Lengshan inadvertently caught sight of the sexy thigh exposed beneath Luo Lin's very short skirt, his eyes immediately went wide, and he flusteredly turned his head away.
Chen Xiao, however, remained unfazed. He coldly took the Xumi Jiezi paste from Lin Meiqi's hand and tossed it over:
"I hope you'll keep your promise, because I can cure your illness, and I can also take your life!"
"Th-thank you, Mr. Chen, th-thank you..."
Luo Lin was already suffering from a splitting headache. While quickly tying up her hair, she fumbled to smear some of the Xumi Jiezi paste from the sterile container onto the back of her head, repeatedly expressing her gratitude.
After her ponytail was tied high, a faint scar from a bullet wound was vaguely visible on the back of her head.
Seeing Luo Lin's actions, Lin Meiqi grew increasingly nervous. After all, no matter how beautiful the Xumi Jiezi paste looked under the sunlight, it was ultimately made from ordinary traditional Chinese medicine. Moreover, it was prepared by her own hands, and she truly couldn't imagine it possessing the miraculous efficacy Chen Xiao claimed.
Jin Yongping and Xia Qianqian, mother and daughter, were also extremely tense. Their faces were ashen, their lips were purple, and their foreheads, backs, and palms were covered in cold sweat.
Leng Shan had already secretly circulated his extremely sinister internal energy to its peak, just waiting for Luo Lin to discover the Xumi Jiezi paste had no effect and attack Chen Xiao, so he could intervene immediately. Although he felt that Chen Xiao's unfathomable skills might not require his help, this was still an excellent opportunity to show his loyalty to Chen Xiao.
But then, something happened that left everyone dumbfounded—
Luo Lin, still kneeling at Chen Xiao's feet, smeared the Xumi Jiezi paste and then, as if she had gone mad, slathered the rest of the paste from the sterile container onto the back of her head. In the blink of an eye, the sterile container was cleaner than if a dog had licked it. She then looked up at Chen Xiao with wide, disbelieving eyes and exclaimed:
"Mr. Chen, could you give me some more Xumi Jiezi paste? The pain-relieving effect is simply too miraculous! After applying it, I clearly felt my headache vanish without a trace!"
"..."
Lin Meiqi was speechless. If she hadn't known about Luo Lin's relationship with Ye Tiezhu, she would have suspected Luo Lin was a paid shill hired by Chen Xiao to praise the Xumi Jiezi paste. After all, she had too little confidence in the medicinal paste she had prepared herself, believing that even with Chen Xiao's miraculous medicinal guide, it couldn't turn lead into gold and produce a TCM paste with such astonishing pain-relieving effects.
Jin Yongping, Xia Qianqian, and Leng Shan, while deeply aware of Chen Xiao's almost heaven-defying mastery of TCM principles, were still stunned by Luo Lin's performance.
Chen Xiao, however, was not surprised by Luo Lin's reaction at all. He shook his head calmly and said, "As I said before, the freshly made Xumi Jiezi paste needs to sit overnight to achieve its maximum efficacy. Since your pain has subsided, even if you were to soak yourself in the paste, you wouldn't be able to extract the bullet shell from your head on the spot. Please be patient and continue using the medicine for three days."
Luo Lin was unwilling to give up and continued to plead, "But... but I've already used it all..."
Chen Xiao frowned slightly and impatiently interrupted Luo Lin, "The paste you smeared on the back of your head hasn't been fully absorbed yet. Just scrape it back off, right? Even if it's completely exposed to the air and oxidizes, the efficacy of the Xumi Jiezi paste won't be affected in three to five days."
"Really?"
Luo Lin was both surprised and delighted. She immediately, and without regard for her image, scraped the remaining Xumi Jiezi paste from her hair on the back of her head back into the sterile container. After a pause, she looked up pleadingly again and said, "Mr. Chen, is Jin Fang Pharmaceutical still hiring? It's quite a coincidence, but I also have some knowledge of the preparation of Chinese medicinal materials! If you don't mind, I can work in the production workshop for a lifetime!"
At this moment, her eyes were only on the Xumi Jiezi paste, and she naturally wanted to secure a job in the production workshop.
The three accompanying truck drivers and the stevedores who were unloading were already stunned to see Luo Lin, who was inseparable from Ye Tiezhu, kneeling before Chen Xiao. Hearing that Luo Lin actually wanted to work in the production workshop of Jin Fang Pharmaceutical further shocked them to their core.
Chen Xiao, unconcerned that Luo Lin wouldn't be able to handle these people, said directly, "Aunt Luo Lin, if you want to switch to Jin Fang Pharmaceutical, you should be in procurement. And don't forget, you promised to arrange another three million worth of Chinese medicinal materials for me as soon as possible."
He paused and added meaningfully, "Moreover, the Chinese medicinal materials I need are all for producing Xumi Jiezi paste."
"Wh-what?"
Luo Lin was first greatly surprised, then without hesitation, she patted her chest and assured him, "Mr. Chen, please rest assured. By tomorrow at the latest, I will deliver them with guaranteed quality and quantity!"
Fearing that the stevedores would delay her, she had already gotten up from the ground and coldly urged, "Haven't you guys eaten? Hurry up! If you dawdle any longer, I'll fire you right now!"
Even though she had publicly betrayed Ye Tiezhu in front of these employees of Jiuding Pharmaceutical, Luo Lin had a thousand ways to silence them and wasn't afraid of them reporting her. Her words were full of confidence, and her every move exuded the decisive demeanor of a strong woman.
Chen Xiao, of course, was not idle. With just a glance, he signaled Jin Yongping, Xia Qianqian, and Lin Meiqi to inspect the goods and then took out his phone to prepare for payment.
He had spent most of his money purchasing Jin Fang Pharmaceutical, and after paying these two million for the goods, he would be completely strapped for cash. Therefore, he secretly planned to produce all two million worth of Chinese medicinal materials into Xumi Jiezi paste, even if it meant working overtime, and then have Yan Su immediately arrange for them to be sent to the northern border army for payment.
However, to his astonishment, just as the three large trucks transporting Chinese medicinal materials pulled away, Luo Lin transferred five million to his payment account. She then called him, her voice filled with trepidation, saying, "Mr. Chen, your medicine curing my illness is like giving me a new life. The five million needed for producing Xumi Jiezi paste should be considered my medical expenses, but I know this is far from enough to repay your life-saving grace. Therefore, I will repay you doubly in the future."
She paused, as if she had thought of something, and quickly and cautiously added, "By the way, that girl named Lin Qi was actually sent by Ye Tiezhu to Jin Fang Pharmaceutical to cause trouble with insidious charms. You absolutely cannot keep her. Before it gets dark, you should fire her quickly. I will ensure she cannot report to Ye Tiezhu immediately."
Chen Xiao could clearly feel the concern in Luo Lin's words, and coupled with the weighty notification of five million yuan arriving in his account, he couldn't help but say with a wry smile, "Auntie, you've betrayed your lover so thoroughly, don't you feel any reluctance?"
"Wh-what?"
Luo Lin on the other end of the phone clearly froze.
When she first arrived in Juxian City, besides Lin Meiqi, no one knew about her relationship with Ye Tiezhu. Without even thinking, she guessed that Lin Meiqi had likely also followed Chen Xiao. Flustered, she quickly shook her head and explained, "Mr. Chen, please don't listen to Lin Meiqi's nonsense. Ye Tiezhu and I actually have a very pure cooperative relationship. The reason we presented ourselves as lovers was merely to conceal our identities as assassins. You might not believe it, but actually... actually, I've never even been touched by a man. If you don't believe me, you can check anytime."