Chapter 25

Request for collection and recommendation

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This time, Zhang Qi's son gambled again and lost over a thousand taels of silver. The gambling den detained Zhang Qi's son and announced that if Zhang Qi did not pay off his son's gambling debt within three days, they would beat him to death.

Zhang Qi had only this one son. To redeem his son, he had no choice but to decide to sell a wild ginseng plant that had been treasured by his family for over a hundred years.

Zhang Qi had already sent letters to all the influential people in the county, stating that whoever offered the highest price and a price he was satisfied with would get the wild ginseng.

Sun Baicao and Zhang Qi were in the same trade, and competitors were often at odds. Sun Baicao's relationship with Zhang Qi was not good. He only received this news on the second day. Sun Baicao knew that Li Wenjun had been looking for such an aged herb for a long time, so he immediately sent Sun Jianing to inform Li Wenjun.

After listening to Sun Jianing's account, Li Wenjun could hardly contain his excitement. He ran as fast as he could toward Zhang Qi's house, with Sun Jianing panting and following behind.

By the time they reached Zhang Qi's house, Sun Jianing was leaning against the wall, gasping for breath like a fish out of water, trying to catch his breath in the dry, cold air.

Li Wenjun was in better shape, but he also needed a moment to catch his breath. He looked up and saw that the black lacquered door of Zhang Qi's house was wide open, and many well-dressed people were coming and going. These people had come to see the wild ginseng, which could save lives in critical moments. No wealthy family would have too many of such herbs and would want to stock up on a few more.

"Let's go, Brother Wenjun, let's go in," Sun Jianing said, catching his breath.

Li Wenjun and Sun Jianing entered Zhang Qi's house and saw that the door to the main hall was also open. Zhang Qi was standing in the middle of the hall, with an eight-person table beside him. On the table was a large red box. Many people were gathered around the table, staring at the red box.

Behind Zhang Qi stood several men dressed as martial artists. They were bodyguards hired from a martial arts school to prevent anyone from trying to snatch the wild ginseng.

Li Wenjun moved closer, and Zhang Qi did not stop him. At this point, Zhang Qi only cared about the silver. Even if someone was crazy, as long as they could pay enough silver, he would let them see the ginseng.

Li Wenjun squeezed into the crowd and looked into the red box. Inside was a palm-sized, dry, and wrinkled root, similar in shape to dried ginger.

From the outside, it was hard to tell if it was a hundred-year-old herb. This required an experienced person to judge.

However, Li Wenjun had his own judgment. The Zhang family had been collecting herbs for generations, and their reputation was built over many years. Unless they no longer wanted to be in this business or live in Sanshan County, they would not try to deceive people with fake or insufficiently aged herbs.

Seeing this wild ginseng, Li Wenjun decided that he must get it no matter what. He walked to Zhang Qi's side, bowed, and asked, "Uncle Zhang, how much do you plan to sell this wild ginseng for?"

"Sir, it's not about how much I plan to sell it for, but how much you plan to pay. I'm selling to the highest bidder. Do you see that Mr. Ning over there? He plans to pay nine hundred taels of silver for this wild ginseng. Can you offer more?" Zhang Qi asked.

"Nine hundred taels?" Li Wenjun gasped. Nine hundred taels of silver was not something he couldn't afford, but if he paid that much, he would be left with very little. He needed silver for many other things and couldn't risk everything for this wild ginseng. "Uncle Zhang, can't you lower the price a bit?"

Zhang Qi waved his hand impatiently and said, "If you don't have the money, don't waste my time. I need the silver to save my son. How can I sell it to you at a lower price?"

Hearing this, Li Wenjun knew there was no hope. He was not willing to leave just yet. He pulled Sun Jianing to a corner of the yard and sat down to consider whether he should offer more than nine hundred taels to get the wild ginseng.

Just as Li Wenjun sat down and was about to weigh the pros and cons, he heard a commotion outside Zhang Qi's house.

"Move, everyone, move."

The sound of hooves hitting the stone pavement stopped outside Zhang Qi's house. A moment later, Wu Xuemei, surrounded by a group of constables, stormed in.

Everyone, including Zhang Qi, felt a jolt of anxiety. Zhang Qi groaned and came out of the main hall to greet Wu Xuemei.

"Commoner Zhang Qi, I pay my respects to Miss," Zhang Qi bowed deeply to Wu Xuemei.

Wu Xuemei stood tall in front of Zhang Qi and said, "I heard that you have a wild ginseng plant that is over a hundred years old and are planning to sell it. Is this true?"

Zhang Qi wanted to deny it but was afraid of angering Wu Xuemei. He had no choice but to tell the truth and replied, "Yes, it is true."

"Where is the wild ginseng? Bring it out quickly for me to see," Wu Xuemei ordered.

Zhang Qi was reluctant but had no choice. He got up, went back into the house, and brought out the wild ginseng along with the red box, handing it to Wu Xuemei.

Next to Wu Xuemei stood a middle-aged man wearing a felt hat and a beard. Wu Xuemei handed the box to him and said, "Please, sir, take a look."

Sun Jianing grabbed Li Wenjun's arm and pointed to the middle-aged man, whispering, "Brother Wenjun, I recognize this person. He is the pharmacist from Huichun Hall, the largest pharmacy in the capital city. I remember his surname is Kong, and he is very skilled. My father has bought medicine from the capital city a few times and has seen him twice. By the way, Brother Wenjun, do you know Huichun Hall? It is the largest pharmacy in the capital city, and the doctors there are very skilled. Even the county magistrate seeks medical advice there when he is sick."

The middle-aged man took the box, took out a clean white cloth, put it on his hand, and then picked up the wild ginseng. He sniffed it and examined it for a while before reluctantly putting it back.

"Excellent, truly excellent. This wild ginseng should be between 180 and 190 years old when it was harvested. The Zhang family was a bit hasty. If they had waited another ten years, it would have become a more valuable 200-year-old herb," the middle-aged man said with a sigh.

No one expected it to be a nearly 200-year-old herb. The difference between 200 years and 100 years was obvious.

Li Wenjun's heart burned with excitement. He regretted not offering a thousand taels right away to buy the wild ginseng.

Of course, Li Wenjun knew his idea was a bit wishful thinking. Zhang Qi was determined to sell it for a high price, so he would try to extend the time to attract more wealthy buyers. It was only the second day, and there was still more than a day left before the deadline set by the gambling den. Even if he offered a thousand taels, Zhang Qi would not let him take the wild ginseng immediately but would make him wait.

This wait would definitely last until Wu Xuemei came. Even if Wu Xuemei didn't come, other wealthy buyers might. He might not even get a chance to touch the wild ginseng before it changed hands.

Wu Xuemei's eyes sparkled with surprise. She took the wild ginseng from the middle-aged man, closed the box, and handed it to the constable standing next to her. Then she said, "Zhang Qi, I want this wild ginseng. Name your price."

Zhang Qi's temples throbbed with frustration, but he had no choice. His heart was bleeding, but he had to endure it and said, "Miss, this wild ginseng is being sold publicly, and the highest bidder gets it."

"I understand. The highest bidder gets it." Wu Xuemei reached into her money pouch and took out a ten-tael gold ingot. One tael of gold was worth ten taels of silver, so this was worth a hundred taels of silver.

Wu Xuemei held up the gold and announced, "I offer ten taels of gold. Is there anyone who can offer more?"

Everyone was silent. All the people present were locals in Sanshan County, and who didn't know Wu Xuemei? She was the county magistrate's beloved daughter, a precious gem. Her domineering and arrogant behavior was well-known throughout the county. Who would dare to offend the county magistrate by challenging Wu Xuemei?

Seeing everyone lower their heads, Wu Xuemei smiled coldly, stepped forward, and placed the gold ingot in Zhang Qi's hand, saying, "Zhang Qi, you see, no one has offered more than me. So, this wild ginseng is mine."

Zhang Qi held the ten-tael gold ingot, feeling helpless and unable to speak.

"Is there something you are not satisfied with?" Wu Xuemei's face turned stern, and she asked.

The constable standing behind Wu Xuemei shook the iron chain in his hand and glared at Zhang Qi. If Zhang Qi said a single "no," he would lock him up and throw him into the county jail on some trumped-up charge.

Zhang Qi wanted to save his son, but he knew that if he was thrown into jail, he would have no chance to save his son. He quickly said, "Miss, I have no complaints. I just promised everyone that I would display the wild ginseng for three days, and it has only been a day and a half..."

"Oh, I understand. You are worried that someone might offer a higher price. No problem. If anyone offers more than me, let them come to the county office, and I will give them the wild ginseng. What else do you have to worry about?" Wu Xuemei asked.

Zhang Qi shook his head and hurriedly said, "No, I have no more worries. Miss, you have thought of everything."

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