Simply Trading

And from the fact that he had two lines of red on his collar made it clear that he was not at the bottom rung of the appraisers working there in that particular place. That was obvious from the fact that he was seated, and had a large, covered cup that smelled of fragrant tea on a small table next to him.

It was also rather obvious that he had just completed another appraisal a short while earlier. Qin Feng had picked up that bit of information, while he was waiting outside. And rea.s.sured himself that the greeter was not simply out to "sweep" away the so-called unimportant people for the Medicine Hall.

The appraiser, on the other hand, had a rather friendly att.i.tude as Qin Feng was led in front of his chair. His hair was graying at the temples and there were tired lines all over his aged face. He looked somewhere in the region of forty-five or so, but his apparent exhaustion made him look at least ten years older. He wasn"t impolite, but there was a certain air of boredom around the fellow.

"Xiao Liu ah, what is it this time? Someone has something that they claim is precious enough for you to bring them in here? Dare I hope that it is a forty, fifty year old ginseng root? That might make things a little more exciting, hey?"

The old man in the appraiser"s uniform joked with the servant, before he turned to Qin Feng, and gestured for him to show off what he had brought in. Then, as the latter was opening the pack, his eyes seemed to take on a little more life, as he got a whiff of the strong medicinal scent emanating from the same.

By the time that Qin Feng had his first linen-wrapped bundle out, and was placing it on the table between them, he was sitting up a lot straighter. And his eyes watched Qin Feng without blinking as the latter unwrapped the Blue Mist Lotus Root that he had just harvested.

His words, as soon as he saw that, did not match Qin Feng"s expectations however:

"Golden-veined Lotus Root!"

Qin Feng almost frowned when he heard that. What Golden-veined Lotus Root? This was a Blue Mist Lotus Root he had here, and not some other variant! Then he forced himself to remain silent, and scowled at the a.s.sessor instead.

Golden-veined Lotus Root was something that was mentioned in the Grand Tome of Herbal Remedies, and was very similar to the Blue Mist Lotus Root. In fact, the only difference between them was the presence of veins within the root itself, that held a touch of golden color. In the Blue Mist Lotus Root, the veins were a lighter yellowish color that didn"t hold a metallic tint, so there were cautions in some of the older versions of the Grand Tome that warned against mis-identification on those grounds.

Not that it was an issue for Qin Feng. Golden-veined Lotus Roots were almost an entire stage of rarity higher than Blue Mist Lotus Roots. So if they insisted that it was the former, rather than the latter ... Well, he was certainly not going to tell them their mistake! Especially when he was likely to gain a lot more out of it!

"Oho. You are sure? I was a little uncertain myself, when I spotted it in the wild. But since the Fu Lai Medicine Hall a.s.sessors have said so, I am rea.s.sured with regards to its authenticity."

Then Qin Feng paused, and waved at the lotus root in an almost negligent fashion. "Perhaps you would care to tell me how much you would care to purchase this for? I am rather curious as to its going price."

"This ..."

The appraiser was clearly unwilling to name a price, and was already gulping down his own saliva as he stared at the precious medicinal root before his eyes.

"I must apologize, but this ... this is a little beyond me. I shall have to get someone ... more experienced to deal with ... this quality of medicine. At least, not when it comes to the price. My task is merely to authenticate the herbs, to ascertain that they are properly medicines. Please forgive if there is any confusion here."

Qin Feng was a little surprised to hear that. It seemed Fu Lai Medicine Hall was a lot more complicated than he had imagined. To think that a second-ranked appraiser was unable to make a decision like that! Did that mean that he would have to meet with the Hallmaster himself, if he wanted to get his hands on what he needed?

Then he shook his head, and decided to try his luck. "Well, I can understand that. But I am in need of a particular medicinal herb and would like to know if there is any available here. You see, I was intending to make an exchange for it, using this ... Lotus Root. Perhaps you would be able to help me find out if ... there is any of it here?"

The appraiser seemed to recover slightly, once he heard that. And nodded with a little more confidence quickly. "I am willing to make the attempt," he replied with a slight smile, "And I am sure that there are others who would know if I do not have the answer. What is the herb that you are looking for?"

"Purple Blood Ginger."

"Oh! I am rather certain that we have about two or three of those medicinal roots with us now. At least, I am certain that I saw them in the storerooms when I checked them last week," the appraiser answered quickly, and his smile made it clear that his confidence was back.

"But ... are you certain that you wish to make that exchange? Your Golden-veined Lotus Root is worth a good deal more than those ginger roots."

Qin Feng grinned back at him. What did it matter if the man thought the Lotus Root was worth more than the Purple Blood Ginger? What did it matter even if that was true? He was more than willing to make a loss! After all, this was something that Elder Ming needed to cure his daughter, wasn"t it?

But before he could respond, another voice, stern and mildly remonstrating, echoed in the narrow appraiser"s office:

"Be careful what you say, Appraiser Huang. We do not wish our customers to think that we are out to cheat them. And you have already stated that you are not entirely certain that this is really a Golden-veined Lotus Root."

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