Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Making Money Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Making Money Luo Qiao took out the harvested bupleurum from her carrying basket; because it had not yet been processed, the young man said, “These unprocessed bupleurum are two mao per jin, and the processed ones are three mao five.”
Looking around to ensure no one in the store was paying attention, Luo Qiao took out a ginseng wrapped in a handkerchief from her carrying basket and handed it over.
The young man glanced at it and quickly handed it back, instinctively checking the store before lowering his voice and saying, “Please wait a moment, I’ll go and fetch Shopkeeper Geng.”
Not long after, the young man came out from the back hall and said, “Miss, please follow me to the backyard.”
Luo Qiao knew that the store was inconvenient with the constant flow of people, so she followed him to the backyard, where a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit was inspecting the recently acquired herbs.
The young man said, “Shopkeeper Geng, I’ve brought the person.”
And to Luo Qiao, he said, “This is our shopkeeper, surnamed Geng.”
Luo Qiao politely greeted the middle-aged man, “Hello, Shopkeeper Geng.”
Shopkeeper Geng nodded at Luo Qiao, hastening the inventory task at hand, and said, “Please wait a moment, I’ll be done shortly.”
The young man, seeing that he was no longer needed, said, “I’ll leave you two to talk. I’ll go attend to the customers at the front.”
Luo Qiao nodded and thanked the young man, “Thank you.”
After Shopkeeper Geng finished with his tasks and logged them, he said with some urgency, “I apologize for the wait, please come inside.”
The two of them entered a room, one after the other, and Shopkeeper Geng said, “Show me the item.”
Luo Qiao saw that the man had a clear and honest gaze, and didn’t seem like a bad person. She set her carrying basket down, took out the ginseng wrapped in the handkerchief, and handed it directly to him.
Shopkeeper Geng received the handkerchief and carefully unfolded it. His eyes lit up when he saw the contents; he hastened to get a magnifying glass from the shelf nearby and began examining it meticulously, saying, “This is truly a fine item, in good condition and without any damage.”
He took several careful looks with the magnifying glass, visibly excited, and then raised his head to look earnestly at Luo Qiao and asked, “Did you harvest this?”
Luo Qiao nodded. Fortunately, she was tall; though thin, she had disguised herself before entering, and Geng Ming didn’t seem like someone who would be calculative.
After inspecting it again, Shopkeeper Geng said with some reluctance to let go, “This ginseng is almost seventy years old; it would definitely fetch a higher price in the city than what our commune would offer.”
After a brief consideration, Luo Qiao said, “Please give me a fair price, Shopkeeper Geng. What’s the highest you can offer? I’ll take that. Going to the city is troublesome, and after all, this was an unexpected find.”
Shopkeeper Geng had a friend whose father was gravely ill and in dire need of ginseng to sustain his life. He knew that the young woman was telling the truth, so after thinking for a moment, he said, “Five hundred yuan.”
Luo Qiao considered it briefly, then said, “It’s a deal.”
This ginseng was something Luo Qiao had specifically looked for in her space. Too small, and it wouldn’t be worth much; too large, and it might cause trouble for herself. That morning, she had even made a phony scene, just in case.
She knew that the city would definitely pay more than the commune, but she wanted to buy the house the ‘sent-down’ youth were living in, and continue with her studies, which meant she needed a steady source of income.
Medicinal herbs were the perfect excuse. The villagers would surely try to dig into it, and there had to be something to satisfy their curiosity. This herb shop was just the place.
Shopkeeper Geng smiled and said, “My name is Geng Ming. You can call me Uncle Geng.”
Luo Qiao smiled and replied, “Then I won’t stand on ceremony. I’ll be counting on Uncle Geng’s help in the future.”
Geng Ming smiled and poured Luo Qiao a cup of tea, saying, “I’ll go get the money ready; please enjoy some tea.”