Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Thirty-Five Top-Quality Ginsengs (1)
"Master, the craftsman has been found," Tian Yi reported, then stood aside and glanced at Feng Xuxu before lowering his head to stare at his toes.
"Miss Feng, the craftsman for your house has been found. He can start work tomorrow. As for your drawing, I’ve accidentally damaged it. You’ll have to draw another one yourself," Xiao Chen shamelessly said.
"...All right, I’ll draw another one," Feng Xuxu said, rolling her eyes in resignation.
"Tian Yi, add another pair of chopsticks," he ordered simply. Then, he gestured for Feng Xuxu to sit and join him in devouring the feast before them.
Feng Xuxu didn’t stand on ceremony; she plopped down as she was too famished to bother with pretenses - when hunger calls, food comes first.
Seeing Feng Xuxu wolfing down her food, Xiao Chen couldn’t help but eat more himself. After they were full, they realized they had cleaned out all the dishes. Feng Xuxu let out a laugh toward Xiao Chen and lowered her head in embarrassment, trying to find a topic to cover up her recent gluttony.
"Young Master Xiao, do you know which pharmacy in town has the best reputation?" Feng Xuxu changed the subject, asking about the matter of the drugstore.
"Are you not feeling well?" Xiao Chen’s face suddenly fell, and without a second thought, he took Feng Xuxu’s hand to check her pulse. After a moment, he looked much relieved, finding that aside from some malnourishment, there wasn’t anything wrong.
Feng Xuxu was startled by Xiao Chen’s action; she hadn’t expected this devilishly handsome man to be skilled in medicine.
With a face full of embarrassment, Feng Xuxu looked at Xiao Chen and explained, "I’m not sick. Some time ago, I found two ginseng roots in the mountain. I was thinking I need silver to build the house, so I wanted to sell them for a good price, but I wasn’t sure which pharmacy in town is trustworthy."
"Oh, I happen to need ginseng right now. Bring it out, and I’ll look at the quality. If it’s good, you won’t be shortchanged," Xiao Chen said, settling back down after hearing her explanation.
At his words, Feng Xuxu concealed the movement with her wide sleeves, summoned her thoughts, and took out the two smallest ginseng roots, about a hundred years old, from her space and handed them over to Xiao Chen.
As soon as he took the ginseng roots in his hand, Xiao Chen immediately felt a slight loosening in his Dantian, a thread of Inner Strength slowly spreading through his limbs and torso, warm and comfortable. He looked at the ginseng in his hand, puzzled. Could it be that this ginseng was causing these sensations? To verify his thoughts, he placed the ginseng on the table, and the warm feeling immediately disappeared. Picking it up again, the warmth returned. Xiao Chen became even more certain that this ginseng was extraordinary.
Feng Xuxu observed Xiao Chen alternately frowning and pondering and wondered if her ginseng was subpar, and thus might not fetch a good price. Yet at that moment, she didn’t realize that for a martial artist, such a ginseng root was an exceptionally rare treasure that could vastly improve their skills. To those who didn’t practice martial arts, it could extend life and improve health.
"Young Master Xiao, is there something wrong with my ginseng?" Feng Xuxu asked, looking puzzled at Xiao Chen.
"Hmm, no problem at all. It’s a superior ginseng, with starry bristles, a rhombic shape not unlike hen’s legs, deep folding lines with coarse brocade-like skin, and thin tendrils on which pearls cling, robust yet dainty, with tendrils as light as sponge wild mountain ginseng," Xiao Chen summarized the characteristics of the ginseng with jargon.
Feng Xuxu shook her head, not understanding, she asked, "What does that mean?"
"It means that the ginseng has long tendrils and a short body; the best shape for the body is rhombic; it needs to have many deep folds in the texture; tendrils and stem are both very long, and the tendrils have little pearls on them; the body is very light. Clearly, your two ginseng roots fit the description, proving they are of superior quality," he said, gently placing them in a purple sandalwood box on the desk afterward.
"Miss Feng, if you have any herbs in the future, just go straight to Shopkeeper Ma. He’ll give you a fair price," Xiao Chen said candidly to Feng Xuxu.
