Medical Sage

In Northern Mountain City, everyone knew whose names carried the most weight: without question, the two top leaders in the city committee compound.

However, the newly arrived municipal party secretary had been parachuted in and hadn’t brought any children with him.

In other words, within the top echelon of Northern Mountain City’s scions, the most impressive name was indisputably those two words—Huang Feng! Young Master Feng! This was an acknowledged fact within their circle.

After all, his father was Northern Mountain City’s new mayor and had already been promoted to the full departmental level. Such a position carried enough power and prestige to be significant throughout all of Jiangnan Province, a fact that couldn’t help but astonish Zhang Long.

And setting aside the terrifyingly prestigious Young Master Feng, the identity of Gao Yuan—Young Master Gao, the son of the city’s wealthiest man—was also enough to leave him utterly shocked.

Since he was a businessman himself, facing a behemoth like the Vast Sea Group inevitably stirred powerful emotions and awe within him. It was unavoidable. This was the Vast Sea Group, the city’s undisputed number one conglomerate, with a market value in the billions!

”Alright, introductions are over. Let’s eat, let’s eat,” Chen Fei said with a smile, turning to savor the exquisite medicinal cuisine on the table.

”Yes, yes, let’s eat first. It’s a rare honor to have Brother Fei, Young Master Feng, and Young Master Gao grace us with their presence. We must all enjoy ourselves to the fullest tonight!” Zhang Long said, having mostly regained his composure. He managed a smile, his voice filled with excitement.

To be honest, although he understood that Chen Fei had likely transformed completely and was no longer the person he once was, they had been the best of friends in high school, so the impact hadn’t felt so tangible.

This was nothing like that. Now, the mayor’s son, Young Master Feng, and the son of the city’s wealthiest family, Young Master Gao, were sitting right in front of him, sharing a meal. The impact was indescribable; the pressure was immense.

”Chen Fei, I heard from Along that you had something to discuss with us tonight. What is it? Does it involve Young Master Gao and Young Master Feng?” Zhao Le suddenly asked, her face full of curiosity.

Initially, she hadn’t paid the matter much mind. She was too familiar with the Chen Fei from their university days to give it much weight. But the identities of Young Master Feng and Young Master Gao, and the status they represented, were an entirely different matter. After all, they were the son of the mayor and the heir to the city’s wealthiest family... She had no choice but to take this seriously.

”Yes, it involves them,” Chen Fei said after a sip of soup, looking at Zhang Long. ”Along, I was wondering, does your restaurant accept investments?”

”Investment?” Zhang Long was stunned for a moment, then spoke with disbelief. ”Wait, are you saying you want to invest in our family’s restaurant?”

”Exactly. I’ve been here twice now, and I feel this place has great potential. It just so happens I have some free time recently, so I was planning to experiment with some new medicinal cuisine recipes and wanted to collaborate. As for these two, I dragged them along,” Chen Fei explained with a smile.

”Brother Fei, you’re planning to experiment with new medicinal cuisine recipes?” Huang Feng and Gao Yuan’s eyes lit up, unable to hide their excitement.

In their eyes, Chen Fei was not only a man of mysterious abilities but also, without a doubt, a true Divine Doctor capable of anything. Thus, their excitement at hearing he was interested in developing new medicinal cuisine was understandable; they were convinced that anything Brother Fei successfully concocted would be extraordinary and possess immense commercial value.

”And Young Master Feng and Young Master Gao will also invest... in our Green Bamboo Medicinal Cuisine House?”

Zhang Long was completely dumbfounded, never imagining such an incredible stroke of luck would land on his head.

Even if the Green Bamboo Medicinal Cuisine House had a solid foundation, its development had been painstakingly difficult. The root cause was its lack of connections and powerful backing. Just imagine if, from the start, they’d had the mayor’s son, Young Master Feng, and Young Master Gao of the Vast Sea Group as their patrons. Would a mere Yang Yuancheng have dared to touch them? The answer was obvious: absolutely not.

He was genuinely stunned by this fantastic news. He could hardly believe that this day had come—that he would be on the same boat as Young Master Feng and Young Master Gao.

”Experimenting with new medicinal cuisine?”

Only Zhao Le, who seemed to have grown numb to Chen Fei’s incredible feats recently, paid little attention to the investment. Instead, she was curious about his desire to experiment with new recipes. That was no simple task. The traditional methods had been handed down by their ancestors, with established procedures and systems that were incredibly difficult to improve upon.

”Miss Zhao, you shouldn’t underestimate Brother Fei. He is a Divine Doctor! His mastery of traditional Chinese medicine can only be described as miraculous. A little medicinal cuisine? That’s child’s play for him. Brother Fei, how about I call my dad and have him wire over some funds to invest?” Young Master Gao Yuan said, stepping forward with a serious expression when he saw Zhao Le’s doubt.

After all, the leg he had nearly lost was healed step-by-step, returning to normal day by day, all thanks to the traditional Chinese medicine Chen Fei had prescribed. In his eyes, Chen Fei’s skill with Chinese medicine was nothing short of magical, so of course a few medicinal recipes would be easy for him to handle.

”A Divine Doctor... miraculous? Really...”

Hearing this, the couple, Zhao Le and Zhang Long, couldn’t help but exchange a look, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.

Young Master Gao Yuan’s words were a clear declaration of his unconditional faith, to the point he wanted to bring his own father, Director Gao Zhinan, in on the investment. Did he really have that much confidence in this venture, or was his faith in Chen Fei just that strong?

”Alright, stop exaggerating. I just happen to need to research a rather tricky dietary supplement recipe, so I wanted to do some studying... There’s no need to involve Director Gao. This is just a small venture for us; we’re not short on that kind of investment money,” Chen Fei said with a magnanimous wave of his hand. It was true. With nearly four hundred million US dollars at his disposal, he really wasn’t lacking for cash.

He then turned to Zhang Long and Zhao Le and said seriously, ”Along, Art Commissioner Zhao, what are your thoughts? I came tonight specifically to discuss this with you. Of course, I’m not trying to force you...”

”Hey, what’s this about forcing us? We couldn’t be happier! This is like a pie falling from the sky! We’re not fools, right, Little Le?” Zhang Long hastily interrupted with a laugh before Chen Fei could even finish.

This was his chance to have the esteemed mayor’s son and the heir to the Vast Sea Group as his backers. This was the sort of thing countless merchants and businesses dreamed of, the kind of dream you’d wake up laughing from. This wasn’t a joke; he wasn’t a fool. Of course he wouldn’t refuse.

”That’s right! Along has always wanted to expand our Green Bamboo Medicinal Cuisine House all over Jiangnan. Before, we didn’t have the money or the backing. But now... it looks like there’s finally hope, hehe,” Zhao Le said, equally delighted and excited.

Imagine a medicinal cuisine restaurant backed by the son of an Earth Level city’s mayor and the heir to Northern Mountain City’s wealthiest group. It would instantly transform into a high-end enterprise, not just in Northern Mountain City but throughout the entire Jiangnan region. The very thought of it was thrilling. It was a complete game-changer.

”Expand all over Jiangnan? That’s not a bad idea. Why don’t we make that our first goal?” Chen Fei said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

”Just like that? For our first target? Brother Fei, Jiangnan Province has more than a dozen cities, big and small, not to mention a major provincial capital like Tongzhou. If we try to launch in all of them at once, it could get complicated,” Gao Yuan said, immediately frowning. Having grown up in a business family, his instincts kicked in.

”Is it a money issue, or something else?” Chen Fei’s dark eyes flickered slightly.

”Money is part of it, but there are other problems too. For a medicinal cuisine restaurant, location is critical. It has to be in a bustling area or a city center. Young Master Feng and I can handle things in Northern Mountain and a few nearby cities, but anywhere further is impossible. The prime locations are all carved up and controlled by influential local figures...”

Gao Yuan paused, then couldn’t help but add, ”Especially in a place like Tongzhou. If we want this restaurant to be big, successful, and distinguished, we have to establish a foothold in the provincial capital and build a high-class reputation. Otherwise, we’ll always be seen as second-rate and never reach the top tier of Jiangnan’s dining industry.”

”There’s also the issue of staffing,” Zhang Long chimed in, offering his own perspective. ”Medicinal cuisine restaurants are unique. The most important assets are the preparation techniques and the recipes themselves. We can’t just casually hand those over to a branch manager. We’d need a thorough vetting and trial period for any new staff, so...”

”I see.”

Chen Fei fell silent, his crystal-clear eyes reflecting his deep thought. After a moment, he spoke again. ”Gao Yuan, if we asked your dad for help, could he solve the staffing problem?”

”That’s no problem. My dad has plenty of trustworthy people,” Gao Yuan replied immediately, full of confidence. Manpower? That was one thing the Vast Sea Group didn’t lack.

”If that’s not a problem, then this is easy. How about this: we’ll start by setting up restaurants in six cities—Sky-reaching Cloud, Qii Family, Shangbei, Wanhai, Northern Mountain, and Tongzhou. We’ll aim to make them the biggest, best, and most exquisite. Don’t skimp on the funding; everything must be done to the highest standard,” Chen Fei declared.

”But if we do that, the initial investment will be terrifying. These six are among the most developed and prosperous cities in our region, especially a bustling provincial capital like Tongzhou. If everything is done to the highest standard, the budget would be... it would be...” Zhang Long trailed off, stunned. He couldn’t even begin to estimate the required capital; the sum was simply too vast, far beyond anything he had ever handled.

”At least one hundred twenty million,” Gao Yuan stated the figure outright, surprising everyone. ”If everything is done to the highest standard, the budget for six restaurants would be at least 120 million. The branch in the provincial capital, Tongzhou, would take the lion’s share of that, needing a budget of at least forty million.”

A gasp went around the table. One hundred twenty million?

That was a nine-figure sum, an astronomical amount.

Never mind Young Master Feng, the mayor’s son; even Young Master Gao Yuan himself felt a pang of apprehension at that number.

To pull together such a large sum in one go... only his father would have that kind of ability.