Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 304 - 62: Transaction of Favor and Interest

Chapter 304: Chapter 62: Transaction of Favor and Interest

"Nonsense, if that were the case, where do those whiskers that signify the ginseng’s age come from, and what about that ginseng fragrance? Ordinary ginseng doesn’t have such a strong scent." The fur-coated woman pointed out two doubts.

When the woman spoke, she counted the heads in the herbal medicine store, plus the clerks and those two naive girls, there were roughly seven or eight people. If she really got angry, none of them would get out alive.

A vicious look flashed in her eyes, but it dimmed when she recalled the name "Plum Rice Ball" hanging over the store’s entrance, which was an odd name for a pharmacy. She nearly forgot that this pharmacy belonged to that old lady.

Zeng Xuerou and Huang Yaoshi also nodded along, recognizing that the whiskers of ginseng, like tree rings, represent its age. This century-old wild ginseng had long, delicate whiskers, numbering over fifty or sixty roots; typical farmed ginseng could never have such abundant whiskers.

After nodding, Zeng Xuerou immediately shook her head. Xiao Xian was her friend, and she knew Xiao Xian well; Xiao Xian wouldn’t falsely accuse someone without reason.

"More whiskers mean older age? That’s only a partial truth. Having more whiskers is because you’ve found the right conditions for plant growth, deliberately planting ginseng in soil mixed with gravel and intentionally watering it less. Deprived of water, ginseng can only crazily grow whiskers in search of underground water, and the layer of soil mixed with sand is looser than usual, leading to more whiskers. It’s the same principle as the more developed root systems in desert plants. As for the scent of this ginseng, hmm, this ginseng has been boiled, and what’s more, it’s been boiled in a liquid with a large amount of regular ginseng water added. After a long time, the ginseng fragrance naturally becomes richer," Xiao Xian’s rapid-fire words left the fur-coated woman at a loss for words.

"You still won’t admit it," Xiao Xian quickly stepped forward, applying her assertive basketball court steal technique, and in a flash, was in the fur-coated woman’s face. With a swift move, she lifted the seemingly expensive fur coat, revealing seven or eight identical brocade boxes falling out.

The boxes hit the ground, and about a dozen nearly identical counterfeit ginseng roots meant to impersonate century-old mountain ginseng tumbled out, their lies laid bare.

Huang Yaoshi and the apprentices in the store were all stunned. They hadn’t expected this girl, who didn’t seem to know much about Chinese herbs, to be such an expert. The ginseng was indeed fake.

Zeng Xuerou was triumphant, cheering from the sidelines.

The young woman in the fur coat, realizing her deceit was exposed, didn’t even bother to pick up the ginseng on the ground and fled the wholesale herbal store in disgrace. Before leaving, she glared fiercely at Xiao Xian.

Huang Yaoshi stared at the mountain ginseng scattered on the floor, speechless for a while. He could not have imagined that, after a lifetime in the pharmacy business and seeing various precious herbs, he would be fooled today.

Xiao Xian sighed, relieved to have exposed that person’s scheme, and at this moment, no one in the store had the mind to question how she knew so much.

The apprentices didn’t dare to say much and quickly cleaned up the scattered boxes of ginseng. Fortunately, it was noon and no other customers were in the store, otherwise Huang Yaoshi’s slip-up would have not only caused him to lose face but also have damaged the store’s reputation. They all felt a chill thinking about it afterward.

"Pharmacist Huang, shouldn’t we go check on the Pueraria Root in the warehouse now?" Zeng Xuerou was worried that Pharmacist Huang, having lost face, might take his anger out on them, so she hurriedly suggested they go to inspect the Pueraria Root and also to look for some Mint leaves.

Zeng Xuerou was completely baffled by Xiao Xian’s clever reasoning just now; she couldn’t fathom Xiao Xian’s background, her expertise exceeding that of the seven-decade-old pharmacist. It was not obvious at school. But this also made Zeng Xuerou more confident in their collaboration.

"Oh, checking the herbs, look at this forgetful old man, I almost messed up again." Pharmacist Huang hung his head, his eyes betraying an indescribable meaning, his emotions very complicated at the moment, mixed with relief yet mostly despondency.

He didn’t exaggerate Xiao Xian’s explanation; he came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine, growing up among medicinal herbs and seldom made mistakes, but today, he truly had made a mistake.

If he really spent five hundred thousand to buy such a piece of fake ginseng, it would not only be a monetary loss, but the work of the shop for several months would have been in vain.

Losing money was one thing, but disappointing the proprietress’s trust in him and tarnishing the pharmacy’s reputation was far more serious.