The Best Male God

Hi…..I forgot to post this chapter even though it was done. Sorry…I will make up the other chapters that I owe soon (gonna do my best to stay focused during this break/delayed school). I know it's easy to MTL and updates are slow as heck, so I appreciate your patience and visit to my translation!

Due to Tang Bingyu’s injury, they couldn’t continue with the organized missions. Not only did Zhou Zekai have to keep a watch on Tang Bingyu, he also began to divvy up the mushrooms. There were lots of mushrooms on this mountain, one could say that there was a mushroom everywhere you stepped as you followed the pathway. Except there were various kinds, and it was not possible to identify them all. Zhou Zekai learned the names of these mushrooms from the old grandfather who came to visit, as well as the period of growth and market price. He seemed to be very interested in this kind of thing.

Although Tang Bingyu’s foot still hurt from the injury, she listened in as well. She hadn’t known that with one trip to the mountain, a basket of mushrooms could sometimes only sell for a couple ten or so yuan. This was the case for the amount that was able to be moved out from the village. If they couldn’t move the mushrooms, then those are all for their families to eat. By eating mushrooms, they can less need for other food.

The people in the television crew filmed while lamenting the poverty and backwardness of the village. While they were at it, they reported to the people above about the program’s circumstances. When they heard that another child that was to be “changed” in the program was already making a fuss to go home and getting into several fights, they truly felt fortunate that they were following Tang Bingyu and Zhou Zekai. Otherwise, wouldn’t that be asking for their lives?

Thus in this kind of peaceful atmosphere, in the following afternoon, Zhou Zekai’s grandfather Zhou Yunye and his father Zhou Hongyi arrived. After all, his son had said in the phone call that he had discovered a ginseng root. Putting aside how far the ginseng dated, this luck alone was enough for them to make the trip. Furthermore, Zhou Zekai had specifically requested that Uncle Feng come.

This “Uncle Feng” was named Feng Ximing. He was a doctor of traditional chinese medicine and Zhou Hongyi’s good friend. His father Mr. Feng Sr. also had an extremely close relationship with Zhou Yunye. What’s most important was, if he came over, then they will immediately know if this ginseng was valuable or not.

Feng Ximing received Mr. Zhou Sr.’s phone call in the night. Naturally, he could not refuse. He pushed back his own work and joined them on their way here. They found an acquaintance in the area beforehand to arrange for a car that can carry a freezer. As soon as they descended from the plane, they jumped onto the car and came here.

“Grandfather!”

Zhou Zekai heard the sound of the television crew’s greetings at the door while he was chopping the firewood. He immediately guessed that his grandfather had arrived. Dropping the chores that he was doing, he ran over. Zhou Yunye was also happy to see his grandson. Seeing Zhou Zekai come over, he reached out a hand and rubbed his grandson’s head.

“You didn’t cause any trouble here, did you?”

Actually, Zhou Yunye was aware that this grandson of his would not trouble others. He may have a tyrannical personality, but he was a child who knew how to take care of others.

“No, grandfather. Quick, quick, quick. Follow me. That ginseng that I found is definitely a good one. After you [formal] and Uncle Feng examine it, you can just take it home. Just think of it as a sign of filial piety from your grandson!”

Zhou Yunye was already in his seventies this year. When Zhou Zekai saw his grandfather, he couldn’t be happier. He pulled Mr. Zhou Sr. into the room, leaving Father Zhou and Feng Ximing behind looking somewhat helpless.

When Zhou Zekai was sent to this village, he was in the middle of a falling out with Father Zhou. Zhou Zekai wanted to buy one of those cool racing motorcycles, Father Zhou wouldn’t let him, hence the current situation.

After dragging his grandfather in, Zhou Zekai saw Tang Bingyu who was sitting on the bed and introduced her.

“Grandfather, this is the little girl who’s participating in the show with me. Her name’s Tang Bingyu, what do you think? Pretty, right?”

As he cheerfully spoke, Zhou Zekai noticed that Tang Bingyu had been startled by the sudden appearance of his grandfather and found it extremely amusing.

“Pretty. Very pretty.” Grandfather Zhou nodded in agreement. Tang Bingyu quickly snapped back to her senses after being startled. A bashful grin appeared on her face, but it was still graceful and dignified.

“Hello Grandfather Zhou!”

Seeing this little girl be so sensible, Zhou Yunye was also all smiles. Under Zhou Zekai’s arrangement, he sat on the bed. There was no helping it, this room was too clean. It didn’t even have a chair.

After seating his grandfather, Zhou Zekai speedily took out the ginseng-containing box that he had modified. Then he set it on the bed and opened it.

“Uncle Feng, come and help me take a look. Isn’t my luck good?”

He waved Feng Ximing over. Zhou Zekai believed that the man would be able to recognize this ginseng’s value.

As soon as the container was opened, Zhou Yunye was shocked. Although the leaves on top were withering, the ginseng on the bottom made Zhou Yunye so surprised that his eyes were gleaming. This ginseng head was so big, it must be 400 grams! This wasn’t a ginseng, this was a treasure! No matter how old this thing was, solely judging from the head, it was most likely a treasure!

Feng Ximing also looked over. On the car ride over, he knew why he was called along. Upon hearing that Zhou Zekai dug out a ginseng plant, he found it odd. How could there be ginseng in this Ming’an Village’s landscape of your average tall mountain and forestry region?

Anyway, even if it did indeed have ginseng, it probably wasn’t of good quality.

Yet now when he laid his eyes on this ginseng, he felt like it simply was a slap on his face. This ginseng’s head was just too big! Not to mention that the leaves developed so well, its age was most likely quite a good number of years…..

He couldn’t resist reaching out his hand and carefully taking the ginseng over. Then he meticulously examined its wrinkles and its roots. Feng Ximing didn’t dare to make a definite evaluation.

“Uncle Zhou 1. The way I see it, this ginseng is already a treasure. Weighing it by hand, it’s definitely over 400 grams. And I’ve noticed that these ridges are at least three hundred years. This kind of wild ginseng is basically a rare thing to come across today. Zekai is extremely lucky!!!”

He reported a rather conservative number; in truth, Feng Ximeng was of the opinion that this ginseng had to be above three hundred years old. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact year; they needed a professional specialist to determine that.

Father Zhou was also surprised. He didn’t understand the ginseng field, but he could understand what “more than three hundred years old” meant in this sense. Right now ginseng that were decades old were worth about twenty million; this plant that was more than three hundred years old was extremely rare to come across. Even if it’s sold for a exorbitantly-high price, there would still be those who were willing to pay. Who told it to be a bona-fide wild mountain ginseng?

The television crew were also dumbstruck. That was a ginseng plant that was around three hundred years old! And it was a ginseng treasure! They weren’t that knowledgeable about the ginseng industry, but they did know that the older it was, the more valuable it is. This particular plant that was around three hundred years old could sell for at least a hundred million or so, wouldn’t it?

Zhou Zekai was unmoved. After all, Feng Ximing’s evaluation was not entirely accurate. This wild mountain ginseng was definitely more than five hundred years old. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have such a huge head. On the other hand, he was more amused at the sight of the little girl on the side with her eyes bugging out in surprise.

“Uncle Zhou, this ginseng is of wonder quality. I can only give an approximate guess, if my father came, he will most likely be able to determine its age. However, the conditions for preservation here are not the best. Our freezer is entirely too necessary! Otherwise, this ginseng’s medical properties would have been ruined….”

Feng Ximing chattered nonstop. He was really so happy. Even if he couldn’t possess this kind of ginseng in his life, he was already pleased enough to have seen one with his own eyes!

After all, this was a three hundred year or so old wild mountain ginseng plant!

1. Aside from a way to refer to your father’s eldest brother, the noun called in the raw is a respectful term of address for unrelated older men