Chapter 561 - 561: Haven't Even Sprouted?

Zhao Yuan took a tour of the medicinal materials planting base and was very pleased.

Although the planting base hadn't been established for long, with the help of the Five Elements Array and the cultivation techniques passed down by Wu Peng, the growth of the medicinal materials here was delightful. In terms of both age and efficacy, they far surpassed those in the medicinal garden at West Hua Medical University.

Zhao Yuan estimated that the planting base was already teeming with seventy- and eighty-year-old wild medicinal materials, and some had even surpassed a century! He believed that with the added boost from the two Little Dang Kang, the herbs here would grow even more wildly. Before long, wild medicinal materials several centuries old would start appearing!

'It's time to harvest a batch of these wild medicinal materials for sale.' Zhao Yuan made his decision.

It would be a complete waste if the medicinal materials at the planting base were used only to satisfy his own needs. Besides, his standards had been raised. He no longer cared for ordinary medicinal materials, no matter their age. Only Mutated Medicinal Materials and Spirit Medicinal Materials could capture his interest.

Furthermore, only by selling the medicinal materials could the villagers receive their share of the profits, which would motivate them to work even harder.

Zhao Yuan was also confident that the medicinal materials here would fetch a good price. It would then become another industry, apart from the pharmaceutical factory, that could provide him with a stable and substantial income!

However, Zhao Yuan wasn't very knowledgeable about the price of wild medicinal materials, especially high-aged ones.

But that was no problem. If he didn't know, someone else did.

Zhao Yuan immediately took out his phone, found a spot with reception, and called Fang Yi.

The call connected quickly. Fang Yi said cheerfully, "Chairman Zhao, Happy New Year! What can I do for you?"

Zhao Yuan replied, "Happy New Year to you too. Nothing major, I just wanted to ask about the current market price for wild medicinal materials."

This was right up Fang Yi's alley. Although he had been focusing his energy on the pharmaceutical factory lately, he had been in the medicinal materials business for decades and was a seasoned expert.

"That depends on the type of wild medicinal material and its age," Fang Yi said.

Zhao Yuan's gaze happened to land on a stalk of Wild Ginseng, and he asked casually, "What about a Centennial Wild Ginseng? How much would that be, roughly?"

Fang Yi didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked, "Chairman Zhao, you haven't been swindled, have you?"

Zhao Yuan was taken aback. "Why do you ask?" he said, confused.

Fang Yi answered, "Is someone trying to sell you a Centennial Wild Ginseng? Let me tell you, nine times out of ten, they're a scammer! These days, forget Centennial Wild Ginseng—even Wild Ginseng over fifty years old is incredibly rare! If you really need a high-aged Wild Ginseng, I can look around for you. There's not much hope for a hundred-year-old one, but I should be able to find one that's at least thirty or forty years old."

Zhao Yuan then realized there had been a misunderstanding and explained with a wry smile, "Don't worry, no one's trying to sell me anything. I was just curious."

Fang Yi breathed a sigh of relief and began to explain. "You won't find Centennial Wild Ginseng on the open medicinal materials market. That kind of extremely precious herb typically goes to auction. I remember last year, a thirty-something-gram Centennial Wild Ginseng sold for around a million."

"Wow, they're that valuable?" Zhao Yuan clicked his tongue in amazement. A single Centennial Wild Ginseng could sell for over a million. This business was much more profitable than Alchemy or Medicine Making.

Fang Yi chuckled. "It's because they're so rare! And that's not even the most expensive. Last year, a roughly three-hundred-year-old Wild Ginseng sold for a high price of nearly ten million! Of course, there's always some price inflation involved, but even if you discount that, the price is still astounding!"

"Three hundred years old?"

Zhao Yuan mulled it over. It would still be a while before he had three-hundred-year-old Wild Ginseng, but in the meantime, he could take a few centennial ones to test the waters. After all, unlike others who might have one or two Centennial Wild Ginsengs at most, he had mountains of them at that level.

So Zhao Yuan asked, "Where are these medicinal material auctions held?"

Fang Yi replied, "What, Chairman Zhao is interested in medicinal material auctions? I do know of a large one happening in Yangcheng City after the New Year."

"When exactly is it?" Zhao Yuan asked eagerly.

"I'm not sure about the exact date. Hold on, let me check." Without hanging up, Fang Yi set the phone aside, opened his computer to look up the information, and a moment later, picked the phone back up. "February 20th to the 28th. It lasts for eight days."

Zhao Yuan then asked, "What's the process for putting medicinal materials up for auction?"

Fang Yi knew this part well and didn't need to look it up. He answered immediately, "If you want to auction medicinal materials, you have to contact the organizers at least a week in advance. You send them the items you want to auction, and they'll have professional staff and equipment test them. Only after they've confirmed the grade meets their standards will it be scheduled for auction. If you're too late, or if the grade isn't high enough, they won't put it up..."

After hearing the explanation, Zhao Yuan had a good grasp of the rules. "Brother Fang," he said, "could you help me contact the auction organizers? I'll send a batch of medicinal materials over after the New Year."

"You have medicinal materials to auction?" Fang Yi was surprised. "Where did you get them?"

Zhao Yuan explained, "Have you forgotten? I started a medicinal materials planting base, remember?"

Fang Yi couldn't help but burst out laughing with a PFFT. "Chairman Zhao, are you kidding me? Your planting base was only just established. In the dead of winter like this, have any buds even sprouted? And you're already thinking about sending medicinal materials to auction after the New Year? You're being a little too optimistic."

"Whether I'm optimistic or not, you'll see after the New Year when I send some samples your way."

This was a situation where words alone wouldn't suffice; it was better to let the facts speak for themselves.

"Alright, send the medicinal materials over for me to see after the New Year. But let me be clear: they have to be from your planting base. Don't just go buy a batch from the market to pass them off as your own."

Although Fang Yi's words were partly in jest, they also made it clear that he didn't believe for a second that Zhao Yuan's planting base had actually produced any viable medicinal materials.

Zhao Yuan just smiled. "Don't worry. The medicinal materials I produce are things you probably couldn't even buy on the market. Just try not to be too shocked when you see them."

Fang Yi didn't take his words seriously at all. "I've been in the medicinal materials market for many years. What kind of herb haven't I seen? How could I possibly be shocked?"

'What kind of herb haven't you seen?'

Zhao Yuan chuckled. "I'm afraid you really *haven't* seen the kind of medicinal materials I have here!"