"Boss Zhu, I know you might find it hard to believe, but this really is grown by me..." Wang Xiaoqiang said.

"Mr. Wang, actually, I'm just surprised, not that I don't believe you. Besides, whether I believe it or not isn't really important. The key point is that your product is good. If the product is good, there's no worry about sales. Now, the most important thing is to think of a way to sell it at a high price..." Zhu Chengwen pondered.

"That would require Boss Zhu's effort..." Wang Xiaoqiang clasped his hands and, just at that moment, the dishes and drinks were served. Wang Xiaoqiang said, "Come on, Mr. Zhu, let's eat and talk..."

As he was about to pour the drinks himself, Jing Xueyan had already grabbed the bottle and began pouring diligently.

After two drinks, Zhu Chengwen said, "Mr. Wang, your maca is good, but selling it openly might result in a loss due to pricing issues. How about we try our luck at the herbal black market this afternoon?"

"Black market?" Wang Xiaoqiang was surprised. "Boss Zhu, but the black market is a trading place for inferior herbal goods, and my maca..."

"Ah, the herbal black market isn't as bad as you think. The 'black' in black market is just about tax evasion, not about the quality of the herbs being 'black.' Moreover, many rare herbs are traded there..."

"Uh, I hadn't thought of that..." Wang Xiaoqiang was slightly embarrassed.

"It seems Mr. Wang is still not familiar with the herbal market. Today, I'll take you to have a look and get acquainted."

After a satisfying meal, Wang Xiaoqiang sent Jing Xueyan home and then, together with Mr. Zhu, arrived at a secluded residential area on the outskirts of the city. Following Zhu Chengwen's directions, they could already see a large herbal market by the roadside; however, the main gate was tightly closed, and the entrance looked deserted as if long abandoned. Still, Wang Xiaoqiang parked the car across the street as directed by Zhu Chengwen, and as he got out to retrieve the maca, Zhu Chengwen stopped him and mysteriously said, "Just carry the processed sack for now. We'll fetch the goods after finalizing the price..."

Wang Xiaoqiang nodded and just carried the sack of processed maca, locked the car, and followed Zhu Chengwen through a small alley next to the herbal market. They meandered through the twisting alley, which almost made them dizzy, until they entered a large courtyard. It was like a whole different world inside the courtyard with people coming and going, buyers and sellers quietly dealing with each other; hundreds were there.

This was the so-called black market.

Zhu Chengwen gave Wang Xiaoqiang a meaningful look, gesturing for him to come inside. As they walked into the courtyard, Wang Xiaoqiang realized the truth of Zhu Chengwen's words: the black market really did have genuine goods, and not a small amount either. As they walked, the four Five Element Springs inside him stirred simultaneously, vibrating vigorously as if agitated.

There must be Wild Mountain Ginseng here!

And a lot of it!

Wang Xiaoqiang came to this conclusion.

Looking up, he saw sellers displaying herbs on the ground for customers to pick through, with a large cardboard box behind them, presumably for storing the herbs.

At that moment, a seller greeted Zhu Chengwen and Wang Xiaoqiang. Zhu Chengwen said, "Don't mind them. These sellers are all experts; most of them used to work in the drug regulatory department or are Old Alchemists, experts in herbs and very cunning. Six out of ten customers here end up being deceived..."

Wang Xiaoqiang was surprised. "Then the profits must be quite substantial..."

"Right, they are extraordinarily large," Zhu Chengwen said, then approached a stall. The stall owner, a man in his sixties, greeted them by clasping his hands, "Old Zhu, welcome..."

"Welcome... Old Yu, how's business?" Zhu Chengwen smiled slightly.

It was clear the two had a good relationship, but considering the environment and atmosphere, they spoke quietly, and their emotions weren't as excited as old friends meeting each other would typically be.

"Why so free today?" Old Yu responded with a question instead of answering, his gaze settling on Wang Xiaoqiang for a moment.

"Ah, right, this is my young brother, Wang Xiaoqiang, a cultivator of medicinal herbs. I brought him here today to learn a bit..." "Little Friend Wang, nice to meet you!" Old Yu greeted Wang Xiaoqiang with a clasped hand.

Wang Xiaoqiang also clasped his hands in return. "Boss Yu, you're too kind!"

"Can I ask, what kind of herbs does Little Friend Wang's family grow?" Boss Yu could somewhat guess Wang Xiaoqiang's purpose today, which was likely to sell medicinal herbs.

Before Wang Xiaoqiang could speak, Zhu Chengwen leaned in closer to Boss Yu and whispered in a voice only the three of them could hear. "Wild Black Maca..."

"Where is Little Friend Wang's family from?" Boss Yu was astonished, hardly believing the information, yet he didn't show too much surprise.

"Originally from Huagui County..." Wang Xiaoqiang answered.

Boss Yu was internally shocked, his face showing a peculiar smile. However, before he could speak, Zhu Chengwen already said, "Don't worry, the goods are definitely correct..."

Although Yu Chengwen doubted the source of Wang Xiaoqiang's maca, it wasn't important to him; what mattered were the goods. As long as the product was good, he didn't care where it came from.

And with his discerning eye, he wouldn't fail to see the authenticity and quality of the goods.

Boss Zhu said this and then gestured for Wang Xiaoqiang to hand over the processed sack to Boss Yu, who took it, opened it to look inside, and his eyes brightened. He then picked up a maca, examined it carefully, weighed it in his hand, and finally nodded. "How much do you have?"

"A few dozen kilos," Zhu Chengwen said.

"I'll take it all. Did you bring it with you?" Boss Yu asked straightforwardly.

"I've brought it, what's the price?" Zhu Chengwen was also straightforward, as he wasn't the actual owner of the goods, he was just a middleman at this point.

Boss Yu held up one finger.

Zhu Chengwen said, "A bit higher..."

"One thousand five," Boss Yu said. "That's the highest price, as you know."

Zhu Chengwen turned to Wang Xiaoqiang and said, "One thousand five per pound, what do you think?"

"Fine," Wang Xiaoqiang said.

The price was not low, but it was a pity it couldn't be planted extensively. With such limited quantities, they wouldn't make much money!

While going back to pick up the goods, Wang Xiaoqiang muttered to himself.

Maca was brought over, Boss Yu weighed it, and the total was sixty-three pounds and four ounces, one thousand five per pound, roughly about a hundred thousand or so.

It wasn't too little, considering it was just for fun!

Wang Xiaoqiang muttered to himself,

After the goods were exchanged, Boss Zhu accompanied Wang Xiaoqiang for a walk around, and when they passed a stall, the Five Elements Spiritual Spring within Wang Xiaoqiang violently shook. He then stopped in front of the stall and asked the stall owner, "Do you have any Wild Mountain Ginseng for sale..."

"Yes, of course, how much would you like to buy, sir?" The stall owner, with his shifty eyes, seemed very astute.

Zhu Chengwen saw Wang Xiaoqiang stopping and genuinely wanting to buy Wild Mountain Ginseng, and couldn't help but furrow his brows.

"Show me a root..." Wang Xiaoqiang said. The stall owner glanced at Zhu Chengwen, swiftly turned around, took out a root from the box behind him, and handed it to Wang Xiaoqiang for inspection.

Upon seeing this, Mr. Zhu's face showed fury. He was about to blurt out a remark about being deceived when Wang Xiaoqiang had already started speaking, "This ginseng is fake. Who are you trying to fool...?"

Upon hearing that, the stall owner's expression changed, he slapped his forehead, and said, "Look at my memory, I picked the wrong one, wrong one, just wait a moment, …"

As he spoke, he threw that fake ginseng in front of the stall, went back to the box behind him to fetch another. Mr. Zhu pulled on Wang Xiaoqiang, "If you really want to buy ginseng, I know a seller I can recommend; you're bound to be ripped off here..."

"It's fine," Wang Xiaoqiang replied carelessly to Mr. Zhu with a smile and took a step forward to the box, peeking inside, which was filled with ginseng.

As Wang Xiaoqiang approached, the stall owner didn't seem to mind and took another piece of Wild Mountain Ginseng from the box before quickly closing it.

However, closing the box didn't prevent the Spiritual Spring within Wang Xiaoqiang from drawing on the ginseng inside the box. Instantly, all seven roots of Wild Mountain Ginseng in the box began to shake, including the one handed to him by the stall owner, causing Wang Xiaoqiang to panic. He wasn't panicked by the tremors inside the box but by the ginseng in front of him.

"Yikes, what's going on here?" The stall owner said, startled as the ginseng in his hand started trembling uncontrollably like a slippery fish.

In a moment of quick thinking, Wang Xiaoqiang pointed at the stall owner's hand, "Sir, your epilepsy is not mild, hey, hurry and give the ginseng to me, so it doesn't fall and smash on the ground, that wouldn't be good..."

Saying this, he snatched the ginseng from the stall owner's hand without waiting for a reply, and firmly gripped it, "Ah, this is real Wild Mountain Ginseng!"

By then, the seven roots of Wild Mountain Ginseng inside the box had already disintegrated into crumbs under the influence of the Spiritual Spring, while the ginseng in Wang Xiaoqiang's hand also broke apart.

"Ah, my hands, I never had a problem before..." The stall owner suspected something was wrong with his Wild Mountain Ginseng, but in front of the customer, he dared not admit it. He would rather blame his own hands than admit the ginseng had a problem, but he said nothing, and Wang Xiaoqiang was not about to be polite, handing the crumbled ginseng back to the stall owner, "Sir, what kind of ginseng is this? Sir, I'm really impressed with you, such a convincing fake, but it's too fake to crumble the moment it's touched. I advise you to make it more realistic next time,"

Wang Xiaoqiang tossed the crumbled ginseng scraps into the stall owner's arms.

"This, this, this is real Wild Mountain Ginseng, this, how is this possible?" The stall owner was almost scared witless.

Zhu Chengwen scoffed at the stall owner, "Tsk tsk, I really am impressed, your ability to deceive with fakes is truly remarkable, even I was almost fooled just now..."

"This, this isn't fake?" The stall owner was still fumbling with the ginseng scraps on his chest, painfully trying to explain.

"Alright, the more we talk about this, the murkier it gets. I'll let it go if you consider it fortunate..." Wang Xiaoqiang glared at him and then left the stall with Zhu Chengwen.

The four Spiritual Springs within Wang Xiaoqiang, after absorbing a total of eight Wild Mountain Ginseng roots, continuously contracted and expanded, like a full person exercising,

Suddenly,

Pop pop pop pop~~~

A faint noise audible only to Wang Xiaoqiang started, and the four Five Elements Spiritual Springs sequentially split, doubling from four to eight Five Elements Spiritual Springs. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please cast your recommendations and monthly votes at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest encouragement. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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