Shen Xiong, Sun Cheng, and Zhao Tao sat on the sofa in the hotel suite, their faces grim.
From the moment they got off the plane at Chuncheng Airport, they were picked up by people claiming to be Hu Po's subordinates and brought here.
Initially, the three of them thought Hu Po was just being a good host and had arranged their accommodation and daily needs.
However, just as they were about to leave, the same subordinates who had picked them up from the airport began to follow them everywhere.
Shen Xiong immediately questioned their actions.
But Hu Po's subordinates said that this was specifically instructed by Hu Po; since Shen Xiong and the other two were guests, they had to take good care of them.
Zhao Tao, with his short temper, lost his cool. However, Hu Po's subordinates didn't argue with him, clearly having been instructed beforehand.
Over the next two days, the three discovered that as long as they stayed in their room, they could do as they pleased.
But the moment they stepped out, regardless of whether it was one or two of them, Hu Po's subordinates would immediately follow.
They were treated like prisoners.
"Boss, this Hu Po is too disgusting. He said he invited us to Chuncheng, but he has people tailing us even when we go out. He's treating us like prisoners! Damn it! I can't take this anymore. I'm going to fight them!"
Zhao Tao had been harboring resentment for days.
As he spoke, the anger in his heart could no longer be contained, and he stood up, ready to rush out.
"A Tao! Stop!"
Just as Zhao Tao's hand reached for the doorknob, Shen Xiong called out to him.
Zhao Tao turned his head, his face full of anger, "Boss..."
"A Tao, come back and sit down first!"
Shen Xiong beckoned to Zhao Tao.
Although Zhao Tao desperately wanted to rush out and fight the subordinates outside, he couldn't go against his boss's orders.
He walked back to the sofa dejectedly, angrily kicking the coffee table with a loud bang.
"A Cheng, what do you think?"
After Zhao Tao sat back on the sofa, Shen Xiong turned his gaze to Sun Cheng.
As a major figure in his city, Shen Xiong was not a reckless man.
Before coming to Chuncheng, he had thought things through carefully.
If he hadn't come, Hu Po would have had no immediate way to deal with him.
As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. Even if Hu Po was a super boss in Yunnan Province, Rongcheng was still Shen Xiong's territory, and it wouldn't be easy for Hu Po to deal with him.
However, since Hu Po had already won over people like Niu Si, he had likely anticipated those who wouldn't come.
In that case, Shen Xiong wanted to see what Hu Po was planning. After all, Hu Po couldn't possibly kill everyone who opposed him.
But Shen Xiong never expected that after they arrived in Chuncheng, Hu Po would send people to follow them everywhere. This was far beyond his expectations.
So now, he wanted to hear Sun Cheng's opinion.
As for Zhao Tao, who only knew how to fight, Shen Xiong had already ignored him.
"Well, Boss, I think the same as you. I didn't expect that Hu Po, being a big boss in Yunnan Province, would resort to such petty actions. But since he's gone this far, it looks like he's planning something big this time."
Sun Cheng voiced his thoughts.
Shen Xiong let out a long sigh. "Forget it, thinking too much is useless. Since we're here, let's make the best of it. It's only two days until Hu Po's banquet, so we'll just wait and see."
Sun Cheng nodded beside him, while Zhao Tao was still full of anger.
...
"These are the larger medicinal herb markets in Chuncheng. Which one should we start with?"
Gong Chengbin had done his homework before coming to Chuncheng, so he took out his notebook and asked Du Fei, who was beside him.
Du Fei glanced at it. "Since we're here, let's look at them one by one. Let's start with this one."
Du Fei pointed to the first one listed in Gong Chengbin's notebook.
Gong Chengbin nodded and then told the assistant in the driver's seat an address.
Since Du Fei and Gong Chengbin planned to spend the next two days in Chuncheng inspecting the local medicinal herb markets and traveling around, Gong Chengbin's assistant had rented a car in advance.
Although taking taxis was convenient, it was still not as convenient as driving themselves.
If it weren't for the long distance between Rongcheng and Chuncheng, they might have driven here directly.
The car drove on the smooth asphalt road, reaching its maximum speed without any bumps.
Chuncheng's most prominent feature is its perpetual spring-like weather, with no significant temperature variations. Opening the car window, the breeze from outside felt very comfortable. Looking at the blue sky in the distance and the white clouds of various shapes, one's mood was exceptionally pleasant.
The car followed the navigation to its destination and drove for a full hour before arriving at a large distribution market.
Gong Chengbin's assistant dropped Du Fei and the two of them at the entrance of the medicinal herb market, while he drove the car to a nearby parking lot to find a space.
After getting out of the car and looking at the crowded medicinal herb market before them, Du Fei and Gong Chengbin took a brief look before stepping inside.
Although they didn't know how large the other medicinal herb markets in Chuncheng were, the one Du Fei and Gong Chengbin had arrived at was already very large in scale.
They walked and looked for more than ten minutes without reaching the end.
The shops on both sides, large and small, were filled with people inquiring about prices.
The majority of these buyers were pharmacies or factories, as individuals rarely came to medicinal herb markets for personal purchases, as the small quantities would not be worth the trouble.
After browsing for a while, Du Fei and Gong Chengbin randomly picked a few shops to inquire about the prices of medicinal herbs.
However, after asking for the prices, they were slightly disappointed because the prices were not as cheap as they had imagined and were similar to the prices in Rongcheng.
Originally, they had thought that since Chuncheng was one of the country's top medicinal herb bases, the prices would definitely be cheaper than in Rongcheng.
As they were about to mass-produce traditional Chinese medicine, they would need a large quantity of medicinal herbs. If there was no price advantage, they would not be able to benefit ordinary people.
After all, even if Gong Chengbin didn't plan to make much profit, the factory's personnel costs, equipment depreciation, factory rent, and future amortization were all considerable expenses.
Therefore, the two had already made up their minds to visit the next medicinal herb market.
However, since they were already here, Du Fei suggested they look at the rest and inquire at a couple more shops.