After settling everything on Mount Hua, Fang Qiu left.
He didn’t go back to Jiangjing.
Instead, he went straight to check on the construction status of the Leprosy Village in Nanjiang, using the identity of Fang Qiu.
Upon arrival, Fang Qiu noticed the Nanjiang government had put a lot of effort into developing this place. Not only had the roads been fixed, but all the promotion work targeted at attracting investments went pretty well at a steady pace. At the same time, the village received all these poverty relief and welfare funds from the state they had applied for. The benefits would extend to all directions, with the Leprosy Village as the center.
Besides, the new dendrobe cultivation base was fully equipped. In addition to the factory buildings meant for nurturing use, workshops, offices, etc., the base had electricity, running water and was even connected to a network.
Compared with other cultivation bases, this place was like a paradise.
After all, the scenery of Nanjiang was unrivaled.
After undergoing some renovations, this place appeared even more charming and the surrounding scenery was breathtaking.
Fang Qiu arrived at the cultivation base.
He checked around and found that the workers here had nearly covered the whole mountain and pulled out all the weeds and useless plants on the mountain top. Dendrobe seedlings had been planted in all available places. The entire mountain appeared refreshing and orderly.
After the inspection, Fang Qiu returned to his office.
He went in and took a look.
The furnishings in the office were identical to his office in the Desert Cistanche cultivation base, including the desk and the computer. As soon as he entered, he felt a sense of familiarity about this place.
“Beep! Beep! Beep!”
Just as he sat before his desk, the phone in Fang Qiu’s trouser pocket rang.
He took it out and took a look.
It was a call from Li Ji.
“It seems that the news has already been made known publicly.”
Fang Qiu shook his head with a wry smile, knowing well that Li Ji called about Heaven Dew.
“Hello?”
Fang Qiu answered the phone.
“When did you develop Heaven Dew?”
As soon as the phone was connected, Li Ji went straight to the point.
“Not long ago,” Fang Qiu answered.
“Why didn’t you tell me about such a good thing first?”
Li Ji said wryly, “We have known each other for so long. I would have thought that you’d let me try it first if you have anything great.”
“But you’re calling about the liquor, right?”
Fang Qiu asked smilingly.
“Cut the crap. The leaders want 500,000 jars.”
Li Ji then said, “You know I can’t drink any of the 500,000 jars at will, right? One more thing: the high-ranking leaders wondered if you have any liquor which has a higher and more powerful potency than Heaven Dew?”
“More powerful?”
Fang Qiu was stunned and asked, “Have you tasted the liquor?”
“I got some specific information.”
Li Ji answered quickly.
“If you want liquor with a higher potency than the present kind, I need to give it a try. After all, it’s not as if the more herbs we use, the greater the potency of our wine products. If the proportion of the medicinal herbs is not right, the wine might even turn into poisonous wine.”
“Okay, we’ll give you some time to try. Let me know as soon as you make it.”
Li Ji immediately nodded and said, “In addition, write down our order of 500,000 jars first. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough stock. Just deliver the wine with the same proportion you sold to those Wulin forces. But once you get the stronger liquor we asked for, let’s renegotiate.”
“Okay.”
Fang Qiu nodded and hung up the phone.
Fang Qiu immediately gathered a sufficient amount of dendrobe and flew to Beijiang.
As soon as he arrived in Beijiang, he began to conduct a series of experiments to develop a more potent medicated liquor.
The method and proportion should stay the same as before.
Fang Qiu knew it very well.
This wine-herb ratio was the best one he could make. Adding more medicinal herbs wouldn’t increase the medicinal effect. Even worse, it might lessen the liquor’s effectiveness.
It was obviously not possible to add herbs to improve the liquor’s potency!
“Heaven Dew, already the focus of everyone’s attention, is loved by many people. Why? It’s largely because of the Qi of Heaven and Earth in the liquor.”
“To improve the efficacy of this tonic liquor, I can only start with the Qi of Heaven and Earth.”
“Maybe, I can take advantage of the terrain?”
At the thought of this, he put the idea into practice.
Fang Qiu didn’t hesitate at all.
He took the medicated liquor that had just been produced and went straight to the Desert Cistanche cultivation area. He found a suitable place, dug a hole, and buried the wine jar.
The tradition of burying wine underground had been passed down since ancient times.
Therefore, when the others saw what Fang Qiu did, they didn’t find it strange at all.
…
Fang Qiu returned to his office.
He asked the others why He Xue was not in the base and learned that she had gone to the capital to negotiate some contracts.
Fang Qiu stayed at the base for the next three days.
Three days later, he rushed to the Desert Cistanche cultivation area and dug up the wine jar he had buried underground three days ago. Then, he took the jar back to his office, poured himself a cup after opening it, and tasted it carefully.
“Hum?”
With a mouthful of wine in his stomach, Fang Qiu’s eyes immediately glowed with excitement.
He was good at tasting and gauging medicated liquors.
The Qi of Heaven and Earth in this jar was richer than the previous ones. A higher level of the Qi of Heaven and Earth would result in better efficacy of the medicinal components and superior strength of the liquor.
This discovery came as a pleasant surprise to Fang Qiu.
Unexpectedly, he got an advanced version of Heaven Dew.
“This is great!”
The advanced version of the liquor could be provided to the country and He Gaoming and the other brothers so that they could improve their strength at a faster rate!
“Beep! Beep! Beep!”
His phone rang again.
This time, it was He Gaoming who called Fang Qiu.
“Hello?”
Fang Qiu answered the phone.
“Dude, where did you find this woman?”
As soon as he picked up the phone, he heard He Gaoming complaining. “The senior executive is such a bloody difficult woman to deal with! I negotiated the contract with her for three whole days. You know, three whole days! Finally, we were about to reach an agreement. But she raised the price when she learned that there was a heavy demand for the herbs. That was too mean, right?”
“Oh, He Xue went to the capital to discuss a contract with you?” Fang Qiu asked with a smile.
“Don’t pretend that you didn’t know about it.”
He Gaoming snorted.
“I didn’t.”
Fang Qiu gave a wry smile and said, “I just came back from Nanjiang. If the people in the base hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t even have known He Xue went to the capital to negotiate a contract.”
“Tell me about it.”
When he heard this, He Gaoming stopped talking about this matter and brought up another topic, “Both of us are surnamed He. Why would she bully me like that? Not to mention that I had talked to her for three days, I was even willing to regard her as my sister, but she refused to give me any discount. You’ve done really well when you sent her to sign the contract with me!”
“I suggest that you fire her as soon as possible. If she stays, she will ruin your business.”
Fang Qiu heard what he said.
All of a sudden, he burst into laughter.
“It’s impossible to fire her.”
Amid his laughter, Fang Qiu explained with great patience, “I admire her work capacity. She’s the one who has negotiated many things for the cultivation bases. If I fire her, where can I find such a talent to do her job?”
“She’s a rare talent.”
He Gaoming smiled bitterly and said, “Well, could you please tell her that you will offer us a discount? After all, we are close friends. It’s not too much to give me a discount, right?”
“Well…”
Fang Qiu thought for a moment and said, “I never intervene in business matters. I’ve given He Xue full authority. You can talk to her about the specific conditions. I won’t interfere in your business affairs.”
He Gaoming suddenly felt helpless.
Obviously, Fang Qiu wouldn’t give them a discount.
However, on second thought, since he could earn tens of billions of Huaxia coins, he would not continue to ask for a discount for the cost of the herbs.
He Gaoming had nearly 20 billion Huaxia coins in his bank account.
At the thought of the money, he immediately felt very confident and said, “I can talk to He Xue about the details, but you must promise to provide all the batches of herbs on time. The delivery should never be overdue!”
“No problem.”
Fang Qiu nodded immediately and said, “I can guarantee that.”
“That’s it. Bye.”
He Gaoming gloomily muttered, “Why do I have to negotiate the contract with that woman? Life is so hard.”
Fang Qiu happened to hear his gloomy discourse before he hung up.
Fang Qiu couldn’t help laughing.
He Gaoming seemed to have been grilled thoroughly by He Xue at the negotiating table.
Then there came a quick squawk as the connection was broken.
Fang Qiu took another sip of the advanced liquor and dialed Li Ji’s number.
“Hello?”
When the phone was connected, Li Ji’s voice came.
“I made it.”
Fang Qiu didn’t stand on ceremony and said directly, “The potency of the effective components of herbs has been increased by about 30% to 50%!”
“Really?”
Li Ji was pleasantly surprised.
When he received the news, he was shocked by Heaven Dew’s striking effect, which came as a total astounding surprise for him.
When high-ranking leaders asked for a better effect, he didn’t believe Fang Qiu could make it.
Therefore, even when Fang Qiu agreed to try, he told him to record their order for 500,000 jars first.
Only three days had passed.
To his great surprise, Fang Qiu succeeded!
Moreover, Fang Qiu had managed to increase the efficacy of this liquor by about 30% to 50%!
It was the stronger version of Heaven Dew!
“30% to 50%? Do you have any specific number to describe the progress?”
Li Ji continued to ask.
“40%!”
Fang Qiu said, “Let’s take the mean number: 40%. Most of the wine will be improved by 40%, while only a few jars of liquor can be increased by 30% and 50%. So, 40% is just right.”
“Good.”
Li Ji immediately cheered and said happily, “I’ve heard that Heaven Dew is not cheap. The country is undergoing a revival, so we can’t spend too much on liquor. Also, the military expenditure is limited. Buying the liquor at the market price of 5,000 Huaxia coins per catty is a bit out of order.”
“Heaven Dew is even more expensive than our national liquor. If outsiders know we are buying the liquor at 5,000 Huaxia coins per jar, the army’s reputation will be ruined.”
“The most critical thing is that we should think about the state. No sane country can allow corruption in the army.”
Li Ji rambled on. It seemed that he couldn’t stop himself from speaking.
However, his intent was evident.
He wanted a discount.
It had to be a huge discount.
Fang Qiu smiled while listening to him.
When he came to a stop, Fang Qiu took the initiative to say, “You can buy the liquor at cost price.”
“Hum?”
Li Ji did not expect Fang Qiu to agree so readily. He was stunned and asked, “How much are you asking?”
“I want a piece of land.”
Fang Qiu put it bluntly. “Because of Heaven Dew, our herbs may be in short supply, so I need more land to grow medicinal herbs!”
“Okay, I got it.”
Li Ji nodded and said, “I’ll pass on your requirement right away.”
