Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 17 Buying Ginseng
In short, Yan Hui felt that he was a hero, even though the person he saved was a little crazy.

This girl should be a good student and relatively smart, but her emotional intelligence is hard to say.

A little annoying.

Well, after all, he is not a bad person, so it’s not in vain that I saved him.

"Come with us to the police station," the police officer looked at Yan Hui. "To be honest, if you stay here and someone secretly throws shit at you again, I won't be able to catch them even if you call the police."

"Oh, that's right, thank you, officer!" Yan Hui was surprised and followed immediately.

The two policemen asked the three men to wait here for a while. They walked around without asking who caused the trouble. After turning around, they got on their motorcycles and slowly walked back.

The girl's mother's legs and feet were not very flexible, so the girl had to support herself all the time. Yan Hui didn't help her, but just walked slowly beside her.

"That place today," Yan Hui explained after finally catching his breath, "is a business partner of my parents' elders. He insisted on taking me there. I realized something was wrong, so I left."

"Business partner?" The girl looked unconvinced. She raised her glasses and looked at Yan Hui, as if to see more clearly. "How old are you? You're a business partner?"

"Did you listen to me? I was talking about my elder's business partner!"

"Anyway, I"

The girl was halfway through her words when her mother pulled her and she stopped abruptly.

She thought about it for about three to five seconds and realized that it was her fault: "I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood you. I apologize for what happened at noon. I'm glad you were here today."

"You're not going to pick on me again, are you?" Yan Hui was scared.

"Right is right, wrong is wrong. I was wrong, I'm sorry," the girl pointed to the market behind her. "You stood up for me today, and honestly, I was a little confused. The contrast is huge, you know? I admit that I was very prejudiced against you at first."

"That's fine." Yan Hui actually breathed a sigh of relief.

"I had a preconceived notion. I was a little skeptical just now, but you did so much to save us. You must be a person with a strong sense of justice." The girl finally affirmed Yan Hui.

"I understand. It's hard to change the first impression." Yan Hui comforted the girl.

The group chatted for seven or eight minutes before finally arriving at the police station.

On the way, Yan Hui gossiped about the girl's sister.

To put it simply, there were two reasons for their coming to Baishan this time.

The first was that her father went up the mountain and carried an old forest ginseng, hoping to sell it in the city for a good price.

This ginseng can be sold for at least 700 yuan. If you go to Fengtian, it will be worth at least a thousand yuan.

Just now, the mother and daughter were oppressed and were both willing to pay 500 yuan, but the fierce woman was only willing to give 200 yuan, which was a huge loss for them.

The second is about her cousin.

The girl's name was Qu Xiaoqin. She was a good student at school and had good relationships with her classmates. But about two months ago, right after the start of the school year, rumors about her family began to spread around the school.

The village where Qu Xiaoqin lives is called Qujiazhuang. Someone from the village went to the city for something and met Qu Xiaoqin's cousin while having dinner here. The cousin was performing a dance in this restaurant today.

After this matter was reported back to the village, everyone knew about it immediately.

The public opinion here could not have hurt Qu Xiaoqin, but a classmate of Qu Xiaoqin from the same village spread the news to the school.

People in the school didn't know Qu Xiaoqin's cousin, they only knew Qu Xiaoqin, so there were some rumors, but not many.

This time, Qu Xiaoqin came here specifically to verify it. She didn't believe this place was "that kind of place." When she got close to here, she hurried over, took a look inside, and saw the scene on the stage.

Filled with righteous indignation, she was driven out by the security guard at the door before she could say a word. When she arrived at the door, she saw Yan Hui, who had just finished using the toilet and was daydreaming.

"You are just a girl. If you were a boy, you would be beaten." When they arrived at the police station, Yan Hui sighed.

"Xiaoqin, don't do this when you go out next time. Do you hear me?" Her mother finally spoke.

Along the way, Qu Xiaoqin's mother spoke very little, and it was obvious that Qu Xiaoqin was the one who made the decisions at home.

"I understand, Mom." Qu Xiaoqin actually listened to her mother.

This kind of mother-daughter relationship is rare.

These people returned to the police station, where they were simply registered.

When they said registration, they just gave them a registration book and asked them to write in it themselves.

Of course Yan Hui was too lazy to write, so he asked Qu Xiaoqin to write. Qu Xiaoqin thought for a few seconds, sat down, took off her glasses, and began to write quickly.

"How old are you?" Qu Xiaoqin asked Yan Hui when filling in the relevant information.

Yan Hui gave Qu Xiaoqin his information. Qu Xiaoqin was stunned for a moment: "You're only 16 years old? Are you a student here?"

"No, I'm in business."

"Okay." Qu Xiaoqin filled in "unemployed" in the column for Yan Hui's work.

"Ah?" Yan Hui pointed at Qu Xiaoqin's handwriting. "I didn't continue my studies, but I'm not illiterate."

"Then what is your occupation? What business do you do?" Qu Xiaoqin was a little confused.

"Hmm," Yan Hui thought for two seconds, "I'm a timber merchant."

"Okay, then I'll change it." Qu Xiaoqin quickly crossed out the words and then added these four words.

At this moment, Yan Hui suddenly felt that the girl's handwriting was very beautiful! Yan Hui didn't envy the girl's academic performance, but having good handwriting was really comfortable. He had to practice calligraphy when he had the chance.

I looked again, huh? Someone changed?
After taking off those ugly glasses, Qu Xiaoqin suddenly became a different person. She looked fresh and refined.
You can tell at first glance that he is a good student!

Yan Hui didn't know how to describe it, but he knew that this was what a top student looked like. He looked a little distant, but was very serious about his work.

What remains is today's simple content, which Qu Xiaoqin finished in just a few minutes.

"Finished?" The policeman took the notebook, glanced at it, and put it away. "You can't sell ginseng so brazenly. There are a few larger stores in Baishan. You can go directly and ask them if they will take it."

"Where?" Qu Xiaoqin asked immediately.

"There's none here. You have to go to the train station. I don't know the details. I don't do this."

"The train station?" Qu Xiaoqin began to back off. It was indeed a bit far away and she didn't know how to get there.

"What kind of ginseng is this? Let me take a look first." asked the policeman.

"Well, here you go." Qu Xiaoqin opened her mother's backpack and took out the ginseng wrapped in moss to show the police.

As she took it, the girl said, "My dad said this ginseng is worth at least 800 yuan, but 600 is fine. I was forced to sell it to her at the market today. I said I would sell it for 500 yuan, but the woman only wanted 200 yuan. That's absolutely impossible."

The policeman took the moss skin, opened it and looked at it carefully: "This is definitely not something worth two or three hundred yuan."

This place is called BS City, and the most famous thing about its jurisdiction is the Changbai Mountains. It's normal for the police here to know the value of ginseng.

"Yeah, eh." The girl said to the police, "Thank goodness you guys, otherwise it would be troublesome." "It's no big deal," the policeman suddenly changed the subject, "If you really don't have a place to pay, I'll take the 500 yuan. If you want to go to the train station to ask for the price, just go there."

"what?"

This stumped the girl.

Her target price is 600 yuan. After all, 100 yuan is not a small amount of money.

Theoretically, this thing can be sold for 600 yuan. With the reed head and bowl and the weight, people who know the goods don't hesitate. If you meet the right person and have a little chat, 700 yuan is definitely no problem.

"It's okay, I'm just helping you. If you find a suitable place, feel free to go there." The policeman handed the ginseng back.

The girl was in a dilemma, and her mother gently helped her.

The girl knew her mother meant to agree. After all, this product was not that easy to sell, and it was not easy to cash in without a channel. They also had "traveling merchants" in their hometown who bought ginseng, and the maximum they could get was 450 yuan. They came to the city originally to try their luck, but they didn't expect that they would get into trouble.

Qu Xiaoqin was about to speak when Yan Hui interrupted, "If it really doesn't work, I'll take the 600 yuan."

At this sentence, the eyes of the three people were focused.

"Can you come up with 600 yuan?" the policeman looked incredulous.

"I said, I'm a timber merchant." Yan Hui suddenly felt that he had grown taller and stood much straighter!
The money on his body was placed in three places, with the bills at the innermost part of his clothes. He reached in and fumbled for a long time before taking the money out.

Count out 12 and put the rest away.

Yan Hui placed 12 50-yuan bills on the table.

At this moment, he didn't know why his whole body felt comfortable. This was the feeling of being rich! Rich people are always strong!

Yan Hui was by no means a foolish rich man. Although he could not be said to know much about ginseng, he had seen it after all. He had two plants of his own and had also heard Gao Bo and others talk about the general situation of this thing.

This one in front of him is much better than the one Uncle Gao gave him! Nowadays, the police dare to charge 500 yuan, and he will never lose money if he charges 600 yuan!

"Okay, that's a good price," the police officer said. He didn't really have any other options for cashing in. "If you have a way, take it away. I was just trying to do her a favor anyway."

"You really are a businessman!" Qu Xiaoqin looked at Yan Hui, "I was wrong again. I really judged people by their appearance."

"Ah?" Yan Hui was speechless. Could he be scolded for this?

After thinking for a moment, Yan Hui pointed to his face, which he had just washed in the guesthouse: "What's wrong with my appearance?"

"No, no, it's about the clothes or something. I'm really sorry, I said the wrong thing again." Qu Xiaoqin felt a little embarrassed. "How about I give you 580 yuan."

There was no reason for Yan Hui to take out another 30 yuan in cash. He shook his head and said, "I don't need this. Come on, give me the thing."

"Thank you!" The girl handed the moss and ginseng to Yan Hui, then took the money and looked at it carefully one by one.

Of course the money is no problem, it was given by Brother Shan.

The two parties completed the transaction at the police station, and it was time for Yan Hui to go back.

He looked at his clothes and wondered if it was time to change.

But then he thought again, it would be better if the clothes were a little tattered so that they wouldn't stand out when shopping in the market. He also saw that his fourth uncle didn't have any good clothes either.

The three of them walked out together. After they got out, Yan Hui looked around but didn't see anyone.

They shouldn't come to ambush me for such a small matter, right?

"They definitely wouldn't dare come near the police station," Yan Hui said to the girl, "but you can't go in the direction of the market. Come with me this way."

"Row."

The three of them walked a few hundred meters and arrived near Yan Hui's residence. Yan Hui said hello and pointed to the guesthouse: "Slow down, I'm going back first."

"Thank you so much today. I haven't asked you before, aren't you in the timber business? Why are you buying ginseng?" Qu Xiaoqin asked.

"Of course I won't buy this, but I'm doing you a favor. Since you said it must be worth 600, I won't be able to compensate you when I return to Fengtian."

"You're from Fengtian?" Qu Xiaoqin was a little surprised. "Aren't you from the south?"

"I came to Fengtian to do business, and this time I came to Baishan to do business as well," Yan Hui felt that the word "doing business" sounded a bit awkward.

"I also want to apply to a university in Fengtian."

"Didn't I hear you say you are a good student? Then work hard to get into Beijing." Yan Hui knew that Yan Yan's goal was to go to Beijing.

"Beijing. I heard it's very expensive there!" Qu Xiaoqin didn't care at all. "Fengtian is pretty good. It's close. The train only costs 13 yuan. Going to Beijing is expensive!"

"That's true, train tickets are indeed not cheap." Yan Hui, who rushed over from southern Fujian, felt deeply about this.

"Well, when we get to Fengtian, I'll treat you to a meal! I heard from my brother that the university cafeteria is cheap and delicious."

"No problem. I'll have to give you my address so you can write to me later."

"Okay."

After Yan Hui finished speaking, he entered the guesthouse, asked the front desk for paper and pen, and exchanged contact information with Qu Xiaoqin.

Watching the mother and daughter leave, Yan Hui hurried back to the house, looked at the ginseng carefully, and then put it away.

All the televisions were entertained. Yan Hui had never watched TV in his life, but he watched it endlessly. He was not hungry, so he watched until dark.

Fourth Uncle and Shan Ge had not returned yet, so Yan Hui went out to buy a roasted sweet potato and came back to continue watching TV.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Shan Ge came back drunk.

It seems that he drank a lot. Yan Hui helped to cover Brother Shan with his quilt.

It was past ten o'clock in the evening and there were few channels with programs left. Yan Hui reluctantly turned off the TV and prepared to go to bed.

Brother Shan doesn’t usually snore, but he started snoring today. Yan Hui couldn’t fall asleep even though he was lying in bed.

After thinking for a while, he took out the letter he received today and read it again.

Ugh.
The two things that Third Brother mentioned are not trivial matters.

Yan Hui’s hometown is Sigang Village, a mountain village only three kilometers away from the sea.

Don’t underestimate the three kilometers. Since it is all mountain roads, it takes Yan Hui more than two hours to walk this distance. For a child, this is not the seaside at all.

Sigang Village is relatively closed and has been a tea village since ancient times. Tea merchants come here to purchase tea every year.

This is just like the people here buying ginseng. The price offered by tea merchants is always lower, so some people will choose to go out and sell tea.

Many people in the northern plains grow and eat grain, and the terrain is advantageous, allowing many to be self-sufficient. But in southern Fujian, people have been forced to barter for money since birth, which naturally led to the formation of Fujian merchants.

(End of this chapter)