sinovels Chapter 1926 Zhao Jun Asks for 2
Chapter 1926 Zhao Jun Asks for 2
Chapter 1926 Zhao Jun Asks for Two Million
Having not slept all night, Zhao Youcai fell asleep shortly after lying down.
Around 11 a.m., the women, led by Wang Meilan, finished their work and returned to the front yard to prepare lunch.
At this time, Zhao Jun and his men not only retrieved the bear leg with paw from that day, but also boiled and stewed the bear paw.
"Got bears again?" Wang Meilan casually remarked as she entered the front yard. The Zhao family had been having quite a few bear paws lately. The Zhao family had brought back four, and Zhao Youcai had brought back three more.
"Mom, it's not Black Bear." Hearing Wang Meilan's words, Zhao Jun corrected her with a smile: "Big Bear."
"Wow." Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan didn't seem pleased at all, only saying, "So amazing!"
The words were well said, but the tone was undeniably sarcastic.
Zhao Jun smiled but didn't say anything. Then Wang Meilan asked, "Where's your dad? Is he sleeping?"
"Ah." Zhao Jun nodded and said, "He went straight to bed as soon as he got back. Judging from his appearance, he hadn't slept all night."
Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Wang Meilan pursed her lips, and then led Jin Xiaomei and the others to stew tofu and steam buns.
At 11:30, the steamed buns were already in the pot, and Jin Xiaomei was making leavened flatbread.
Wang Meilan checked her watch, then walked through the corridor to the door of the East House.
By now, the children should have all finished school and will be home in about ten minutes.
By the time they got home, dinner would be ready, so Wang Meilan came to call Zhao Youcai. She told him to get up and rest a bit so the children could come back and eat soon.
In the main room, Zhao Youcai lay on the kang (a heated brick bed). His brow was furrowed in his sleep, suggesting he wasn't sleeping soundly.
The moment Wang Meilan pushed open the door and stepped into the room, Zhao Youcai, who was fast asleep on the kang (a heated brick bed), was suddenly awakened.
He sat up instantly, his small eyes wide open, staring at Wang Meilan who had entered the room, his face full of terror.
Zhao Youcai's outburst startled Wang Meilan. Even when others are woken up, they don't react this strongly.
At that moment, Wang Meilan thought something had possessed Zhao Youcai because of his eyes and expression.
"His father." Wang Meilan hurried over to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), reached out to touch Zhao Youcai, who was sitting there in a daze, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
When Wang Meilan's fingertips touched Zhao Youcai's shoulder, Zhao Youcai recoiled as if he had been electrocuted, startling Wang Meilan once again.
"What's wrong with you?" Wang Meilan asked, frowning. At that moment, Zhao Youcai seemed to have come to his senses.
"Huh?" Zhao Youcai stared blankly at Wang Meilan and asked, "Lan, what's wrong?"
"I'm asking you a question," Wang Meilan retorted. "What's wrong with you?"
Zhao Youcai shook his head blankly and said, "Nothing happened to me?"
"Are you still half asleep?" Wang Meilan made up an excuse for Zhao Youcai, and then said, "Get up and wake up. We'll eat in ten or eight minutes."
"Ah..." Zhao Youcai mumbled a response, then lifted the small blanket that was pressing down on him.
Wang Meilan gave him a deep look, then turned and left.
After Wang Meilan left, Zhao Youcai didn't get off the kang (a heated brick bed). He just sat on the kang, staring blankly out the window.
About two minutes later, Zhao Jun came in carrying a teacup.
"Dad," Zhao Jun said, "Here, have some water."
"Hmm?" Zhao Youcai turned to look at Zhao Jun, then reached out and took the teacup.
The teacup contained cooled boiled water, and Zhao Youcai took it and gulped down half of it.
After putting the lid back on the teacup and handing it back to Zhao Jun, Zhao Youcai, who had finished drinking the water, perked up. He got off the kang (a heated brick bed), slipped on his shoes, and walked outside.
Zhao Jun followed Zhao Youcai out of the house, and Wang Qiang and the others greeted him.
Zhao Youcai sat down next to Xing San, who tossed him a cigarette case. Zhao Youcai took one out and put it in his mouth. Just then, he heard Wang Qiang say to him, "Brother-in-law, you're something else, you've ate three Xiong Ba cigarettes in two days."
The moment Zhao Youcai heard the name Xiong Ba, his heart skipped a beat, and the cigarette he had just taken out of the pack fell to the ground.
The table was slightly tilted as Zhao Youcai stood to the side, and the cigarette rolled towards Wang Qiang along the slanted edge. Zhao Youcai reacted quickly, hurriedly taking two more cigarettes from the pack and handing them to Xing San and Old Master Zhao.
After taking a drag on his cigarette, Zhao Youcai calmed himself down before responding to Wang Qiang's earlier words, saying, "What's so special about shooting three people in two days? I only fired three shots in total when I shot these three."
"What?" Wang Qiang paused in his act of stubbing out his cigarette, and Zhao Jun and the others also looked at Zhao Youcai in surprise.
Zhao Youcai has mentioned several times that he shot two bears with one shot the night before last, and then shot them in the head with a follow-up shot.
Everyone thought he got lucky, but they also had to admit that Zhao Youcai's marksmanship was indeed superb.
Last night, Zhao Youcai was shot in the head again. To say that it was just luck would be unacceptable.
"Brother-in-law, really? Is that true?" Wang Qiang looked at Zhao Youcai in disbelief, and Zhang Yuanmin followed up by asking, "Uncle, when did Xiong Ba arrive?"
Upon hearing the name Xiong Ba, Zhao Youcai's heart skipped a beat again, and he said, "Around midnight last night, I think."
"Really?" Zhang Yuanmin asked as well, because there are two different things about a bear coming in the middle of the night and coming after dawn.
Even though there are flashlights at night, turning on the flashlight before firing is much more difficult than firing at dawn.
Zhao Youcai's ability to shoot three bears in three shots under those circumstances was no ordinary feat.
"Hey." Zhao Youcai didn't mention Xiong Ba's name at all, and said, "Do you think I'm like you guys? You take several shots to... you know, wasting bullets and destroying them all."
As he said this, Zhao Youcai squinted at Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang, but he didn't even bother to look at Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, and the others.
"Dad, you really hit the bullseye three times in three shots?" Zhao Jun knew Zhao Youcai wouldn't lie about this, but it was still too frightening. Recently, Zhao Jun felt his shooting skills had improved, so why was he still so much worse than Zhao Youcai?
"Would I lie about something like this?" Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Jun and said, "The remaining bullets are right there. I haven't touched the two magazines in my pocket, and there are nine bullets in the chamber."
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Three shots to the head, three large brown bears, without even needing to follow up with a shot—that was too domineering!
Just as Zhao Youcai was about to continue bragging, Wang Meilan walked up behind him and asked, "Are you going again tonight?"
"Let's not go," Wang Qiang replied on behalf of Zhao Youcai, "I saw that my brother-in-law brought back his bedding roll."
"Ah." As soon as Wang Qiang finished speaking, Zhao Youcai nodded and said, "I'm not going."
Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan stared at Zhao Youcai and asked, "Then why aren't you going?"
"I'm tired," Zhao Youcai said. "I haven't been able to sleep for two nights in a row. I'll take a good rest at home today."
Hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Wang Meilan glared at him and said, "How can you hunt like that? It's like you're courting death."
Zhao Youcai smoked in silence, while at that moment the telephone rang from the small east hut.
"Son," Wang Meilan called out to Zhao Jun instinctively. When Zhao Jun was home, he was the one who answered the phone at their house.
"Mom, answer the phone." Zhao Jun said, "If Lushuihe is looking for me, just tell him I won't be back for a couple of days."
After spending several days eating and sleeping in the mountains, Zhao Jun now just wants to stay home with his wife before going out again.
Wang Meilan responded and turned to walk towards the east hut.
Less than three seconds after the phone stopped ringing, Wang Meilan appeared at the door and called out, "Son, come here."
Zhao Jun knew something was wrong as soon as he heard this, and quickly got up and went over.
When Zhao Jun arrived at the door of the west hut, Wang Meilan whispered to him, "Manager Huang from Hebei."
"Ouch." Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun quickly stepped aside from Wang Meilan, went inside, and picked up the microphone that was placed on the table.
"Hey, Manager Huang," Zhao Jun greeted with a smile, "Hello."
"Hello Zhao Jun," came Manager Huang's voice from the other end of the phone. "Those photos you asked Boss Zhao to bring over, my regular customers have all seen them. How much for your 'Snake Transforming into a Dragon'?"
“That one…” Zhao Jun said, “That one is ten thousand.”
"Ten thousand..." Upon hearing Zhao Jun's offer, Manager Huang hesitated slightly and said, "Isn't that too expensive?"
"Hehe..." Zhao Jun chuckled and said, "It's expensive...it's rare, even rarer than the stone dragon and the wooden dragon."
After saying this, Zhao Jun paused slightly, then added, "My Miao Snake Transformation Dragon is of such high quality!"
They say you can ask for an exorbitant price, but you have to haggle on the spot.
As the seller, Zhao Jun would definitely ask for more, leaving room for the other party to bargain.
After a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, Manager Huang asked, "Zhao Jun, how much do you want for those big seedlings?"
"The big one?" Zhao Jun knew that Manager Huang was asking about the triple ginseng king, but he did not answer immediately.
"Yes, it's the one where the three ginseng roots grow together," said Manager Huang. "The owner who bought your Little White Dragon said that if you pay the right price, he'll buy it to keep as a collector's item."
Hearing Manager Huang's words, Zhao Jun replied without hesitation, "That's not cheap, so... how about two hundred snakes transforming into dragons?"
"How much?" Manager Huang's voice on the other end of the phone rose sharply, revealing his utter shock.
The two million Zhao Jun asked for would have been roughly equivalent to forty million in the year he was reborn.
What kind of figure is this? Manager Huang had to pool his money with other business partners to buy bear bile for hundreds of thousands of yuan. And the price of this one ginseng seedling could buy several Huichuntang pharmacies.
"Two million." Zhao Jun stated the exact price, then added, "That's the price, not a penny less."
Manager Huang was silent for about five seconds, making Zhao Jun think he had hung up the phone.
"Zhao Jun," Manager Huang asked Zhao Jun seriously after a moment of silence, "We used to have some ginseng, but nothing too high-grade. Ever since my regular customer ordered Sanlong ginseng, I've looked into it a bit. Let's be honest, even the ginseng seedlings at the Great Hall of the People aren't this expensive, are they?"
“Manager Huang,” Zhao Jun said, “the ginseng in the Great Hall of the People was collected by the government. If it were collected by an individual, it would cost at least two or three hundred thousand.”
"Ah... I see." Manager Huang seemed to understand Zhao Jun's implied meaning, but he immediately followed up with, "Then this is too expensive..."
“That’s right.” Zhao Jun interrupted Manager Huang softly and said with a smile, “Things are valued for their rarity. I’ll never see a second one of these triplet ginseng kings in my lifetime.”
Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Manager Huang asked, "Alright, Zhao Jun, then wait for my call."
Zhao Jun agreed and then hung up the phone. At that moment, the sound of dogs barking came from the backyard, followed by the laughter of children coming from the front of the house.
As Zhao Jun walked out, he heard Wang Meilan call out, "Dinner's ready!"
Upon seeing Zhao Jun emerge, Wang Qiang and the others surrounded him.
"My dear nephew," Wang Qiang asked first, "what did Manager Huang say?"
"With such a high price, can he really make the decision?" Zhao Jun laughed. "He told me to wait for his call."
"If only he knew those big shots who could buy them," Li Ruhai murmured. "Then we'd be rich."
“If they don’t buy, someone else will,” Zhao Jun laughed. “If we keep that ginseng king in our hands, it’ll be worth a different price next year.”
"Brother," Zhao Jun had barely finished speaking when Zhang Yuanmin said, "If they're going to buy it, we'll have to go, right?"
After saying this, Zhang Yuanmin saw Zhao Jun's stunned expression and quickly added, "With so much money, is it safe for us to leave?"
Upon hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, Zhao Jun's first reaction was: "Then should I have them come?"
"Let them come, they'd be lucky to even show up," Zhang Yuanmin said with a wry smile. "Last time they let us rob them, this time with so much money, do you think they'd dare come?"
Zhang Yuanmin's words made sense, but Zhao Jun frowned after listening and said, "We'll deal with it when it's over. Our problem now is whether they want it or not."
Yes, two million is no small sum; it's not something an ordinary person can afford.
"Brother," Li Baoyu called out to Zhao Jun. When Zhao Jun looked at him, Li Baoyu whispered, "Didn't you say so? The other day we brought out this ginseng king, it was worth more than that other ginseng king. That other ginseng king sold for two hundred, how much can this one sell for?"
Li Baoyu's question really stumped Zhao Jun.
It's often said that wild ginseng is sold based on its appearance, but most of the ginseng kings Zhao Jun knows are old, oddly shaped, and heavy, but their appearance is really not that great.
But the ginseng king they recently brought out is of such poor quality that it cannot be described as merely good.
The imposing, sea-crossing ginseng, with its two bodies and two tendrils almost perfectly symmetrical, was a ginseng king of such high quality that Zhao Jun had never seen it in his two lifetimes.
The key point is that its age and weight are not bad either. With these two factors combined with its condition, Zhao Jun felt that he should ask for an astronomical price.
But these days, who would buy it for such an exorbitant price?
However, Zhao Jun also considered that none of the families were short of money right now, so why not keep the ginseng king for now? In twenty or thirty years, when there are more wealthy people who recognize it, they can sell it for a higher price.
Just as Zhao Jun was lost in thought, the children came into the house.
Upon seeing the braised bear paw on the table, Zhao Hong's first words were: "Eating bear paw again?"
"This child!" Wang Meilan glared at Zhao Hong and said, "You've become so arrogant. From now on, you'll eat potatoes and cabbage every day."
Zhao Hong stuck out her tongue. At this moment, the old lady gently patted Zhao Hong's back and said, "Hong, go wash your hands."
The old lady had barely finished speaking when the telephone rang from the east hut.
Zhao Jun suddenly stood up and, under the watchful eyes of Wang Qiang and the others, quickly walked to answer the phone.
Before answering the phone, Zhao Jun still held great hope that Manager Huang could bring him good news.
"Hello, Manager Huang?" Zhao Jun answered the phone, but as soon as he finished speaking, an unfamiliar voice came from the other end: "Is this Team Leader Zhao?"
Zhao Jun: "Oh no!"