Chapter 238: Many Strange People in Ming City
Qin Tuo continued to explain,
"None of these herbs you’ve brought out are top-grade. They all have certain flaws in their quality. In my opinion, they’re worth half the price at most."
Hearing this, Wu Chenggang’s expression clearly soured.
Zhou Qihua, on the other hand, was awkwardly silent. He was clearly caught in the middle, in a difficult position with both parties.
Chen Man Ni and her companion, however, just looked curious. They couldn’t see any of the so-called quality differences in the herbs that Qin Tuo was talking about.
Wu Chenggang couldn’t help but let out a cold snort.
"Mr. Qin, you’re just spouting nonsense! All of my goods are top quality. What flaws are you talking about!"
He looked furious, as if he no longer wanted to sell the herbs to Qin Tuo.
Zhou Qihua opened his mouth, wanting to say a few words in Qin Tuo’s defense.
But Qin Tuo, without another word, simply grabbed all the herbs and flipped them over.
Wu Chenggang’s eyes immediately went wide, and he prepared to snatch the herbs back.
Zhou Qihua’s jaw dropped, his face a mask of astonishment.
But in the next moment, Qin Tuo pointed to the undersides of the herbs and said calmly,
"See for yourself. Their undersides all have various flaws. With your expertise, you should be able to see them, right?"
Sure enough, Zhou Qihua could see at a glance that the flaws on the undersides of these five hundred-year-old herbs were quite significant.
These defects alone were enough to prove that the five herbs were by no means top-grade!
Zhou Qihua couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up, saying admiringly,
"Mr. Qin, you have an incredible eye! I didn’t notice a thing just now."
As for Wu Chenggang, his expression was strained. He was speechless for a long moment.
Zhou Qihua said with a wry smile,
"Boss Wu, that’s a bit dishonest of you. Mr. Qin came here in good faith to buy herbs, so how could you try to pass off these flawed ones on him?"
Having been exposed, Wu Chenggang could only nod helplessly in admission.
"Alright, Mr. Qin, I’ll be honest. I originally thought you were some gullible rookie, but I didn’t expect to run into a master today. I’m impressed!"
Chen Man Ni had been furious, but hearing Wu Chenggang praise Qin Tuo like that, she suddenly broke into a wide smile.
The look she gave Qin Tuo was filled with adoration.
Wu Chenggang said seriously,
"How about this, Mr. Qin? I’ll sell you these herbs for ten million each. Fifty million for the lot. What do you say?"
At a price of fifty million, Qin Tuo had no objections.
Meanwhile, having learned his lesson from before, Zhou Qihua didn’t dare offer the slightest bit of advice.
Besides, he now understood deeply that Qin Tuo’s knowledge of herbs was even greater than his own.
’Thinking back, all the advice I offered before was just me showing off my amateur skills in front of a true master.’
Qin Tuo nodded.
"Alright, Boss Wu, we have a deal!"
Wu Chenggang also let out a heavy sigh of relief.
’These five herbs would never fetch a good price from a real expert. Since Qin Tuo is willing to take them, it’s for the best. At least it’s better than them rotting in my hands!’
After buying the five herbs, Qin Tuo asked,
"Boss Wu, do you have any other hundred-year-old herbs at the Hundred Medicines Workshop? I’ll take them all, regardless of their quality!"
Qin Tuo made his stance clear: quality wasn’t important, as long as the herbs were over a hundred years old.
This was because while quality determined the density and purity of the Spiritual Qi within, any herb over a hundred years old was immensely useful to Qin Tuo.
Hearing Qin Tuo’s tone, Wu Chenggang instantly knew a true high roller had arrived!
He thought for a moment, then nodded readily.
"Of course. I happen to have some more herbs. I’ll bring them over for you to inspect, Mr. Qin, then you can decide!"
Wu Chenggang knew Qin Tuo was an expert, so he completely abandoned any thought of trying to fool him.
By proactively bringing out the herbs for Qin Tuo to appraise himself, he was essentially laying all his cards on the table.
Soon, several top-quality, hundred-year-old herbs were placed before Qin Tuo.
Qin Tuo picked them up one by one, appraising each carefully before nodding in satisfaction.
Clearly, the quality of these herbs was far superior to the previous five.
"Excellent. These are all top-grade herbs. I’ll take them all."
Qin Tuo’s decision to buy them all without hesitation left Wu Chenggang a little surprised.
After all, counting the previous five, Qin Tuo had bought over ten stalks of hundred-year-old herbs today. This was no small sum of money!
By this point, both Zhou Qihua and Wu Chenggang were looking at Qin Tuo in a new light.
They never would have imagined that this young man possessed such terrifying wealth.
’And to be willing to spend so much on these herbs... what is he after?’
’Does he want to open his own medicine hall?’
After buying the herbs, Qin Tuo wasn’t satisfied. He couldn’t help but ask another question.
"Boss Wu, I heard you also have a Thousand-year-old Ganoderma. Would you be willing to sell it to me?"
Wu Chenggang looked at Qin Tuo as if he had just seen a ghost.
’This kid is really insatiable,’ he thought. ’How can he want everything?’
’The real question is... can he even afford it?’
Qin Tuo, however, simply wore a faint smile, awaiting Wu Chenggang’s reply.
Zhou Qihua’s heart also began to pound!
He had only mentioned it to Qin Tuo in passing. He never dreamed Qin Tuo would actually be serious and ask to buy the shop’s greatest treasure.
Wu Chenggang didn’t consider it for long before shaking his hand dismissively.
"You’re getting ahead of yourself, Mr. Qin. This Thousand-year-old Ganoderma is our greatest treasure. It’s not for sale, no matter how much you offer!"
Qin Tuo was visibly disappointed, shrugging his shoulders.
His original plan had been to buy the Thousand-year-old Ganoderma, no matter the cost.
The benefits a thousand-year-old Ganoderma would provide for his cultivation were simply too great to be measured by money.
Just then, Wu Chenggang shot Zhou Qihua a meaningful look.
Zhou Qihua immediately understood and the two of them stepped aside to talk privately.
Wu Chenggang lowered his voice and whispered,
"Mr. Zhou, who exactly is this friend you brought? It looks like this kid won’t stop until he’s bought out my entire shop!"
Zhou Qihua was also at a loss, shaking his head with a wry smile.
"To be honest, Boss Wu, I’m not really sure myself. All I know is that this Mr. Qin is from Ming City."
Wu Chenggang nodded, a peculiar look in his eyes as he muttered to himself,
"Ming City... it’s full of strange people!"
Hearing his tone, Zhou Qihua was puzzled and quickly asked,
"Oh? Why do you say that, Boss Wu?"