“Five-leaf wild ginseng seedling, grade five, sixty-five to seventy years old, weighs five qian... in perfect condition.”

William Grant immediately appraised the medicinal herb brought over by the girl.

A wave of booing instantly rose from all around.

Strictly speaking, five-leaf wild ginseng of this grade is already extremely rare nowadays. Even though all the guests present are major medicinal herb dealers, it’s not often they come across a five-leaf wild ginseng in such perfect condition. However, this wild ginseng seedling can’t really be considered a truly precious treasure. The guests here have all seen six-leaf ginseng kings before, so this seems a bit unworthy of the special treatment William Grant just gave the two of them.

Anyone who receives such high regard from Master Yin ought to present something that would shock the whole room to live up to the audience’s expectations.

Linda King seemed completely unfazed by the booing around her. She softly said “thank you,” put away the five-leaf wild ginseng seedling, and unhurriedly returned to table twenty-seven, where she stood quietly, making no further sound.

David Harris continued to hold his porcelain cup, slowly savoring his tea, a gentle and serene smile always on his face, as if everything happening in the room had little to do with him. He was just here for the spectacle today.

Soon, no one paid them any more attention. After all, everyone was here to trade, not to people-watch.

Tonight, there were forty-five tables of guests in total, and about half had brought medicinal herbs for William Grant to appraise. Once the appraisals were done, William Grant cupped his hands and said in a loud voice, “Same old rules, everyone, please feel free.”

With a loud “boom,” the room instantly became lively, as guests got up and hurried toward the people they’d been eyeing.

“Sir, may I ask your surname?”

A chubby man in his forties, with a big belly and a stately stride, walked up to table twenty-seven, reached out to David Harris with a beaming smile, and asked, looking just like a laughing Buddha.

“No need for formalities, my surname is Xiao, John Harris.”

David Harris stood up and replied with a smile, his accent pure Beijing, his tone gentle and pleasant to the ear.

John Harris was another name he used.

“So it’s Mr. Harris, nice to meet you, nice to meet you. My name is James Miller, I’m from Lingnan, in the medicinal herb business. Very pleased to meet you, Mr. Harris...”

The chubby man introduced himself with a hearty laugh, his Lingnan accent only faintly noticeable.

“Mr. Miller, a pleasure.”

“Mr. Harris, you’re too kind... Mr. Harris, I wonder if you’d be willing to part with that five-leaf ginseng seedling? If you are, I’ll offer you this price!”

James Miller smiled and held up a chubby finger.

To be honest, although five-leaf wild ginseng is rare, two or three years ago it wouldn’t have been worth a hundred thousand. Even now, judged by medicinal value alone, it’s not worth that much. The key is that in the past two years, a craze for collecting wild ginseng has suddenly swept the country. Many wealthy people, especially those from Hong Kong, have become obsessed with rare old ginseng, offering sky-high prices to buy them. Wild ginseng’s value has soared, outstripping the price of many other rare medicinal herbs by dozens or even hundreds of times.

David Harris smiled and shook his head, saying, “Sorry, Mr. Miller, I don’t plan to sell this five-leaf seedling. I’d like to trade it for something else.”

“Oh? What would Mr. Harris like in exchange? Tell me, maybe I just happen to have the herb you want.”

James Miller immediately responded, looking quite self-assured. As a famous medicinal herb dealer from Lingnan, James Miller was a big shot even among this room full of merchants, and he was loaded. When it comes to money, Lingnan still leads the country these days.

“Mr. Miller, I’m afraid the herb I want isn’t something you can provide.”

David Harris remained perfectly polite, with no intention of belittling James Miller. If he were just looking for ordinary herbs, there’d be no need for him to travel all the way from the capital to this remote place in Yidong. David Harris wasn’t picky or afraid of hardship; what mattered was that it took time away from his cultivation. That was what David Harris cared about most.

“Is that so? How can you be so sure if you don’t say, Mr. Harris? Haha, Mr. Harris, I won’t boast about anything else, but when it comes to medicinal herbs, there’s nothing I can’t get... I suppose it’s really about the price, right? If it’s just a matter of money, that’s easy to discuss.”

As he spoke, James Miller lifted his wrist and gave it a shake, as if his cuff was a bit tight, but in the process, he casually revealed the Breguet watch on his wrist.

The poor play with cars, the rich play with watches.

That’s the new standard for modern “nobility.”

“Mr. Harris, for your five-leaf seedling, I’ll offer one hundred and fifty thousand.”

Before The Miller Boss could finish showing off, another slender middle-aged man walked over and immediately raised the offer by fifty thousand. He was well-dressed, his shoes gleaming, clearly another big boss.

James Miller’s face instantly darkened. He forced a smile and said, “What, Mr. Brooks has his eye on this five-leaf seedling too? Heh, Mr. Harris, I’ll take a loss and offer you this price!”

James Miller suddenly held up two fingers.

This thin man, Mr. Brooks, who had just jumped in, was a major medicinal herb dealer from Yuezhong Province, and had always been at odds with James Miller. The two were business rivals. Yuezhong’s economy had also developed rapidly in recent years, producing layer upon layer of wealthy people.

Mr. Brooks had publicly embarrassed James Miller, so naturally The Miller Boss wouldn’t take it lying down.

It’s just money, isn’t it?

I’ve got plenty!