Chapter 20: No Problem, It's a Deal!

I’m not sure if it was because of the recent martial arts training, but Chen Jie felt his hormones were surging. His mind seemed unusually active. Whenever he saw Aunt Thirteen, he often found himself lost in wild thoughts. Now, seeing a staff member from a herbal medicine company, he discovered he couldn’t help but let his imagination wander again. Of course, it was all just in his head. His sole focus was still on making money; he had no other intentions.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. Fortunately, it was only the fifth floor. If he had to stay in the elevator any longer, Chen Jie worried that certain parts of him might start to change, which would be embarrassing.

With a ding, the elevator stopped on the fifth floor. Led by Xiao Yuan, Chen Jie entered the reception lounge on this level. On either side of the corridor leading inside were rows of glass display cases, each illuminated by soft lighting, showcasing various rare medicinal herbs. It was clear that this floor served not only as a reception area but also as an exhibition hall for herbal medicines.

Chen Jie’s curiosity grew as he examined the descriptions of the diverse herbs: ginseng, astragalus, cordyceps, reishi mushrooms, and polygonum multiflorum. He paid particular attention to the “wild ginseng” section, where specimens ranged from ten to a hundred years in age.

Of course, the display cases contained only models and replicas, not the actual precious herbs. The preservation of such valuable medicinal materials demanded extremely strict conditions to maintain their potency and prevent moisture damage. Exhibiting the real herbs in glass cases risked deterioration, which would be a great loss.

When Chen Jie saw the life-sized model of a “Hundred-Year King” wild ginseng priced at 4.8 million yuan, he was stunned. A single 130-year-old wild ginseng root was worth that much? Moments later, Chen Jie stepped into the spacious reception hall, which covered over a hundred square meters.

Inside, two people were present. One wore glasses, looked refined and scholarly, probably in his fifties but not appearing old, with a vigorous demeanor. He wore a white coat and white gloves, standing near a glass table with a flashlight, magnifying glass, and other tools arranged neatly.

The other was likely the manager of “Rongji Herbal Hall,” a sharp and capable man in his thirties.

After Xiao Yuan guided Chen Jie inside, he introduced, “This is Professor Lin Zhiyuan, who also serves as a director of the South China Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and acts as our consultant here at Rongji Herbal Hall.”

“This is Manager Huang from Rongji.”

Then Xiao Yuan introduced Chen Jie: “This is Mr. Chen, who wishes to sell some ‘wild ginseng.’”

Manager Huang smiled warmly and greeted Chen Jie. “Hello, Mr. Chen. May we take a look at the wild ginseng you’ve brought?”

Chen Jie put down his backpack, unzipped it, and smiled, “No problem!”

He carefully took out one fifty-year-old wild ginseng root and five thirty-year-old ones. Since this was their first interaction, he didn’t bring out all his stock at once—for one, it would be hard to explain, and two, selling too many at once might attract unnecessary trouble.

Professor Lin Zhiyuan’s eyes lit up as he examined the six roots. Their condition was impeccable.

Lin used the flashlight and magnifying glass to scrutinize the specimens for several minutes. Then he looked up at Chen Jie with a smile and asked, “May I take a small root hair to test?”

Typically, root hairs were only taken when the herb’s potency needed verification, tested by tasting.

Chen Jie nodded. “Sure.”

With great care, Lin clipped a tiny root hair with scissors and chewed it thoughtfully, closing his eyes as he assessed the medicinal quality. After a dozen seconds, he opened his eyes and nodded approvingly.

“The potency is rich and lingering. This is genuine old wild ginseng, a treasure among treasures—excellent quality!”

He had sampled only one of the thirty-year-old roots but was highly satisfied with its potency. Seeing the flawless fifty-year-old root, he resisted the urge to damage its perfect form.

It was clear that Professor Lin deeply revered wild ginseng. Even with Chen Jie’s permission, he couldn’t bring himself to harm the pristine root hairs.

The more he examined the six roots, the more pleased he became.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen wild ginseng in such perfect condition. Truly remarkable!”

“The potency is strong. I can confirm these are rare mountain ginsengs from deep wilderness, definitely not cultivated.”

“The five roots range from about thirty to thirty-five years old. Judging by their external condition, they seem to be stockpiled inventory, but their potency rivals the fifty-year-old wild ginseng I recently saw.”

“According to recent industry auction prices, thirty-year-old wild ginseng goes for around seventy thousand yuan per root. But for these five, given their quality and potency, I can offer about a hundred thousand yuan each.”

“The most precious is this fifty-year-old root, which is practically perfect.”

“At the last auction, a fifty-year-old root sold for 360,000 yuan, but considering its quality and potency, your root could fetch over 600,000 yuan at auction.”

“However, for purchase, I can only offer five hundred thousand yuan. If you’re willing to sell all six, that totals one million.”

Professor Lin looked at the six wild ginseng roots before him with evident affection.

Chen Jie was heartened by Lin’s sincerity and lack of price manipulation. His regard for the professor grew instantly.

During his high-speed train journey, Chen Jie had researched prices: thirty-year-old wild ginseng typically sold for about 60,000 yuan, and fifty-year-old for over 300,000 yuan. Those were estimated retail prices, not procurement costs.

Now, Lin’s offer far exceeded Chen Jie’s expectations. He had hoped to sell these six roots for fifty thousand yuan total and was already grateful.

Chen Jie nodded and smiled. “Alright! No problem, it’s a deal!”

Lin turned to Manager Huang. “Let’s proceed. The goods are genuine treasures.”

Manager Huang was straightforward and didn’t haggle over price. The transaction went smoothly.

Chen Jie’s bank account soon reflected the one million yuan transfer, taxes paid by the buyer.

Although this was Chen Jie’s first transaction with Rongji Herbal Hall, it left him feeling very comfortable.

Seeing the confirmation message, Chen Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Manager Huang, Professor Lin, Xiao Yuan—thank you all. I look forward to working together again.”

“I’ll be going now.”

After shaking hands with the three, Chen Jie gathered his backpack and turned to leave.

Manager Huang smiled, “Mr. Chen, let’s exchange WeChat contacts for future convenience. If you have more wild ginseng, you can sell it to Rongji.”

Chen Jie agreed. “Sure! Let’s exchange contacts.”

After adding Manager Huang and Professor Lin, Chen Jie glanced at Xiao Yuan.

“I’m Yuan Lu. We’ve already exchanged contacts. I’ll see you out.”

“No need, let’s keep in touch next time,” Chen Jie said with a smile and left the fifth floor.