Dinner lasted quite late, and it was only then that Xiao Ming returned to the Mangshan No. 1 villa.
As soon as he entered, he saw Lin Wei sitting on the sofa, chatting with several people.
Upon seeing Xiao Ming enter, everyone turned to look at him.
Xiao Ming held a bag in each hand, filled with roast duck, roast chicken, lobster, and sea cucumber.
"Xiao Ming, where did you go to scam for food again?" Lin Wei asked with a smile.
Xiao Ming chuckled and replied, "Grandpa, Section Chief Xue Ruixue from the Health Department invited me to dinner today. I said I wouldn't go, but she insisted, so I reluctantly went."
On the sofa in the room, including Lin Wei, there were a total of five people. They all had an air of ethereal grace, and their appearance alone suggested they were no ordinary individuals.
The five men exchanged glances after hearing Xiao Ming's words, smiles appearing on their faces as if they shared some unspoken secret.
Xiao Ming sensed something unusual, but since Lin Wei said nothing, Xiao Ming didn't pry further.
Carrying his bags, Xiao Ming hummed a little tune as he went upstairs and knocked on Long Xiao's door.
Long Xiao was reading traditional Chinese medicine classics. Although many TCM texts had survived in China, there was little content that was useful to Long Xiao.
Therefore, he had gathered a pile of them in his room, flipping through them quickly when he had time, searching for content he didn't understand to study.
Seeing Xiao Ming enter, he chuckled and asked, "Full?"
Xiao Ming nodded, placed the bags on the table, and said, "I brought back some roast chicken, lobster, sea cucumber, and abalone to go."
Long Xiao glanced at the bags and waved his hand, "No need. You keep them for a midnight snack. I rarely eat anything at night."
Xiao Ming took out an old wild ginseng root from his pocket and slammed it onto the table, saying, "This is for you. It should be very useful."
Seeing that the old wild ginseng root weighed a full pound, Long Xiao's eyes lit up. "Not bad, Xiao Ming. Where did you get such a large piece of old wild ginseng?"
"I got it from the pharmaceutical factory. It would be a waste if I ate it, so I brought it back for you," Xiao Ming said, covertly observing Long Xiao.
Long Xiao understood Xiao Ming's intention and smiled. "I'll keep this old wild ginseng for refining medicine. Once it's ready, I'll make a couple of pills for you."
Xiao Ming happily said, "Brother Long, you promised. Don't forget me when you refine the 'Longevity Pill'."
As Xiao Ming was about to leave, Long Xiao called out to him, "Xiao Ming, take this jade pendant. Although it might not be of much use to you, it will be presentable if you want to give it to someone later."
Long Xiao opened a box and took out a jade pendant, handing it to Xiao Ming. Xiao Ming noticed there were quite a few jade pendants in the box and asked, "Brother Long, can I have two?"
"Got a sweetheart?" Long Xiao asked.
Xiao Ming shook his head. "I'm still young. My career is more important right now."
"Why do you need so many if you don't have a sweetheart? These are all kept in my room. Take them yourself when you need them."
Long Xiao had given the bracelets with engraved talismans, besides to Lin Xuan, to Ji Yuelan, Luan Jiping, Xue Meiqin, and Chen Meijia. The jade pendants, also engraved with talismans, were only given to Xiao Ming. He hadn't had time to give them to others yet.
In the living room, after Xiao Ming went upstairs, Lin Wei looked at the four elders and smiled. "It seems our plan worked."
An elder with white hair and dressed in plain cloth nodded. "We've won this round. Those islanders will surely not give up. Old Lin, what are your plans next?"
Lin Wei shook his head. "No rush. We'll see how things develop over the next few days. We've only won a localized battle. In the overall picture, we're still far behind."
Another elder nodded. "Old Lin is right. I believe that to turn the tide, we must first dismantle that katana building."
The elder sitting next to Lin Wei sighed. "Dismantling the katana building is quite difficult. Pro-islander factions control some key departments. If we want to dismantle it, the resistance will be significant."
Lin Wei smiled. "Although there's resistance, it's not impossible. For example, if we buy the katana building or acquire it through other means, then we can dismantle it with justification, right?"
The four looked at Lin Wei and nodded in unison. One of them said, "Old Lin, do you have a way to acquire the katana building?"
Lin Wei shook his head. "Not yet. Let's wait and see. We'll eventually find a way."
The Zhao family's hospital had an incident. Their pharmaceutical factory, hospital, and medical equipment factory were all sealed, and the Health Department moved in to conduct a thorough investigation. Affected by this event, many hospitals in Donghai were closed, pharmaceutical factories ceased production, and medical representatives from several large companies were summoned.
Lu Tianzhi and Lu Tianxing learned that some individuals in the Health Department and police department were close to the Zhao family and had accepted money from them. A thorough investigation was conducted into the police and Health Department, and those found guilty were dealt with.
After Long Xiao and Xiao Ming finished their morning exercises, they drove to the Lin Group's pharmaceutical factory. Upon the arrival of the military personnel from yesterday's visit to Xinglin Tang, they were immediately taken to the factory's warehouse to collect their goods.
The soldier inspected the quality of the medicines and immediately decided to place an order for five million yuan worth of medicine per month, to be delivered at the beginning of each month.
Long Xiao seized the opportunity to inform the soldier that he was very busy recently and had no time for manual drug manufacturing. He was concerned about a decrease in quality if others were to handle it, so he decided to cancel his and the military's orders.
After contacting his superiors, the soldier agreed to Long Xiao's request.
After two military vehicles had loaded the goods, Long Xiao and Xiao Ming escorted the soldier to his vehicle and then drove directly to Xinglin Tang.
First, they helped Tong Hui examine and prescribe medicine for the patients in the backyard. Tong Hui was now capable of prescribing medicine for these patients independently. Long Xiao's main purpose for coming here was to review the prescriptions and help him correct any errors.
After examining the patients in the backyard, just as Long Xiao and Xiao Ming were about to take a break, they received a call from Ye Mei. She informed Long Xiao that someone was inquiring about the incident where the assassins of the "Mountain Old Man" were killed.
Long Xiao had eliminated many assassins from the "Mountain Old Man" organization, leaving almost none alive. Now that someone was investigating, it seemed someone was still unwilling to let Long Xiao off the hook.
"Ye Mei, let them investigate. Keep an eye on who is investigating and find out their true intentions."
"Brother Long, I've already sent people to follow them. If they make any moves against you, I'll inform you immediately."
After ending the call with Ye Mei, Xiao Ming brewed some tea and served it. The two chatted while drinking tea. As it was nearing noon, Xiao Ming wanted to treat everyone to a big meal. Just as they were about to get up, they saw Luan Jiping walk in.
Her arrival at this time indicated that Luan Jiping must have something important to discuss. Long Xiao hurried to greet her.
"Sister Luan, is there something you need me for?" Long Xiao asked.
Luan Jiping nodded and said, "An elder from my family who lives in Hong Kong is seriously ill. Can you accompany me to Hong Kong?"
Long Xiao nodded without hesitation and agreed. "When do we leave?"
"The sooner the better, of course," Luan Jiping replied.
Long Xiao asked Luan Jiping to book the flight tickets, and he called Lin Xuan to inform her that he was going to Hong Kong to help someone with feng shui.
Although Lin Xuan was very reluctant, she still agreed. Long Xiao was now a renowned feng shui master, so it was perfectly normal for him to help others with feng shui.
After the call, Long Xiao took out the short sword 'Long Yin' from his pocket and handed it to Xiao Ming. He then went to the pharmacy and took more than ten pills of each type of refined medicine to carry with him.