Chapter 1612 - 1577: A Day Without Ah Tan Leaves My Heart Empty

Even on the second day, setting off bright and early back to the Holiday Village, Marcus Quinn and A Tan still walked for nearly 4 hours, arriving at the village just around noon.

After the National Day, the Holiday Village’s reputation gradually spread. Combined with effective publicity at the scenic area’s ticket office, people would drop by the village for a meal after hiking up the mountain and visiting the temple. Thus, noon remained the busiest time, with nearly a hundred guests visiting daily.

Upon returning to the lodge, the first thing A Tan did was take a shower. The trek was enjoyable, but the mountain paths were difficult. She ended up quite muddy, and if Marcus hadn’t held her hand the entire way, she would’ve stumbled countless times.

Marcus emptied the items from his backpack, cleaned them thoroughly, and then set the tent and other materials out to dry in the yard. He carefully placed the medicinal herbs and seedlings they’d dug up from the mountain, then went next door to shower. When he came out, he saw Mr. Weng and Oliver Zolotov examining the herbs he had dug up one by one in the yard.

"Is this honeysuckle?"

"This is Atractylodes Seedling. Hey, kid, you can recognize this stuff."

"Mr. Weng, look, is this Wild Ginseng?"

"It looks like Wild Ginseng; this Wild Ginseng is at least twenty years old." Mr. Weng exclaimed in shock, saying, "How can there be Wild Ginseng here? This plant is native to the southern Yunnan area."

"Is it really twenty-year-old Wild Ginseng?" Marcus wiped his damp short hair dry, his mood lifted, and asked cheerfully.

Oliver and Mr. Weng gathered around Marcus, one on each side, excitedly asking: "Marcus, where did you dig this up? Is there a lot of Wild Ginseng?"

"Yes, quite a bit," Marcus replied casually.

"You really have a knack for fortune, first fishing out a catch as valuable as gold, now discovering Wild Ginseng in the mountains. Do you know the price of twenty-year-old Wild Ginseng? Wild Ginseng is practically extinct now, with most of the remaining being cultivated Ginseng, let alone twenty years old." Mr. Weng looked at Marcus with envy. Young people just have all the luck.

"A Tan discovered it," Marcus casually curved his lips. Even digging up one plant was twenty years old; perhaps there are older Ginseng in the mountain.

Oliver: "..."

Mr. Weng: "..."

"Mr. Weng, how much can this Wild Ginseng sell for?" A Tan also entered the yard, seeing Mr. Weng and Oliver sniffing around like dogs. They were right back after Marcus and A Tan earlier, especially since Spencer’s family was busy entertaining guests in the dining hall. Only these two had free time.

"Common Wild Ginseng goes for over 1000 per pound, but this twenty-year-old Wild Ginseng is rare, so selling for several thousand per pound isn’t out of the question." Mr. Weng weighed the Ginseng root, saying, "Hey, kid, it’s quite heavy."

Upon hearing this, A Tan’s mind raced with calculations, her mouth agape — an entire mountain of Ginseng meant countless little treasures.

Marcus, more knowledgeable about medicinal herbs than A Tan, knew the value of this Ginseng early on and asked: "Mr. Weng, Mr. Zhou, there are many of these Ginsengs. We’re planning to dig them up for sale. Do you have any connections?"

Mr. Weng and Oliver, seasoned experts, had extensive contacts. As soon as they heard Marcus’s openness about the abundance, they realized these were genuine Wild Ginsengs. Their medicinal properties far exceeded cultivated ones, with a mere three-year growth sufficing for medicine — not to mention this twenty-year-old Wild Ginseng. Even the southern Yunnan area probably lacked Ginseng of this vintage. They exchanged glances and unanimously said: "Yes, yes, yes, we’ll help find buyers, but you must take us along to see them."

The two, itching with excitement, naturally wished to join in on the fun.

Marcus smiled slightly, saying: "Of course, besides, there are numerous other species in the mountain that I can’t identify. Having you both along is naturally good, but the mountain paths are rugged, taking five to six hours to traverse."

"We’re in good health, don’t worry about us. It’s settled then — take us along when you go to dig them up. We’ll help find buyers." Mr. Weng finished talking, quickly pulling Oliver back to their residence.

In such haste, they truly didn’t seem like elderly men.

After the Spencer family finished their tasks at the dining hall, they returned to the estate and saw Marcus Quinn and Ah Tan had come back. They asked how the couple’s outing had been, thinking they had just gone out to nurture their relationship. But when they heard about the Wild Ginseng, they were so shocked their mouths could fit a duck egg.

"Wild Ginseng has age, high value, and generous yield. Uncle Spencer, since these forests are within Anfield Village, if we find ginseng or similar plants, can the villagers dig them up themselves?" Marcus Quinn asked.

"Naturally, this is our village’s stuff, of course it belongs to us. No one can snatch it away," Uncle Spencer grinned widely, feeling like he was dreaming, "The forests you mentioned have been untouched and ownerless. How about we contract them all out?"

Marcus Quinn nodded; this would be the villagers’ future yield.

"There’s no rush to contract it. This time I only explored a third of the route. Tomorrow, I’ll go with Irving Spencer to continue exploring. Uncle Spencer, you should organize the villagers to go into the mountains tomorrow to dig Wild Ginseng. It’s already October; we’re a bit late to start digging," Marcus Quinn lowered his eyes, thought for a while, and planned to hand the Wild Ginseng seeds to Old Weng, hoping to cultivate ginseng from the seeds within the village.

The village has lots of forests and fields; it’s a shame to leave them barren.

Uncle Spencer quickly went from house to house to call for a meeting. Soon, more than half of the villagers gathered, with most being pulled from the scenic area where they were still selling farm products. The day’s earnings were barely satisfactory, but life was much better than before.

Since Marcus Quinn’s return, the villagers’ lives have undergone earth-shaking changes, so they all have a blind trust in him. Upon hearing that there’s medicinal herbs in the mountains that can be sold for good prices, everyone was thunderously excited, even the elderly and children took up hoes to join in.

"The mountain roads are rough; children under 15 and elderly over 60 can’t enter the mountains. Everyone should pack baskets, bring small hoes, plus water and food. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take you into the mountains. For safety, follow all organized instructions," Marcus Quinn said seriously. His years of training showed in his decisive tone, making everyone instinctively nod in agreement without any second thoughts.

Each household went home to dig out baskets nearly half as tall as a person, sought small hoes like Marcus Quinn’s, and prepared food and water for the next day. Elders whose children were not home quickly called them, telling them to come back immediately without explaining why.

Having lived through bitter times, villagers seized this money-making opportunity tightly, without Marcus Quinn needing to tell them. Each family kept their external children uninformed, fearful outsiders might dig up the Wild Ginseng.

Young and strong villagers receiving the call were clueless, quickly requesting leave to buy tickets to return home.

Irving Spencer was the happiest, having left his stable government job to work with Marcus Quinn. Originally focused on the holiday village, upon hearing about the medicinal herbs in the mountains, he was thrilled, immediately calling his wife to ask her to take leave to return to the holiday village, leaving their child with grandparents.

Joy Zachary heard the inexplicable joy in her husband’s call, quickly took leave, and drove to the holiday village that afternoon. Hearing about the Wild Ginseng made her bewildered; she couldn’t figure out how much money might be made from digging herbs, so she spoke quietly.

That day, the village households were fully mobilized.

On the second day, Aunt Spencer, Joy Zachary, and Ah Tan stayed at the holiday village, while Marcus Quinn led a dozen villagers into the mountains early in the morning. The village almost became deserted.

Fortunately, the lake’s construction was completed, and the construction crew hadn’t been in the village for several days.

Marcus Quinn led the group over two mountain peaks, reaching the Wild Ginseng area, teaching them to identify and dig the ginseng. Irving Spencer and Uncle Spencer excitedly took the lead in digging, while Marcus directed them to stay in the area he’d already explored, and he ventured alone to explore other regions.

Marcus Quinn moved swiftly by himself, completing the exploration of the entire forest in just three to four hours. Returning to the Wild Ginseng region, he saw almost everyone had filled a basket, while Irving Spencer and Uncle Spencer dug quickly, filling a basket and piling some Wild Ginseng on the ground. Seeing Marcus return, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Marcus Quinn filled his backpack with Wild Ginseng he dug, and then led the villagers down the mountain. Everyone was bursting with joy, not feeling worn out, laughing all the way back. They reached the holiday village before nightfall.

Leaving early before dawn, Marcus Quinn and his group slipped out, causing Oliver Zolotov and Old Weng to wake up and find everyone gone. They were peeved, waiting in the village all day until the group returned, laughing and chatting with baskets full of herbs.

Old Weng had already contacted several large pharmaceutical companies, and upon hearing about 20-year-old Wild Ginseng, they hurried their representatives to the holiday village. Since Old Weng contacted provincial pharmaceutical factories, the representatives had arrived early. Three or four were enjoying tea and scenery at the holiday village, finding pleasure in the fairytale-like village and seeing the beautiful Ah Tan. Despite her high coldness, they were thrilled.

Ah Tan prepared afternoon tea with Old Weng and others in front of the estate, eagerly greeting Marcus Quinn as he led the group back loaded with their haul.

The men carried 70 to 80 pounds of Wild Ginseng, moving like the wind. After a day without seeing Ah Tan, Marcus quickly clasped her hand as she approached like a swallow, not wanting to part. Today he explored other forests, unable to bring Ah Tan along. Now familiar with the forest situation, he planned to always take Ah Tan with him, feeling empty and anxious without her.