Lin Ye, Lu Wanqing, and Luo Chunlei immediately tensed up, all eagerly awaiting the news Luo Hao would bring back.
Seeing that everyone was busy, Luo Hao decided it wasn't appropriate to shout loudly. After getting out of the car, he approached Lin Ye and secretly held up a finger in front of him.
Lin Ye frowned, seemingly not very satisfied with the price, but he quickly regained his composure and whispered the price in Lu Wanqing's ear: "1000 yuan."
Lu Wanqing was slightly disappointed. If it were decades later, a century-old ginseng could fetch a sky-high price of hundreds of thousands!
However, in those days, and especially in a county town, few people recognized its value, so selling it for 1,000 yuan was already quite good.
After telling Lin Ye the price, Luo Hao went to find Luo Chunlei and also held up a sign in front of him.
Luo Chunlei looked relieved. Just as he expected, no fool would spend more money to buy something like this for 100 yuan!
Half an hour later, the group of people, each with their own thoughts, sat around the dining table.
Lin Ye, Lu Wanqing, and Luo Chunlei appeared calm and happy, but not overly so. Only Luo Hao laughed exaggeratedly, radiating smugness from within.
Lin Ye rolled her eyes at him. "Is it really necessary to be this happy just because I gave you a crab?"
Luo Hao's smile remained: "Brother Ye, how are you planning to split the money this time? Let me make it clear, I'm only doing this because of you, so just give me a token amount."
Luo Hao has always been straightforward in his speech.
Lin Ye thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "This time Chun Lei is coming up the mountain with us, so I can't let you two brothers suffer a loss. I'll keep five hundred, and you can discuss how to divide the rest."
"What?"
"There must be some mistake!"
The two brothers spoke at the same time.
Luo Chunlei was particularly bewildered. He had only sold ginseng for 100 yuan, but Lin Ye wanted to give him 500 yuan. Did he misunderstand his second brother's meaning? Shouldn't it be 1,000 yuan?
Just as Luo Chunlei was about to speak, Luo Hao leaned closer to Lin Ye and said, "Brother Ye, did you misunderstand? I just gestured with my finger that it was ten thousand!"
Now, Lin Ye's pupils dilated, and he looked at him with disbelief!
Luo Hao's voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard it. Even though Lu Wanqing had seen assets worth tens of millions, she was still slightly shocked by the number he mentioned.
Luo Chunlei exclaimed in surprise, "Ten thousand!" prompting Luo Hao to quickly cover his mouth.
"Ancestor, please keep your voice down."
Lin Xiaocui, who had been detached from the incident, knew that Lin Ye earned a lot of money by hunting, but she didn't expect such a large sum this time. After eating a few mouthfuls of rice, she hurriedly got up and said with rice still in her mouth, "I haven't done my homework yet, I'm going back first!"
The next topic was beyond her control. Lu Wanqing's request for her to stay did not mean that she could stay without any scruples.
What if she blurts out something so shocking in her dreams?
She slunk away, and the people inside the house burst into laughter as they watched her retreating figure.
This little girl is so naive...
Luo Hao got up, glanced outside, closed the door, and drew the curtains.
His actions once again brought a knowing smile to everyone's faces.
In those days, some rural families couldn't even save a hundred yuan a year, and there were almost no households with ten thousand yuan. The joy they felt when they suddenly received so much money was even greater than when they suddenly received a million yuan decades later.
"You brat, keep your mouth shut and stop gesturing!" Lin Ye punched Luo Hao.
Luo Hao smiled ingratiatingly: "Brother Ye, this time I've found a completely new path."
Upon hearing that Luo Hao had a new approach, everyone listened attentively.
It turned out that when Luo Hao went to Tiger's house, he only saw Mu Xiaoting again.
Tiger and his group hadn't returned from their hometown yet, and Mu Xiaoting didn't know how much ginseng could sell for. Seeing that Luo Hao was quite anxious, she introduced him to one of their business partners.
As Luo Hao left, Mu Xiaoting held his hand and said coquettishly, "Just say that Tiger introduced you, I won't lie to you!"
Luo Hao then went to find the "Broken Li" that Mu Xiaoting had mentioned.
Known as "Scrap Li," he was actually quite well-connected. He owned a scrap yard and also ran a consignment shop; on the surface, both businesses were legitimate, but behind the scenes, he was a middleman.
The consignment shop is state-owned and is used to receive items consigned by others for sale.
Having been immersed in the industry for decades, he has developed a keen eye for identifying treasures and can always find antiques among the scraps.
For example, the ginseng that Luo Hao mentioned, if it is truly a top-quality product that is over a hundred years old, would be highly sought after by officials and nobles in the provincial capital or the capital.
He offered 10,000 yuan because of Tiger's introduction; he wasn't trying to rip Luo Hao off too much.
"You mean that Broken Li has a lot of treasures?" Compared to the value of ginseng, Lu Wanqing was more concerned about the antiques in Broken Li's possession.
Although Li the Lackey was knowledgeable, he was still limited by his era and could not imagine that decades later, a piece of Hetian jade that cost a dozen yuan could sell for millions. Some calligraphy and paintings that are now considered waste paper could fetch astronomical prices of hundreds of millions.
Lu Wanqing was just looking for ways to get in touch with this, and this was like a pillow delivered to her when she was sleepy.
Just as Lin Ye and the others had agreed to split the money from the sale equally, she was already planning in her mind what antiques she could store in her spatial storage.
The next day, Lu Wanqing arranged work for Zhao Xiaolan, called Lin Xiaocui over to look after her, and then went to the county town with Lin Ye.
Upon arriving in the county town, the group headed straight for the shop owned by the ragpicker Li, who then led them to the backyard.
Ragged Li was tall and thin, dressed in a light gray outfit and wearing an oddly shaped melon-shaped hat. His small eyes revealed a shrewdness.
"Did you bring the goods? Let me take a look at them first," said Ragged Li.
Luo Hao then took off his basket and carefully took out the ginseng.
The ragged Li's eyes lit up, making no attempt to hide his love for ginseng.
"Just go with the price we gave you yesterday, I'll go get the money." Ragged Li went into the house readily.
Luo Hao scratched his head and nudged Lin Ye with his elbow, "Did we ask for too little?"
"It's my first time doing this, so I don't know how deep the water is. But with Tiger's connection, I believe he won't mess things up," Lin Ye said.
Seeing their frowns, Lu Wanqing suggested, "Could we ask him to give us some freebies?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Ragged Li came out laughing, carrying a wooden box. "Little girl, the price I'm offering you is really not low. It's only because I have upstream customers that I can sell it; otherwise, even good stuff wouldn't fetch a good price. However, if you want a free gift, I can grant your wish!"
What he said was true; good things are always wanted to be sold at high prices, but if they are difficult to sell, they will ultimately be available at a high price but no market.
"Can I choose the free gift?" Lu Wanqing smiled sweetly.
That smile was so infectious that all the men present laughed along.
"You can pick any calligraphy or painting from my shop," said the ragged Li.
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