A poor Chinese farmer and his wife are wondering around at the local sunday market. The farmer catches a glimpse of a booth selling the most gorgeous bamboo he’s ever seen. Walking over to the booth, the Chinese farmer and his wife marvel at the size of their neighbors crop. “how long did all of this take to grow?”. Asked the farmer. To which the crop owner replied “only about five weeks!”. Seeing the potential business opportunity right in front of him the farmer and his wife asked their neighbor if they could buy some of his seed so that they too may begin to grow and sell a bamboo crop. Their neighbor happily gave them some seeds as they parted ways. Ecstatic about their future, the Chinese farmer and his wife immediately head to their farm and plant their new crop. Five weeks later, the farmer and his wife are disappointed when their crop is barely visible. The couple begin to question the quality of their seed. “Patience” the farmer tells his wife, as they stand above their barren land. For years the farmer and his wife take care of their tree. Their bamboo tree is watered, nourished and provided an optimal environment for growth, but still nothing happens. Discouraged, but not defeated, the farmer and his wife continue his slow steady process of caring for their tree. Their care extends for not one, two, or three years, but FOUR long years. Still nothing happens to their tree. Staring down at their four year seedling, they decide to do what most would, give up. Heck, who can blame them. Most people would give up, throw out the tree or forget it all together thinking their seed was a dud. Little did the farmer and his wife know that the seed they’ve been nourishing for four whole years was about to grow… A LOT. Something happens to their tree in the fifth year. What was once a small tree growing no more than an inch spurts out from the ground reaching peaks of over 80 ft. tall. The bamboo tree has been known to reach 80 ft in as little as six weeks.