I Inherited 5,000 Years of Family Property

"Millennia old? Your question leaves me a bit lost for words," Zhang Menglong was visibly embarrassed on the spot. What is a millennial ginseng? That really counts as an extremely rare treasure, priceless, and unobtainable even with wealth. To casually ask for millennia-old ginseng? Can ginseng really live that long? "Hong Yi, though I'm not as well-read as you, don't try to fool me. It's already unimaginable for ginseng to live a thousand years, let alone two or three thousand," Zhang Menglong said. "Mr. Zhang, I wouldn't dare to deceive you," Hong Yi responded, "As far as I know, your family established a medicine field in Changbai Mountain thousands of years ago where a variety of precious medicinal herbs were planted, including ginseng. They range from a hundred years old to five thousand years old!" "Five thousand-year-old ginseng?" Zhang Menglong was so frightened he almost peed a few drops. Wasn't it agreed that ginseng couldn't turn into spirits after the founding of the country? Wouldn't a five thousand-year-old ginseng become a spirit? "Actually, I'm also curious about this. I only know that such a medicine field exists, but I'm not quite clear about the specifics. Do you need millennium ginseng?" Hong Yi inquired. "I'm asking on behalf of a friend," said Zhang Menglong, "Give me the contact information for the person in charge of that medicine field, and I will pay a visit myself." ... "Gou Dan, do you know about this?" Zhang Menglong quickly communicated with the Artificial Intelligence Gou Dan of the Super God Academy. "Headmaster, there's nothing unusual about that. It's just some genetic modification technology combined with some planting techniques," Gou Dan replied. "Your ancestors mastered genetic technology a long time ago through Super God Academy. As you know, things from the academy can't be taken out of school, so, to preserve the ancient alchemy, your ancestors extensively planted genetically modified plants." "I see," Zhang Menglong replied, feeling slightly more at ease. However, mastering such advanced bioengineering technology over five thousand years ago still seemed incredibly astonishing. ... "Menglong, how is it going? Any news?" Qin Feng inquired with a look full of expectation. "Yeah," Zhang Menglong nodded, "How many millennia do you need? How many pounds?" "Pounds?" Wang Ling and Qin Feng's eyes widened. "Can you not be so pretentious? It would already be impressive if you could procure one millennium ginseng, and you're talking about pounds? Do you think it's radishes we're dealing with?" "You might not believe it, but in our family, millennium ginseng isn't really that different from radishes!" Zhang Menglong laughed. "Come to my house early tomorrow morning, and I'll take you to a place!" ... Zhang Menglong and the others then boarded a private plane headed towards Changbai Mountain Airport. Changbai Mountain is a vast mountain range, spanning across Huaxia and Korea. In Huaxia territory, the highest peak is Baiyun Peak, at an altitude of 2,691 meters, and the mountain's Heavenly Lake at the summit is enveloped in mystery. Legend has it that there's a monster living in the lake, attracting many adventurers. "When did your family get a piece of medicine field in Changbai Mountain?" Wang Ling asked curiously. "I know ginseng is abundantly produced in Changbai Mountain, but I've never heard of any privately-operated medicine fields, and isn't this a tourist area?" Qin Feng was also very curious. "It's a long story from the past," Zhang Menglong explained. "Actually, I don't know much about it either. I just found out we have a medicinal garden here and someone will lead us there shortly." The plane landed smoothly at Changbai Mountain Airport, which was just a dozen kilometers from the Changbai Mountain scenic area. When they arrived, a car was already waiting for them. Two people came from the car, one was a man in his sixties, and the other was a young man of similar age to Zhang Menglong. "Mr. Zhang!" The elderly man and the young man bowed to Zhang Menglong, "Let me introduce myself, my last name is Zhong, just call me Old Zhong, and this is my grandson, Zhong Ze Sheng." ``` "Hello," said Zhang Menglong politely, "Uncle Zhong, has my family's medicinal field always been under your care?" "How could I have such ability?" Old Zhong laughed, "I'm just an old bag of bones who has guarded this medicinal field for merely a hundred years. Our Zhong family has been guarding this field for your family generation after generation for about two or three thousand years now." "Two or three thousand years?" Wang Ling and Qin Feng were petrified on the spot; didn't that mean they would have to count back to before the Common Era? Qin Feng had always taken pride in his own family, as the Qin family was also a prominent family in Huaxia. Their elder had started conquering lands for Huaxia at an early stage, which was why they had gained such a status now. Putting aside power and influence, if only considering heritage, compared to the Zhong family, they were practically like little brothers! Even if it were a fallen family, if it left behind a few broken pots and rusty pans over two or three thousand years, by then, they would be rare antiques, how inferior could they be? And now, a family with a heritage of two or three thousand years was merely managing a medicinal field for Zhang Menglong's family, how ancient could his family be? Until now, his understanding of Zhang Menglong had been limited to his wealth; he had never imagined that his family also had such a history! Zhong Zesheng drove them to the foot of Changbai Mountain. Here, there was a very special cableway that was not for tourists, but exclusively for the Zhong family's use in accessing the medicinal fields. After a 30-minute ride on the cableway, they finally arrived at a valley between two mountain peaks, where there was actually a tunnel that led straight inside the mountain! "Wow, if no one knew better, they might think we're here for some adventurous tomb raiding!" Wang Ling wrapped herself tighter in her down jacket. "Ssss!" Having passed through the somewhat dim tunnel, a blinding light pierced through several holes above their heads and into the interior of the mountain. "Ssss!" Wang Ling was stunned, Qin Feng was stunned, and Zhang Menglong was stunned as well. No one knew that inside of Changbai Mountain there was an enormous space with no end in sight, akin to a unique botanical garden with various medicinal herbs planted in different areas, and hundreds of people in uniform were working diligently here. "Is... is this all your family's people?" Wang Ling asked. "Uncle Zhong, this is also my first time here, can you give me a brief introduction?" Zhang Menglong looked around the medicinal garden with curiosity. "Yes, Mr. Zhang," Uncle Zhong spoke, "Our Zhong family currently has a total of 2,176 members, with those capable of working all tending to this medicinal field." "This internal space was likely excavated by your ancestors 5,200 years ago. The total area of the medicinal field is 20 square kilometers, but due to a geological change 1,200 years ago, it has been divided into 12 regions. The area you are in right now is the largest of them." "We grow a total of 367 types of medicinal herbs, out of which 212 species have already gone extinct in the outside world, but here, we have managed to mass-produce them!" ... "5,200 years..." In their minds, other than "holy shit," Wang Ling and Qin Feng could find no other words. 5,200 years ago, was not that when Huaxia civilization was just beginning to emerge? And the Zhang family already existed back then? Moreover, hollowing out a mountain, even with modern technology, would be a daunting task, let alone 5,000 years ago—it was beyond their comprehension! "What is that over there?" Zhang Menglong pointed to the silvery-white buildings not far away. "That is the biological engineering lab," Old Zhong said, "We have been dedicated to genetic engineering research, and our current technology far surpasses the world's peak standards. The medicinal effects of the herbs we grow here are definitely several times that of regular ones!" "I... I'm flabbergasted... ah bah, ah bah..." ```