Chapter 234: Herb Hunter?

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Herb Hunter?

Zhang Yun rode his new motorcycle to the county town. Before the novelty had even worn off, it already felt underwhelming. After driving Zhang Youcai’s BMW, riding a motorcycle was just a completely different experience.

Zhang Lifeng had been so busy processing the giant snake since he returned yesterday that he didn’t remember the Fufeng Grass until Zhang Yun walked into his office.

"Did you find the Fufeng Grass? No worries, I’ll prepare the medicine for you later. By the way, about that old snake skin..."

"You’re the old snake skin!" Zhang Yun snapped back immediately. Why was the old man suddenly using internet slang to call him a dirty old pervert?

"What?" Zhang Lifeng was a bit confused, but he continued anyway. "That cobra from yesterday was quite old, and its skin is highly effective in medicine. I’m going to add a little bit of it to the prescription; it should work well for your father’s migraines."

Zhang Yun realized the doctor meant a literal old snake’s skin. He let out a dry laugh to mask his embarrassment and quickly changed the subject. "Just see if this will work first."

He brought out the freshly picked Fufeng Grass. Zhang Lifeng gave it a passing glance, not paying it much mind.

"Look carefully!"

Zhang Lifeng felt he already knew what he was looking at from a single glance. Zhang Yun’s pushy attitude earned a fierce glare from the old man. "Are you the expert, or am I the expert?"

"It’s exactly because you’re the expert that I’m telling you to look carefully! I went through a lot of trouble to get this, so don’t brush me off." Zhang Yun wasn’t entirely sure of the grass’s specific efficacy himself.

Seeing how seriously Zhang Yun was treating the matter, Zhang Lifeng had no choice but to give it his full attention. After all, it would only take a few minutes of his time.

"The quality of this is quite good. Out of all the Fufeng Grass I’ve seen, this is probably the best-grown specimen. It looks even better than what you showed me on the video call yesterday. However, compared to the ten..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhang Lifeng abruptly stopped talking. He hurriedly put on his glasses, pulled out a magnifying glass, and began meticulously inspecting the plant from its roots to its leaves.

"Well I’ll be damned! Could this actually be the legendary ten-year Fufeng Grass? I can’t believe I’m seeing a live specimen! So it wasn’t just some myth blown out of proportion?"

Zhang Yun was somewhat speechless. "Is that really necessary? It’s just a few blades of grass. You weren’t even this shocked when I found the centennial ginseng."

Zhang Lifeng shot him a glare. "How is that the same? Ginseng is a perennial herbaceous plant, whereas this is an annual one!"

"So... you’re not actually sure if it’s a ten-year Fufeng Grass? Could it just be a different plant from the same family?" Zhang Yun asked deliberately.

Zhang Lifeng resumed his inspection, growing more and more excited with every passing second.

"What you said is possible. Perhaps there’s an unclassified variant within the same family that hasn’t been discovered due to its rarity. But no matter what it technically is, this is exactly the ten-year Fufeng Grass I need!"

Zhang Yun roughly understood. The secret prescription Zhang Lifeng knew called for "ten-year Fufeng Grass," but it didn’t necessarily mean the plant had to be exactly ten years old. Much like the centennial ginseng, it was likely a general term for an exceptionally potent specimen.

"Then when are you going to prepare the medicine for me? My dad’s head doesn’t ache right now. Should he wait to take it until his next migraine?"

Zhang Lifeng gave him a sidelong glance. "Do you wait for it to rain before you fix a leaking roof? You fix it while the sun is shining so it doesn’t leak when it rains!"

"Fair enough."

"I never expected you to actually find it, let alone this quickly. But rest assured, aside from this specific ingredient, everything else for the prescription is ready. However, this can’t be used directly; I need to dry it first. I’ll deliver the medicine to you once I’m done!"

Zhang Lifeng promised immediately, before suddenly remembering something else. "Right, about that snake from yesterday..."

"What about it?" Zhang Yun couldn’t think of anything that could have gone wrong. "The snake meat has already been sold and eaten. Don’t tell me it was venomous..."

Zhang Lifeng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "What nonsense are you spouting? If the meat was venomous, would you even be standing here right now? You all would have flared up with symptoms last night!"

He quickly adopted a serious tone. "That cobra was truly exceptional. It was a huge help to me, and I was able to extract a lot of precious medicinal materials from it. However, I don’t have a good reference point for the pricing. How about I give you a hundred thousand in total for it?"

"A hundred thousand?"

Zhang Yun was extremely satisfied. Although a cobra of that size was incredibly rare and even harder to catch, without the right connections, selling it as wild game would have only netted him a few thousand at best.

Yesterday, thanks to Zhang Youcai’s maneuvering, the snake meat alone had sold for nearly thirty thousand. Zhang Lifeng had already brought over several bottles of Maotai liquor, and offering another hundred thousand on top of that was more than generous.

"I know you might think it’s too little, but this isn’t like the ginseng. It’s not worth much if sold on its own. I can use it in many of my prescriptions, so it has a catalytic value for me. It’s a long-term investment; I won’t see a return on it in the short term..."

Zhang Lifeng was still trying to explain when Zhang Yun interrupted him. "Let’s make it fifty thousand!"

"Wh-what?" Zhang Lifeng suspected he had misheard. "You mean a hundred and fifty thousand, right?"

Zhang Yun chuckled. "Old Zhang, you’ve been a real stand-up guy. When you heard my dad had a headache, you came over in person right away. For that alone, I value our friendship! You even brought liquor yesterday, and now you’re helping me prepare this medicine... Fifty thousand is plenty. Of course, I won’t be paying for the headache medicine!"

"Thank you."

Zhang Lifeng was slightly moved. Even though Zhang Yun had made a fortune selling the ginseng, who would ever complain about having too much money? Only those desperate for cash would sell cheap; the wealthy usually held out for higher prices. For this young man to voluntarily cut the price in half proved he was a true friend!

"This aged Fufeng Grass is already a treasure to me. If I charged you for preparing the medicine, where would I put my pride? Of course, I’ll be upfront with you: aside from this specific prescription, I don’t really have any other use for Fufeng Grass, so I won’t be buying any more from you at a high price."

Zhang Yun nodded. The only difficult part for him was finding the Fufeng Grass in the first place; performing a miracle on it was actually the easy part.

"In the future, if your dad..." Zhang Lifeng started to make a promise but quickly stopped himself. "He’ll stay healthy and strong, of course! What I mean is, if you ever come to the county town, or if you need help with anything at any time, you can always come to me!"

"Haha, there’s no need to tiptoe around it. If my dad or I ever come down with any major illnesses, you’ll be the first person we look for."

A hundred thousand would have put a bit of financial pressure on Zhang Lifeng, or at least caused him a slight pinch. Zhang Yun’s proactive decision to only take fifty thousand made him so happy that he transferred the money on the spot.

"Let’s leave it at that, then. I won’t keep you here for tea. You probably don’t have any interest in drinking tea with an old man like me anyway, haha."

As a veteran doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, Zhang Lifeng personally held consultations. Coupled with his title as Vice President and his recent acquisition of the cobra materials and Fufeng Grass, he was naturally extremely busy.

Back then, Zhang Yun hadn’t been able to get his hands on any Maotai. Now, the bottles Zhang Lifeng had provided were more than enough for his dad to slowly enjoy. Naturally, Zhang Yun had no interest in lingering around the hospital either.

"I’ll be taking off now. By the way, during my deep searches lately, I’ve realized there are quite a few precious medicinal materials around our Bijia Mountain area. If there’s anything you need, or if you know anyone looking to buy at a high premium, feel free to introduce them to me. Only the rare and expensive stuff, though. Don’t bother me with things you can just buy anywhere."

Hearing Zhang Yun casually drumming up business, Zhang Lifeng chuckled. "Everything you’ve managed to get your hands on really has been rare and precious. What, are you planning to become a... medicinal herb hunter? I’ll keep that in mind."

Zhang Lifeng walked Zhang Yun out of his office. Just then, a long-haired girl approached them from down the corridor. She was remarkably beautiful, exuding a dreamlike quality as if she had just stepped straight out of an anime. Before she even got close, she flashed a soft smile and waved at them.

Zhang Yun didn’t know her, so she was naturally greeting Zhang Lifeng.

"Old man, is this your granddaughter? I suddenly feel like we should become much better friends."