really owe this to you," Aunt Hong Mei said, chuckling warmly. "This wine smells amazing."

Han Qiwu smiled faintly and was just about to take a sip when Sister Zhou stopped him.

"What’s the rush? Drinking on the Spring Equinox requires floral adornments."

With that, she personally placed the gardenia ornament on the left side of Han Qiwu’s head.

The faint white gardenia ornament gave Han Qiwu a touch of antiquity, an air of reclusive elegance.

As the faint fragrance of gardenias reached his nose, Han Qiwu took a small sip of the mulberry wine.

And it was truly exquisite—its layers of flavor intertwined with the floral fragrance, each sip as refreshing as a spring breeze.

The three of them chatted idly as they slowly finished the wine.

At the exact moment Han Qiwu finished the last drop of wine, a prompt appeared before him.

[Floral-Adorned Wine Participation: 100%. Reward: 100 Points.]

"Drinking with flowers is indeed delightful," Han Qiwu said with a laugh as he bid farewell to Sister Zhou alongside Aunt Hong Mei.

After stepping out, the pair leisurely strolled back toward Aunt Hong Mei’s house.

After a few minutes of walking, they happened to bump into Aunt Guo, who was carrying a basket. She greeted them enthusiastically, "Heading out to pick wild vegetables and mushrooms? I saw lots of mugwort at Dog Head Mountain yesterday."

"Sounds great! Let’s go!" Aunt Hong Mei perked up immediately.

Han Qiwu was equally happy to join. After all, spring is meant for excursions.

To savor the taste of spring.