Chapter 2593 - Investigation (Part 20)
He Jun was silent for a long time. At last, he spoke. "Since you already know, elder brother has nothing left to hide. This business that was making money hand over fist—it's finished."
"Then let it be finished." Zheng Xiaoyu adopted a magnanimous tone. "The money was good, sure, but the risk was always there too. If it can't continue, just stick to legitimate trade."
"If only it were that simple." He Jun sighed heavily. "Getting on the pirate ship is easy. Getting off is another matter entirely."
"Oh? How so?"
"It's a long story." After several cups of wine, He Jun's tongue had loosened, and he seemed eager to unburden himself.
His "sworn brotherhood" with Zheng Xiaoyu had begun as a convenient way to cultivate connections, nothing more. But over these past days, the two had genuinely hit it off—their temperaments aligned, their rapport easy. What started as pretense had become something real.
"I won't hide it from you, brother. My family's business here in Huizhou goes back generations..."
He Jun's Bailing Tang pharmacy couldn't claim "a hundred years" of history, but it was still an old establishment, passed down through three generations. Within the prefectural city, it ranked if not in the top two, then certainly among the top ten.
By the time He Jun inherited it, Bailing Tang had plateaued—operating smoothly enough, but showing no growth. In modern terms, he had hit a bottleneck.
In business, you need both maintenance and expansion. Like rowing against the current: if you're not advancing, you're falling behind. He Jun possessed the keen crisis awareness typical of a third-generation inheritor. After taking over, he wracked his brain for ways to expand. But Huizhou hosted the Grotto Heaven medicine market—a pharmaceutical battleground. Anyone who survived here, even as a mere stall vendor, had been forged through relentless competition. Despite all his skills, He Jun could only maintain the status quo.
Then opportunity arrived. Someone introduced him to a new line of business: Lushi Powder.
"Lushi Powder? That stuff is sold everywhere!" Zheng Xiaoyu feigned disdain.
"Brother, the ordinary Wanchun Quan brand is worthless, true. But add the special ingredients, and it becomes a miracle drug—effective after a single dose."
"You mean these refined Australian medicines..."
"Precisely." He Jun nodded. The business came through a Boluo drug merchant named Quan Youde. Initially, Quan just wanted him to distribute "Treasure-label" Lushi Powder through his existing channels. When it sold remarkably well, He Jun sought him out, hoping to increase his supply.
Quan Youde agreed readily, but his terms were harsh: monthly sales quotas, cash before delivery. Whatever volume you committed to, you paid Jubao Tang upfront, then collected your goods.
At first, everything went smoothly. He Jun wasn't getting rich overnight, but the monthly profits were substantial. Then Quan Youde approached him again, proposing that he find a way to obtain prescription forms. If he could deliver those, Quan said, he would become a "partner" rather than a mere distributor.
"Quan Youde promised me half a percent of revenue if I could get them prescription forms. My drug quota would increase too. I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I joined. What happened after that, you already know."
"Now that you can obtain the forms, why don't they want them anymore?"
"Quan Youde just says they have plenty of drugs and no need for new prescriptions at the moment. But I made some inquiries—their upstream channel has been cut. All those small peddlers who used to get goods from Jubao Tang have been shut out."
"And what about your supply, elder brother?" Zheng Xiaoyu pressed.
"This month's shipment arrived in full." He Jun's voice was listless. "But what about next month?"
That was indeed the question. Zheng Xiaoyu knew the upstream disruption stemmed directly from Zheng Mingjiang's surprise inspection. The investigation would inevitably reduce what had been a rushing supply channel to a mere trickle. Small peddlers aside, even He Jun might find himself cut off next month.
He adopted a puzzled expression. "Has Quan Youde said there won't be goods?"
"Not in so many words." He Jun explained that a few days ago, Quan Youde had gathered the major distributors. He acknowledged that upstream sourcing had run into problems, but insisted the channel wasn't dead—it would recover eventually. In the meantime, everyone needed to "weather this together." The implication was clear: next month's payment remained due on schedule, but timely delivery in full quantities was no longer guaranteed.
"That's absurd!" Zheng Xiaoyu slammed his palm on the table. "He can't even guarantee delivery, yet still demands advance payment? What kind of business is that? What if he just takes the money and disappears?"
"That's exactly what worries me." He Jun shook his head. "But Quan Youde also made clear that anyone who won't order and pay this time needn't bother coming for goods in the future. He'll cut them off from Lushi Powder entirely."
So that was it. No wonder He Jun found himself caught between impossible choices. Everyone understood that continuing as a distributor carried enormous risk, yet none could bring themselves to walk away. The profits must be staggering—too tempting to abandon.
"What are you thinking, elder brother?"
"My situation is different from the others." He Jun paused. "If I were just a distributor, I'd quit immediately. No matter how lucrative the business, money needs to land safely in your pocket. Especially with something this risky—when things turn sour, getting out is the only sensible move. But..."
He sighed again.
Apparently, Quan Youde had pulled him aside for a private conversation. As a profit-sharing partner, He Jun could still receive next month's full shipment—on the condition that he prepay six months' worth.
"Six months?" Even Zheng Xiaoyu was taken aback. With delivery already unreliable, demanding six months' payment upfront wasn't business—it was extortion.
"What did you tell him?"
"I refused, naturally." He Jun's smile was bitter. "I'm no fool. He can promise full delivery all he wants, but who knows if he'll even be in Huizhou next month? Where would I go to collect?"
"Exactly. Don't touch this business."
"I never expected Quan Youde would turn so vicious. He threatened to report me for trafficking prescription forms." He Jun's face was lined with worry. "Said trafficking forms is a capital offense—the Australians would execute my entire family if they found out."
"But he's involved in the trafficking too. Isn't he worried about getting burned?"
"The forms never passed directly through his hands..."
So that was the arrangement. Quan Youde served as the connection, but delivery and payment went through someone else entirely. Nothing could be traced back to him.
Zheng Xiaoyu put on a troubled frown. "If he puts it that way, you're in a difficult position. If word got out..."
"Yes, and I worry that if he actually reports me, even you might be implicated." He Jun exhaled heavily. "I've thought it over from every angle—there's no good solution. The only way out is to hand back everything I've earned and wash my hands of the whole affair. Consider it a spring dream, nothing more."
There was no doubt that Zheng Mingjiang's actions in Guangzhou had disrupted what had been a stable supply chain. Now cracks were appearing from top to bottom. Judging by Quan Youde's behavior, they had likely concluded that regaining their drug supply was hopeless—hence this desperate scramble to extract one final profit.
Not just profit, either, but recovery of downstream funds. Quite ruthless. Zheng Xiaoyu had no doubt that under this combination of threats and inducements, many distributors would be taken in.
Yet for all his importance, Quan Youde and his Jubao Tang probably weren't the core figures in this counterfeit drug operation. Zheng Xiaoyu considered the matter carefully. Quan Youde operated almost openly—the real money wouldn't be in his hands. He was likely just a disposable pawn. Finding the mastermind behind the scenes would require considerably more effort.
"If that's how things stand, paying for peace isn't unreasonable." Zheng Xiaoyu said at last. "Just hard to swallow. Sigh."
These words stirred He Jun's indignation. "Hard to swallow indeed! Do you know how much I've invested in this Lushi Powder distribution? Especially the Fujian and Zhejiang routes—I personally led my manager from client to client, delivering samples, setting up stalls. All that work to build credibility for these medicines! And now look—no drugs, and they want to claw back every coin we earned."
Zheng Xiaoyu leaned forward. "Elder brother, don't waste your anger. Since Quan Youde has shown no loyalty, we owe him none in return. Think carefully—in all your dealings with him, has he revealed any vulnerabilities?"
He Jun hesitated. "Vulnerabilities? Quan Youde is cunning as they come. Every meeting is shrouded in secrecy. Whenever I visit him, even my servants aren't allowed near."
"Perhaps not anything specific. Any oddities? Unusual people, strange events? Even just a few overheard words?" Zheng Xiaoyu coaxed patiently.
At this prompting, He Jun's expression changed, as if something had surfaced in his memory. He lowered his head and thought for a long moment. "Now that you mention it, there are a few things that struck me at the time. I don't know if they're useful."
"Let's hear them."
"Quan Youde seems to personally know Australian cadres—people like yourself, brother." He Jun said. "Once when I went to see him, servants were clearing tea cups from the reception hall. On the Eight Immortals table lay a crumpled note they hadn't yet cleaned up. I caught a glimpse—the writing appeared to be in Australian pen."
"Truly?" Zheng Xiaoyu couldn't hide his interest. "Australian pen" meant either fountain pen or pencil—implements rarely used by anyone outside the Elders and naturalized citizen cadres and clerks. "Was the ink blue or gray?"
"Blue. I'm certain of it." He Jun nodded firmly. "I've seen Australian pen writing before."
(End of Chapter)