Ding Kaifang had verbally agreed to send soone to inspect the goods.
But he never took any action.
anwhile, the price of ginger was dropping day by day.
It had already fallen from the initial 9.8 yuan to 6 yuan.
And it was still dropping sharply.
Dong Haitao finally couldn’t hold out any longer.
He personally went to Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory to visit Ding Kaifang.
...
A soft knock ca at Ding Kaifang’s office door. His secretary peeked in. "President Ding, President Dong from Chuanlong is here. He says it’s urgent."
Ding Kaifang raised an eyebrow and put down the financial report in his hands. "Let him in."
When Dong Haitao walked in, his usual arrogance was long gone.
His suit was neat, but the dark circles under his eyes made it clear he hadn’t been sleeping well these past few days.
"President Ding, long ti no see." Dong Haitao forced a smile and proactively extended his hand.
Ding Kaifang gave it a polite shake and gestured for him to sit. "President Dong, what brings you here?"
Dong Haitao wrung his hands. "President Ding, about that batch of small yellow ginger..."
"Oh?" Ding Kaifang feigned surprise. "Didn’t Manager Liu say you signed a contract with the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese dicine?"
Dong Haitao’s face stiffened, and beads of sweat ford on his forehead. "You’re joking, President Ding... The market isn’t doing well right now, so we were thinking we should prioritize old friends..."
Ding Kaifang took a slow sip of tea. "President Dong, to be honest, we’ve recently adjusted our production schedule. Our need for ginger isn’t as urgent anymore."
"The price is negotiable!" Dong Haitao said hurriedly. "We can do... thirty percent off the market price! No, forty percent!"
Ding Kaifang shook his head. "The price of ginger is changing every day. What if I buy it now and it drops again tomorrow?"
He put on a troubled expression. "How about... we wait a little longer?"
The color drained from Dong Haitao’s face, turning from red to white, then to a sickly pale green.
He opened his mouth as if to say sothing, but in the end, he just stood up dejectedly. "Well... please give it so more thought, President Ding. I’ll be waiting for your call."
Watching Dong Haitao’s crestfallen figure leave, Ding Kaifang gently shook his head.
’Business is like a battlefield,’ he thought. ’If he hadn’t been so greedy in the first place, I wouldn’t be this ruthless.’
Just as Dong Haitao left, Ding Kaifang’s phone rang.
The caller ID read: Cao Jianzhu.
"Old Cao?" Ding Kaifang answered the phone, his tone much more relaxed.
"Old Ding..." On the other end of the line, Cao Jianzhu’s voice was laced with exhaustion. "This ti... I really can’t hold on any longer, brother."
Ding Kaifang sighed inwardly. He already guessed what it was about but still asked, "What’s wrong?"
"All of Jun Tun Town is in chaos," Cao Jianzhu said with a bitter laugh. "Every household that was hoarding ginger is trying to sell it off. The price has already dropped to just over five yuan, and there are still no buyers."
Ding Kaifang walked to the window, his brow furrowed.
He could picture the scene in Jun Tun Town right now—a long line of trucks loaded with ginger, farrs squatting by the roadside, their eyes anxiously searching for buyers.
"Old Ding, I know I did you wrong when you ca to buy ginger a few days ago..." Cao Jianzhu’s voice was pleading. "But can you... help a brother out? As long as you’re buying, we can talk about the price..."
Ding Kaifang was caught in a dilemma.
On one hand, Cao Jianzhu was a friend of many years.
On the other hand, Chuanlong’s batch of Yunnan small yellow ginger was better in quality and more cost-effective.
"Old Cao..." He finally sighed. "If it were a few days ago, I would’ve helped you without a second thought. But now..."
He told him the truth about Chuanlong Pharmaceutical’s situation. "...Their Yunnan small yellow ginger is indeed better quality, and their price is definitely no higher than yours. If I buy your ginger, I won’t be able to answer to Doctor Li."
Initially, Cao Jianzhu had wanted to help Ding Kaifang, but his ginger was a joint venture with a few partners, so he couldn’t sell it.
Now, Ding Kaifang wanted to help Cao Jianzhu, but the decision to purchase the ginger wasn’t his alone to make.
The other end of the line was silent for a long ti.
Finally, Cao Jianzhu said in a hoarse voice, "I understand... Business is business."
Hanging up the phone, Ding Kaifang felt a mix of emotions.
’When you’re out in the world, you can’t always do as you please.’
...
「Li’s Traditional Chinese dicine Clinic.」
Li Xu was seeing patients as usual.
Song Sisi, anwhile, was diligently trying to identify dicinal herbs—she could recognize the common ones now, but she still often mixed up so of the more obscure ones.
"Doctor Li."
Huang Jiaojiao had co for a follow-up appointnt.
This ti, she ca alone.
Compared to a few days ago, she was like a different person. Her complexion was much rosier, and she no longer walked with a weak and unsteady gait.
"Doctor Li!" she said excitedly as soon as she walked in. "It’s a miracle! My period is normal now, and I don’t have cramps anymore."
Li Xu smiled and had her sit down, taking her pulse again. "Your pulse is much stronger than last ti, and your tongue coating has beco more moist. It seems the dicine is working."
He adjusted the prescription, reducing so of the warming, replenishing herbs and adding more ingredients to nourish yin and calm the spirit. "Take five more doses, and after that, you can switch to dietary therapy for conditioning."
Huang Jiaojiao was endlessly grateful. "Doctor Li, you have no idea how much I’ve suffered these past six months... I kept taking more and more Western painkillers, but they were becoming less and less effective..."
Li Xu explained while writing out the prescription, "Western painkillers only treat the symptoms. Chinese dicine conditioning replenishes your deficient qi and blood from the root. Once your qi and blood are sufficient, your nstruation will naturally return to normal, and symptoms like dizziness and fatigue will also disappear."
He paused and said earnestly, "But the most important thing is to adjust your lifestyle. If you’re constantly staying up late and working overti, even the best dicine can’t replenish the qi and blood you’re consuming."
Huang Jiaojiao nodded seriously. "I understand. Thank you so much for this!"
That afternoon, back at the office, Wang Ruiying eagerly asked about Huang Jiaojiao’s follow-up appointnt.
"It’s simply divine!" Huang Jiaojiao’s eyes sparkled. "Doctor Li said that after a few more days of dicine, my periods will be normal from now on!"
Colleagues from all around gathered to ask about it.
Huang Jiaojiao vividly recounted her experience seeking treatnt, from mistakenly taking the unsuitable Four-Ingredient Soup to the miraculous effects of the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Soup.
"Is there really a TCM doctor that good?" Sister Liu from the next departnt asked curiously.
Wang Ruiying nodded proudly. "Doctor Li isn’t just highly skilled, he’s also incredibly patient. My son last ti..."
After the group’s heated discussion ended, Huang Jiaojiao took advantage of a lull in work to slack off and open a shopping website, browsing for more light and airy clothes.
"Is your project finished?" Wang Ruiying asked.
"Just finished it this morning. I can take it easy for a few days."
"Huh? I thought you didn’t wear revealing clothes like these?"
"That was before. Revealing clothes make it easy to ’catch the wind.’ Now that I’m healthy, with sufficient qi and blood, I’m not afraid of the cold or the wind, so of course I want to buy so pretty clothes." After saying this, Huang Jiaojiao changed the subject. "It’s just that there are a lot of mosquitoes in the sumr. If I wear shorts or skirts, I’ll get bitten."
"Don’t worry."
Wang Ruiying handed her a magazine. "Look, it’s the new issue of Urban Life magazine. It says you can use mugwort to make Mugwort Bags. They can repel mosquitoes and help you sleep."
"Hm?"
Huang Jiaojiao took the magazine and read it carefully. "Oh, the mugwort I bought during the Dragon Boat Festival has dried out. I can use it to make Mugwort Bags."
...
PS: Thank you to ’Foxbat in the Starry Sky’ for the 100-coin tip. Thank you to all my friends who subscribe and vote.
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