Wang Fei was the young master of the Wang family, one of the eight major families in Le City. Because he was younger than Gou Tuizhi and the two had a close relationship, he mostly followed Gou Tuizhi's lead.
The reason he mocked Han Lang so much was that in the circle of rich second-generation heirs, Han Lang was known as an uncultured lecher.
Furthermore, after the conflict with Gou Tuizhi was widely publicized, he became a laughingstock of the entire circle.
"Young Master Wang, please mind your words!"
Han Lang was a little displeased, but Wang Fei didn't take it seriously. Instead, he feigned shock.
"Oh, oh, after a few days, your cultural foundation has improved! You're talking about 'words,' did your junior high physical education teacher teach you that? No wonder you dare to come to Zhongcaotang. Hey, I say, do you even recognize the names of these medicinal ingredients?"
Wang Fei's mouth was unrestrained, and he spoke like a machine gun, chattering non-stop. However, his certainty that Han Lang was uncultured gave Han Lang an idea. His expression changed, and he said with a grin.
"Heh heh... Coincidentally! I'm not good at composing poems, but I do know how many medicinal ingredients there are in total, how many are top-grade, how many are mid-grade, how many are low-grade, and the efficacy of each ingredient. Our physical education teacher really taught us that!"
"Pfft!"
Wang Fei immediately sneered upon hearing this.
"You're really getting ahead of yourself. Don't talk about grading; if you can name every medicinal ingredient, I'll be impressed today!"
Seeing that Wang Fei had taken the bait, Han Lang quickly added fuel to the fire.
"Just being impressed isn't enough, is it? You, the great Young Master Wang, stopping at mere words will inevitably invite ridicule!"
"Then what do you suggest?"
Wang Fei was completely oblivious.
"It's simple. Let's make a bet. If I lose, I'll pay for everything here today; if you lose, you pay, how about it?"
"Betting is..."
Halfway through his sentence, Wang Fei suddenly became vigilant.
Zhongcaotang was so large that paying for everything would be a huge expense even for him. Moreover, seeing Han Lang's calm demeanor, he wasn't sure if the other party actually knew.
"Could it be that their physical education teacher also moonlights as a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner?"
Just as he was hesitating and wondering, Luo Jiaying walked back slowly, her hands behind her back.
"Brother Han Lang, what are you doing?"
Seeing Luo Jiaying, Wang Fei became visibly more excited, even meticulously tidying his hair.
She was the recognized campus belle of Le Lan University, and also a talented student in the arts department.
However, his small actions did not escape Han Lang's notice.
"Oh! Nothing! Young Master Wang here wanted to make a bet with me, whoever loses pays for everything here today. But he seems to be backing out."
Wang Fei's face, which had been smiling, instantly changed when he heard Han Lang say he was backing out.
"What are you talking about! Who's backing out! In front of Miss Luo, the campus belle of Le Lan University, how could I back out? I was just thinking about the rules. You set the bet, but the rules should be set by me to be fair!"
Wang Fei didn't want to lose face in front of Luo Jiaying, but he wasn't a fool either. He naturally saw through Han Lang's clumsy provocation, so he turned it around and took the right to set the rules into his own hands.
"Tell me then!"
"It's simple! We'll ask the boss to be the referee. The time limit is thirty minutes. If you can accurately name the quantity, name, and efficacy of all the medicinal ingredients in this entire cabinet within thirty minutes, you win. Otherwise, I win!"
Everyone had seen the medicine cabinets in Chinese medicine shops, with drawers covering an entire wall for storing medicinal ingredients.
Zhongcaotang's medicine cabinets were even larger, with at least a hundred drawers. Even a true TCM expert might not be able to detail them all within half an hour.
Moreover, in Wang Fei's eyes, Han Lang was just a ruffian with a high school diploma.
Therefore, Wang Fei was very willing to let him try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice.
"This..."
Han Lang also pretended to be in a difficult situation, clearly this was a piece of cake for a Divine Farmer Heavenly Doctor.
"Hey, are you trying to back out?"
Wang Fei used his own tactics against him.
"How can that be! In front of Miss Luo, the campus belle of Le Lan University, Young Master Wang won't back out, so would I, Han, back out? Let's bet!"
Han Lang deliberately acted as if he had fallen for the provocation, making Wang Fei inwardly delighted.
"Just you wait, I'll make you bleed!"
While Wang Fei was feeling smug, Han Lang had already begun...
"This cabinet contains 183 kinds of medicinal ingredients, of which 32 are top-grade, 126 are mid-grade, and 25 are low-grade. The first drawer in the upper left corner is Shen Jin Cao, a mid-grade medicinal ingredient, with the efficacy of dispelling wind and unblocking collaterals, and a slight effect of tonifying qi..."
Han Lang began to speak, and his words flowed like a torrent.
In an instant, the three of them had different expressions.
Luo Jiaying was filled with admiration; the boss was shocked; and Wang Fei was utterly bewildered!
Because he couldn't understand at all, nor could he comprehend how Han Lang could so eloquently introduce these medicinal ingredients in such detail.
After nearly half an hour, Han Lang finally finished introducing all the medicinal ingredients.
"183 kinds, 32 top-grade, 126 mid-grade, 25 low-grade, completely correct!"
Luo Jiaying was extremely excited.
"Your word doesn't count, only the boss's! Boss, tell me, is there even a tiny mistake in what he said!"
Wang Fei looked at the boss with eager anticipation. If the boss said Han Lang made even a slight mistake, he would win this bet.
But...
"This cabinet does indeed only have this many medicinal ingredients, as evidenced by the inventory list. Moreover, the efficacy described by Young Master Han is not only completely correct but also extremely detailed, with no flaws whatsoever!"
Wang Fei was instantly dumbfounded.
The daily turnover of the large Zhongcaotang was at least millions, which was undoubtedly a huge expense for him.
"Hey, Wang Fei! You're not going to go back on your word, are you? You found the referee, you set the rules, and going back on your word will make you a laughingstock!"
Being spoken to by a beauty like Luo Jiaying, Wang Fei naturally couldn't afford to lose face.
"Who said I'm going back on my word? A bet is a bet! Boss, put all the expenses for today on my tab!"
"Alright!"
The boss readily agreed.
But how could Han Lang let him off so easily? He immediately jumped onto a counter and shouted to the entire place.
"Good news! Good news! Everyone, feel free to shop as much as you like today, as all expenses for today will be paid by Young Master Wang!"
Instantly, screams erupted throughout the place, and Wang Fei's entire face turned black.
With Han Lang's announcement, everyone would surely go crazy and buy everything, and it would be impossible to empty Zhongcaotang, which would definitely not be a matter of a few million!
As he was thinking this, Zhongcaotang indeed began to descend into chaos.
Some people were still polite, only taking a few boxes of finely packaged tonics; but others had already started stuffing medicinal ingredients into their arms; even more so, some people didn't even look at the names of the medicinal ingredients, directly pulling them out of the drawers and dumping them into their shopping carts.
Seeing such a scene, Han Lang was startled. He quickly jumped down from the counter and pointed to more than a dozen medicinal ingredients, saying to the boss.
"Give me half a pound of each of these! Quickly, before they're all gone."
Facing this great patron, the boss was not hesitant and quickly packed all the medicinal ingredients Han Lang needed and handed them to him.
By the time of checkout, a long line had formed.
With dozens of people in line, each person had grabbed nearly a million worth of medicinal ingredients. With each checkout, Wang Fei's face grew darker, and by the time everyone had emptied Zhongcaotang, it cost him a full sixty million!
"Thank you, Young Master Wang, for your generosity. You are truly a good person!"
Before leaving, Han Lang, sitting in his Porsche, couldn't resist praising Wang Fei. Wang Fei looked at Han Lang as if he wanted to pounce on him and bite him to death.
"Haha..."
Han Lang laughed heartily, and with a happy expression, he took Luo Jiaying home. As soon as they entered, Luo Jiaying curiously asked.
"Brother Han Lang, what are you going to do with so many medicinal ingredients?"
Han Lang had bought more than a dozen kinds of medicinal ingredients, half a pound of each, which was nearly ten pounds. Such a large amount of tonics, even a cow at home couldn't handle such a method of replenishment, so it was no wonder Luo Jiaying was curious.
"Alchemy!"
"Alchemy?"
"Yes, I want to transform my body. Are you interested too? Shall I show you?"
"Oh, okay."
Luo Jiaying was probably a typical naive and sweet girl.
If it were someone else, they wouldn't believe such a thing, but she didn't have any doubts, staring at Han Lang's actions with a dazed and cute expression.
Han Lang arranged all the medicinal ingredients neatly, then sat down cross-legged.
Holding his breath and concentrating, he slowly picked up a medicinal ingredient and placed it in his palm, staring at it intently.
Then...
He gathered his energy to condense the dan fire!
Con... dense... dan... fire...
Han Lang's movements suddenly froze.
He forgot.
He wasn't the Saint Hand Medical Venerable from the Li Chuan Continent; where would he get the spiritual energy to condense dan fire! But Luo Jiaying was clueless and still waited expectantly for Han Lang's next move.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward.
After a long while, Han Lang finally spoke with embarrassment.
"Sorry, I forgot I don't have fire!"
"Oh, right! Alchemy requires fire! Here, take this!"
Luo Jiaying took out a lighter from somewhere and handed it to Han Lang.
Han Lang was speechless.
If it weren't for her earnest expression, he would have definitely thought Luo Jiaying was mocking him.
"This won't work, the fire is too small!"
"Oh, right. Come with me, I know where there's a big fire!"
Without further ado, she started packing things up and pulled the innocent-looking Han Lang to the kitchen. She didn't know how she knew the exact location of Han Lang's kitchen.
With a 'click',
The natural gas was turned on, and then a cast-iron pot was roughly placed on it.
"Here! Fire! Pot! This should be enough, right?"
Looking at the blue flames leaping from the stove, Han Lang's heart rejoiced, and he excitedly picked up Luo Jiaying and spun her around several times.
"Yes, why didn't I think of that? Thank you, Xiao Ying! However, using this fire for alchemy might be a bit dangerous, so you should wait outside!"
Han Lang's sudden embrace made Luo Jiaying a little stunned. Her cheeks were flushed, and she walked out of the kitchen blankly.
Looking at the figure gesticulating wildly in the kitchen through the frosted glass of the door, listening to the symphony of various pots and pans, and recalling the little bits and pieces of her childhood, Luo Jiaying suddenly felt her heart beating rapidly.
"Bang!"
Just as she was lost in thought, an explosion from the kitchen startled her.
She anxiously wanted to rush in to check the situation, but saw Han Lang with a blackened face and his hair standing on end, as if struck by lightning, walking out dazedly. At the same time, a thick smoke with a burnt smell wafted out.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Han Lang coughed, spitting out a few smoke rings from his mouth. Seeing Luo Jiaying's anxious eyes, he gave an awkward smile, baring his teeth, which appeared exceptionally white against his blackened face.
"Heh heh! It failed!"