Chapter 38

Liu's Pharmacy

Su Zhe handed the ginseng he brought to the old Chinese medicine doctor in the store, asking him to examine it.

The old Chinese medicine doctor at Liu's Pharmacy, Li Wenbo, unfolded the paper wrapping the ginseng and carefully examined the ginseng inside. He then asked Su Zhe, "Do you want to sell this ginseng?"

"No, I just want to check the age of this ginseng," Su Zhe shook his head, as he had no intention of selling it at the moment.

Liu's Pharmacy generally wouldn't help people authenticate herbs unless they were selling them to the pharmacy. However, Li Wenbo was very interested in this ginseng, so he agreed to help Su Zhe authenticate it.

Li Wenbo examined the ginseng from all angles. With Su Zhe's permission, he cut off a small rootlet to taste it. After a long while, Li Wenbo said, "Your ginseng looks very much like wild mountain ginseng. The five shapes and six characteristics of these two ginseng roots are very consistent with wild mountain ginseng. Your ginseng is at most 10 years old, but the weight and shape don't seem like they belong to a 10-year-old wild mountain ginseng."

The old Chinese medicine doctor, who had been practicing for several decades, found it very strange. Wild mountain ginseng usually doesn't grow large in less than 30 years, so authentic wild mountain ginseng on the market is generally at least 30 years old. However, Su Zhe's ginseng was extremely consistent with the characteristics of wild mountain ginseng.

Su Zhe was confused by Li Wenbo's explanation of the five shapes and six characteristics, which he didn't understand at all. However, he understood from Li Wenbo's words that his ginseng could be considered a 10-year-old wild mountain ginseng, and it was much heavier.

"What would be the price if I sold this ginseng?" Su Zhe asked, as this was the most important question for him.

"If you sell it to Liu's Pharmacy, I can offer you 400 yuan per gram for fresh ginseng, and 1200 yuan per gram for dried ginseng," Li Wenbo said. He was very eager for Su Zhe to sell the ginseng to Liu's Pharmacy. With his years of experience in medicine and herb authentication, Li Wenbo was very certain that Su Zhe's ginseng was wild mountain ginseng and in excellent condition. These days, wild mountain ginseng is becoming increasingly rare, and the price is rising.

Since Su Zhe didn't want to replant the two ginseng roots, he decided to sell them to Liu's Pharmacy.

Li Wenbo cleaned all the dirt off the two ginseng roots before weighing them. The total net weight of the two ginseng roots was 48.5 grams, with a total value of 19,400 yuan.

The price Li Wenbo offered was extremely shocking to Su Zhe. He hadn't expected the price of ginseng to be so high. He had only taken a month to grow 10-year-old ginseng, and he had only used about 10 points of divine power per ginseng root.

"Old Li, what would be the price of 50-year-old wild mountain ginseng? Is it the same price?" Su Zhe asked, suddenly remembering that he had 10 specially cultivated ginseng roots at home, which should be about 30 years old.

"No, the price of 50-year-old wild mountain ginseng is several times higher. If the quality is as good as these two ginseng roots, I can offer you 10,000 yuan per gram for dried ginseng. Do you have other ginseng roots?"

"No, I was just curious. Also, what are the five shapes and six characteristics you mentioned, and how do you determine them?" Su Zhe asked, as he was very interested in ginseng authentication. After all, he had grown quite a few ginseng roots himself and wanted to learn how to judge their age.

"The five shapes refer to the roots, rhizomes, skin, patterns, and body. The six characteristics refer to the spirit, clumsiness, age, tenderness, horizontal, and vertical," Li Wenbo explained, and he took out some ginseng from the store to compare with Su Zhe's. "For example, this ginseng root, which is white and tender, is not pure wild mountain ginseng but artificially cultivated. Pure wild mountain ginseng has an old, yellow-brown skin that is dense and shiny, while artificially cultivated ginseng has a tender, white skin. The patterns on wild mountain ginseng are fine, deep, and spiral-shaped at the top of the root. If the patterns are rough, shallow, and discontinuous, it is not pure wild mountain ginseng."

Li Wenbo was very enthusiastic in explaining the differences between wild mountain ginseng and artificially cultivated ginseng to Su Zhe.

"Thank you, Old Li. However, the knowledge about ginseng is too deep, and I need time to digest it. I have some things to do, so I'll leave now," Su Zhe said, realizing that ginseng was much more complex than he had thought. He had only known that ginseng was a medicinal herb and that it was expensive.

"Alright, Brother Su. If you have more ginseng, I hope you will consider Liu's Pharmacy first. I can guarantee a satisfactory price," Li Wenbo said with a smile.

Su Zhe nodded and left Liu's Pharmacy.

On his way home, he went to the bank and transferred 200,000 yuan to An Xin's account, and also bought some elegant empty glass bottles.

At home, An Xin was cleaning, and the baby was watching an anime.

Su Zhe greeted her and took all the glass bottles to the bathroom, where he disinfected them with disinfectant, rinsed them with water, and finally soaked them in hot water.

He found the business card of the nearby water delivery company and called them to order a few bottles of distilled water.

After hanging up, he noticed An Xin standing in front of him.

"Did you transfer this 200,000 yuan?" An Xin showed her phone to Su Zhe. She had suddenly received this message and was startled, but when she saw that the transfer was from Su Zhe, she came over.

Su Zhe glanced at the phone and nodded without saying a word.

"Why are you giving me so much money? I don't need your sympathy. I can earn it myself," An Xin's eyes turned red. Her life experiences had made her extremely stubborn, and she was unwilling to accept help from others, no matter how hard it was. She wanted to earn every penny with her own hands.

"You need this money now. You know your sister's illness can't be delayed. An Xin, everyone has difficult times, and you can't bear everything alone," Su Zhe said gently. He liked An Xin's character but also felt sorry for her.

"Besides, this money is just a temporary loan, and you'll have to pay it back," Su Zhe continued, not giving An Xin a chance to refuse.

An Xin knew Su Zhe was deliberately saying this to make her accept the money. "But I might never be able to pay it back?"

"That would be great, then I can keep you by my side forever, making meals and doing laundry for me," Su Zhe said quickly, seeing that An Xin was no longer refusing.

An Xin's face turned red, and she ran away, "I'll go make dinner, it'll be ready soon."

After An Xin ran away, Su Zhe realized that his words sounded like a marriage proposal. He smiled bitterly, looking at An Xin's figure, but at least she had accepted the money.

Soon, the water delivery company brought the distilled water he needed.

The distilled water was not for Su Zhe to drink. After multiple distillations, it lacks 5% of the essential trace elements needed by the human body, so drinking distilled water regularly is not beneficial to health.

---

The next page starts with an advertisement.

The next page ends with an advertisement.