CHAPTER 665: CHAPTER 51: FATEFUL ENCOUNTER WITH MEDICINE (PART 2)

Wild Ginseng, on the contrary, grows freely in the wilderness, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth. It is small in stature and its growth slows as it ages. Weight increases with the age of the ginseng. Among ginseng pickers, there’s a saying, "At seven taels it’s ginseng, at eight taels it’s a treasure." The highest quality of century-old ginseng can reach seven to eight taels. The ginseng Xiao Xian brought back is generally around fifty years old, weighing between 100-150 grams. Weight is one of the main reasons why Huang Yaoshi confirmed that the Hill Ginseng Xiao Xian brought back was indeed Wild Ginseng.

"These two are top-quality mountain ginseng, but they are not Wild Ginseng. Judging by the tendrils, they should be fifty to sixty years old mountain ginseng. It’s just that I don’t know where this ginseng comes from. Moreover, the drying process seems a bit sloppy," Zhou Ziang did not use a magnifying glass, but simply weighed them with a Brass scale.

"What’s wrong with the drying process? Old Man Sha shouldn’t be cutting corners," upon hearing this, Huang Yaoshi hurriedly took over the ginseng. He was quite surprised that Zhou Ziang could tell at a glance that it was mountain ginseng, not Wild Ginseng. Wild Ginseng refers to naturally grown ginseng, while mountain ginseng refers to artificially bred ginseng planted in the wild forest land.

Ginseng from Wanlin Hills is indeed planted to mimic a wild environment. It belongs to mountain ginseng but doesn’t reach the status of Wild Ginseng.

Even so, this type of ginseng is still considered a rarity in today’s domestic market.

"If I’m not mistaken, these few ginsengs weighed six to seven taels each when they first arrived. The older the ginseng, the more essence and oil it contains inside. The more it retains when dried. Typically, fresh ginseng of about fifty years, after washing, drying, and baking, weighs about two taels. These two pieces of ginseng still weigh about two taels and seven or eight maces. The outer skin is dry, but the inside must still be moist. It would be best to process them again; otherwise, once sold, if the buyer doesn’t store them well, the ginseng will spoil." With just a Brass scale, so much knowledge was discerned.

After listening, Huang Yaoshi’s eyebrows raised slightly, and his face twitched non-stop, silently chiding himself for being too hasty.

The boss had been gone for over half a month, and with the year-end approaching, there was no news. The pharmacy was running low on ginseng stocks for a long time, and he was anxious for the supply. Knowing that he could secure over twenty pieces of raw dried ginseng, he was overjoyed and had some hastily prepared, hoping to wait for authentication. Zhou Ziang’s analysis served as a wake-up call.

Seeing Huang Yaoshi’s face turning from blue to red, Xiao Xian knew that Zhou Ziang’s words had struck a nerve for Huang Yaoshi.

"Forget it, it truly is the old waves being pushed by the new ones, and I’m afraid this old wave is about to die on the beach," sighed Huang Yaoshi as his previously downcast face regained some vitality. "I will postpone the ginseng inspection day scheduled and send these ginsengs back for more baking. Even if it offends the customers, I can’t tarnish the reputation of the pharmacy."

"You were just talking about the difference between mountain ginseng and Wild Ginseng? What’s the difference?" Xiao Xian only knew that the ginseng she picked up casually came from the mid-slopes of Wanlin Hills. If these ginsengs were not of sufficient quality, she could consider climbing to the peak of the hills to pick more.

However, she also knew that there has to be a limit to the harvesting of any resources. Excessive picking is definitely not sustainable. If she could find good medicinal plant seedlings, perhaps she could replant the herbs in batches. She just didn’t know how fast the vegetation in Wanlin Hills grows?

Huang Yaoshi explained the differences between these two types of ginseng and garden ginseng and then took out a beautifully packaged jar of raw dried garden ginseng with about five or six roots without tendrils in it.

"The same ginseng, a jar like this of garden ginseng from Jilin is priced at over seven hundred yuan. The price of your mountain ginseng, just for a few tendrils, is worth the whole box of garden ginseng," Huang Yaoshi’s remark took Xiao Xian by surprise; she really hadn’t expected such a big difference between mountain ginseng and garden ginseng.

"It’s not just the difference between garden ginseng and mountain ginseng, let’s talk about mountain ginseng and Wild Ginseng. Changbai Mountain, the largest base of Wild Ginseng in China, once produced a three-hundred-year-old Wild Ginseng that weighed over 200 grams, but its starting price was sold for over ten million." Huang Yaoshi said, his face full of longing, "I won’t hide it from you, the boss had also obtained an extremely precious Purple Ginseng before, but she refused to take it out again, saying it was needed for urgent use, otherwise if that Purple Ginseng were to be released, I’m afraid it would rock the entire ginseng market in the country."

Xiao Xian’s mouth twitched, and she couldn’t help but glance at Zhou Ziang. If Huang Yaoshi knew that the young man he had just doubted could easily produce Purple Ginseng, he’d probably be in for quite the shock.

When Purple Ginseng was mentioned, Xiao Xian was reminded of other matters. If her ginseng came from Wanlin Hills, where did Zhou Ziang’s more aged and cherished Purple Ginseng come from? Could it be that he also possessed a treasure land like Wanlin Hills?

The doubts surrounding Zhou Ziang were growing denser. Xiao Xian had been to the Zhou Family’s home and was certain, based on her impression of Xi Lijuan, that she was just an ordinary person. Could the problem lie with Father Zhou?

When Huang Yaoshi mentioned Purple Ginseng, Zhou Ziang’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart was filled with regret. Ever since he started using the Underground Biopark of Meng Mountain for cultivation, the rich Spiritual Energy in his body had been steadily depleting, and the precious herbs in his space were wilting one after the other. He needed to find a way to preserve that batch of rare herbs.

As both were preoccupied with their thoughts, Huang Yaoshi took out the Antiemetic prescribed for Zhuo Feng and handed it to Xiao Xian.

**

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