Chapter 41: Stumping the Appraisal Experts

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Stumping the Appraisal Experts

The two old men immediately took out their magnifying glasses, but looking at this freshly dug large ginseng, they both hesitated a little.

"How about... Old Zhang, you take a look first?"

They had a wealth of Experience and were highly knowledgeable, but they had never seen a centennial ginseng before. They were terrified of making a mistake, especially since their boss was planning to spend a million on it this time. In their eyes, even though Zhang Lifeng knew Zhang Yun, his status was clear. Even if he wanted to make a little personal profit, he wouldn’t dare to scam them too much.

Zhang Lifeng smiled. "Everyone’s so serious. I’ll get the ball rolling, then!" He immediately got to work, taking the ginseng and carefully examining it, starting from the branches and leaves, before using the magnifying glass to inspect the texture in detail. He was much more serious than during his appraisal the other day.

He Xiong also sat down to drink tea. His eyes were fixed on Zhang Yun. He wondered if the young man’s nonchalant attitude was just an act or if he was truly confident.

Zhang Lifeng examined it carefully from every angle for over ten minutes.

Zhang Yun was getting a little impatient. "Old Zhang, are you up to this? Don’t tell me you’ve never seen one before?"

"Well..." Zhang Lifeng looked a bit embarrassed. "Of course I’ve seen them, but only dried ones. I’ve never seen a freshly dug one..." He handed the ginseng over to the other two old men. "You experts take a look!"

"You tell us your thoughts first."

"Finish looking at it first! We’ll discuss it together once you’re done."

Zhang Lifeng was being evasive, leaving the two old men feeling helpless. They had no choice but to examine every detail even more carefully, even breaking off a tiny root to chew and taste. The two of them spent another twenty-odd minutes working together before finally stopping.

"Do you think this is a century-old ginseng?" He Xiong couldn’t help but ask.

Judging solely from its size and appearance, He Xiong was certain this was an old mountain ginseng, but he wasn’t sure exactly how old it was. He was throwing down a lot of money this time, so he absolutely needed top-tier goods!

The two old men had similar levels of Experience and were afraid of making a mistake, relying on each other as a double safeguard. Unable to make up their minds, they opted to exchange glances with Zhang Lifeng. When it came to things like this, everyone shared a tacit understanding and basically grasped what the other was thinking.

"Since these two gentlemen have also taken a look, I’ll speak first!" Zhang Lifeng patted Zhang Yun on the shoulder. "This young brother here is indeed quite skilled at digging up ginseng. I bought an old ginseng that was no less than twenty years old from him for fifty thousand, and another VIP spent a hundred thousand..."

Hearing this, the attitudes of He Xiong and the other two shifted. No matter what Zhang Yun said, others would think he was just bragging. But coming from Zhang Lifeng’s mouth, his status served as a guarantee.

"Simply put, this ginseng is undoubtedly much better than the one I bought. It’s at least a few decades older. But I’m just here today to broaden my horizons. As I said earlier, my Experience is limited, so I can’t guarantee if it’s a centennial ginseng." The old man briefly shared his judgment and gave a preemptive warning—don’t blame me if I’m wrong!

The other two old men, however, couldn’t shirk the responsibility.

"Judging by its appearance, this one has been around for a very long time. But it’s also a bit strange. If it really is a hundred years old, the branches and leaves shouldn’t look this fresh and lush. Of course, I’ve never seen a freshly dug centennial ginseng before..."

"We also chewed and tasted a bit of the root just now. That tiny section of root clearly carried a pure, mellow, and potent yang energy, and we could also taste the ginsenosides. That speaks volumes about the efficacy of the entire ginseng."

The two of them chimed in one after another, pointing at the ginseng as they explained it to He Xiong. They had to showcase their professionalism and convey everything they had analyzed.

After listening for a few minutes, He Xiong interrupted them. "Just give me the short answer. Is this a centennial ginseng or not?"

The two old men looked at each other and offered a bitter smile. "Even Old Zhang doesn’t dare to make the call. It’s the same for us. We’ve dried old ginseng that were a dozen or two to three decades old. Back when a massive amount of ginseng was dug up from Bijia Mountain, we never saw any centennial ones either."

He Xiong looked at Zhang Yun with a complicated expression. "Young Boss Zhang, what do you say?"

Everyone’s gaze turned toward him.

Zhang Yun had long since had his fill of tea. He simply cast a glance over them. "Let me ask you this. Is it certain that it’s over fifty years old?"

The three of them nodded. There was no debate on this point.

"What about over seventy years?"

"That shouldn’t... be a problem." Zhang Lifeng answered a bit conservatively, and the other two seconded his opinion.

"Herein lies the problem. Whether it’s eighty, ninety, or even over a hundred years old isn’t an impossibility—it’s just that you lack Experience, so you aren’t sure!" Zhang Yun laughed. "This isn’t an issue with the ginseng; it’s an issue with you!"

"Th-This... if you’re so capable, find an appraiser with Experience! As long as they’re authoritative enough, we won’t have anything to say!" one of the old men protested, clearly unconvinced.

"Exactly! We’ve dealt with medicinal herbs our entire lives. Out of the thousands of ginseng, big and small, dug up from Bijia Mountain, at least half have passed through our hands! Plus, Old Zhang isn’t certain either!"

At this point, Zhang Lifeng refrained from taking sides, ensuring he didn’t offend anyone.

Zhang Yun smiled. "That’s because you haven’t been exposed to the good stuff. A frog spending its whole life at the bottom of a well is only ever going to see a small patch of the sky..."

"Who are you calling a frog in a well?!" The old man flared up. "When I was first learning about medicinal herbs, let alone you, even your father was probably still in diapers!"

Zhang Yun waved his hand dismissively and spoke directly to He Xiong. "Boss He, let me just ask one thing. Even if you confirmed this was a seventy or eighty-year-old ginseng, wouldn’t you still market it as a nearly century-old ginseng?"

He Xiong furrowed his brow. "That’s a different matter. With good marketing and packaging, a seventy or eighty-year-old one can be sold for the price of a centennial one. But there’s still a difference in medicinal efficacy between a seventy or eighty-year-old one and a centennial one, not to mention..." He hesitated for a moment but decided to say it anyway. "I’m not acquiring this just to flip it for a profit. There’s an important event coming up, something like... an exhibition or a competition. I need a flagship piece, and only a centennial ginseng will guarantee me a win!"

An exhibition? A competition? Zhang Yun instantly perked up. How many super ginsengs could he realistically sell just within this county? Only by building a reputation in the medicinal herb circles through Liu’s Restaurant could he secure a channel to offload them in bulk!

"When is it?"

He Xiong was taken aback for a moment, but he still answered, "In a week."

"Great!" Zhang Yun shouted.

"What’s so great?" Zhang Lifeng was perplexed.

Zhang Yun chuckled. "Heh! I said this one is a hundred years old, but you guys aren’t sure and don’t dare to believe me. Then give me another three days. I’ll definitely dig up one that’s twice as old as this! Even without Experience, you should be able to compare the two, right?"

"What a boast!" one of the old men sneered. "Nowadays, even a wild ginseng that’s a few years old is a rare find on Bijia Mountain. You think you can dig up another one that’s twice as old?"

"Exactly! If you can dig that up, I’ll eat it raw!" The other old man glared, practically fuming.

Zhang Yun couldn’t help but laugh. "Eat it raw! You’ve got quite an imagination. Can you even afford to eat it?"

"..."

"Never mind! I’ll take this one with me." Zhang Yun picked up the snakeskin bag from the floor.

"Wait a minute!"

All four of them yelled out at the exact same time, then exchanged blank looks.

Zhang Lifeng let out a dry laugh. "Xiaozhang, since you’ve already dug it up, you can’t exactly bury it back in the ground. I’ll help you take care of it!"

The two old men hurriedly shot meaningful glances at He Xiong. Even if it was on the lower end of sixty or seventy years old, it was still a rare treasure you couldn’t just stumble upon! If he took it away, he might just sell it to the pharmacy next door!

He Xiong laughed heartily. "Dean Zhang, you didn’t say that on purpose just so you could wait for this exact moment, did you?"