"Is there anything else? If not, you can go back," Qiao Mei said.
He Ning did not beat around the bush anymore and directly said to Qiao Mei, "I have another reason for coming here. I want to buy the ginseng that you have."
Qiao Mei already knew that He Ning was here for the ginseng, but if it looked as if she had too many, it would only make He Ning suspicious. It was not as if 100-year-old ginsengs could be cultivated in the greenhouse?
How could there be so many of them all over the mountain area? Even the villagers heard about it, no one would believe it.
"If you're talking about ginseng that's five to six years old, I still have that. I don't have 100-year-old ginseng," Qiao Mei said.
Huo Gao pursed his lips. A ginseng that was only five or six years old was no different from a little carrot to a dying person like He Ning. Even eating one whole ginseng in one bite could not make up for his depleted vitality.
"That's not what you told me the last time. Didn't you say that you still have a few 100-year-old ginsengs?" He Ning said.
"I did say that, but my grandfather is the one who safekeeps the ginseng. How can I remember how many there are? Not long ago, when I was not around, my grandfather ate it all. There's nothing I can do about it," Qiao Mei said helplessly.
Regardless of whether Qiao Qiang ate it all or not, there was no more ginseng.
If He Ning returned to the capital now, there would really be no cure for him. Only Qiao Mei's ginseng could save him. Nothing else could help.
"Qiao Mei, name your conditions. I'll give you any amount of money. How about 300,000 dollars?" He Ning said.
"300,000!" Li Gui widened her eyes and looked at He Ning in shock.
For her, 100 dollars was already a very big denomination and 1,000 dollars was considered a huge sum of money.
This was an amount of 300,000 dollars! Such an amount of money could probably fill an entire house!
"Does Auntie know where the 100-year-old ginseng is?" He Ning asked.
Li Gui quickly shook her head. Putting aside the fact that she did not know anything at the moment, even if she did, she would not betray Qiao Mei. Since Qiao Mei said that she would not give it to him, there was naturally a reason for it.
"Let me think about it," Qiao Mei said.
He Ning felt relieved when he saw that there was still hope regarding this matter, but the new problem was his accommodation for the night. If they wanted to return to the county city now, they would have to wait until tomorrow morning. Even if they wanted to stay in the village, Qiao Mei would not take them in.
He wondered what he could do…
"Alright, then I'll wait for news from you." He Ning remained on the stool after saying that.
Qiao Mei looked at He Ning in confusion and asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Can I stay with your grandfather tonight? We can't go back now and we don't have a place to stay while we're here," He Ning said.
"No, it's not right for you to stay at my place. Don't you have money? Money makes the world go round. You can use money to solve the problem. I'm tired and I'm going back to rest. Go out and settle your own matters," Qiao Mei said.
He Ning sighed. It was his fault for offending Qiao Mei back then and he deserved to end up like this.
In the end, He Ning left Li Gui's house with Huo Gao. When they left, Huo Gao only carried one bag. The rest he brought along were all gifts for Qiao Mei and Qiao Qiang.
"Why do you want to go through this? Are you here just to spend money and send gifts? I really don't understand what you're trying to do," Huo Gao said.
"I'm happy doing it!" He Ning said in annoyance.
Now that he was under someone else's roof, he had no choice but to lower his status. If he could not coax Qiao Mei well, he would lose his life. As long as he could get the ginseng from Qiao Mei, he would still be able to live for a period of time.
He would make future plans in the future, but right now, he had to think of a way to stay in the village. Otherwise, he would need to waste a lot of time on the road if he needed to keep traveling between the county city and the village.
Wang Qin suddenly appeared from behind the firewood pile at the side and said, "Why don't you come and stay at my house! I have space there, but I don't know if you will mind."
He Ning did not agree immediately. He remembered this person. When the investigator came to the village to find out more about Qiao Mei's background and what grudges she had with other people in the village, it was this woman who gave some information.
She was the one who told the investigator many stories. It seemed that this woman hated Qiao Mei very much. Otherwise, she would not have waited here for him to appear.
"Do you know me? Why would you bring a stranger to your house?" He Ning asked.
"I don't know you, but if you know Qiao Mei, then it's as if we know each other too! I'm Qiao Mei's second aunt-in-law. I'm also the accountant of this village, so you can take it as I'm helping to solve an issue for a villager's friend!" Wang Qin said.