Ling Manshuang, after explaining the situation outside the village, became interested in the large chests Qin Junyao had brought in.
"Junyao, my dear, what treasures are in this chest? Four people had to carry it in."
Mentioning the chests, Qin Junyao felt a bit embarrassed for not informing Ling Manshuang beforehand.
"Manshuang, my dear, there are indeed treasures in the chest. I had intended to ask Doctor Sheng to handle it, and then..."
Ling Manshuang pressed her handkerchief and signaled Liu Yu to open the chest. "Manshuang, my dear, please take a look."
Liu Yu's hands trembled slightly as she opened the chest.
She had seen the contents before coming, and was so astonished that she hadn't recovered yet. It would be a shame to sell them.
"You intended to ask Doctor Sheng to handle medicinal herbs, right? I don't know much about herbs, let's take a look first."
When Ling Manshuang saw the ten opened small boxes of medicinal herbs placed at the top of the large chest, she was momentarily speechless.
She didn't know much about herbs, but she recognized ginseng.
The ginseng in the ten boxes were all "human-shaped." Ling Manshuang didn't know the exact age, but she knew they were top-grade treasures.
"Junyao, my dear, when you make a move, it's truly astonishing!"
Qin Junyao rubbed her nose. "Zhao Liangcai got them."
This was the only excuse she could think of. She had initially wanted the older the medicinal herbs, the better. Without paying attention, she let the ginseng and some other herbs grow too old.
Doctor Sheng's network was limited, and these treasures were not something ordinary families could obtain.
Qin Junyao was in urgent need of money, so she had no choice but to approach Ling Manshuang.
"Everyone, withdraw. Please invite Master Ma," Ling Manshuang carefully examined the ten ginseng roots, then straightened up and dismissed the servants.
She paced back and forth in front of Qin Junyao, shaking her head. "General Zhao is truly blessed with good fortune and luck." After a moment, she added, "I'm also quite lucky."
Qin Junyao pretended not to understand her cryptic words.
Qin Junyao's maternal grandfather, Master Ma, arrived quickly, carrying a pot of half-dead flowers, similar to the one Qin Junyao had given her when she returned from the northwest.
"Flower-growing girl, take a look at this flower. No matter how I care for it, it... Huh?"
Master Ma suddenly stopped, tossed the flowerpot to a follower behind him, and prostrated himself before the ten ginseng roots.
"Wow~~ oh~~ ah~~" A series of exclamations came from Master Ma's mouth, their meaning unknown.
Ling Manshuang squatted beside Master Ma. "Grandfather, how are these ginseng roots?"
"Good, very good! I'll throw away what we have at home and keep these."
"Grandfather, how much silver can these sell for?"
Master Ma shook his head. "They can't be sold for silver. They must be exchanged for treasures."
Ling Manshuang looked up at Qin Junyao. "Junyao, my dear, is there anything else beneath the ginseng?"
The medicinal herbs beneath the ginseng were also grown in the space, having a long cultivation period. Qin Junyao had chosen those she thought would sell well, like Huang Jing, He Shou Wu, and Tian Ma, and packed them into a chest.
Although this chest of medicinal herbs wasn't large in quantity or variety, combined with Master Ma's assessment, the value Ling Manshuang estimated for Qin Junyao made her feel unsteady.
"Manshuang, my dear, how can this be worth over a hundred thousand taels of silver? Don't tease me."
Qin Junyao's smile was somewhat forced.
Save her! Zhao Liangcai found medicinal herbs worth over a hundred thousand taels, and instead of finding someone to sell them, he gave them to his wife to find a doctor to handle them. Is this reasonable?
Ling Manshuang put her right arm around Qin Junyao's shoulder. "Junyao, my dear, if it were a peaceful year, with some good maneuvering of your medicinal herbs, selling them for tens of thousands more would be as easy as pie."