Chapter 74: Selling Ginseng
Su Qing said to Old Mr. Gong with a beaming smile, "It’s all thanks to that herb manual you gave me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to recognize these herbs even if they were right in front of me."
"Haha, that’s because you’re a clever girl." Old Mr. Gong chuckled and nodded. He stepped forward to examine the herbs Su Qing had gathered and couldn’t help but nod again. ’She may be a novice, but she dug these up without causing any damage at all. That’s quite impressive.’
When he saw the ginseng, his gaze sharpened. He quickly took it in his hand, examining it closely, and a look of delight spread across his face. "Young lady, this is an excellent ginseng."
"Is it?" Su Qing already knew the age of the ginseng, but she had to play the part of a novice. She quickly said, "I just found it by following the manual. The flower on this plant was particularly eye-catching; otherwise, I never would have spotted it."
"Excellent, excellent." Old Mr. Gong said with a smiling nod. "You certainly have good luck. Come, let’s go to the back and talk things over."
"Okay." Su Qing nodded eagerly.
Mr. Gong then instructed the young man who was weighing the herbs, "The quality of these is quite good. Price them at the Level 1 rate."
"Yes, sir!" the young man replied, nodding quickly.
"Come, young lady, have a seat." Once they were in the back room, Mr. Gong said to Su Qing with a smile, "By the way, young lady, I don’t believe I’ve gotten your name yet."
Su Qing replied with a smile, "Mr. Gong, my surname is Su. I’m Su Qing."
"A fine name." Mr. Gong nodded. "Su, I just took a look at that ginseng you picked. It’s at least eighty or ninety years old, nearly a century-old specimen. That’s incredibly rare. Let me ask you, are you sure you want to sell it? You must understand, ginseng of this quality is very hard to come by on the market. It would fetch a high price, but more importantly, a root like this can be life-saving in a critical moment."
"Mr. Gong, I’ve made up my mind. I intend to sell it," Su Qing said with a calm smile.
"Are you sure?" Mr. Gong pressed. "You have to understand, you don’t just stumble upon ginseng of this age. You might never find another wild ginseng this old again."
Su Qing smiled. "To be honest, Mr. Gong, I think I have a bit of luck on my side. You said it yourself last time—high-quality, aged herbs are hard to find. And look, it didn’t take me long to find this one."
"Haha, that’s true enough," Mr. Gong laughed. "Now that you mention it, you really do seem to have a bit of a lucky streak."
"Alright, since you’re set on selling, I’ll make you an offer." Mr. Gong nodded, then continued, "As you’ve probably gathered, I’m a doctor. I’d like to buy this ginseng from you for my personal collection. This root is exceptionally rare, so I won’t haggle with you. Eight thousand yuan. How does that sound?"
After he spoke, Mr. Gong chuckled again. "That’s the highest price I can offer. But I won’t hide the truth from you—if word of this ginseng got out in Beijing, a bidding war would drive the price much higher. As it is, I suppose I’m getting a bargain by not having to compete with anyone, haha."
Hearing this, Su Qing laughed as well. "Let’s go with the price you offered."
’Eight thousand yuan might not be a lot in later generations, but in an era when a typical worker’s monthly salary was only thirty or forty yuan, this was truly a huge sum of money.’
Su Qing mentally tallied her private stash. ’She’d made more than five hundred yuan from selling the foraged goods last time. Now, after selling the ginseng and the other herbs, she would have over eight thousand yuan in her hands. It was an enormous fortune.’
Seeing Su Qing agree, Mr. Gong’s delight was written all over his face. "Excellent! It’s settled then. Wait here a moment while I go get you the money."
"Alright."
Before long, Mr. Gong returned and handed the money to Su Qing. He also settled the payment for the other herbs. In total, Su Qing received 8,168 yuan.
The transaction was complete, and both parties were very satisfied.
Looking at the scar on Su Qing’s left cheek, Mr. Gong privately felt it was a shame. ’Century-old Purple Danshen and Chicken Blood Vine are incredibly hard to find, and what’s more...’
"Su," Mr. Gong said after a moment of thought. "There’s something else I need to tell you."
"Please, go on."
"It’s about the Purple Danshen and Chicken Blood Vine," Mr. Gong said. "Both are extremely difficult to find. With your luck, you might be able to find Purple Danshen in our local mountains. But the Chicken Blood Vine... this isn’t where it grows. I’m afraid..."
"So I can’t find it here?" Su Qing asked quickly. "Mr. Gong, where does Chicken Blood Vine originally come from?"
Mr. Gong replied, "In the great mountains of Yun Province and Gu Province. That’s where Chicken Blood Vine is plentiful."
"Yun Province and Gu Province?" Su Qing murmured, raising an eyebrow.
"That’s right." Mr. Gong sighed. "So, you see, it’s not easy to obtain. A young girl like you can’t possibly travel that far. You’d be in an unfamiliar place where you don’t know anyone, and besides, the mountains there are nothing like the ones here. You don’t know them, and it would be extremely dangerous to venture in unprepared."
Su Qing nodded. "I understand, Mr. Gong. I won’t take any foolish risks. As for whether I can find the herbs to heal my scar, I’ll just let nature take its course. I won’t try to force it."
"Good, it’s best that you think that way," Mr. Gong said. "Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye out as well. If I happen to come across the right ingredients, I’ll be sure to save them for you."
"Alright. Thank you so much, Mr. Gong," Su Qing said with a grateful smile.
Su Qing was truly grateful. After all, they had only met twice, yet he was willing to keep her in mind. Such kindness certainly deserved her thanks.
"Haha, I just feel like we’re kindred spirits," Mr. Gong laughed heartily. "Besides, I have my own selfish reasons. If you happen to find any more excellent herbs in the future, you have to think of me first, you hear?"
Su Qing laughed. "Alright, no problem."
Su Qing stayed at Hongji Hall for another half an hour, during which Mr. Gong gave her more pointers on how to identify various herbs. Afterward, she finally said her goodbyes.
After leaving Hongji Hall, Su Qing hadn’t walked far when a man called out from behind her, "Miss, could I have a word with you?"
Su Qing turned at the sound of his voice and saw that it was the same middle-aged man Mr. Gong had shooed away from Hongji Hall earlier. She seemed to recall him saying something about the "An Family."
"You were calling me?" Su Qing asked, puzzled. She didn’t know the man.
"Yes." The middle-aged man stepped forward with a smile and introduced himself, "Hello. My surname is Fang, and my name is Fang Lutian."