Chapter 27: I Want Century-Old Ginseng!

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: I Want Century-Old Ginseng!

Zhang Yun had already intervened in this matter, so he had to see it through to the end. Even if He Xiong didn’t give Zhang Lifeng any face, Zhang Yun would still face him!

Instead of making Zhang Yun wait in the courtyard, the Shopkeeper invited him into the hall of a building in the back and brewed tea for him. Not long after, a sedan drove into the courtyard from the rear entrance. Zhang Yun didn’t go out; he just sat quietly and drank his tea.

"Are you Zhang Yun?" A man walked in, accompanied by the Shopkeeper.

Zhang Yun glanced at him and was slightly surprised. He had assumed that the boss of Liu’s Restaurant, an establishment with such a long history—and someone who believed in feng shui—would be an old man. Instead, he was a robust man around thirty years old.

"Are you He Xiong?" Zhang Yun retorted, equally unceremonious.

He Xiong waved his hand, and the Shopkeeper immediately went out. However, he didn’t leave completely; he stood watching from the back door of the storefront. At the same time, there were two young men in the courtyard. If their boss wanted to grab someone, they could strike at a moment’s notice!

"You’re much younger than I imagined." He Xiong took out his cigarette case and offered Zhang Yun a premium cigarette.

"You’re much younger than I imagined." Zhang Yun shook his head and didn’t take it.

He Xiong threw the cigarette case and lighter onto the coffee table. "Damn! Are you a parrot? You’re just repeating everything I say!"

Zhang Yun smiled. "I thought the boss of Liu’s Restaurant would be an old man."

He Xiong stared at him for a moment. Once he confirmed that Zhang Yun wasn’t intentionally messing with him, he sat down and lit a cigarette. "I’ll skip the pleasantries. Can you get your hands on a decades-old wild ginseng?"

Zhang Yun countered, "Is this why you were looking for me? I thought you wanted me to compensate you!"

"I heard you were just standing up for a woman from your village. I have to give Dean Zhang some face, so why would I bring that up again?" He Xiong stared intently at Zhang Yun. "Is it true?"

"You made sure I stayed and rushed over here, so don’t you already have your answer?" Zhang Yun didn’t reply directly, merely maintaining a mysterious smile.

He Xiong slowly exhaled a smoke ring. "Dean Zhang’s knowledge and judgment are impeccable. If he spoke up for you, you’re definitely worth his investment! That means you’re worth my investment, too!"

Zhang Yun nodded. "I already sold one to him. If I say I can dig up another old ginseng, of course I know where to find more!"

He Xiong’s eyes instantly lit up. Years ago, when it was discovered that the Bijia Mountain area produced ginseng, a large number of farmers went into the mountains to harvest it. This drove prices down, causing people to venture deeper and dig up even more to make up for the price difference. Eventually, the high-value ginseng was almost entirely depleted. Of course, that was only relatively speaking. Without good prices and with dwindling numbers, the cost-benefit ratio disappeared, so people stopped digging. Over the past decade or so, the mountain forests had been given a chance to recover. Those who picked common herbs to sell could still occasionally find wild ginseng, but no one could guarantee they would find one the next time.

From Zhang Yun’s demeanor, He Xiong saw absolute confidence! This meant the kid really had unharvested wild ginseng!

"According to your estimate, how old is it... Never mind, you probably don’t know either. Go dig it up! However many you have, I’ll take them all!"

Zhang Yun laughed. "Boss He, I can only guarantee that I have the goods. However, I’ll dig up a ginseng that matches the price you offer. Otherwise, if I dig it up and you lowball me, can I just plant it back in the mountain?"

"Price? Hahahahaha!" He Xiong pointed around them. "Do you know how many Six Records my family owns? Old Zhang might have seniority and connections, but in terms of financial resources, can he compare to us?"

Zhang Yun shook his head. "Having financial resources doesn’t equal having boldness."

"COUGH, COUGH..." He Xiong choked on his smoke. "Good lord! You’re the first person to ever say I lack boldness!"

Zhang Yun chuckled. "How about I rephrase it? Having financial resources doesn’t mean you’re generous."

He Xiong threw down his cigarette. "Just for that, I’ll lay it out for you right now! As long as the wild ginseng you dig up is old enough, I will definitely buy it above market price! If I offer any lower, you can have Dean Zhang spread the word so everyone can despise me!"

Zhang Yun said, "I’ll say it again. What price range are you looking to buy?"

He Xiong looked at him in a new light. "You’re arrogant enough! You can dig up whatever price range I want? I want a century-old ginseng! If you can dig one up, I’ll give you one million!"

"One million?" Zhang Yun wasn’t sure about the market price. Comparing it to yesterday’s root, which Zhang Lifeng estimated to be twenty or thirty years old and bought for fifty thousand, older ones were exponentially rarer. A price jump to one million was completely reasonable.

Thinking he found the amount too low, He Xiong explained, "Rare goods of this Level don’t have a fixed price. Ordinary people can’t afford them, and those who can might not even need them. Whether it’s a pharmacy or a private collector, they hoard them waiting for the value to appreciate, only selling when a wealthy person is in desperate need." He paused, gritting his teeth. "One million is a lot! If I didn’t need it urgently, I wouldn’t offer this price!"

"Alright. I’ll dig it up for you," Zhang Yun agreed readily.

He Xiong froze for a moment. "Man, I was just saying that! How could there possibly be a century-old ginseng!"

"See? I told you that having money doesn’t mean you have boldness..." Zhang Yun shook his head. "Of course, it’s also possible that you just can’t afford one million."

"The hell I can’t afford it!" He Xiong slammed his hand on the table. "I’ll have a million ready, as long as you have the skill to come take it! What if what you dig up isn’t a hundred years old?"

Zhang Yun rolled his eyes. "If it’s not a hundred years old, I’ll just give it to you for free?"

"You said it!"

"Then if it is a hundred years old, will you pay two million?"

"Damn! Do you have no shame?"

"Nonsense! If you have the nerve to ask for it for free, why shouldn’t I have the nerve to double the price? You’re treating this like a gamble! Once the ginseng is dug up, if it’s worth a million, you pay up. If it’s not, we reappraise it at market value. If you don’t want it, I’ll sell it to someone else. Did you really think you could get it for free?"

Being called out by Zhang Yun made He Xiong unhappy. "I want a century-old ginseng, and you’re the one who said you could get it!"

"I can only gauge a rough estimate. How can I be absolutely certain it’s a full hundred years old? What if your appraisers say it’s ninety-nine years old? If we’re splitting hairs, that’s still not a century!" Zhang Yun shook his head. "That’s not how you do business!"

He Xiong smiled proudly. "Don’t worry! I’d never stoop to something like that. As long as it’s close to a century, I’ll accept it. Just don’t try to fool me with an eight or ten-year-old root! I come from a family of Pharmacists; our appraisal skills are even better than Zhang Lifeng’s!"

"Get the money ready." Zhang Yun stood up. "No one knows how to dig up ginseng better than I do."

He Xiong was stunned for a moment. "Are you going to dig it up right now?"

"Let me know when you have the money ready." Zhang Yun stretched lazily. He could enter the Peach Blossom Spring Space and dig it up right now!

"Damn it! Go dig! I can pay a million at any time!"

Originally, He Xiong just wanted to meet Zhang Yun because of Zhang Lifeng’s attitude, but now he was feeling a bit stubborn. A century-old mountain ginseng could be dug up just like that? Even for a family of Pharmacists like his, such a treasure could only be found by luck, not sought!

Zhang Yun remembered a problem. "But what about Old Zhang?"

"Forget him. This is what you call cutting out the middleman!"

"But I promised to show him the ginseng first once I dug it up." Zhang Yun felt a bit helpless. "I can’t go back on my word."

He Xiong tapped the table and laughed. "You’re just going to... show it to him! It’s not like you have to sell it to him. Besides, he can’t afford a million anyway."

Zhang Yun immediately made the final decision. "Ming Tian at noon, right here. You get the money ready, and I’ll have the ginseng. Invite Old Zhang over to take a look and act as a witness while he’s at it."

He Xiong thought about it. He had a senior Pharmacist to appraise it, so even if Zhang Yun colluded with Zhang Lifeng, it would be useless. "Deal!"

One million! Even though it was just an order for now, it made Zhang Yun incredibly excited. Riding his beat-up motorcycle, he felt like he was floating on air. Ah! He needed to think bigger! He shouldn’t have been in such a rush to buy a motorcycle earlier. With a million in hand, he could have just bought a car!

It was noon now, and the scorching sun on the ride back to the village made Zhang Yun feel even more strongly that he should buy a car.

While passing a cornfield, Zhang Yun saw Auntie Pang’s electric tricycle parked there. He stopped and called out, "Auntie Pang? Is your tricycle out of battery?"

He didn’t see Sister-in-law Xiuqin. Could it be that she had stopped to relieve herself? Since a woman was relieving herself, it wasn’t convenient for Zhang Yun to stick around. "I’ll be going now..."

"Wait! We’re waiting for you," Auntie Pang quickly called out.

"Waiting for me?"

Auntie Pang pointed to the lush cornfield beside them. "Xiuxun is inside waiting for you. She has something to tell you."

Sister-in-law Xiuqin was in the cornfield... Zhang Yun’s heartbeat sped up. Was she really just going to tell him something? The images of the late-night cornfield battle he had witnessed last night quickly filled Zhang Yun’s mind!