A Beauty in the 80s Goes on a Blind Date with Her Child, Captivating the Military Compound - Chapter 85

Sisi Shen quietly pulled the older man toward a secluded spot by a willow tree. “Uncle, thank you for the publicity. I had no idea; I didn’t prepare enough stock today. I’m so sorry…”

The man looked at her with a puzzled expression. “Me? Giving you publicity? It wasn’t me!”

If it wasn’t him, then who could it be?

Sisi asked him which customers hadn’t pre-ordered. The man pointed out several unfamiliar young faces who were dressed quite respectably—those, he said, were not the ones he had marketed to.

“I see. Thank you…”

Sisi Shen walked toward a young man wearing a large gray padded coat and leather shoes. This person was clearly in a clumsy disguise; his clothes were completely ill-fitting, likely changed in a hurry, and he hadn’t even had time to swap out his leather shoes.

As she approached, she caught the faint, lingering scent of traditional Chinese medicine. It seemed she had encountered a professional rival!

“Miss, could you sell me a bottle? I have an urgent need for it at home,” the man asked impatiently.

Sisi Shen glanced at him. She didn’t expose him immediately, but instead knit her brows in a troubled look. “Brother, I’m sorry. I didn’t prepare much medicinal oil today. Maybe next time…”

“Don’t go! Name your price, I’ll pay a premium.”

Sisi let out a soft “oh,” her arched eyebrows rising. “How much are you offering?”

“Whatever your price is, I’ll add an extra yuan. How does that sound?”

Sisi took in his desperate demeanor. Remaining calm, she used a handkerchief to cover her basket. She had expected her medicinal oil to attract the attention of competitors, but she hadn’t expected them to show up so soon.

“I’m sorry, I’m busy. Why don’t you try asking at another shop?” Sisi turned to slip away, but her path was blocked.

“You young girl, how can you be so heartless? My house is practically on fire with urgency, and I’m willing to pay extra, yet you won’t give me any face at all…”

Sisi had a temper of her own. Since he refused the polite way out, she wouldn’t hold back her words. “Brother, you aren’t here to buy oil for a genuine emergency, are you?”

“Next time you try to go undercover, please pick a suit that fits. Change your shoes, too. And that medicinal scent on you? It’s practically pickled into your skin.”

The man’s face flushed a deep shade of purple. He hadn’t expected to be exposed so publicly.

At that moment, someone in the crowd recognized him. “Isn’t that Shopkeeper Rong from Rongchun Hall?”

“Why are you dressed like that?”

Rongchun Hall was a century-old pharmacy in Jiangcheng, highly prestigious. Rong Yang was the head manager, having recently inherited the position from his father.

Seeing his cover blown, Rong Yang stopped pretending. He shook his dirty coat with a look of pure disgust; had it not been so cold, he might have stripped it off right there.

“I didn’t expect a young woman like you to have such sharp observation skills. Fine, I am indeed the manager of Rongchun Hall. I came here because I wanted to inspect your medicinal oil.”

He wanted to inspect her goods and acted as if he had every right to do so. Who gave him the courage?

Sisi Shen smiled. “If you wanted to see it, I could have shown you. There was no need for these underhanded tactics.”

“Alternatively,” she continued, “you could buy a bottle from someone else and study it at your leisure. There was no need to dress up in old rags and play a part you can’t pull off.”

Rong Yang’s teeth grated together. “Underhanded? That’s rich, coming from you. I now seriously suspect that you’ve added ingredients to this oil that shouldn’t be there.”

“Otherwise, why would your oil work so fast and be so effective?”

As soon as he said this, the people who had been queuing up to buy the oil began to hesitate. If the manager of Rongchun Hall was speaking up, could there really be banned substances in this medicine?

Sisi’s expression changed instantly, her eyes flashing with fury. “Bullsh*t!”

Rong Yang let out a cold snort, looking her up and down with disdain. “If it’s clean, then state the formula and let our senior physicians verify it. Then we’ll know for sure.”

Sisi understood everything now. This guy had put on this entire performance just to swindle her out of her secret recipe.

She steadied her nerves, her expression becoming colder. “You can test the oil right in front of me. If you have the skill to figure out the recipe, that’s your business. But if you can’t, don’t blame me for being unkind.”

“The moment this leaves my sight, if you dare to spread rumors or if any ‘illegal ingredients’ suddenly appear in my oil, then we’ll settle this at the police station!”

Sisi was usually quiet and gentle, but she was never one to be bullied.

Rong Yang had assumed that because she was young and soft-spoken, a few threats would scare her into handing over the recipe to “prove her innocence.” He hadn’t expected her to be such a tough nut to crack.

“Fine! Let’s take it to the police then. We’ll have them investigate your unlicensed sale of fake medicine.”

Sisi clenched her fists in anger. Was Rongchun Hall really going to use its size and power to bully her like this? In Jiangcheng, most Chinese medicine clinics and oil workshops were unlicensed. If the authorities really started investigating, half the industry would go under.

Instead of being intimidated, Sisi raised her voice. “Investigating just me won’t do… we should be fair. Let’s investigate everyone together. No clinic in Jiangcheng should be exempt!”

If it came to that, it would be Rongchun Hall’s fault for causing a city-wide crackdown. Every other clinic in Jiangcheng would storm Rongchun Hall in a riot.

People from other clinics standing in the crowd couldn’t sit still anymore and began to speak up.

“Everything was fine, why bring that up?”

“Exactly! You people from Rongchun Hall shouldn’t go too far.”

Rong Yang was furious. “You people! Didn’t we agree to do this together? How can you start contradicting me after just a few words?”

Sisi finally realized that Rong Yang had made a pact with several other clinics to come here and get her oil for research. However, the alliance was already crumbling from within.

Rong Yang’s face was black with rage. After arguing with the others for a moment, he forced himself to calm down.

“Fine. We came here today to check if your oil contains something that makes it work unnaturally fast. We have a veteran TCM doctor here with decades of experience. Just write down the formula, and he will verify if your oil is compliant or if it contains harmful toxins.”

Sisi’s eyes were full of indignation, yet she maintained a smile. “It’s not impossible, but… what exactly are your ‘industry standards’? Can you show them to me?”

Rong Yang froze. “The word of a TCM doctor with decades of experience is the standard.”

“Is that so? So there are no actual standards, only personal experience and preference.”

“You…”

Sisi blinked her large eyes, looking at them as if they were fools. “You can’t even produce an industry standard, so what right do you have to judge my oil? Everyone, tell me, does that make any sense?”

Rong Yang gnashed his teeth in frustration and shot a look at the people around him. Several men from the other clinics surged forward, surrounding Sisi Shen. “Little girl, I suggest you be sensible, otherwise…”

“Otherwise, what do you plan to do?” A thunderous, furious voice crashed down upon them. “Which of you has a death wish and dares to touch my woman?