Chapter 31: Thousand-Year Ginseng

"Fu Yun, the day after tomorrow is the winter solstice. Let's go buy some lamb tomorrow and make soup at home."

Fu Yun perked up at the mention of food, his eyes squinting like a cat basking in the sun, and he answered loudly, "Great, big brother, let's buy a lot!"

If only they could eat such delicious lamb soup and those crispy, tender flatbreads every day!

Lin Su, seeing him so happy, thought for a moment and said, "Alright then, let's also buy a lamb spine and make a lamb backbone hotpot. We'll invite the Xu and Yang families to gather and shake off bad luck."

Fu Yun grinned, showing a bit of his small white teeth.

Lin Su couldn't help but smile and continued teasing him, "And let's buy a rack of lamb ribs to make crispy roasted lamb chops."

Fu Yun's smile widened, showing a bit of pink gums, with neat white teeth and two sharp canine teeth.

"Ah, but lamb seems expensive. What if we don't have enough money?" Lin Su said, looking down.

"Not enough?" Fu Yun was taken aback. But his little box was full of silver; wasn't that enough?

"How about..." Lin Su probed further, "we sell that ginseng you've been saving. If we sell it, we can buy good food, okay?"

He spoke in a coaxing tone, taking advantage of Fu Yun still being a little fool, innocent and extremely trusting of him.

But Fu Yun immediately shook his head and refused, "No, we can't sell it."

This time, it was Lin Su's turn to be curious. "Why? Is this ginseng rare? A few hundred years old?"

He didn't know much about ginseng, only that the older it was, the more valuable it was. Fu Yun's dried ginseng weighed nearly eight taels, so it should be quite old.

But this world had such abundant wild resources, and many forests were untouched; maybe he could find another one.

Fu Yun nodded and dropped a bombshell, "Yes, a thousand years!"

"Fu Yun walked far away, fell, and rolled to the bottom of a cliff before finding it. Big brother, let's not sell it. Fu Yun doesn't need to eat lamb anymore. Keep it for big brother's use."

A thousand years, a thousand-year-old ginseng!

This really shocked Lin Su, and he even suspected Fu Yun might be exaggerating.

As far as he knew, a thousand-year-old ginseng was just an ancient exaggeration, or the theoretical lifespan of a few ginseng plants. But in reality, the environment was ever-changing, and besides humans harvesting, many animals gnawed on them. Most ginseng only lived a few decades, with a lucky few reaching two or three hundred years.

The two hurried home, closed the doors and windows, and lit a candle.

Lin Su carefully took out the ginseng and examined it closely. The rhizome head was long, densely covered with stem scars—each scar representing a year, commonly called 'stem bowls.'

Based on that, the ginseng appeared to be at least seven or eight hundred years old. Fu Yun was skilled in medicine and could identify medicinal age accurately.

This might... really be a priceless thousand-year-old ginseng.

Lin Su fell silent.

After a moment, he took Fu Yun's hand and discussed with him, "Fu Yun, we won't sell this ginseng. Hmm... Tomorrow, can you use a bit of its root hair to make a few doses of medicine?"

Fu Yun was puzzled. "To prepare medicine for big brother, I don't need the beard; just cut a few slices straight from it. The medicinal effect is better."

As he spoke, his fingers touched Lin Su's pulse, and suddenly remembering something, he said happily, "Big brother, are you finally willing to get treatment?"

"It's not for me," Lin Su said, then realized what Fu Yun meant and his face darkened.

You little... you don't need to keep reminding me of that fact.

I don't need it; I'll recover naturally when the time comes.

Moreover, as the saying goes, rhubarb saves lives but gets no credit; ginseng can kill but takes no blame. If I overdose on tonics and die from a nosebleed, others would have to praise: "Truly, the thousand-year-old ginseng has excellent effects!"

He patted Fu Yun's head with a dark face and said, "There's still one big bad guy who hasn't been punished today. Tomorrow, we'll use this ginseng to get someone else to teach that guy a lesson."

From the moment Lin Su confirmed the person behind it was the Zhou family, he had anticipated that Zhou Yujin would get off scot-free, but he had also thought of a countermeasure.

That was the Zhou family's eldest son, Zhou Shuming.

This Zhou Shuming was a good friend of the protagonist in the original book. After they met, the protagonist greatly appreciated him and recommended him for an official post. Later, Zhou Shuming helped the protagonist many times and became a famous minister.

Zhou Shuming was exceptionally intelligent, but he had been weak since birth and often fell ill. The provincial exam, lasting nine days and six nights, nearly killed him, yet he still ranked first and obtained the title of provincial graduate.

But after that, the Zhou family dared not let him continue pursuing officialdom, fearing he would perish on the long journey to the capital.

This man was also an eccentric; bored at home, he took over some of the family's business and surprisingly did well. Now the Zhou family had surpassed the Liu and Shi families, becoming the top family in Yucheng County.

The book mentioned that the eldest and second young masters of the Zhou family had been at odds since childhood, and the second young master had nearly killed the eldest a few times.

If he used external conflict to target Zhou Yujin, the Zhou family would likely unite against him, and he'd encounter too much resistance. But if he turned external conflict into internal conflict, it would be entirely different.

What Lin Su needed was to have Zhou Shuming deal with Zhou Yujin.

As for how to contact Zhou Shuming, he had a way.

The original Lin's father had indirectly saved Zhou Shuming's life.

When Zhou Shuming was young, the Zhou family's main branch was weak. He couldn't find a life-saving medicinal herb, and Lin's father chanced upon it in the mountains and sold it to the main branch, barely saving Zhou Shuming's life. Otherwise, he might not have lived to this day.

Because of this connection, the Zhou main branch bought Lin's father's many game and mountain delicacies at high prices, earning enough to build a blue-brick house in Xiaowan Village and even left money for the original Lin to attend private school.

The Zhou main branch's promise to the Lin family held for a long time. That's also why the original Lin wanted to go into the mountains to earn money to redeem the property, and now Lin Su could use the excuse of selling ginseng to see him.

And Zhou Shuming, in the original book, was an honest and good official of proven character, so there was no need to worry about him coveting Fu Yun's precious ginseng.

From the pier, they went east through three streets, then turned a corner, and faced a grand mansion. Two stone lions flanked the vermilion gate adorned with gold decorations. The plaque read "Zhou Residence" in gleaming characters.

Lin Su identified himself and stated his purpose. A servant led them to the entrance hall to rest. A gatekeeper poured tea and quickly went to find the steward.

The entrance hall was antique and elegant. The tables, chairs, and decorations were intricately carved with complex patterns, and the materials seemed fine. A white jade screen blocked the direct view, with a welcoming pine, rockery, and flowing water in front. Golden and red koi swam in the pond, a delight to the eyes. Truly, the Zhou residence was luxurious and extravagant.

Soon, Steward Zhou entered. Upon seeing Lin Su, he first expressed regret over the deaths of his parents, then looked at Lin Su with satisfaction and said, "It's good that you've inherited your father's legacy. In just three years, you've already achieved something. If Old Lin were alive, he would be proud."

Lin Su twitched the corner of his mouth. Lin's father's wish probably wasn't for his son to become a hunter, but to pass the imperial exams and leave the peasant class.

He promptly took out the ginseng wrapped in red cloth, revealing a corner. "Steward Zhou, I found a rare item in the mountains. It's quite old."

Lin Su paused briefly, satisfied to see Steward Zhou's pupils dilate before continuing, "Could I personally see the eldest young master to deliver it to him?"

"Of course. Nephew Lin, come with me."