Chapter 62

After negotiating the distribution of shares in Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory, the three people agreed on a time to sign the agreement, and Li Changhua left, saying he needed to return to the factory to handle some matters.

Such an outcome satisfied Su Zhe, as it met his requirements. However, another problem soon arose. To acquire 85% of the shares in Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory, Su Zhe needed to contribute 50 million yuan, but he currently only had 33 million yuan available, leaving him 17 million yuan short of the total.

Approaching Liu Xiong, Su Zhe was sure Liu Xiong would be happy to put up the money in exchange for the shares. However, Su Zhe did not want to let go of the 85% share in Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory. With Su Zhe's magical potion added to the factory's production, the future value of the shares would undoubtedly increase a hundredfold, a fact that both Liu Xiong and Li Changhua clearly understood, and Su Zhe was well aware of its value.

The animals Su Zhe had given to Su Chong's Home were not yet suitable for sale, so he could not rely on them for the funds.

Finally, Su Zhe thought of the medicinal herbs he had planted at home. The only ones that might fetch a high price were the 10 specially cultivated ginseng plants. However, Su Zhe was unsure about these 10 ginseng plants. He did not know their exact age and whether they could be compared to genuine wild ginseng.

Although the old Chinese medicine practitioner Li Wenbo from Liu's pharmacy had explained some basic methods for identifying wild ginseng to Su Zhe, there was no way Su Zhe could master the essentials in such a short time. He thought the ginseng he had grown was either 50 or 100 years old.

However, Su Zhe could only try. If it didn't work, he would find another way. So he said to Liu Xiong, "Brother Liu, I got a few ginseng roots from someone recently. They said they were 100-year-old wild ginseng, but I don't know how to identify them."

"Oh, you can bring them over, and I'll have an appraiser take a look," Liu Xiong said, showing a bit of interest, but only a little. If 100-year-old wild ginseng were so easy to obtain, it wouldn't be so valuable.

"Alright, I'll go home and get them. Brother Liu, please wait a moment," Su Zhe said.

Liu Xiong called his driver and had him drive Su Zhe back home.

Su Zhe got into Liu Xiong's car and told the driver the address. The driver, a man of few words, rarely spoke. Su Zhe was not one to talk much either, so they rode in silence.

They soon arrived at the destination. Su Zhe went straight to the backyard. The ten ginseng plants were growing well in the soil.

Su Zhe put on gloves, took a small spade, and carefully dug up the soil. When he was close to the roots, to avoid damaging them, he stopped using the spade and dug the soil with his hands.

He dug up five ginseng roots, gently shook off the soil, and wrapped them in newspapers, placing them in a gift bag. He then got back into Liu Xiong's car and returned to Liu's Group.

The round trip, plus the time spent digging the ginseng, took over an hour. When Su Zhe arrived at Liu Xiong's office, he found an old man there, who turned out to be the old Chinese medicine practitioner Li Wenbo from Liu's pharmacy, whom Liu Xiong had invited to appraise the ginseng.

Su Zhe greeted Li Wenbo and, without further ado, took the ginseng wrapped in newspapers from the gift bag and handed it to Li Wenbo.

Liu Xiong, seeing the simple packaging, especially when Li Wenbo opened the newspaper and revealed the contents, had already lost hope. Genuine wild ginseng could not grow so large. He believed Su Zhe had been deceived.

However, Li Wenbo did not underestimate the ginseng Su Zhe brought. The ginseng Su Zhe had brought to Liu's pharmacy last time was also wrapped in a simple newspaper, but after his appraisal, it turned out to be genuine wild ginseng. Moreover, after using the ginseng, he found that Su Zhe's ginseng was as effective as, if not more effective than, ginseng of the same age.

Therefore, this time, he did not take it lightly. He carefully opened the newspaper, took out the ginseng, and examined it closely.

After a short while, Li Wenbo was almost certain it was genuine wild ginseng, and it was quite old. However, to be thorough, he carefully examined the ginseng from head to toe.

After a long time, Li Wenbo put the ginseng back and said, "This is genuine wild ginseng, and its age is between 100 and 120 years."

Hearing this, Liu Xiong was more excited than Su Zhe. He almost dropped his teacup, spilling some of the tea. Liu Xiong believed that if Li Wenbo said it, it must be true. He trusted Li Wenbo's expertise and experience.

"Su Zhe, are you selling this ginseng?" Liu Xiong asked straightforwardly, without inquiring about the source of the ginseng.

"I brought the ginseng for appraisal, so I intend to sell it," Su Zhe said. He had planned to sell the ginseng to raise funds for the acquisition of Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory. He took out the other four ginseng roots from the gift bag and continued, "I have four more ginseng roots that I also want to sell. Mr. Li, could you please appraise them for me?"

Li Wenbo took the ginseng and began the appraisal again.

After about half an hour, Li Wenbo finished the appraisal. He put down the ginseng and sighed, "These five are all wild ginseng, and their age is roughly the same, around 100 years."

Liu Xiong was even more astonished. When had 100-year-old wild ginseng become so abundant, with five appearing at once?

"Su Zhe, can you sell all five of these ginseng roots to me? I will buy them at 16,000 yuan per gram," Liu Xiong said, composing himself and asking seriously.

Su Zhe nodded in agreement, knowing that the price was quite high.

After Su Zhe agreed to sell, the next steps were simple. Liu Xiong had someone remove the soil from the ginseng roots and weigh them.

The final result was that the total weight of the five ginseng roots was 1,355 grams, with an average weight of 271 grams per root. The weight was more than twice that of other 100-year-old wild ginseng. Even after drying, Li Wenbo estimated that each root would weigh between 60 and 70 grams, a weight that left both Li Wenbo and Liu Xiong marveling.

The total price of Su Zhe's five ginseng roots was 21.68 million yuan. The wealthy Liu Xiong immediately transferred the money to Su Zhe, solving Su Zhe's urgent need for funds. Su Zhe no longer had to worry about the lack of funds to acquire the shares in Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory, and Liu Xiong could use the five 100-year-old wild ginseng roots to promote his Liu's Group.

Everyone was happy.