prosperous age

Chapter 254 Chapter 253

"You mean, a catty of ordinary ginseng that is more than ten years old costs three or four taels of silver? Ginseng that is more than a hundred years old is only ten taels of silver?"

Wei Guangde looked at Zhang Ji and asked in disbelief after roughly summing up the prices of ginseng in the capital.

"Yes, sir, the shopkeeper said that those ginseng used to be bought for one or two taels of silver, but now the number of Shangdang ginseng collected every year is getting smaller and smaller, and many local ginseng farmers have changed their careers, so most of the ginseng in the capital has turned to Liaodong in the north buys it, and the price has also risen."

Zhang Ji thought Wei Guangde was a little dissatisfied because he thought the price of ginseng was too high, so he hurriedly explained what he had heard from the shopkeeper of the pharmacy.

Shangdang ginseng?

Codonopsis?

Wei Guangde had a vague impression, as if he had seen it somewhere.

Now it seems that the price of ginseng in this era is not expensive, almost the same as the price of cabbage.

In fact, except that most areas in the south are not suitable for the growth of ginseng, so the output is small, the amount of ginseng in the north is still very considerable during this period.

However, with the large-scale collection and consumption of ginseng in the Song Dynasty, the production of ginseng in the mainland dropped sharply, especially when the Codonopsis ginseng was dug up and almost disappeared. Now many dignitaries often eat ginseng, and they have formed a habit, so they buy similar ginseng from outside. Changbai Mountain ginseng, also known as "Northeast ginseng", has caused the price of ginseng to soar.

During the Song Dynasty, ginseng was not regarded as a precious health medicine, but it was used by many people to soak water to drink, just like jujube.

Su Shi, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, was like a food blogger, often recording the taste of various foods on paper.

Su Shi once asked his friends to buy some jujubes and ginseng for him. It can be seen that in the eyes of people, the value of ginseng is no different from that of jujubes.

It’s just that Codonopsis ginseng is extinct now, and Changbai Mountain ginseng produced in Liaodong has become a substitute. The difficulty of mining in the mountains, mutual market transactions, and long-distance transportation have naturally increased the procurement cost, resulting in the current skyrocketing price of ginseng.

The records about the medicinal effects of ginseng are expressed in "Shen Nong's Materia Medica", but it is also believed that this kind of thing is sweet and slightly cold, mainly nourishing the five internal organs, calming the spirit, calming the soul, relieving panic, eliminating evil spirits, improving eyesight, and benefiting happiness. The effect of wisdom is just a common medicine, and it is far from the big tonic and longevity boasted by later generations.

Wei Guangde could tell that people today are not as fond of ginseng as later generations, and they regard it as a miracle medicine that can prolong life blindly, that is, they are taken as an ordinary health care product.

Cheap is cheap, but I don’t know if the price can be raised in the future.

Relatively speaking, for this kind of medicinal materials, older ones must be more precious, so Wei Guangde still plans to hoard a batch of aged ginseng.

It's not that they want to hype this stuff up. All the pharmacy shopkeepers know that the production of ginseng in the mainland is less now, and they all rely on ginseng from the Changbai Mountain in the northeast.

Now it seems that there are a lot of ginseng in Liaodong, but it cannot withstand such continuous collection. Wei Guangde estimates that the price of ginseng will definitely rise.

The price of those old ginsengs may not be as exaggerated as those of later generations, but the rise is inevitable. It is a waste to hoard so much cash in your own hands. It is better to invest part of the money in ginseng.

"You take the time to go to those pharmacies, and buy me a lot of those century-old ginseng."

Wei Guangde sat on the chair and thought for a while before continuing: "Don't touch the money at home for the time being. You can go to Huitong Commercial Bank to find Erye Lin, and first bring 2000 taels of silver to do this."

Last time Wei Guangde raised 3000 taels from Huitong Commercial Bank and gave Gao Zhong 1000 taels. Now there are about 2000 taels at home, but it is uncertain when they will be used, so Wei Guangde wants to keep them first.

On the side of Huitong Commercial Bank, it took so long to release a sum of money, 5000 taels, not too much, three percent interest.

The remaining 2000 taels of silver would be troublesome to take all at home, so Wei Guangde never wanted to withdraw cash.

Now that it's useful, let's go to Huitong Commercial Bank's account first and get the money back.

"Master, do you really want to buy so many ginseng?"

Zhang Ji was shocked by the silver taels reported by Wei Guangde, 2000 taels of silver, how much ginseng would he buy.

I bought so much ginseng, have you eaten it yet?
"I said that as long as it is more than a hundred years old, the longer the year, the better. I don't want the short year. I don't know how much I can buy."

Wei Guangde said with a bit of regret.

"I see, buy ginseng that is more than a hundred years old."

Zhang Ji hastily nodded in agreement, and then said to Wei Guangde as if he suddenly remembered something: "Master, there is one more thing.

This afternoon, Chen Ju, Eunuch Chen sent a servant over, explaining that the Japanese Emperor wanted to call Miao Sanren into the palace to refine medicine. "

Wei Guangde nodded upon hearing this.

Yes, there is Ganoderma lucidum. Chen Ju said before that if you can't find the remaining herbs, you can use Ganoderma lucidum instead.

Zhang Juyou from Wanping was really lucky, and he sent the ganoderma to the palace not long after the decree came out.

I don't know if Geng An has made an agreement with that Liang Gaofu in the past few days, and whether Liang Gaofu will talk about the crimes committed by King Hui in detail during the refining process.

Sure enough, after the second day off duty, Wei Guangde had a banquet with his colleagues again, and when he returned home drunk, he heard Zhang Ji report, and Geng An returned home at noon. According to Geng An's words, he was the one who knew The case about King Hui's rampant crimes in Junzhou was explained to Liang Gaofu and Liang Sanren in detail.

Wei Guangde quickly found Geng An and asked about the situation in detail, only then was he satisfied.

Now that the matter is done, just wait a few days to find Chen Ju and see if he can find out the reaction of Emperor Jiajing later.

Wei Guangde guessed that Chen Ju might have guessed something, at least he knew that Wei Guangde was very concerned about King Hui, but Wei Guangde didn't tell Chen Ju about his specific thoughts.

For Chen Ju, Wei Guangde's judgment of him seems to be honest and honest, but he is also very smart, otherwise he would not be trusted and relied on by an old eunuch like Gao Zhong.

Yes, in the last few contacts, Wei Guangde felt that Gao Zhong liked to entrust Chen Ju with errands, and he was obviously very optimistic about him.

He didn't know how long it would take to refine the medicine this time, so Wei Guangde could only continue to wait, and go to Chen Ju for a drink in a few days to inquire about the news.

"Zhang Ji, when you went to Huitong Commercial Bank, you asked for a 200 taels silver meeting ticket and returned it to me."

Wei Guangde thought about it, although he took the initiative to invite Chen Ju to drink two or three times before, but he never gave him any benefits to connect with him, so it will not work if this continues.

The first time Gao Zhong sent 1000 taels of silver, this time he gave Chen Ju 200 taels of silver. In the future, he will inquire about the situation in the palace through him. Naturally, he must try his best to maintain this relationship.

"Also, let Li San follow me these two days, Zhao Hu should stay at home first, you hurry up and go out for a run, and bring me back some aged ginseng."

After talking to Zhang Ji yesterday about transferring money from Huitong Commercial Bank to buy ginseng, Zhang Ji still followed him up and down today, Wei Guangde felt it was completely unnecessary.

The current Wei Guangde trained Zhang Ji as his housekeeper, so he has to go out and take care of himself.

Geng An was also sent out to stare at Liang Gaofu to see when he would leave Xiyuan, which meant that he could have a drink with Chen Ju.

A few days later, Zhang Ji's place has already started sending boxes of century-old wild ginseng into Wei's warehouse.

Seeing these thick ginseng at first, Wei Guangde was very happy. ,

The ginseng here, if you just take out a box, it can be called the treasure of the town store in that era.

It's just that in the current Ming Dynasty, it is only a drink for the rich and powerful to soak in water on weekdays.

But having said that, if it weren't for the massive collection of ginseng during this period, later generations might not have such a high price.

The ginseng of the later generations is not because these old ginseng have been eaten up, and the price is raised because the rare is the most expensive.

Now that Emperor Jiajing was frying Ganoderma lucidum, Wei Guangde found another way to fry old wild ginseng, but he didn't know if the price could be raised in the end.

Wei Guangde didn't know what to do, but he thought that he had already done it anyway, as long as he kept all the goods in his hands, he wouldn't be afraid that the price would not rise.

It's so fucking cheap.

However, the problem was soon exposed. According to what Zhang Ji came back, the shopkeeper of the pharmacy told him that the preservation method of ginseng was also very important, otherwise it would be easy for insects to eat and rot.

For dried ginseng, it is also much easier to store, that is, to seal it.

Although there were no such things as sealed boxes in ancient times, jars and jars can also be used to seal them. You only need to pay attention to keeping them dry and sealing them with wax. Sprinkle quicklime and charcoal around them to make the storage environment dry.

Some fresh ginseng needs to be dried regularly and then stored.

If you want to keep it fresh, it’s a little troublesome. You need to wrap the ginseng in all directions and gently with fresh moss, then put it into a dry foam box or other container, and pour a little water on the surface to keep it fresh. Keep the moss moist.

However, even if it is preserved in this way, it will only last for a few months, and it will not meet Wei Guangde's requirements at all. Naturally, everything must be dried and sealed.

For this reason, Wei Guangde asked Zhang Ji to find a person who is proficient in this kind of medicine from the medicine shop in the capital to take care of the ginseng he stored at home.

I used to look at the so-called ginseng king in other people's stores, thinking that it can be stored for a long time after it is completely dry, but I didn't expect that there are so many things behind it.

For these two days, Wei Guangde sent people to wait outside Xiyuan until Chen Ju came out from the palace.

Through Geng An, he already knew that Liang Gaofu had left the palace and returned to Tongmiao Temple, and now he needed to get news from Chen Ju.

Chen Ju doesn't have a house outside the palace now. After all, the grade is so high, so there is naturally less oil and water.

200 taels of silver is only enough to buy a house in the outer city, but considering his current level, it is definitely not suitable.

Give 200 taels first, and continue to cooperate in the future. Naturally, there will be money to buy a house in the inner city of Beijing sooner or later.

For Chen Ju, who is still just a servant, Wei Guangde felt that 200 taels was a lot of money.

The current Chen Ju probably hasn't been raised to have the appetite of those great eunuchs, maybe he doesn't look at people seriously when his money is less than a thousand taels.

In a private room of a restaurant near West Chang'an Street, Wei Guangde and Chen Ju sat opposite each other, chatting about interesting things inside and outside the capital while drinking and eating.

"Brother Chen, Zhang Juyou, a small man in Wanping, is really lucky. The emperor just wanted Ganoderma lucidum, and he sent it to the palace. I don't know how the matter of refining the medicine you mentioned before is going. Did you get a reward from the emperor?" .”

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food, Wei Guangde will naturally bring up the topic of refining medicine.

"Hey, forget it."

When Chen Ju heard Wei Guangde's question, he picked up what was on the table and drank it down in one gulp.

With a sound of "boom", the wine glass was smashed heavily on the table, which startled Wei Guangde.

But soon, Wei Guangde knew that something must have happened during the refining process, which made Chen Ju so angry.

"What's wrong with refining medicine?"

Wei Guangde asked tentatively.

"Well, the pills are nothing. According to Liang Sanren, the quality of the pills is quite high, and His Majesty is very happy, that's it."

Chen Ju stopped talking only halfway through.

Seeing this, Wei Guangde quickly picked up the jug and filled it up for him, and asked with concern: "It's a good thing that the medicine has been practiced, why did Brother Chen look like that before?"

"It's not Liang Sanren yet, and I don't know what's going on recently. Several times I attacked the refining medicine and said bad things about that King Hui, and this time it is the same."

Chen Ju looked up at Wei Guangde, and then continued: "This time too, I don't know what they said in the alchemy room, anyway, when he came out, His Majesty's face was very ugly, it was Liang Sanren who gave us the medicine and called We carefully stored it for His Majesty to take."

"What then?"

Wei Guangde hastily asked.

"You care so much about it?"

Chen Ju pretended to be surprised at this moment.

"Hey, the emperor is not happy, you close ministers should be careful, don't we foreign ministers feel better?"

Wei Guangde laughed.

"Probably, it was Liang Sanren who spoke ill of King Hui again. After sending Liang Sanren away, His Majesty asked us to adjust the recent records of King Hui, and after reading it, he scolded us.

You said, we are provoking someone, Liang Sanren wanted to make trouble with King Hui, but he got us involved. "

Chen Ju pouted and said.

"That is to say, Liang Sanren may have spoken ill of King Hui in the alchemy room. The emperor was also very angry after reading your inner court records. King Hui is about to fall out of favor."

Wei Guangde exclaimed pretendingly, but his heart was full of joy.

"What do you want to do?"

Chen Ju asked strangely.

"No, didn't Brother Chen say that last time? This King Hui has a lot of bad deeds, the emperor is dissatisfied, and I don't know if he will be punished."

Wei Guangde replied.

"No, the rest of His Majesty probably didn't take it seriously, mainly because he was dissatisfied with King Hui's leaving the fief without permission. After reading the records in detail, he just scolded us. I don't know if the anger has subsided. Anyway, be careful recently. That's right."

Chen Ju said.

"Look, big brother, what if the little brother gave him a book at this time? Does King Hui have any accomplices in the court?"

Wei Guangde asked in a low voice.

"Nonsense, if King Hui had someone in the court, we would have reported it long ago."

Chen Ju said dissatisfied, "Do you want to impeach King Hui now that His Majesty is dissatisfied with him?"

"Of course, who is the emperor dissatisfied with? As courtiers, we shouldn't help play a book. Even if we can't defeat him, let him make him feel ashamed. It's good to vent his anger on the emperor."

Wei Guangde laughed.

"What do you want to tell him?"

Chen Ju frowned and said, if this matter is not handled well, the people in the inner court will be in trouble.

(End of this chapter)