Lin Yao, however, preferred to use a common jade bottle. He kept a spare set of jade bottles containing pills on his person, as agreed, to conceal Xiaocao as a hidden warehouse.
"Alright, stop being so long-winded. Hurry up and book your plane tickets so you can go home and have a good New Year. Let Banan stay here; his whole family is planning to spend the New Year in Beijing anyway. If you have time, buy them plenty of New Year's goods so our family can have a lively and festive New Year too. Oh, and get some fireworks and firecrackers; kids love fireworks, so let's have a joyous New Year here."
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, let's go to the airport."
"Yes, sir, please wait a moment while I go get the gift."
Yi Zuojun disappeared like the wind, quickly loading a large pile of packaged gifts into the Alto car, then got into the driver's seat and waited for Lin Yao to arrive.
Of course, Yi Zuojun would drive Lin Yao to the airport, because if the Alto was left parked there, the exorbitant parking fee alone would be enough to make Lin Yao wince for days. Compared to the price of the Alto, the parking fee was simply not worth it.
Yi Zuojun had already figured out this petty bourgeois mentality very well, so he could handle everything in the most satisfactory way without Lin Yao having to give any instructions.
At the airport, Lin Yao met his adoptive grandfather, General Xia, and Major Cheng De, who came to see him off. Also there were Situ Hao's family. Although they were all in Beijing, the busy Lin Yao had no time to meet with Situ Hao. Because of his connection with Min Hong, Situ Hao's businesses in various places had been affected to some extent, so he was usually busy running around dealing with troubles.
Situ Hao hadn't seen Lin Yao for several months. When he heard from his childhood friend, Major Cheng De, that Lin Yao would be on the same flight back to Chengdu as the old general, he brought his whole family to see him off, as a way of catching up. He especially wanted his daughter, Situ Yan, to meet her benefactor.
"Grandpa, you're here so early?"
Lin Yao obediently stepped forward to greet him. He knew that no matter how high his status was, he couldn't act arrogantly in front of this old man. After all, he was the old man's grandson-in-law. When it came to playing the status card and putting on airs, Lin Yao knew that ten of him couldn't match the old general.
“My dear son-in-law, Grandpa came here especially to pick you up. Of course, we had to arrive early so we could check out the airport environment first, lest some people scare my dear son-in-law.”
General Xia's nonsense came out of nowhere without any need for a draft. He was very happy during this period. Some of his former colleagues who used to argue with him came to visit him one after another, and even brought gifts. He didn't even get this kind of treatment when he was the commander of the Beijing Military Region. Back then, those people were fighting with him to the death, so why would they try to curry favor with him?
All of this was because of this good son-in-law. The old man knew this very well, so the more he looked at Lin Yao, the more he liked him. He felt that although the little bastard was incompetent at having a granddaughter, his granddaughter was capable of attracting a son-in-law who was a dragon among men. This made him even more satisfied than raising a grandson.
After greeting General Xia, Lin Yao warmly embraced Situ Hao, the man who had given his family tremendous support during their most difficult time. Lin Yao was deeply grateful to him and respected him greatly.
The higher one climbs, the harder it is to find true friends. Lin Yao cherishes his friendship with Situ Hao. Although Situ Hao is a typical businessman who is used to calculating everything, it is enough that he has a patriotic and people-loving heart. Lin Yao can tolerate any of his bad behavior, even if he resorts to bribery or other underhanded means.
Perhaps this is the unavoidable differential treatment standard of humanity, and Lin Yao wasn't ashamed of it at all, nor did he think there was anything wrong with it. This is how society is; how could a small-time doctor like him possibly change things so drastically? Did he want his most trusted brother to suffer setbacks in society because of his so-called principles?
Moreover, because of Min Hong, Situ Hao's chain supermarkets have already suffered from various difficulties, and Lin Yao can't afford to deal with these small matters at the moment, so he can only provide assistance in other areas.
“Brother Situ, this is a New Year’s gift for you. This small package is for your wife and Yanzi. I wish your whole family a Happy New Year in advance.”
Lin Yao's face was beaming with a genuine smile as he stuffed the two cloth bags, one large and one small, into Situ Hao's arms.
"Let me see what Brother Yao gave me."
Situ Yan snatched the smaller cloth bag from her father's hand and opened it to look at the gifts. As for how to address Lin Yao, the girl refused to call him "uncle" as her parents wanted. She insisted on calling him "Brother Yao" because she felt that only in this way could she use Lin Yao as a model for her future lover. Otherwise, wouldn't people say that she had an Oedipus complex?
Since Minhong Pharmaceutical and Lin Yao's personal strength and status have continued to rise, Situ Yan has troubled herself to remove Lin Yao from her image as her Prince Charming. Although she is young, she already knows that she is not good enough for this Yao-gege (older brother Yao) with her own conditions. She can only be a good younger sister, a younger sister who is loved by her brother. Regardless of whether this relationship will cause confusion in the generational relationship with her parents, she still wants to be Lin Yao's good younger sister.
Inside the cloth bag were several small jade bottles and a pile of unpackaged medicinal powder. Situ Yan didn't know what the powder was, and she didn't bother to look at the instruction sheet tucked inside, because she knew that whatever the jade bottles contained, regardless of the type of elixir, was extremely precious. She immediately cheered, shoved the bag into her mother's arms, rushed over, hugged Lin Yao, and, standing on tiptoe, planted a kiss on his chin, since she couldn't reach his face.
Seeing this, Situ Hao couldn't say anything. He could only follow his daughter's example and open the large cloth bag in front of Lin Yao. He saw a pile of jade bottles, took out the instruction sheet, glanced at it, and immediately exclaimed in surprise.
"Brother Lin, so many 'Number Ones'?! There are just too many!"
Lin Yao smiled, said nothing, and didn't even wipe the drool off his chin. He wondered if General Xia would hold him accountable if he saw this, but he remained calm on the surface.
"Brother Situ, 'Number One' is for you to pass the test. Now that the drought relief beverage has stopped production, I know many people are making things difficult for you, so I'm giving you some sweet talk to do some public relations. There's a special bottle you should keep safe. It's for you, your sister-in-law, and your parents. It's called 'Snow Soul Pill,' and it's very effective for the elderly. Don't give this away, okay? There's not much of it, so don't waste it."
"Of course, how could I possibly prevent my own family members from benefiting for the sake of profit? Brother Lin, rest assured, this is something I, Situ Hao, would never do."
"My dear son-in-law, why didn't you give me a gift for the New Year? And you didn't give Xiao Dezi a gift either."
General Xia suddenly rushed over and grabbed Lin Yao's arm, looking like he was saying, "If you don't satisfy me, I'll teach you a lesson." Lin Yao was both amused and exasperated, thinking to himself that he really didn't know how this grandfather had climbed to such a high position. He never paid attention to interpersonal relationships, at least not on the surface.
"Grandpa, since you're coming back to Chengdu with us for the New Year, the gifts will naturally be given during the New Year. What's the rush?"
Lin Yao comforted the old man, and then walked over to Major Cheng De with the small jade bottle handed to him by the quick-witted Yi Zuojun. "Major Cheng, here are a few 'Number One' pills, but the 'Number One' pills inside are concentrated, not the kind sold at Minhong Hospital. They are for both men and women. Please accept this as a small token of my appreciation."
Cheng De thanked him and accepted Lin Yao's gift without much ceremony, without expressing much gratitude.
Lin Yao had never really liked Major Cheng. Although his actions were exemplary, Lin Yao just didn't like him. He couldn't quite put his finger on why. That's why he gave a gift this time out of respect for the old general. But Lin Yao was determined not to give anything too good. So he gave him a concentrated version of "Life Movement No. 1".
The value of "Life Movement No. 1" has been increasing day by day. Influenced by research reports from a group of experts and scholars, this drug, which was initially classified as a male enhancement drug, has been hyped up on the Internet as an unprecedented health-preserving holy medicine. Its unique effects of protecting the liver and kidneys have long since moved this drug out of the scope of male function treatment. Everyone wants to obtain it, and it has even caused all the Minhong Hospitals and Clinics across the country to run out of stock. As soon as the stock arrives, many people immediately line up to wait.
Under Qin Xuan and Zhang Hui's guidance, "Life Movement No. 1" became another drug, after "Hepatitis B Granules," that required public disclosure and special qualifications granted by Min Hong before it could be purchased. The remaining portion was sold directly to the public, and even non-members could buy it. However, the price was set at 80,000 yuan per pill, which made Lin Yao call them profiteers, because this price far exceeded the overseas price.
Qin Xuan and Zhang Hui didn't believe their operation would fail, and it proved to be true. The "Life Movement No. 1," priced at 80,000 yuan per capsule, sold out immediately as soon as it was in stock. The booming sales surprised Lin Yao and his parents, but were defeated by Qin Xuan and Zhang Hui's nonchalant explanation.
At that time, the two experts said, "What's so special about this? It's only 80,000 yuan. You don't know how extravagant and wasteful those guys who make money easily live. 80,000 yuan isn't even enough for a single meal. Actually, we wanted to price it at 99,999 yuan."
In response to public skepticism, some hypocrites criticized Minhong Pharmaceutical for its profit-driven decline. Qin Xuan and Zhang Hui took decisive action, adding these critics to Minhong's official blacklist, thus announcing the arrival of Minhong's powerful era.
Qin Xuan and Zhang Hui also considered the work of reassuring ordinary people very well. With just a few words, they won over even the most tolerant people:
“Minhong Pharmaceutical has been operating at a loss and is also in debt, with debts exceeding 100 billion yuan. If we do not find ways to increase profits from this moment on, perhaps all Minhong hospitals and clinics across the country will have to close down next month. So please be understanding of us and believe that we will continue to take care of the vast majority of ordinary compatriots as always.”
With the support of the best and fastest-growing information companies in the country, Minhong's business has progressed rapidly. Its management has become more standardized, its structure more reasonable, and its use of funds more planned and efficient. Even its advertising and online promotion have become more professional and efficient.
The earliest acquired purified water company expanded, and almost the entire surrounding area was vigorously selling "Minhong" brand purified water under the Minhong Pharmaceutical Group. Consumers spontaneously chose to buy "Minhong water" and no longer blindly believed in those big brands and large-scale purified water and mineral water with overwhelming advertisements. This is because everyone has a clear understanding and will no longer believe in those "mineral waters" that add a penny's worth of solution to each bottle but do not help health.
"It's all water, why pretend to be pure? It's just red water!"
"Although the packaging is simple, we guarantee it's clean!"
With just two advertising slogans, Minhong Water, with its simple outer packaging and a price of one yuan, achieved unprecedented sales. Minhong Water Industry Group, which developed from Anyun Water Industry, expanded rapidly. In addition to the Chengdu and surrounding areas, it also acquired small and medium-sized purified water bottling companies across the country or directly invested in building factories. In just over two months, this project contributed 500 million yuan in profit to Minhong Group. Although it was autumn and winter, sales in the south were booming, and the northern market was approaching that of established products.
This situation left Lin Hongmei in Chengdu with mixed feelings and made her realize the value of talent even more. She often told her husband that she regretted not having a son, otherwise it would have been wonderful to have Zhang Hui as her daughter-in-law. At that time, Lin Yao was weak and sickly and could have applied to have a second child.
As for Qin Xuan, the only remaining single man, firstly, he is too old to be matched with his daughter Lin Hongmei, who cannot have children; secondly, Qin Xuan's constant gazing at Zhang Hui makes Lin Hongmei very unhappy, because in her heart, she has long regarded Zhang Hui as the wife chosen by her unborn son from some unknown world.