The trip to Feiyu Mountain was not urgent. It had already been delayed for several years, so another ten days or half a month would make no difference.
The main reason was that this would be the first time Lu Zheng and Shen Ying travelled alone together as a couple. Of course they could not simply fly straight to Feiyu Mountain, hand over the sword manual, and fly straight back. That would be far too unromantic.
So once they set off, they might be away for a full month. Lu Zheng needed to make arrangements on the modern side.
…
“You’ll be gone for over a month? And you won’t even be able to reply to messages?”
At that moment, Lu Zheng was eating Sichuan-Chongqing hotpot with Lin Wan on the fifth floor of a shopping mall.
Lu Zheng nodded seriously. “The place I’m going to this time is rather far away. No signal.”
Like hell I believe you!
Lin Wan rolled her eyes. The only thing Lu Zheng never told her the truth about was his disappearances.
“It isn’t dangerous, is it?” Lin Wan asked, worry flashing across her eyes.
In the past, when Lu Zheng went off to act the hero and vanished, he had never reported in beforehand.
“Don’t worry, not dangerous at all.”
Lu Zheng smiled and covered Lin Wan’s hand with his own. Their hands clasped together, gently rubbing. “What danger in this world could possibly threaten me now?”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“That’s good then. As long as it’s not dangerous, you can go for as long as you like.” Lin Wan gazed at him. “Just remember there’s someone who will always be waiting at home for you.”
Lu Zheng gave a tender smile. “I’m not in a hurry to leave. I’ll spend May Day with you first.”
Lin Wan pursed her lips into a smile, her eyes filled with deep affection. She only said, “Another free holiday, then?”
Lu Zheng laughed. “That depends whether any blind scumbags turn up to deliver themselves.”
“Where are you going?”
“No idea.” Lu Zheng shrugged. “Luckily we still have two days. Plenty of time to plan.”
“Fine. Shall we bring Zhao Xiaodao along?”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure you want Zhao Xiaodao as a third wheel?”
Lin Wan blinked, imagined a giant lightbulb appearing in their romantic couple’s trip…
“Forget it!” Lin Wan shook her head decisively.
“Ding-dong!”
A message arrived on his phone. Lu Zheng glanced at it and raised an eyebrow.
“What’s up?” Lin Wan asked.
“A friend wants to treat me to dinner. Probably short on medicinal ingredients again.” Lu Zheng grinned.
“A friend? Medicinal ingredients?”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Xie Feng, major shareholder and director of Huairen Hall in Nandu. I sold him some wild herbs before.”
Lin Wan’s eyes widened. “You even know a director of Nandu Huairen Hall?”
Lu Zheng straightened proudly. “As if that’s surprising. Your husband is a remarkable person. Knowing one rich businessman is perfectly normal, right?”
“Yes, yes, totally normal.” Lin Wan nodded repeatedly, then added, “I’m just curious how you met him.”
“Auctioned an old wild ginseng once, and we got acquainted.” Lu Zheng explained simply.
Lin Wan nodded to show she understood and did not ask where the old ginseng came from.
Come on, the man could produce miraculous pills like Jade Essence Elixir. Having a bit of ordinary wild herb to sell was perfectly reasonable, wasn’t it?
Lin Wan snickered. “One piece of code from you sells for tens of millions. Why bother selling wild herbs?”
“Code doesn’t sell that easily every day.” Lu Zheng sighed helplessly. “But there are more rich people nowadays, so Huairen Hall takes all the wild herbs they can get. Last time I sold them a wild ginseng over eight liang for five million straight.”
“How much!?”
“Five million!” Lu Zheng held up five fingers to Lin Wan.
“Hiss…”
Lin Wan sucked in a breath. “Wild ginseng is worth that much?”
“What did you think?”
“Is it really worth it?”
“Absolutely!” Lu Zheng nodded. “Although modern cultivated ginseng or forest ginseng are close in basic medicinal effects and you can make up the difference with larger doses, there are some mysterious factors that only true wild mountain ginseng possesses.”
“For example?”
“For ordinary qi replenishment and body nourishment, one gram of old wild ginseng is roughly equal to three grams of cultivated ginseng. If that’s not enough, just use five grams. No problem.
But the price difference is far more than five times.
However…
When it’s truly a matter of clinging to life, old wild ginseng can keep someone alive, maybe for ten days or more, and might even save them. Cultivated or forest ginseng? Even if you ate a tonne, it wouldn’t hold them for two hours. That’s the real difference, and why old wild ginseng is genuinely precious.”
Lu Zheng shrugged. “For ordinary people, though, normal cultivated or forest ginseng is plenty.”
Lin Wan smiled. “But for the truly rich, they insist on eating old wild ginseng.”
“Exactly.” Lu Zheng nodded. “Even for routine health maintenance, they want wild old ginseng, polygonatum, lingzhi, anything wild, even if the effect is the same as cultivated.”
“What a waste!” Lin Wan concluded.
Lu Zheng tapped the table with his forefinger. “The travel expenses for our May Day holiday are going to come from these people’s pockets. Calling them wasteful is practically slandering our sponsors!”
Lin Wan was speechless. “So it’s been a while since you last sold him any wild herbs?”
“The San Miguel job.” Lu Zheng reminded her.
Lin Wan face-palmed. “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d almost forgotten.”
They really did not spend much money normally. Weekday meals were cooked at home, weekends were just movies, and the biggest expense was probably clothes shopping at the mall, which Lin Wan’s salary easily covered.
All the money Lu Zheng had gathered from outside had barely been touched.
“Are you going tomorrow at noon?” Lu Zheng asked.
“No.” Lin Wan shook her head. “I have work tomorrow. With the holiday coming, I should finish my last shift properly.”
“Alright, I’ll go then.” Lu Zheng said.
…
After dinner they went home. Lu Zheng and Lin Wan discussed what to wear for the holiday. Lin Wan tried on several outfits, ending up breathless from exhaustion, and still could not decide.
…
The next day Lin Wan went to work. Lu Zheng spent the morning tormenting some university students and office workers on Pesticide, then took a taxi to the address Xie Feng had sent him.
“President Lu!”
“President Xie!”
Xie Feng ushered Lu Zheng into the private room. Only then did Lu Zheng discover that his old acquaintance Liu Zhenming was also there, along with three beautiful secretaries from Huairen Hall’s board, all in black stockings, high heels, and fitted skirts, curves exquisite, makeup impeccable, clearly brought along to liven the atmosphere.
“Good grief, President Xie, quite the lineup today!” Lu Zheng laughed.
He knew perfectly well it was because he had not sold any herbs to Huairen Hall recently, so Xie Feng probably thought he had found a new high-paying buyer.
“Hahaha, it’s been too long. Of course I had to make an effort!”
Xie Feng invited Lu Zheng to the seat of honour. Liu Zhenming poured him a cup of wine and offered it with both hands.
“President Liu, you’re far too polite. We’re all friends here, no need to stand on ceremony.” Lu Zheng smiled, accepted the cup, and drank with the two men.
Seeing that Lu Zheng still gave them face, Xie Feng relaxed. The beautiful secretary sitting beside Lu Zheng hurriedly refilled his glass, cooing, “President Lu really can hold his liquor.”
Lu Zheng grinned cheerfully, enjoying the secretary’s flattery while chatting casually with Xie Feng. Soon he put the two men’s minds at ease.
“One reason is that supplies have indeed been tight lately, the other is that I haven’t been short of money recently, so I haven’t actively sourced anything.” Lu Zheng laughed. “But if President Xie needs goods, I’ll bring some in.”
Xie Feng nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, yes! Huairen Hall has a huge shortfall. Century-old ginseng, poria, polygonatum, anything, we’ll take it all!”
“No problem!” Lu Zheng agreed readily. “I’ll arrange the sourcing when I get back. After May Day, once the goods arrive, I’ll contact you!”
Xie Feng hurriedly raised his cup. “Really putting you to trouble, President Lu. I toast you!”
That was the beauty of a seller’s market. They were begging him to sell.
Lu Zheng clinked cups with Xie Feng, drained his in one go. The secretary beside him exclaimed dramatically and topped him up again.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
One of the beautiful secretaries went to open it and found two people standing outside.
“President Xie! You came to Haicheng and didn’t even come find me for a chat? I had to come looking for you! Haha! Let me introduce you. This is Chairman Duan of Nansheng Pharmaceutical Group!”
