Although Lu Ming was wearing a designer suit, it couldn't hide his inherent "country bumpkin" aura, especially when everyone saw him arrive on a small electric scooter, which made them look down on him even more.
When Lu Ming reached Cao Chunhui, the old lady didn't even want to acknowledge him, turning her face away.
Lu Ming said without reservation, "Grandma, it's your eightieth birthday today. I wish you boundless fortune and longevity. Here is a small token of my regard. I hope it brings you joy."
With that, he handed over the box.
Cao Chunhui didn't even look at it, unwilling to reach out and accept it, her expression extremely stern.
The situation became very awkward.
It was Jiang Lan who stepped forward to smooth things over, "Grandma, Lu Ming is presenting you with a gift."
Cao Chunhui snorted, and grudgingly took Lu Ming's gift box. She opened it casually and glanced at what was inside.
It was yellowish and dirty.
It looked like ginseng.
But this one piece looked like it weighed half a pound. How could ginseng be this large?
At this moment.
Her cousin, Jiang Yang, stepped forward, pointing at the ginseng in the box, "Holy cow, no way, Lu Ming. It's Grandma's eightieth birthday, and you're giving Grandma a radish? Don't you respect Grandma at all?"
Lu Ming corrected him, "It's not a radish, it's ginseng."
"Ginseng?" Jiang Yang burst into laughter and waved to everyone, saying, "Hey, hey, hey, everyone, come take a look! Is this ginseng or a radish?"
Thus, a large crowd of onlookers, eager for excitement, gathered around.
They all craned their necks to see.
"Damn, this must weigh half a pound? Can ginseng be this big?"
"I've eaten at least eighty, if not a hundred, pieces of ginseng, and I've never seen one this large. It's clearly fake!"
"It's Cao Old Madam's eightieth birthday, and they dare to pass off a radish as ginseng. Tsk, tsk, tsk, how audacious."
"It's one thing to be poor, but putting on airs to appear wealthy is wrong."
No one believed Lu Ming's words. They all insisted it was a radish and not ginseng.
Only Jiang Lan.
Although she had never seen such large ginseng before, she unconditionally believed whatever Lu Ming said.
Jiang Lan said, "Grandma, perhaps it's a rare type of ginseng."
Lu Ming nodded, "Yes, this piece is thousand-year-old ginseng, extremely rare. Grandma, if you consume this ginseng, it will guarantee longevity and smooth blood circulation."
Heh.
Cao Chunhui didn't believe him at all!
She scoffed, "Lu Ming, do you think I'm old and my eyesight and hearing have failed, making me unable to discern right from wrong? Let me tell you, despite my age, I'm not blind! You have the audacity to try and trick me with a radish, you impudent brat!"
Then.
Cao Chunhui directly threw the box to the ground, and the thousand-year-old ginseng rolled out.
A Corgi brought by a customer saw it, wiggled its short legs, and trotted over with a yelp. It bit the ginseng and began to eat it with relish.
Lu Ming's brow furrowed deeply.
He looked at the thousand-year-old ginseng being chewed by a dog and couldn't help but give a wry smile.
A treasure was right in front of them, yet no one recognized it. How pathetic, how lamentable, how laughable.
Jiang Mengxin also walked over. She glared at Lu Ming indignantly and questioned him, "You told me you had prepared an excellent gift for Grandma. Is this what you prepared?"
Lu Ming did not answer.
Jiang Mengxin continued to scold him, "You're penniless, and I gave you money! Why are you putting on such a big show? Why try to pass off a radish as ginseng? Lu Ming, have you no shame? You've completely embarrassed me, Jiang Mengxin, you scoundrel!"
Jiang Mengxin was furious.
She had originally given Lu Ming 100,000 yuan to prepare a proper gift.
But Lu Ming insisted on showing off.
He refused the 100,000 yuan, tried to fool them with a radish, and was exposed by Cao Chunhui in front of everyone! He had lost all face.
Jiang Yang burst into laughter.
He also walked over with a box and said, "Today is Grandma's eightieth birthday. Mengxin, if you want to lose your temper and lecture your useless husband, do it at home."
Then, he opened the box in front of everyone, "Grandma, please see the gift I prepared for you."
Everyone's gaze turned to the inside of the box.
Inside, a snow-white plant, resembling a lotus flower, lay peacefully. It was flawless and pleasing to the eye.
"What is this?" Cao Chunhui asked.
Jiang Yang said, "Grandma, this is a top-grade medicinal herb, the Tianshan Snow Lotus, which I spent three million yuan to buy from a trafficker! Consuming it will grant you eternal youth and a radiant complexion."
Whoosh—
Everyone was astonished.
"Tianshan Snow Lotus? The legendary top-grade herb that blooms once a century?"
"Incredible, absolutely incredible. Jiang Yang has truly spent a fortune this time."
"Compared to Lu Ming's radish, this Tianshan Snow Lotus is countless times better."
Cao Chunhui was overjoyed and immediately instructed a servant, "Quickly, prepare this snow lotus into a soup. I want to take it now!"
The servant began to prepare it.
Suddenly.
Lu Ming, without warning, said, "Grandma, you cannot eat it."
Huh?
Cao Chunhui glared at him, "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
Lu Ming explained, "This piece is definitely not Tianshan Snow Lotus, but a poisonous herb containing trace amounts of toxins that can cause hallucinations and disorientation. It's Datura!"
Ah, this...
Everyone looked at the flower again.
Datura?
Is it true or false?
Jiang Yang was the first to curse, "Lu Ming, stop spouting nonsense here! This is clearly Tianshan Snow Lotus. What do you know?"
Then, Jiang Yang chuckled.
He said, "Oh, I get it. You saw that I bought an expensive medicinal ingredient, which overshadowed your radish, so you became jealous, right? You pathetic trash, you're truly shameless."
Lu Ming insisted, "What I'm saying is the truth! As basic common sense, Tianshan Snow Lotus is bright red, not snow white! Yours is crystal white, it's definitely not a snow lotus."
Hearing this, Jiang Yang laughed even harder, "Are you an imbecile? If snow lotus isn't white, why is it called snow lotus? If it were red, wouldn't it be called blood lotus? You, you're just envious and jealous, you pathetic trash."
Lu Ming wanted to say more, but Jiang Mengxin grabbed him.
Jiang Mengxin glared at him, "Are you not embarrassed enough yet? Still blabbering, aren't you annoyed? Get out of here!"
Good advice is wasted on deaf ears.
Even though Lu Ming wore his lips thin, Cao Chunhui, Jiang Mengxin, and the others were still unwilling to believe him.
They preferred to believe Jiang Yang.
"Alas..."
Lu Ming sighed deeply and turned to walk to a corner, sitting down in silence.
Afterward.
The servant finished preparing the snow lotus and made it into a soup.
Lu Ming watched as Cao Chunhui drank an entire bowl of the snow lotus soup!