Lin Yao was about to agree when a thought suddenly struck him, and he stopped talking.
After a long pause, he slowly said, "No need. Let them make a fuss. If they really can't carry out their work, call 110 for help. If that doesn't work, temporarily close that branch and reopen it the next day. That's how it's handled."
"Yaoyao, are you worried about 'Chen'ai'?" Xiaocao's voice rang out. Now she could think in sync with Lin Yao. She could usually guess what Lin Yao was thinking, even if he wasn't consciously thinking about it.
"Yes, that's right."
Lin Yao admitted that Xiao Cao was right. "We've been forgetting one thing: 'Chen Ai' is a lone wolf. It doesn't care about the lives of those who work for it. If one dies, it just brings in another. Even those under its command who are responsible for inoculating the strains are the same. Although we don't know what impact these people have on it, our weakness is obvious. Not only our parents and other relatives and friends, but also Min Hong's employees are considered our own people."
"Judging from the last performance, 'Morning Mist' is parasitic on Jiang Liu. But Jiang Liu has not lost his consciousness, or not completely lost it. So he must know to attack us from other aspects. If we pay too much attention, we will be very passive in the future, or even be led by the nose by it. The country is so big, passive defense is already a disadvantage. It will be more convenient for it to create some situation anywhere to transfer us away."
"I see..." Xiaocao's tone became somewhat troubled. "Then should we close all the Minhong pharmacies and hospitals in various places?"
“This won’t work either. If we close down, and then start over after defeating ‘Morning Mist,’ no one will believe Minhong anymore.”
Lin Yao frowned. "Damn it! I wish I could have killed it last time."
"Yaoyao, don't be angry. We can't take care of so many people. There's really nothing we can do. If the military and the government cooperate, we can still control the danger to the minimum by using the power of the country. Shall we go see the Chairman? Those documents probably haven't reached the Chairman yet."
The little grass offered a soft word of comfort, but for a moment it lost all interest in speaking.
"Sir, there's one more thing." Yi Zuojun estimated that Lin Yao had had enough time to think, and continued to explain the situation. "The Pakistani embassy has contacted me. When would be a suitable time to meet with them?"
"Let them come, I can't leave here."
Lin Yao replied casually, "If I leave 'City Forest' now, a bunch of old scholars and experts who have just started working again will probably jump up and down cursing. They don't care about your status, and they won't have a good attitude when they encounter something unpleasant."
“But…” Yi Zuojun immediately objected, “Sir, aren’t you going to refine pills? You’ve specified that the maximum interval between pill refining sessions cannot exceed this time. This matter must be given priority.”
"Alright, then have them come over after the pills are finished. It should take about three hours. You can arrange it."
Lin Yao changed his plans. Refining pills was naturally the top priority. Prioritizing pill refining was a rule Lin Yao had set.
After the pseudo-elixir fire transformed into electric light, it underwent tremendous changes, some good and some bad. One of the changes that frustrated Lin Yao and Xiao Cao was that they didn't know how to nurture and strengthen the electric light.
Previously, pseudo-elixir fire could be automatically nurtured and strengthened as long as medical true qi was present. The longer it was nurtured, the more it would grow. Even if it was left unused for a month or even a year, there would be no loss, and all the nurtured pseudo-elixir fire was stored. But now, the electric light has no idea how to nurture it. Even if it is deliberately wrapped in medical true qi and circulated in the meridians in the past, the effect is minimal. After reaching a certain level, the growth of electric light can no longer be felt. Lin Yao set this time as the maximum interval. He must use this time to refine pills or do something to consume the electric light to avoid wasting it.
There's never enough pills, and Lin Yao wants to refine as many pills as possible to prepare for future crises.
"Sir, a large batch of 'raw mugwort fungus' arrived this morning, arranged by General Manager Luo. Would you like to use it to make 'Life-Giving Elixir'?"
Yi Zuojun offered his advice: "The Sheng Sheng Dan has a very wide range of applications, and in some cases it even surpasses several other pills of higher quality and rarity. Lin Yao has always attached great importance to its refining, and Yi Zuojun was well aware of this, so he gave his suggestion.
"Okay, Zuo Jun, please help Elder Yi Liao and the others move all the medicinal herbs to the basement. I'll start refining pills in a bit."
Lin Yao nodded, thinking to himself how fortunate it was that he had asked the Yi family to find experts to study the artificial cultivation and planting of "Artemisia argyi" a few years ago. After several years, they finally made a breakthrough. Otherwise, they would have long been short of raw materials for "Artemisia argyi" that grows naturally. Being prepared for a rainy day is a necessary quality for people who want to do great things.
The "Artemisia annua" that only grows in a certain forest near Lin Yao's maternal grandfather's house is very peculiar. Experts could not successfully cultivate it outside of this forest no matter what they tried. Therefore, Min Hong and the Yi family once again invested a lot of manpower and resources to transform this forest into a place suitable for artificial cultivation without affecting the natural environment and the survival conditions of microbial colonies.
Another peculiar aspect of "raw mugwort" is that it loses a certain mysterious medicinal property after being harvested for six months, making it impossible to refine into a qualified "Life-Generating Pill." It can only be used as an ordinary Chinese medicine ingredient in some folk remedies, although its effects are still very strong. However, it has lost its most important value. Therefore, during the years Lin Yao was treating his injuries, the "raw mugwort" produced could only be sealed in Min Hong's medicinal herb warehouse. Even the production of "health-preserving pills" could not be carried out, because Luo Jimin and Lin Hongmei simply did not have time to produce those health-preserving products that regulate bodily functions.
The vital energy of "Sheng Sheng Dan" is a crucial reliance for herbal remedies to help patients, especially those suffering from large numbers of the same disease during an epidemic. The value of this medicine is immeasurable, as it relates to whether the lives of millions can be protected.
Even the most skilled cook can't make a meal without rice. No matter how capable Xiaocao and Lin Yao are, they still need external aids to function properly. Without the "Life-Giving Pill" that has a direct effect on improving the human body, the antidote formulas that Xiaocao researched for different epidemics would be more complex, involving more complex raw materials and production processes, which would directly affect the treatment of patients.
Back in Yanji, if there had been enough "Life-Saving Pills," Xiao Cao and Lin Yao wouldn't have needed to go through so much trouble to find the antidote formula. With just a little bit of targeted medicinal herbs, they could have saved everyone in the city infected with the virus.
Back then, we lacked the resources and capabilities. Now, with the help of edible mushroom cultivation experts and wild mushroom research experts, this fastest way to save lives from the epidemic has become possible. As a result, Minhong has offered these experts a million-yuan annual salary to reward them, making the entire work more efficient and orderly.
"Uncle Yao, I want to eat ice cream. Great-Grandpa General said we can have ice cream."
Nannan had clearly woken up from her delayed afternoon nap and looked very energetic. Her slightly messy hair danced wildly as she jumped around, which immediately cheered Lin Yao up.
“Daddy… Sister Nannan.”
Little Guli woke up, straightened his back, and hugged Lin Yao's neck tightly. The ice cream that Nannan suggested had no effect on him.
"Alright, let Uncle Zuo Jun take you to get ice cream, I'll go refine pills."
Lin Yao gave Yi Zuojun, who had not yet left, a wink. Although Elder Yi Potian had arranged for about ten Yi family elders and other top-tier disciples to come to the villa, Lin Yao still felt more at ease entrusting the matter to Yi Zuojun.
Lin Yao had no objection to the addition of Yi family members. The spiritual energy gathered here every day for alchemy could indeed help the Yi family members cultivate. If it weren't for the lack of rooms, more Yi family members could be invited to come and comprehend the spiritual energy. However, he hadn't mentioned this idea to the First Elder, Yi Potian. Otherwise, even if they built temporary houses next door for twenty people to live in each room, Yi Potian would definitely have taken immediate action.
"I don't want ice cream, I want to watch Daddy refine pills." Little Guli already knew that the candy they mentioned before was actually pills, and he also knew that Lin Yao refining pills was the most important thing in the family, but today he still couldn't bear to let Lin Yao out of his sight.
"Uncle Yao, Nannan wants to see it too..."
The clever girl immediately gave up her ice cream, blinked her big eyes at Lin Yao, and said, "I promise I won't say anything and won't interfere with Uncle Yao's work!"
Not seeing the answer she wanted on Lin Yao's face, Nannan immediately raised her right hand, "I promise to keep Lili in check and not let him interfere with Uncle Yao's work!"
"Yaoyao, let Lili watch from the side. It's okay, I'll keep an eye on them for you."
Xiao Cao's voice rang out, and she noticed Xiao Guli's slightly nervous heartbeat. "The experts are currently repeating routine experimental procedures, so there's no immediate danger. The Grand Elder is also over there keeping an eye on things, so I can take care of the child."
The distracted little grass said it was fine, so Lin Yao went along with the little guys' request and nodded, which caused the two little guys to scream repeatedly. Xiao Guli's voice was very loud and shrill, and his kicking little legs gave Lin Yao a sense of satisfaction as a father.
.
=========
Thank you, Feng Ge!
.
Let me explain why there have been very few updates lately.
I said at the end of last month that I would update less this month. I was out of town during the National Day holiday. On the 3rd, I was too confident in my ability to manage my time and missed the opportunity for the low-level full attendance bonus because I was a few tens of seconds late. I have been lazy about writing these past few days and have only been able to update 3,000 words a day. I apologize!