Fu Cheng noticed the strange expression on Chairman Wang’s face, so he could not help feeling worried. He knew that the chairman was inspecting his work.
Also, he did not make those medicinal pills.
Fu Cheng squeezed his hands and kept looking at Chairman Wang without moving his eyes.
The deputy director asked quizzically. “Chairman Wang?”
Chairman Wang composed himself. He picked up a pill and inspected it before placing it back in the box where there were three other pills. He remarked. “This is good. I think these are the best medicinal pills of the lot.”
Fu Cheng released his fists in relief instantly. He was glad that everything was okay.
He had probably overreacted. After all, these were S grade medicinal pills. How could Chairman Wang have anything bad to say about them?
Even if Chairman Wang had seen something similar in the past, it was completely normal. Also, Fu Ya had assured him no other pills were produced by the apothecary. He was very confident about using them.
“I just knew it was the best,” said one of the leaders of the association.
“Did He Shu make those?” asked another leader of the association. He also automatically thought that it was He Shu’s work.
The three leaders of the association raised their heads to glance at He Shu and nodded.
Everyone knew what He Shu was capable of. No one had the slightest doubt and felt he must have produced these medicinal pills.
Since they were speaking in a normal tone, Fu Cheng could hear the entire conversation and he found it jarring to the ear.
He Shu again! Why did they keep thinking it was him?
He Shu and Fu Cheng were both advanced apothecaries, but no one thought highly of him. Every time someone was able to refine high-quality medicinal pills, everyone assumed it was He Shu’s work.
This time was no different. Fu Cheng exhaled inwardly as he scoffed to himself.
They were welcome to flatter He Shu for all they wanted. In a minute, he would prove that they were blind.
Fu Cheng’s master was Deputy Director Qin. He contemplated after glancing at the marking by the side of the box. He said, “How could you be so sure? A total of seven people have taken the advanced apothecaries’ exam. Any one of them could have made this.”
The moment the leaders of the association heard what Deputy Chairman Qin said, they agreed.
“He is right. It could be anyone.”
Deputy Director Qin pursed his lips. He looked at the person in charge of consolidating the scores. “Announce the result.”
“Yes, Deputy Director Qin.”
Before long, the scorekeeper produced labels and marked each box accordingly.
When the scorekeeper announced the results, Chairman Wang finally broke his silence and waved his assistant over.
The assistant came over and lowered his head to Chairman Wang’s shoulder.
Chairman Wang said a few words softly to the assistant, leaving him briefly stunned. He promptly nodded and quickly left the square without drawing any attention.
The scorekeeper had pasted the names of the corresponding apothecaries on each of the boxes.
One of the medicinal pillboxes was labeled number one. When they saw the name of the apothecary appearing on it, everyone was astonished to see that it was Fu Cheng.
“I can’t believe He Shu did not make it!”
“I had my money on He Shu as well! I can’t believe it was Fu Cheng. Fu Cheng has improved in leaps and bounds in just one year!”
“I used to think that He Shu was a natural apothecary and overlooked Fu Cheng’s performance. After all, the medicinal pill he produced today is of far higher quality than any other S grade medicine.”
