Chapter 42

This was the second time Wang Xiaoqiang felt inexplicable fatigue and hunger, which quickly made him associate with the Five Elements Spirit Spring. He didn't know what the Five Elements Spirit Spring absorbed in the Eighteen Mile River, but he knew that inside his body, it needed to absorb the essence of the five grains. Clearly, the essence of the five grains was not enough to meet its needs. The essence of wild ginseng was different. The last time at the Xia family, a wild ginseng as long as a middle finger and as thick as a thumb not only made the Five Elements Spirit Spring full of rich energy but also made it grow a bit. From the looks of it, it was time to absorb the essence of wild ginseng again.

Wild ginseng is a very rare medicinal herb. Although there were mountains and water in the area, and there were medicinal herbs on the mountains, wild ginseng had never been found. Therefore, Wang Xiaoqiang had to go elsewhere to look for it. He knew that wild ginseng could be found in the Changbai Mountains in Northeast China, but it would take a lot of time to search. Since he had to take care of the yam fields, he naturally didn't have the time. In the end, he decided to go to the market to see if he could find any. Huigui County, a county-level city, didn't have a ginseng market, so he had to go to the provincial capital market.

The next day, Wang Xiaoqiang told his father to help take care of the yam fields and set off alone to the provincial capital by bus.

After a long journey, Wang Xiaoqiang arrived at Jiangcheng, a major city in the country. Skyscrapers stood tall, and the roads were filled with a steady stream of vehicles. Luxurious villa complexes stretched one after another. Wang Xiaoqiang, looking out from the bus, had an idea. If he could build a villa like this in the village, no, better yet, on the mountain, far from the hustle and bustle, it would be peaceful and comfortable... His parents could live there and enjoy their golden years. How wonderful that would be!

With this idea, Wang Xiaoqiang felt a strong desire to become wealthy. Now, he only had less than 200,000 yuan, which was not enough to build a villa, let alone a regular building. It seemed he needed to plan carefully. The Five Elements Spirit Spring had so many uses; it shouldn't be left to waste.

Soon, the bus arrived at the provincial capital station. After getting off, Wang Xiaoqiang took a bus directly to the ginseng market in Jiangcheng.

The Jiangcheng ginseng market was adjacent to the flower and tree market but was several times more bustling. Of course, there were more sellers than buyers. Apart from small vendors, ginseng shops lined up, making it hard to take it all in.

"All ginseng in our store is 30% off"; "A 2000 yuan American ginseng for only 400 yuan"; "Korean ginseng starting at 45% off"...

Wang Xiaoqiang walked around, looking at the discount information on the pharmacy doors, feeling quite uncertain. Although he wasn't very familiar with the ginseng market, he had heard some things and did some research online before coming. As the saying goes, "No profit, no early rising." Despite the high discounts, the merchants still made several times the profit. Some ginseng cost a few yuan per piece, while others cost hundreds of thousands of yuan.

Indeed, the ginseng supplement industry is like the jewelry and jade industry, with genuine, fake, and imitation products, and prices ranging from a few yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan, with a huge price gap.

Ginseng supplements are roughly divided into three categories: mountain ginseng, including wild ginseng, transplanted mountain ginseng, and pond-bottom ginseng; imported Korean red ginseng, also known as Korean ginseng or Bi Zhi ginseng; and American ginseng, divided into imported and domestic American ginseng.

So-called Korean ginseng and American ginseng are mostly domestic red ginseng.

Korean ginseng has not entered the mainland market for about ten years. The Yangde Korean red ginseng currently on the market is mostly made from domestic red ginseng, which costs 800 yuan per kilogram. Authentic Korean "Yangde Red" ginseng costs 15,000 to 18,000 yuan per kilogram and is hard to obtain.

Korean "Tian" ginseng, 75 grams for 30 pieces, and most of the official Korean ginseng is made from domestic red ginseng. The original price is 1200 yuan, and the cost of the imitation is about 30 yuan.

So-called American ginseng is mostly made from domestic American ginseng or sun-dried ginseng. Imported American ginseng costs 1300 to 2000 yuan per kilogram, while domestic American ginseng costs about 500 yuan per kilogram, and sun-dried ginseng is even cheaper, costing only 350 yuan per kilogram.

Wild ginseng is even more unpredictable. Depending on its quality, the price can vary greatly. A seemingly similar wild ginseng can cost from a few thousand to tens of thousands of yuan, depending on its origin, growth period, and shape.

Selling a 10,000 yuan medicine is not as profitable as selling a 3,000 yuan fake wild ginseng, which is a reflection of the huge profits in the ginseng market.

Now, the profit margin of medicines is decreasing. Some medicine dealers make less than 2,000 yuan in gross profit from selling a 10,000 yuan medicine. Selling imitation ginseng is different. A seemingly insignificant box of wild ginseng can have many price tricks.

For example, ginseng with a shorter growth period can be grafted with the roots of several ginseng plants and then soaked in potassium permanganate, making the texture more obvious and the skin older. Such ginseng is hard for the average person to distinguish.

In the current market, there are qualified products from legitimate channels and low-cost imitations from underground factories. Some underground factories can package ginseng for just a few yuan per gram, which can be sold for 50 to 100 yuan or even more. A box of imitation ginseng priced at over 1,000 yuan has a purchase cost of less than 100 yuan.

Wang Xiaoqiang came to buy wild ginseng, genuine wild ginseng. In fact, he didn't know that if he wanted to buy a high-quality wild ginseng, all his savings would not be enough.

Of course, he didn't plan to buy high-quality wild ginseng. Any wild ginseng would do. Although he couldn't tell the difference between real and fake wild ginseng, he had the Five Elements Spirit Spring, a "litmus test," which was even better than a professional pharmacist.

As expected, none of the small vendors outside had any genuine products. Wang Xiaoqiang walked around, and the Five Elements Spirit Spring inside him didn't react at all. So he started visiting ginseng shops.

He visited three shops in a row without any unusual reactions. It wasn't until he visited a larger ginseng shop that the Five Elements Spirit Spring inside him started to react, but not as strongly as the last time at the Xia family. It only trembled slightly, like a baby's movement in the womb.

Wang Xiaoqiang felt a surge of excitement. The ginseng shop was large, but there were no other buyers, only the shop owner, a middle-aged fat man, leaning on a chair, sipping tea from a purple clay pot.

Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang, who was young and not well-dressed, the owner didn't think he could afford ginseng, so he didn't get up to greet him. He just looked at Wang Xiaoqiang with a slightly disdainful gaze.

Wang Xiaoqiang, sensing the wild ginseng, followed the sensation. The closer he got, the more the Five Elements Spirit Spring inside him trembled. When he reached the innermost counter, the Five Elements Spirit Spring trembled even more strongly. The closest thing to him was a very ornate brocade box on the counter.

Wang Xiaoqiang pointed to the brocade box and said, "Boss, I want to see this ginseng."

When Wang Xiaoqiang raised his right arm to point at the brocade box, the Five Elements Spirit Spring in his heart quickly moved along his right arm to his palm, trembling violently. However, for some reason, it didn't exert any suction force.

The owner's gaze fell on the brocade box, and he was slightly surprised. "Hmm? How can this country bumpkin tell the difference between real wild ginseng?"

He quickly dismissed this thought because the ginseng was in the box, and even a professional pharmacist couldn't identify it. So, he must have just guessed.

Although this was a legitimate ginseng shop, it didn't mean all the ginseng was genuine. A large portion was fake, and wild ginseng was even rarer. The shop had only one high-quality wild ginseng, which was hidden in the brocade box Wang Xiaoqiang was pointing to.

"Kid, you can't afford that ginseng, right?"

The fat owner said disdainfully, "If you really want it, I can recommend another one to you..."

"Boss, what do you mean? Do you think I can't afford it?"

"That's a 15-year-old wild ginseng, and it costs over 400,000 yuan!" The owner quoted the price and looked at Wang Xiaoqiang with a playful expression. "Do you still want it?"

"Bring it over. As long as it's genuine, I'll take it!" Wang Xiaoqiang said decisively.

Wang Xiaoqiang's words shocked the owner. He thought, "Can you afford it?" But in business, you can't refuse a customer. Selling this box of ginseng would earn him at least 100,000 yuan.

With this in mind, the owner walked to the counter, took out the brocade box, and placed it on the glass counter. As the owner did this, Wang Xiaoqiang noticed that the Five Elements Spirit Spring in his palm trembled even more violently, and the ginseng inside the box also showed signs of movement, almost causing the box to vibrate.

Wang Xiaoqiang was nervous and, before the owner noticed, decisively pressed his right hand on the brocade box.

The next moment...

The Five Elements Spirit Spring in his palm trembled even more violently and exerted a strong suction force. At the same time, the palm-sized wild ginseng inside the box also trembled, but because it was in the box and the box was firmly pressed by Wang Xiaoqiang's hand, there was no visible movement on the surface.

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