dkrc Chapter 2011: The Appearance of the Three Great Ginseng Kings Shocks the Entire Ginseng Industry
Chapter 2011: The Appearance of the Three Great Ginseng Kings Shocks the Entire Ginseng Industry
Chapter 2011: The Appearance of the Three Great Ginseng Kings Shocks the Entire Ginseng Industry
Just as Wang Meilan was thinking about going home to visit her father's grave and burn paper money, Zhao Jun had already entered the venue.
Inside the venue, the various bosses were still gathered around the counter, examining the ginseng and other products, including "Snake Transformation Dragon." Their entourages, however, wisely refrained from moving closer, instead congregating at the buffet area, enjoying dried fruit, fresh fruit, cigarettes, and soft drinks.
After Zhao Jun entered, he stood in front of the red cloth covering the ginseng king, smiling as he watched the lively scene inside the room.
At this moment, Li Ruhai, who had just seen Zhao Jun, cleared his throat and shouted loudly, "Zhao Jun, the leader of the Zhao family gang, has arrived!"
This scene was a bit childish, but as soon as Li Ruhai shouted, all the big bosses' attention shifted from the wild ginseng to Zhao Jun.
"Hehe." Zhao Jun chuckled lightly, then raised his hand in a fist salute and said, "Good afternoon, dear friends, old and new, who have come from afar and from all corners of the world!"
In the height of summer, we welcome distinguished guests and gather with friends and kin. We warmly welcome everyone who has traveled from afar, braving the sweltering heat, to join us at the Zhao Family Ginseng King Conference.
On behalf of the entire Zhao family, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for coming!
As soon as Zhao Jun finished speaking, Li Ruhai led the applause, and the guests who had been eating with Zhao Jun for two days also joined in, clapping along with him.
Li Baoyu was the most excited of them all. He clapped his hands until they were red, and his face turned bright red with excitement.
The reason Li Baoyu was so excited was that all the lyrics Zhao Jun recited were written by him.
To avoid a repeat of the previous incident, Li Baoyu also urged Zhao Jun to memorize these lines.
Looking at it now, it seems pretty good.
Among the crowd, Shao Zhiqiang looked at the dignified and composed Zhao Jun and felt a pang of resentment.
Even after three generations of the Shao family herding ginseng, they had never achieved such status. And Zhao Jun, when they first met last year, was still buying ginseng from the Shao family.
It hasn't even been a year yet, and Zhao Jun has already turned out like this. Where can Shao Zhiqiang go to seek justice?
"Let's take our time and look at it slowly, no rush," Zhao Jun said, waving his hand. Li Ruhai quickly handed him a section of tree trunk.
This section of tree trunk was carved from poplar wood; it is half a meter long and about the thickness of a calf.
Aspen wood is the lightest material; it feels light in your hand, and if you hollow it out, it can even float on water.
But you can't get a military water bottle out of this tree trunk, so Zhao Jun just held it in his hand and said with a smile, "Let's sit down and check the price of that 'club tree' we've got our eye on."
The "price-pinching" that Zhao Jun mentioned is a hidden bargaining method, which was the most common way for merchants to negotiate prices in ancient markets.
There are two methods of operation: one is to touch the price with a tube, and the other is to pinch the price with a sleeve.
The "sleeve touch price" method involves the person making the offer gesturing with their hand, and then the buyer touches the sleeve to identify the price offered.
The "sleeve-pinching" refers to the bidder pinching the seller's hand. Each finger on the seller's left and right hands represents a different digit.
Whether it's touching the price in the sleeve or pinching the price inside the sleeve, it all needs to be done inside the sleeve.
At this time of year, it's hot to go shirtless, so it's impossible to make everyone wear a shirt with big sleeves.
In response, Zhao Jun recalled a movie he had seen in his previous life, in which the character played by Ge You invented something called a divergence terminal, which gave Zhao Jun inspiration.
So Zhao Jun had Zhang Yuanmin find two sections of poplar wood, hollow them out, and then the buyer and seller would reach their hands inside from either side. Whether they gestured or touched was up to the buyer.
As for whether these guests knew these skills, Zhao Jun had no doubts whatsoever.
The three Song brothers, along with Zhang Yuejin and Xu Qianli, travel all over the country every day; it would be strange if they didn't know this.
Yang Changjiang and Tian Guozhong are both figures from the pharmaceutical industry, so there's no need to elaborate.
The bosses from Jiangxi and Guangxi provinces might not know how, but they all brought along experienced pharmacists who could teach them on the spot.
As for those bosses from Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, Zhao Jun was worried they might have problems, so he communicated with them yesterday. It turned out they all knew how to do it.
But as the meeting was about to begin, Tian Guozhong said, "Boss Zhao, I have a question."
"Please speak, Mr. Tian." Zhao Jun's speaking style was taught to him by Li Baoyu.
“For example, let’s say I’ve set my sights on this snake that has transformed into a dragon,” Tian Guozhong said. “After I make my offer, Boss Yang also makes an offer. How do I know if his offer is higher or lower than mine?”
“That’s easy,” Zhao Jun smiled and said, “If Boss Yang offers a higher price than you, then I’ll tell him. If Boss Yang offers a lower price than you, then I’ll tell him.”
"Ah..." Tian Guozhong frowned upon hearing this and said, "For example, if the price I offer isn't as high as what Boss Yang offered, Boss Zhao, after you tell me, can I continue to offer?"
“Yes.” Zhao Jun nodded and said, “If we agree, we’ll participate; if we don’t agree, we won’t participate.”
"Then..." Tian Guozhong paused slightly, then said, "In this situation, would you tell me the price Mr. Yang offered?"
"No, that won't happen." Zhao Jun shook his head with a smile, saying, "If that were the case, wouldn't our 'hidden gold in the sleeve' strategy be meaningless?"
Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Tian Guozhong nodded and remained silent.
At this moment, Zhang Yuejin, Xu Qianli, and the three Song brothers were the first to realize that Zhao Jun had combined open and covert bidding in this move.
This is exactly what Zhao Jun learned from attending the two King of Bidding Conferences. The first King of Bidding Conference was a blind auction, where everyone wrote down their bids on slips of paper. Each person submitted a bid.
As a result, the ginseng dealers all became cunning and drove the prices down below the market price.
However, there had been a dispute between the buyer and seller before that meeting.
But today's ginseng king conference of the Zhao family gang has attracted too many buyers, who come from all over the country and are complete strangers to each other.
In this way, these people could not unite to put pressure on Zhao Jun. Moreover, Zhao Jun's method of concealing the truth would not give them the opportunity to collude in private.
"Mr. Zhao," Yang Xuewu from Guangzhou asked Zhao Jun at this moment, "So, in the end, the highest bidder wins?"
“That’s right.” Zhao Jun said solemnly, “Please rest assured, whoever offers the highest price gets the club.”
Zhao Jun had no reason to falsify anything, since he wanted to make more money. He couldn't possibly sell to someone who offered a higher price and someone who offered a lower price.
After Zhao Jun explained the rules, all of them lost their relaxed expressions.
Everyone knew perfectly well that if they followed this method to acquire ginseng, the cost of obtaining even one ginseng seedling would be significantly higher.
While everyone remained silent, Zhao Jun laughed and said, "Our Zhao Family Gang is hosting the Ginseng King Conference. Since it's called the Ginseng King Conference, there must be a Ginseng King."
At this point, Zhao Jun paused slightly, then continued, "The Mountain God and the Old Master have both been very kind to our Zhao family gang, and we are willing to endure hardship. With these two being so kind, we've decided to release the Three Miao Ginseng King this year."
The guests: "..."
Ignoring the silence of the crowd, Zhao Jun turned to the side, raised his hand, gestured to the red cloth behind him, and said, "Today we have brought the Sanmiao Ginseng King. Please take a look, bosses. If you find anything you like, we can sit down and discuss the price."
After saying his last sentence, Zhao Jun stepped aside, and then Li Ruhai called out loudly, "Please invite the Prince!"
As Li Ruhai finished speaking, Li Baoyu slowly pulled the red curtain at one end.
At this moment, the bosses and shopkeepers all rushed forward.
The first to appear was the Three Talents Ginseng King.
"This ginseng king grew in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and its age exceeds three hundred and fifty years! It has three reeds." Li Ruhai introduced loudly, "According to the old system of weighing, its weight is fourteen taels and two mace."
At this point, Li Ruhai lowered his voice slightly and continued, "There's an old saying in the ginseng trade: seven taels is ginseng, eight taels is treasure, and nine taels is commonplace. Now, I ask you all, what is this fourteen-tael and two-qian treasure?"
As Li Ruhai finished speaking, no one paid him any attention. Everyone's attention was now drawn to the Three Talents Ginseng King.
Although they had seen photos before, the photos were nowhere near as good as the real thing.
Li Ruhai didn't feel embarrassed at all. Following the words he had written in advance, he continued: "As the saying goes: Three reeds stand apart, three bodies are connected, hidden deep in the mountains for more than three hundred years. Fourteen taels and two ginseng, Wang Zhong, with a thirteen-foot-long beard, is as handsome as an immortal."
The longest tendril of this ginseng king reached a staggering 1.3 meters. The ginseng body was gnarled and ancient, covered with iron-wire patterns left by the passage of time.
Even more miraculously, this ginseng king contains three reeds in one body, with three ginseng roots in one body, perfectly corresponding to the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man, thus making it the Three Realms Ginseng King!
While Li Ruhai was rambling on, Zhao Deshan had already taken out a magnifying glass and looked closely.
At this moment, Li Guangming from Singapore wanted to join in, but Li Baoyu gently persuaded him to stop.
Li Guangming said that he needed to examine the ginseng rootlets to check their elasticity and estimate the dehydration level of the ginseng king.
However, Li Baoyu politely declined his suggestion.
Li Guangming wasn't angry. After Zhao Deshan stepped aside, he leaned over and practically glued his eyes to the Three Talents Ginseng King.
Seeing this group of people gathered in front of the Three Talents Ginseng King, Zhao Jun waved to Li Baoyu.
The red curtain continued to be pulled to the right. At this moment, most people's eyes were still on the Three Talents Ginseng King when Song San exclaimed, "Brother, look what this is!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw an incomparably domineering ginseng king.
This ginseng king has two legs growing from its body. These two legs spread out wide to the sides, resembling legs spanning rivers and seas, or forming a long bridge.
Those who come to the Ginseng King Conference all know about wild ginseng, and anyone can tell that this is a cross-sea ginseng.
However, the root tip of most wild ginseng is not as long as that of this ginseng.
The rhizome of this wild ginseng is over 30 centimeters long, slender and naturally curved, shaped like a wild goose with its neck bent and head held high. The upper part is densely covered with compact rhizome bowls, while the lower part is smooth and without bowls, with strong and vigorous tendons and bones.
The most amazing thing is that the two jujube pits of this ginseng are almost the same length, and the two ginseng legs also appear to be the same length to the naked eye.
That's not all. Each of the two jujube pits has two tendrils growing from it, and each of the two ginseng legs has one tendril growing from it.
The Zhao family gang secured it, and everyone looked at it. The four whiskers on the stalk seemed to be the same length, as did the two whiskers on its legs.
"This can't be real, right?" Song Da looked at the Ginseng King in disbelief, blurting out an inappropriate remark.
Apart from the curved rhizome, this ginseng is symmetrical when viewed from below.
This... is the wonder of nature.
"Mr. Song, please be careful with your words," Li Ruhai reminded Song Da from the side, but Song Da seemed not to hear him, all his attention was on the sea cucumber king.
Seeing this, Li Ruhai was not angry. He simply said loudly, "According to the old system, this ginseng king weighs 15 taels, 3 mace, and 6 fen. The root head is 32 centimeters long, and its age is estimated to be around 400 years."
This ginseng king has two legs, one 17 centimeters long and the other 20 centimeters long. It also has two ginseng rootlets on its legs, one 2.8 meters long and the other 2.9 meters long.
Its roots stretch horizontally as if treading on the vast ocean, exuding a majestic and imposing aura; truly a magnificent and superior variety among wild ginseng.
When Li Ruhai shouted the last two words, "superior grade," his voice cracked.
Even so, no one present paid him any attention.
After Yang Xuewu was pushed aside, he grabbed Zhao Jun's hand and said, "Boss Zhao, I'll buy this ginseng!"
"Mr. Yang, don't get agitated." Zhao Jun had just finished trying to calm him down when someone else said, "Mr. Zhao, how much is this ginseng? I'll take it!"
The speaker was Tian Guozhong, one of the top figures in Anguo Pharmacy, whose face was full of excitement.
"Boss Tian, don't be in such a hurry," Zhao Jun quickly advised Tian Guozhong, "Let's take a look, let's take another look."
"Boss Zhao." Li Mingjun also came over. He snatched the poplar wood tube from Zhao Jinhui's hand and said to Zhao Jun, "Boss Zhao, let's discuss the price!"
Zhao Jinhui was taken aback. The poplar tube was the one Zhao Jun had just placed in his hand. Zhao Jun had thought that the "gold-swallowing" technique would only be available after a while.
Seeing that Zhao Jun was surrounded by a group of people, Li Baoyu quickly raised his arm and nudged Li Ruhai, who was watching the commotion, with his elbow.
Li Ruhai was taken aback, then realized what he meant and hurriedly shouted: "Four hundred deep mountains refine precious ginseng, its majestic appearance surpasses all others in the wild. Its goose-neck reed is a full foot long, its two feet straddling the sea shake the mountain clouds. Its dragon whiskers spread out in thousands of strands, it alone reigns supreme in Changshan."
Having seen the King of Sea Cucumbers, let me invite the next one!
This child even called out "next person".
But at this moment, Li Baoyu didn't care about anything else and continued to pull the red curtain, revealing the Phoenix Ginseng King.
At this moment, Zhao Jun, who was surrounded by several bosses, hurriedly pointed in that direction and said, "Boss Yang, what do you think that is?"
Yang Xuewu turned around and his pupils shrank instantly. He subconsciously took a step towards that direction, but was pushed aside by Li Guangming from Singapore.
Li Guangming was probably too excited. Standing in front of the Phoenix Ginseng King, he rattled off a bunch of dialect phrases, which Zhao Jun couldn't understand a word of.
“This ginseng king weighs nine taels, six mace, and seven fen.” Li Ruhai continued to explain to everyone, saying, “This ginseng king has horizontally extended tendrils on both sides of its body, which are symmetrically spread out like the wings of a phoenix, and the tendrils are scattered and flowing like the tail of a phoenix, hence the name Phoenix Ginseng King.”
In fact, Li Ruhai didn't even need to introduce it. This ginseng has a body like a phoenix's neck, two lobes like phoenix wings, and seven whiskers like phoenix tails. Its skin is yellow and lustrous, making it look like a golden phoenix.
The moment this phenomenon appeared, the two bosses from Hong Kong, who had remained silent from the beginning, became anxious.
Liang Wanshun, the head of Weihetang, and Ma Jiren, the manager of Qianchengtang, rushed to Zhao Jun's side, grabbing him from both sides and speaking Cantonese, which Zhao Jun could not understand.
They both spoke Mandarin when they chatted before, so this is because they're in such a hurry.
At this moment, Li Mingjun, holding a poplar wood tube in one hand and pulling Zhao Jun's arm with the other, said, "Boss Zhao, let's go, let's check the price!"
I haven't finished writing the extra chapter yet. "Hidden Gold in the Sleeve" is easy to say, but describing it is a bit difficult. It'll be two or three in the morning by the time I finish. Brothers, go to sleep first, we'll read it again tomorrow morning.