As more and more people dropped out of the auction, the auctioneer's face suddenly turned unsightly.Although this auction was the relevant department foreclosing on bad assets, the money Wu Zhonghe owed to the department was very real.
They had originally thought that they could recover some of the capital to offset the debts Wu Zhonghe had accrued through the auction.
Now, it seemed to be somewhat difficult!
After all, who would dare to compete with Tong Ming once he made a move?
Moreover, with Chen Yu's immense popularity in Suzhou City and his status as a world-class chef, many company cafeterias essentially ordered their meals from Chen Yu's outlets.
If they were to genuinely anger Chen Yu and lose their meal supply, all of their company staff might very well go on a collective strike.
As everyone withdrew, the several factories were taken down by Chen Yu for a mere price of 1.9 billion. Explore stories on M V L
The auctioneer sighed helplessly and could only continue with the auction.
After the auction was over, Tong Ming immediately took Chen Yu to a nearby estate.
This place didn't look very impressive and even felt a bit crude. An abundance of grape trellises covered the entire estate, and upon entering, one could smell the peculiar scent of fermenting grapes.
Chen Yu couldn't help but frown and instinctively covered his nose.
As the car slowly entered the estate, Chen Yu was startled to find several well-dressed elderly men standing in the vast open space of the estate, who appeared to be from influential families of the imperial capital.
But looking at them, they seemed to lack some of the elegance expected of families from the imperial capital.
Chen Yu didn't say much, simply following behind Tong Ming.
"San Mu! Didn't you say you wouldn't get involved with this year's medicinal liquor? Why have you come early?"
An elder with a slightly stooped figure slowly turned around and cast a malicious glance at Tong Ming.
"Mr. Tong, I truly didn't expect you to be interested in this stuff!"
Tong Ming's lips curved up slightly as he casually plucked a grape from a nearby shelf and popped it into his mouth.
"This is one of the important materials for making traditional medicine, how could I give it up?"
San Mu's eyes suddenly turned icy, "Mr. Tong, don't forget that more than eighty percent of the traditional medicines on the market have already had their patents applied for by our So-and-So Group. Even if you want to get involved in this field, you'd have to buy the patents from us."
Tong Ming laughed as if he had just heard a joke, leaning on Chen Yu and laughing uproariously while patting Chen Yu's shoulder.
"My dear son-in-law, isn't this funny? These guys have almost forgotten who their ancestors are. They learned a bit from us, went back, and had the audacity to apply for the patents, quite shameless, claiming that these things are theirs."
Chen Yu couldn't help but cough twice. Mocking San Mu so openly and arrogantly was something only Tong Ming dared to do.
But this guy really was detestable!
Chen Yu had heard of the name San Mu Daohe even when he was at university.
This guy not only pioneered the field of traditional medicine but also traversed the Eastern lands looking for locations of various medicinal herbs.
If they ever found any pristine, high-quality herbs, they would acquire them at high prices right away, so much so that they had taken over more than seventy percent of the precious herbs.
"It's quite funny, indeed! And I see Mr. San Mu is seriously ill, yet how come he hasn't thought of using traditional Chinese medicine to treat himself?"
San Mu's pupils suddenly dilated; he hadn't expected Chen Yu to be able to discern his physical condition at a glance.
He knew his health condition better than anyone else. He had sought out famous doctors far and wide, yet his illness was incurable no matter what he tried.
Moreover, all the patents for traditional Chinese medicine he held were copied directly from ancient medical books, and he himself had no clue how to treat illnesses.
"May I know who this gentleman is?" San Mu asked subconsciously.
Before Chen Yu could speak, Tong Ming directly took his hand and led him to the doorway of the inner courtyard.
"Li Song, you old geezer, come out here!"
This loud shout startled everyone present, and soon after, an extremely short old man emerged from the villa.
The old man was less than a meter tall, resembling something like an earth deity, and his figure was entwined with an odd assortment of vines, which even bore some small fruits.
Chen Yu couldn't help but gape; he had never seen such a bizarre old man.
Upon seeing Tong Ming approach, Li Song became instantly infuriated, swinging his walking stick ready to strike.
However, his frame was too feeble; even as he lifted his walking stick, he could only reach Tong Ming's shoulder.
"Mr. Tong, don't think you can bully me just because you're taller. Let me tell you, you can forget about getting this year's fruit wine," he said.
Tong Ming sighed helplessly and directly grabbed the walking stick from Li Song's hand.
"Isn't it just that you lost a bet back then? We might as well write off our debts, and I can even settle your account with that guy."
Li Song instantly perked up, glancing disdainfully at San Mu beside him, then shuffled forward with his walking stick.
"San Mu, when you first came to get wine from me, you said it was to glorify the culture of China around the world. But I never imagined that you were only doing it for your own selfish gain, injecting it into traditional Chinese medicine and even patenting it!
I let it go previously because you had leverage over me, but now I am gravely ill and won't live much longer, there's no need to put up with your threats anymore."
San Mu's eyes widened even more; he hadn't expected things to take such a turn.
"Old sir, please, don't get angry. Those leverage points were just in my possession, I never told anyone about them, and I long since destroyed all that messy stuff, so you don't have to be scared. I'm here this time hoping to follow through with our previous contract..."
"So you've destroyed it long ago, you mean you've actually been freeloading my medicinal wine all these years!"
Li Song's face grew even angrier as he raised his walking stick and viciously swung it down, snapping San Mu's already disabled leg clean in two.
San Mu's eyes bulged out; he had not expected Li Song to be so ruthless. Sёarch* The Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Chen Yu watched in bafflement, not understanding the grudge between these three men, but Li Song's strike at San Mu genuinely excited him.
Just then, Li Song suddenly threw down his stick and scurried to a corner of the courtyard, where he pulled back the grapevines.
Hidden among the thick grape leaves were indeed three large vats of medicinal wine.
As Li Song opened the lids, a rich fragrance instantly wafted out, enveloping the entire courtyard, seducing even Chen Yu into intoxication.
This was not merely wine fermented from grapes; it contained at least a hundred different medicinal herbs.
The medicinal effects combined to treat hundreds of diseases, truly astonishing to behold.