Upon hearing this, the butler's eyes flashed with surprise. He strode towards Doctor Bai, looked him up and down, and asked uncertainly, "You have a hundred-year-old ginseng? Hurry and show it to me. If it's as good as the shopkeeper says, you'll get a big reward. If you dare to fool me with a low-quality product, don't blame me for being rude!"
Doctor Bai secretly groaned in his heart. It seemed that this matter was getting worse and worse. He tightly grasped the brocade box in his hand, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming tense, Su Yuandong secretly pulled Doctor Bai's sleeve, signaling him to stay calm.
Su Yuandong used to work as a waiter in a restaurant, a job that required good communication and tact. Now his socializing skills came in handy.
His face was instantly filled with a smile, a smile that was warm and friendly, making people feel more at ease.
He walked swiftly towards the prefect's housekeeper, and when he got close, he bowed to Housekeeper Li with great respect.
Afterwards, Su Yuandong smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits, and his tone was full of flattery. He said to Butler Li: "Butler Li, look at your extraordinary demeanor. Standing here like this, you really have a sense of majesty. You can tell at a glance that you are a well-informed person!
We are just ordinary people from the countryside. We have never seen the world. It is a great honor for us to meet you here today."
As he spoke, he bent slightly at the waist and continued with a smile on his face: "We don't dare to have the slightest intention of fooling you. Really, even if you lend us the courage, we wouldn't dare.
Look, this ginseng is something we accidentally dug up in the mountains some time ago. We were so excited at the time. We thought it should be worth some money. Since we're really short of money lately, we wanted to exchange it for some silver to buy some things for our daily life.
If you really need it, we are willing to sell it to you. What do you think?"
Butler Li originally had an arrogant look on his face, but after hearing Su Yuandong's words, the expression on his face eased a little.
He raised his chin slightly and glanced at Su Yuandong with some contempt, looking from the top of his head to his feet, as if he was weighing the credibility of Su Yuandong's words.
After a moment, Butler Li spoke slowly, "Okay, then show me the ginseng. If it's as good as you say, the price is negotiable. But if you dare to fool me with inferior goods, don't blame me for being rude!"
Doctor Bai carefully opened the brocade box on the table. His movements were gentle and cautious. As the lid of the box opened, a ginseng gradually appeared before everyone's eyes.
Butler Li's eyes were instantly drawn to it. When he saw the ginseng clearly, his eyes lit up and he was secretly delighted. He couldn't help but exclaim in his heart: "This ginseng is really good!"
He really couldn't contain his inner surprise, and he couldn't wait to reach out and gently pick up the ginseng, his movements were so gentle as if he was afraid of hurting it.
Then he held the ginseng in front of his eyes and looked at it carefully.
I saw that the roots of the ginseng were thick and very lush, and each root was like an old man's beard, and each strand exuded a sense of tenacity.
What's more amazing is that this ginseng has already taken on a human shape. The outline of the ginseng body is like a little person meditating, with vague shapes of the limbs and torso. This form is really rare to see.
Overall, both the fullness of the ginseng body and the integrity of the roots are perfect, and it is undoubtedly a top-quality product.
"Well, it's a good thing." Butler Li nodded with satisfaction as he looked at it, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised. He had already made up his mind that if he took this ginseng back and presented it to the prefect's mother, he would be able to show off in front of the prefect and maybe even get some generous rewards.
Su Yuandong observed the other side's expressions and saw the look on Butler Li's face. He quickly said, "Butler Li, look, this is a real century-old ginseng. It wasn't easy to get. Now that my family is really at a loss, I thought of exchanging it for some money."
Steward Li then raised his eyes to look at Su Yuandong and Doctor Bai, snorted softly and said, "Hmph, you're quite sensible. Since this ginseng is indeed good, I won't give you a bad price." He stretched out two fingers and shook them, "Two thousand taels of silver, this steward will buy this ginseng."
Doctor Bai frowned when he heard this, thinking to himself that although the price was not low, the price of medicinal materials was skyrocketing now, and the value of this ginseng was much more than that.
But the situation is pressing now. If I don't agree, I'm afraid I'll anger the steward and encounter many troubles in this city.
Su Yuandong seemed to have read Doctor Bai's mind. He quietly tugged at his sleeve, then said to Butler Li with a broad smile, "Oh, Butler Li, you're such a straightforward person! But you also know that the price of medicinal herbs has skyrocketed, and our ginseng is a rare treasure. Although two thousand taels of silver is a lot, it's really not enough for us to buy other things. Could you please give us a little more? Just consider it a kindness and pity for us."
Upon hearing this, Steward Li's face darkened and he said unhappily, "Hmph! Don't push your luck. I'm willing to pay two thousand taels of silver for this ginseng because it's truly good. Are you trying to blackmail me?"
Seeing this, Su Yuandong quickly put on an apologetic smile and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Oh, Steward Li, you must have misunderstood us. How could we dare to do that? We are really at our wit's end. Please be magnanimous and give us some leniency."
Steward Li frowned, his face thoughtful. After a moment, he slowly said, "Never mind. I'll give you another two hundred taels of silver, making it two thousand two hundred taels. Any more will be gone. If you agree, quickly pack up the ginseng and follow me. If you don't agree, well, then this matter won't be so easy to discuss!"
Doctor Bai and Su Yuandong exchanged a glance. Although they felt the price was still a bit tight, they also understood that there was no room for bargaining at this point. They could only nod and say, "Thank you very much, Steward Li, for your help. We'll pack the ginseng for you right away."
Steward Li nodded with satisfaction and stood aside waiting, his eyes never leaving the ginseng, as if he had already seen the proud look on the prefect's face when he praised him after he presented the ginseng.
After Butler Li left with the ginseng, Doctor Bai used the money from the ginseng to buy some commonly used medicinal materials. The owner of the drugstore, who had a connection with Butler Li, gave them a 20% discount and only charged them 100 taels of silver.
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