Chapter 13 Sweet Potatoes as Medicinal Herbs?

"Oh, Ms. Gavin! You look so incredibly youthful I thought you might be a teenager. Oops， my bad!" Kenneth said, scratching his head, and smiled sheepishly. "The joke's on you, mister! You're the teenager here!" Leticia countered playfully, not truly bothered because, well, she did have a bit of a baby face. If not for her towering height, people might genuinely mistake her for younger. Being complimented for looking young was a good thing, so Leticia took little offense. "So, Ms. Gavin, I brought a couple of herbs here," the man began. "See if your shop might be interested in buying some?" "Let me see what you got," Leticia said. Sagebrush Herbal Emporium sold medicinal herbs, offered consultations, and even bought herbs from the locals. Kenneth plopped American Ginseng and Echinacea on the counter. Leticia's brow furrowed at the sight of the American Ginseng, which was bigger than a regular sweet potato. Leticia bristled with annoyance. "Excuse me? Are you trying to pass off sweet potatoes as medicinal herbs? Do you think I'm an idiot? I know the difference!" Kenneth choked back a laugh, dumbfounded by her accusation. At the same time, he realized this girl clearly didn't know her herbs, as she boasted. Here, he held a massive, wild American ginseng root, and she called it a sweet potato? Oh well, he figured. City folk wouldn't know an authentic herb from a hole in the ground! Leticia fought to keep her temper in check. "You think you can pawn off a sweet potato on me just because my grandpa isn't here? How rude! Get out of here with this thing! I'm trying to study!" "Ms. Gavin, wait!" Kenneth exclaimed desperately. "You're completely mistaken! This is real wild American ginseng I dug up myself, straight from Brighter Valley!" "Oh yeah? Wild American ginseng, huh? Hilarious! Because Dr. Gavin literally just showed me the real deal before he left. Fine! Let me show you what actual wild American ginseng looks like so you can see what a phony you are and stop bothering me!" Leticia yanked open a drawer and pulled out a shriveled-up root that looked like it had been toasted to a crisp. "See this bad boy? This is a genuine article! Now beat it, or I'm calling the cops!" The store was completely empty. Nelson, famously known as Dr. Gavin, her grandfather, and his apprentice, Keke Bautista, were both out on a house call. Looking at Kenneth, a giant of a man at six feet. If he decided to mug her, she was toast. "American ginseng? You call this that?" Kenneth scoffed, staring incredulously at the scrawny root Leticia presented. The real prize was right there under her nose, the one he'd brought himself, yet this girl couldn't recognize it. Here she was, claiming her product was top-notch while peddling some inferior ginseng. Kenneth was sure Leticia was a complete novice. "What do you know? I'm a second-year medical student at Unisdale University. You think you know medicine better than me?" "I..." Kenneth opened his mouth to explain, but before a word could escape, the door swung open. An elderly man with short, white hair walked in, followed by a middle-aged man carrying a medical kit. Both emanated a faint herbal aroma. Nelson and his apprentice, Keke, had arrived. "Letty, what's all the yelling? I could hear you from a mile away," Nelson chuckled as he walked over. Reaching them, he spotted Kenneth's American ginseng and Echinacea on the counter. His eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "Now, this is the good stuff!" "Dr. Gavin, this guy brought a sweet potato and tried to pass it off as wild American ginseng!" Leticia pointed at Kenneth, her voice dripping with accusation. Nelson and Keke couldn't help but burst out laughing when they heard her. "Sir, I apologize for her ignorance," Kenneth interjected. "She's a medical student, but her focus is on Western medicine, not holistic practices. That's why she wouldn't recognize this." Leticia felt a wave of awkwardness wash over her. "What do you mean? Are you saying I was wrong?" "Not just wrong," Nelson chuckled, "but way off. This isn't just any American ginseng; this is pure wild stuff!" "No way!" Leticia scoffed. "You literally told me this morning it was wild American ginseng!" She held up the sad-looking, shriveled root for emphasis. "Well, yes, that's true," the old man admitted sheepishly. "But the quality isn't the best. It's been in storage for a while and gotten a bit deformed." Leticia's face burned red. So, she really had made a mistake about Kenneth. "Alright, alright," Nelson said between laughs, "apologize to the nice man! Only you could mistake top-notch American ginseng for a giant sweet potato!" "Stop laughing!" Leticia retorted, her cheeks puffed with annoyance. "It's your fault. I thought it was a sweet potato in the first place!" "Alright, alright, take full responsibility," he conceded, turning towards Kenneth to smooth things over. "Sir, I'm so sorry about all this. This is entirely my fault." "Dr. Gavin, no need to apologize. It's just a misunderstanding, and it happens," Kenneth replied politely. "By the way, where did you find this American Ginseng? And the Echinacea as well? The quality is exceptional," Nelson inquired. Based on his experience, these herbs seemed far more potent than what he typically encountered. "I harvested them from the mountains of Brighter Valley," Kenneth explained. "Brighter Valley? That name rings a bell. I remember an old friend of mine who used to regularly sell me herbs from there about ten years ago." Nelson's memory was sparked, and he began to reminisce. This friend of Nelson's, he claimed, was a community doctor around his own age. The man used to sell Nelson high-quality, processed herbs. Unfortunately, it had been a long time since their last interaction. "The friend you're referring to might have been my grandfather, Jason Mohler. Sadly, he passed away many years ago," Kenneth revealed. "Oh? That's terrible news, young man," Nelson expressed his condolences. "It's okay. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are inevitable. My name is Kenneth Mohler. I've decided to follow in my grandfather's footsteps as a community doctor, serving the people of Brighter Valley," Kenneth explained with a smile. "Wow! You're Jason's grandson? Letty, grab Ken a glass of water. Keke, get lunch started; we're gonna catch up with Ken here!" Nelson was pumped to meet his old friend's grandson, especially since Kenneth had followed in Jason's footsteps and admired his work. "Don't sweat it, Dr. Gavin," Kenneth said. "Actually, I'm here to talk about working together." "Working together?" The old man was confused. "Dr. Gavin, I think he wants to be a regular supplier for our herbs and negotiate prices," Leticia explained, handing Kenneth a glass of water. "Mr. Mohler, sorry about before." "No worries at all, Ms. Gavin. You're right. I have a good amount of herbs, especially some top-notch American Ginseng and Echinacea, and I wanted to see if we could partner up," Kenneth said. "Fantastic! Your grandpa Jason was a stand-up guy, and I'm sure you're the same. Based on that alone, Sagebrush Herbal Emporium is all in for a long-term partnership!" Nelson declared definitively. "Thank you, Dr. Gavin. Let us proceed directly to the matter at hand. What is your offer for these two specific herbs?" "Keke, what do you think they're worth?" Nelson asked, turning to Keke. Keke was a straight shooter who always spoke his mind. He turned to Kenneth and Nelson and said, "The market price for these herbs is around fifteen to eighteen bucks a pound. But these are top quality, wild-grown herbs, so I think they're worth between twenty-five and twenty-eight dollars a pound." Kenneth liked what he heard. Keke's price point of twenty-five dollars a pound was perfect, a price that would bring him a healthy profit. "Ken, meet Keke Bautista, my apprentice," Nelson introduced them quickly. "So, what do you think of his ballpark figure?" "Spot on with Mr. Bautista. Twenty-five to twenty-eight sounds fair. So, what's your floor price, Dr. Gavin?" Kenneth asked.