"Master Jiang..." Shen Lu addressed Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi acknowledged her and handed Shen Lu the formula for the new medicine.
Shen Lu carefully put it away.
Shen Lu knew that the formulas Jiang Yi gave her were the most crucial elements in dealing with the Shen family. Once these new medicines were produced and captured all of the Shen family's market share, the Shen family would be driven to a dead end, and Shen Lu could finally avenge herself.
"Everyone, quiet down!" Director Wang walked onto the high platform, picked up the microphone, scanned the crowd, and spoke.
"This year's competition follows the same old rules. All pharmacists will participate on stage. Those who make it into the top hundred will have the opportunity for a product exhibition."
"For the top three, we will help recommend their products outside the province, and even overseas!"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for every pharmacist. I hope you all seize it well!"
The pharmacists below were all eager to win this year's competition.
Shen Feng and Master Yu stood not far away, their faces full of smugness. Master Yu, in particular, wore an expression of absolute confidence. Both Shen Feng and Master Yu attracted the attention of the crowd. Master Yu garnered attention due to his considerable skill in the pharmaceutical field, while Shen Feng was noticed because of yesterday's streaking incident, which had made him the biggest laughingstock in the entire Jiang Province.
Seeing the mocking glances, Shen Feng's face immediately showed a murderous intent, frightening many into quickly looking away. Most people knew Shen Feng was the young master of the Shen family, and ordinary individuals dared not provoke him.
"Later, find an opportunity to expose Jiang Yi as a fraud!" Shen Feng said to Master Yu with a dark expression. "The major media outlets are here. By then, Jiang Yi will be ruined."
"Don't worry, I'll do exactly as you say!" Master Yu nodded.
Shen Feng looked at Jiang Yi as if he were already dead. Shen Feng's most hated person was Chen Kun. He planned to deal with Chen Kun and Shen Lu after finishing with Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi was currently reviewing the competition instructions. As this was his first time participating in such a competition, Jiang Yi was not entirely familiar with the rules. After reading them, he understood. The competition was quite simple.
First, each participating pharmacist would be given a pre-formulated medicine. Within a specified time, they had to list all the ingredients in the medicine. While this sounded simple, it was extremely difficult. The medicines used for the competition every year had very complex compositions, with at least dozens, and often hundreds, of ingredients.
The second round was even more challenging. The organizers would announce the name of a disease and provide medicinal herbs for the pharmacists. After the pharmacists formulated the medicine, evaluators would measure its efficacy, and rankings would be determined based on the results.
Jiang Yi couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. This was child's play for him. When he was learning from his master, compounding medicines was the most basic part of his training; he had to create a medicinal formula for a different illness every day. It was as simple as eating.
"Please, participating pharmacists, take the stage!" Director Wang called out.
Upon hearing this, the pharmacists below began to ascend the stage one after another, scrambling to get there, afraid of being slower than others. Jiang Yi, not in a hurry to compete, waited until all the pharmacists had taken their places before walking onto the platform.
Once all the pharmacists were in position, two attendants walked onto the stage. In front of each pharmacist, they placed a pill, along with paper and a pen for writing the formulas. There was nothing else. The pills in front of all the pharmacists were identical.
"You have ten minutes to write down the formula. Due to the difficulty, each of you only needs to list thirty ingredients," Director Wang announced. "If you have the ability, you can list them all!"
This type of competition had been held for decades, and no one had ever managed to complete the formula. The reason was simple: these pills were compounded from over a hundred rare Chinese medicinal herbs. Many of the herb names were ones people had never even heard of. Master Yu was considered the most capable among all the pharmacists, but he could at most list fifty ingredients, less than half.
"Begin!" Director Wang shouted.
As soon as Director Wang finished speaking, all the pharmacists immediately picked up the pills, their expressions solemn. Some sniffed the pills, while others even licked them with their tongues to identify the ingredients. Many pharmacists furrowed their brows, while only a small number began writing immediately. The most prominent among them was Master Yu, who, after just a casual sniff, wrote down over ten ingredient names.
As for Jiang Yi, he did not rush to write. Instead, he held the pill in his palm, closed his eyes, and smelled it. Five minutes passed, and Jiang Yi still hadn't started writing. Master Yu had already written down more than thirty ingredient names.
Chen Kun was anxiously stomping his feet! Shen Lu's eyebrows were tightly knitted.
"It seems Jiang Yi really is a fraud. He's finally been exposed!" Shen Feng burst into laughter, his voice full of mockery.
The onlookers also began to murmur.
"It seems that kid is indeed a fraud. All the pharmacists have started writing down ingredient names. The worst ones have listed over a dozen, but he hasn't written a single one yet."
"That kid probably doesn't know anything; he's just a half-baked pretender."
"Calling him half-baked is generous. This competition is organized by the Provincial Chamber of Commerce; he can't fool his way through this time!"
Chen Kun, upon hearing the public's comments about Jiang Yi, became annoyed. "Say that again if you dare, and I'll beat you to death," Chen Kun roared at the people around him.
Startled, they quickly fell silent. They dared not provoke Chen Kun, considering he had even dealt with Shen Feng, let alone themselves.
"Shen Feng, if you dare to insult my brother again, I'll twist your neck. Believe it or not?" Chen Kun glared at Shen Feng.
"Try and touch me if you dare. If you cause trouble here, the Provincial Chamber of Commerce won't let you off," Shen Feng said, showing no signs of backing down. Shen Feng's teeth itched with hatred as he recalled yesterday's events.
"Alright, don't bother with people like Shen Feng!" Shen Lu said to Chen Kun.
"You're right. There's no point arguing with someone like Shen Feng. That guy is a scoundrel! Arguing with him lowers my status!" Chen Kun said with a smile.
Shen Feng's face was filled with murderous intent.
With only three minutes left, Jiang Yi put down the pill, picked up the pen on the table, and began writing rapidly. Everyone watched, stunned! Jiang Yi wrote the ingredient names without any pause or hesitation. Two minutes later, Jiang Yi put down his pen. Both pages were completely filled. The pharmacists around him were still studying the pills. They wanted to use the last minute to write down a few more ingredient names. Master Yu was also studying and writing, his face etched with thought.