The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1820 Moral Blackmail: Zhao Jun Successfully Exchanges Secrets, Pang Family Fails

Chapter 1820 Moral Blackmail: Zhao Jun Successfully Exchanges Secrets, Pang Family Fails

"Mother and Child Ginseng?" Upon hearing Pang Zhendong's words, it would be a lie to say that Zhao Jun wasn't tempted. But he only knew those two secret formulas, which Zhao Youcai had heard from Pang Zhendong. Trading Pang's secret formula for Pang's secret formula was something Zhao Jun couldn't bring himself to do.

Zhao Jun immediately shook his head, but before he could utter his refusal, he heard Pang Zhendong recite: "Mother and child ginseng and husband and wife ginseng are rare treasures, the yin and yang roots give birth to abundant spiritual energy. Zhao Jun, my family's ancestral secret is the double club, it works not only for mother and child ginseng, but also for husband and wife ginseng."

Zhao Jun was taken aback when he heard this. He knew that what Pang Zhendong had just recited was not the secret recipe of the mountain gang, but the description of the mother-child ginseng and husband-and-wife ginseng in the mountain journey.

As Pang Zhendong said, both mother-child ginseng and husband-and-wife ginseng are two ginseng plants that grow together. However, mother-child ginseng consists of two plants of different sizes, while husband-and-wife ginseng consists of two plants of similar size.

This type of double ginseng is relatively common in artificially cultivated forest ginseng, but it is considered a rare find among wild ginseng.

This is the origin of the saying "Mother and son, husband and wife, have many rare goods".

As for the phrase "the spirit is born from the root of yin and yang," Zhao Jun never figured out how to write the character "沃" in it, not even after two lifetimes.

But Zhao Jun understood the deeper meaning of this sentence: the mother-child ginseng and the husband-wife ginseng are both yin and yang.

Traditional Chinese medicine is based on the holistic philosophy of Qi, Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements. Using two ginsengs (one as the mother and one as the child) in a medicinal formula can regulate the Yin and Yang of the body. For example, using two ginsengs together can have remarkable effects on cases of insufficient Yang Qi.

Hearing this, Zhao Jun knew he had to leave. Otherwise, if Pang Zhendong stirred up his greed, things would get complicated.

"Boss Pang, Master Pang!" Zhao Jun stood up, clasped his hands in greeting to the Pang father and son, and said, "I just remembered that I have something to do at home, so I have to go now."

After saying that, Zhao Jun strode out. His resolute departure surprised the Pang father and son.

Pang Zhendong reacted quickly, urging his son, "Gao Ming, stop him right now!"

"Dad!" Pang Gaoming whispered to Pang Zhendong, "If he doesn't want to exchange it, then forget it. You can't force a deal like this!"

"What do you know?" Pang Zhendong waved his hand at Pang Gaoming and said, "Your great-grandfather said that the secret of the stone dragon and the wooden dragon consists of four sentences. Our two sentences are at the beginning, and the last two sentences are even more important!"

"Dad, what can we do if they refuse?" Pang Gaoming asked, but Pang Zhendong slapped his thigh and said, "Didn't I tell you? We'll switch with them!"

After saying this, Pang Zhendong lowered his voice and whispered in Pang Gaoming's ear, "This kid is clever. If we beg him, he'll agree. When we get there, we won't tell him the truth. I'll make up a couple of things and fool him. He won't even know if I'm telling the truth or not."

That's true, there's no way to verify its authenticity. If you say his secret is fake, he'll say you're just not knowing the ropes.

At this moment, Pang Zhendong saw through the window that Zhao Jun had already left his yard. He quickly pushed Pang Gaoming and said, "Gaoming, hurry up and chase him away!"

Pang Gaoming took the opportunity to run outside, and Pang Zhendong followed him out.

When Pang Gaoming chased after Zhao Jun outside the courtyard, Zhao Jun had already gotten into the jeep. Pang Gaoming hurried to the driver's side door and gently knocked on the window, calling out, "Team Leader Zhao! Team Leader Zhao!"

Helpless, Zhao Jun pushed open the car window and smiled at Pang Gaoming, "Master Pang, don't bother seeing me off."

Zhao Jun's words sounded like polite remarks, but they were actually a message to Pang Gaoming: You should go back now.

"Team Leader Zhao, you've come all this way, why don't you stay for a meal before you leave?" Pang Gaoming said. Zhao Jun politely declined, "No, Master Pang, I have a lot of things to do at home, I have to go now!"

After Zhao Jun finished speaking, he started the car. Pang Gaoming was about to give up when he saw his father, Pang Zhendong, chasing after him from the yard.

"Chief Zhao! Chief Zhao!" Pang Zhendong shouted as he ran after the car as it drove away.

These days, there aren't many cars in the forest area, and a car chase is a first for most people.

Hearing the shouts, Zhao Jun glanced back and saw Pang Zhendong chasing after the car, leaving him speechless.

But then Zhao Jun saw Pang Zhendong fall to the ground, and he had no choice but to stop the car.

Zhao Jun pushed open the door and got out of the car, just in time to see Qi Shengli, the village head, coming from the alley to the south.

Zhao Jun raised his hand to greet Qi Shengli, and at that moment Qi Shengli saw Pang Zhendong fall to the ground.

As Pang Gaoming helped him up, Pang Zhendong still shouted, "Chief Zhao, don't go!"

Qi Shengli was taken aback upon seeing this, and when he looked at Zhao Jun, he subconsciously asked, "What's going on?"

Zhao Jun felt that Pang Zhendong was being a bit shameless and really didn't want to deal with the father and son. But there was nothing he could do; living in the countryside was different from living in an apartment building in the city.

Living in a village means you have to pay attention to your image and reputation, especially for a young man like Zhao Jun who has a good reputation. Even if you can't be a moral exemplar, you can't leave people with anything to talk about.

"Uncle Qi!" Zhao Jun called to Qi Shengli, "Please help me persuade him, this Chief Pang is too stubborn!"

Zhao Jun extricated himself from the situation with a single sentence. Upon hearing this, Qi Shengli quickly walked towards the Pang father and son, saying, "Old Pang, what are you doing?"

"Village Chief, you've come at the right time!" Pang Zhendong said. "Quickly, please plead with Chief Zhao for me!"

"What's wrong?" Qi Shengli glanced at Pang Zhendong, then looked back at Zhao Jun, thinking: Could it be that the two families have had another conflict?

Qi Shengli recalled the fierce battle that had taken place in Yong'an. He had heard that seventy or eighty people had ganged up on the Pang family gang and beaten them up, almost resulting in deaths.

I heard that the fierce battle also involved three notorious ruthless men in the forest area—Xing San, Xie Sunshi, and Li Tongyun.

Thinking of this, Qi Shengli quickly acted as a peacemaker, saying to both sides, "Let's talk things out calmly, don't get worked up!"

Zhao Jun remained silent, because he wanted to see how Pang Zhendong would respond to Qi Shengli's words.

Meanwhile, because of Pang Zhendong's loud shouting earlier, many people came out of their homes to watch the commotion.

"Alright!" Qi Shengli waved to those around him and said, "Go back now, everything's fine!"

Qi Shengli is the village head. Normally, if he says something, everyone will listen to him.

But when it comes to watching the spectacle, not even the village head or the Heavenly King himself can help.

Seeing that more and more people were gathering around him, Qi Shengli called Zhao Jun, Pang Zhendong, and Pang Gaoming to come with him to the garrison.

Just as Zhao Jun and his men arrived at the garrison, Hu Sanmei, having heard the news, chased after them.

Hu Sanmei, who had just entered the room, glanced at everyone and then said to Pang Zhendong, "Old Pang, you blind man, what's wrong with you?"

Hu Sanmei is no ordinary rural woman; not to mention Pang Zhendong, even Qi Shengli has to give way to her.

"Sister-in-law Zhou, don't worry, listen to me!" Pang Zhendong immediately changed his tune when he saw Hu Sanmei and said, "I'm looking for Chief Zhao because I want to discuss something with him!"

"What's going on? Why are you calling me 'boss'?" Hu Sanmei glared at Pang Zhendong as she said this, then turned to look at Zhao Jun.

Seeing Zhao Jun's pout, Hu Sanmei immediately knew that Pang Zhendong was definitely in the wrong. She immediately said to Pang Zhendong, "Are you deliberately making things difficult for our child because you think he's honest?"

Hu Sanmei's guess was correct. Hearing her words, Zhao Jun stepped forward and said to her, "Auntie, Chief Pang insists on exchanging our family's secret recipe. I refused to exchange it with him, and he wouldn't have it, chasing after my cart like crazy!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Sanmei glared at Pang Zhendong and said angrily, "No? Old blind Pang, you've run out of people!"

After saying this, Hu Sanmei pointed at Zhao Jun and said to Pang Zhendong, "Come on, come on, I'm right here! If you dare to bully our child again, just you wait!"

"Oh, Sister-in-law Zhou!" Pang Zhendong waved his hands repeatedly and said, "How could I dare to mess with Chief Zhao? Let me tell you what happened."

"Sister Zhou, don't be angry!" Qi Shengli, acting as peacemaker, said, "Listen to what Old Pang has to say."

Hu Sanmei had to give Qi Shengli face. She pulled Zhao Jun to sit on a bench by the window, with the Pang family father and son sitting opposite them, and Qi Shengli sitting in the middle, like a judge judging a case.

“Village Chief, Sister-in-law Zhou,” Pang Zhendong said, “It’s like this. My grandfather passed down two secrets, which are the tricks of our mountain trekking.”

After that, he always said that there were two more sentences at the end of this secret, and that we, his descendants, must complete these two sentences.

Because of this, my grandfather and father died with their eyes still open. Over the years, I've been trying to find a solution. Today I learned that Manager Wang passed down two secrets to Foreman Zhao, which should be the last two lines from our family's story. So I thought I'd discuss it with Foreman Zhao.

Qi Shengli and Hu Sanmei didn't know any secrets or tricks. But they probably understood what Pang Zhendong meant.

"Whether we can discuss it or not, doesn't it still require the consent of our Zhao army?" Hu Sanmei said bluntly, "We can't just listen to you in everything, can we? We can't let you do everything, can we?"

“Yes, yes!” Pang Zhendong said, “That’s why I discussed it with Chief Zhao.”

"I disagree, I already said I won't switch with you!" Zhao Jun didn't tolerate Pang Zhendong's behavior. After saying this, he turned to Hu Sanmei and said, "Auntie, if I don't switch with him, he'll chase our car away."

Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Hu Sanmei glared at Pang Zhendong and said, "Old blind Pang, you've gone too far! Are you trying to bully me?"

“Sister-in-law Zhou, how could I dare?” Pang Zhendong said, “Look, I’m fifty years old now. I’m thinking that before I die, I should finish these two lines of the secret.”

"When I die and see my father and grandfather, I'll have something to say to them. Otherwise, I won't be able to close my eyes in peace!"

Pang Zhendong's words sounded rather pitiful, which made it impossible for Hu Sanmei to retort. However, Hu Sanmei still said, "If our Zhao army doesn't want to switch with you, you can't force people to switch, can you?"

As soon as Hu Sanmei finished speaking, Pang Zhendong slid down the bench and knelt directly on the ground.

"Ouch!" Upon seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly got up and stepped aside. No matter what, Pang Zhendong was older than his father. If Pang Zhendong dared to kneel, Zhao Jun wouldn't dare to accept it.

"What are you doing?" Hu Sanmei was both surprised and angry when she saw Pang Zhendong's behavior.

"Chief Zhao!" Pang Zhendong called out to Zhao Jun, "I'm begging you, isn't that enough?"

"Old Pang, you can't do this!" Qi Shengli shouted at Pang Zhendong, then called to Pang Gaoming, "Gaoming, quickly pull your dad up!"

But Qi Shengli's words had no effect this time either. Pang Gaoming also knelt down on the ground with a thud and cried out, "Chief Zhao, I beg you too!"

The father and son were determined to take advantage of Zhao Jun's benevolence and righteousness, and insisted on using their fabricated secrets to exchange for Zhao Jun's real secrets.

"Zhao, the foreman!" Pang Zhendong shouted, "Tell me, what do you want? You don't need the secret, I'll give you money. If all else fails, I have a Shilong seedling at home, you can have that too!"

It's in the nature of Chinese people to love watching a spectacle, and at this moment, many Yongsheng villagers were peering out of their windows to watch the excitement outside the village.

Zhao Jun realized this was moral blackmail. Only then did he understand why, in his previous life, when he saw short videos featuring moral blackmail, the comment section was filled with curses.

This behavior is absolutely despicable!

"Boss Pang!" Zhao Jun said helplessly, calling to Pang Zhendong and his son, "Get up, get up and let's talk slowly."

"Yes!" Qi Shengli stepped forward, grabbed Pang Zhendong's left arm, and called out to him, "Old Pang, Gao Ming, you two get up quickly, what are you doing?"

Upon hearing this, Pang Gaoming and Qi Shengli helped Pang Zhendong to his feet.

At this moment, Hu Sanmei waved to the onlookers outside the window and said, "Go back, what are you looking at? What's so interesting?"

No matter how much Hu Sanmei shouted, the people outside didn't move an inch.

Zhao Jun glanced out the window, then laughed and said to the Pang father and son, "What's this? Boss Pang, you've brought up the stone dragon again?"

"Huh?" Hearing Zhao Jun ask about the stone dragon, Pang Zhendong thought Zhao Jun was interested and his eyes lit up immediately. "Chief Zhao, you want the stone dragon?"

"Master Pang!" Zhao Jun called to Pang Gaoming, "Could you please go back and bring me the stone dragon so I can take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Pang Gaoming turned to look at Pang Zhendong. Seeing Pang Zhendong nod, Pang Gaoming quickly left.

The village wasn't very big, and the Pang family's house wasn't far from the village headquarters. In less than fifteen minutes, Pang Gaoming returned.

When he returned, he was carrying a basket on his back. After entering, Pang Gaoming took out a large steamed bun from the basket, and when he opened it, he saw moss covering a blue stone.

"Zhao, take a look." Pang Gaoming called out to Zhao Jun, who stepped forward and lifted the moss to reveal a wild ginseng growing on a rock.

After carefully examining the stone dragon to ensure it was genuine, and verifying the authenticity of the reed head and bowl, Zhao Jun said to the Pang father and son, "This stone dragon is over sixty years old."

Judging the age of wild ginseng by its root tip and stem base is an estimation, but it's generally accurate. Anyone in the business knows this; the Pang family father and son can't fool anyone.

However, as the seller, Pang Zhendong had to exaggerate to the extent possible, saying, "It will take sixty or seventy years."

Zhao Jun didn't argue with him. He nodded and asked Pang Zhendong, "Boss Pang, how much do you plan to sell this club for?"

"Chief Zhao," Pang Zhendong said, "I'd like to trade it for the secret technique. What do you think?"

“That won’t do.” Zhao Jun shook his head. Seeing that Pang Zhendong still wanted to say something, Zhao Jun quickly said, “Boss Pang, tell me how much you want to sell this ginseng for. If I think it’s reasonable, I’ll take it. Then we can talk about exchanging the secret formula separately.”

Pang Zhendong glanced at Zhao Jun, then his gaze fell on Miao Shilong. He thought for a moment and said, "Then give me nine thousand yuan."

Although this ginseng seedling is not as old as the Amber Dragon that the Zhao family brought out, nine thousand yuan is a fair price.

Zhao Jun immediately replied, "Alright, nine thousand it is."

After saying this, Zhao Jun turned to Qi Shengli and said, "Uncle Qi, may I use your garrison's telephone?"

"Sure!" Qi Shengli readily agreed. Zhao Jun stepped forward, took the phone, and called his home via the forestry hotline.

When Wang Meilan's voice came from the other end of the phone, Zhao Jun said to her, "Mom, it's me. Um... give my dad nine thousand yuan, and then have Baoyu and Jiechen drive him to Yongshengtun. I'll wait for him here."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jun said to Pang Zhendong, "Boss Pang, my dad will bring you money in a bit, and then this bastard will be mine."

This stone dragon seedling in front of me, if it were to sprout leaves, would have four leaves. I'll buy it for nine thousand yuan, and resell it for twelve thousand in a couple of days, making a net profit of three thousand yuan.

This business is perfectly legitimate. Zhao Jun earns money through exclusive information, not through dishonest means.

But next, Zhao Jun will settle accounts with Pang Zhendong.

Hearing Zhao Jun only mention ginseng, Pang Zhendong hurriedly said, "Chief Zhao, when would you like to discuss our secret recipe?"

"Don't rush to tell me the secret," Zhao Jun stopped Pang Zhendong. "Wait until my dad gets here, then we'll talk about it."

After saying this, Zhao Jun turned to Qi Shengli and said, "Uncle Qi, since you brought us to the garrison, you have to be our guarantor."

"Okay, no problem." Qi Shengli agreed readily, because he knew that since he had gotten involved in this matter, he couldn't avoid it.

No sooner had Qi Shengli finished speaking than Hu Sanmei turned to Pang Zhendong and said, "Hey you two... what secrets or whatever, you can't be telling us they're fake, can you?"

Upon hearing Hu Sanmei's words, the Pang father and son were taken aback. Then Hu Sanmei added, "This thing, you say it's a family heirloom, but nobody knows if it's real or not. So, you're just saying whatever you want?"

"It's alright, Auntie." To the surprise of the Pang family father and son, Zhao Jun stepped forward to stop Hu Sanmei and said, "Don't worry, Auntie, I have a plan."

After saying that, Zhao Jun helped Hu Sanmei sit down to the side, and then said to Qi Shengli, "Uncle Qi, today's matter was requested to be changed by Chief Pang. I said I wouldn't change it with him, but he wouldn't agree."

Qi Shengli nodded subconsciously, and then saw Zhao Jun say to Pang Zhendong, "Boss Pang, I told you this when I was at your house. Why didn't I agree? I was afraid that my secret recipe was the same as yours."

"Impossible!" Pang Zhendong waved his hand and said, "Chief Zhao, that's absolutely impossible. Our secrets about the stone dragon and the wooden dragon can't be the same."

"Boss Pang, don't say that," Zhao Jun argued with Pang Zhendong. "Just tell me, what if ours are exactly the same? What are you going to do then?"

"No way!" Pang Zhendong said firmly, "I said it's different, and that's final!"

“You can’t just tell me and leave it at that.” Zhao Jun raised his hand and said, “The secret is just one sentence. If I tell you, and you just scoff and say it’s something your family’s secret, that you already knew it, and then you keep arguing with us, what am I supposed to do?”

"Then don't worry!" Pang Zhendong said, "As long as you tell me it's true, even if our two families' secrets are the same, I'll accept it!"

Pang Zhendong may not be very perceptive, but he's cunning. At this moment, he was at it again, hiding his true intentions.

He has a condition for speaking: "As long as you tell me it's true." So, if Zhao Jun tells him it's false, it's a troublesome matter.

"Alright!" This was exactly what Zhao Jun wanted to hear from Pang Zhendong. At this moment, he said to Qi Shengli, "Uncle Qi, are you listening to this?"

"I'm listening." Qi Shengli nodded, but then he raised his question: "Zhao Jun, the key question is, how can you two prove that your so-called secrets are real?"

"Uncle Qi, wait for my dad to come." Zhao Jun said, "When my dad comes, I have a plan."

Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Pang Zhendong sensed something was wrong. He stood up from the bench and grabbed Pang Gaoming's arm. But before he could say anything, Zhao Jun had already seen his action.

"Boss Pang!" Zhao Jun raised his hand to stop Pang Zhendong, saying, "I don't care what you have to do, you and your son can't move now!"

After saying this, Zhao Jun pointed to himself and said, "I'm in this room too, and I'm not leaving!"

"I..." Pang Zhendong wanted to say something, but Zhao Jun interrupted him, "Don't worry, my dad and the others are driving over, they'll be there in a few minutes!"

Just as Zhao Jun said, not long after, Jie Chen drove his Jiefang truck to the outside of Yongshengtun.

Zhao Youcai and Wang Qiang in the front passenger seat, and Li Baoyu, Zhang Yuanmin, and Zhao Jinhui in the back seat all got out of the car.

Zhao Youcai led Wang Qiang and the others into the village. From outside to inside, Zhao Youcai and Wang Qiang greeted everyone.

After entering the house, Wang Qiang handed the bag of money to Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun poured the money onto the table and said to Pang Zhendong, "Boss Pang, you and your son check this money. Let's settle this matter with this bastard first!"

Pang Zhendong didn't stand on ceremony and immediately led Pang Gaoming forward to check the money.

Because he wanted to exchange secret techniques with Zhao Jun, Pang Zhendong didn't ask for a high price for the stone dragon, but he also didn't ask for a low price.

After the Pang family father and son finished checking the money and confirmed it was correct in the presence of Qi Shengli, Zhao Jun asked Zhang Yuanmin and Xie Chen to step forward and put away the stone dragon.

After the money and goods were exchanged, Zhao Jun borrowed four pens and four sheets of paper from Qi Shengli. He kept one pen and one sheet for himself, and then gave one to each of Zhao Youcai, Pang Zhendong, and Pang Gaoming.

Then, Zhao Jun stepped forward and separated Pang Gaoming and Pang Zhendong, saying, "Hey Pang, you two stay away from each other. Now, write down your family's secrets about ginseng on a piece of paper!"

After saying this, Zhao Jun said to Zhao Youcai, "Dad, write down the two sentences you passed on to me that day, the secrets about the stone dragon and the wooden dragon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Jun turned to Qi Shengli and said, "Today's matter was arranged by Chief Pang on the spot, but I think that my father and I, as well as his father and son, did not collude beforehand."

Now, the four of us will write it down on paper. If the two of us and the other two write the same thing, it proves the secret is correct. Uncle Qi, don't you agree?

As soon as Zhao Jun said this, everyone present understood what he meant.

Zhao Youcai was completely bewildered. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew in his heart that it was related to the secret of the Ginseng Gang that he had overheard from the Pang family father and son.

This secret was overheard. How could it be good to write it down in front of the person in question?

But with so many people around, Zhao Youcai couldn't give Zhao Jun a meaningful look, so he could only secretly glance at his son with his small eyes.

Seeing Zhao Jun nod slightly at him, Zhao Youcai felt reassured. Although he didn't understand his son's plan, Zhao Youcai trusted Zhao Jun from the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, Pang Gaoming also looked at Pang Zhendong, his eyes filled with hesitation.

Seeing this, Zhao Jun directly said to Pang Gaoming, "Master Pang, you can't say you don't know your family's secret recipe, can you? If you say you don't know it, then this matter is over!"

Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Pang Zhendong didn't hesitate any longer. He immediately gave Pang Gaoming a look and nodded slightly. Pang Zhendong's meaning couldn't be clearer: Pang Gaoming should write the truth and not fabricate anything.

Under Qi Shengli's direction, the two pairs of fathers and sons from the Zhao and Pang families occupied the four corners of the room, each holding a pen and writing words on paper.

After the four finished writing, Qi Shengli collected the notes written by Pang Zhendong and Pang Gaoming and gave them to Zhao Jun. Hu Sanmei took the notes written by Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai and then went over to hand them to Pang Zhendong.

At this moment, Zhao Jun kept one note for himself and gave the other note to Zhao Youcai. The father and son opened them at the same time and put them together. They saw that the handwriting on the two notes was different, but both were crooked and had the same content: "The light of grass and trees is like the light of the moon, and the mother and son and husband and wife are a perfect pair."

At the same time, Pang Zhendong used both hands to open the two notes written by Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai.

At this moment, Pang Zhendong was somewhat impatient, but when he saw the words on the paper, he suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented.

(End of this chapter)