Chapter 292 - 292 291 Cordyceps

Words : 1942 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

292: Chapter 291 Cordyceps 292: Chapter 291 Cordyceps Qiao Guangbi smiled from the bottom of his heart as he continued the conversation, “It’s not just your Wanbao Village, but the village ahead plus your Wanbao Village, and also Qingshui Gully. Now that everything has been blown to bits, having over two thousand is pretty good.” Old Li’s head exploded with anger as he stared at Liu Hun and said, “Liu, what’s he saying? Why include the village ahead and Qingshui Gully! Us folks from Wanbao Village have slaved away for a year, why should we have to share it with those lazy bums from Qingshui Gully.” What Old Li said was exactly the problem Liu Hun had worried about. Nobody wants to use the wealthy to help the poor; after all, they aren’t even relatives. “Old Li! Hun is dealing with serious business here! Don’t you interrupt, you hear me! Acting like you’re some big shot. Look at the plot of land in your backyard, going on about planting corn, what have you grown? Nothing but weeds! Shut your mouth!” Qin Yue’s eyebrows shot up, and as she glared at Old Li, she really exuded the air of a government official. Old Li fell silent, but Qiao Guangbi was thrilled. He brought out an earlier wagering agreement and said to Liu Hun, “Mr. Liu, since the facts are right in front of us, please sign. The lawyer and notary are here, everything is out in the open and lawful, what do you say!” Liu Hun glanced at the agreement and said, “What I say... I can’t sign just yet.” The smile on Qiao Guangbi’s face suddenly froze, and he said somewhat coldly, “Mr. Liu, surely you’re not thinking of reneging. You do understand that if you back out now, the compensation will be even greater.” “You’ve misunderstood, Mr. Qiao, that’s not what I mean. I mean... the factory exploded, didn’t it, and everything was blown away. But, there’s still one form of income for our three villages that hasn’t been accounted for.” Liu Hun said to Qiao Guangbi, his eyes squinting with a smile. Old Li and the others just wanted to ask “what” when they were promptly silenced by Qin Yue. “If Mr. Liu is referring to insurance compensation, I’d like to remind Mr. Liu that the lawyers have already calculated that in. Without it, your income would be in the negative,” Qiao Guangbi also said to Liu Hun with a squinting smile, as if they were competing to see who could be more smug. Liu Hun didn’t speak... After a while, Liu Hun still didn’t say anything... “Come on, Hun, spit it out! I’m so anxious I could pee myself, dear God, ouch!” Old Li was complaining when he was suddenly pinched by Qin Yue, and this finally kept him quiet. “I’m sorry we’re late. Seems like something happened around here, traffic control was in place.” A middle-aged man wearing glasses and a Chinese-style mandarin collar suit walked in from the door, followed by two young men. Liu Hun finally spoke up and while smiling, invited the three to sit down; then he said with a mixture of curiosity and wariness to Qiao Guangbi, “Mr. Qiao, ladies, and gentlemen! Let me introduce you. This is the Professor of Nutrition and Assessor of Medicinal Ingredients, Mr. Li Huaiyu.” Li Huaiyu greeted everyone with a handshake and a smile. Qiao Guangbi stared at Li Huaiyu as if he were a thief, and then asked, “Mr. Li is here to...” “I have been entrusted by Mr. Liu to help assess the price of a certain medicinal material. Here is my certification,” Li Huaiyu said smilingly, showing his certification to the group. “Medicinal material?! What kind of medicinal material?!” Qiao Guangbi became even more anxious, forgetting all about the smiling contest; not even a trace of a smile could be found on his face. Liu Hun didn’t answer Qiao Guangbi but instead turned to Qin Yue and said, “Sister Qin Yue, have the people bring it out, is the scale ready?” “It’s been ready!” Qin Yue replied with a sweet smile, glanced warningly at Old Li to make sure he stayed quiet, and then went off to get prepared. Liu Hun also stood up and said, “Everyone, please follow me to the yard, let’s witness this together!” A group full of doubts, especially a somewhat uneasy Qiao Guangbi, moved to the yard. Unseen before, to their surprise, the yard was neatly filled with ten large scales typically used in grain shops. Moreover, in front of each scale was an array of densely packed burlap sacks, leaving everyone wondering what was inside. “Ladies and gentlemen! Now, I am proud to introduce to all of you our three villages’ newest project—the best quality cordyceps!” Liu Hun announced with a confident smile as if he were unveiling the latest iPhone. Cordyceps! The word nearly exploded in the minds of Qiao Guangbi and the others! “What’s this Cordyceps? Some kind of hybrid between a bug and a grass?” Old Li scratched his head and asked. As an expert in this field, Li Huaiyu was somewhat puzzled and asked, “Mr. Liu, you’re not joking, are you? Cordyceps is worth a fortune, and the best Cordyceps are extremely hard to find. However, they can only be found at altitudes above three thousand meters on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Can they really be grown in your village?” This question from Li Huaiyu actually gave Qiao Guangbi some peace of mind, and he quickly responded, “Mr. Liu, I know you’re eager to win, but if you’re substituting inferior goods for good ones, or even faking it, I will take this to court.” Liu Hun didn’t reply to Qiao Guangbi. Instead, he casually picked up a hemp bag and, in front of everyone, opened it wide. The surrounding villagers all craned their necks, eager to see what this Cordyceps was all about. “Is this Cordyceps? Why does it look like dried silkworms?” Old Li marveled curiously. “Yes, yes, yes! This is Cordyceps!” Li Huaiyu replied excitedly, then quickly walked up to the hemp bag, carefully picking up a piece. He even took out a magnifying glass to take a closer look. Everyone awaited Li Huaiyu’s verdict, especially Qiao Guangbi. He couldn’t believe that such a small, rundown mountain could produce Cordyceps—it was utter nonsense! “This is Cordyceps! This is top-grade Cordyceps! Look, look! The worm body and the fungal component are connected together, measuring fifteen centimeters in length, the longest I’ve ever seen in my life! The worm body looks like old calluses on three sides, measuring eight centimeters! This... this is definitely a superior product! A superior product! The worm body’s color is a bright yellow and it’s plump and large.” Li Huaiyu said, and then suddenly grabbed Liu Hun to ask, “Mr. Liu, may I break it to examine the inside structure? It’s too rare! Too rare!” “As you wish!” Liu Hun replied indifferently. With a whole yard full of top-grade Cordyceps, would he care about this one piece? When you’re rich, you can do what you like! Li Huaiyu broke the Cordyceps in his hand and saw the interior was hollow, with white dust. He sniffed it and detected a faint odor. Looking at the cross-section, he saw it was yellow and white, with a short fungal component. Suddenly, he stamped his foot and laughed loudly, “Absolutely a treasure! A superior product indeed!” Hearing this, the villagers around burst into laughter, especially Old Li, who was cunning enough to relate everything to money. He hurriedly asked, “So... expert, how much is this thing worth?” Li Huaiyu, hands trembling with excitement and unable to hide the smile on his face, said, “Since such superior Cordyceps have not yet appeared on the market, I believe that once they do, the price will be sky-high!” “Then spit it out, how much is it actually worth? Instead of getting worked up over nothing!” Old Li was getting somewhat impatient. Li Huaiyu wasn’t offended but continued excitedly, “Currently, the best Cordyceps on the market are only twelve centimeters long, with the worm body measuring about six centimeters. The price per kilogram is five hundred thousand yuan!” “What?! Five hundred thousand per kilogram? That’s more expensive than gold! So... does that mean ours is worth five hundred thousand per kilogram?” Old Li’s eyes were almost popping out. Math wasn’t his strong suit—he was too lazy to even think about simple addition. But when it came to money, he was lightning quick. “No! It’s definitely more than five hundred thousand per kilogram! Conservatively estimated, it should be at least six hundred fifty thousand and upwards!” Li Huaiyu corrected Old Li seriously. This was some of the most top-grade traditional Chinese medicine material. Sometimes, just a little bit longer, just a bit more robust, but that little bit could make the value multiply by several times. Old Li felt his blood pressure rising—digging up nuggets of gold wasn’t this valuable. He quickly steadied himself on the arm of Wang Dajiao, feeling a bit unstable. “Why is it so valuable, more expensive than gold?” Zhang Ju asked, somewhat in disbelief. Li Huaiyu couldn’t resist showing off a bit and said to Zhang Ju, “Cordyceps, also known as ‘winter worm, summer grass,’ is a precious tonic medicinal material traditionally used in our country. Its nutritional content is higher than ginseng. It can be used as medicine as well as food, being a top-notch delicacy with high nutritional value. Cordyceps can enhance the body’s immunity, nourish the lungs and kidneys, and have a significant inhibitory effect on conditions like lung cancer and liver cancer. Clinically, it is used for chronic cough due to lung deficiency, asthma, coughing blood due to pulmonary tuberculosis, night sweats, soreness and pain in the waist and knees due to kidney deficiency...” “And it has... ahem! Remarkable effects on men’s issues, as well as nerve weakness and the reduction of red blood cells after chemotherapy and radiotherapy.” With so many women present, Li Huaiyu felt a bit awkward getting into specifics. Li Huaiyu didn’t spell it out, but Old Li understood perfectly and suddenly felt as if he had eaten two big pieces of beef kidney. His eyes were fixed on the heap of Cordyceps. Liu Hun said to Qiao Guangbi with a smile, “Mr. Qiao, I’ll have the lawyers and notaries assess the value of these Cordyceps now, if that’s okay?” Qiao Guangbi’s face had turned ashen. All he hoped for now was that there were not so many Cordyceps here that the amount divided per capita wouldn’t meet the betting threshold. The lawyer and the notary jointly assessed all the Cordyceps in the yard. It took them a full two hours to go through the process of counting, selecting, and evaluating the value. “Based on our assessment, as well as the estimated price given by Professor Li, we have determined that the average per capita income of all the people from the three villages, based on the Cordyceps here...” The lawyer said as he flipped through his notebook to the next page. During those brief seconds, the people present felt as if they were waiting for hours. Old Li and the others didn’t quite understand what Liu Hun was up to, but everyone was hoping they would end up with as much money as possible.

Chapter 292 - 292 291 Cordyceps

Comments (0)