Chapter 91 Smoking Cessation Medication? Its real name is morphine.
The story of the Wang family echoed in her ears. Yao Xiaoyu thought she would be full of inspiration, but she sat at her desk until evening, and apart from a few ink spots that had fallen inadvertently, the manuscript paper was still empty.
It was already dark, and most of the shops outside were closed. Fortunately, there was no shortage of late-night snacks. Yao Xiaoyu ordered a bowl of assorted glutinous rice balls and sat on a stool to eat slowly.
Tangyuan is a food similar to tangyuan. It is made by wrapping ingredients in glutinous rice flour and shaping them into balls, then cooking them in a pot. Assorted fillings mean that there are all kinds of fillings. It is suitable for people who want to try different flavors of tangyuan but do not want to buy many bowls.
[Red bean paste, sesame seeds, fresh meat...]
Yao Xiaoyu tasted a new flavor and kept thinking about it. In the end, she also admired the vendor a little - there were seven or eight different flavors in one bowl of glutinous rice balls.
After eating a bowl of hot glutinous rice balls and then a bowl of cool honey lotus seed porridge—which was actually just plain porridge mixed with osmanthus honey—Yao Xiaoyu's anger gradually dissipated. She slept well and woke up to a bright sky. Although she was still a little melancholy about not being able to create despite her emotions, she was no longer anxious.
If you can't write, it just means the time isn't right yet. You might as well put it aside for now and busy yourself with other important things, like...
"I heard that a smoking cessation drug has recently been released in Shanghai. Do you know where I can buy it?"
The coachman stared at the silver coins in Yao Xiaoyu's hand and nodded repeatedly. The other coachmen who hadn't been chosen looked at this lucky girl with some envy, unable to understand why they were inferior to their companions. In the end, they could only attribute it to the other girl's good luck today.
"This is it."
The driver solicitously helped Yao Xiaoyu and Tao Xiaoxiao down, hoping to hear something like "I'll come back to you too," but the two young ladies walked into the shop without looking back. Just then, a customer beckoned to him, so he quickly ran over.
When Yao Xiaoyu entered the door of this so-called smoking cessation drug store, she started getting goosebumps all over her body.
The shop wasn't big, and there were no lights installed, so the lighting was poor, making it look rather gloomy at first glance. Inside sat two men, one with a shaved head, broad shoulders, and a thick waist, and tattoos on his arms; the other was thinner with a Western-style hairstyle, and whether his eyes were crooked or intentional, he looked at people with a condescending air.
Yao Xiaoyu didn't linger there. After confirming that this store had the so-called smoking cessation medicine and that it was as effective as other places, she left, saying she would consider it before coming back. But the man with the Western-style hair knew that Yao Xiaoyu wouldn't be coming back.
"Smoking cessation medication is all the rage. This lady is obviously curious about it. I just answered all her questions, so why did they come back a second time?"
The Western-style hairdresser carefully explained to the tattooed man that tattoos are great in every way, except that the man's brain works a little slowly. But if it were that problem, he wouldn't be able to make decisions in the shop.
We'll have to check their identities later. There's an 80% chance they just came in for a look, but they could also be sent by our rivals. It's always good to be cautious.
Let's raise the price of this stuff a bit more tomorrow. After all, he has so many mouths to feed, and it's not exactly a good product anyway, so selling less would be a good deed.
Yao Xiaoyu had no intention of going back to buy smoking cessation medication. She went directly to Tao Jingu, stuffed the money into his hand, and asked him to buy a bottle for her.
"Your family has also become addicted to opium?"
Tao Jingu knew about the Yao family's situation, and his expression immediately turned serious.
"No, it's just that I always feel there's something strange about this thing."
Yao Xiaoyu lowered her voice and said that she hoped her speculation was false, but the truth would not change because of people's good wishes.
"I see."
Tao Jingu's expression became even more serious. She had witnessed Yao Xiaoyu's intuition before, and she was also somewhat wary of this smoking cessation drug. She had several capable people under her who were addicted to opium, and she had originally planned to prepare this drug for them, but now it seemed that she would have to wait.
After seeing Yao Xiaoyu off, Tao Jingu continued with his work. His subordinates came in to report on the situation, but after they finished speaking, they remained standing in the same spot, unwilling to leave.
"Speak your mind directly."
Tao Jingu spoke coldly. There were simply too many things to deal with when she transitioned from a wholesaler who made a profit from buying and selling to an industrialist who ran a factory. But she couldn't do without a factory either. If it weren't for Miss Qiu's continuation of the story, she might have been content to just make a profit from the price difference and try to become a comprador in the future. But Miss Qiu had painted such a magnificent prospect that she was unwilling to give up without participating.
Just imagine her walking through her own factory, where everyone respectfully calls her "Factory Manager," and foreigners placing orders chat and laugh with her... ugh!
"Go out if you have nothing else to do."
Tao Jingu's smile faded. Seeing that the person was still standing there like a wooden statue, she frowned. She was busy and didn't have time to play guessing games, and besides, she didn't need to.
"……that is……"
After the man talked for a while, Tao Jingu extracted the key words from the large amount of nonsense: he wanted to get an advance on his salary to buy smoking cessation medication.
If Tao Jingu had approved the decision before speaking with Yao Xiaoyu, he would have done so anyway, but now—
"no."
Because of the significant implications of smoking cessation medication, Tao Jingu dared not be too direct. However, the man seemed to lack the ability to grasp the subtext. Despite repeating himself over and over, the man still didn't understand and finally left dejectedly.
Tao Jingu:......
Next time, we should hire more women. It takes men ages to even speak.
Tao Jingu acted quickly; the money Yao Xiaoyu had given him two days ago was delivered today: a white porcelain bottle containing small white pills, without even a pressed mark, looking quite ordinary.
"This is it. How do you plan to investigate?"
Tao Jingu asked with great interest, having already mentally drawn up one, two, or three paths based on Yao Xiaoyu's network of relationships. Yao Xiaoyu's answer was not unexpected.
"I plan to ask someone at the hospital."
Yao Xiaoyu believed that the kind-hearted Dr. Maria would definitely be willing to help her with this.
"If there's a problem, let me know."
Tao Jingu's words were filled with murderous intent. She was originally indifferent to opium, but after one of her trusted subordinates became addicted to it and was rendered useless, she began to hate opium.
"OK."
Yao Xiaoyu readily agreed and immediately went to Dr. Maria. Influenced by her compassion and financial resources, Dr. Maria agreed to expedite the testing to see if this seemingly Western-looking pill could truly help her quit smoking.
But she didn't have high hopes. If the pill was so miraculous, this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine should have been awarded to someone, even if the inventor was a woman: many people would be happy to be the husband of such a talented woman and legally transfer their wife's honors and titles to themselves.
Like her poor friend Marie, who was the one who discovered radium, she was still called Madame Curie until she stood on the podium—and that was already a role model for women, because she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize! [1]
"This is not a smoking cessation drug; it is even more harmful than helpful to those trying to quit opium addiction."
Dr. Maria said with a serious expression that because of the foot-setting surgery, her hospital was somewhat ostracized. There was no blatant discrimination, nor would there be. However, she was always a little later than others when it came to information about the latest drugs and equipment, but it was never for too long, usually only a few months.
And the so-called smoking cessation drugs are sold precisely at this time.
"This is morphine, which has an analgesic effect. As for quitting smoking... it's actually equivalent to purer opium."
Dr. Maria didn't say anything more. When Yao Xiaoyu heard the word "morphine," her mind went completely blank.
The worst has happened!
Yao Xiaoyu barely managed to say goodbye to Dr. Maria, trembling uncontrollably. Fortunately, Tao Xiaoxiao, who was next to her, caught her quickly and prevented her from going back to the hospital after leaving it.
"Go find Tao Jingu..."
Yao Xiaoyu's voice trembled as she did her body. Tao Xiaoxiao looked at her with concern and finally helped her into the rickshaw. Tao Jingu had her own fixed workplace and did not go out today.
"What's wrong? I'm going to find a doctor..."
Tao Jingu noticed at a glance that something was wrong with Yao Xiaoyu. Before he could finish speaking, he saw his friend shake her head at him. Tao Jingu realized what was going on, so he led her into the room, put her on a chair, closed the door, and checked the windows.
"There are only the three of us here now."
Yao Xiaoyu's lips turned white from being bitten. She had calmed down during her time in the car, but her emotions hadn't improved much.
"The smoking cessation pills are fake; they're just purer opium. Using them will only make it harder to quit opium."
Tao Jingu's eyes widened, and then she felt relieved—the price of smoking cessation medication had increased by almost half during this period, but she had made the right bet!
"I will spread this message, but don't tell anyone else."
Tao Jingu whispered to Yao Xiaoyu that when the Dongyang factory was liberated, she had made a small profit by relying on her keen sense of smell and successfully achieved upward social mobility by getting in touch with a powerful backer. She had vaguely heard rumors about smoking cessation drugs—they were so widely distributed and dared to sell at such high prices because they had someone behind them!
Her subordinates were a motley crew, making it easy for them to take advantage of the situation, but Yao Xiaoyu couldn't afford to expose them.
"good."
Yao Xiaoyu knew the seriousness of the matter, so she responded but didn't linger. She hurriedly said goodbye to Tao Jingu and left. Tao Jingu sat on the chair for a while, wrote a few letters, and had her most trusted subordinate send them out.
"I must personally deliver it to Lan Shuangyu and the others."
Lan Shuangyu is a friend who runs a paper craft shop with her. However, due to different industry choices, they rarely see each other anymore. But that doesn't stop them from knowing each other's achievements. Lan Shuangyu, who used to only set up a stall on a table and sell small items, has become a leading wholesaler in the fabric industry and is transitioning to manufacturing.
His subordinate nodded earnestly and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
...
Yao Xiaoyu bought some braised beef from a street stall, then hurriedly went home, went upstairs and closed the door in one go. She then sat down at the table to test her pen, made sure there was still some ink left, and then grabbed a piece of paper and began to write quickly.
She wanted to write a story, about a perfect woman who gradually became known as a madwoman, and then...
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The author says: [1] On June 25, 1903, Marie Curie discovered radium. In 1903, she, her husband, and Henri Becquerel jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics, and in 1911 she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. —From Sogou Encyclopedia
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