The three brothers had been searching since 4 in the morning, and they still hadn’t found it even when the sun was hanging high.
"Second brother, third brother, let’s rest, take a break, have something to eat, and replenish our strength, I can’t go on anymore, I’m exhausted," Jiang Changhai, who didn’t normally do physical labor, struggled with the continuous, seven-to-eight-hour search that greatly drained his stamina.
Jiang Changhe and Jiang Changtao, who worked in the fields all year round, were in much better condition than Jiang Changhai was at that time.
However, having searched all morning, they were both thirsty and hungry too; obediently, they settled down around Jiang Changhai.
Jiang Changhai took out the leftover buns and a water flask from the morning, took two buns for himself, and handed the rest to the other two.
"We’ve already searched most of the mountain, if we don’t find it before it gets dark in the afternoon, we’ll have to head back, it’s too unsafe here at night," Jiang Changhai, having eaten and rested, analyzed the situation with his brothers.
"Alright, if we don’t find it before it gets dark, we’ll come down the mountain," Jiang Changhe also knew how dangerous the mountain became at night.
Jiang Changtao was very unwilling to give up, but being in the minority, and especially as the youngest, he had even less say.
He swallowed his last bite of bun and looked up at his two older brothers, saying, "Big brother, second brother, let’s not rest anymore; let’s get up and keep searching."
Jiang Changhe was also fairly rested by now, he stood up, looked at his big brother, Jiang Changhai, who sighed internally, feeling somewhat weary as he stood up to continue the search with his brothers.
Fortunately, hard work pays off, and after searching for about another hour, they finally found the aged ginseng just before nightfall.
The brothers carefully dug out the ginseng. Jiang Changhai took out a box prepared earlier and placed the ginseng inside.
"Fantastic, haha, big brother, second brother, it’s fantastic, we’ve finally dug out the ginseng," Jiang Changtao’s face flushed with excitement, as he saw huge sums of money beckoning to him.
Jiang Changhe was also very excited, his eyes fixed on the box in Jiang Changhai’s hands, "Yes, it’s fantastic, we’ve finally found it, we’re going to be rich."
"Alright, let’s not get too excited just yet, we should head down the mountain first," Jiang Changhai cautioned, carefully surveying the surrounding area, reminding the eager brothers.
"Yes, yes, big brother is right, let’s hurry down the mountain," Jiang Changhe regained his composure and hastily said.
Jiang Changtao vigorously nodded, their luck hadn’t drawn any wild beasts this time.
A few years ago during a famine, some villagers couldn’t stand the hunger anymore and secretly went up the mountain to hunt; they ran into bad luck, encountering a starving blind bear, who smacked one of them in the face so hard that it blinded him instantly; luckily, he managed to escape quickly and barely saved his life.
The three brothers hurried down the mountain, bumping and running, and by the time they reached the base, they were all gasping for breath.
They looked at each other, thinking of the times in their childhood when they would sneak out to play in the back mountains, and they all burst out laughing together.
"Big brother, you know a lot of people in town; you take the ginseng to sell," Jiang Changhe suggested, pointing to the box with the ginseng.
"Right, you sell it, big brother, you know a lot of people; maybe you can even get more money for it," agreed Jiang Changtao, knowing Jiang Changhai was shrewd and would certainly make the right call.
"Okay, then I’ll take it back and find an opportunity to sell it, and after it’s sold, I’ll bring the money back to you two," Jiang Changhai didn’t decline and promptly stuffed the box into his bag.