"That's a peach tree." Avery noticed that Ivy was drawn to it and went into the store with Ivy.
"Mom, peach flowers don't bloom during this time of the year, right?" Ivy asked. "Is this fake? It looks real, though."
"These are real peach blossoms," the owner explained. "You can take a closer look if you don't believe me. It smells great as well! We take care of it in a specific way so that it blooms in January, so it costs a little more."
Avery did not ask about the price and simply inspected the tree. "I think it's real." She turned to look at Ivy. "If you like it, we will buy it."
Ivy loved it but noticed that there was only one peach tree in the store and leaned over to whisper into Avery's ear, "I think Layla is going to love this."
Avery turned to look at the tree once again and realized that Ivy was right.
"Mom, don't speak. Let me try to bargain with them," Ivy whispered and proceeded to ask the owner about the price.
The owner noticed that both Ivy and Avery were dressed elegantly and said, "You have great taste. This tree only has blossoms and doesn't bear fruits. We imported it from overseas and placing this in your house will bring you great fortune. If you maintain it well, it can live quite long. This is the only tree we imported, so I will sell it to you at a cheaper price. It cost us three thousand when we bought it. You can have it at four thousand."
Ivy had not expected a peach tree that did not bear fruit to cost up to four thousand.
"Sir, how much would a peach tree this size would be worth in March?" Ivy asked.
The owner paused as he was surprised by the question. "Well... We don't sell peach trees in March... so I don't know about the price..."
The owner knew that peach trees blossomed in March, and they would not be worth much by then.
"Alright, alright! Sold! Do you want anything else? We have all sorts of flowers here..."
"Just this tree," Ivy said with determination.
After making the payment and leaving their address for delivery, Ivy and Avery walked out of the store.
"Darling, you are brilliant at bargaining, but why didn't you buy other things from the store?" Avery was confused.
"I was attracted to the peach tree in his store. It's so expensive, and I wouldn't have spent so much money on it if that's not the only store with a peach tree!" Ivy managed to lower the price, but she still felt that she was overspending.
"New Year's is approaching, so all prices go up. People who are still working right now don't get to spend time with their family and I guess it's a way to compensate for that," Avery said.
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