Chapter 118: The President of the Chinese Medicine Association Personally Oversees the Medicinal Materials Transaction

Lin Meng did not deny it; she hadn't had time to deal with the tin foil ashes, so she left them in the courtyard—if Ye Chenjing's eyesight were good, he would have already seen them.

She then nodded and said:

"I've been missing my parents and grandfather; I just moved to a new place, so burning some paper money to let them know seems fitting."

That's not wrong; after all, it's just burning offerings for the departed. Ye Chenjing heard this and didn't press further.

Perhaps Lin Meng was just too lonely living alone, thinking of her deceased parents and grandfather; burning some paper money down there could also be seen as a kind of spiritual comfort.

Ye Chenjing also felt somewhat moved; his parents had passed away early as well, but he was far luckier than Lin Meng—he still had his grandfather and younger brother, whereas Lin Meng had only herself.

Those Lin family relatives, when he investigated Lin Meng he also looked into them, are a bunch of heartless wretches who have no regard for family ties.

Not only do they refuse to pity Lin Meng as an orphan girl, they don't help her at all and instead make things difficult for her in every possible way.

Now Lin Meng relies on her own abilities to settle down in Jing Shi; she has no one to share with, so it seems she can only speak to her departed relatives underground…

Lin Meng didn't know Ye Chenjing was sympathizing with her; seeing him standing there motionless, she thought for a moment and said:

"General Manager Ye, do you have something for me?"

Ye Chenjing came back to himself, eased the hint of emotion between his brows, and then said:

"The medicinal herbs—have they arrived?"

He felt a bit embarrassed and said:

"The Chinese Medicine Association's side—the president personally approached me, hoping I could talk to you and move up the time of the next transaction as much as possible. Do you think that works?"

Ye Chenjing stared at Lin Meng, wanting to see her reaction.

This was still the first time he had used a consultative tone when speaking to someone; it seemed many of his firsts were given to Lin Meng.

But this matter is also his fault—he had previously proposed delaying the transaction by one month.

But this situation is different—the president of the Chinese Medicine Association is an elderly scholar whom even his own grandfather must respect and defer to, a person of eminent standing, so he had no choice but to seek Lin Meng's counsel.

Upon hearing this, Lin Meng naturally felt it was no big deal.

"I can provide the medicinal materials anytime at the same price as last time; however, I temporarily don't want to reveal myself, so I'll leave the negotiations with them to you."

Ye Chenjing secretly let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but at the same time a doubt welled up in his heart again.

He had always been paying attention to Lin Meng's movements; logically, those medicinal materials are extremely precious, so anyone meeting her to deliver them would certainly value that batch highly, and the escort would be of a very high standard.

Yet in recent days he had noticed no contact between Lin Meng and any suspicious individuals—so where did she obtain those medicinal materials?

Did they appear out of thin air?

Ye Chenjing harbored suspicions, but he showed nothing on his face and certainly wouldn't go digging for answers out of sheer boredom.

Although Lin Meng seemed easy to get along with on the surface, Ye Chenjing knew this woman had always been on guard against him and would not easily reveal any secrets in his presence.

After Lin Meng and Ye Chenjing agreed to make the delivery that evening, she closed the door and stopped receiving guests.

She darted into the space, carefully inspected and sorted all the medicinal materials, dividing them into two batches, intending to trade only one of them this time.

A overly large quantity would also easily arouse suspicion; selling it batch by batch causes her no loss.

Moreover, with Ye Chenjing handling the transactions openly, she only needs to make regular deliveries—it's not troublesome at all.

After Ye Chenjing confirmed the medicinal materials had arrived, he called Zhu Lao to inform him.

Upon hearing the news, Zhu Lao excitedly hung up the phone and went to find the Association President.

"There's news about the medicinal materials—Xiao Ye just called to say they'll arrive tomorrow!"

At that moment Yang Zhong was studying the specimen of wild ginseng with the longest age he had obtained last time; hearing this, he excitedly sat up straight, and the joy burst forth on his aged face.

"Really? This time I'll go myself—look after Xiao Ye, don't tell those old acupuncture practitioners, this time we must buy up all the medicinal materials, not let anyone else snatch them away."

Zhu Zhen Guo smiled at the words, saying, "Don't worry, Teacher—I've already told Xiao Ye to keep it quiet this time."

In the evening, Ye Chenjing once again turned down the later drinks appointment and arrived on time for the meeting.

He had thought Lin Meng might invite him inside for a chat this time, but the delivery location turned out to be the villa's garage.

Five medicine baskets had already been placed in front of the big G.

Just as before, it was still five large baskets, the varieties of the medicinal materials being largely the same.

The only difference was that this batch of medicinal materials seemed to have mixed in a particularly old wild ginseng root.

Ye Chenjing could see at a glance that the age of this wild ginseng probably exceeded that of some Northern Song antiques.

Its skin was aged and deep; though it looked small and unremarkable, it was the most substantial presence.

For the first time in his life, Ye Chenjing truly understood what "an inch of gold" meant.

He observed Lin Meng without changing his expression; seeing her demeanor unchanged, he wondered inwardly.

Could it be that the older the wild ginseng, the smaller it becomes, causing Lin Meng to overlook it? Or perhaps this woman simply doesn't understand?

Ye Chenjing pondered for a moment, then walked over to that basket of medicinal materials, carefully picking up the old, hard wild ginseng root and tentatively said to Lin Meng:

"This wild ginseng root looks quite special."

Lin Meng was wiping down her beloved car; hearing this, she lifted her eyelids, glanced up, and casually replied:

"Don't all the wild ginseng in this basket look the same? The only difference is age; the one in your hand must be quite old—older than my grandfather."

"You sold them all?" Ye Chenjing pressed; this wild ginseng is worth over a dozen of her grandfathers, yet in her eyes it's not even as valuable as the rearview mirror she's wiping.

Lin Meng was unconvinced: "Sold them all—what's the point of keeping them?"

Ye Chenjing was left speechless, feeling for the first time that his own vision was shallow; compared to him, Lin Meng was truly the one with immense wealth and boldness.

Ye Chenjing personally moved the five baskets of medicinal materials; Lin Meng didn't lend a hand.

After the last basket of medicinal materials was also moved, Lin Meng caught up with Ye Chenjing and handed him two small porcelain bottles from her pocket.

"These are the three Jade Marrow Pills I previously promised to Ye's grandfather; keep them safe. The remaining bottle contains the Life-Protecting Pill I'm giving you—as thanks for your help without expecting anything in return."

Ye Chenjing raised his eyebrows, took the small porcelain bottle, opened one and peered inside—sure enough, he saw a round pill.

"Life-Protecting Pill? What exactly does it do?"

Lin Meng replied:

This is the Return Spring Pill; it promotes flesh growth and stops bleeding, works especially well on external injuries—if you ever get chased and slashed and seriously hurt by accident, just take it.

Ye Chenjing was originally quite moved, but hearing Lin Meng's description, his mouth twitched instantly.

Thank you.

Lin Meng laughed: "You're welcome; if I sold this pill for money, it wouldn't be cheaper than the Jade Marrow Pill, so you know what I mean? Use it well—this is practically your second life."

Ye Chenjing: "……"