Su Wei switched on the incandescent light in the garage. Its dim yellow glow illuminated a metal cabinet in the corner.
A heavy padlock hung on the cabinet.
Old Jack's gaze locked onto the cabinet at once, and his breathing grew heavy.
Su Wei unhurriedly took a key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock.
"Click."
The crisp sound of the lock opening rang through the silent garage.
Old Jack could no longer hold himself back. He shoved Su Wei aside and yanked open the metal cabinet door himself!
The moment the door opened, a rich, distinctive scent hit him, a blend of the fresh fragrance of earth and medicinal herbs.
Old Jack froze.
On the shelf inside the metal cabinet were not the one or two cloth-wrapped medicinal plants he had imagined.
There was a pile of them!
It was a huge pile of tangled roots and rhizomes that looked much like ginseng, almost filling the entire shelf!
The roots were yellowish-brown, with rough skins.
Most importantly, their rootlets were well developed, each one thick and strong, and they came in all shapes: some coiled like gnarled dragons, others grasped like eagle talons, brimming with primeval vitality.
Under the dim yellow light, the Devil's Claw piled together gave off a distinctive allure.
Old Jack couldn't help swallowing with an audible gulp. He reached out, his hand trembling as he tried to touch them, but stopped halfway, afraid it was all an illusion.
He suddenly turned and stared fixedly at Su Wei, his weather-reddened old face now full of shock.
He had thought that if Su Wei got lucky enough to find a single Devil's Claw of decent age, smoke would already be rising from his ancestral graves.
But what was this before him?
This was a small mountain piled up with money!
"You... you call this... one plant?!"
Old Jack's voice trembled. He pointed at the huge pile of Devil's Club in the cabinet, then at Su Wei, unable to get a complete sentence out for a long while.
Su Wei leaned against the tool rack beside him, arms folded, and watched him calmly.
"I never said it was one plant."
"You didn't fucking say it was a whole litter, either!"
Old Jack finally roared. He rushed up to Su Wei, grabbed his shoulders with both hands, and shook him hard.
"Kid! Tell me the truth! Did you raid the devil's own lair?!"
Su Wei grew somewhat impatient with the shaking. With a slight twist, he broke free of Old Jack's hands.
Old Jack had used so much force that he stumbled and nearly fell.
He caught hold of the rack beside him and managed to steady himself.
But his gaze remained fixed on Su Wei, as though trying to make certain that all of this was real.
And of course, there was the unimaginable shock in his heart.
A kid he had thought was merely lucky, an unlucky wretch buried in debt.
Now!
He had actually dug up a whole pile of Devil's Claw!!
He panted, forcing himself to calm down. Greed finally overwhelmed his shock and turned into a burning excitement.
He hurried back to the metal cabinet, carefully picked up a particularly thick root, and held it to his nose, taking a deep breath.
The pure medicinal fragrance made the flesh all over his body tremble with pleasure.
That's right!
They were definitely old enough! Their appearance was top-notch!
I'm rich! This time I'm really going to make a fortune!
Old Jack put down the Devil's Claw in his hand and turned around, an oily smile spreading across his face, entirely different from his earlier arrogance.
"Su Wei... my good boy..."
He rubbed his hands together and approached Su Wei one step at a time.
"Name your price. These... these treasures, I'll take them all!"
Chapter 33: A Battle of Wits: The First Big Payday! The Possibility of Hunting Bears
Old Jack rubbed his hands together and looked at Su Wei, his face wreathed in smiles.
"Name your price, Su Wei, my good boy."
His tone was completely different from his arrogant attitude on the phone.
It had become affected and insincere.
It had also become affectionate.
Su Wei said nothing. He simply leaned against the tool rack, arms folded, studying Old Jack.
He knew perfectly well how greedy Old Jack was, and he also knew the man was eager to get his hands on this batch.
Devil's Claw was no ordinary merchandise.
It was special, especially to the rich.
And Old Jack had access to plenty of wealthy people.
Su Wei's silence made Old Jack uneasy, and he looked at Su Wei, unable to make him out.
"What's wrong, kid? Don't tell me you haven't made up your mind yet."
Su Wei spoke.
"Old Jack."
He addressed him by name, his tone calm.
"You're a businessman. You need money."
"But I need it too. You know how short of money I am."
"You know full well what quality this Devil's Club is. Age, appearance, quantity-there's nothing to complain about."
Su Wei's words made Old Jack's face twitch.
He wanted to argue, but when he looked at the pile of gnarled roots in the metal cabinet, his mouth opened and closed without a word coming out.
He truly had never seen wild Devil's Claw of such fine quality in such quantity.
This batch could make him a handsome profit.
And not just a little one.
He knew how good this stuff was for those wealthy people.
It could easily fetch over ten thousand dollars.
But from the looks of things, Su Wei clearly wasn't going to let him take it away so easily.
"I've left you plenty of room for profit."
Su Wei went on, his tone even.
"Fifteen thousand dollars."
The moment he named the figure, the smile vanished from Old Jack's face.
"What?! Fifteen thousand?!"
Old Jack jumped to his feet.
"Su Wei! Are you crazy?!"
He pointed at the Devil's Claw in the cabinet and questioned him in disbelief.
"This stuff is valuable, sure, but fifteen thousand dollars?!"
"Do you think it's made of gold?! If I buy it, I'll still be taking the risk of being investigated!"
"You need to understand, this stuff is very sensitive! You're not one of the Tsetsaut People! You're not a native, you're Chinese!"
"To them, that makes you an outsider. Even if you have proof, have certificates. But kid, you know the natives have the advantage here!"
Old Jack put on quite a performance, his words full of urgent persuasion.
He even clutched his chest, pretending to be pained.
"The market price! Su Wei! You have to go by the market price!"
"I've already done you a big favor. I came all this way in person because I knew you were up to your eyeballs in debt!"
"At the normal price, eight thousand is the most I'll pay!"
He once again struck that lofty, superior pose.