When Cheng Baidong mentioned visiting his great-uncle, Jin Xin immediately stammered, his tone somewhat embarrassed: "My great-uncle lives in the Northeast, which is too far away. Visiting him... is that unnecessary?"
Cheng Baidong understood the concerns in Jin Xin's voice; he guessed that Jin Xin had something difficult to say.
If it were a private matter, he might have wisely stopped talking, but this ginseng was too special, and he definitely wanted to find out its origin, so he sent Gao Ping out first.
After Gao Ping left, only Cheng Baidong and Jin Xin remained in the room. Cheng Baidong went straight to the point and said to Jin Xin, "Comrade Jin Xin, if you are hesitant to talk about speculation because of your concerns, then you don't need to worry. This is something you and I know, and it will never be leaked."
Cheng Baidong thought he was afraid that the speculation would be exposed, but to his surprise, Jin Xin shook his head and said, "It's not about speculation."
Cheng Baidong understood; the inside story must be much bigger than mere speculation.
But this matter is of great importance, and hiding it won't work. Some things can be found out even if he doesn't say them, so I might as well just tell him the truth.
“Comrade Jin Xin, I understand that you have something difficult to say. Logically speaking, I shouldn’t press you like this, but this wild ginseng is extremely special, and it will even have a significant impact on the future direction of our unit’s work. In order to trace its origin, we must go to the Northeast. So if you have any difficulties, you can tell me, and I will do my best to help you.”
Cheng Baidong used three "very"s to describe the special nature of this wild ginseng. Jin Xin immediately understood Cheng Baidong's persistence. He lowered his eyes and pondered for a long time before finally deciding to tell him everything.
“My great-uncle… his family used to be bandits in Northeast China, so their class background was really bad. This ginseng wasn’t something he got from the mountain people; he secretly went into the restricted area and picked it himself.” Including the mountain products he usually resells, like shiitake mushrooms and hazelnuts, all of them were obtained by his great-uncle’s family secretly going into the mountains.
After it was all done, he and his uncle split the proceeds 20/80, with him getting 20% and his uncle getting 80%.
The forest is said to be the collective property of the nearby villages, but the forest is too large. Apart from a few villages on the outskirts, the deep mountains inside are completely off-limits to humans.
There are many treasures in the deep mountains and forests, but the mountains are high and the roads are dangerous, the cliffs are steep, and there are all kinds of animals such as jackals, wolves, tigers and leopards. Therefore, the villagers in the surrounding mountains can only stay in the outer areas of the deep mountains. Unless they are starving, no one will go deep into the mountains.
His maternal uncle's family had a bad class background, and the village explicitly forbade them from going into the mountains. Other villagers went into the mountains to make a living off the land, but his maternal uncle's family was considered to be stealing collective property, and if caught, they would go to jail.
So in order to avoid being discovered, his uncle's family had no choice but to go deeper into the area.
Fortunately, his great-uncle was a truly capable man who dared to venture into the deep mountains. He relied on his skill and daring, and thus he traveled back and forth in the mountains for several years without incident, even managing to find many rare and unusual things.
The wild ginseng in front of us is the best of them all.
However, as good as this ginseng is, he has had ginseng that is better than this before, and he can't see what is so special about this ginseng that makes Cheng Baidong go to such lengths.
Jin Xin said, "I can take you to the Northeast to find my uncle, but you have to guarantee that my uncle's family won't suffer because of it. Their family already has a bad class background, and if they end up in jail because of me, I'll become a criminal."
Cheng Baidong said, "Speculation and profiteering are not my business, and I won't meddle in other people's affairs."
Jin Xin breathed a sigh of relief, but still had concerns: "What about the people in your unit..."
"Don't worry, everyone in my company has signed confidentiality agreements, so they will absolutely keep quiet."
Jin Xin finally felt relieved and asked, "When are we leaving?"
Cheng Baidong: "Ten days."
Deep in the mountains and forests, it is not an easy place to enter. In those primeval forests, if the personnel are not professional or not adequately prepared, it is easy for people to die or even the whole group to be wiped out, so you must be fully prepared.
Ten days is roughly enough time for the higher-ups to assemble a professional team.
His paternity leave will be over by then, and he can then participate.
Jin Xin nodded: "Okay, let me know a day in advance when you're leaving so I can get ready."
After reaching an agreement with Jin Xin, Cheng Baidong got up and left.
Before leaving, he took the wild ginseng that contained spiritual energy with him, and took out an envelope containing money from his briefcase and gently placed it on the table, saying, "Consider this ginseng as a purchase from you."
Jin Xin didn't want to accept it, but Cheng Baidong pressed his shoulder down and said, "Take it. This ginseng is very valuable. I won't take advantage of you."
Since Cheng Baidong said that, Jin Xin had no choice but to accept it.
He escorted Cheng Baidong to the door and watched them leave before returning to his room.
Upon opening the envelope left by Cheng Baidong, one finds thirty ten-yuan bills inside.
Three hundred yuan!
Jin Xin was shocked!
Is his ginseng worth that price?
No way!
Jin Xin, looking dazed, divided the money into two parts: one part of sixty yuan was for himself, and the other part of two hundred and forty yuan was for his uncle. He put both parts into his treasure chest, feeling like he had gotten a great deal.
*
On the other side, Cheng Baidong came out of Jin Xin's house and passed by Fang Qiao's parents' house. Dong Ping, who had been waiting at the door, immediately greeted him with a fawning expression: "Brother-in-law, it's very cold outside today. If you're done with your work, why don't you come in and have some hot tea to warm yourself up?"
Cheng Baidong refused: "Sister-in-law, no need, I'm not cold. I have something to do, I'll go first."
Dong Ping nodded knowingly: "Okay, okay, you go ahead and do your work. Your business is important. Next time you have time, bring your little sister and the kids to our house to play."
"Okay." Cheng Baidong nodded slightly and passed by Dong Ping.
Dong Ping watched as the two men got into the jeep before happily entering her home.
He thought to himself: "My little sister is really capable. She married a big boss. Our family will definitely benefit from her marriage in the future."
She hummed a tune as she walked towards the main room, but as soon as she lifted the curtain, she heard a cold snort from inside: "Limp, bootlicker."
Dong Ping immediately glared in the direction of the sound, only to see Fang Lu squatting in front of a stove made from an iron bucket, eating roasted sweet potatoes while rolling his eyes at her.
Dong Ping was immediately furious: "You're so high and mighty! You have no backbone! Don't eat the sweet potatoes I brought back from my parents' home!"
Fang Lu ignored him, quickly stuffed the rest of the sweet potatoes into his mouth, patted his bottom, and left.
Enraged, Dong Ping kept cursing at his retreating back: "You bastard, you good-for-nothing, you spendthrift!"
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