Chapter 1 The Train Station

The train arrived, and Chen Xiao and the others walked out of the station exit, one after another.

Sun Buzhou personally came to welcome Chen Xiao and his group, accompanied by a round-faced fatty.

The fatty was decked out in luxury brands from head to toe, and although he tried to appear low-key and restrained, it was obvious that it was an act.

When he saw Chen Xiao and the others, a strange look appeared in his eyes.

*These* are the distinguished guests that Old Sun mentioned? They look so ordinary!

He had assumed that the guests Old Sun spoke of would be young masters from influential families, the rich and powerful.

After introductions, the round-faced fatty learned that Chen Xiao was just an ordinary doctor, and a look of disdain flashed in his eyes.

And when he found out that Li Mu was just a hotel waiter, and the other two were even unemployed, his contempt became even more undisguised.

Although Li Qin had some looks, in his opinion, she had too much of a rustic air about her.

Afterwards, Sun Buzhou introduced the fatty to everyone.

"This is Huang Wenlei, the grandson of my old friend. He specially drove over to pick you up. It’s late today, so stay at my old friend's house for a day. We'll set off tomorrow."

Sun Buzhou didn't specifically introduce Huang Wenlei's family background, but anyone who could associate with a renowned doctor like Sun Buzhou was bound to be extraordinary.

In fact, the Huang family was a top-tier family in Jiaonan, and Huang Wenlei was a genuine young master from a wealthy family.

Although he acted fairly low-key, his superior air was revealed unintentionally, which Chen Xiao found very unpleasant.

"There’s no need, Old Sun. There are many of us, so we won't trouble you. Besides, we've already booked a hotel."

Hearing Chen Xiao's words, Huang Wenlei said nothing, but a look of disdain appeared on his face.

If they didn't want to go, then they didn't have to. Commoners of such ordinary status weren't qualified to be guests of the Huang family in the first place, if it wasn't for Sun Buzhou.

Seeing Huang Wenlei's attitude, Sun Buzhou felt a bit embarrassed.

He said, "Well, then I'll stay at the hotel with you. Huang Wenlei, you're dismissed. Go home."

Because he was secretly blaming Huang Wenlei for neglecting his guests, Sun Buzhou's tone was very stiff.

Huang Wenlei dared to look down on Chen Xiao and the others, but he absolutely didn't dare to offend Sun Buzhou.

As soon as he heard Sun Buzhou's words, he immediately realized that Old Sun was angry, and he quickly tried to salvage the situation.

"Grandpa Sun, that won't do. Grandpa Sun's distinguished guests are our Huang family's distinguished guests. With such distinguished guests gracing us with their presence, how can they stay in a hotel? If this gets to my grandfather's ears, he'll scold me to death."

Huang Wenlei said with a bitter face.

Sun Buzhou snorted. This kid was judging people by appearance and needed to be taught a lesson.

Chen Xiao didn't want to waste time on such matters at all, so he interrupted, "Old Sun, it's just one night anyway, it's all the same wherever we stay. We have something more important to do right now. I need a few medicinal herbs. Do you know where I can buy them in the city?"

As soon as Sun Buzhou heard this, he smiled, "Chen Xiao, just name the herbs you need. My old friend's family is in the medicinal herb business. If you can name it, he'll have it!"

Hearing that the other party wanted to buy medicinal herbs, Huang Wenlei couldn't help but feel proud, and he confidently took on the task, "I'll take you to our family's pharmacy right now. You can pick whatever you want when we get there!"

Chen Xiao nodded, "Very well."

The group got into the van that Huang Wenlei had driven, and sped towards the pharmacy.

Tong Ren Xuan is the most famous chain of traditional Chinese medicine pharmacies in Jiaonan and even the entire Jiaozhou Island. The pharmacy has hundreds or even thousands of branches, all owned by the Huang family.

Not to mention the value of the pharmacies, the value of those properties alone added up to several hundred million.

And this one in the center of Jiaonan City is Tong Ren Xuan's main store.

The building is in an antique style, with green tiles and overhanging eaves, covering an area of over ten thousand square meters, with a total of three floors.

From a distance, it looks like a behemoth.

As soon as they got out of the car, everyone smelled a strong fragrance of Chinese medicine.

"Mr. Chen, do you know what kind of medicine you want to buy? I'll have someone get it for you!"

Huang Wenlei's words were still polite, but his tone carried an undisguised arrogance.

"I want Coptis chinensis (Huang Lian), talc, licorice, cinnabar, mint, and rhinoceros horn. The more, the better, and the older the better."

Yang Zhen said casually.

What he wanted wasn't the medicinal properties, but the spiritual energy contained in the old herbs.

But Huang Wenlei's face showed disdain when he heard this.

He thought to himself, *so he's a doctor, but he's so shallow*.

Traditional Chinese medicine isn't like what's described in movies and novels, with hundred-year-old wild ginseng, thousand-year-old *he shou wu* or ten-thousand-year-old snow lotus...

Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the combination of ingredients, and to go deeper, there are even chemical reactions between them. It's not true that the older the herb, the better the medicinal properties.

However, he was too lazy to lecture Chen Xiao. After all, embarrassing Chen Xiao would be like embarrassing Old Zhou, and he still had to respect Old Zhou.

Besides, Old Zhou, a master of traditional Chinese medicine, hadn't said anything, so what qualifications did he have to speak?

Huang Wenlei remembered the names of the herbs and ordered the clerk to prepare the medicine.

But a few minutes later, the clerk came back and said with an embarrassed expression, "I'm sorry, Mr. Huang, the pharmacy is sold out of the medicines you requested!"

"What? How could it be so coincidental that they're all sold out? Are you kidding me?"

Huang Wenlei couldn't help but ask with a gloomy expression.

The clerk was so frightened that his face turned pale, "Mr. Huang, how dare I joke with you? They're really all sold out. There's nothing left in the warehouse. Otherwise, I'll check other branches for you?"

Huang Wenlei had just been confidently bragging about having everything, but he was immediately slapped in the face, and he was very unhappy.

He waved his hand and scolded, "Call the manager here. I want to ask what's going on?"

"Yes, Mr. Huang, I'll go get the manager right away."

The clerk ran upstairs to find the manager.

Huang Wenlei said with an embarrassed expression, "I'm sorry, I don't know why this happened. These herbs aren't rare, and the inventory is usually sufficient. It shouldn't be sold out."

He didn't say this to Chen Xiao, but to Sun Buzhou, because he was worried that Sun Buzhou would misunderstand that he was deliberately obstructing them.

Before long, the manager hurried over. As soon as he heard that Huang Wenlei was here, he quickly put down all his work.

"Mr. Huang, why didn't you tell me you were coming in advance so I could come out to greet you!"

The manager said with a flattering expression.

Huang Wenlei said unhappily, "Alright, enough nonsense. Let me ask you, the clerk said that the herbs I just asked for are all sold out. What's going on?"

The manager looked at the clerk, understood after asking a few questions, and explained, "Mr. Huang, the clerk didn't lie to you. Those herbs are indeed all sold out. Just two hours ago, some guests came and bought all of those herbs!"