It wasn’t for anything else—he simply noticed that Jian Xiu’s basket behind her was already packed full.

Clearly, she had brought back quite a lot of good things.

Jian Xiu didn’t bother being polite with Qin Xuancheng.

As soon as she entered the backyard, she took out the Tu Fu Ling she had dug up.

She handed it to Shopkeeper Qin and asked, “Shopkeeper Qin, take a look—what is this?”

“Hiss… This is Tu Fu Ling!” Qin Xuancheng said excitedly.

“Uh-huh! It’s Tu Fu Ling! So, would you say this is valuable?” Jian Xiu asked proudly.

Judging from Qin Xuancheng’s reaction, she could tell that he was very satisfied with her Tu Fu Ling.

“Jian Xiu, do you know? This plant usually grows in patches. If you found one, you should be able to dig up quite a lot.”

“I know, I know. I’m still digging more. I just brought some today to see what price you’d offer,” Jian Xiu replied honestly.

Qin Xuancheng held up five fingers and said,

“Well, for Tu Fu Ling… We usually prefer it dried. If you cut it into small cubes and sun-dry it, I can offer this price.”

“Five? Five what? Fifty? Five hundred? Or five taels?”

Jian Xiu was obviously joking with her last guess.

Qin Xuancheng understood and couldn’t help but give her a good-natured glare before saying, “If the quality is good and it’s dried to my specifications, I can pay five hundred copper coins per jin (Chinese pound).”

“That high?” Jian Xiu’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes, that’s the best price. Some slightly lower quality ones go for four hundred copper coins, and for poorer quality ones, I’d pay three hundred copper coins.”

“In that case, why don’t you show me some of the top-quality ones?” Jian Xiu suggested.

“Alright, wait a moment!”

In no time, Qin Xuancheng returned with a paper bag.

He handed it to Jian Xiu and said, “Here, take a look. This color, this size, and this level of dryness—this is top-grade.”

Jian Xiu glanced at it, then nodded lightly and said, “Not bad. What about fresh ones? How much would you pay?”

As she spoke, she gestured toward her basket.

She had brought everything she dug up today.

“For fresh ones, it depends on the quality too. The older they are, the more valuable they get. Judging by yours, I’d offer eighty copper coins per jin. How about that?”

“Deal! I’ll sell these to you today, and later, I’ll try drying them myself. How about that?”

“Deal!”

With that settled, Qin Xuancheng immediately called for someone to weigh the goods.

“It’s a total of sixty-three jin. At eighty copper coins per jin, that comes to five taels and forty wen.”

With that, he was about to call someone to fetch the money.

Seeing this, Jian Xiu quickly stopped him and said, “Shopkeeper Qin, don’t be in such a hurry. I have more good stuff.”

As she spoke, she pulled out the lingzhi (Ganoderma) and golden blood bird’s nest she had collected in the deep mountains.

Besides these, she also had some other valuable medicinal herbs.

She decided to keep the ginseng, ten nests of golden bird’s nest, and two lingzhi mushrooms for herself.

The rest—she wasn’t planning to keep.

These items were mostly favored by high-ranking officials and wealthy people. In terms of real nutrition, they weren’t actually that special.

At first, she hadn’t intended to keep even the golden bird’s nest, but then she thought about her children studying at the academy.

She would likely need to give gifts in the future, so she decided to save some.

She had to admit, this trip into the deep mountains had yielded quite a harvest.

Of course, it was all thanks to Keke.

Without Keke, she wouldn’t have gained so much.

“How about it, Shopkeeper Qin…”

Jian Xiu suddenly trailed off.

Because she saw that Qin Xuancheng was staring blankly at the bird’s nest and lingzhi in her hands.

Just from his expression, Jian Xiu could tell—he hadn’t even processed what he was seeing yet.

She shook her head helplessly. Well, it was understandable.

These kinds of medicinal herbs were incredibly rare.

At this moment, Jian Xiu still didn’t realize—this wasn’t just rare.

These lingzhi and bird’s nest were practically unheard of.

Not to mention anything else, just these two items were already extraordinarily valuable.

The lingzhi she had wasn’t just large—its mycelial roots were thick and robust.

That meant this lingzhi was at least a hundred years old.

It was well known that in a lingzhi, whether it was the cap or any other part, the medicinal value of the mycelial root was the highest.

And besides that, she also had the bird’s nest.

This bird’s nest wasn’t the usual translucent kind. Instead, it had blood-red streaks, making it clear that it wasn’t an ordinary bird’s nest.

It was golden blood bird’s nest.

As the owner of a medicinal shop, Qin Xuancheng had only ever seen such treasures elsewhere.

No one in Quanyong County had ever had anything like this before.

So how could he stay calm?

“Shopkeeper Qin?” Jian Xiu finally had to call him again.

That finally snapped Qin Xuancheng out of his thoughts.

When he looked at Jian Xiu again, his gaze had completely changed.

“Miss Jian, these… these lingzhi and bird’s nest are not ordinary at all!”

“I know. Will you buy them, Shopkeeper Qin?”

“Yes, yes, absolutely!” Qin Xuancheng answered eagerly.

What a joke—these medicinal treasures could become the flagship items of his store!

Previously, their shop’s most prized item was a century-old ginseng. Now, with these two new items, he wouldn’t have to worry about attracting wealthy customers.

Many affluent families in Quanyong County would certainly seek out such valuable medicines.

“Then, name your price,” Jian Xiu said calmly.

“Hiss… Just by looking at these three lingzhi, I can tell that this one is the best. I’ll offer eighty taels for it. The other two—I’ll give fifty taels for this one and forty-five taels for that one. How about that?”

After saying this, Qin Xuancheng watched Jian Xiu nervously.

He looked as if he was afraid she would refuse.

“Deal! We’ll go with that price. And what about the bird’s nest? There are eight nests in total. This is golden blood bird’s nest—you know that, don’t you?”

“Oh, Miss Jian, it seems you came prepared,” Qin Xuancheng chuckled.

He stroked his beard, squinting as he pondered before offering:

“For eight nests, how about three hundred taels? No, wait—three hundred and thirty taels. How about that?”

He looked at Jian Xiu cautiously.

Hearing that, Jian Xiu’s heart leaped with excitement.

Just as she was about to nod, Qin Xuancheng added, “Three hundred and fifty taels! That’s my final offer.”

Jian Xiu: “…”

Could she say that she was already satisfied with three hundred taels?

But then again, who would complain about getting more?

Besides, she understood Qin Xuancheng’s reasoning.

If he could think of it, so could she.