有意栽花花不發,無心插柳柳成陰 [ㄧㄡˇ ㄧˋ ㄗㄞ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄅㄨˋ ㄈㄚ , ㄨˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄔㄚ ㄌㄧㄡˇ ㄌㄧㄡˇ ㄔㄥˊ ㄧㄣ; you3 yi4 zai1 hua1 hua1 bu4 fa1 , wu2 xin1 cha1 liu3 liu3 cheng2 yin1]
lit. you plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree
fig. things do not always turn out as one would expect
well-laid plans may fail, and success may come where you least expect it
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