Chapter 27 I Want to Buy Hundred-Year-Old Ginseng
After dinner, Lin Kucan sent everyone away, leaving only his youngest son behind.
The light in the house was very dim, with only a 10-watt light bulb that was not enough to illuminate the room.
Of course, having electric lights was a great achievement in 1959. Not to mention the countryside, even in the cities of 1949, only one-third of the households had access to electric lights.
The Gege Mansion also benefited from the Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Lin Kucan took out a few books from his briefcase.
"Qizi, since you are ready to join the Chinese medicine hospital, even if you go to the purchasing department, you still need to learn some knowledge of Chinese medicine. These three books are "Ode to the Properties of Medicinal Materials", "Song of Soup Recipes", and "Compendium of Materia Medica".
These books are all basic books on Chinese herbal medicine. Take advantage of this month's free time to study at home. If you have any questions, ask me or your older brother. Only if you can distinguish good herbs from bad ones can you purchase good ones for our hospital, right?
I also know that you've been away for 10 years and your studies have been neglected. Now that you're an adult, it might be difficult for you to relearn Chinese medicine. But Qizi, after all, we are a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and your father still wants you to learn more.
The work in the purchasing department is very hard. If possible, I still hope that you can become a doctor and become a famous Chinese medicine expert. I don't say that serving the people is so noble, but at least you can make a lot of money and eat fat meat.
It is pitiful to see the love of parents in the world. Although Lin Kucan already has an eldest son who has inherited his medical skills, he always hopes that his younger son will also have the ability to make a living in this era.
Lin Sanqi took the three books, flipped through them casually and thought: It's so hard.
Traditional Chinese medicine is really not something that ordinary people can learn. He has studied Western medicine for 5 years and it was already hard enough. Who would have thought that he would now switch careers to study traditional Chinese medicine?
But some things cannot be changed by his will. As his cheap father said, since he has reached this position, he must learn Chinese medicine.
"Okay, Dad. I will definitely study hard."
Seeing his youngest son's sad face, Lin Kucan also laughed:
"Son, don't be afraid of not being able to learn. When you go to the purchasing department, you will start by running errands. You won't be asked to go out of town to buy medicinal herbs alone. When the time comes, just learn from the seniors in the department with an open mind."
The father and son were chatting while Jin Caifeng and her eldest daughter-in-law were washing dishes under the faucet in the yard.
Although the atmosphere during the meal was weird, no one could resist the temptation of fatty meat and white rice in 1959. No one could.
So the rice bowls and cooking pots are all clean, so why do I need to wash this bowl?
Jin Caifeng was a little absent-minded at this time. All she could think about was how to find a good wife for her youngest son. At the age of 23, he was already considered an older unmarried young man.
"Ah Xiang, what do you think of Kong Shufang from your pharmacy? I think she's absolutely gorgeous."
Fu Muxiang would not talk about others behind their backs. When she heard her mother-in-law's question, she could only reply:
"Shufang, she's quite good, pretty and elegant..."
Who knew Jin Caifeng was shaking her head:
"No, no, your face is pretty, but your butt is too small. It will be difficult to have a difficult birth in the future. I have to find someone who is blessed."
In the eyes of middle-aged and elderly women, a "blessed" woman is one with a face that represents peace and prosperity, a figure that is voluptuous and graceful, and a gentle and elegant temperament. In fact, to put it bluntly, she is a slightly plump woman.
This kind of aesthetic view is not necessarily the aesthetic view of young people. Young people don’t like vixens with curvy figures and devilish bodies?
"So what do you think of Wang Muyan from the hospital office? This girl has a big butt, and her father is said to be from the city's W, so she has a strong background..."
Lin Sanqi didn't know that his cheap mother was already thinking about helping him find a date. All he could think about was his father's instructions, so he tried to test the waters:
"Dad, does our hospital have any century-old wild ginseng?"
"A century-old vintage, yes. As far as I know, there should be five left in stock."
"Wow, 5!" Lin Sanqi was excited when he heard it. If he could get these by 2013, they would all be worth RMB.
"Dad, are you selling this wild ginseng?"
"Sell it, why not? How can we, as doctors, hoard it and let patients die when they need it? But these wild ginseng are hard to come by, so the price is very high. Usually, almost no one comes to buy it."
"Then...how much is one?"
Lin Kucan thought for a moment and said, "The specific price is not certain. It depends on the weight and the quality. Anyway, none of them are less than 1,000 yuan."
1,000 yuan was a huge sum of money in 1959. A worker would have to save it for several years without eating or drinking.
When the famous doctor Lin Kucan divided his family property, each of his sons only received 1,000 yuan.
The key point is that no one can spend all their wealth to buy a piece of wild ginseng. How can they survive? In 1959, people would starve to death.
Therefore, ordinary people cannot afford to enjoy wild ginseng that is a hundred years old.
Others think it’s too expensive, but Lin Sanqi doesn’t care. When she sees that a can is only 1,000 yuan, she feels a little secretly happy.
A bag of rice can be sold at a discounted price of 300 yuan, and a hundred-year-old wild ginseng is only the price of three bags of rice. My God, this is picking up millions for free.
Seeing his youngest son getting a little excited, Lin Kucan was puzzled and asked casually:
"Why, you want to buy a hundred-year-old ginseng to save your life?"
Lin Sanqi touched his head awkwardly:
"Dad, I'm asking this question on someone's behalf. You know I've been out there all these years, and it's been taken care of by some older folks. Otherwise, I would have died several times already. The black market is shady, so they're asking me to find some medicine."
If other parents heard about the black market, they would definitely equate it with gangsters.
Which parent would allow their child to associate with gangsters?
But Lin Kucan happened to be an open-minded person. Thinking of his son who had been wandering outside for 10 years, he was naturally grateful to the people in the black market.
"Alright, if it's about medical care and those people need it, then you can help them if you can. But there's one thing you absolutely cannot do, especially not harm others, or I won't forgive you."
"Got it, Dad."
That night, Lin Sanqi still slept on the floor of the main room, and all he could think about was where to sell food.
Although he was using the name of the black market, he really didn't know where the black market was, so he had to find someone to find out.
In the inner room, smelling the smell of lime powder, Jin Caifeng was also worried:
"It's not a big deal to let Zaizai sleep on the floor every day. It's fine when it's hot, but what about when it gets cold? We have to find the street and ask them to allocate another room for Zaizai. How can we get married without a house?"
Lin Kucan was lying in bed thinking about this question:
"Go talk to Director Qian of the street tomorrow. There are so many people being sent back to their hometowns right now, and our Gege Mansion should have a vacant house."
(End of this chapter)
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