Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

The manager of Tongyitang was taken aback and blurted out, "Artificially bred? But Pharmacist Zhou swore that they were wild before I dared to buy them..."

"It's normal that you didn't notice," He Shirong waved his hand. "Even I can't be 100% sure. Wild ginseng is rare. It's understandable to find one or two, and even three or four is barely believable. But this batch is almost identical in size and weight, and even the smell of the soil they're wrapped in is like they were dug up from the same mountain—that's not right."

He paused, his gaze deepening. "Even if it's truly farmed, the quality is outrageous. It's better than many wild ginseng I've ever seen. Buying it for 2,300 is a good deal."

Hong Kong Island is paved with gold, and the wealthy are health-conscious, drinking ginseng soup and taking ginseng lozenges every day. They've long since dismissed American ginseng as unsophisticated. The truly impressive ginseng is this kind that looks like a work of art.

"Whether it's cordyceps or lingzhi, they're all top-quality," He Shirong sighed softly. "Even in mainland China, this level of quality is rare. Where did he get them? How could he pull out so many at once?"

He suddenly remembered his childhood in mainland China, when his grandfather taught him about medicinal herbs. Once, someone brought a Ganoderma lucidum to their door, and the old man was so excited that he almost cooked a meal for it himself. And the one Tongyitang brought back today was even more precious than that one from back then.

"When did you ask him to meet?" Ho Sai-wing asked.

"Meet at the shop tomorrow morning," the manager quickly replied. "He also said he would bring the remaining medicinal herbs. I didn't mention whether I wanted to buy cordyceps or lingzhi, but judging from what Mr. He said, ginseng... there's probably still a large quantity."

He Shirong's eyes narrowed, and he slowly nodded: "To produce so many high-grade medicinal herbs at once, this person is definitely not simple. They're probably a powerful force from out of town!"

The source of ginseng is already limited. Where else can this level of goods come from besides flowing out of the mainland?

Early the next morning.

Lou's father carried two ginseng roots out the door. Today was Chen Yizhong's day off, so he was going to visit him and ask him to help find a reliable driver.

He knew in his heart that old friendships couldn't be used for nothing, and human relationships couldn't be easily worn down. Giving a few gifts in exchange for favors was the only way to maintain long-term relationships.

He Yuzhu didn't go with them. He had arranged to deliver the medicinal herbs to Tongyitang today. Besides, Lou's father and Chen Yizhong were going out together, and they had a car, so their safety wasn't an issue.

After leaving the house, He Yuzhu first went to check on the shop—construction had already started. Only then was he relieved, and he hailed a rickshaw to head straight for Tongyitang.

This time he brought two heavy suitcases, full of his best treasures.

Upon arriving at the door, the same shop assistant from yesterday recognized him immediately and came to greet him in a low voice: "Mr. He, you've arrived! The manager instructed me to go directly to the quiet room on the second floor."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Thank you for leading the way."

"You're too kind, this way please."

The shop assistant led him upstairs to the same room as yesterday. He had barely sat down when the door was pushed open and three people walked in—He Shirong was in the lead, with Manager Zhang and the old pharmacist standing beside him.

"Mr. He, I've heard so much about you." He Shirong extended his hand. "I am He Shirong, the owner of Tongyitang. The things you brought are amazing. I couldn't rest easy without coming in person."

The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. He Shirong joked, "Hehe, we have the same surname. Maybe we were family five hundred years ago."

"Then I must be incredibly lucky, Mr. He," He Yuzhu replied with a smile, before getting to the point, "You've examined the cordyceps and lingzhi that Manager Zhang took away yesterday. What did you think of them?"

"Top-grade." Ho Sai-wing said without hesitation, his tone crisp. "This kind of product is priceless; you can't even get your hands on it if you try. I'm not going to nitpick or talk about minor flaws—I'm not the only pharmacy in Hong Kong; Po Chai Tong and Chun Sang Tong are also eyeing this kind of resource."

He paused, then spoke with greater sincerity: "You can occasionally find one or two good ginseng roots, but as for cordyceps and lingzhi, I only saw one four years ago, and I haven't come across them since."

"Boss He, I don't understand all those complicated rules," He Yuzhu said bluntly. "To make a long story short—I brought quite a lot again today, the quality is the same as yesterday. Could you eat it all at once?"

He Yuzhu never liked beating around the bush, so he directly opened the two boxes and showed them their contents.

One hundred ginseng roots, one hundred cordyceps, and ten lingzhi mushrooms were neatly arranged before my eyes.

"Boss He, would you like to inspect the goods?"

He Shirong was stunned when he saw him taking medicinal herbs out of the box. Even after they were all laid out, he was still a little dazed: "This... is all of this?"

"That's all for now," He Yuzhu said frankly. "To be honest, my father-in-law is also in the Chinese medicine business. However, our pharmacy mainly focuses on medicinal wines and beeswax pills, which are basically not in the same business as Tongyitang."

He didn't hide anything and told them everything about his family. The two companies were indeed cleverly positioned to compete at different levels—Tongyitang focused on the low-to-mid-range market and didn't have many standout products; while their company specialized in the high-end market, and even the cheapest beeswax pill was something that ordinary wage earners would have to grit their teeth to afford.

"I never expected Mr. Ho to be in the industry too. We'll be colleagues from now on..."

He Shirong smiled, his smile slightly stiff, but he quickly regained his composure and his gaze returned to the medicinal herbs.

Pharmacist Zhou, standing to the side, had already put on gloves and was carefully examining the herbs, his hands trembling. He had lived most of his life and this was the first time he had ever seen so many top-grade medicinal herbs gathered together.

Immediately afterwards, He Shirong also personally took charge and checked each item one by one.

There are too many samples, so even sampling and testing would take a lot of time.

He Yuzhu went downstairs for a walk, taking the opportunity to learn about Tongyitang's business practices. He returned to the quiet room on the second floor almost two hours later.

The three had completed their assessment, their faces filled with astonishment—the ginseng was of exceptional quality, as if it had just been harvested. All one hundred ginseng plants were fresh, plump with moisture, their roots intact, and without any signs of rot.

"Boss He, how is it?"

He Shirong took a deep breath, smiled, and nodded: "Mr. He, I'm convinced. The quality of this batch of goods is top-notch, just like yesterday. Ginseng will be purchased at yesterday's price, cordyceps at 300 yuan per gram, and lingzhi at 100 yuan per gram. How about that?"

"Okay, let's go with the price set by Boss He."

He Yuzhu readily agreed. He knew exactly what he was doing: the cordyceps were large, each weighing nearly one gram, totaling 96 grams for 101 pieces; the lingzhi was a ten-year-old variety, each weighing between seven ounces and one pound, its medicinal properties perfectly preserved, truly rare. In total, 4,100 grams, which translated to HK$410,000 for the lingzhi, HK$288,000 for the cordyceps, and HK$240,000 for the 100 ginseng roots (HK$2,300 each), adding up to HK$668,800!

Upon hearing this number, He Shirong's heart sank, and his blood pressure nearly spiked.

Too much.

It was so much that he couldn't possibly come up with the cash.

Tongyitang only had a little over 300,000 yuan in liquid funds, less than half of that. But to ask him to let go? Impossible. Missing out on someone of this caliber would be a huge regret.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, he had made up his mind. He said solemnly, "Mr. He, could you give me a few more hours? I've invited some friends to come and take over this shipment together."

He genuinely wanted to monopolize it, and reselling it in Southeast Asia for double the profit was not a dream. However, he couldn't manage such a large operation, so he had to bring in partners.

He Yuzhu nodded: "Okay, will you be back at three o'clock?"

"That's enough, just three points."

He Shirong breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Manager Zhang: "Ah Xin, book a table at the Fish Restaurant for lunch, and treat Mr. He well. By the way, Mr. He, there's a show at the Gem Theatre this afternoon, would you like to...?"

"Mr. He, I'd rather not watch the show," He Yuzhu quickly waved his hand. "I'm not really interested. If it's convenient, could Manager Zhang show me around Hong Kong Island?"

"No problem." He Shirong immediately instructed, "Ah Xin, drive my car this afternoon and take Mr. He around."

Manager Zhang quickly replied, "Understood, boss. Mr. He, just tell me where you'd like to go."

"Then I'll have to trouble Manager Zhang."

He Yuzhu nodded slightly. Then, He Shirong personally wrote out the receipt, listing all the medicinal materials and their prices, and finally pressed his red handprint on it.

An ordinary person wouldn't be this cautious. But now, he was increasingly certain of He Yuzhu's identity—this was definitely not something an ordinary person could produce. Most likely, he came from the north.

So it's always better to be cautious. Offending him could be the same as offending the country across the river. No matter how powerful He Shirong is, he's just the owner of Tongyitang; how could he possibly provoke a country? Right now, the most important thing is to secure that batch of medicinal herbs.

"Mr. Ho, this is where the most boxing gyms are concentrated on Hong Kong Island, but it's also the most murky place—anyone who puts up a sign here has some kind of gang connection to them..."

As Manager Zhang finished speaking, an undisguised look of disgust appeared on his face, and his tone turned somber: "These gang scum should have been thrown into the trash heap and burned long ago. If it weren't for them, Hong Kong would have been a thing of the past."

Just a few months after last year's riots, Kowloon was the area most devastated by gangs, and the industrial area of ​​Tsuen Wan was also affected. The Hong Kong government released the news that Lou's father had acquired a large area of ​​industrial land in order to give Tsuen Wan a shot in the arm and revitalize the industrial morale.

However, Tsuen Wan had just been robbed by the triads, and very few factories had started operating. The nascent momentum was completely crushed.

"Mr. Ho, you're opening a factory in Tsuen Wan, so be very careful. Those gangsters cause trouble every few days. Although the police have cracked down on the Triads, what happened? The number of them just keeps increasing!"

He Yuzhu nodded, his tone calm: "I understand, Manager Zhang. Why don't you come with me for a look around? I'm quite curious about these boxing gyms."

He wanted to see if anyone in Hong Kong had developed true internal strength. However, it was highly unlikely that anyone at his level had achieved that. Even having some semblance of internal strength was considered exceptionally gifted—after all, no one was like him, born with a cheat code.