Chapter 57 - 58: Meeting Zhao Xuechu Again

Chapter 57: Chapter 58: Meeting Zhao Xuechu Again

The owner was ecstatic. A true lifesaver, and he’d arrived at the perfect time.

Zhao Xuechu, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. ’This is the supplier the owner was talking about?’

"Huh, what are you doing here?" Li Yang did a double-take when he saw Zhao Xuechu.

Zhao Xuechu hurried over and glanced at the medicinal herbs, her eyes gleaming.

They were still fresh and hadn’t been dried, but their quality was superb—the best of the best.

’I can’t believe this guy actually sells herbs, too!’

"Sell the herbs to me!" Zhao Xuechu declared. "I’ll buy them from you directly."

"Hey, you can’t just do that!" The owner, growing anxious, stepped forward. "Ma’am, that’s not how business is done."

Zhao Xuechu realized she had overstepped. She turned to the owner and said earnestly, "Sir, you can buy these herbs, but don’t sell them to anyone else. Just sell them all to me."

"Can you move this much product?" Li Yang asked with a smile. "This isn’t even my largest haul. I might have even more in a few days. Are you sure you can take it all?"

Zhao Xuechu hesitated.

’There’s still a question of whether my medicated food restaurant will even get off the ground.’

’If I make a promise now and can’t buy that much later... wouldn’t that be embarrassing?’

"Alright, Boss, let’s weigh them," Li Yang said. "And you’d better give me a good price. If you don’t, I’m not selling."

"Of course, of course!" the owner said happily. "I won’t lowball you. Your product is truly top-grade, so I’ll give you the top price. If you can find anyone in the city with a better offer, I’ll pay you the difference. How’s that?"

"I can live with that." Li Yang finally nodded, satisfied. "Go ahead and weigh them."

Meanwhile, Zhao Xuechu was still calculating. After a moment, she spoke up. "I don’t know if I can handle that large of a quantity. How about this, sir? I won’t try to steal your business. This young man and I are acquaintances. I’ll buy what I need from him, and you can have the rest. That way, you don’t have to take a cut from his sale to me. It’s fairer for everyone, right?"

The owner thought it over. It was a good way to do Li Yang a favor.

"Alright, it’s a deal then."

But Li Yang shook his head. "Miss Zhao, it’s not that I doubt you, but I really don’t have time for separate deliveries. If you want the herbs, you’ll have to come pick them up here yourself. How does that sound?"

Zhao Xuechu didn’t seem to mind. She nodded and said, "Fine. Just deliver all the herbs here, and I’ll pick them up myself."

"Sounds good!" Li Yang nodded.

For this batch of herbs, Li Yang pocketed over five thousand yuan.

Li Yang grinned as he looked at the cash in his hand.

"Boss Li..." After they exchanged contact info, the shop owner said urgently, "You have to bring all your herbs to me from now on! Don’t sell to anyone else. Rest assured, I will never lowball you. If you go to anyone else, they’ll definitely try to rip you off!"

"Alright!" Li Yang chuckled. "Don’t worry. As long as you don’t lowball me, you’ll get all my stock."

"Thank you so much!" The owner was grinning from ear to ear.

"Mr. Li!" Zhao Xuechu hesitated before stepping forward. "Can we talk for a moment?"

"Talk about what? Me buying a stake in your company?" Li Yang asked with a smile.

Zhao Xuechu shook her head. "I’m not particularly interested in you buying a stake, but I am interested in a partnership. I’m guessing you’ve never tried medicated food before. How about this: I’ll take you to the most famous medicated food restaurant in town. After you try it, you might be more interested in working with me."

The partnership Zhao Xuechu had in mind was for Li Yang to act as a consultant using his medical expertise, in addition to cementing a solid supply-and-demand relationship with him.

But that wasn’t Li Yang’s goal at all.

"Medicated food?" Li Yang considered it. "Sure, why not? I’ve never had it before. Let’s go give it a try."

"Okay!" Zhao Xuechu nodded and led Li Yang to a restaurant called Shihao Medicated Cuisine.

The moment he stepped inside, he could see it was completely different from a regular hotel or restaurant. The decor was filled with a "health and wellness" aesthetic.

"President Zhao, back to scout out the competition?" A mature woman in her thirties emerged from inside, smiling at Zhao Xuechu.

"Boss Zhong, you say that as if I’m not welcome," Zhao Xuechu replied. "Once my restaurant is open, you’re welcome to be my guest anytime."

"President Zhao, what are you saying? All visitors are guests, even competitors. Please, come in!" Boss Zhong chuckled elegantly.

’The battle lines between women can be drawn at any moment, just like that.’

"And this is?"

Zhao Xuechu spoke up. "He’s a friend. I brought him to experience your famous medicated cuisine, Boss Zhong."

"My, he’s quite handsome," the proprietress chuckled.

"Ma’am, you’re quite beautiful yourself. And very... well-endowed," Li Yang said with a perfectly straight face.

The two women froze.

Suddenly, Boss Zhong burst into laughter. "President Zhao, your friend is quite the smooth-talker!"

"Boss Zhong, since we’re here, why don’t you recommend some dishes for us?" Zhao Xuechu said, changing the subject.