Chapter 129 - 129

Chapter 129 Selling GinsengAfter leaving the housing authority, Yun Tingplanned to find a place to eat first, and then explore the local black market.She currently only has 130,000 yuan and needs to find a way to save more money. What if she doesn't have enough money when the Traditional Courtyard Residence comes along? Wouldn't she be in big trouble?She rode forward along the street, and when she saw the wooden sign that read "State-owned Guanghua Hotel" hanging ahead, with the red-painted characters swaying slightly in the wind, and a waiter wearing a white hat standing at the entrance, she immediately sped up.The restaurant wasn't crowded; a few tables of customers sat around the octagonal tables, and the air was filled with the aroma of soy sauce and scallions.Yun Ting entered the state-run Guanghua Hotel and went to the ticket window at the entrance. Red paper strips were pasted on the glass window, which read " braised pork 0.8 yuan/serving 2 liang of grain coupons", "stir-fried green vegetables 0.3 yuan/serving 1 liang of grain coupons", and "rice 0.15 yuan/bowl 1 liang of grain coupons"."Give me a braised pork, a stir-fried vegetable dish, and a bowl of rice." Yun Ting took out his food coupons and money and handed them over.The food pick-up point was at the very back. She handed over her ticket, and the chef deftly scooped up a spoonful of glistening braised porkand placed it on a white porcelain plate. There was also a plate of vibrant green stir-fried vegetables and a bowl of steaming rice, which he then handed to her.She found an empty seat and sat down. The aroma of meat mixed with the steam from the rice wafted over her. She picked up a piece ofbraised pork. It was perfectly marbled with fat and lean meat and coated in a rich sauce. She had to admit, the braised pork was really delicious.Yun Ting was enjoying her meal when she overheard two men at the next table whispering to each other…"What are we going to do? Old Wang's father is waiting for Ginseng to save his life. He's asked around in several places, but the black market either sells fakes or the prices are outrageously high...""That's right, this stuff is extremely valuable now. Authentic wild ginseng is so hard to find."Yun Ting's heart skipped a beat. She had plenty of ginseng in her online space. She had only sold two of them before when they were sold in a small rural town where the price wasn't high.She hesitated for a moment, then slowly approached with the bowl in her hand, and asked in a low voice, "Gentlemen, are you looking for ginseng? I happen to have one here, a genuine wild ginseng, and it's quite old."The two men's eyes lit up. One of them, a bearded man, looked her up and down with a wary look in his eyes: "Girl, are you kidding? Wild ginseng is a rare sight these days. Don't try to fool us with cultivated ginseng.""Don't worry, gentlemen, it's absolutely genuine. I was an educated youth sent to the countryside, and I dug it up myself there. I buried it in the ground and sealed it with wax to preserve it. It can't be fake."Yun Ting spoke earnestly, "If you really want it, I'll give it to you. I originally planned to keep it to save my life, but the price has to be based on the market price, since it's something that can save your life."The bearded man and his companion exchanged a glance, then he said urgently, "As long as the ginseng is genuine, the price is negotiable! Can you take us there now? Our boss is waiting to be saved!""Okay, brothers, wait for me here. I don't live too far away. I'll ride my bike back to get it. It's not convenient to bring anyone over from home.""Okay, hurry up!"It's normal for people to be cautious; if they don't want you to go, then don't go!"Shouldn't I finish my food first?" Yun Ting didn't want to waste any food. Not only was wasting food shameful in this day and age, but she wasn't even full yet!Of all things, eating is the most important…The two men were speechless. "Hey, wait a minute... young lady, we're waiting for Ginsengto save us! Why are you eating first? We'll watch your food, you can eat when you get back, okay?""Don't worry, brother, it won't take long, I'll be quick."Indeed, she finished eating quickly, immediately went out, rode her bike away, saying she was going back to get it, but really she just wanted to wander around for a bit and then take it out from her spatial storage.She used her mind to collect a nearly fifty-year-old ginseng in the space, carefully wrapped it in a cloth and put it in her canvas bag, then rode her bike back to State-run Restaurant, timing it perfectly.The two of them had been pacing around the door for ages. When they saw her riding her bike over from a distance, they immediately went to meet her. Before the bike had even come to a complete stop, they pulled her off the bike."Hey...hey...brothers, don't rush!""Quick, Little Sister, show it to us."Yun Ting slowly took out the cloth-wrappedginseng from his bag. The two looked excited, but dared not touch it, for fear of breaking it."Let me open it and show you, then we can talk about the price."When Yun Ting unpacked the ginseng, she could smell a bitter yet mellow earthy aroma mixed with a faint scent of herbs and wood.The ginseng body is about the thickness of an adult's thumb and about seven or eight inches long, resembling a bent-over little person. The main root is plump and solid, with deep and dense patterns like old tree bark, which are "iron wire patterns" formed by years of immersion in the mountains. The most precious part is the fibrous roots, which are thin and long, spreading out like silver threads, and also have a few round "pearl dots" - these are marks of wild ginseng absorbing the spiritual energy of the mountains."Really…really…" The bearded man stared intently at the ginseng in Yun Ting's hand.Seeing that they had all looked at it, Yun Tingimmediately wrapped it up again."Tell me! How much are you offering?"The two men exchanged a glance. The bearded man hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Miss, eight hundred, is that alright?"Yun Ting immediately pretended to stuff ginsenginto her bag and was about to leave."Hey… Little Sister … Little Sister, let's talk this out, don't rush off!" The bearded man and his companion immediately caught up with Yun Ting."Well then, Little Sister, a thousand is really the most we can offer. We don't have any more money to spare."Yun Ting thought for a moment and decided, "Fine, one thousand it is! At least it's half more than what I got back in Heilongjiang Province.""Alright... a thousand it is, considering you need it to save your lives. Otherwise, I wouldn't even be willing to sell this wild ginseng." Yun Tingfeigned regret."Thank you, miss. Here, this is the money. Please count it."The three of them were no longer at the main entrance. They had already moved to a corner earlier, since this kind of transaction couldn't be conducted openly.Yun Ting took the money, quickly counted it, and sure enough, it was a full thousand yuan. She then stored the money in her spatial storage."That's enough...""Okay, we'll be going now." The two people left in a hurry.Yun Ting is in a good mood right now. She bought a house today and earned another thousand yuan.Although the traditional courtyard residence is still not settled, there's no way to force it.I wonder how Duan Xingye is doing; I haven't seen him come over lately.Hmph... He said he'd behave well, but he's been gone for ten days or half a month.She just wanted to know if there was any news about the Traditional Courtyard Residence; she would never admit that she actually missed that guy!Yun Ting rode his bike around in circles several times, but couldn't find the black market.Just then, I overheard two women talking quietly, "Yesterday, I heard there were some good things, so I went, but I didn't get anything. It's really something.""I did manage to get two pounds of cornmeal in the exchange. My grandson wants to eat white rice now, sigh..."Yun Ting's eyes lit up. Hey... isn't this like a pillow being delivered to someone who's about to fall asleep?She quickly moved closer, "Two aunties..."The two men were startled and looked at her warily. "What... are you doing?""Don't worry, I meant no harm. I just overheard your conversation. I'd like to move too. Could you tell me where that place is?"As Yun Ting spoke, she stuffed a few fruit hard candies into each of their hands.Once the two aunties received the candy, they lowered their guard. "Oh, girl, are you really going?"