Another morning arrived. Long Xiao woke up early for his morning practice. As soon as he reached his usual training spot, he sensed someone in the nearby bushes.
"Come out," Long Xiao said, looking towards the bushes.
A small head popped out from the grass, followed by Xiao Ming, who walked out smiling, his backpack slung over his shoulder.
"Boss, you found me, hehe."
"What are you sneaking around for?" Long Xiao asked sternly.
"Boss, I'm following you to protect you. If you get killed by bad guys, my livelihood would be..."
Long Xiao had to interrupt Xiao Ming again. "Alright, I get it. I need to train now."
After his training session, Long Xiao felt dejected. It turned out Xiao Ming saw him as his livelihood, much like a dog guarding its food.
Long Xiao took Xiao Ming to the Xinglin Herbal Hall and introduced him to everyone. He quickly became acquainted with almost everyone.
Xiao Ming's clothes were unfashionable, and his backpack was old. Long Xiao asked Chen Meijia to take him out to buy some new clothes and a new backpack.
After they left, Long Xiao, accompanied by Tong Hui, first visited the patient rooms in the back to check on all the cancer patients and re-prescribe medication.
Xue Meiqin and Zhang Eryong were in charge of decocting the herbs, while Long Xiao and Tong Hui went to Mingyue's consultation room to see patients with her.
As noon approached, Chen Meijia returned to Xinglin Herbal Hall with Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming was naturally good-looking, and with a tracksuit and a small backpack, he appeared very energetic.
Long Xiao noticed Xiao Ming's bulging backpack and said, "Xiao Ming, your Sister Chen must have bought you a lot of snacks."
Xiao Ming nodded. "Sister Chen is too good to me, better than my own parents. When I grow up, I'll repay her well..."
"Alright, go play now, I still have work to do," Long Xiao interrupted him.
Xiao Ming stood behind Long Xiao and said, "No, I have to follow you. You are my livelihood... ah, no, you are my boss. I have to stay by your side at all times to protect you."
Long Xiao knew his livelihood was secured. He shook his head helplessly and said no more.
During lunch, despite Long Xiao's warning that Xiao Ming could eat a lot, everyone was shocked by his appetite.
"Child, how long has it been since you last ate? You must be starving," Xin Sihai said, looking at Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming reluctantly put down his bowl and looked at the cleaned-out plates. "Grandpa Sihai, I don't have that big of an appetite. Please don't send me away."
Xin Sihai patted Xiao Ming's head. "Don't worry, child. No one will send you away."
Xiao Ming had stayed with Long Xiao all morning, but he disappeared in the afternoon. Long Xiao was busy instructing Tong Hui and Mingyue on treating patients and didn't pay much attention.
In the evening, Chen Meijia rushed into the consultation room, panicked. "Oh no, Brother Long, our medicine has been stolen."
Following Chen Meijia to the pharmacy, Long Xiao inspected the scene and confirmed that some valuable medicinal herbs were indeed missing.
Although many people came and went at Xinglin Herbal Hall daily, no one had dared to steal medicine from the pharmacy before. Furthermore, stealing medicine required specialized knowledge. Someone ignorant of herbs wouldn't even know which ones were valuable, making theft unlikely.
The patients were mostly waiting in line for treatment. The people helping at Xinglin Herbal Hall were not short of money, so it was unlikely they would steal.
After much thought, Long Xiao remembered Xiao Ming. Xiao Ming had just arrived today, and medicine went missing. Moreover, he had been absent all afternoon, making him the prime suspect.
"Find Xiao Ming and see where he is," Long Xiao instructed.
Soon, Zhang Eryong found Xiao Ming in a back room, lying sprawled on a bed, his face flushed, appearing very content.
Upon hearing that Long Xiao was looking for him, Xiao Ming got up, slung on his backpack, and followed Zhang Eryong to the front courtyard.
Long Xiao sat at the tea table under the tree, his face grim as he looked at the slowly approaching Xiao Ming. "Xiao Ming, I kindly provided you with food, and yet you stole my medicine."
Xiao Ming pretended to look around and asked, "Who stole my boss's medicine? Is there no justice? The person who stole the medicine, stand up quickly, or I'll find you..."
Long Xiao interrupted him. "Stop pretending. I saw it all on the surveillance."
"Impossible, I checked the pharmacy; there were no cameras inside."
Realizing he had been tricked, Xiao Ming immediately said, "Boss, I didn't do it on purpose. I just couldn't resist and ate a little medicine."
Hearing that Xiao Ming had eaten the medicine, Long Xiao was startled. The loss of the precious herbs was not a major concern, but if Xiao Ming had eaten them all, it would be a big problem.
Long Xiao stood up and grabbed Xiao Ming's wrist. Xiao Ming, terrified, cried out, "Boss, I know I was wrong. I won't do it again. Don't kill me."
"Who's killing you? Stay still. Eating that medicine will be the death of you."
As Long Xiao spoke, he channeled a surge of internal energy into Xiao Ming's body to examine him.
Xiao Ming's internal energy was abundant, his internal organs were more robust than those of an adult, and the life energy in his dantian far surpassed Long Xiao's.
"How can this be?" Long Xiao muttered to himself in surprise.
"Boss, am I alright?" Xiao Ming asked.
Long Xiao released him, nodded, and said, "You're fine. Did you really eat all the missing medicine?"
Xiao Ming nodded. "I ate it all. The medicine smelled so good, I couldn't resist."
"That was too dangerous, Xiao Ming. From now on, besides normal food, tell me before you eat anything else."
Xiao Ming nodded without speaking. Seeing that Long Xiao was only concerned about his well-being and didn't seem too bothered by the lost medicine, he felt much more at ease.
Long Xiao added, "Xiao Ming, from now on, without my permission, don't eat my medicine again. This medicine is for treating illnesses and saving lives. If you dare to steal and eat it again, you'll have to leave. I won't extend your debt for the knife anymore."
Xiao Ming's face immediately turned pitiful. He nodded and said, "I understand, boss. Please don't send me away. I'll be very obedient. If you kick me out, I'll starve."
Seeing Xiao Ming's pathetic state, Long Xiao's heart softened, and he didn't say anything more.
Long Xiao himself had never known his biological parents. Xiao Ming had left home so young; he felt pity for the boy.
When he had inquired about Xiao Ming's situation last night, Xiao Ming had mumbled evasively. Long Xiao wanted Xiao Ming to go to school, but Xiao Ming vehemently opposed it. It seemed he had a hidden difficulty, so Long Xiao didn't press further.
In the evening, Long Xiao and Xiao Ming ate at Xinglin Herbal Hall before returning to Mangshan Number One.
Upon returning to the villa, Xiao Ming went directly to his room, acting suspiciously and doing something in secret.
Long Xiao went to Lin Xuan's room to inquire about the recent situation at the pharmaceutical factory.
The production of 'Scar Removal Elixir' was proceeding very smoothly, with tens of thousands of boxes already in stock and ready for market release at any time.
'Beauty Pills' were still in high demand, and Lin Xuan wanted to expand production. This time, Long Xiao agreed.
Long Xiao and Lin Xuan discussed that after expanding production, the daily quantity of 'Beauty Pills' released to the market should not increase; all produced batches should be stored in the warehouse first.
"Why?" Lin Xuan asked, confused.
Long Xiao smiled and retorted, "What is the normal selling price of 'Beauty Pills', and what is the price on the black market?"
Lin Xuan informed Long Xiao that the normal price was 1,200 yuan per box, and the black market price was around 3,000 yuan.
Long Xiao nodded. "Since that's the case, it's unfair that after we work hard to produce them, others profit from the price difference."
"But we can't control the black market?"
"You still don't understand. If we can't control the black market, why don't we sell on the black market ourselves?"
"No, that will ruin our brand."
"The 'Beauty Pills' I gave you are just the basic formula. I also have intermediate, advanced, and even higher-level formulas. Let's make a profit on the black market first. Once the brand effect is fully established, we'll recruit distributors nationwide. Let them produce the basic version, and we'll produce the intermediate version. This way, the profit will grow even faster."