Chapter 58 His men, who dares to touch them!
The morning sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting dappled shadows on the mahogany floor.
Lu Zhanting's injuries are improving at an astonishing speed thanks to Su Wanqing's expensive medicinal herbs and spiritual spring water.
He is now able to get out of bed and do some simple rehabilitation exercises.
At this moment, he was sitting on the sofa, wiping a simply designed military dagger with a soft velvet cloth.
The dagger was entirely black, with only the blade reflecting a blinding, cold light.
Su Wanqing was grinding some new medicinal herbs at the table next to her, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance of herbs.
The two did not speak, yet a peaceful and tacit understanding flowed quietly in the space.
This tranquility was completely shattered by a series of hurried footsteps.
"Sister-in-law! Brother!"
Lu Yao and Uncle He rushed in almost at the same time, both with undisguised anxiety and anger on their faces.
"Something's happened!" Lu Yao's voice trembled with tears. "Huichuntang...Huichuntang has been shut down!"
Su Wanqing paused in grinding her ink.
She raised her head, her eyes calm.
Lu Zhanting stopped wiping the dagger.
He didn't turn around, but the warmth that had filled the living room vanished without a trace in an instant.
"Don't rush, tell me slowly, what happened?" Su Wanqing spoke, her voice calm as a shot of adrenaline, soothing Lu Yao's emotions.
“Early this morning, people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the Health Bureau rushed into the store.” Uncle He continued, his fists clenched and veins bulging on his arms.
"They came with a joint inspection order, saying that the ingredients of our products were unknown and that we were suspected of practicing medicine illegally. Without saying a word, they confiscated all our medicines!"
"They even took the two elderly gentlemen who were seeing patients with them!"
Lu Yao's eyes were red with anger: "When I went to argue with them, they just used documents to shut me up, saying that this was done according to regulations."
"Whenever I mention the Yan family and the Chen family, they say in a sarcastic tone, 'Even the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners; no one is allowed to be an exception!'"
This is clearly someone stabbing you in the back.
Moreover, they come from a powerful background and dare to disregard even the Yan and Chen families.
"That's not all." Uncle He took a crumpled newspaper out of his pocket and slapped it on the table.
"Look, in today's Beijing Evening News, several state-owned pharmaceutical factories jointly published an article attacking Huichuntang by name!"
"They say our practices are charlatans and feudal dregs, and they demand a thorough investigation by the authorities!"
Zhou Mingxuan's name was prominently listed in the newspaper.
Using his expertise in Western medicine, he cited numerous classical texts to criticize Huichuntang's medicines as utterly worthless.
Public opinion campaigning and official suppression were employed in tandem.
"What about the shop entrance?" Su Wanqing asked again.
“At the entrance…” Lu Yao’s face darkened even more. “Since yesterday, a group of thugs have been loitering around the area, making sarcastic remarks to the customers in line, spitting on them, and scaring away a lot of people.”
"The shop was sealed off today, and they became even more arrogant. They blocked the entrance and said that anyone who dared to come to Huichuntang again would have their legs broken."
A series of combined punches, each one deadly.
This is an attempt to completely destroy Huichuntang.
Lu Yao paced anxiously, "Sister-in-law, what are we going to do? The medicine has been banned, the doctor has been arrested, and our reputation is ruined. We can't do business anymore!"
Su Wanqing listened to the whole story with unusual calmness.
She picked up a glass of warm water from the table and handed it to Lu Yao: "Have some water first, don't panic."
The calmer she was, the more reassuring she became.
Lu Yao and Uncle He looked at her, and their anxiety gradually subsided.
Just then, a cold voice rang out behind them.
"It seems that some people have forgotten what pain is."
Lu Zhanting had stood up at some point.
He slowly sheathed the gleaming dagger, the movement small but producing a crisp "click" sound.
That sound was like a death warrant.
He turned around, his dark eyes devoid of any emotion, only a deathly stillness.
He looked at Su Wanqing.
Su Wanqing was also looking at him.
The two looked at each other without saying a word, yet exchanged all their information in an instant.
In Su Wanqing's eyes was a calm composure that indicated she was in control of the entire situation.
In Lu Zhanting's eyes, there was a storm about to engulf everything.
Combining civil and military efforts, launching attacks on two fronts.
Su Wanqing withdrew her gaze and said to Lu Yao, "Yao Yao, go and prepare a few gifts, the most exquisite ones. Uncle He, go and get those jars of medicinal wine that I just prepared a few days ago."
Lu Yao asked, puzzled, "Sister-in-law, what time is it? Why are you still sending gifts?"
“It’s at this time that we should give gifts.” Su Wanqing’s lips curled into a meaningful smile.
"There are some people we need to remind them that Huichuntang is not a place that just anyone can mess with."
She turned to Lu Zhanting and said, "I'll leave the things outside to you."
"Um."
Lu Zhanting only responded with one word before turning and walking towards the door.
His tall figure made the light in the entire room dim.
An hour later, a black sedan without license plates discreetly drove out of the Lu family compound and merged into the traffic flow in Beijing.
Su Wanqing drove herself, and the first stop was the Yan family.
Old Master Yan was practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard when he saw Su Wanqing come in carrying a food box, and he was very pleased.
"Wan girl, what brings you here today?"
"Having nothing to do, I made some new medicinal cuisine for you and the old lady. Please try it." Su Wanqing smiled as she opened the food box, inside which was a steaming bowl of fragrant soup.
She never mentioned the troubles at Huichuntang, but simply chatted with the elderly couple, talking about everyday things.
As she was leaving, she casually mentioned, "Grandpa Yan, please continue eating this medicinal diet. However... the supply may be interrupted for a while."
Old Master Yan was taken aback: "What's wrong? Are we running out of medicinal herbs?"
Su Wanqing sighed, a troubled look on her face: "It's not about the medicinal herbs. It's that Huichuntang has run into a little trouble. Everything has been sealed off, and I can't find a place to process these things for the time being."
She spoke casually, but Old Master Yan's face instantly darkened.
"A minor problem?"
"Is it really a minor inconvenience that would make you stop supplying us?" He was so shrewd that he immediately understood the hidden meaning.
In front of Su Wanqing, he directly had his guards connect him to the city government.
When the call connected, the old man's voice wasn't loud, but every word was firm and resolute: "I am Yan Xingbang. I ask you, who gave you the audacity to seize the property of someone who has rendered meritorious service to the country? Do you have any respect for the law?!"
After hanging up the phone, Old Master Yan said to Su Wanqing, "Girl, don't worry, go back home. No one will dare to cause you any trouble within half a day."
After leaving the Yan family, Su Wanqing went to the Chen family and the homes of several other former leaders whom she had helped during the Southwest Incident.
The statements were almost identical.
They would present a carefully prepared "specially supplied medicinal diet" and then "casually" reveal that the supply might be interrupted.
The result was exactly the same.
The elderly people who regarded Su Wanqing's medicinal diet as a "life-extending pill" unleashed an astonishing amount of energy after hearing that their "medicine" might be cut off.
In a short time, the top leaders of several departments in Beijing received phone calls from high-ranking military officials.
The content of the phone calls varied, but the core message was the same: Huichuntang must not be touched.
...
Meanwhile, Huichuntang is located on Dongsi Pailou Street.
A group of shady-looking young men were crookedly blocking the shop entrance, whistling at passersby and intimidating any potential customers who dared to approach.
Just when they were at their most arrogant, a series of synchronized footsteps, each one like a blow to the heart, came from the street corner.
The thugs instinctively turned around to look.
A group of soldiers in training uniforms, with burly figures and stern faces, were marching in this direction with perfect steps.
There were about twenty of them, not in a square formation, but they still exuded a sense of oppressive power, like an iron torrent.
They weren't carrying guns, but their extreme discipline and indifferent gaze were more intimidating than any weapon.
The leader was a squad leader with a scar on his face.
He walked to the entrance of Huichuntang, didn't even look at the group of thugs, and just shouted into the air: "Everyone, stand guard! Assist the local authorities in maintaining order!"
"yes!"
Twenty special forces soldiers roared in unison, their voices echoing across the field.
They did nothing but stand on the street corner, hands behind their backs, coldly surveying their surroundings.
Those thugs who had been so arrogant just moments before felt a chill run from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads the instant they met those eyes.
That wasn't looking down, that wasn't a warning.
It was a complete disregard, as if looking at a group of lifeless objects.
"Oh my god..."
Someone shuddered first, then turned and ran.
The others also seemed to wake up from their daze, and scrambled away, disappearing around the street corner in a panic.
From then on, no one dared to make a loud noise within a hundred meters of Huichuntang.
Night falls.
The lights were on in Zhou Mingxuan's home.
He was raising a glass with several pharmaceutical company executives to celebrate how they had crushed the troublesome Huichuntang without firing a shot.
"Director Zhou, you're truly brilliant!" a factory manager flattered. "With both public opinion and official channels working together, even if that little brat has the Lu family backing her, she can't cause any trouble!"
Zhou Mingxuan smiled smugly and pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses: "She's too green to compete with us. Once Huichuntang collapses, its market will all be ours."
Just then, the doorbell rang at the villa.
The nanny went to open the door, but there was no one there.
A gust of cold wind swept into the living room, making everyone shiver.
Zhou Mingxuan frowned, about to scold the nanny to close the door, when a figure seemed to blend into the shadows and appeared silently in the center of the living room.
It's Lu Zhanting.
He was still wearing his daytime clothes, but the chilling aura emanating from him caused the temperature in the entire room to drop suddenly.
"Who...who are you?" Zhou Mingxuan and the others were shocked and stood up abruptly.
Lu Zhanting did not answer.
He walked slowly to Zhou Mingxuan, pulled out a chair, and sat down by himself.
Then, he pulled the dagger from his waist.
With a "whoosh".
With a flick of his wrist, the sharp dagger, flashing with black light, was driven deep into the expensive mahogany dining table in front of Zhou Mingxuan.
The blade penetrated deeply, leaving only the hilt trembling slightly under the light.
The living room fell into a deathly silence.
The pharmaceutical factory managers were so frightened that their faces turned pale, their legs went weak, and they almost collapsed to the ground.
Lu Zhanting then raised his eyes and looked at Zhou Mingxuan, who was trembling with fear.
“My wife, Lu Zhanting’s wife, is not someone anyone can bully.”
His voice was calm, as if he were stating a fact.
"On the battlefield, I kill the enemy."
He paused, his gaze falling on Zhou Mingxuan's face.
"In Beijing, I stepped on garbage."
He reached out and gently flicked the still-trembling hilt of the knife.
Buzz—
The trembling sound of the knife hilt seemed to strike Zhou Mingxuan's heart directly.
"If you dare to utter another word, I'll cut your tongue out and soak it in wine."
That murderous intent, almost solidified, pressed down on Zhou Mingxuan like a mountain.
He felt like he was suffocating, and a surge of heat uncontrollably flowed from beneath him.
This once-proud and confident Western medical elite on the operating table completely collapsed in the face of absolute violence and the threat of death.
"I...I was wrong...I was wrong..." he stammered, tears streaming down his face. "I'll never...dare to do it again...I'll...I'll publish an apology in the newspaper tomorrow..."
Lu Zhanting stood up without even glancing at him.
He walked to the dining table, pulled out a dagger, slowly wiped it on Zhou Mingxuan's expensive suit, and then turned and left.
From beginning to end, he didn't touch Zhou Mingxuan's finger.
But Zhou Mingxuan knew that he would live the nightmare brought by this man for the rest of his life.
The sun rose as usual the next day.
The front pages of all the major newspapers in Beijing published an apology letter from Zhou Mingxuan.
In the letter, he deeply repented for his slander against Huichuntang and praised Huichuntang's medicines as "a treasure of traditional Chinese medicine that benefits the country and the people".
At the same time, the industry and commerce and health departments also issued a joint statement, stating that after rigorous testing, all Huichuntang products meet the highest standards, and highly praised its contribution to national health.
The two elderly traditional Chinese medicine doctors who had been taken away earlier were sent back by special car and were even awarded a banner for "Outstanding Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctors".
The seized medicines were returned intact.
Huichuntang has reopened.
The number of customers queuing at the door has more than doubled compared to before.
This battle only enhanced the legendary status of Huichuntang.
In a private room on the second floor of the shop.
Su Wanqing and Lu Zhanting stood side by side by the window, looking down at the bustling crowd below.
The sunlight shone on them, giving them a golden glow.
This is their first real collaboration.
A thunderclap in the silence.
One can decide the fate of the world with a few words.
The coordination was seamless.
Those forces that had been hiding in the shadows, ready to watch the show, all backed down and dared not make any further moves after witnessing the couple's thunderous counterattack and the unfathomable power behind them.
"From now on, leave these kinds of things to me," Lu Zhanting said softly, holding Su Wanqing's hand.
He didn't want her to worry about these dirty things anymore.
Su Wanqing smiled and shook her head, then gripped his hand tightly in return.
“No,” she said, her eyes gleaming with confidence, “it’s up to us.”
She knew that the era of her and her husband fighting side by side was just beginning.
After this battle, Huichuntang finally gained a firm foothold in the capital, and no one dared to shake its position easily anymore.
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