Exit the Xiahai market?Exit the Xiahai market?

  Of course, this was impossible. Xiao Luo planned to conquer the national market, and Xiahai was essential as its key transportation hub base.

  Since that day, both Huayao Corporation and Renhe Medicines started to make strategic moves against Luo Workshop. The rivals had teamed up to battle the outsider, Luo Workshop. Xiao Luo had not expected this. He had only foreseen that Huayao Corporation would join forces with Sumir because of Shen Qingyan and Su Li’s friendship. Huayao and Renhe had a simple strategy in bringing down Luo Workshop. It was to give a massive reduction in the prices of their health supplement products. They would include products that helped to improve blood pressures and cholesterol levels in their price reduction exercise. They even came up with a series of promotional events in collaboration with Sumir. As long as a customer would spend two hundred dollars or more at Sumir, that person could come to either Huayao or Renhe with Sumir’s receipt for a discount on purchases there. It was as high as ninety percent discount, which was an extremely generous bargain for the customers.

  These promotions from his rivals had rendered Xiao Luo’s Chinese medicine-based TCM health drink unattractive to the consumers. Huayao and Renhe sold a plethora of health supplement products that improved blood pressures and cholesterol levels. On top of that, they are trustworthy and renowned brands in the health supplement industry. With such low prices, people purchased health products from them. Since Luo Workshop had lost the competitive edge of its TCM health drink, its sales plunged overnight.

  At that same time, a media outlet exposed a shocking piece of news. It revealed the identity of Sumir’s actual boss, who had always remained behind the scene. It stated that it was none other than the beloved diva of the nation, Su Li!

  After the insider leak, this news quickly became the headlines of various media, and it was the most heated topic of discussion.

  “Oh, my gosh, Su Li is indeed our nation’s treasure. Not only is she already at the apex of showbiz, but she is also a giant in the field of commerce,” a fan commented.

  “I finally know why our lady Su is so stunning. A successful person like her would exude confidence from within, and that is the secret of her invincible charisma!” said another fan.

  “I am all for Su Li this life, and even more so in the next life! Li Li, we love you!” said another ardent supporter.

  The netizens rallied and left numerous comments under these threads. On top of that, the legion of Su Li’s fans had taken over her Weibo feed as they declared their loyalty and support for Sumir.

  With the effect of Su Li’s celebrity status, Sumir’s sales completely thrashed Luo Workshop. Every day, there were large gatherings of Su Li’s fans at Sumir’s retail stores to purchase bread and pastries. On the other hand, Luo Workshop’s retail stores were mostly empty and so desolate that one could count the number of customers with the fingers on one hand.

  All the Luo Workshop executives such as Zhang Dashan and Li Zimeng could not ignore this anymore and held an emergency meeting. Their main priority was to come up with a solution to deal with this crisis. As the owner of the Luo Workshop, Xiao Luo was invited to attend the meeting as well. Before this crisis had taken place, Xiao Luo had given instructions to halt any unnecessary meetings from being called.

  ******

  \r \r \r

  ******

  It was another morning, and Xiao Luo went to Su Li’s apartment for breakfast.

  This time, only Su Li, Su Xiaobei, Luo Pingxiang, and aunt Li were present. Both Chai Zhiying and Shen Qingyan were not there.

  Xiao Luo let out a sigh of relief. He would be spared from the unnecessary nagging and noise pollution coming from those two.

  “There’s something I have always wanted to ask you,” Su Li said. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail, exposing her fair and jade-like neck. Such beauty was so overwhelming, and it would overcome any ordinary man.

  Xiao Luo raised his head and looked at her. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  Su Li frowned and said, “Didn’t you work at Luo Workshop in Jiangcheng? Since your friend Zhang Dashan is the boss, why didn’t he promote you? With your capability, it shouldn’t be hard for you to at least acquire a managerial position.”

  Xiao Luo was surprised as he did not expect that Su Li would ask him such a question. He smiled and replied, “I believe I have told you before, I want to develop my career in Xiahai.”

  “Why?” Su Li persisted.

  Xiao Luo turned to look at Su Xiaobei. She was sitting on the sofa playing some card game. “Partly, it is for Xiaobei. And I studied in the local university here, so Xiahai is rather special to me,” he said.

  Su Li seemed relieved when she heard the answer and changed the topic. “I assume you are fully aware of Luo Workshop’s situation, right?” she casually asked.

  Xiao Luo smiled and replied, “Yup, it’s crumbling under your Sumir.”

  “Zhang Dashan is your close friend. Aren’t you affected?” she queried.

  Su Li was still cold. But her beauty was perfect, even when she did not show any emotion. “If you plead for mercy for him, I can consider collaborating with Luo Workshop and share Xiahai’s market,” she offered.

  It was truly unexpected, and Xiao Luo stared at this woman.

  Su Li evaded his eyes. “Do not misunderstand my intention. We are husband and wife nominally, and since Luo Workshop belongs to your friend, I should not be completely merciless for your sake,” she explained.

  “I see.”

  Xiao Luo smiled and responded, “I will tell him this. However, the battle is not over yet. We won’t know the outcome until the very last moment, and I hope you won’t let your guard down.”

  “Both Huayao Corporation and Renhe Medicines are already collaborating to put a squeeze on Luo Workshop’s key health product. With sis’s influence, there’s no way that Luo Workshop can turn the tide around.” Luo Pingxiang pitched in.

  “Who knows?”

  Xiao Luo let out a mysterious smile and continued to eat his breakfast.

  Su Li stared at him, feeling that something was amiss.

  ******

  ******

  Shortly afterward, a Chinese medicine hall named Jin Yitang entered the Xiahai market with an important announcement. A patient diagnosed with terminal stage cancer by a western medical institution was cured by Jin Yitang. When this news spread, Jin Yitang became famous all over the entire Hua nation.

  More patients started to turn to Jin Yitang for medical treatment. This development created a market frenzy with more stories of medical miracles.

  “F*ck, Jin Yitang is miraculous! They can even cure a crippled person!” remarked a consumer.

  “Cervical Spondylosis, which is common among the elderly, can be completely cured within half a month. Oh, my God, now I can even lift things I couldn’t before!” declared an elderly patient.

  “Jin Yitang has cured another case of senile dementia! Oh, God, are the doctors there the descendent of Huatuo? Their skills are divine,” asked a member of the public.

  “Is Chinese medicine finally rising in reckoning again? Is this happening? World, behold!!” exclaimed an excited bystander who had heard these stories.

  After Jin Yitang had cured one incurable disease after another, its fame spread throughout the Xiahai district. The daily lines of queues for consultation at Jin Yitang were as crazy as the queues for the train tickets by passengers who wanted to travel back to their hometowns for the Chinese New Year celebration. Countless patients flocked to the clinics and had to queue outside the buildings.

  Due to the superior quality and the effectiveness of Jin Yitang’s Chinese medicine, Huayao Corporation and Renhe Medicines saw their pharmaceutical sales plunge significantly. If one had any illness or felt unwell, all one needed to do was buy customized Chinese medicine packets from Jin Yitang. It would not take more than a few servings for the person to recover. Even with chronic diseases such as diabetes, Jin Yitang could cure them at a slightly higher price of five thousand dollars. As a result, both Huayao Corporation and Renhe Medicines were facing a tough and unprecedented challenge to their positions as the biggest Western medicine producers in Hua nation.

  This challenge affected their pharmaceutical business as well as the hospitals that were also under their umbrella. The hospitals faced losses as patients now preferred to patronize Jin Yitang for any non-critical ailments. Unless it was an emergency where they needed a western-trained doctor to resuscitate life from the brink of death, Jin yitang became their preferred choice.