w.a.n.g Yao was already prepared. He had all the main ingredients at his place. There were enough to produce the first batch. Furthermore, the quality of the ingredients was guaranteed.

“Can you tell me what kind of herbs you will need?” Zheng Weijun asked. “It will make it easier for me to get them prepared.”

w.a.n.g Yao gave Zheng Weijun the list of herbs he would need.

“I have the same request that I've always given,” he said. “I need them to be wild and of good quality.”

“Rest a.s.sured. I made it clear since the last incident that if it happens again, I will have all related personnel fired,” Zheng Weijun said.

“Very well,” w.a.n.g Yao said. He was worried that what happened last would happen again. It was a coincidence that he discovered what had happened. If he had not been present at that time, that batch of herbs would have probably been put to use right away. Although the effects of the medicine might not have been affected much, it would have still set a bad precedent. If the error had not been dealt with, the people at the factory would have continued to make the same mistakes. He did not want that to happen. If the error was part of the daily routine, that kind of culture could lead the company to eventually fall into decline.

After all, bad beginnings easily led to the beginning of one's destruction.

“Are you free tonight, Master?”

“Hmm, is there something you need from me?”

“We have had a good start selling the medicine,” Zheng Weijun said. “Truth to be told, getting the medicine sold gave me quite a headache for a long time. As such, I think it calls for a celebration.”

“Sure,” w.a.n.g Yao said.

“That settles it. We'll meet tonight.”

“Will do.”

Zheng Weijun stayed around for about half an hour. Once he saw patients showing up, he took his leave and headed to the factory in town.

The third batch of medicine had been produced and stored. By chance, he saw the medicine being loaded. The trucks were from Dao.

“Hey President Zheng, glad to see you.” The person-in-charge seemed rather delighted. In the beginning, the medicine had been stuck in storage. Now, there were finally people coming to collect it. Although it hadn't really taken that long, it had still made him anxious. He was happy to see that the medicine found its place in the market. It enabled him to put more effort into his work. Their income was only able to increase by bringing in great sales.

“How's production going?”

“Well, very normal. The fourth batch is being produced now.”

“Keep a close eye on the ingredients,” Zheng Weijun said. “If anything untoward happens, you'll be the first to get it from me.”

“No problem.”

“Alright, carry on. I'll just have a look around.”

“Sure, sure.”

The person-in-charge immediately went inside the factory and gave instructions to certain key people. Zheng Weijun was pleased to see the bustling work happening in the factory. To make a profit, factories needed to steadily be in operation to produce goods and sell them. When the factory was put on hold for more than two weeks, he had gone there once. He found the place deserted. The only people around were maintenance and janitorial staff. That scene made the newly setup factory look like a company that was about to close down.

In He County of southern Yunnan, thousands of miles away…

“Wait, do you want to go to Tianjin?” Both Yang Guanfeng and Lu Xiufeng were quite surprised upon hearing Miao Chengtang's request.

“Why there of all places?”

“There might be someone from the village over there,” Miao Chengtang said. “It is someone who escaped more than 10 years ago,”

“How do you know that?”

“When I was back in the village, I kept in touch with some people who were rather close to me on the outside. I heard one of them saying that they would go to Tianjin in the future.”

“What's his name?”

“He was called Miao Qingyuan back then,” Miao Chengtang replied. “I don't know what his name would be now.”

“When was the last time you two were in touch?”

“I can't remember that well. A few years ago, I guess.”

“Years, eh. Could you still contact him now?”

Miao Chengtang shook his head.

“Think carefully, is there any other place you could go?” Lu Xiufeng asked.

They had already picked the location for his relocation. It was a small city in a nearby province. The lifestyle over there was not all that different from where they were at the moment. Most importantly, the standard of living there was very similar and goods were comparatively low-priced. Although their superiors had agreed to the plan, the budget was rather tight. It meant that they needed to consider many things to ensure Miao Chengtang's safety while spending as little money as possible.

“None. I want to head to Tianjin,” Miao Chengtang said.

“Truth to be told, the amount of money we could allocate for your daily use is rather limited, and you might end up living on a shoestring budget in Tianjin.” Yang Guanfeng chose to tell him the truth, hoping that would dissuade him and make him change his mind.

“I want to go to Tianjin so I can be further away from here.”

“Why not any of the three provinces in the east?” Lu Xiufeng asked with a smile. “Those places are even further away.”

“It's too cold over there, and the environment doesn't look good. I've been to Jing. While it sure is bustling over there, I don't actually like it there much.”

“Have you been to Tianjin?”

“I've never been there, but I want to go there, nonetheless.”

Neither of them said anything else after hearing how determined Miao Chengtang was.

“If you've made up your mind, then we shall send you to Tianjin,” Yang Guanfeng said.

“Thanks.”

“When do you want to leave?”

“As soon as possible.”

“We will plan on tomorrow. That settles it.”

“Sure.”

“We'll give you a sendoff tonight.”

“There's no need for that,” Miao Chengtang said.

He wanted to leave that place as soon as possible. As for his reason for insisting on Tianjin, that was the suggestion Xu Xinyuan had given him. The information he told the police officers were not all lies. Miao Qingyuan was a real person. They could have tracked him down if they wanted to. Also, he was in Tianjin, which Xu Xinyuan had arranged.

That location was near Jing. The Guo family had a lot of say over there, which would make getting around easier.

“Are you still scared?”

“I'd be lying if I said I wasn't.”

“Sure. We'll tell our superiors. You get ready. If things go smoothly, we'll head out tomorrow.”

“Sure, thanks a lot.”

“It's the least we could do.”

Miao Chengtang laid silently on the bed alone that night. He was thinking about his future.

At the best hotel there was in Lianshan County, thousands of miles away, Zheng Weijun drank quite a lot.

He had been under a lot of stress for quite some time. It had seriously impacted his appet.i.te and quality of sleep. It had all been because he was unable to sell the good medicine his factory produced. He was finally able to rest easy. It called for a celebration. He gradually let loose.

“Cheers, Master!”

That was the fourth time he had toasted to w.a.n.g Yao at the table.

w.a.n.g Yao smiled and gulped down the wine in his gla.s.s. To him, the wine was of little difference from water. Zheng Weijun, on the other hand, began to sound like a buffoon.

“Thank you, Master. It's all thanks to you that the factory is doing well now. If it weren't for you, I'd remain a loser in the fight with my family, and I'd probably be hiding in some dank corner blaming fate or some sh*t!”

w.a.n.g Yao smiled.

People told the truth when they drank. Zheng Weijun's words were truly what he meant deep down.