Chapter 12

After listening to the bitter tears and heartfelt words of the grandfather and grandson, Feng Jueyu roughly understood the reason why Jishi Fang was preparing to close down. It all boiled down to an issue of industry monopoly.

Tian Nan City was vast, and in the herbal medicine industry, there were three leading families: the Huairen Hall of the Shangguan family, the Hui Chun Hall of the Chen family, and the Miaoshan Hall of the Xu family...

The three major families dominated the pharmaceutical industry, with their pharmacies, clinics, and pharmaceutical factories spread throughout the entire Tian Nan.

Jishi Fang was located in the southern part of the city, which was the territory of the Chen family's Hui Chun Hall. Recently, the Chen family had aggressively monopolized the southern city's pharmaceutical industry, producing several good medicines, which were still low-end products, suppressing the small pharmacies in the southern part of the city, making it difficult for them to survive.

These days, just treating patients and charging consultation fees didn't earn much money. Every pharmacy had to sell hundreds of common herbs, and doctors would prescribe them to treat minor illnesses, so people didn't have to go to large places like Miaoshan Hall, which were not only expensive but also had long queues that were unbearable. If someone had an emergency and didn't have enough money, they might even die, and no one would care. This was very similar to the society in Feng Jueyu's previous life, where human relationships were cold and people were profit-driven.

Miaoshan Hall went even further, leveraging its large family and connections with officials to secure a monopoly on the pharmaceutical industry in the southern part of the city. They then aggressively suppressed small pharmacies and clinics like Jishi Fang, leading to widespread complaints from their peers and causing hardship for the local residents.

At present, only a few small pharmacies like Jishi Fang were barely holding on, as their properties were ancestral homes, and they didn't have to pay rent, which was much better than other merchants.

Originally, Li Yide thought it wouldn't be difficult to keep the business going. However, just as the saying goes, "When it rains, it pours." A few days ago, a patient came for treatment, and it was just a minor illness. Li Yide didn't take it seriously, but during the treatment, the patient suddenly died.

What followed was predictable. The patient's family quickly appeared and demanded compensation, and the lawsuit was directly submitted to the government, with a claim of seventy taels of silver.

Seventy taels! In Tian Nan City, five taels of silver was the living expense for a commoner for half a year. Seventy taels was a huge amount, and the grandfather and grandson naturally couldn't afford it. They had to mortgage their property to the government and were ordered to pay the fine within a deadline, or their home would be confiscated.

Now, Jishi Fang couldn't continue operating, and they had to give up their ancestral home for nothing.

Just as the grandfather and grandson were at a loss, someone from the Chen family appeared, offering to buy their property for seventy taels of silver.

Li Yide thought about it over and over again and finally decided to give up the ancestral home. The signing of the contract was not far off.

It was clear that this was a trap that had been set up long ago, waiting for the grandfather and grandson to fall into it.

The patient, the family, the government, and the Chen family were all in cahoots. This plan was extremely vicious, with one step leading to another, robbing the grandfather and grandson of their small shop.

Feng Jueyu was so angry that he laughed. The Chen family's tricks were not sophisticated, but they were effective against someone like Li Yide. This was too cruel, especially for someone who ran a pharmacy, claiming to save lives while secretly engaging in despicable and immoral acts, bullying the weak...

Furtively glancing at the sighing grandfather and grandson, Feng Jueyu shook his head helplessly. It seemed they hadn't realized they had fallen into a trap. The life of the poor was so cruel, and they were always oppressed and bullied, no matter in which world.

Thinking about this, Feng Jueyu's anger surged, and he decided he had to do something about it.

Tapping the table, Feng Jueyu said solemnly, "Haven't you suspected anything about this?"

"What do you mean?" The grandfather and grandson looked up in surprise.

Feng Jueyu sneered, "The patient died, and the family arrived at your place almost immediately. The government quickly made a ruling and demanded seventy taels of silver in compensation. Don't you find this suspicious? It was too fast. And the Xu family, how did they get the news so quickly? The price they offered was exactly seventy taels. Can't you see the problem here?"

This counter-question left the grandfather and grandson stunned.

Feng Jueyu was right. When the patient died, the family arrived at Jishi Fang almost immediately, crying and demanding justice. The lawsuit was submitted to the government in the morning.

The city magistrate quickly made a ruling, and the clerk casually announced the value of Jishi Fang to everyone. Wasn't this enough?

And the Xu family, just after the grandfather and grandson were fined, came with people, offering exactly seventy taels.

If Li Yide couldn't see through this, he would have wasted over sixty years of life.

Even Li Tong'er understood clearly, "What? How can they do this? We didn't take their business, and the Xu family is too bullying. I want to go to the magistrate and seek justice."

Li Tong'er's face turned red with anger, and her chest heaved. Feng Jueyu noticed that this young girl, though not old, was quite mature for her age. At fifteen or sixteen, she was quite developed, and her figure was quite alluring, making Feng Jueyu feel dizzy.

Feng Jueyu, in his previous life, was not a saint. After each killing, he would find a place to release his anger and kill the tension, and he had encountered many beautiful women.

However, those women, with their heavy makeup, lacked the innocence and purity of Li Tong'er.

Smelling the faint, elegant fragrance mixed with the strong medicinal smell, Feng Jueyu's male hormones surged. Looking at Li Tong'er's smooth, delicate skin and her well-proportioned, charming figure, he felt as if he had returned to a youthful, innocent age. It had been years since he had tasted the flavor of a virgin.

Reaching out to stop Li Tong'er, Feng Jueyu swallowed his saliva and raised his eyebrows, "Sit down. They were all in on it. Do you think you can reason with them?"

"Are you saying we should just give up?" Li Tong'er pouted, then bit her lip, her watery eyes filled with tears, looking extremely aggrieved.

"Ah..." Li Yide sighed, "Tong'er, the young master is right. We can only blame our fate."

The poor could never compete with the rich, especially with the corrupt officials. The Xu family was a dominant force in Tian Nan City, and Li Yide couldn't afford to offend them.

Feng Jueyu's heart softened, and he put his hand down, "Don't worry, let me think."

Just then, a loud voice came from outside, "Tong'er, Grandpa Li, are you home?"

"It's Brother Xiao." Li Tong'er stood up and walked out of the house. A moment later, she brought in a tall, muscular young man.

This young man was incredibly strong, about twenty years old, nearly six feet tall, broad-shouldered, and thick-bodied, like a giant bear. He was half-naked, revealing a few tufts of black hair.

Li Yide raised his eyebrows and looked at the young man, "You're here."

The young man also saw Feng Jueyu but paid no attention. He walked to the table, drank a glass of water, and then took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, which contained about seven or eight taels of silver. He said, "Grandpa Li, I'm sorry, I could only gather this much from my friends. I'll think of a way tomorrow."

Li Yide didn't move, looked at the young man with gratitude, and sighed, "Forget it. Take the silver back. I don't plan to stay here. Tomorrow, I'll go to the government and hand over the deed."

"No!"

As soon as Li Yide spoke, Feng Jueyu and the young man shouted in unison. They looked at each other, and the young man frowned, "Who are you?"

"I am..." Feng Jueyu hadn't answered when Li Tong'er quickly introduced him, "Brother Xiao, this young master is our savior."

"Savior?"

Li Yide recounted what had just happened to the young man. After listening, the young man extended his hand and said, "Thank you, sir. You saved Grandpa Li, so you are my benefactor. My name is Xiao Yuanshan. From now on, if you have any orders, I will follow them to the ends of the earth."

"Xiao... Yuanshan..." Hearing the young man's name, Feng Jueyu almost lost his balance. Who gave him such a domineering name? Was he also from Earth? Xiao Yuanshan, the father of the Southern Court's King.

Li Tong'er then introduced Xiao Yuanshan. It turned out he was a local thug in the southern part of the city, an orphan who had been a beggar in the past. He grew up to be a strong thug, but he was also the most upright, always helping the poor.

A few years ago, when Li Tong'er's parents were injured in a fight, Grandpa Li saved them from the brink of death. Since then, Xiao Yuanshan recognized Li Yide as his godfather and became Li Tong'er's godbrother.

When the Li family had problems, Xiao Yuanshan helped a lot, but his ability was limited. After several days of effort, he could only gather the seven taels of silver on the table, which was far from enough.

"I am Feng Jueyu." Feng Jueyu introduced himself, not hiding his real name from the three. Tian Nan City was too big, especially the southern part, far from the city center. Even if he revealed his identity, they might not know who he was.

Xiao Yuanshan nodded but didn't say anything. Li Tong'er, however, was still thinking about how to save the old house. Seeing Feng Jueyu deep in thought, she placed her last hope on him.

"Mr. Feng, can you help Grandpa save the old house? This house is Grandpa's life."

The young girl's pitiful appearance made Feng Jueyu's heart soften again. At that moment, a plan formed in his mind.

To the readers:

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