"Thank you, Chairman Lu. With your assurance, I feel much more at ease!" the middle-aged man said, gripping Lu Yang's hand excitedly.
"Mm," Lu Yang replied.
"There's one more thing I wanted to ask you. The legal representative of your company is named Lu Tianfeng. Do you know him?" Lu Yang finally got to the question that concerned him the most.
"Professor Lu Tianfeng?"
"I had the honor of meeting him once. Professor Lu Tianfeng is the most brilliant controlled nuclear fusion research expert I have ever encountered. It's a pity..."
"Chairman Lu, they are all dead. They died horribly, and I am the only one left!" The middle-aged man's face contorted with sorrow as he spoke, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Don't worry. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. Their deaths were not accidental. I will give them all an explanation and comfort their departed souls!" Lu Yang said coldly, clenching his fists.
"Thank you, Lu Yang!" the middle-aged man said again.
"You're welcome. What equipment do you need here? What scientific researchers do you need? Give me a list, and I'll have someone handle it!" Lu Yang asked softly, looking at the middle-aged man. "Oh, by the way, what is your name?"
"Lu Yang, my surname is Yan. You can call me Old Yan from now on!"
"I will compile the list of everything needed as soon as possible and give it to you!" Old Yan said excitedly.
"Mm."
"Alright, I won't stay long. Call me if anything comes up!" After exchanging phone numbers, Lu Yang left the secret base.
Lu Yang did not return to the company. Instead, he went directly to the Chinese medicine market. He had found a formula for rapid recovery in the Taigu Medical Dao and intended to buy some Chinese medicinal herbs from the market to prepare medicine for Tang Shimin.
Jiangbei City's Chinese medicine market was vast, accommodating nearly a third of China's medicinal herbs, with a complete variety of everything. Lu Yang walked through the market, searching. The formulas listed in the Taigu Medical Dao were exceptionally potent. Two of the ingredients were particularly special: a century-old ginseng and Dragon Whisker.
Ginseng was relatively common, but century-old ginseng was scarce. Most ginseng sold in the market as century-old was fake. To find genuine century-old ginseng, one needed a discerning eye. Dragon Whisker was even harder to find. Literally translated, it referred to the whiskers of the Dragon Fish, a deep-sea creature that was extremely difficult to catch. Its whiskers naturally shed after maturity, and only juvenile Dragon Fish had them. When used as medicine, these whiskers could promote blood circulation, dissipate blood stasis, and heal wounds, proving exceptionally effective in treating injuries. Only by gathering all these medicinal ingredients could Lu Yang brew the most suitable tonic for Tang Shimin's recovery.
After searching the entire market, Lu Yang only found numerous fake century-old ginsengs and no authentic ones. As Lu Yang was browsing the herbs in a pharmacy, an old man in tattered clothes, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, walked in.
"Beggar, get out!" the pharmacy owner, sporting a handlebar mustache, shouted at the old man.
"Boss, I've come to sell medicine. I dug these up in the mountains. Please take a look and give me some money," the old man said, taking down his bamboo basket and pouring out a few herbs still covered in dirt. Among them were a ginseng root, a heshouwu, and an astragalus root.
The owner glanced at them, his expression subtly changing. "These things aren't worth much. If you want to sell them, I'll give you two hundred yuan!"
"Two hundred yuan? Isn't that too little?" the old man said regretfully. "I dug for a long time to find these!"
"What good can you find in the mountains? I'm just giving you some money because I pity you. Do you think anyone wants these?" the owner continued. "I'll add another hundred at most. Three hundred yuan and I'll take it all!"
"Three hundred!"
"Ah, alright, three hundred it is," the old man sighed.
"Here's three hundred yuan. Take it and get out!" The owner arrogantly tossed the three hundred yuan onto the ground, completely disregarding the old man's feelings.
"You..." The old man, his pride wounded, wanted to argue. But looking at his own status, he silently endured it and bent down to pick up the three red banknotes.
Just as his hand was about to touch the money, another hand intercepted it.
"Old man, I'll take everything you have. I'll give you one million yuan!" Lu Yang said directly to the old man.
"What?"
"Young man, what did you say?" Hearing this, the old man's face changed drastically, and he looked at Lu Yang in disbelief, thinking he had misheard.
"This ginseng of yours is a genuine century-old wild ginseng. It's worth around a million. I'll give you one million for your items," Lu Yang continued.
"Kid, where did you pop out from?"
"This old man has already sold these to me, and we've settled the transaction. What do you want?" The owner's face contorted when he heard Lu Yang, and he glared at Lu Yang, shouting. The pharmacy owner had recognized the century-old ginseng when the old man had laid out his wares. His previous words were all meant to deceive the old man, aiming to acquire the century-old ginseng at a low price and sell it for a profit. Just as he was about to succeed, an unexpected obstacle appeared, disrupting his plan. This made the pharmacy owner's gaze turn chillingly cold.
"You threw the money on the ground, and the old man didn't pick it up, so how can it be considered a settled transaction?"
"Moreover, you've been deceiving this old gentleman from the beginning, trying to trick him out of his century-old ginseng for three hundred yuan. Do you think such a good deal exists in this world?" Lu Yang sneered at the owner.
"Kid, do you know where you are? This is Baolingtang. How dare you try to steal business from Baolingtang? You must be tired of living!" the owner said coldly, clapping his hands. Four burly men emerged from the back, surrounding Lu Yang.
"Get out now, and I can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, your legs might not be safe today!" the owner said coldly to Lu Yang.
"Oh, are you planning to force the sale?"
"In that case, I think I'll call the police. Let the police handle it!" Lu Yang said with a cold laugh, taking out his phone to call the police.
"Snatch this kid's phone!"
"Damn it, he wants to call the police? Dream on! If I don't teach you an unforgettable lesson today, you won't know how many eyes 'King Ma' has!"
"Attack!" the pharmacy owner shouted, and the four men were about to strike.