Volume One: Another World Chapter Eleven: The Man Known as the Ginseng Victor

After returning to Azure Star, Li Yu, satisfied, lined up the ginseng he had brought. Originally, he intended to sell them at a pharmacy or similar place, but after checking the prices online, he was surprised to find that a century-old wild ginseng called "Treasure Root" had been sold for 3.26 million yuan.

Li Yu reconsidered; wouldn’t sending them to an auction house be even more profitable? The ginseng he had acquired from Mu Yinhua were roughly the same size as the "Treasure Root" sold for millions, many of them over a hundred years old by Azure Star standards. Li Yu guessed that environmental factors on Azure Star resulted in extremely long growth cycles for ginseng—decades, sometimes even a century or two—whereas in the other world, the growth cycle was much shorter, and few people valued them.

According to Mu Yinhua, there were many plants in the mountains superior to ginseng, and ginseng was often eaten as a casual snack, with many people even scoffing at it.

Li Yu’s heart burned with excitement. If this batch of ginseng could all fetch several million each, he would become a billionaire overnight. Even if there were no other gains from the other world, simply trafficking goods between the two worlds would fill his coffers to the brim. What’s more, in the Grand Imperial Capital of the other world, he could sign in once more.

As for items produced by the system, Li Yu had yet to find a single one that was subpar. The right to enter another world—if nations vied for it, they would surely fight to the bitter end, just as world wars once broke out over colonies and resources. Even his five-star reward, the Thunderblood lineage, seemed exceptionally rare in the other world.

Li Yu was full of anticipation for the Grand Imperial Capital sign-in.

“Next, I need to compare which auction house is best,” Li Yu mused, searching for nearby auction houses and selecting four or five with good reviews. “If I sell one or two to each, I’ll still have over a dozen left…”

He planned to sell only part of his stock, mainly because earning too much money too quickly would be hard to spend, and releasing too many ginseng at once would attract unwanted attention. By choosing several auction houses, it would be less conspicuous.

With his plan set, Li Yu proceeded to act. He called the client numbers for each auction house found online, making appointments to consign goods that afternoon.

After finishing these arrangements and seeing it was nearly noon, Li Yu grabbed his breakfast from the dining table and headed out for some “exercise.”

When Huang Xiu returned at midday, after lunch, Li Yu quizzed her on some basic academic subjects. After Huang Xiu left for school in the afternoon, Li Yu followed suit and went out.

At the auction house, the professionalism of the staff was impeccable; there was none of the disdainful treatment one might expect. Especially after Li Yu produced two ginseng roots, the staff member receiving him was practically calling him “grandpa.”

The female manager, who looked like a celebrity, rushed over upon hearing the news, led Li Yu into a spacious reception room, and several elderly experts soon followed. A cameraman recorded the entire process, some elders appraised the ginseng, others chatted with Li Yu.

The subsequent proceedings were straightforward: under a lawyer’s witness, they signed a consignment contract.

The manager escorted Li Yu all the way to the entrance. As Li Yu boarded the taxi, he could see her waving goodbye.

"If she knew I was heading to another auction house, would she still be so enthusiastic?" Li Yu wondered.

The process at the second auction house was much the same, though fewer people crowded in. The manager was equally hospitable, seeing Li Yu off until the taxi turned the corner, then returning to the office.

The taxi then took Li Yu to the third auction house.

…

It wasn’t until the fifth auction house that Li Yu’s otherwise smooth path to riches encountered a ripple.

“It’s you?” The elder in a blue robe glared, his whiskers bristling.

“What are you doing here?” Li Yu was dumbfounded—the old man before him was none other than the one who had chatted with him at the first auction house. “Wait, you’re all here?”

On closer inspection, all the elders who had conversed with him at the first auction house were present, save one. One of them made a call, saying the missing elder would arrive in ten minutes.

"The first auction house belongs to Old Li's family," the blue-robed elder grinned, "This one belongs to mine. Didn't expect that, did you?"

"That’s… quite unexpected," Li Yu admitted, mouth agape.

He had deliberately chosen several auction houses to avoid putting all his eggs in one basket, only to find those eggs returning to the same basket.

Luckily, the blue-robed elder didn’t press further. He simply assured Li Yu that his auction house could offer the best options, hoping Li Yu would favor them in the future if he had more stock.

For now, Li Yu agreed, though he’d still consign to various places as planned.

As Li Yu repeated, “Next time, definitely next time,” and “Obtaining this ginseng was a fluke,” the missing elder pushed open the door, muttering,

“Strange, my little rascal at home said a wild century-old ginseng showed up at the auction house and asked me to take a look. Why are ginseng suddenly popping up everywhere like they're worthless?” He continued, “I was almost there when you called, saying there’s a surprise. What is it?”

The blue-robed elder turned to Li Yu. Li Yu stared back, equally speechless.

Li Yu: Fine, cards on the table—I’m a major ginseng dealer, known in the trade as the King of Ginseng.

Blue-robed elder: I get it, that consignment was yours too, right?

“Heh, young friend, you still don’t quite trust my auction house,” the blue-robed elder squinted, pulling out his phone and opening a QR code. “But that’s alright. After this auction, you’ll see we’re trustworthy.”

“Ah, alright,” Li Yu replied, dazed, scanning the code and adding the elder’s contact.

Despite being seventy or eighty, the elder was quite trendy—his avatar was a young beauty.

The other elders were not to be outdone, each producing a phone for Li Yu to add them as contacts. When the last elder handed over his phone, Li Yu commented, “Grandpa, don’t mess with me. This is a senior phone—it doesn’t have WeChat…”

The other elders chimed in, “Old Li, we’ve already added him, you don’t need to,” and, “Old Li, forget it, you don’t even have WeChat…”

“You lot, stop your nonsense! Old Chen, you don’t even have an auction house, what’s the point of adding the young friend?” The elder with the senior phone erupted in anger, then turned kindly to Li Yu, “Wait, I’ll call my granddaughter! She’s single and pretty.”

The other elders accused him of foul play, then bragged about their own granddaughters.

Even the blue-robed elder quietly hinted that his WeChat avatar was his granddaughter.

After returning home, Li Yu massaged his sore shoulders, then, reflecting on the day, dropped to the living room floor and did a dozen push-ups—if he didn’t train now, how would he manage millions in the future?

Today’s events were a warning: he needed to be more cautious when fencing goods. Next time, he should prioritize the elder with the senior phone—he was too pitiful, not even owning a decent mobile.

Definitely not because his granddaughter was beautiful!