Chapter 49 : Like winning the lottery!

This made Xiao Cui extremely happy.  

Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at the patch of Polygonum multiflorum.  

“Oh my god! If that’s the case, Sister Weiwei, you’re right this is all money!”  

As she spoke, she squatted down and tried to pull one out, but Song Shiwei quickly grabbed her hand.  

“Hey, hey, hey! Slow down, little ancestor! This is not how you harvest medicinal herbs! If you damage them, you won’t be able to sell them for a good price!”  

Xiao Cui quickly withdrew her hand. With a sheepish chuckle, she smoothed the braid of hair behind her.  

“I-I don’t know how to do this… Sister Weiwei, do you? Can you teach me?”  

If they could really sell these for money, there would finally be hope for treating her grandparents’ illness!  

Maybe she could even save enough to send Xiaojun to school!  

The more Xiao Cui thought about it, the more excited she became.  

Her hands, still holding onto her braid, trembled slightly.  

Song Shiwei squatted down, holding a small shovel. She had dug Polygonum multiflorum before when participating in a show. The botany professor had also taught her various methods of identifying and harvesting medicinal herbs.  

That knowledge was coming in handy now.  

As she dug, she patiently explained each step to Xiao Cui.  

Xiao Cui paid close attention, afraid of missing even a single detail and ruining the herbs.  

Though this patch of Polygonum multiflorum didn’t look particularly large, it still took them an entire day to dig it up. By the time they finished, the sky had already begun to darken.  

Looking at the freshly unearthed Polygonum multiflorum, which resembled a pile of sweet potatoes, Xiao Cui wiped the sweat off her forehead.  

“Sister Weiwei, is this Polygonum multiflorum? It looks just like sweet potatoes! Just a little darker!”  

Song Shiwei also wiped the sweat from her forehead and chuckled.  

“That’s a good sign, it means these Polygonum multiflorum roots are very old. Some younger ones are much smaller. I bet these large wild roots will fetch a good price!”  

Unfortunately, their backpacks were already stuffed with wild vegetables and the pheasant.  

Xiao Cui glanced at the sky and realized it was getting late. Even though they were still at the outskirts of the mountain, staying any longer wouldn’t be safe.  

She turned to Song Shiwei and said, “Sister Weiwei, let’s head down the mountain! I’ll call Doctor Sun. He knows how to sell Chinese medicinal herbs. We can ask him to name a price and sell it to him! Otherwise, it’ll be too difficult for us to carry all this down alone.”  

Song Shiwei nodded in agreement.  

“Good idea!”  

These Polygonum multiflorum roots weighed several hundred kilograms! If they had to carry them down by themselves, they’d be exhausted before they even made it home. Besides, it was getting dark, and staying in the mountains at night was risky.  

Although fresh herbs sold for a slightly lower price than dried ones, their age still played a crucial role in determining their value.  

And most importantly, it would save them a lot of trouble.  

By the time they returned to the village, carrying their baskets, it was nearly five or six o’clock in the evening.  

At this hour, every household was starting to prepare dinner.  

Without wasting time, Song Shiwei followed Xiao Cui straight to Doctor Sun’s house.  

Doctor Sun happened to be sitting in the courtyard, smoking his water pipe. When he saw them approaching, he looked a little surprised.  

“Xiao Cui? What brings you here? Have your grandparents run out of medicine?”  

Xiao Cui grinned.  

“Uncle Sun, my grandparents have finished their medicine, but I’m not here to get more. This time, I came to sell medicine to you!”  

“Oh?”  

Hearing this, Sun Boan’s curiosity was piqued. He immediately sat up from his rattan chair.  

“What kind of medicine? Show me! As long as it’s genuine Chinese medicine, I promise to give you a fair price!”  

Ever since they entered the courtyard, Song Shiwei had been carefully observing Sun Boan.  

Now that she saw his straightforward demeanor and the kindness in his eyes, she finally felt relieved.  

She had worried, what if Doctor Sun was a cunning man who would take advantage of Xiao Cui’s trust and deceive her?

After all, that Polygonum multiflorum was worth money at least a thousand yuan so Song Shiwei had to be cautious.  

Xiao Cui took off her basket, reached inside, and soon pulled out a Polygonum multiflorum root that was slightly larger than an average sweet potato. She handed it to Sun Boan.  

“Uncle Sun, do you recognize this Polygonum multiflorum? Would you be interested in buying it?”  

The moment Sun Boan saw the large, wild Polygonum multiflorum, his eyes widened in shock.  

When he heard Xiao Cui’s words, his gaze unconsciously shifted to Song Shiwei.  

“I’m guessing you, comrade, were the one who taught her how to identify Polygonum multiflorum, right?”  

Song Shiwei smiled and nodded. “Yes, Doctor Sun. Take a look, what price can you offer for wild Polygonum multiflorum of this age?”  

Xiao Cui also looked at him expectantly.  

Sun Boan picked up the Polygonum multiflorum, grabbing as much as he could fit in his hands, and examined it carefully from different angles. After a full minute, he put it down.  

“If I’m not mistaken, this Polygonum multiflorum is around 50 to 60 years old. It’s rare to find it grown to this size. But since it’s freshly harvested and hasn’t been dried, I can offer you four yuan per pound. What do you think?”  

Hearing this, Xiao Cui immediately turned to look at Song Shiwei, barely able to contain her excitement.  

Because today, they had dug up several hundred kilograms of the stuff!  

At four yuan per pound, that meant the total value would exceed a thousand yuan!  

What did that mean?  

For someone like Xiao Cui, in this era, it was probably the equivalent of winning the lottery jackpot in modern times.  

To be honest, Song Shiwei felt that the price was a bit low. But considering they were on a remote island, and that Doctor Sun was only acting as a middleman, she understood the pricing.  

If he wanted to transport the herbs off the island, he’d have to cover shipping costs, and cargo transport wasn’t cheap. Naturally, he needed to make a profit too.  

If they tried to sell it themselves, not only would transportation be a huge hassle, but they might not even find buyers willing to pay a good price.  

So, under the expectant gazes of Sun Boan and Xiao Cui, she smiled and nodded.  

“Deal!”  

Sun Boan was about to weigh the herbs on his scale when Song Shiwei suddenly stopped him.  

“Wait, Doctor Sun, we’re not just selling this one.”  

Sun Boan froze.  

“What do you mean?” He looked at her, his eyes filled with anticipation.  

Could it be… they had more Polygonum multiflorum of this quality?  

He had plenty of buyers for this kind of herb, and he knew he could make a hefty profit. If they had more, that meant even bigger gains for him.  

Song Shiwei glanced at Xiao Cui.  

Xiao Cui immediately said excitedly, “We have at least 200 to 300 kilograms more! Doctor Sun, please come with us!”  

“What??”  

Now it was Sun Boan’s turn to be completely stunned!  

Two to three hundred kilograms?! Of Polygonum multiflorum?!  

What did this mean? This was all money!!  

No, no, no! More importantly, since when was Polygonum multiflorum as common as Chinese cabbage? How had they managed to dig up hundreds of kilograms in one go?!  

His excitement was uncontrollable, he even threw away his pipe in disbelief.  

“Where is it? Come on, take me to see it!”  

But before he could rush out, Song Shiwei stopped him.  

“Doctor Sun, let’s be clear first. Are you willing to purchase all of this Polygonum multiflorum? If you are, we’ll take you to see it. If not, then…”  

Before she could even finish her sentence, Sun Boan quickly interrupted, “Yes, yes! I’ll take it all! As long as it’s the same age as this batch, I’ll pay four yuan per pound!”  

Xiao Cui was overjoyed, trusting his words completely.  

However, Song Shiwei didn’t know him well enough yet, and she hesitated.  

Should she ask him to sign a written agreement first?  

Just then, there was a knock at the door.  

“Hello, is this Doctor Sun’s house?”  

Hearing the voice, Song Shiwei’s face suddenly lit up with surprise.  

She hurried to open the door.