Chapter 4

Chen Guo left the corridor.

His steps were somewhat hurried.

Lao Liux was somewhat stunned. Lao Liux knew very well the background of Seventh Master. That guy had real skills. When Lao Liux followed Seventh Master to conquer the world, he had seen it with his own eyes. It was said that Seventh Master had once fought with the head of the Gelaohui in Shancheng, Huang San, for three hundred rounds, and they ended up as sworn brothers. Lao Liux was so impressed by Seventh Master that he pledged to follow him to the death. For so many years, Lao Liux had never seen a hurried expression on Seventh Master. Seventh Master always seemed calm and composed, like the massive hotel under his feet, solid and unshakable, standing firm against the wind and rain.

Bad luck!

This thought once again surfaced in Lao Liux's mind, but his feet did not stop, and he followed closely behind.

"Call all the brothers together."

Chen Guo gave a low command.

"Yes, Seventh Master."

Lao Liux, who had just calmed down, was sweating again.

It had been a long time since Seventh Master had given such an order. Only three years ago, when the "Northeast Tiger" brought a group of fierce tiger cubs to Qingyuan to cause trouble, did Seventh Master set up such a grand array.

In the end, the "Northeast Tiger" left in defeat.

Could it be that another Northeast Tiger had come today?

But looking at the young man's gentle and refined appearance, it really didn't seem like it!

Such a person, not to mention Seventh Master personally, even Lao Liux himself could take down three or five without any problem. Was it necessary to call all the brothers together?

However, Lao Liux did not dare to question Seventh Master's orders.

The best way to deal with any of Seventh Master's orders was to follow them.

Chen Guo left, and the trading session continued.

When it was the turn of table number 27, the plain girl who had been quietly standing next to Xiao Fan walked up to the podium with a small box and handed it to Yin Zhengzhong with both hands.

Her wrists were as white as jade.

Everyone focused their attention on the plain girl.

Just now, Yin Zhengzhong had given the young man at table 27 a lot of face, and everyone was curious to see what kind of good thing his companion would bring out. From the way the two sat and stood without exchanging a single word, it seemed that the girl was the young man's assistant.

Using such a beautiful and fresh girl as an assistant was quite impressive.

As the girl walked over, Yin Zhengzhong had been watching her. Earlier, his attention was mainly on Xiao Fan, and he had only given the girl a quick glance. Now, as he focused on her, a sudden dizziness came over him, and it seemed that a ripple of water appeared in front of the girl, blurring her clear and pure face.

Yin Zhengzhong was greatly startled and quickly shook his head. A powerful internal energy rose from his dantian, instantly dispelling the dizziness and clearing his mind. When he looked at the girl's face again, it seemed to be the same, yet there was an extremely subtle change. He couldn't quite pinpoint what had changed.

Strange!

Yin Zhengzhong had been in the world for most of his life and had seen all kinds of strange people and events.

But encountering such a peculiar situation twice in one day was truly unprecedented.

Very strange.

Yin Zhengzhong broke his usual demeanor, stood up, and took the box with both hands, smiling and asked, "Miss, what is your surname?"

"My surname is Xin, the Xin of 'hard work.' My name is Xin Lin."

The girl answered, her voice calm and without any fluctuation, just like her, standing quietly, easily overlooked if not carefully noticed.

This girl was clearly very beautiful, yet she gave a vague and elusive feeling.

"Miss Xin, please wait a moment."

Yin Zhengzhong did not dare to be arrogant, apologized, and then opened the box. A strange expression immediately flashed across his face.

"A five-leaf wild ginseng, 65 to 70 years old, weighing five qian... in good condition."

Yin Zhengzhong then appraised the herb the girl had brought.

Immediately, a chorus of boos rose from the crowd.

Strictly speaking, five-leaf wild ginseng was now quite rare. Even though the guests present were all major herb merchants, they did not often encounter a five-leaf wild ginseng in good condition. However, this wild ginseng could not be considered an extremely valuable treasure. The six-leaf ginseng king had been seen by all the guests, and it seemed to be inconsistent with the special treatment Yin Zhengzhong had given them.

Anyone who could receive such high regard from Old Master Yin should have brought something to shock the entire audience.

Xin Lin seemed oblivious to the boos around her, said "thank you" softly, and put away the five-leaf wild ginseng, returning to table 27 at a steady pace, standing quietly without any further sound.

Xiao Fan continued to slowly sip his tea, a serene and peaceful smile on his face, as if everything in the room had nothing to do with him, and he was just there to watch the show.

Soon, no one paid attention to them anymore. After all, everyone was there for the trade, not to watch people.

Tonight, there were 45 tables of guests, and about half of them had brought herbs for Yin Zhengzhong to appraise. After the appraisal, Yin Zhengzhong clasped his hands and said loudly, "As usual, everyone is free to do as they please."

With a "boom," the room suddenly became lively, and the guests stood up, each heading for their targets.

"Sir, what is your surname?"

A fat man in his forties, with a big belly, walked up to table 27, extended his hand to Xiao Fan, and asked with a hearty laugh, like a Maitreya Buddha.

"Please, my surname is Xiao, Xiao Yixing."

Xiao Fan stood up and smiled, speaking in a standard Beijing accent, his tone gentle and pleasant.

Xiao Yixing was his other name.

"Ah, Mr. Xiao, nice to meet you. I am Wang Zhigang, from Lingnan, doing some herb business. It's a pleasure to meet Mr. Xiao..."

The fat man introduced himself with a hearty laugh, with a slight Lingnan accent.

"Mr. Wang, nice to meet you."

"Mr. Xiao, you're too polite... Mr. Xiao, are you willing to sell that five-leaf wild ginseng? If you are willing to sell, I will offer this price!"

Wang Zhigang smiled and extended a plump finger.

To be honest, although a five-leaf wild ginseng is precious, it was not worth 100,000 yuan two or three years ago. Even now, based on the price of medicine, it is not worth that much. The key is that a trend of collecting wild ginseng has suddenly emerged in recent years. Many wealthy people in China, especially in Hong Kong, have become enthusiastic about rare old ginseng, offering high prices to acquire it, making the value of wild ginseng skyrocket, far exceeding the prices of many other rare herbs by dozens or even hundreds of times.

Xiao Fan smiled and shook his head, saying, "Sorry, Mr. Wang, I don't plan to sell this five-leaf wild ginseng. I want to exchange it for something else."

"Oh, what does Mr. Xiao want to exchange for? Tell me, and maybe I have the herb you want."

Wang Zhigang immediately said, his demeanor quite self-assured. As a well-known herb merchant in Lingnan, Wang Zhigang was a significant figure among the merchants in the room, wealthy and powerful. In terms of wealth, Lingnan was still the wealthiest region in China at this stage.

"Mr. Wang, the herb I want, you probably don't have."

Xiao Fan remained polite, with no intention of belittling Wang Zhigang. If he were just seeking ordinary herbs, there would be no need for him to travel all the way from the capital to this remote mountain area in Yidong. Xiao Fan was not picky and did not fear hardship; the key was that it would delay his cultivation time, which was what he cared about most.

"Is that so? How can you be so sure without saying what it is? Ha ha, Mr. Xiao, I may not be able to do much else, but herbs are not a problem for me... I guess you are concerned about the price, right? As long as it's about money, we can always negotiate."

As he spoke, Wang Zhigang lifted his wrist and shook it, as if the cuff was a bit uncomfortable, but inadvertently revealed his Breguet watch.

The poor play with cars, the rich play with watches.

This is the new standard for modern "nobles."

"Mr. Xiao, I will offer 150,000 yuan for your five-leaf wild ginseng."

Before Wang Zhigang could finish showing off, another lean middle-aged man walked over and immediately offered 50,000 yuan more to Xiao Fan. He was well-dressed, with shiny shoes, clearly another big boss.

Wang Zhigang's face immediately darkened, and he said with a forced smile, "What, Mr. Chen also has his eye on this five-leaf wild ginseng? Ha ha, Mr. Xiao, I'll take a loss and offer you this price!"

Wang Zhigang immediately extended two fingers.

This lean man, Mr. Chen, was a major herb merchant from Yuezhong Province, who had always been at odds with Wang Zhigang. The economic development in Yuezhong in recent years had been rapid, and there were many wealthy people.

Mr. Chen openly challenged Wang Zhigang's face, and Wang Zhigang naturally would not stand for it.

Isn't it just about money?

I have plenty of it!

Don't act tough in front of me!

As soon as the two started to compete, several people immediately gathered around, smiling and watching the show. Watching these two big bosses "duel" had become a "regular program" at each trading session, quite entertaining.

Xiao Fan smiled but said nothing.

He had already made his intentions clear, but these two were showing off their wealth, and Xiao Fan didn't know what to say.

"220,000 yuan."

Mr. Chen did not hesitate and immediately raised the price.

"250,000 yuan!"

Wang Zhigang did not hesitate either, adding 30,000 yuan in one go without a frown.

At this point, the price was approaching the real market value of the five-leaf wild ginseng. If it didn't find a buyer interested in collecting, it might end up unsold.

However, at this moment, they could not afford to lose momentum.

Seeing that Mr. Chen was about to raise the price again, Xiao Fan smiled and said, "Sorry, gentlemen, I want to go and look at something over there."

He left the two big bosses standing there, walking straight to table 32, a look of surprise in his eyes, as if he had seen something rare and valuable.

Everyone looked at each other, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

The show was over.

However, a few people followed Xiao Fan to table 32, curious to see what this young man, who had received special treatment from Yin Zhengzhong, had discovered.