Medical Sage

Hearing this, Chen Fei gave a faint smile, not minding the other’s deliberate display of superiority. After all, no one is perfect, and even he himself was like that sometimes.

Seeing Chen Fei’s indifferent expression, Quan Bowei was momentarily taken aback and felt somewhat embarrassed. He scratched his head and apologized, ”Look at this mouth of mine, always talking fancy. Are you here on business, too?”

”Business? Sort of. Do you remember Zhang Long? The one who used to sit behind me in school. He started an Herbal Cuisine Workshop. I found it interesting, so I invested some money and joined him,” Chen Fei explained with a smile.

”An Herbal Cuisine Workshop? That’s actually a great project. The industry has been really hot lately. The business I’m involved in is also somewhat related to that,” Quan Bowei said with a smile.

”Oh? What is it?” Chen Fei asked curiously.

”It’s about traditional Chinese medicinal materials...”

”Brother Fei, I’m back. Sorry to keep you waiting... Huh? Is this a friend of yours?” Just then, Dong Jianhui returned from the restroom. He was startled to see Quan Bowei, who had appeared out of nowhere next to Chen Fei.

”Yes, this is my high school classmate, Quan Bowei.”

Chen Fei nodded and began the introductions. ”Bowei, this is Dong Jianhui. You can just call him Jianhui.”

”What are you saying... Mr. Dong, hello. I’m Quan Bowei, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Quan Bowei rolled his eyes at Chen Fei but extended his hand warmly toward Dong Jianhui. Evidently, he was quite gracious even to an old classmate’s friend.

”Hello, hello, I’m Dong Jianhui. Very pleased to meet you.” Clearly, Quan Bowei’s gesture made a good first impression on Dong Jianhui, who reached out his own hand with a smile.

RING RING... Just then, Quan Bowei’s phone rang, causing him to pause. He gave an apologetic look and said, ”Sorry, let me take this call.” He quickly turned aside, took out his phone, and pressed the answer button on the screen.

”Hello, Brother Liu? It’s me, Little Quan. Yes... do you have some time right now? I’m already at your company’s reception building...”

Hearing the faint words, Dong Jianhui was slightly startled and subconsciously glanced at Chen Fei. The latter just nodded and then shook his head, signaling that they should just wait and see.

”Hello? Hello, Brother Liu? Brother Liu... Pah! What the hell is his problem!” Just then, the situation on Quan Bowei’s end changed abruptly. His expression soured as he called into the phone twice before cursing, looking utterly exasperated as if he had just been hung up on.

Seeing this, Chen Fei’s eyes flickered slightly as he asked, ”Bowei, what’s wrong?”

”Ah, sorry you had to see that. That bastard has no integrity...”

Quan Bowei’s shoulders slumped in frustration. He then forced himself to rally his spirits and managed a laugh. ”Never mind, it’s nothing. It’s not a big deal...”

But before he could finish, Chen Fei interrupted him, dead serious, ”Old classmate, you’re being too much of a stranger now. What’s the problem? Tell us. Maybe we can help.”

”That’s right, Elder Quan, don’t be like that. I have contacts at Qianhong Pharmaceuticals, so what’s going on? Let’s hear it,” Dong Jianhui chimed in. Quan Bowei had made a good impression on him, and since he was also Chen Fei’s friend, Dong Jianhui naturally wanted to help now that the man seemed to be in trouble. After all, with his status as Young Master Dong in Tongzhou City, how big could any problem really be?

”You have contacts at Qianhong Pharmaceuticals, Jianhui?”

Hearing this, a spark of hope ignited in Quan Bowei, and he began to explain, ”Well, it’s like this...”

It turned out that after graduating from high school and arriving in Shenghui Tongzhou City, the first trade Quan Bowei dived into was gathering wild medicinal herbs. His master was a well-known herb gatherer in the industry who commanded seven or eight others. They specialized in roaming deep mountain forests and vast wetlands to collect precious wild herbs, which they then sold to major pharmaceutical enterprises for a hefty profit.

However, becoming a competent herb gatherer wasn’t something one could achieve overnight, especially for a latecomer to the trade like Quan Bowei. His foundation was too shallow, and it was impossible for him to become proficient enough to work independently in a short time. But while he lacked experience and a deep background, he was clever and understood that cooperation was the key to making big money.

While his master’s generation of gatherers knew how to find herbs, they were honest folk who didn’t know the first thing about sales and often undersold their valuable wild harvest. Seizing this opening, Quan Bowei convinced his master and the other gatherers under him to hand over the sales rights for their collected herbs. He then approached Qianhong Pharmaceuticals to discuss a partnership. Everything had been going smoothly, but now, a dishonest person had wormed his way into the deal.

”We had already agreed on everything, but that bastard suddenly changed his tune and is trying to push the price down. He knows my time here is limited and I don’t have enough time to contact anyone else,” Quan Bowei said indignantly, a look of helplessness on his face.

This was the first time he was in charge of selling the precious wild herbs his master and the other gatherers had so painstakingly collected. If he messed this up, how could he ever have the face to ask for such an opportunity again? The money-making path he had finally managed to carve out would vanish into thin air, a thought he couldn’t bear.

”So that’s what happened. That’s easy. Coincidentally, I also need a large quantity of precious wild herbs. Why don’t you just sell them directly to me? Don’t worry about the price, but Bowei, can you guarantee they’re all high-quality? Common wild herbs are of little use to me,” Chen Fei said unexpectedly after hearing his old classmate’s story.

He wasn’t short on money right now; what he lacked were various precious or obscure wild herbs. Some could be used to prescribe medicine for patients, while others could be used to brew medicinal concoctions to enhance his own strength. In any case, the more, the merrier. So, when he heard his old classmate had a supply of them, he decided to buy them without a second thought. He wasn’t expecting every herb to be what he needed, but as long as there were one or two valuable items, that would be enough. Every little bit adds up.

”Sell them to you? Chen Fei, are you joking? That batch of medicinal materials won’t be cheap. It would cost at least this much.” Hearing Chen Fei’s offer, Quan Bowei was stunned for a long moment before slowly coming to his senses and holding up one finger.

”Ten million?” Chen Fei asked doubtfully.

”What ten million? It’s one million! When did you get so bold, just throwing numbers around like that?” Quan Bowei said, rolling his eyes. If his goods were really worth ten million, he wouldn’t need to beg everyone to buy them; people would be breaking down his door. Besides, they were just medicinal herbs. How could they possibly be worth that much?

”One million? I’ll go with you to look at the goods later. If there are no issues, one million it is,” Chen Fei said without even blinking, as if he were discussing a ”big deal” worth a few hundred yuan. To be fair, in his eyes, one million really wasn’t much different from a few hundred.

”...Really? For real? Then it’s a deal. When you have time later, I’ll take you to see the goods. You can rest assured about the quality; they’re definitely rare items that are hard to find on the market,” Quan Bowei said excitedly, snapping out of a long stupor.

If he could successfully sell the herbs he brought and secure a stable sales channel, this path would be wide open for him. The corresponding returns would be astonishing. But he truly hadn’t expected his high school classmate, whom he hadn’t seen in years, to be so casual about a one-million transaction, mentioning it without even blinking. It was simply too incredible for him to believe.

”Brother Fei, I have to take a call. I think my classmate’s brother is here,” Dong Jianhui said suddenly before stepping away.

A moment later, he returned, leading a young man with an impressive and dignified bearing through the entrance of the reception building. The man wore gold-rimmed glasses, and upon seeing him, Chen Fei was slightly taken aback.

”Brother Ning?”

The man was none other than Ning Shucheng of the Ning Family of Ning’an Prefecture, whom Chen Fei had briefly met on the plane.

”Brother Chen?”

Seeing Chen Fei, Ning Shucheng was also surprised, not expecting to run into an acquaintance.

”Brother Ning, Brother Fei, so you two know each other?” Dong Jianhui was a little surprised by this, yet it also somehow felt expected. Since they were acquaintances, things should be much easier to handle.

”We do, but Brother Ning, aren’t you a doctor at Hundred Herbs Hall? How...” Chen Fei nodded, but still looked a bit confused.

”Hundred Herbs Hall is my grandfather’s hobby and side business. I’m on the roster there, since I’m often free and have an interest in traditional Chinese medicine. In fact, Qianhong Pharmaceuticals is our Ning Family’s real enterprise. And this friend is?” Ning Shucheng explained with a smile, his gaze shifting to Quan Bowei.

”This is my high school classmate, Quan Bowei. Bowei, this is Ning Shucheng, Brother Ning,” Chen Fei introduced.

”So, it’s Young Master Ning! Hello, it’s an honor to meet you,” Quan Bowei said, suddenly excited and a bit nervous as he extended a hand to shake.

Because of his profession, he was well aware of who Ning Shucheng, the young master of Qianhong Pharmaceuticals, was. He had never imagined that Chen Fei would know such a person; it was completely beyond his expectations.

”Not at all. You’re too polite.”

Ning Shucheng smiled and shook Quan Bowei’s hand. Then, he glanced at everyone present and said, ”Gentlemen, why don’t we go up to the office to talk? Brother Chen, I heard from Jianhui that you want to discuss business with Qianhong Pharmaceuticals?”