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He didn’t know about ginsengs, but he did know what kind of character this younger son of his had- he didn’t trust him too much. He’d always skip work at the company and use his shares for food and women- his grandson was the same as well. How was a man like him supposed to dig out some thousand year ginseng? Miracle Doctor Kang didn’t really believe it at all.
But regardless of its authenticity, this was his son’s gift- even if it were fake, this wasn’t something that should be discussed in front of outsiders.
Miracle Doctor Kang felt very humiliated from Lin Yi’s comment.
“Kid, why do you say the ginseng’s fake?” Miracle Doctor Kang’s voice was heated, but he kept his calm and composure the way an elder would. “If you weren’t serious about it and just saying it for the fun of it, then an apology would suffice and I’d pretend I didn’t hear anything! If not, then I’ll have to ask you to leave!”
Miracle Doctor Kang’s words sounded very convincing and reasonable to everyone present- they even thought he had a big heart, letting Lin Yi get away with disgracing them with just an apology!
Lin Yi wasn’t expecting this big a reaction- even that old man Miracle Doctor Kang jumped out at him!
But if he didn’t say anything about this now, it was sure to affect Xiaobo.
He only stood up helplessly and provided an explanation. “A wild ginseng would have a long reed head and a tight girth- its body should be the same length as its roots. A ginseng with a human form, on the other hand, would have a more horizontal body and shorter length. The main root would have prominent horizontal wrinkles with a deeper color- it’d have a thinner skin and many clear, pearly bumps on the surface.”
“An artificially bred ginseng, however, has a short reed head, and less girth. The main body would have a cylindrical shape, splitting off like the Chinese character ‘eight’. It’s longer, and the wrinkles on the roots would be much less dense. It wouldn’t be continuous, its skin would be crispy and thick, and the pearly bumps would be much less prominent.”
“As for the authenticity of this ginseng, I’m sure there are ginseng experts present who could look into that. You may not know about ginseng, Miracle Doctor Kang, but I’m sure there are other people that do.”
Miracle Doctor’s expression changed all of a sudden- he wasn’t expecting Lin Yi to sound that knowledgeable! He’d assumed that he was bullshitting!
He’d wanted to come out and give Lin Yi a way to back out of the spotlight and leave this whole thing behind, but now found himself at an impasse.
“You’re bullshitting!” Zhaoming jumped out once more. “Grandpa, don’t listen to him! He’s the bastard Kang Xiaobo brought, he’s here to cause trouble! Let’s just put the ginseng away first and stop paying him attention!”
Zhaoming’s words sounded nothing less than guilty- why would he be rushing the ginseng away if it were real? He’d have displayed it for the experts and proved himself.
Zhaoming, naturally, knew that the ginseng was fake- he’d bought it with his father from an artificial breeding ground! They’d only spent a couple thousand on it, of course it wasn’t a thousand-year ginseng!
Both Cuipu and Zhaoming understood that Miracle Doctor Kang wouldn’t know whether it was real or not, and the same applied to Guifeng as well. Even if Guifeng could tell that it was fake, he still wouldn’t humiliate his own family in front of the guests!
Cuipu never fought for power or anything at the company, either, only taking the bonuses for his own fun- that resulted in a good relationship between the two brothers, and no hate. Guifeng even cleaned up after Cuipu’s misdeeds often.
And out of nowhere came this Lin Yi!!!
“Forget it- put it away. Fake or not, it’s still a gift from Cuipu!” Miracle Doctor Kang was no idiot- Lin Yi was clearly confident. Taking it out to have its authenticity assessed? It’d make them a laughing stock.
Might as well admit it cleanly- everyone knew that his younger son wasn’t much of a man in the first place. His reputation was bad enough that it wouldn’t be affected much by something like this.
Miracle Doctor Kang’s straightforward and clean admittance calmed the audience down- there was no point in thinking whether it was fake anymore after what he’d said.
Next was Xiaobo’s father- his gift was rather normal, just a simple lingzhi mushroom a couple of years old. Cuipu and Zhaoming had wanted to pick at its flaws due to their frustration, but the guy had made it clear that it was a simple lingzhi mushroom!
It wasn’t a rarity or anything in the first place- it’d only attract the disdain of everyone else if they went and attacked it.
They’d have to wait for Xiaobo’s turn and dump their frustrations on him.
The sons have presented their gifts, and next was the younger generation. Miracle Doctor Kang was a traditional man who prioritized males- only sons and grandsons could come up and present their gifts.
The first was Kang Zhaolong, Guifeng’s son.
He looked older- around twenty. He had spectacles on and seemed very scholarly as he walked up with a certificate in his hand.
“Grandpa, this is my medicine research for my PHD studies- I’ve recently gotten a patent for it, and this is the university’s certificate of merit for me!” Zhaolong said respectfully as he extended the piece of paper.
The host was about to move forward when Miracle Doctor Kang waved him back. He walked up personally, his face red and shiny, the unpleasantries of earlier completely wiped off. “Good, Zhaolong- good job! Grandpa’s very proud of you!”
With that, Miracle Doctor Kang received the certificate- he looked at it with a wide smile on his face before patting Zhaolong on the shoulder. “Keep it up! You’re the next Miracle Doctor Kang!!”
An applause sounded from the audience- everyone acknowledged him as the heir.
“That cousin of yours studies medicine?” Lin Yi was quite surprised- there really was a medical student in Miracle Doctor Kang’s family.
“Yeah, my eldest cousin graduated from a proper medical university. He’s now pursuing a PHD in Eastern medicine…” Xiaobo introduced. “He’s actually the only one who knows medicine!”
It sounded a bit mocking and laughable, but it was a fact. Lin Yi didn’t know what to say- it seemed like that kid was the only properly educated person in the family.
Next was Kang Zhaoming, with a gift even more mysterious- it was some ancient recipe.
The guests weren’t very curious about that after Cuipu’s example- of course it was fake. How would he have come across an ancient recipe that easily in the first place?
Zhaoming dodged a bullet because of that- if he’d actually displayed the recipe for everyone to see then Lin Yi would be able to tell right away that it was a simple recipe for a coughing medicine, found in many medical books.
