Chapter 40: Appraising a 100-Year-Old Ginseng

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Appraising a 100-Year-Old Ginseng

Xiuxun immediately felt awkward as well...

A thigh was a thigh, no matter how you looked at it. What made her blush with embarrassment was the physical "reaction" it might provoke. But if they had to deal with his backside, the location of the wound was simply too awkward.

However, a little blood from the thigh wasn’t that big of a deal; after all, women bled for a week without dying. But if the venom wasn’t removed, it would be extremely dangerous once it mixed with his blood and spread throughout his body!

After only a moment of awkwardness, Xiuxun stepped behind Zhang Yun.

Seeing the phone on the ground with its front-facing camera turned on, she realized Zhang Yun had genuinely been preparing to reach back and cut open the wound himself; he wasn’t playing a prank on her.

"Give me the knife..."

Zhang Yun handed her the knife. Xiuxun’s hands were trembling. It wasn’t just because she had to slice into his flesh, but also because locating the wound itself was highly embarrassing...

The entire process didn’t take long, but both of them broke a sweat.

"I can’t squeeze out any more venomous blood... I’ll get you some herbs to stop the bleeding," Xiuxun said. She grabbed a handful from her basket, chewed them up directly in her mouth, and applied the paste to his wound.

Zhang Yun let out a long breath. "That should be enough. I’m in good shape, so it’ll stop bleeding very quickly."

He didn’t actually mind if the process took a little longer, but his young body was raging with hormones, and his "weapon" was having a hard time staying concealed.

Xiuxun didn’t say a word. She continued applying the medicine to the wound on his leg, though her face grew redder by the second.

"All done."

"Thank you," Zhang Yun mumbled awkwardly. "You guys go on back first. I’ll rest here for a bit before leaving."

"You should come back with us. Just in case you faint, we can look after you." Xiuxun was a bit worried. She checked on him again. "Can you walk?"

Zhang Yun laughed. "I’m not that fragile. I’m only wary of the venom. A mere scratch like this is nothing."

Xiuxun looked at him with concern. "The snakebite was just a small puncture, but now it’s been sliced wide open with a knife."

Knowing it would be inconvenient to walk together, Zhang Yun comforted her, "How about this? I’ll rest for a while. If I actually start feeling dizzy or something, I’ll call you. Otherwise, I’ll head back on my own."

"Don’t push yourself too hard then..." That was all Xiuxun could say.

Watching her strap on her basket and walk over to Auntie Pang, Zhang Yun sighed softly. They worked so hard hiking up the mountain to forage for herbs and dry them out, but it really didn’t sell for much. However, without any other source of income, earning a few hundred yuan a month was still a welcome bit of extra cash.

Zhang Yun considered getting her a ginseng every now and then. He would just have to time it right and make sure it wasn’t too old. Something that could fetch a thousand yuan or so would be perfect—nothing too eye-catching.

Auntie Pang’s assist had worked out in his favor, so he needed to thank her. Giving her a little something as hush money was also in order.

Once their figures disappeared into the distance, Zhang Yun managed to pull his jeans back on. He let out a long breath. "Good thing I circulated my energy to pool the blood in one spot, otherwise the venom would have spread far too quickly..."

Every single detail of the venom-removal process from earlier was deeply etched into his mind. Just recalling it made his blood boil. He had genuinely been worried he would lose control and make a fool of himself right there.

It was only now that Zhang Yun finally had a moment to check the time. It was already past eleven o’clock. He couldn’t afford to rest much longer, so he slowly began to make his way home.

Back when Li Bing had slashed his arm, he had only consumed a single petal, yet it was enough to quickly stop the bleeding and leave nothing but a faint scar by the afternoon. With today’s absorption included, Zhang Yun had now consumed seven and a half petals. His physical constitution was on a completely different Level.

When he first started walking, there was still a bit of discomfort, but by the time he made it out of the mountains, he was practically fine.

"Zhang Yun, off digging for ginseng again? Did you find any?"

"Haha, I found a massive ginseng! I’m going to be rich!"

Whenever villagers jokingly asked him, Zhang Yun would reply with a cheerful laugh. Naturally, no one took him seriously. They all assumed he was joking, and no one bothered to verify it for themselves.

As soon as he arrived home, he saw Xiuxun outside feeding the chickens. When she spotted him, she cast a concerned glance his way, though it wasn’t convenient for her to shout out and ask how he was doing.

Zhang Yun gave a slight shake of his head, signaling that his body was fine.

He went inside, ate a little something, and then entered the Peach Blossom Spring Space, where he dug up a ginseng. Thanks to his previous Experience, Zhang Yun didn’t even need to verify its quality himself. He simply stuffed it into a woven snakeskin fertilizer bag, hopped onto his new motorcycle, and headed out.

"Hey! Zhang Yun!"

Right as he was leaving the front gate, he saw his father and an uncle returning. His uncle immediately called out to stop him.

"Uncle, stay for lunch! I’ve got something urgent to take care of in town first," Zhang Yun greeted before speeding off.

Zhang Fu offered a wry smile, forced to explain to his relative that his son was normally very polite.

He wondered, "Eh? That brat said he was going to dig for ginseng early this morning. Could he have actually found one?"

Zhang Yun was a man of his word. He had promised to be there at twelve o’clock and wouldn’t keep the others waiting. He sped all the way to Liu’s Restaurant on West Gate Street.

The Shopkeeper was already waiting at the door. "You’re finally here. Our boss is waiting for you."

"Keep an eye on my motorcycle for me. Don’t let any kids knock it over!" Zhang Yun instructed. Nobody would dare steal a motorcycle in broad daylight, but if some unruly brat knocked his brand-new bike over and scratched the paint, he wouldn’t be able to make the kid pay for it.

"No problem." The Shopkeeper looked at Zhang Yun, his face full of suspicion. "Did you... forget to bring something?"

As the Shopkeeper, he had earned He Xiong’s trust and knew that today was all about appraising a centennial ginseng. Yet Zhang Yun appeared completely empty-handed.

In the Shopkeeper’s mind, an item like a centennial ginseng should at least be stored in an exquisite wooden box, if not a secure safe. He never in a million years associated it with the woven snakeskin fertilizer bag Zhang Yun was holding.

Zhang Yun ignored him. He simply grabbed the snakeskin bag and strode inside.

The Shopkeeper hurried after him, but Zhang Yun had already navigated his way in like a regular.

Crossing through the backyard, he arrived at the same parlor as yesterday, where four people were currently sipping tea.

Seeing Zhang Yun arrive, He Xiong stood up immediately.

Zhang Yun noticed that Zhang Lifeng was there as well, drinking tea with two other old men. Given their seniority and self-proclaimed status, none of the three got up to welcome him.

"Zhang Yun, did you dig up the ginseng?" Zhang Lifeng spoke up first, eager to show that he was more familiar with Zhang Yun.

Zhang Yun did a little spin. "Take a look! I went into the mountains before dawn and just rushed back. I got covered in mud. And Old Zhang, did you see my Friends Circle? I suffered horribly to dig up this ginseng. I even got bitten by a venomous snake!"

"Are you serious?" Zhang Lifeng was a bit skeptical. He pulled up Zhang Yun’s Friends Circle on the spot and showed it to the other men.

"Where’s the ginseng? Did you get it?" He Xiong didn’t care about mud or snakebites; all he wanted was the ginseng.

"Sorry for interrupting your tea, gentlemen!"

Zhang Yun opened the snakeskin bag and dumped the ginseng onto the table.

Because the soil inside the Peach Blossom Spring Space was precious, Zhang Yun had thoroughly shaken it off, though he hadn’t bothered to wash the root.

Everyone froze... They had also assumed that Zhang Yun had left the ginseng in his vehicle outside. They never expected it to be unceremoniously dumped from this tattered fertilizer bag.

"This is the centennial ginseng? You aren’t messing with us, are you?" one of the old men frowned.

"It’s up to you guys to appraise whether it’s a centennial ginseng or not. Otherwise, why would Boss He ask you to come? Just to drink tea?"

Zhang Yun sat down without standing on ceremony and poured himself a cup of tea.

Zhang Lifeng had seen Zhang Yun’s ginseng before. Taking one look at the vastly superior quality of this root, his entire demeanor turned dead serious. Regardless of whether he could afford it or not, he was like an antique appraiser stumbling upon a priceless relic—he was itching to put his skills to the test!

"I’ll have to trouble Dean Zhang and you two esteemed masters, then!" He Xiong grew excited as well.