Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng_1
The next day.
Since I would be following Bingbing to the Capital to attend her grandfather’s grand 80th birthday, I definitely needed to prepare a gift!
Showing up empty-handed to wish an elder happy birthday was not acceptable.
South Gate Herb Market.
The market was small, but it sold high-quality medicinal materials.
Just strolling around here and casually buying some herbs could cost you one or two million.
Cauldron Medicine Pavilion.
This store was decorated in an antique and elegant style, looking quite upscale. Maybe there were some good items inside.
Most importantly, the female owner dressed in a cheongsam looked graceful and pleasing to the eye, as if she were a beauty stepping out of a painting.
Qin Feng couldn’t help but walk in.
Shangguan Yan was originally very pleased to see a customer coming in, thinking she had a fat sheep ready for slaughter.
But upon closer inspection.
The youth who had come in was dressed in attire that looked straight from a street stall—a sure sign of someone lacking in wealth.
Thus, the smile on her pretty face disappeared in an instant.
It was replaced by an icy demeanor as she asked, "What are you looking to buy? Here at Cauldron Medicine Pavilion, everything we sell is rare and precious Chinese medicine. Any random purchase here is far from cheap."
Qin Feng sized up the woman who judged him by his appearance, then asked with a chuckle, "Do you think I can’t afford the medicines here?"
"I’m just reminding you, the quality of Cauldron Medicine Pavilion’s medicinal materials is the best in all of Zhonghai. Therefore, our medicines are much more expensive than those at other places. If you cannot accept our prices, you would do well to check elsewhere in advance. It would save both of us from wasting our time here!"
Shangguan Yan’s words were tantamount to showing the customer out.
Qin Feng glanced around. He wasn’t looking at the woman, but rather at the medicine cabinet.
With that look, he spotted a piece of century-old ginseng.
After focusing his Xuanhuang Qi on his pupils and taking a careful look,
Qin Feng confirmed that it indeed was a piece of century-old ginseng.
While it was not of the finest quality, it was still a rare and superior medicinal material.
The market value of this century-old ginseng should be over ten million.
Giving it as a birthday tribute to Bingbing’s grandfather should carry sufficient weight.
However, the appearance of this ginseng looked like, at most, it was only four or five years old, and worth just a few thousand dollars.
The female owner had placed it in an exquisitely crafted box with a marked price of 188,000—it was obviously intended to fleece customers!
Beautiful women are indeed not simple; they are crafty and manipulative.
Qin Feng pointed at the century-old ginseng and asked, "This ginseng looks quite fresh; how much is it?"
"Ginseng? This is not some ordinary ginseng; it’s century-old ginseng. And as for the price, isn’t it written right there? 188,000, not a penny less. If you’re buying, buy; if not, get lost!"
Shangguan Yan was plainly impatient, convinced that Qin Feng was just another poor customer, and she wanted to get rid of him quickly.
Cauldron Medicine Pavilion’s business philosophy was to not worry about business for three years because one good sale could sustain them for three years.
As the boss, personally attending to customers in the store while dressed in a sexy cheongsam.
What Shangguan Yan was really doing was fleecing her customers!
Especially when it came to wealthy male customers, none that entered her shop escaped being fleeced by her.
Skinning them for one or two million was considered getting off light.
The most outrageous deal she ever made was from a dim-witted fellow, a whopping 38 million.
"May I take a look at it?" Qin Feng asked.
"Can you afford it?"
"As long as it’s something I deem worthy, I can naturally afford it,"
Shangguan Yan took down a box from the shelf and placed it on the counter with a look of disdain.
"Look! This is a century-old ginseng, worth a hundred and eighty-eight thousand. If you can’t afford it, at most you may only have a look, you absolutely cannot touch it with your hands."
Shangguan Yan hadn’t finished her sentence when Qin Feng had already picked up the ginseng.
"Didn’t I say not to touch it if you’re not buying? Who allowed you to touch it? This is century-old ginseng, your greasy hands will affect the quality of the ginseng!"
"Ginseng is not a woman; how would touching it affect the quality? Besides, even if it were a woman, the more she’s touched, the more flavorful she becomes, the more valuable, right?"
"I’ve already said, if you touch it, you must buy it. This century-old ginseng is one hundred and eighty-eight thousand, not a penny less. Pay up!"
Shangguan Yan was set on forcing a sale.
If this lousy scrub couldn’t cough up the one hundred and eighty-eight thousand, then she would make him get an online loan.
Nowadays, as long as you have an ID card, just borrow from a few more platforms and you could somehow scrounge up one hundred and eighty-eight thousand.
When it comes to fleecing a fat sheep, Shangguan Yan was very professional and had plenty of tricks up her sleeve.
"This ginseng of yours, at a glance one can tell it’s only three to five years old, how could it possibly be century-old ginseng? A three to five-year-old ginseng is worth a few thousand at most. You’re trying to sell it to me for one hundred and eighty-eight thousand, are you taking me for a fool and trying to fleece me?"
"You say three to five years and it’s three to five years? This century-old ginseng is certified."
Shangguan Yan opened the compartment at the bottom of the box and took out a certification certificate.
The certificate had a photo, and indeed it was this ginseng.
The contents confirmed that the ginseng was indeed a century-old one.
The institution that issued the certification was written as the Dragon Nation Ginseng Association.
After looking at the certificate, Qin Feng laughed.
"These days, even ginseng has an association?"
"The Ginseng Association is a professional ginseng authentication institution. What they say about how old the ginseng is, is how old it is."
"A three to five-year-old ginseng authenticated as century-old, and you still have the nerve to call it professional?"
"You’ve already touched the century-old ginseng, and I’ve shown you the certification. Here at Cauldron Medicine Pavilion, you can’t just touch and look for free.
So today, you must pay the bill."
"What if I don’t have the money and decide not to buy?"
"No money? Even if you have to take an online loan, you’ll have to borrow enough to pay this one hundred and eighty-eight thousand. Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving this place!"
If it truly was just a three to five-year-old ginseng, Qin Feng certainly would not play the sucker and be fleeced.
But this was a thousand-year-old ginseng, worth over ten million.
Spending one hundred and eighty-eight thousand to buy it would definitely be no loss.
This woman saw him as a fat sheep ripe for slaughter, so he’d give her a good scare.
"Isn’t it just one hundred and eighty-eight thousand? I have that much money, no need for an online loan."
Qin Feng took out a bank card and handed it to Shangguan Yan, saying generously, "Swipe the card!"
Shangguan Yan glanced at it and realized it was just a normal debit card.
Thus, she disdainfully asked, "Is this one card enough? If it’s not enough, I’ll swipe what you have, and you can use another card for the rest."
"Buying a broken ginseng, why would I need to swipe several cards? One is enough. Hurry up and swipe, when you’re done, we’ll be all squared up."
Qin Feng began to urge her.
Although he determined that the ginseng was a thousand-year-old ginseng only by using his clairvoyance skill,
any connoisseur, upon looking carefully enough, would also be able to detect something.
The scent of a thousand-year-old ginseng, compared to a three to five-year-old one, there’s a huge difference.
It’s like the difference between the clouds and the mud!
