CHAPTER 54: 50 CHAPTERS: VALUATION

Mr. Gu also got straight to the point, "Brother Li, to be honest, two days ago, I and the fifth child went to the mountain for firewood and happened to dig up a ginseng. I plan to sell it, so I wanted you to take a look at it and see if it can fetch a good price. But if you can use it, you should keep it for yourself."

"Oh? Such good fortune? Then let Mr. Li have a look, perhaps I can help with the analysis." Doctor Li perked up at the mention of ginseng, thinking if it’s not too large, he might buy it himself, as some wealthy villagers also have use for ginseng slices.

Mr. Gu carefully took out a small cloth bag from his bosom and opened it, revealing the ginseng inside.

"Wow! I’ve never seen such a fine ginseng before! Look at this ginseng, it’s exquisite in shape, the roots are straight, the skin is old, and the roots are thick, short, and straight. It’s truly a rare good ginseng." Doctor Li was so excited upon seeing such a fine ginseng that he couldn’t contain his emotions. Initially, he thought it might be just a ten-year-old wild ginseng, but now it seems to be over eighty years old, and with such good quality, he wouldn’t be able to afford it, nor could an average family use such a ginseng.

"So you’re saying this ginseng can definitely fetch a good price?" Mr. Gu’s joy was evident on his face, and he continued to ask, "Then how much silver might it be worth?"

"The quality of this ginseng is certainly good, but... alas!" Doctor Li sighed while caressing the ginseng.

Mr. Gu got anxious upon hearing Doctor Li’s unfinished sentence, "What happened? Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, there’s nothing wrong, just a bit of a pity. If only it grows longer, if it becomes a century-old ginseng, wouldn’t that be great? The silver would definitely double." Doctor Li noticed Mr. Gu was worried, so he came to his senses and explained.

"So how old is this? I can’t tell, how much silver can it sell for?"

"This one is over eighty years old. Normally, an eighty-year-old ginseng can be worth three to four hundred silver coins, but this one’s good quality might fetch even more. It’s a pity, if it were a hundred-year-old, the silver money would double, at least a thousand taels." Doctor Li shook his head with a bit of envy for Mr. Gu’s family. Even though he often went up the mountain for herbs, he never encountered ginseng, not even small ones of a few years. It seems the Gu family’s fifth child is indeed lucky. Shifting his gaze from the ginseng, he glanced at Gu Chengyu, who was sitting on a chair in the main room; despite his short legs, he sat properly, his feet not reaching the ground didn’t dangle aimlessly. Doctor Li nodded, seeing the child well-behaved. Suddenly, a thought arose within him, but he shook his head, deciding to bring it up later.

"What? A thousand taels?" Mr. Gu swallowed hard, astounded at the thought of a thousand taels, something he had never heard of or even dared to imagine. However, Mr. Gu did not feel any regret; one shouldn’t be too greedy. Being able to sell for three to four hundred taels was already a lot, enough to buy forty acres of fine paddy fields.

Gu Chengyu sighed a bit, regretting his mistake.

Doctor Li noticed Mr. Gu didn’t turn green with envy or ruefully upset upon hearing a thousand taels and thought Mr. Gu to be not a greedy man.

"Brother Gu, this ginseng is too valuable. Most of the villagers, even wealthy landowners, are unwilling to spend such silver. You’d be better off selling it to a medical hall; I’m sure the price wouldn’t be low."

"Oh! If Brother Li really can’t use it, I plan to visit Renhe Hall in town in a couple of days." Mr. Gu hadn’t considered the small pharmacies; Shanhe Town borders the Jingyuan River, with some small piers. Shanhe Town is not small; there are three or four smaller pharmacies, but Renhe Hall is the largest medical hall in town, not only having resident doctors but also a full range of medicinal materials.

The sound of footsteps came from outside the main house, signaling the arrival of Mrs. Yao with a tray of tea. Her gait was light and unhurried, the tray steady. Approaching, she gently placed the tea on the table beside Gu Chengyu and others. The tea served for guests at Li Family’s wasn’t poured into communal farmhouse bowls but was served with teapots and three-star bowls. The bowls and teapots were made of coarse brown pottery with black-painted scenery of faux mountains and bamboo, giving a hint of artistic conception. Furthermore, Mrs. Yao fetched a plate of mung bean cake from the tray, placing it nearby.

"Sir, please offer them some tea," said Mrs. Yao softly to Doctor Li, who was beside her.

"Brother Gu, this is just some coarse tea I bought in town. If you’re not disdainful, please have a taste." As Doctor Li placed the ginseng he was holding down, he invited Mr. Gu to drink tea. He himself didn’t touch his tea bowl; Gu Chengyu knew the ancient politeness of drinking tea to indicate the end of a meeting or guest. If the host now lifted his tea cup, it meant wanting to see the guest off.

"I’m not thirsty, not thirsty." Mr. Gu, having always drunk from large farmhouse bowls at home, felt a bit awkward using a tea cup specially for drinking tea.

"Brother Gu, no need to be so courteous. The mung bean cake on the table is a sweet pastry bought by my wife in town, surely liked by young children. Let your Xiao Bao have some." Doctor Li, seeing Mr. Gu’s discomfort, didn’t press further.

Mrs. Yao was surprised by her husband’s words, glanced at Gu Chengyu, walked over to him, and nudged the plate of mung bean cake towards him. "You’re called Xiao Bao, right? Do you like sweet mung bean cake? Have a taste." As she spoke, she glanced up and down at Gu Chengyu.

Gu Chengyu felt a bit puzzled; why did he feel Mrs. Yao’s gaze was a bit unusual? Like she was sizing up something, even though today was the first time he met her.

"Thank you, madam." Gu Chengyu didn’t hold back; he wanted to try the ancient times’ mung bean cake. A piece of mung bean cake was a small square, each corner with simple patterns. He picked up a piece and took a bite; maybe sugar was expensive in ancient times, it wasn’t too sweet, with no added oils, making it less refined and soft, a bit dry. Gu Chengyu finished the little bite in his hand and didn’t take a second due to its dry nature, fearing he’d choke.

"This kid is not shy." Mr. Gu chuckled at Chengyu but didn’t stop him. Xiao Bao had never tasted mung bean cake before; for Gu Family, cloud cake was the best dessert, and this mung bean cake from town never bought by Mr. Gu.

Gu Chengyu lifted the tea bowl on the table, scraping the floating tea leaves with the lid, sipped the tea to swallow the residue down, feeling better. He touched the bowl’s material; the coarse porcelain was smoothly made, with a thick body. Seeing some green tea floating in the bowl, the tea soup was somewhat dark yellow, the aroma low, taste a bit astringent, with large leaves, hardly good tea. Gu Chengyu remembered he had plenty of excellent tea in his space, though all packaged. He planned to transplant some wild tea into his space, confident they’d grow into top-tier tea soon inside his realm.