It's Yours

Shen Jingchuan smiled warmly at the two shop assistants, walked straight through the front hall, and headed towards the independent studio at the back. He raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door twice, and Meng Ke's clear voice came from inside. "Come in."

As I pushed open the door, Meng Ke was staring intently at her phone screen, her fingers rapidly typing a message. Upon seeing me, her eyes immediately curved into a sweet smile.

"You're here. Please have a seat for a while. I'll finish this little thing soon."

Shen Jingchuan didn't urge him. He walked leisurely to the tea table, took out the tea set, boiled water, and slowly began to brew tea.

About five or six minutes later, a cup of tea was just brewed, and Meng Ke put down his phone, having finished all his work.

She got up and walked to the tea table, smiling apologetically, "I'm sorry to have made you brew the tea yourself."

Shen Jingchuan pushed a cup of hot tea in front of her and smiled calmly:

"Don't stand on ceremony with me. Coming here is like coming home."

Meng Ke nodded happily, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"We should treat this place like our own home."

Shen Jingchuan: "What urgent matter were you busy dealing with just now?"

"Someone in the store's regular customer group inquired about medicinal herbs."

Meng Ke explained:

"He's a regular customer of a medical professor who urgently needs top-quality ginseng. I know a few owners who specialize in rare medicinal herbs, and I just made a special trip to inquire about them for him."

"Is everything settled?" Shen Jingchuan asked casually.

Meng Ke shook his head slightly. "It's not that easy. The other party specified that they wanted a hundred-year-old wild ginseng. Pure wild old ginseng is already scarce, and it's hard to find in a short time. I was just asking around for help. There's nothing I can do if they can't find it."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingchuan's heart skipped a beat. He had acquired three old ginseng roots in the other world, all of which were over a hundred years old, with the oldest being nearly two hundred years old. There was no such thing as artificial cultivation in the other world; they were all pure, natural wild ginseng from deep mountains.

He spoke slowly:

"What a coincidence, I do have one."

As soon as he finished speaking, he casually took out an antique wooden box from his backpack and gently placed it on the table.

Meng Ke looked up at him with surprise and quickly reached out to lift the lid of the box. Inside, lined with red silk, lay a vigorous old ginseng with intact and plump rootlets.

She usually delves into antiques and archaeology, and also knows a little about precious medicinal herbs. After examining it for a moment, her tone was full of surprise:

"I wouldn't call myself a professional herbalist, but just by looking at its appearance, if it's truly wild, it's definitely over a hundred years old. Can you be sure it's not artificially cultivated?"

"It was by fortuitous opportunity," Shen Jingchuan answered frankly.

Meng Ke pouted slightly, looking at him with a hint of reproach:

"You're becoming more and more mysterious. You always manage to get your hands on rare items through fortuitous opportunity."

Shen Jingchuan was about to reply.

Seeing this, Meng Ke quickly waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of reproach yet also showing understanding. "Alright, alright, I won't ask about your background anymore. I know you have your own secrets. Such a rare old ginseng, are you planning to resell it?"

Shen Jingchuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke casually and calmly:

"I'm not short of money right now, so it doesn't matter whether I sell it or not. If you think this favor is worth keeping, then go ahead and sell it. If you can't bear to part with it, you can keep it for your own enjoyment. I'm giving you this ginseng; you can make the decision yourself."

As the words were uttered lightly, Meng Ke felt a sudden warmth in her heart, her gaze softening as she looked at him tenderly.

"Jingchuan, why are you always so generous to me? Such a precious treasure, you just handed it to me without hesitation."

"You're my girlfriend now, why do we need to be so clear about what's between us?" Shen Jingchuan smiled faintly. "What's mine is yours, you can decide for yourself."

A warm feeling welled up in Meng Ke's heart, and he carefully explained the pros and cons to him:

"The person looking for ginseng is no ordinary businessman; he's Professor Wen, a leading figure in traditional Chinese medicine and a long-time customer of mine. He's a collector of antiques and jade, and has an extremely discerning eye."

"This time, he publicly sought to buy ginseng in our industry group, specifying that he wanted wild ginseng that was over a hundred years old. He offered an extremely high price and even said that he would owe a favor to anyone who could find it for him. These words from him carry far more weight than any amount of money."

She raised her hand and lightly pointed upwards, her gesture carrying a profound meaning.

"A doctor of this caliber commands an astonishing amount of favor. From high-ranking officials and dignitaries to many influential figures, everyone actively seeks to befriend and curry favor with him."

"Think about it, everyone suffers from illness and misfortune in their life. To be able to form a deep friendship with someone who is practically a living saint... what could be more important than life itself? Ordinary gold and silver have a price, but the favor of this great master is something that money can hardly buy."

Shen Jingchuan didn't care at all about medical giants or connections in officialdom. In his eyes, all these external powers and interests were less important than the person in front of him.

He waved his hand dismissively.

"You know these intricacies, that's enough. I'm leaving everything to you; you don't need to explain them to me in detail."

Thank you, Jingchuan.

After saying that, she picked up her phone and took several close-up photos of the ginseng in the box from all angles, capturing even the details of the rootlets clearly. She then casually added, "A friend just brought this over; take a look at its quality," and sent it over.

Only two or three minutes after the message was sent, the phone on the table suddenly vibrated, and the caller ID showed "Professor Wen".

Meng Ke gave Shen Jingchuan a look, answered the phone, and had barely said "hello" when the old man's urgent voice came from the other end, calm yet tinged with barely concealed excitement:

"Xiao Meng, is that ginseng in the photo really in your possession?"

Meng Ke's tone was somewhat uncertain. "Professor Wen, this is something from a friend of mine. I'm not sure if it's the kind of century-old wild ginseng you're looking for. You know, I'm really no expert in this field."

The old man's voice on the other end of the phone was loud and clear, with a sense of certainty:

"Xiao Meng, I've carefully examined the photos you sent, and I'm 90% sure. I've been handling ginseng my whole life; I can tell at a glance."

Before Meng Ke could reply, the old man quickly followed up with:

Where are you now? I'm coming to find you.

"Oh, how could I let you make the trip!" Meng Ke quickly stopped her. "You're so old, how could I trouble you to go through all that trouble? I'll just deliver it to you."

Professor Wen was quite straightforward and didn't mince words:

"Alright, I have some things to take care of right away, it's best if you can deliver it. Thank you in advance, Xiao Meng."

"Professor Wen, what are you saying?" Meng Ke laughed. "We've known each other for quite some time now. If you need anything, of course I'll do my best to help. Send me your location, and I'll get there as soon as possible."

"Okay, okay."

A few seconds after the call ended, my phone vibrated; the location had been sent to me.

Meng Ke put away her phone and turned around, only to meet Shen Jingchuan's gaze.

"Why are you looking at me?" Shen Jingchuan raised an eyebrow, then realized what he meant and casually added, "Fine, I'll go with you."

Meng Ke couldn't suppress her smile, "Okay, let's go!"

The two took the wooden box containing the ginseng and went out, downstairs into the parking lot. Meng Ke drove a black BMW 5 Series, onto the main road, heading towards West Mountain.

Shen Jingchuan didn't ask about the destination. He leaned against the car window, watching the street scenes and tree shadows along the way, and occasionally chatted with Meng Ke about this and that. The journey was quite relaxed.

We set off at 10:30 a. m., and the road conditions were smooth. We arrived at our destination in less than an hour.

The car stopped in front of a heavy wrought iron gate. Behind the gate was a thick grove of trees, concealing several low-lying buildings. It was clearly a place of considerable size, though I didn't know where it was.

Two guards stood at the entrance. Although they weren't in military uniforms, their posture was upright and their eyes were serious, making them completely different from ordinary community security guards.

As soon as Meng Ke parked the car, a guard approached, his attitude polite yet measured:

"Hello."

"We had an appointment with Professor Wen; he asked us to come," Meng Ke replied, rolling down the car window.

Upon hearing the name "Professor Wen," the guard's expression immediately understood, and he nodded slightly to the side.

"Elder Mr. Wen has already given prior notice. Please come in, just drive straight ahead to the end of the road."