Chapter 37 I Will Always Be Your Support
Upon hearing this, Cui Mingyue instantly became agitated, feeling that the other party was trying to shift the blame.
She immediately retorted, "Chen Li, don't make baseless accusations. When did I ever sell you any pills?" Cui Mingyue was in charge of all the front desk work, which meant that whether it was a weight loss pill, a beauty pill, or a snow flower pill, they all had to pass through her hands.
These past few days, it's been wealthy ladies scrambling to buy them; she clearly remembers that Chen Li hasn't come to buy any. Moreover, given the feud between the two medical clinics, she wouldn't sell the pills to them.
Chen Li produced his receipt and said confidently, "Although you didn't sell it to me, I had someone else buy it at a higher price. It was you, it was your pills that had the problem, I just wanted to make a profit from Mrs. Wang's middleman."
At this moment, the onlookers began to whisper among themselves. Shen Qingtang then understood the whole story. Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Li were mortal enemies. Unable to swallow her pride, she bought the slimming pills from Renxin Medical Clinic, which Mrs. Li recommended. Instead, she bought one at a high price through the new Renxin Pharmacy, hoping to see results quickly and lose weight smoothly like other wealthy wives. However, after taking it, she vomited and had diarrhea, felt dizzy, and suddenly experienced a sharp pain in her chest, vomiting a mouthful of black blood.
Mrs. Wang panicked instantly and immediately dialed 120 for emergency medical assistance. Only then did she learn that she had been poisoned. Fortunately, she was taken to the hospital in time for gastric lavage; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable, as her entire digestive system would have been corroded. Therefore, she immediately summoned a group of bodyguards in black to demand an explanation.
But now Chen Li claims that the weight loss pills were purchased from their Renxin Medical Clinic, clearly trying to pin the blame on them! The thought of their malicious intentions disgusted Cui Mingyue, and her gaze towards the Chen father and son grew increasingly repulsive.
Even Cui Min frowned and questioned sharply, "You say this pill was bought from our Renxin Medical Hall, so it was bought from Renxin Medical Hall?"
Xu Xiaosheng and Xu Xiaoxun were experiencing something like this for the first time, and they looked frightened and uneasy. Fang Ze saw this and subtly stepped forward, allowing the two children to hide behind him.
Liu Haoren and Sun Hou each held a medicine shovel, seemingly implying that if the black-clad bodyguards were so ruthless, they would fight back just as fiercely.
With a large crowd gathered around, the atmosphere became incredibly tense, like a bowstring taut, ready to sound the battle cry at any moment.
Chen Li broke out in a cold sweat, desperately trying to think of evidence, saying, "The box, you should remember the box yourselves, right?"
This time, the elixir was specifically sold to the wealthy elite. Therefore, unlike the first time they visited Mrs. Li and brought only a simple little jade bottle, Shen Qingtang and Cui Mingyue put a lot of thought into it, redesigning both the box and the jade bottle.
Not only is it uniquely designed, but it's also engraved with the four characters "Renxin Medical Clinic." Because it's custom-made, it's not easy for others to imitate, and the price is extremely high. A single set of packaging costs a thousand yuan, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for, so they're willing to spend the money.
After hearing Chen Li's words, the bodyguard in black immediately took out the packaging box.
Shen Qingtang stepped forward to examine it and nodded, saying, "Although this packaging box is ours, however..." Looking at the remaining half of the pill, she said with extreme certainty, "I'm sure this pill isn't ours." After saying that, she glanced at Cui Mingyue.
Cui Mingyue quickly added, "Yes, this isn't our slimming pill at all. I don't know who's deliberately trying to scam us. I'll bring out our slimming pill right now for comparison." As she said this, she looked at Chen Li without any politeness, and everyone understood the veiled insult in her words.
Watching Cui Mingyue disappear in a few steps, Chen Li's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes flickered. He never expected that there was still half a slimming pill in the box; otherwise, he wouldn't have come up with the idea of slandering her.
Seeing this, Chen Maquan inwardly cried out in alarm. He was anxious but helpless. He could only glare angrily at Chen Li, lamenting the good-for-nothing son. Why hadn't he asked him beforehand when he lied? Now, not only could they not cover up their lie, but Xin Renxin would also be branded as a seller of counterfeit medicine.
Cui Mingyue was very fast. What usually took her five minutes to enter and exit the clinic was reduced to two minutes. She stood next to Shen Qingtang, holding the same box, and carefully took out the slimming pills.
Shen Qingtang also took out Mrs. Wang's pills and said in a deep voice, "Please take a close look at the differences between these two pills. Although they are both warm in color and about the size of a thumb, it is obvious that this one is white and lustrous, while this one contains impurities and does not have any light flowing when rotated."
She paused for a moment before saying, "More importantly, all the pills I sell are engraved with the words 'Renxin Medical Hall'." Everyone's eyes followed Shen Qingtang's finger and finally noticed the inconspicuous engraving on the surface of the pills.
Because the font color is similar to the color of the pill, no one would notice unless they looked closely and Shen Qingtang, the pill maker, pointed it out.
In an instant, the truth and the falsehood became clear!
Those who had been skeptical just moments before immediately switched sides.
"I knew Dr. Shen wouldn't do something like that."
"Dr. Shen is not only a skilled doctor but also a kind person. She saw me break my bone last time and treated me for free."
"She is a good person just like Director Cui, and she even provides free medical consultations for us seniors over sixty years old."
"If anyone says that Renxin Medical Clinic only serves the wealthy, I'll fight them."
"If you ask me, this must be the work of the New Renxin Medical Clinic. They want to ruin the Renxin Medical Clinic."
"That's right, that's right. Luckily, Dr. Shen was able to provide evidence, otherwise we would have really fallen victim to this."
"This Chen Maquan is really ungrateful. He opened his own clinic on the other side of the street and named it Xin Renxin."
"They think everyone can't see through their little scheme? It's really annoying."
"If you ask me, this signboard was smashed brilliantly."
...
These chattering words hit Chen Li's eardrums like pebbles, making him feel dizzy.
The difference between the two pills was too great. Even the leading bodyguard in black could clearly sense that the slimming pill in Shen Qingtang's hand had a stronger fragrance. So he politely apologized: "Doctor Shen, I'm sorry, I was rude before."
Then, his eyes flashed with a sharp glint as he coldly looked at Chen Maquan and his son Chen Li, saying, "You two sold inferior goods as superior ones, causing Mrs. Wang to be hospitalized. Now you're trying to shift the blame to Renxin Medical Clinic. I really don't know how you can be so heartless, and what face you have to become doctors and run a clinic." His words were full of sarcasm, making the two men's faces turn pale and then red.
Before Chen Maquan could even think of what to say, he heard the other party command, "Smash it! Smash this clinic down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the black-clad bodyguards transformed into suit-clad thugs and stormed into the clinic, overturning and smashing all the tables and chairs. The lead bodyguard glanced contemptuously at the fallen Xin Ren Xin signboard, and without any politeness, stepped on it, breaking the signboard in half immediately.
Before Chen Maquan could even feel sorry for himself, a cold voice rang out: "If I ever see a Xin Renxin sign again, I'll smash it every time I see it!"
In that instant, the hearts of the Chen father and son turned completely cold. They could only look at the clinic, which resembled an earthquake and a raging storm, and silently shed tears. Chen Maquan was especially heartbroken! That wasn't just a simple clinic; it was his life savings—his money for his wife and his coffin!
After the bodyguards in black left that day, the Chen family father and son compensated Mrs. Wang with two million yuan to finally settle the matter. Since the fake medicine incident, although Xin Renxin Clinic was renamed "Chen's Clinic," its reputation in the neighborhood had been ruined. People preferred to go to Renxin Clinic or even Yonghetang rather than seek treatment at Chen's Clinic. Doctors he had hired at high salaries or brought from Renxin Clinic all chose to resign, and some even went to Renxin Clinic to inquire if they needed a doctor to practice there.
Although Shen Qingtang rejected them all, Chen Li was so irritated by what he saw that his face turned red, especially when he ran into Shen Qingtang one day and she handed him a business card that belonged to a real estate manager.
Chen Maquan was fully aware of his son's resentment and anger, but in truth, he had never reconciled with him either. He should have made a fortune by replicating Shen Qingtang's three kinds of pills, but now he had ended up like this.
Every time he saw the new name and deserted appearance of his pharmacy, he felt a sense of shame. He saw through his son's thoughts at a glance, patted him on the shoulder, sighed and said, "I went to see Xiao Wang these past few days to find out about the situation. He said our pharmacy can be sold for 500,000. Let's go back to our hometown and open a pharmacy then. That way, you can be guaranteed a comfortable life for the rest of your days."
"Go back and open a clinic?" Upon hearing this, Chen Li immediately frowned and retorted, "No, I'm not going back to my hometown." He was born and raised in Kyoto and has always considered himself a Kyoto native. He doesn't want to go back to being a peasant.
Chen Maquan advised, "Son, let's go. Let's not go against Shen Qingtang anymore." These past few days, with so many important people coming and going across the street, he'd come to see some things more clearly. The people in the elite circles are truly the elite circles; ordinary people like Shen Qingtang really can't afford to offend them. At the same time, he began to regret his actions.
If only he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have done it in the first place. If he had just stayed at Renxin Pharmacy as the manager, many wealthy families would have had to give him face.
Chen Li snorted coldly and said, "Shen Qingtang has already been expelled from the Shen family, so what kind of wealthy family does she belong to? Besides, our clinic alone cost one million to renovate, and it has an area of nearly 300 square meters. How could it only sell for 500,000?"
If we sell it for 500,000, we'll be losing money hand over fist!
Chen Maquan touched his nose, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "It's because we made such a big fuss back then that other people think this storefront is a bit..." He paused and then said tactfully, "a bit not good."
In fact, it's not just a little bad; the reputation of selling fake medicine has spread, and even the location of this place has been ruined. Some people say that the feng shui has been ruined, and anyone who opens a shop here is guaranteed to lose money, and anyone who lives here will suffer family ruin and death.
Therefore, the price of 500,000 is based entirely on the price of a haunted house.
Upon hearing this, Chen Li was indignant, his bloodshot eyes darting back and forth.
*
Shen Qingtang and her group sat together eating hot pot today. The steaming hot pot was constantly emitting white smoke, but everyone's face was filled with smiles, some obvious and some subtle.
"Sister Chen, I'm so happy lately! Xinrenxin's clinic has finally been taken down!" Overjoyed, Cui Mingyue ignored everyone's attempts to stop her and downed two glasses of beer, raising her voice considerably.
You see, she was really annoyed by that signboard before. Of all the names, why did it have to be called "New Renxin Medical Clinic" to overshadow their Renxin Medical Clinic?
"This is what they call 'evil begets evil.'" Cui Min's still sharp-tongued comment won a round of applause from everyone.
Sun Hou smiled broadly and said, "Sister Chen, I heard that their clinic's business has been very poor since they changed their name, and almost all the doctors have left. Last time I ran into Chen Maquan at the sales office, and I followed him to listen in. It seems he wanted to sell the clinic, but the other party was only willing to offer 500,000."
"No way! Our Renxin Medical Clinic could easily sell for at least a million." Cui Mingyue stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the offer. After all, it was Kyoto, where land was incredibly valuable, and the prices were naturally high. Moreover, the clinic's size was clearly two or three times that of theirs.
Such a low price made Cui Mingyue wonder if the sales office was seizing the opportunity to rip people off.
Sun Wukong smiled slyly, touched his ears and said, "Little Mingyue, don't you believe in my monkey-like hearing?" Seeing the curious looks on everyone's faces, he explained, "I almost thought I misheard, so after Chen Maquan left, I went in and asked him."
He had piqued everyone's interest, then calmly took a sip of his drink, hesitating several times before speaking. Even the honest and kind-hearted Liu Haoren couldn't stand this act, so he shoved the other man's arm and urged, "Brother Monkey, hurry up and tell us!"
Xu Xiaosheng and Xu Xiaoxun stopped chewing and looked at each other expectantly, saying, "Brother Monkey, Brother Monkey, please tell us!"
Sun Wukong stared at the eager looks on their faces, and finally felt satisfied. He said, "Actually, it's their own fault. They ruined the feng shui of that piece of land, so they can only sell it at a low price." You see, business people value feng shui the most. It's like living in a dead person's house; everyone would avoid it.
Hearing this, Cui Mingyue took a big bite of beef and said, "Serves you right!"
Cui Min blinked and pondered, "Sister Chen, if Chen Maquan and the others want to sell, let's buy their pharmacy. We've already run out of space for our medicinal herbs, so it can be used as a warehouse."
Shen Qingtang pondered for a moment and said, "It's possible, but I'm afraid they won't sell." She wasn't bothered by feng shui, but Chen Maquan had a grudge against them, and if they knew the buyer was them, they probably wouldn't sell.
Sun Wukong scoffed and said, "Their pharmacy is going to go out of business sooner or later. Selling it to us sooner will allow them to recoup some of their costs. Otherwise, they'll just keep losing money, and it won't be worth it."
Shen Qingtang twitched her ears, a smile appearing on her lips. For some reason, what she said sounded very familiar.
The next day, Cui Mingyue was taking stock of the pills she needed for the morning as usual when she received a phone call. Her expression became anxious, and she quickly made several more calls. Her anxiety turned into worry, and her face visibly flushed.
She immediately turned to look at Shen Qingtang, who was sitting in the front hall practicing acupuncture on time. As if she had seen a savior, she hurriedly ran over and said, "Sister Shen, something's wrong. We're running out of one of our medicinal herbs, and the other herbal suppliers are out of stock."
"What kind of Chinese medicinal herb is it?" Shen Qingtang asked calmly.
“It’s Yuexi Poria,” Cui Mingyue replied.
Cui Min was also at the counter and naturally heard Cui Mingyue's words. Upon hearing this, she frowned and said, "This shouldn't be the case. The total amount of Yuexi Poria cocos purchased has always been relatively small, but the amount used by pharmacies is not large, so the stock should be sufficient." After all, there are more than twenty kinds of Poria cocos that can be used in medicine, and other medical institutions have many choices, unlike the pills they make, which must be Yuexi Poria cocos.
Cui Mingyue forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and said, "That's what I said too. The supplier said that last year's harvest of Yuexi Poria cocos was poor due to continuous rainy days, and this year even less has been purchased." She grabbed Shen Qingtang's sleeve and cried, "Sister Shen, what are we going to do now? Our medicinal herbs can only last for five days at most, but we have already pre-ordered a ten-day supply."
Slimming pills, beauty pills, and snow flower pills—they sell at least thirty pills a day, a staggering amount.
After saying that, she lowered her head and said with a look of self-reproach, "It's all my fault for not communicating well in advance, and I shouldn't have agreed to give out so much yesterday." The demand for slimming pills and beauty pills among those wealthy women was undoubtedly strong, and their attitude towards them was extremely enthusiastic.
But now... even if she thought about it with her toes, she could imagine her "enthusiasm" being torn apart by these wealthy women who couldn't get their hands on the goods.
Hearing this, the others also became worried. Cui Min asked, "Have you contacted other suppliers of Chinese herbal medicines? Should I make a few calls now?" Cui Mingyue shook her head and stopped her, saying, "Fifth Senior Brother, you don't need to make any calls. I've already communicated with them in advance. They don't have any stock on hand. Even last year's stock has been bought up."
Hearing this, Cui Min felt a headache. He had been at the clinic for so long and had never encountered such a difficult situation. If it was a regular customer, it would be fine. He could just give a greeting and use his personal relationship to delay the payment for a month or so, but this happened to be a wealthy family in Kyoto.
Who else has such a great deal of influence? In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Shen Qingtang, their eyes filled with expectation.
Shen Qingtang saw through their intentions at a glance, pursed his lips and said, "It hasn't come to that yet. I will find a way to get a batch of Yuexi Poria cocos." Now is the time when the elixir is at its peak of popularity. If they are returned collectively, it might cause people to think too much.
After saying that, she pursed her lips and added, "Mingyue, starting today, we will no longer accept any form of reservation."
Cui Mingyue nodded and said, "Sister Chen, I understand." Then, she asked with a worried look, "Sister Chen, what are you planning to do now?" Because this matter was caused by her, she was extremely concerned.
After a moment of contemplation, Shen Qingtang said, "The suppliers you just contacted are all large suppliers we've worked with before. I'll go find some smaller suppliers and see if we can acquire a few more to barely get through this crisis."
Upon hearing this, Cui Mingyue's eyes lit up, and she raised her hand, saying, "Sister Chen, I'll go with you too."
Thinking that Cui Mingyue was born and raised here and would be more familiar with the area than she was, Shen Qingtang nodded and said, "Okay." Then, under Sun Hou's expectant gaze, she called out, "Sun Hou, you can come with us too." The other party was eloquent, so she wouldn't have to waste her breath to bring her along.
As the sympathetic victim of the fake medicine scandal, Shen Qingtang went to the stores with her entourage, where the shop owners treated her with great courtesy. Of course, this was also partly due to the fact that Renxin Medical Hall had made a name for itself in the world of traditional Chinese medicine with just three pills.
Unfortunately, after hearing Shen Qingtang's request, they all sighed with regret.
“Miss Chen, if you had come to buy it three days ago, I would have definitely reserved the goods for you.”
"Miss Chen, unfortunately, this batch of goods has already been pre-ordered."
“Miss Shen, this kind of medicinal herb is really rare this year, and we haven’t received any.”
"Miss Chen, we have thirty catties, but we will have to buy them at ten times the market price."
......
As Cui Mingyue walked out of the store, she stomped her foot indignantly and said, "Sister Chen, the owner of this store is really despicable. He took advantage of our need and suddenly raised the price. No wonder he's related to Director Chen."
Hearing this, Shen Qingtang narrowed her eyes slightly, grasping at something that flashed through her mind, and asked, "Is this family related to Director Chen?"
"good."
Shen Qingtang pursed her lips and suddenly said, "It seems this was specifically targeted at us. No wonder."
Cui Mingyue wasn't stupid either, and immediately understood the meaning behind Shen Qingtang's words. She gasped and said, "I knew it was such a coincidence that the Yuexi Poria cocos we needed was ordered by someone else. It turns out it was deliberate revenge." She said indignantly, "They are the ones selling fake medicine, yet they can still blame us."
Shen Qingtang said calmly, "Their pharmacy is already struggling to stay afloat; they're probably desperate."
Sun Wukong sighed and said, "People like that are really not easy to mess with."
Upon hearing this, Cui Mingyue was immediately troubled: "Sister Chen, Chen Maquan has taken the lead and bought up all the Yuexi Poria cocos. What are we going to do now?" As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose. She was also afraid that the other party would pull some more vicious tricks on them.
Shen Qingtang shook her head and said, "Let's wait and see how things develop. Let's go back to the pharmacy first."
To make matters worse, someone leaked the information, and now many wealthy women are calling Cui Mingyue to inquire. Those who had initially agreed to a two-day delay in delivery have also changed their minds, which has undoubtedly increased their pressure.
Shen Qingtang remained unfazed, even in the face of a collapsing mountain. She said, "No rush, we can hold on for another five days."
Seeing Qi Yi arrive by car to pick her up, she said, "There's always a way out. Everyone should go home and rest early today."
As usual, after eating and drinking to their hearts' content, and preparing to return to their room to rest, Qin Guanlan suddenly reached out and stopped Shen Qingtang.
"Qingtang, I heard that your pharmacy is short of a certain Chinese medicinal herb. I'll have Qi Yi go to another province to buy it for you."
Hearing Qin Guanlan's words, Shen Qingtang shook her head and said, "Then the cost will be much higher." Merchants are profit-driven, and this was a last-minute decision to purchase goods in another province. In addition to the already considerable time and transportation costs, they will definitely be ripped off.
She knew that Brother Qin was wealthy and wouldn't care about the money, but she still felt bad and didn't want to fall into Chen Maquan's trap.
Seeing Shen Qingtang's hesitation and reluctance, Qin Guanlan patted her head and said, "The most important thing is to solve the problem. Trust is something that money can't buy."
Since ancient times, business people have always valued integrity above all else; without integrity, there is no chance to turn things around.
Shen Qingtang nodded obediently and said, "Brother Qin, please give me three more days. If I still can't solve it after three days, then please help me."
Hearing this, Qin Guanlan touched the back of Shen Qingtang's hand and said, "It's good that you know what's going on. I will always be your support."
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