Chapter 28

"Brother, you lost again! Hurry up, I want to ride the horse..." The room echoed with Mei'er's joyful laughter.

"This... Can we do something else!" Jiang Xingchen's voice was somewhat helpless.

The day before, he made a game of Gomoku and taught Mei'er how to play. Soon, the little girl fell in love with the game. At first, he used the black stones to go first and almost always won, but it didn't take long for the little girl to notice something was off and she snatched the black stones.

In Gomoku, the advantage of going first is too great. Once you get the hang of it, you're bound to win. The little girl picked it up quickly, and from then on, Jiang Xingchen couldn't win.

Seeing no hope, Jiang Xingchen mentioned the restrictions on the black stones: three-three, long chain, and four-four prohibitions, with only the four-three method allowed to win.

The little girl, of course, wouldn't agree at first, but when she saw Jiang Xingchen wanting to switch back to the black stones, she thought for a moment and agreed to the restrictions, but added a condition: if her brother lost, he had to let her ride him like a horse.

When they started again, both sides had their wins and losses at first, but as Mei'er became more familiar with the game, Jiang Xingchen was doomed. Even with the restrictions, the black stones still had a huge advantage. There were supposed to be additional rules like three exchanges and two moves on the fifth turn, but Jiang Xingchen, being a half-baked player, didn't understand them.

Over the next two days, Mei'er would drag Jiang Xingchen to play Gomoku, and naturally, he ended up being the horse.

After two days of repeating the same action, he was almost numb. Helplessly lying on the bed, with Mei'er sitting on his back, Jiang Xingchen lamented in his heart: "What a fool I am... Why did I even give her this game? Isn't this just asking for trouble!"

Mei'er giggled nonstop. Just as she was playing happily, a voice came from outside the door: "Young Master Jiang, Young Master Zhao Danqing has arrived!"

"Ah!" Jiang Xingchen quickly got up, stretched his back, and finally felt relieved!

"Is Brother going out again?" Mei'er's laughter subsided, and she bit her lip, feeling very reluctant. For so many years, she had always played alone, and this was the first time her brother had accompanied her, so she cherished this feeling and clung to Jiang Xingchen for two days.

"The matter with the Zhao family's pharmacy will only take one day. Brother will be back tonight!" Jiang Xingchen smiled gently and ruffled the little girl's hair.

"Okay! Brother, go ahead, don't worry about me!" Mei'er was very understanding. She had been in charge of the household from a young age and naturally knew the importance of things. Even though she was reluctant, she wouldn't interfere with her brother's business.

"I've already prepared the meal. Just call Qian Feng and Zhou Xiong when you're hungry!" Qian Feng and Zhou Xiong were the two thugs arranged by Sun Sanqiang, who had been guarding here for the past two days.

"Brother, I'll take care of myself!" Mei'er said. After three days of taking medicine, her condition had improved significantly.

"Okay!" Jiang Xingchen nodded, walked to the wardrobe, took out a package, and handed it to Mei'er.

"What is this?" Mei'er looked at the package of shredded animal skin in her hand and asked curiously.

"This is called a jigsaw puzzle! It's a whole picture divided into 300 small pieces. See if you can put it back together today!" Jiang Xingchen said, then handed Mei'er a piece of white silk: "This is the original picture!"

"A new game?" Mei'er's eyes gradually lit up as she reached out to take the white silk and opened it to look.

"Uh!" At the sight of the white silk, Mei'er was momentarily stunned: "What is this?" On the white silk, there was a strange figure, wearing a mask, with two bull horns on top of his head, round eyes in an inverted V shape, wearing a vest on top and a triangular pair of shorts on the bottom.

"Hehe, this is called Dynamic Man!" Jiang Xingchen laughed. He never thought that his dexterous hands would be useful for drawing. When he made the jigsaw puzzle, it was as easy as pie.

"Alright! Don't get too absorbed in the game, remember to eat and drink!" Jiang Xingchen smiled, patted Mei'er's head, and took out three professional sewing needles of different sizes, then turned and walked out of the room...

In the center of Hongyuan City, outside a large mansion next to the municipal official residence, hundreds of soldiers in light armor guarded the entrance, and the solemn atmosphere made everyone passing by keep their distance.

In the main hall of the mansion, dozens of people were seated in four groups on both sides, clearly representing different factions. Among the group from the Zhao family's pharmacy, Jiang Xingchen sat behind Zhao Zixiang, secretly observing the other three groups.

"The two groups opposite are the Yellow Crane Hall and the Medicine Virtue Residence! On our side is the Hengtong Trading Company, not a local merchant of Hongyuan City. This time, they are directly cooperating with the Spirit Grass Hall, making them our biggest competitor..." Zhao Danqing explained the current situation to Jiang Xingchen in a low voice.

At this moment, two people from the Hengtong Trading Company stood up, one a young man in white silk, the other a half-century-old man with a long beard. They walked directly to Zhao Zixiang.

"Head of the Zhao family!" The young man smiled, not bowing but looking down, in a condescending manner, and said: "I heard that your Zhao family's pharmacy is facing financial difficulties. I wonder if we have a chance to cooperate?"

"Mu Shaodong!" Zhao Zixiang stood up, his expression calm, and said coolly: "I wonder how you want to cooperate?"

"Six hundred thousand yellow crystal coins, and the Zhao family's pharmacy will be merged into our Hengtong Trading Company... Don't rush to refuse!" The young man waved his hand and continued: "Think about it carefully. If you fail this competition, you probably won't be able to pay off those debts!"

As soon as he spoke, the entire hall fell silent. The people from the Yellow Crane Hall and the Medicine Virtue Residence all wore expressions of anticipation.

"Ha ha, this time the Zhao family's pharmacy is finished! Completely outdone by the Hengtong Trading Company, decades of accumulation gone in a day!"

"They have dominated the supply to the Seventh Legion for twenty years, it's time to give up that position!"

"Zhao Zixiang is known as the first physician, I wonder if the Duke will still value him as before after this..."

The voices were low, but the hall was abnormally quiet, making these words sound clear and piercing.

Zhao Danqing's face darkened, and his breathing became heavy.

Jiang Xingchen silently watched everything, his right hand's fingers gently moving, as agile as ripples in water.

Zhao Zixiang still wore a calm expression and said: "There's no need to consider it. Mu Shaodong, please return!"

The half-century-old man beside the young man suddenly interjected: "Zhao Zixiang, do you still think you can win the supply contract for the Seventh Legion? What about the effectiveness and price of your hemostatic medicine?"

Zhao Zixiang glanced at the old man and said: "Doctor Cui, let me tell you, based on the Zhao family's pharmacy's excellent reputation from twenty years of cooperation with the Seventh Legion!"

"Reputation!" Doctor Cui was about to say more, but Mu Shaodong raised his hand to stop him and said with a smile: "Since the head of the Zhao family is unwilling, we can't force it. Let's go back!"

As the two walked back, Jiang Xingchen looked at the half-century-old man and thought to himself: "So this is Doctor Cui from the Spirit Grass Hall..."

"Tap tap tap..." The sound of footsteps reached everyone's ears, and they turned to see several figures entering the hall.

The person in front was around forty years old, dressed in a tight-fitting animal skin outfit, tall and imposing, even more formidable than Zhao Danqing. As soon as he entered, he brought a powerful aura, making everyone in the hall catch their breath.

Behind him were three young men, one refined, one with a fierce expression, and another with a smiling face.

Following them were seven or eight more people, one of whom was the military supply officer who had visited the Zhao family's pharmacy the day before.

As the group passed, the military supply officer glanced at Mu Shaodong and nodded slightly.

The person in front walked to the main seat in the center and asked: "Supply Officer, what are the results?"

The supply officer hurried forward and said loudly: "Reporting to the Legion Commander, we have reviewed the hemostatic medicines from the four groups. The effects of the Yellow Crane Hall and the Medicine Virtue Residence are average, the Zhao family's pharmacy is slightly better, and the best is the Hengtong Trading Company!"

"Ah!" The Legion Commander frowned and asked: "The Zhao family's pharmacy's effect is not the best?"

"Yes! I have conducted rigorous tests, and the Hengtong Trading Company's hemostatic medicine is indeed the best!" the supply officer replied.

"Um!" The Legion Commander nodded. Although he had a good relationship with the Zhao family's pharmacy in the past, when it came to the lives of soldiers, there was no room for personal feelings.

"What about the price? Which one is suitable?" the Legion Commander asked again.

At this moment, another person stepped forward and said: "The lowest price is from the Yellow Crane Hall, followed by the Medicine Virtue Residence. The Hengtong Trading Company and the Zhao family's pharmacy have the same price."

The Legion Commander's gaze swept over the Hengtong Trading Company and the Zhao family's pharmacy. He understood the reason behind this. The Hengtong Trading Company was clearly engaging in malicious competition. However, in such a situation, he couldn't favor the Zhao family's pharmacy. If he didn't choose the best and cheapest option, he would be criticized, and the accusation of deliberately weakening the empire's combat capability would be hard to explain to the Emperor.

Subsequently, the Legion Commander had someone personally verify, and indeed, the Hengtong Trading Company's hemostatic medicine was better than the Zhao family's.

Seeing that the results were confirmed, the Legion Commander was about to decide that the Hengtong Trading Company would be responsible for the supply of hemostatic medicine to the Seventh Legion.

But just as he was about to speak, Zhao Zixiang suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Legion Commander, we can reduce the price of our hemostatic medicine by thirty percent!"

"What?" When Zhao Zixiang said this, everyone in the room was shocked.

"Has Zhao Zixiang been driven mad? A thirty percent reduction isn't a one-time deal. Continuous supply will follow, and you won't be able to afford it even if you sell the Zhao family!"

After the shock, Mu Shaodong and Doctor Cui exchanged glances and simultaneously showed disdainful smiles.

The Legion Commander frowned and asked sternly: "Zhao Zixiang, do you know what this means?"

Zhao Zixiang smiled and said: "Of course I do! Not only will we reduce the price by thirty percent, but we will also ensure that the effectiveness is three times better than before!"

"Three times better!" The Hengtong Trading Company, the Yellow Crane Hall, and the Medicine Virtue Residence sneered: "Zhao Zixiang is talking nonsense! Three times better, are you dreaming?"

The officers' faces changed abruptly. Zhao Zixiang's words were like trying to fool the Seventh Legion. The supply officer even shouted loudly.

At the Zhao family's pharmacy, everyone except Jiang Xingchen and Zhao Danqing turned pale. Deceiving the empire's legion could lead to catastrophic consequences.

The Legion Commander's facial muscles twitched, and he laughed in anger: "Zhao Zixiang, you are being impulsive! Forget it, I won't hold it against you!" As he said this, he waved his hand.

However, Zhao Zixiang did not back down. Instead, he stepped forward, pulled out a short knife, and slashed it across his own arm.