700 Astronomically Priced Ginseng
“Am I a little too early?” He Ning smiled as he led Huo Gao into the courtyard. They behaved in such a familiar manner that it felt as if they were in their own house.
Qiao Mei did not say anything and just walked out with a big pot of dough soup as usual. He Ning thought that it was for them and smiled as he stretched out his hands to take the pot from Qiao Mei. In the end, Qiao Mei did not even look at them. She turned sideways and went to the courtyard door to blow the whistle.
Zhang Wei ran over happily and carefully brought the pot back home.
He Ning awkwardly put down his raised hands and followed Qiao Mei into the house. Qiao Qiang was lying on the brick bed and listening to the radio as usual.
His greatest hobby was to listen to news from all over the world. As long as it was news, he would listen attentively.
“Old Master, what you’re hearing is what happened the day before yesterday. The broadcast is slow and it’s not accurate. If you like such things, you have to go to the capital to read the newspapers. The newspapers there have all the latest information,” He Ning said.
Qiao Qiang looked at He Ning disdainfully. He was just listening for fun and did not need to know any details.
“If you want to eat, don’t just wait here. Do you really think you’re the boss! Hurry up and help out,” Qiao Mei said sulkily as she put down the bowls and chopsticks.
He Ning gave Huo Gao a look and he got up resignedly to walk towards the kitchen.
It was really not easy to earn this money. Next time, he would not serve He Ning even if he was paid double the amount.
Unless… he was given three times the amount.
Everyone ate quietly and there was not a single sound at the dining table. In the past, Qiao Mei and Qiao Qiang would talk about matters in the village or their future plans while they ate.
Ever since He Ning arrived, the atmosphere had become much more awkward.
“Did you manage to dig up the ginseng?” He Ning asked as he put down his bowl and chopsticks.
Qiao Mei took out a cloth bag from the cabinet and placed it on the table. “This is the only one, but there should be two more on the mountain. It was already too late yesterday, so we didn’t continue digging.”
Huo Gao carefully opened the cloth bag. He thought that the way the ginseng roots were handled could be considered professional. As soon as he opened it, he could clearly see the patterns on the ginseng and its size.
This was definitely a top-grade ginseng. It was obvious that this ginseng was about 100 years old. The medicinal effect would definitely be 10 to 20 years better than ordinary ones! This was not something that could be bought casually off the market.
It was a top-notch item that was priceless!
“Not bad. Name your price,” He Ning said with a smile.
Qiao Mei extended five fingers and He Ning heaved a sigh of relief. He said casually, “50,000 dollars? I’ll give it to you now.”
“Don’t play dumb with me. I already asked you for 100,000 dollars for 20 to 30 years old ginseng. Don’t you think it’s black-hearted to think that it’s 50,000 dollars for 100-year-old ginseng? I want 500,000 dollars,” Qiao Mei said.
An amount of 500,000 dollars! Was this woman crazy! Even if he robbed the bank, he would not be able to get 500,000 dollars. He thought that 300,000 dollars was already a very high price, but he did not expect Qiao Mei to ask for 500,000 dollars.
“Don’t you think you’re a little too much…” He Ning said through gritted teeth.
“Too much? It’s fine if you don’t want to buy it. I can use it to put into my grandfather’s water. There are still two more on the mountain. You can dig them up yourself. But let me tell you, in the entire village, only my grandfather knows how to dig for ginseng. Even among people within a ten-mile radius, only my grandfather knows how to do it,” Qiao Mei said confidently.
This stumped He Ning. If he hired a professional to dig up the ginseng, not only would it be time-consuming and laborious, but the expert was also not very familiar with the mountain. If he got lost or was unfamiliar with the soil quality on the mountain, he might accidentally hurt the ginseng.
It would be a waste of effort. He might as well buy Qiao Mei’s ginseng now.
“500,000 dollars is too much. Quote me a little less,” He Ning said as he clenched his fists.
“How about this, let’s both take a step back. 400,000 dollars. If it’s any less, I won’t sell it,” Qiao Mei said.
He Ning thought for a moment and nodded despite the pain in his heart.
“I don’t have that much money now. You have to give me time to raise the money,” He Ning said.
“There’s no hurry, there’s no hurry. I don’t intend to ask for it yet. You can give it to me when I return to the capital, but you have to write me an IOU. I don’t need interest on it and I don’t want the new money either. You know what I like. Let me have 200,000 dollars in the denominations I want and you can decide how to give me the remaining 200,000 dollars,” Qiao Mei said with a smile.
