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This was the first time Tan Yiliang was treated like a master and served by others, and he was quite unaccustomed to it. When the young maidservant brought the tea, he stood up along with her, repeatedly saying “thank you” several times.
Like all the other children, he had inherited Wan Chunmei’s appearance, looking very handsome.
Although his skin had darkened from the sun and wind, he was in his prime, about fifteen or sixteen years old, and his youthful vigor made him appear full of energy.
The young maidservant blushed at this sight, quickly turning and leaving the room.
Tan Yiliang, feeling somewhat confused, assumed that he had acted improperly. He quickly sat back down, straightened his posture, and drank his tea quietly.
Master Bai watched him and then asked, “Yiliang, how old are you this year?”
Tan Yiliang looked up and replied slowly, “Nearly sixteen.”
Master Bai nodded lightly, “Then you’re nearing the age for marriage.”
Tan Yiliang paused for a moment and quickly smiled, “It’s still early, still early.”
Master Bai stroked his long beard and laughed, “It’s not that early. It’s just a few years away.”
Tan Yiliang scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed, and lowered his gaze.
At that moment, Tan Erqian stepped forward to interrupt, “Master, we’ve grown some large Lingzhi. Would you like to take a look?”
When Master Bai heard the words “large Lingzhi,” he immediately brightened up. “Large Lingzhi? Come, bring it here for me to have a look.”
Tan Erqian turned and grabbed the large basket he had brought, untying the cloth covering it.
Inside were several small, umbrella-like clusters of yellow-brown mushrooms.
Master Bai quickly stood up, leaning in to take a closer look. After a moment, his expression grew serious. He took one of the mushrooms in his hand and used a small mirror he had in his chest pocket to inspect it carefully.
Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian, seeing his serious demeanor, felt a bit anxious. They hurried over and both asked, “Master Bai, what’s wrong with the Lingzhi?”
However, at that very moment, Master Bai suddenly broke into a joyful smile and laughed loudly, “This Lingzhi is truly excellent! Yiliang, Erqian, did you really grow these?”
Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian both nodded. “That’s right, we grew these ourselves.”
Master Bai didn’t hide his admiration. “Not bad, really not bad. This quality of Lingzhi is rarely seen, and it’s even rarer to see it cultivated. Even wild ones are hard to find. You two may be young, but you’ve got quite a skill.”
Tan Yiliang was flattered by the praise and felt quite overwhelmed.
Tan Erqian, however, was ecstatic. He quickly asked, “How much can these Lingzhi be sold for?”
Master Bai didn’t hesitate and held up five fingers.
Tan Yiliang immediately asked, “Five taels of silver?”
Master Bai shook his head.
Tan Erqian then remembered the Lingzhi they had picked from the mountain previously, which had sold for twenty taels, and blurted out, “Fifty taels?”
Master Bai squinted his eyes with a smile and nodded, “Yes, that’s right. Fifty taels.”
Tan Yiliang thought he had misheard. “Fifty taels? Is it really fifty taels? We have eight of them here, so that’s four hundred taels?!”
Master Bai nodded again. “Yes, that’s right, it’s four hundred taels.”
Both Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian were stunned. Four hundred taels! That was enough to let their family live comfortably for many years.
Although Master Bai was a businessman, he could read people. He didn’t have the heart to lie to these two young men, and the price of four hundred taels was absolutely fair.
Moreover, these Lingzhi had only just been harvested and hadn’t even been processed into medicinal material yet. The price was already very generous.
Tan Erqian had spent enough time with him to know his character, so he wasn’t suspicious of the price. He immediately agreed, “Alright, Master, we’ll sell these Lingzhi to you.”
Master Bai was overjoyed. He smiled at them and said, “Good, good! I’ll get the silver notes for you right away.”