Chapter 588: The Pharmaceutical Tycoon

Chapter 588: Chapter 603: The Pharmaceutical Tycoon

An Ning spat indignantly. With a THUMP, he threw open the car door and got out, swaggering as he stood to the side holding his phone.

“Listen up! I may be by myself, but I’ve been on the phone the whole time. If you dare touch me, I’ll make sure you regret it!”

An Ning projected an air of idiotic arrogance—the kind that says, ‘I might not have any real skills, but don’t mess with me.’

Honestly, this type of person was easy to look down on, so the inspectors checked his car quickly.

After opening the rear of the car and confirming no one could be hiding inside, they let An Ning go.

Still holding his phone, An Ning snorted defiantly, putting on a show. “Hah! They didn’t even dare to search me properly. See? I told you I own this neighborhood.”

Still full of bluster, An Ning got back in his car, his chin held so high it nearly touched the sky. The car peeled out, disappearing in a puff of exhaust.

Hei Niu and Hua Cheng, who had been hiding underneath the car the entire time, scrambled out, their hearts pounding from the thrillingly close call.

“Incredible!”

“Impressive!”

After their one-word praises, An Ning slammed the accelerator to the floor and sped off.

As soon as they entered the city, Hua Cheng was rushed to the hospital. An Ning also took the opportunity to inform Jiang Xia.

Hua Cheng was wheeled into an operating room for surgery, and Hei Niu was sent to orthopedics to have her bones set. As for An Ning, he was approached by a familiar face.

“An Ning.”

“What should I call you?”

“Cheng Jun. My real name.”

An Ning nodded. The man in front of him was none other than Jiang Xia and Hua Cheng’s childhood friend—the translator who had gone abroad over a month ago.

“Hua Cheng is inside. What’s the situation on your end?”

“It’s a bit tricky.”

Cheng Jun led An Ning to a secluded spot where they could talk.

After hearing him out, An Ning frowned. “So you’re saying all their procedures are legal? That even though they’re from R Country, we can’t find a single loophole?”

“That’s about the gist of it. Legally speaking, there’s not much we can do. It would cause an international incident.”

“Legally speaking?”

An Ning picked up on the hidden meaning in that phrase. An idea suddenly sparked in his mind.

“In other words, business tactics aren’t off the table.”

Cheng Jun gave a slight nod. An Ning, remembering something, asked, “What about the former director of the herbal medicine factory? Hua Cheng said he’s not one of the Huaxia people.”

“We can’t prove it. While he is admittedly short, his language, behavior, habits—everything about him—is identical to a local’s.”

An Ning understood. It would be difficult to turn the villagers against a respected factory director who sold the factory to make them all rich.

“Actually, there is another way: genetic testing.”

Cheng Jun’s eyes lit up at An Ning’s words. More than anyone, he wanted to catch these spies.

“Is that possible?”

An Ning nodded and gestured for Cheng Jun to lean closer. As An Ning whispered to him, Cheng Jun’s expression shifted several times before he finally hurried away, visibly excited.

After Cheng Jun left, An Ning called Luo Li.

A single phone call was all it took. Mrs. Luo, Luo Li’s mother and the head of Luo’s Pharmaceutical Factory, immediately decided to fly over.

An Ning then called Jiang Xia. In the blink of an eye, a scheme—one that wasn’t entirely a deception—took shape, ready for its target to take the bait.

An Ning, the mastermind pulling the strings, sat quietly in the hospital corridor. He and Hei Niu, who was already out of her own procedure, waited together for Hua Cheng to come out of surgery.

“You okay?”

Hei Niu shifted her leg, which was now in a cast. “A minor injury.”

An Ning shook his head and chuckled. ‘That’s Hei Niu for you.’

“Hei Niu, do you have any other plans for the future? Or are you just going to be a Medicine Seeker in the mountains forever?”

“I don’t know. I know the mountains like the back of my hand. I don’t like dealing with people; I prefer the freedom of the mountains. But money is a little tight… So, Boss An Ning, what kind of job are you about to offer me?”

They knew each other too well, right down to their usual plays.

An Ning didn’t hide his intentions, but he dangled the offer like bait. “I’m planning to open a pharmaceutical factory. I need someone to run it, and I think you’d be a good fit.”

“Can I still hunt?”

“As long as it’s legal, you’ll have free rein. You just need to manage the big picture. I need someone I can trust in this position. The only thing is, it’s a bit far from your home.”

Hei Niu didn’t agree immediately.

“First, I need to take the herbs back home and get my dad’s situation sorted out. I’ll give you an answer after that.”

“Fine, I’m not in a rush. Are you leaving now, or…?”

An Ning glanced toward the operating room. Hei Niu said matter-of-factly, “I’ll wait. I did risk my life to save him, after all. The least I can do is make sure he pulls through.”

They spent the next while discussing the herbal medicine factory. Hei Niu decided that as soon as she got back, she would buy a copy of the Compendium of Materia Medica. Whether she took the job or not, she needed to learn more about herbs.

The two of them chatted idly for about three hours until the surgery was over. When Hua Cheng was wheeled out, the doctor told An Ning and Hei Niu that he was incredibly lucky. He hadn’t lost a massive amount of blood; most people with a wound that severe wouldn’t have survived.

Hei Niu and An Ning accompanied Hua Cheng to his room. Once she had confirmed he was going to live, Hei Niu took her herbs and headed back north.

An Ning stayed behind, waiting for Mrs. Luo and Jiang Xia to arrive.

An Ning must have dozed off, because he was startled awake by the ringing of his phone. It was Jiang Xia; he had arrived.

An Ning sent Jiang Xia the room number and waited for him in the hallway.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwell. A moment later, Jiang Xia appeared at the landing, dressed in a suit. He stopped and looked around.

The moment he spotted An Ning, Jiang Xia picked up his pace and broke into a run.

“Hey! No running in the halls!”

The nurse’s sharp reprimand made Jiang Xia falter. He apologized sheepishly to the nurse before composing himself and walking toward An Ning at a more sedate pace.

An Ning snickered, leaving Jiang Xia speechless.

“You think this is funny?”

“It’s so funny I’m kicking myself for not recording it.”

Jiang Xia peered through the window of the hospital room at Hua Cheng lying in bed. “He’s alive?”

“The herbs Hei Niu found were exceptional.”

‘They were worth a fortune, yet Hei Niu still chose to save Hua Cheng with them.’

Jiang Xia nodded. He and An Ning sat on the chairs in the hall, discussing their next steps.

A little over an hour later, the anesthesia began to wear off, leaving Hua Cheng in a groggy, dazed state. After Jiang Xia had taken an untold number of unflattering photos of him, Hua Cheng drifted back into a hazy sleep.

When Hua Cheng woke up again, there were four people in his room. He recognized three of them, while the fourth looked vaguely familiar.

“How nice… both of you came to see me. And you… you look really familiar…”

Hua Cheng stared intently at the head of Luo Pharmaceutical—Mrs. Luo—but his sluggish brain just couldn’t place her. The feeling was driving him crazy.

Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun, standing on either side of the bed, simultaneously pinched Hua Cheng’s cheeks.

“His face isn’t even that big,” Jiang Xia said. “How can he say something so shameless?”

“What he lacks in size, he makes up for in thickness,” Cheng Jun added. “The man’s got skill.”

As Jiang Xia and Cheng Jun relentlessly teased him, Hua Cheng’s mind slowly cleared. Just as he was about to fire back a retort…

“I remember now! The pharma tycoon!”