USWHC -Chapter 289 Old Madam Ji Gets Tricked (Part 9)

“Right!”

Everyone immediately looked toward Old Madam Ji again. Why hadn’t she simply exchanged the money in town before coming back? The village was so far from the town—going back and forth like this would be exhausting.

Old Madam Ji shot Ji Yi a fierce glare and said, “Are you stupid? If I went there alone and got grabbed and butchered by someone, what then? I’m carrying a treasure!”

Hearing this, the Ji family members all nodded in sudden understanding, even looking impressed. Ji Laoda quickly volunteered, “Mother, I’ll go with you later. I’ll make sure both you and the treasure are well protected!”

But at that moment, Zhu Jie suddenly burst out laughing.

Everyone immediately turned to look at her in surprise. She tried to steady her voice and said, “Mother, are you sure the thing you’re holding is actually ginseng?”

“If it’s not ginseng, then what is it?” Old Madam Ji shouted unhappily. “What do you know? You fool!”

Zhu Jie gave a cold smile. “I actually do know what it is.”

She said almost word by word, “It’s pokeweed root.”

“What?” The Ji family looked confused.

“In the south, people call it mountain radish,” Zhu Jie added deliberately in a casual tone.

But the moment she said that, Old Madam Ji exploded.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Our perfectly good ginseng, and you insist on calling it a radish!”

Suddenly her face filled with suspicion. She whipped her head around and clutched her bundle tightly.

“You’re trying to trick us out of our ginseng, aren’t you? So vicious! You just can’t stand seeing us have anything good!”

Indeed, they might not understand the word “pokeweed,” but everyone understood “radish.” Ji Laoda immediately grew angry as well.

“Second brother’s wife, are you blinded by money? What are you trying to do? Trick us out of our ginseng so you can sell it yourself? Let me tell you, don’t think our Ji family has no one to stand up for us. I’ll be the first to refuse!”

Looking at the Ji family members bristling with hostility, Zhu Jie let out another cold laugh. In truth, she had recognized the plant from the start. She hadn’t exposed it earlier only because she feared they wouldn’t accept the truth.

But she hadn’t expected that no matter how tactfully she hinted, the Ji family never once suspected they had been scammed. Instead, they all thought Zhu Jie was the one trying to cheat them out of money.

Some people just won’t shed tears until they see the coffin.

Zhu Jie said bluntly, “Then go ask at a pharmacy yourselves and see what it really is!”

“Of course we’ll go!” Old Madam Ji puffed out her chest and shouted stubbornly. “Stop pretending you know everything. You won’t fool us!”

Zhu Jie merely nodded lightly. “Fine. Mother, do you remember which pharmacy that rich person came from?”

The question immediately left Old Madam Ji stunned.

“That’s right… which pharmacy?” she muttered. “She didn’t say!”

“Rich people are idiots!” Sister-in-law You laughed mockingly. “Otherwise she wouldn’t have missed out on such a great opportunity. Serves her right for not getting rich!”

“It’s fine. There are only three big pharmacies in town. I’ll just ask them one by one,” Old Madam Ji said confidently. “Besides, my treasure is so good that I don’t have to sell it to her. Maybe someone else will offer even more money!”

Hmph. The real fools are you people, Zhu Jie thought. Since they insisted on making the trip, then go ahead.

She no longer tried to stop them. She didn’t even bother pretending to care. Taking Ji Yi by the arm, she turned to head home.

Just wait until you cry later.

“Are you sure that really isn’t ginseng?” Ji Yi kept asking after they left.

“Absolutely not,” Zhu Jie replied with certainty.

Surprisingly, Ji Yi didn’t express any doubt this time. Instead, he gave her complete trust.

That made Zhu Jie curious. “They all don’t believe me. Why do you believe me instead?”

“I really can’t tell whether it’s ginseng or not,” Ji Yi admitted. “But the whole story sounded strange from the start. I already felt something was off. Since you say so, why wouldn’t I believe you?”

He sighed.

“But Mother is going to have a hard time this time. When she learns the truth later, I’m afraid she won’t be able to accept it.”

True enough. She had finally stolen so much money, and before it even warmed her hands, someone had already scammed it away. Anyone would be upset.

But Zhu Jie didn’t care in the slightest whether Old Madam Ji was happy or not.

She had brought it upon herself.

As the saying goes, evil people will eventually meet someone even worse.