Chapter 531: 531
When Letian returned, Fangzheng managed to identify what was in Letian's hands . He exclaimed, "Ginseng flowers?"
"Hehe, you have a good eye! Make a guess . How old do you think the ginseng is?" said Letian proudly .
Fangzheng shook his head . "You are stumping This Penniless Monk . This Penniless Monk knows that a ginseng's age can be determined from its leaves . You don't even have leaves, so what is there to see?"
"Haha! Abbot, it appears you really are clueless about ginseng . If not, you wouldn't be saying such amateurish words," said Letian with a laugh . He did not mind if Fangzheng would be displeased with what he said .
Fangzheng naturally did not feel unhappy . Instead, he asked, "Oh? Does it not depend on the leaves? This Penniless Monk has always heard that the leaves determine the grade . "
"That's all amateurish talk, nonsense from laymen . A one year old wild ginseng is called Three Flowers, and it has only three small leaves . In the second year, it's called Five Leaves . In the third year, it's called Two Sexaginiti . In the fourth year, it can be called Fourth Grade Leaves or Fifth Grade Leaves . From the fifth to the seventh year, wild ginseng might even produce Seventh Grade Leaves . The leaf numbering system ends there before the numbering restarts . Therefore, how could you determine a ginseng based on its leaves?" questioned Letian .
Fangzheng was surprised . He never expected that something he had heard from a young age would be false…
Letian continued . "There is nothing wrong with the basic fact that the leaves have some relation to the age . It's quite useful for identifying the younger ginseng . But as this knowledge spread, it was used wrongly by people . They deliberately deceived the gullible . If the victim really believes that the number of leaves can determine the ginseng's age, a cheat can pass off a ginseng which is five or six years old as one that's decades or centuries old . They will make a killing as a result . However, people these days are getting more clever . Fewer people fall for that now . "
Fangzheng sighed . "Different professions are different worlds… Then, how should ginseng be differentiated?"
Letian shook his head and said, "It can't be explained in a concise manner . A folk song that describes the appraisal of wild ginseng goes like this: The upper rhizome remains tight, the column rhizome links to the core adventitious roots . It should have tight skin, fine grain, and a pimpled body . The fibrous roots appear long and clean, as pearl dots speckle them . The terms rhizomes, adventitious roots, bodies, grains, and fibrous roots are professional terms . They represent the head, the upper portion, the main body, the patterns, and the bottom portions .
"Wild ginseng's rhizome body is generally split into three regions . And the column rhizome is the classic trait of wild ginseng . It requires more than thirty years of growth before it produces such a shape . An old ginseng's adventitious roots often have circular patterns across them . Only especially old ginseng can have patterns on their adventitious roots .
"Ginseng can survive for decades to above a century in harsh natural environments . The body's skin will appear darker the older it is .
"Having patterns on a ginseng's body is a characteristic of wild ginseng . The patterns of wild ginseng are akin to metallic wire lines; thin, dense, and deep . Each ring is parallel, and they do not cross . The denser the rings, the older the ginseng .
"The fibrous roots are used by the ginseng to absorb nutrients . The older the ginseng, the fewer fibrous roots it has . As such, older ginseng are clean of fibrous roots .
"Ginseng grow underground for decades . Many of a ginseng's roots rot before new ones grow in their place . The rotted parts would leave behind scars, which are the pearl dots . As such, the more pearl dots there are, the older the ginseng is .
"The older a ginseng is, the more valuable it is . Wild ginseng that is more than fifty grams needs decades to mature . Bigger ones will take a century or two . As the saying goes, 350 grams is still considered ginseng, but 400 grams becomes a treasure . "
Having said all of that in one go, Letian looked at the dumbfounded Fangzheng and smiled wryly . "Abbot, did you get that?"
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login