When Xu Rubao returned home, she saw everyone looking gloomy and dejected. She looked around but didn't see her grandfather.

"Where's Grandpa? Did something happen to him? What happened?"

Xia Lanying gave her a cold look, then glared at Chen Lizhen with a look of disgust. "Why did you call this jinx back? Can she be of any help?"

Xu Rubao walked up to Chen Lizhen and asked, "Aunt Zhen, what happened?"

At this moment, Xu Chenghai, with a heavy expression, sighed, "It's all my fault. I was greedy for a little bit of profit. I thought the medicinal herbs I bought were all about the same, and I even checked the goods, so there were no problems. Who knew that the goods that were delivered all had problems, and the person who delivered them ran away. Now we have no goods to deliver to the supplier, and we have to pay liquidated damages. What's worse, the Lu family is suing us for using counterfeit goods."

Xu Rubao was taken aback. The herbal medicine shop had been in business for so long and had never had a problem with counterfeit goods.

If this matter is not handled properly, the reputation of the herbal medicine shop will be ruined, and who will patronize it in the future?

After a while, Xu Jinnan returned.

Xu Chenghai walked over nervously, "Dad, what's the situation with the Lu family? Have they agreed to settle things privately?"

“You scoundrel, you’re even worse than your good-for-nothing son. I’ve told you so many times that in the medicinal herb business, you have to be honest and genuine. It’s a matter of life and death. Don’t be greedy for small gains.”

Xia Lanying looked at his expression and knew that if even his intervention was ineffective, then this matter was not going to be resolved easily.

She slumped onto the sofa. "What are we going to do? The supplier's breach of contract penalties are so high, it's practically going to bankrupt the entire Xu family. And what about the Lu family? If they sue, will... will they send Chenghai to jail?"

Xu Rubao looked at her grandfather, who suddenly seemed to have aged a lot, and felt sad.

She knew that her grandfather was an upright man throughout his life, and the herbal medicine business was the culmination of his hard work. If word got out that he was selling fake medicine, his lifelong reputation would be ruined.

"Uncle Hai, what kind of medicinal herbs are causing the problem? Can we negotiate with the supplier to see if we can re-purchase them from somewhere else?"

Xu Chenghai frowned deeply. "This time the order is in large quantities. The blood scorpions supplied to the Lu family are supposedly fake. There's also a batch of Ganoderma lucidum and Cordyceps sinensis that have been soaked in water and lost their medicinal effects."

Xu Rubao gasped. No wonder Uncle Hai looked so distressed; the blood scorpion and the lingzhi mushroom were both valuable medicinal herbs.

For a moment, no one knew what to do.

After a while, Xu Jinnan had an idea.

"Alright, what's done is done, there's no use in arguing. Chenghai, go talk to the suppliers and explain that all the expired herbs will be returned, the delivery will be delayed, and promise them a 5% refund on all the herbs. Also, reorder a new batch, and make sure all the goods are thoroughly inspected. Ziyang, you go with your dad and keep a close eye on those goods."

Xu Ziyang didn't dare to focus solely on his relationship with Jiang Siqi at this moment. He nodded and said, "Grandpa, I understand."

"Old man, if we buy it again, won't we lose a lot of money?"

Xia Lanying felt very distressed, as these medicinal herbs were not cheap.

"Losing money is a minor issue; if you lose your reputation in the medicinal herb business, how can you continue operating?"

Xu Chenghai dared not say more. This time, he was careless and greedy for small gains. Now he couldn't even find the person who delivered the goods; they had all run away.

"Dad, what about the Lu family? What if they insist on suing us for using counterfeit medicine?"

Xu Chenghai couldn't believe that their small herbal medicine shop was like an ant before an elephant in front of the Lu Group.

With a single flick of their finger, they might just turn their lives around forever.

Back then, it took the old man a lot of effort to secure the deal with the Lu family.