OFR – Chapter 97 Transaction.

The middle-aged man’s name was Yu Qing. He was the owner of a herbal medicine shop in Guangzhou, but he was also a daoye (black-market trader).

What’s a daoye? Essentially, it’s someone who makes money by reselling goods to exploit price differences.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the term daoye was well-known and widespread.

But decades passed, and this profession gradually faded from the stage of history.

That didn’t mean it no longer existed—just that it was less visible.

For example, in provinces bordering other countries, this trade was still quite active.

Yu Qing was one such trader. Since he ran a herbal medicine business, the goods he resold were all medicinal herbs.

His herbal shop earned him about twenty to thirty thousand yuan a month, while flipping medicinal herbs brought in another thirty to forty thousand. His life was therefore fairly comfortable.

Especially this year—he had been lucky enough to acquire a batch of top-grade wild ginseng seeds.

There were over three hundred seeds in total, and he updated his sales posts daily on a southern general-goods forum.

But so far, after more than six months of posting, he had only managed to sell a little over thirty seeds.

After all, ginseng relies on time to grow. Even the best-quality seeds take five to six years just to barely take shape.

Sometimes even decades might not be enough to grow into a fully matured ginseng root.

Many people couldn’t wait that long. After all, even if a hundred years later one ended up with a priceless hundred-year ginseng root, what was the point if the grower was no longer alive to enjoy it?

Still, one good thing about ginseng was that, though slow-growing, it was also incredibly expensive.

Even a thirty-year-old high-grade ginseng could sell for several hundred thousand yuan per root.

So every day, he would get inquiries.

“Hello, yes, ultra-premium wild ginseng seeds are 16,000 yuan each. If you buy ten or more, I can give a ten percent discount.”

Yu Qing was chatting with a customer as usual when, after just two or three minutes of conversation, the other party’s reply stunned him.

Xiao Mu: “As long as the quality and grade are guaranteed, that’s fine. Forgive me for asking, but how many ultra-premium wild ginseng seeds do you still have?”

Asking how many seeds were left?

What did that mean?
Could it be he intended to buy them all?

Yu Qing quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought. Over three hundred ultra-premium seeds were worth more than five million yuan. He had never met anyone who would casually spend five million on herbs after just a few words of negotiation.

Still, though puzzled by the question, he replied politely:
“I still have 320 ultra-premium wild ginseng seeds. How many would you like?”

After sending the message, just a few seconds later, the customer’s reply made him realize how dangerous it was to rely on assumptions.

Xiao Mu: “Three hundred twenty? Alright, I’ll take them all. How shall we proceed with the transaction?”

The message wasn’t arrogant or showy—just very plain.

But those ordinary words made Yu Qing, who had been slouched over his counter, suddenly sit up straight. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had misread.

Soon he realized the message was real.

He had never imagined meeting a customer willing to buy all of his most expensive ultra-premium ginseng seeds in one go!

“Dear customer, 320 ultra-premium ginseng seeds cost over five million yuan. You’re sure there’s no mistake?”

Suppressing his excitement, Yu Qing asked again.

But the reply he got was the same as before.

That was when he knew—today, he had met a true tycoon customer.

“Mm, Mr. Xiao Mu, when purchasing high-value items on the forum, it’s best to use the forum’s trade platform. That way it’s safest, since if anything goes wrong, the forum will compensate first. The handling fee is three percent of the transaction, but don’t worry—the seller pays it. So, when would you like to make the deal?”

He replied with a slightly fawning tone.

Soon, the customer messaged back again:
“Alright, if it’s convenient on your end, let’s complete the transaction now. Afterward, can you ship today?”

“Mr. Xiao Mu, you’re too kind. Of course it’s convenient—I can absolutely ship today. The forum uses dedicated couriers, with security and speed unmatched by other delivery services.”

Yu Qing was thrilled to hear Xiao Mu wanted to trade immediately.

Because if this deal went through, his profit would equal his entire income from the previous year.

Excited and overjoyed, they chatted briefly, then completed the trade on the forum platform.

Looking at the transaction confirmation and the message that over five million yuan had already been paid, Yu Qing couldn’t help but mutter, “This is truly a rich one! Oh—maybe I should invite this Xiao Mu to join the daoye alliance group?”

This was the largest transaction he had ever done, and also the smoothest.

In Yu Qing’s view, a big spender like Xiao Mu—so straightforward in closing a five-million deal—was more than qualified to join their alliance group as a long-term buyer.

So Yu Qing sent him a sincere invitation.

It was now two in the afternoon.

The skies were clearing, and the snow outside was beginning to melt.

In the Inkwood Residence apartments, Mu Bai sat on the sofa, looking at the QQ invitation from Yu Qing. After a moment’s thought, he said to himself, “A daoye alliance group? Hmm, let’s see if there are other rare treasures in there.”

He tapped “Agree” and entered the QQ group.

The first thing that appeared was a group announcement:

“This is the Daoye Alliance Group. We have both buyers and sellers here, including female members. Please don’t insult others or discuss gambling, drugs, or politics. Offenders will be muted at best, kicked at worst.”

After skimming it, Mu Bai closed the announcement.

Since a newcomer had joined, many people were sending messages like “Welcome new member” and “Newbie, change your nickname.”

Others, however, continued chatting about the earlier topic.

“Mm, thanks everyone for the welcome.”

Mu Bai casually replied, then updated his nickname to “Buyer Xiao Mu.”

Once that was done, he glanced at the group’s chat history.

After just a few messages, he felt a sudden spark of interest—because the group was talking about agarwood kyara.

“Haha, Ruoshui, did you sell that agarwood kyara tree yet?”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe our beauty Ruoshui actually has an agarwood kyara tree! If you can’t sell the whole tree, just sell it by the gram—plenty of buyers will pay ten thousand per gram.”

“The king of fragrant woods—agarwood kyara. So jealous of Ruoshui’s luck. By the way, Ruoshui, need a little warm boy to keep your bed warm? Please take me in~”

“Haha, it’s not even night yet and you guys are already starting with this stuff.”

“Ruoshui’s figure is really hot though—total little chili pepper.”

The group chat was lively—not too fast, not too slow.

Mu Bai read along, quietly trying to identify the owner of that agarwood kyara tree.

Because he too was very interested in acquiring such a priceless treasure.