"This… This…"
The scene right before their eyes was too outlandish to be true. Even the ever calm Xia Rongrong was reduced to stutters. She could only say this; Su Qiubai nodded at her, his eyes shining with encouragement and warmth.
"How is this possible! It can't be true!"
Although Xia Rongrong had already gotten the answer from Su Qiubai, she still couldn't believe it.
Back when she was still hospitalized, Li Muhao's hundred-year-old ginseng had been treated like a precious gem as ginseng that old had been declared extinct, but… what the heck are these!
The contents of the old sack was scattered on the floor and looked like radish. She found it preposterous that they could be the highly valued ginseng. She really couldn't relate these radish-like tubers to the valuable ginseng.
But… they looked exactly the same.
Xia Rongrong stayed silent but Xia Xiaomu had already squatted down on the floor, raking through the ginsengs with his hand. His eyes were full of doubt, "What are these?"
One couldn't blame him for not recognizing the ginseng, after all no one would ever be able to immediately a.s.sociate them with rare wild ginseng.
"Wild ginseng…" Glancing at her brother, Xia Rongrong finally calmed down and slowly replied.
"Oh… wild ginseng… Wild ginseng!" Only then did Xia Xiaomu finally realize what his sister meant, he stared at her wide-eyed.
"How… how old are these? Are they fifty years old?" He hesitated, before asking further in a shaky voice. Taking a deep breath, Xia Rongrong gazed at Su Qiubai's relaxed face next to her. She replied, "They aren't fifty-year-olds."
Having heard that, Xia Xiaomu finally calmed down, after all it was still more reasonable to be able to obtain 50-year-old ginseng. Though he felt a little pity, he said, "Anyway these are also very precious. After all, there are so many of them… You're too kind!"
He intended to comfort Su Qiubai but Xia Rongrong's next sentence made him drop to the floor.
"These wild ginseng…should be no less than two hundred years old…" She was unsure of her judgement. But even so, she still thought that her answer was too farfetched.
Su Qiubai who had been standing next to her had finally caught his breath. He waved his hand in the air and said, "These… aren't that valuable. Somebody gave them to me. You could take all of them. They've been sitting in my car for some time now… I was worried that they might have started rotting but luckily they're still good."
Having said all that in a single breath, Su Qiubai then took a sip of water. The two siblings were still left speechless, it was as if their previous perspective of the world had just collapsed!
There was actually such a person in this world!
"Big brother… You really are a super-rich tyc.o.o.n! Carrying a whole sack of wild ginseng in your taxi all day, aren't you worried that you would be robbed?
Xia Xiaomu felt a little thirsty so he got up from the floor and took a sip of water. Then, he spoke to Su Qiubai.
"Who would rob these things? I really didn't know where else to keep them. You didn't tell me that you need them so much." Su Qiubai grinned while urging the siblings to sit down again.
To be honest, the only reason he said that was to reduce the burden on Xia Rongrong. Although he only just got to know about her, he understood how prideful she was. He would be embarra.s.sed if she rejected his offering.
The three of them were seated around the table, no one spoke for a period. Xia Xiaomu peeked at Xia Rongrong. He had clearly heard Su Qiubai say that he was giving all of the ginseng to his sister.
Xia Rongrong was quiet as she held a cup in her hand. No one knew what was going on in her mind.
"Erm… Rong Rong, you see these things…"
Su Qiubai was embarra.s.sed about addressing her as Rong Rong. He felt like a rich old man proposing to her.
[TLN: For Chinese, you don't call a person by their first name unless he/she is your relative.]
"I can't accept them." Sure enough, Xia Rongrong rejected them.
"Why not? We're friends after all, and I just want to help you." Su Qiubai was afraid of Xia Rongrong overthinking things, so he quickly explained.
"I understand that, but you've already helped me a lot. These things are just too expensive… I can't accept it." Xia Rongrong's tone was very tranquil throughout, but that was only after struggling with her own thoughts.
Su Qiubai might not understand the value of these wild ginsengs, but she was very clear. With that sack of wild ginseng, the Xia Group could not only be reborn, but also form a whole new territory!
But it was too expensive and too valuable to accept; she had no way to repay his kindness.
"These aren't that valuable. My second brother from the countryside gave them to me. There are even more at his place. If you don't think that it's enough, then I'll just drive a truck to get more."
Su Qiubai was anxious. He really wanted to help Xia Rongrong.
However, if Chai Jin was to hear that from Su Qiubai, he surely would faint.
How am I so unlucky to have such a younger brother? Who do you mean by second brother from the countryside? And you even thought of driving a truck here… Do you think that the ginseng is some sort of Chinese cabbage?!
[TLN: The above paragraph is what Chai Jin would think. Chinese cabbage is cheap and common.]
At the same time, Xia Rongrong and Xia Xiaomu were somewhat confused.
How on earth did Su Qiubai meet such a kind second brother and out of anything he could've given to Su Qiubai, he gave bags after bags of ancient wild ginseng.
"I..."
"Sister, can't you just treat it as Brother Bai's investment?"
Xia Rongrong had just said a word, but was nervously interrupted by Xia Xiaomu. He knew best about the kind of pressure his sister had suffered as a result of the Xia Group. If she accepted these ginseng, everything would change. It was for this reason, that he couldn't understand these two people.
One wanted to give without anything in return, but the other didn't want to accept because she knew that the other party didn't want anything in return…
My goodness! Just make it a business deal!
Xia Xiaomu's words stunned both Su Qiubai and Xia Rongrong.
That's right! Just treat it as an investment!
"That's right, just like Xiao Mu said, can't you just treat it as my investment?" Su Qiubai grinned, feeling much more relax. That was just too tense for him.
Xia Rongrong's expression changed. It was unknown if she directed her question to herself or Xia Xiaomu, she wondered out loud, "Can we really do that?"
"Of course, can't you just give shares to Brother Bai?" Xia Xiaomu didn't understand what was going on with his generally savvy and capable sister today, so he quickly replied.
After that, Xia Rongrong pondered for a while, she then looked up at Su Qiubai and declared, "Alright, I'll accept all of them. But in return, I'll give you twenty percent of the Xia Group's shares."
Xia Rongrong seriously fixed her eyes on Su Qiubai.
Next to her, Xia Xiaomu felt as if his brain was rattling. Is my sister crazy? Twenty percent of the Xia Group's shares! This isn't just the previously promised share of the pharmaceutical investment; it's the entire Xia Group!
Once Su Qiubai accepted the deal, most of the Xia Group would be his!
But looking at Xia Rongrong's expression, he dared not oppose.
How could Su Qiubai understand what twenty percent of the Xia Group's shares meant? Anyway, as long as Xia Rongrong accepted the ginseng; he didn't really care a lot about the shares, so he happily agreed, "Alright, whatever you say."
Xia Rongrong gazed into Su Qiubai's eyes, she knew that he didn't care about the shares. She helplessly shook her head, without bothering to explain further. After that, the three of them no longer talked about that matter. They just ate their meal together and chatted.
Not long after, Xia Xiaomu excused himself to go home first and let Su Qiubai send his sister back. Before leaving, he took all of the ginseng with him and shot him a meaningful look. Su Qiubai once again turned red-faced. Xia Rongrong asked him if it was due to the pain on his wound. He silently nodded.
It was already dark by the time the two of them exited the restaurant. Xia Rongrong took off her hat and sighed as they got into the taxi.
"I haven't been in a taxi for a long time. Can you believe it?"
Xia Rongrong was like a little girl with her big eyes peering at Su Qiubai, making his heart beat faster.
She didn't notice and continued on, "Ever since my parents disappeared, the Xia Group was handed down to me. At that time, I had to try my best every day to make sure that the Xia Group doesn't fall, because only then could Xiao Mu and I could continue to search for them…"
Xia Rongrong didn't know why she was revealing these feelings that she had kept in her heart for such a long time. She just felt a sudden impulse, after all Su Qiubai gave her a sense of relaxation that she hadn't felt for a long time.
"Why did your parents go missing?" This is the first time Su Qiubai had heard about her parents, so he couldn't refrain from asking.
Xia Rongrong looked a little lost. Gently shaking her head, she told him, "I don't know… they suddenly left, Grandpa also doesn't know."
He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how. However, he swiftly thought of a way. He became excited and his eyes firmed.
"I'll help you to get them back." His voice sounded in her ears, dazzling her. She only felt an indescribable sense of trust and a dependable feeling from him. Xia Rongrong smiled. She thought that Su Qiubai was merely comforting her, so she just quietly nodded.
Then he suddenly had an idea and started the car, "I'll take you somewhere."
"Where?" Xia Rongrong was confused, so she asked.
"You'll know when you're there… Have you ever seen Qing River at night? I'll take you there."
Smiling mysteriously, Su Qiubai stepped on the gas pedal and off they went…