Shi Wenjun was only talking to Chen Wenlin, completely ignoring Wu Chenwei.
Although she could endure it, that didn’t mean she could pretend as if nothing had happened between them. Despite Chen Wenlin being her direct competitor, she still impressed by and respected him for being able to achieve such heights in his business. But Wu Chenwei the scoundrel, the ungrateful wretch? The man was just an eyesore to look at.
Chen Wenlin chuckled and held his hands up in salutation. “Lord Shi, I’m here to expand my knowledge as well. Please carry on and don’t mind me.”
On the surface, these two didn’t seem like they had beef with each other. They looked just like a pair of old friends exchanging warm greetings.
But this was the sophistication and subtlety leaders were expected to possess.
Even if they were engaged in a deathmatch, they still had to make it seem like they were getting along.
But the problem was, someone here was a hypocrite while the other was a fiend.
Wu Chenwei was the fiend. A shameless and despicable fiend.
“Shi Wenjun, it’s better for your Shi family to close your doors now to prevent further losses. If you keep forcing yourself to hold out against us, what’s left of that little fortune left by your father will be gone in a few more days.”
Someone suddenly mocked in an enigmatic tone. Without a doubt, that person was Wu Chenwei.
He was here to provoke and watch the Shi family humiliate themselves. Now that their defeat was imminent, he no longer had to act with caution anymore.
Shi Wenjun’s expression faltered slightly but she continued to ignore Wu Chenwei. After excusing herself with Chen Wenlin, she turned to leave.
Reasoning with Wu Chenwei would just be disrespecting herself.
Although Shi Wenjun wanted to tear Wu Chenwei’s face to bits, she had to hold back for now. Even if she was feeling aggrieved and furious, even if the tears were threatening to well up in her eyes, she would never let them fall.
And so, Shi Wenjun chewed her lip so hard that it bled and dug her fingernails into her palm.
Wu Chenwei’s comment was so provocative that it annoyed those who heard it. Even Chen Wenlin was frowning. But he knew that Wu Chenwei was tagging along just so he could kick the Shi family while they were down. Such unscrupulous behavior was expected so long as he didn’t go overboard with it.
Chen Wenlin aimed higher than that. He didn’t care for petty underhanded tricks like these. For him, the goal was to completely crush the Shi family and become the magnate of this industry.
The guests all took their seats.
The largest medicine hall owned by the Shi family was packed with no open seats left. Some guests were even forced to stand.
Seeing such a great turnout, the Shi family was honestly pleased but at the same time, they were also worried. If the pills they introduced were not well-accepted, that would mean nothing but trouble.
The higher one stood, the harder they fell.
This was a saying that has held true even until now.
Despite the positive turnout rate, most of them just came to watch the Shi family make a fool of themselves.
Most of the Shi family members didn’t even know what kind of pills their family would be launching today. After all, it had been kept a top secret. Shi Wenjun had learned from her past mistakes not to show her trump card until the last moment.
Just then, one of the Shi family’s old shopkeepers who had been with them for more than twenty years stood up to say a few words. Then, as lord of the Shi family, Shi Wenjun thanked her guests for coming today.
Then, Wu Chenwei who was munching on some desserts as he sat among the audience suddenly said, “Enough with the nonsense. Don’t you have new pills to introduce? Hurry up and take them out. You’re not trying to cheat us with dishonest advertising just to save your image, are you?
The Shi family members were furious. Some hot-headed younger individuals even wanted to charge over and sock Wu Chenwei hard.
Suppressing the rage in her heart, Shi Wenjun glanced around and said, “Everyone, it’s true that we do have some new pills to introduce today. And whether or not we’re just trying to save our image, you’ll all know soon enough.”
Having said that, she made gestured with her hand and someone hurried over with a tray in hand.
The person holding the tray was an old shopkeeper. Despite his old age, his footsteps were steady. The tray in his hand was also a fine piece of art, made of top-quality polished rosewood. It glistened underneath the light and its antiquated design gave off a very sophisticated vibe.
The tray was covered by a red cloth. Shi Wenjun lifted the cloth to reveal a jade bottle underneath.
This was a container specifically used to hold pills and was one of the best of its kind.
Generally speaking, a pill’s container had to match the quality of a pill. Only a pill of great quality could match up to this bottle. If a low-grade pill was placed inside a bottle this fine, it would just look awkward.
Hence, the revelation of this bottle immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
“It’s a jade bottle. Just this one container costs a fortune. No one would ever put regular pills into this type of bottle anyway. Will the Shi family perhaps introduce a new premium pill this time?” Someone began discussing.
“A pill’s container is like a wealthy man’s mansion and carriage. It’s a symbol of quality. For poor people to live in mansions would just be shameful and ridiculous. There has never been any pill in Maple City that’s worthy of being placed in a jade bottle thus far. Frankly speaking, I’m pretty curious as to what the Shi family will be introducing today.” There were also those who were intrigued and began to pay more attention.
There were curious individuals, startled folks, but there were also people who couldn’t care less.
Wu Chenwei continued to mock and challenge the Shi family but no one paid him any attention. After rambling on on his own, he lost interest and eventually stopped saying more. He merely glared daggers ahead, waiting for the Shi family to humiliate themselves.
‘I don’t believe that your Shi family has anything incredible to show the public. I’ve already dug up what little resources you have after all.’ Wu Chenwei looked hostile.
Chen Wenlin was also a little nervous.
Although he didn’t believe that the Shi family would have anything worthwhile to introduce, this display was indeed a little frightening. In his mind, he wondered what he should do if it really turned out that the Shi family did have new pills.
Though, a couple of new pills didn’t mean that they could turn their current situation around.
‘Let’s just see what pill this is.’ Chen Wenlin stared intently at the jade bottle.
Seeing how interested the crowd had become, Shi Wenjun knew that the time was ripe for the big reveal.
She smiled and picked up the jade bottle. Only then could the crowd see how exquisitely carved the bottle was and how crystal clear the jade was. They could even see there was liquid on the inside.
Wait, liquid?
The crowd was shocked after taking a closer look.
Some even stood up directly.
“Why is there liquid inside?”
“That’s odd. After a pill is made, it should be kept away from water, not even a single drop should be allowed near it. For this jade bottle to contain liquid, isn’t this just nonsense?”
“Who knows? Let’s just watch and see.”
Those who knew a little about pelletization knew that pills were made from fire. Once complete, the pill was not to come in contact with water or it might melt away, thus rendering it useless.
Hence, everyone found it incredulous and were surprised when they saw how the jade bottle in Shi Wenjun’s hand was filled with some sort of liquid.
Among the crowd, someone seemed to have figured something out and mumbled to himself, “Could this be the nine water floating cloud pill?”
If Lin Jin were here, he would definitely recognize this man. It was Lu Bin.
Speaking of which, Lu Bin had been here in Maple City ever since that day when he came in search of Lin Jin. Since Lin Jin had asked him to wait for several days, he would wait several days. No matter what it took, he would invite Lin Jin back to Jade Dragon City with him.
Out of boredom, he went on a stroll around the city today, which was when he noticed an unusual amount of traffic heading towards the Shi family’s medicine hall. Curious, he came over to take a look. A person of his status found it relatively easy to squeeze in through the crowd.
The only downside was that there weren’t enough seats.
Looking at the liquid in the jade bottle, Lu Bin was immediately reminded of the nine water floating cloud pill. This wasn’t because he was a pill connoisseur. Rather, he had been in contact with the nine water floating cloud pill recently and had witnessed how the pill could float on water without melting away. That experience was what led him to this conclusion.
“Isn’t this too much of a coincidence?” Lu Bin laughed to himself.