“They will be unconscious for twelve hours. Your team has enough time to bring people over from Chengdu. I’m not going to accompany you. Get in the car and leave by yourself.”
Ignoring whether Tan Deshan would stubbornly remain in Shantang County, Lin Yao left.
"Wait!" Tan Deshan called out urgently. When Lin Yao stopped and turned around, he frowned and questioned, "Why are you doing this? Can't your Minhong save everyone? Why do you have to distinguish between good and bad virtues? These things fall under the constraints of social morality and the jurisdiction of the law. What does it have to do with your Minhong?"
"Don't tell me it's the production capacity issue you mentioned before, I don't believe it!"
Lin Yao shrugged helplessly and said, "I'm not lying to you about the production capacity issue. It's a very important factor, and there's nothing I can do if you don't believe me."
"By the way, it won't be a secret in a while anyway, so I'll tell you in advance." Lin Yao suddenly felt that Tan Deshan in front of him was not a bad person, just a bit stubborn. "Deaths are inevitable. If the situation is serious, maybe hundreds of millions of people will die. In that case, we Minhong will of course prioritize helping those who are willing to help. That's the whole answer. Whether you believe it or not is not important. If you are reported and found out, your Minhong membership will be revoked. You may not live much longer. Good luck."
Ignoring the panicked questions behind him, Lin Yao vanished from the square in a flash.
The matter in Shantang County has temporarily come to an end, but its impact has been enormous.
Two days later, Xiao Weiyan, the county head of Shantang County, and his ten mistresses died from the virus, which originated in Huizhou. The heads of more than a dozen government agencies and even important departments in the county also died from the virus.
Strangely, before their deaths, Minhong's special medicines all lost their effectiveness. Even the special medicines personally brought out by the experts and scholars who were assigned by the government to conduct scientific research at Minhong's headquarters were ineffective. Of course, this secret was only known to the relevant personnel handling the case. The outside world only knew that Minhong had almost completely taken over the government agencies of Shantang County and forcibly attributed the deaths of these people to Minhong, which made Lin Hongmei very indignant.
Minhong is getting serious!
This message spread across the internet at the speed of light, attracting nationwide attention and response.
When television and print media failed to report the news, people expressed their opinions online. Ninety percent of them believed that Minhong was overstepping his bounds, forcibly appropriating the functions and responsibilities of the government into his own jurisdiction, and interfering in national affairs as a pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor, which was unforgivable.
Many so-called commentators and experts in certain social fields, who usually clamor most loudly on television and in newspapers and magazines, have also lowered their stance and joined the online media they once despised, launching a collective declaration of war against Minhong. These people, who normally appear virtuous and self-proclaimed social pioneers, are actually the most cowardly and prone to shady dealings. They had long ago discovered through Minhong's system that they were blacklisted. The Shantang County incident instilled in them a deep-seated fear, so they are sparing no effort in their concentrated attacks on Minhong, intending to attract government attention and intervention in Minhong's decision-making.
Some of the most eloquent and persuasive stock commentators, real estate analysts, and veteran industry figures have also transformed into social commentators and moral guardians, unanimously criticizing Minhong. Even normally conscientious commentators and people from all walks of life feel that Minhong's actions are too inhumane, firmly standing on the side of those criticizing Minhong, and ordering Minhong to turn back from its wrong path and focus on its work as a pharmaceutical manufacturer, and not to interfere in national affairs and people's livelihoods.
All the criticism fell silent in the face of a newly released announcement by Min Hong.
“Minhong’s production capacity cannot guarantee supply nationwide! At the same time, production capacity cannot be increased.”
A simple sentence from the most authoritative official announcement of Minhong awakened some well-intentioned people and made those with ulterior motives even more fearful. However, the comments on the Internet have undergone subtle changes. The proportion of people who oppose Minhong has dropped from 90% to less than 20%, while the proportion of people who support Minhong has reached as high as 65%!
The whole society was shaken, a storm was brewing, and undercurrents were surging, making things increasingly complicated.
Meanwhile, in Zhongnanhai, in that familiar conference hall, a strange confrontation was unfolding.
The two sides in the confrontation were Lin Yao and the central government, represented by the top leader, and the starting point of the issue was the social impact of Min Hong's actions and how to make amends.
“Chairman, Premier, gentlemen,” Lin Yao stood up from his seat, showing full respect, “I’m sorry, I can’t take back my words, and Min Hong can’t carry out the request.”
No one responded. Everyone just looked at Lin Yao with calm eyes. The veteran comrades, who had been through many trials, were not good at expressing their emotions, so Lin Yao could not tell what they meant. He did not expect to gain their understanding.
After a long silence, the Premier spoke again, but this time he no longer had the same feelings as before. His feelings for Lin Yao were complicated, but he would no longer tolerate and protect him with the same maternal affection as before.
Why do this? Is there some other purpose?
"Hmm?" Lin Yao snorted through his nose, raising his voice, clearly thinking he had misheard. Three seconds later, he was sure he hadn't misheard, and a hint of resentment rose in his heart. "Since people are bound to die, of course we should control the number of people who can provide medical assistance. That's not unreasonable, is it?"
“Besides, our choice wasn’t for our own selfish desires. The conditions we set wouldn’t bring us or our family any benefit whatsoever. Morally speaking, good and evil are rewarded accordingly, so let’s just consider Minhong’s actions as retribution for everyone’s good and evil deeds.”
This statement drew everyone's attention back, and the Prime Minister immediately grasped the key issue, urgently asking, "Unavoidable deaths?!"
"How is it unavoidable? Aren't we doing a great job now? If we strengthen management and streamline logistics and distribution processes, we can completely avoid people dying from the plague. How can you give such a reason? The idea of karmic retribution is an idealist viewpoint. Don't bring it up here."
"Distinguished leaders, you are the brains and hope of China. Let me be frank with you." Lin Yao sighed, his face losing the composure and calmness he had maintained since entering the conference hall, replaced by a look of dejection in his eyes.
"I can tell you with certainty that death is inevitable, and it will be a large-scale, widespread death!"
“I’m certain that a new epidemic will follow,” Lin Yao said, becoming somewhat agitated. “Therefore, after comprehensively analyzing the types and quantities of medicinal materials currently in Minhong’s reserves, we have formulated a policy to immediately reduce production in response to the current epidemic while maintaining strategic reserves of medicinal materials. As a result, a large number of our compatriots will rely on their own immunity to fight the virus. Of course, Minhong will also provide some assistance within its capacity, but there will definitely be a significant difference in treatment between members and non-members.”
"How could this be! You can't!" The Prime Minister interrupted Lin Yao with two exclamation marks in succession. "Minhong is no longer a purely private pharmaceutical company. It is now related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Even if the state does not conscript or take over, you are not allowed to make such a big decision as reducing production on your own!"
“Premier,” Lin Yao smiled wryly, “I’m more professional in this area than you are, so please don’t ask me for the authority to coordinate and allocate resources in this matter.”
Lin Yao's impoliteness caused the Premier's expression to change. If he hadn't known this young man so well, he could have turned on him based on those words alone. But at this moment, he suppressed his anger with magnanimity, listened attentively to Lin Yao's explanation, and showed a "you tell me" expression on his face.
"Do you all remember that I once said I was a Taoist practitioner?"
Lin Yao put away his wry smile, looked around seriously, and after seeing everyone nod slightly, he continued, "Actually, even if I hadn't said it, everyone should have been able to figure it out from the information we've gathered. So I won't lie to you about this, because I can't gain any benefit from it from any perspective, and lying would only break my Dao heart."
“I mentioned before that Jiang Liu of the Jiang family fled abroad with a ‘magical artifact’. All the plagues, including the one in Yanji City and the two subsequent deadly plagues, were caused by him.”
"Don't fantasize about persuading Jiang Liu, because Jiang Liu no longer exists. The 'demon artifact' has parasitized his body and gained absolute control. Jiang Liu's consciousness, or rather his soul, has dissipated, so the plague is inevitable in the future."
“Minhong’s report mentioned that there is a severe shortage of medicinal materials. Various medicinal material dealers and even farmers have started to hoard and refuse to sell, just like the hoarding and speculation of garlic and ginger a few years ago. This has seriously affected Minhong’s medicinal material reserves and the maintenance of subsequent production capacity, so I have no choice but to reduce production capacity at this moment.”
"Of course, the most crucial issue is the severe shortage of raw materials for refining special-effect pills. Even if farmers and herb dealers don't stockpile them, it's impossible to meet the national demand. Moreover, we don't know what type of virus or bacteria the new plague will be, so we must be even more careful to avoid everyone dying from a lack of medicine."
“Min Hong’s report repeatedly mentioned a suggestion, requiring several key areas to carry out artificial cultivation of key medicinal herbs. However, a year has passed, and from what we understand, there has been no effect. Firstly, it may be because the purchase price proposed by Min Hong is too low. Secondly, it may be because the local government and farmers feel that they are not confident in trying to cultivate the medicinal herbs. In the past, those medicinal herbs were almost entirely collected from wild resources. Now, Min Hong’s influence, funds, and personnel are completely insufficient to meet the demand. There is nothing I can do about it. Anyway, people are going to die, so let’s try our best to protect the people we think are kind.”
The attendees' expressions changed rapidly; Lin Yao's words were like sharp blades cutting into their faces, causing a burning pain.
The request in Min Hong's report was reviewed and approved, but after being issued to the local authorities, it has not been implemented for the two reasons mentioned by Lin Yao. Although the plague is rampant this year, no one is willing to give up their vested interests when they can obtain a supply of cheap medicine from Min Hong. The high risk and low return of planting medicinal herbs simply cannot attract the interest of the local government and farmers whose climate and natural conditions are suitable. Therefore, the final result is that the document was shelved after being issued and then left unresolved, which unexpectedly led to such serious consequences.
"Are you certain that all the plagues originated from Jiang Liu and that 'magical artifact'?" the chairman suddenly interjected.
"Yes, Chairman, I vouch for it with the reputation of my entire family." Lin Yao bowed slightly, confirming the answer.
Will the plague continue to break out? Or will it be a new virus or bacteria?
"Yes, Chairman."
"How many people will die? I'm talking about how many people would die if you and the entire Minhong Group were to maintain this situation with your current capabilities and encounter two more outbreaks of similar severity to the Huizhou plague within a year?" The Chairman stood up from his chair, his expression very serious.
"It depends on the specific mortality rate of relying entirely on the body's own immune system to fight off the virus. If we take the Huizhou virus as an example, Minhong and I can only guarantee that about 800 million people can be continuously protected. The recurrent nature of the virus determines that the death toll will exceed 200 million. Of course, this is the data obtained under the premise that there is no or no time to develop an emergency plan for 'cocktail therapy'."