Soon, Lin Qinghe and You Rong had gathered more than half a basket of mushrooms.
You Rong picked up the basket and said, "That's enough. Let's go back. I brought back a wild pheasant yesterday, we can stew it with mushrooms."
Lin Qinghe, thinking of her favorite dish from her previous life, "stewed chicken with mushrooms," couldn't help but swallow and chuckled, "Okay! Let's go back!"
Just as You Rong was about to leave with the basket, Lin Qinghe's peripheral vision caught sight of a plant in a corner. It had a few small leaves with tiny red fruits on them.
Lin Qinghe's eyes lit up instantly.
If she wasn't mistaken, this plant was ginseng!
Ginseng, whether in modern times or ancient times, was a valuable medicinal supplement, and very expensive!
You Rong saw Lin Qinghe walk over and squat down, furrowing his brows slightly. He asked, "Why aren't you moving? Did you find something else?"
Lin Qinghe excitedly said, "You Rong! Look quickly! This is ginseng!"
You Rong squatted down to examine it closely, "Are you sure this is ginseng?"
He had never seen ginseng before and didn't recognize it.
Lin Qinghe nodded heavily, absolutely certain, "This is definitely ginseng. You don't know, I've seen it on television before. Its leaves look just like this!"
You Rong was confused, "Television? What is television?"
"Uh..." Lin Qinghe belatedly realized she had spoken out of excitement and said something she shouldn't have. She gave a dry laugh and vaguely explained, "Television is, is... a picture book that records medicinal herbs. I saw it by accident and just remembered some of it."
"Is that so?" You Rong was skeptical.
Fearing You Rong would question her further, Lin Qinghe quickly changed the subject, "Give me the saber, I'll dig up the soil around the ginseng, and then carefully unearth it. If the roots of the ginseng can be preserved intact, its price will be even higher!"
Although You Rong felt suspicious, seeing Lin Qinghe's excitement, he didn't ask further. He took the saber out of the basket and handed it to her.
Lin Qinghe took the saber, lay on the ground, and carefully began digging around the ginseng. After digging up the soil around the ginseng, she asked You Rong to break off a small tree branch, sharpen one end with the saber, and then continue to dig out the ginseng bit by bit.
Slowly, more than half of the ginseng was unearthed.
Although it was early autumn, Lin Qinghe was sweating profusely. While it wasn't back-breaking labor, she had to maintain a tense focus and dig carefully, which was also very tiring.
You Rong watched Lin Qinghe, his gaze drifting down to her hands, which had turned red from holding the sharpened branch for too long. He pursed his thin lips and said, "Rest for a while. I'll dig it."
"This..." Lin Qinghe looked hesitant, worried that You Rong wouldn't be as meticulous as her and would break the ginseng's root system.
You Rong saw her concern and said, "I'll be careful."
Lin Qinghe had no choice but to nod, "Okay, then you dig. I'll rest for a bit."
Lin Qinghe handed the sharpened branch to You Rong. After watching him dig for a while, she realized her worry was unnecessary. You Rong was not only careful but also fast. In the time it took her to drink some water, he had completely unearthed the ginseng.
You Rong handed the ginseng with intact roots to Lin Qinghe, "Take a look... I was very careful when I dug, I shouldn't have broken any of its roots."
Lin Qinghe nodded repeatedly, "No, no... absolutely not! This is too great!"
It was said that ginseng was hard to come by in ancient times. If they sold this one, they might just become landlords in Xinghua Village!
Lin Qinghe carefully put the ginseng into the basket and then pulled You Rong to search the surrounding area more thoroughly, hoping to find more ginseng. Unfortunately, they didn't find any more.
It was almost noon by the time they finished. You Rong suggested they go back.
Lin Qinghe left Junwu Mountain with You Rong. At the entrance of Junwu Mountain, she asked, "You Rong, if we go to town now, is it closer than going from home?"
You Rong nodded, "Yes, walking to town from here takes only half an hour. It takes an hour and a half from Xinghua Village to town."
Lin Qinghe's dark eyes darted around, and she pulled You Rong along, "Why don't we go home a little later? Let's go to town first and sell the ginseng before we go back!"
This way, she could confirm if she had identified it correctly, and avoid unnecessary excitement.
You Rong could naturally sense Lin Qinghe's urgency, so he said, "Okay, let's go to town first."
Lin Qinghe's eyes sparkled, and her delicate little face was filled with a smile, "Then let's go!"
Half an hour later, at a pharmacy in town.
Lin Qinghe and You Rong walked in together. A pharmacy assistant stepped forward to greet them, "Young Master, Madam, are you here to get medicine? Do you have a prescription?"
Lin Qinghe and You Rong exchanged a look, and she smiled faintly, "We're not here to get medicine. We heard you buy medicinal herbs, and I'm here to sell some."
"That's right, we do buy medicinal herbs. What herbs have you brought to sell?"
Lin Qinghe gestured for You Rong to put down the basket and handed her the ginseng.
After taking it, she handed it to the pharmacy assistant, "Please take a look, assistant. This ginseng is the medicinal herb we want to sell."
The pharmacy assistant looked at it and was a little surprised, as it was rare for someone to bring such a valuable medicinal herb to sell.
The pharmacy assistant said, "Please have a seat and wait a moment, Sir and Madam. I'll go and invite our shopkeeper down to talk with you."
"Okay, thank you."
As soon as the pharmacy assistant left, Lin Qinghe tugged on You Rong's sleeve and whispered excitedly, "Look at the assistant's expression, it must be ginseng. I wonder how much silver it will sell for..."
You Rong lowered his gaze. For some reason, seeing the little woman's excited look, a doting smile unconsciously curved the corners of his lips.
The shopkeeper of the pharmacy arrived, took the ginseng, and examined it carefully. His eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "Sir and Madam, this is indeed ginseng. How about this... I'll give you five taels, what do you say?"
You Rong was somewhat surprised.
He had initially thought that no matter how precious ginseng was, it would be worth at most one or two taels. He hadn't expected the shopkeeper to offer five taels.
Lin Qinghe frowned, pointed at the ginseng, and said displeasedly, "Shopkeeper, don't think I don't understand medicine and try to bully me. This ginseng has complete roots and looks quite old, at least three to five years. Five taels, are you joking with me?"
The shopkeeper's expression changed slightly, and he said with a smile, "So Madam is knowledgeable. Then, Madam, how much are you willing to sell this ginseng to me for?"
Lin Qinghe's heart leaped. She knew she had just gotten lucky by chance. She had only said a few things casually, and it turned out to be correct. Su Dan Novel Network.
She maintained a calm and natural expression, "Not much, twenty taels."
The shopkeeper looked troubled, "Madam, twenty taels is really too much. There are very few families in our small town who need ginseng. If I buy it at such a high price, I'll probably lose money."
Lin Qinghe pretended to hesitate for a moment, "The shopkeeper has a point. Then let's do this. One price, fifteen taels. If it's settled, we'll make a deal. If not, I'll have to take the ginseng back."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth and said, "Alright! One price, fifteen taels, deal!"
Lin Qinghe smiled sweetly, "In that case... thank you, shopkeeper."
After taking the silver and leaving the pharmacy, Lin Qinghe's face was beaming. She pulled You Rong and said, "Great, now we have money! We'll go back and immediately invite a doctor to treat Mother, and then renovate our house. Oh, and we need to buy a few bolts of cloth to make some warm clothes for you and Mother, as winter is coming soon and we can't do without warm clothes. Your and Mother's clothes are too thin. We also need to buy two thick cotton quilts for Mother..."
Listening to Lin Qinghe's endless chatter, You Rong was astonished.
She was wholeheartedly thinking of him and his mother!