"What did you just say?" Out of nowhere, this short, fat guy started barking in front of me—Ryan was instantly pissed.
"Ryan, chill out! We're all on the same side here—no need for any drama!" Seeing the situation, Samuel Su hurried over. Clearly, this short, fat guy wasn't ordinary; even Samuel didn't dare treat him casually.
Since Samuel had already stepped in, Ryan figured it wasn't the time to blow up. Plus, he'd just heard people mention Old Master Hong—even though he'd never heard of the guy, it was obvious this mysterious old man had serious clout in everyone's eyes.
"Oh, Samuel, you're here too? So who's this kid to you? He's got quite the attitude—dared to talk back to me, huh!" The short, fat guy snorted, clearly not taking Ryan seriously at all.
Samuel was obviously worried Ryan might snap, so he quickly jumped in: "Butler Liu, I'm really sorry—he's Sophie's boyfriend, my future grandson-in-law. He's got a bit of a temper, please don't take it to heart. By the way, is Old Master Hong back yet?"
Samuel tried to smooth things over, but the short, fat guy just snorted: "I came back early to make arrangements. The old man will be here next week—it's almost time for the seven-city martial arts tournament, and he doesn't want to leave anything to chance, so he's getting a jump on things!"
"With Old Master Hong leading this year, Harbor City is bound to crush it!" Samuel quickly nodded, his expression full of respect.
"Results depend on luck, too. Anyway, enough talk—I'm taking Young Master Drake with me now. You, future grandson-in-law, aren't planning to stop me, are you?" The short, fat guy snorted again, and before Samuel could say anything, he started to walk off.
Ryan clenched his teeth and balled his fists, but Samuel quickly stepped in, skillfully blocking Ryan behind him and saying, "Wouldn't dare—please, go ahead!"
Only when the short, fat guy had left with Drake Long and his crew did Samuel finally let out a breath.
Sophie couldn't help but blurt out, "Grandpa, what's up with that shorty? Do we really have to give him so much face? Sure, the Hong family is powerful, but why does a steward get to act like such a big shot?"
"Enough, drop it. Old Master Hong is a huge deal—his reputation in Harbor City is off the charts. And the Hong clan is recognized as the city's top family, so everyone has to give them face. Plus, he's got deep ties with big shots in the provincial capital. If we can avoid offending them, we absolutely should." Samuel finished, glancing at Ryan—clearly, this was a warning for him.
Ryan just nodded slightly. It wasn't like he was scared of Old Master Hong; he was just holding back for Samuel's sake.
Sophie still looked annoyed, muttering a couple more complaints under her breath.
Sure, it hadn't been a pleasant scene, but at least Harbor City's ten-thousand-mu medicinal base was saved. That protected the city's key cash crops, secured the herb farmers' livelihoods, and helped the Su Group survive the crisis. If those herbs had been lost, their main business would've shut down—since a lot of their pills can only be made with ingredients from this mountain.
Now, everyone could finally breathe easy.
......
That night, after spending more than half a month on the mountain, Samuel Su finally came down, showered, changed clothes, and got his old energy back—looking every bit the Su family patriarch again.
Since everyone was in a good mood, the grandpa and grandkids had a few drinks. Samuel sighed, "The medicinal-herb business is tough. We have to look out for the herb farmers, but also make sure our customers get safe, effective medicine. If the pills ever lose their potency, or don't meet the standard, our reputation's toast. Honestly, I don't worry about most company stuff—Sophie handles it great—but this part always keeps me up at night!"
"Don't worry, Grandpa! I'll work even harder and really dig into the medicine business!" Sophie promised, seeing Samuel's frustration.
"Sophie, you've already worked so hard—Grandpa knows that. But the medicine business is just insanely complicated. Without decades of grinding experience, you can't really make it work. Grandpa's getting old, and who knows how long I can keep helping you. Plus, inside the company... well, let's just take it one step at a time." Samuel said, then took a gloomy swig of his drink.
Ryan noticed Samuel was holding something back and quickly pressed, "Old man, what's going on inside? What happened?"
"Sigh, a bunch of our old-timers who've been here for over a decade just got poached. Sure, we've sorted out the raw materials, but whether we can keep making top-quality pills is anyone's guess. Honestly, it's my fault for being useless—nowadays, everything's about money. They offered higher pay, we couldn't match it, so of course people left. Times have changed—who cares about loyalty anymore?" Samuel took another gloomy drink, clearly needing to vent all his frustrations tonight.
"Wait, if they're poaching with money, we can poach right back! Don't worry, I'll figure out the cash—since meeting Harvey 'Million' Jin in Peachvale, borrowing money for a turnaround is no big deal."
"If it was just about money, that'd be easy. The real problem is, we can't afford to mess with the place that's poaching our people!" Samuel sighed, finally getting to the point.
"Where? Who is it?" Ryan and Sophie both asked at the same time.
"The Azure Dragon Society Pill Hall—they've been aggressively scooping up pill-refining talent. Once someone gets recruited by them, nobody dares try to poach them back. And it's not just us; a bunch of other herb companies are dealing with the same problem, but nobody dares speak up!" Samuel shook his head, then leaned in closer to the two of them. "And that Butler Liu who showed up today? He's backed by Old Master Hong, who's directly tied to the Azure Dragon Society. That's why he's so cocky—he's basically their Pill Hall agent. So with the Pill Hall and the Hong family teamed up, how could we possibly fight back?"
"So that's how it is!" Ryan nodded. With Old Master Hong having such deep ties to the medicine business, no wonder Samuel was so polite to that steward.
"Now that Old Master Hong's back, things are only going to get tougher for us. It's like we're trying to survive between his teeth. With his money, his connections, and a steady supply of top-tier pills from the Azure Dragon Society Pill Hall, he could squeeze us out of the market any time!" Samuel really hit the nail on the head.
Sophie frowned, lost in thought. She knew the most important thing now was to have great pill products. If they kept doing things the old way, their medicinal-herb business would just keep getting squeezed tighter and tighter.
Ryan let out a quiet sigh. He knew even less about the herb business than anyone, but he had a strong feeling Old Master Hong coming back now was going to mean big trouble for him.
......
Late at night, Samuel went to rest. Sophie couldn't sleep at all, thinking about the mess at the Su Group's medicinal division, so she headed straight to the family's pill-processing factory.
Ryan didn't go with her—after all, it was Su family business, and as an outsider (and her boyfriend), he didn't want to butt in. Plus, Sophie didn't want him dragged into it either.
With nothing else to do that night, Ryan watched some TV, planning to turn in early. Suddenly, he heard a notification from the System's Special Item Store: "Dear VIPs, our Special Item Store's Personal Area has just opened its very first personal shop! Welcome to check it out and shop—today is grand opening day, everything is half price, plus buy-one-get-one-free! Absolute bargain!"
Ryan was stunned. He'd registered his own personal shop last time, but he'd been so busy lately he hadn't thought about selling anything. But now, with someone else opening up, and everything half price and buy-one-get-one-free, he definitely had to check it out.
Ryan didn't hesitate and entered the Special Item Store right away. Sure enough, there was a new shop in the Personal Area, and tons of powerful presences were milling around outside—clearly, lots of customers had come to support the opening. But seeing the long line, Ryan almost lost his nerve.
Then, the shop's sign suddenly caught Ryan's eye.
"Divine Physician Hua Tuo Specialty Micro-Store!"
Ryan froze. Below the shop sign stood a middle-aged man in ancient robes, looking every bit the legendary healer—smiling as he welcomed customers from all directions.
Ryan nearly spat out his drink. Instantly, an absolutely brilliant idea for saving the Su Group popped into his head...