Chapter Thirty-Five: Defying Fate

What she hadn't expected was that a few days later, Gu Xiu Jin actually came to ask her what the seven main herbs were. Xie Qing Tang arched her brows and smiled, crossing her arms over her chest as she said, "I knew the CEO Gu wasn't someone who would give up so easily. I'll write down the medicinal ingredients needed for that ancient recipe for you."

With that, Xie Qing Tang headed toward the front hall, and Gu Xiu Jin, pushed by Li Zhao, was also brought there. Picking up the brush, Xie Qing Tang seemed to transform; her expression grew solemn. After a moment, her brush swept swiftly across the rice paper, writing down the names of the seven herbs.

"Ferula, Cordyceps, Four-leaf Ghost Needle Grass, Tian Dong, Snow Lotus, Blood Ginseng, Stone Lingzhi—these are the main ingredients of my Seven Treasures Vitality Soup. The remaining thirty-odd auxiliary herbs, I will write on another list."

When she finished speaking, Li Zhao's expression changed, surprised as he said, "So the Seven Treasures Vitality Soup requires not just these seven ingredients, but also another thirty or so herbs?"

"Naturally," Xie Qing Tang replied calmly. "These seven are the primary herbs, but those thirty are supporting ingredients. Their purpose is not only to nourish vitality but also to mitigate the toxicity of the main herbs. They are indispensable, though those auxiliary herbs are easier to find than the seven main ones."

She handed Gu Xiu Jin another sheet listing the thirty-odd supporting herbs required for the Seven Treasures Vitality Soup. "Don't blame me for not warning you—these seven main ingredients are extremely hard to find," Xie Qing Tang said, meeting Gu Xiu Jin's gaze as he sat in his wheelchair.

Gu Xiu Jin looked up at her and replied, "No matter how hard they are to find, I will seek them out. Since I am determined to defy fate, I will not give up easily."

"Defying fate—well said. Congenital deficiency is hard to cure. Premature death is your destined path, but if you wish to avoid it, isn't it indeed a struggle against the heavens?" Xie Qing Tang said with a faint smile.

Gu Xiu Jin nodded to her, then left the Benevolence Hall. Nearby, the young shop assistant Zhou Jin Fan had overheard their entire conversation.

"Boss, I've heard of Three-leaf Ghost Needle Grass—though rare, it can be found. But what is this Four-leaf Ghost Needle Grass?" Zhou Jin Fan, somewhat versed in medicine, approached Xie Qing Tang, scratching his head.

She glanced at him and said coolly, "Three-leaf Ghost Needle Grass is an ordinary herb; Four-leaf Ghost Needle Grass is a divine herb. To find it is exceedingly difficult. Gu Xiu Jin's battle against fate will not be easy."

With that, she turned and went straight to the backyard. Zhou Jin Fan, left standing in the front hall of Benevolence Hall, pouted and muttered, "I've never even heard of several of those seven herbs. Where is the boss going to find them? It's really too difficult."

Even though Xie Qing Tang had warned Gu Xiu Jin beforehand about the difficulty of finding the seven main herbs, when Li Zhao actually took the prescription and set out to search for them, he realized that the challenge was far greater than he'd imagined.

"Boss Gu, Ferula is a legendary herb, said to grow inside coffins—extremely rare, many people have never even heard of it." The next afternoon, Li Zhao's brow was furrowed as he addressed Gu Xiu Jin, who sat in his wheelchair.

Gu Xiu Jin, who had been resting with eyes closed, suddenly opened them and looked up at Li Zhao. "I know it's hard to find. Otherwise, Xie Qing Tang wouldn't have said what she did. If Ferula can't be found for now, search for the others first."

"Boss Gu, the difficulty of finding the other herbs is no less than Ferula. Cordyceps mainly grows at altitudes between 4,500 and 5,000 meters, but Miss Xie’s note says it must be from above 5,000 meters," Li Zhao reported, his brow furrowed.

Gu Xiu Jin listened quietly, then said, "Mobilize everyone—all resources to search for these seven herbs."

"Understood, Boss Gu," Li Zhao sighed inwardly, then left without another word.

For several days, Gu Xiu Jin was unable to go to the company to manage affairs, because he needed to take the medicine prepared by Xie Qing Tang. Once he drank it, the discomfort in his body lingered all day.

"What are you doing?" After seeing several patients, Xie Qing Tang noticed Zhou Jin Fan standing motionless behind the counter, fingers flying over his phone. She frowned, puzzled by his behavior.

Even after she spoke, Zhou Jin Fan didn’t respond, as if he hadn’t heard her. Xie Qing Tang walked up to him and banged forcefully on the counter. Zhou Jin Fan jumped, startled, and seeing it was her, grinned sheepishly. "Boss, I’m working."

"Working, or playing with your phone?" Xie Qing Tang’s expression was cold, and the chill radiating from her made Zhou Jin Fan shiver. He hurriedly flipped his phone around, showing her the online store reviews as explanation.

"Boss, look, I really am working, not slacking off. I’m managing our Benevolence Hall’s online store. I don’t know where these people came from, but they’re saying our scented sachets are fake, useless, and just a scam. It’s outrageous!" Zhou Jin Fan declared indignantly.

Xie Qing Tang paused, then took the phone and glanced at it. Sure enough, beneath the previously bustling Benevolence Hall online store, several malicious reviews had suddenly appeared.

These reviews seemed to be from customers who had bought sachets from Benevolence Hall, yet all left negative feedback, claiming the sachets were completely useless and just a money-making scheme.

"Ignore them. Didn’t some people say that before? As long as there are more positive reviews than negative, it’s fine." Xie Qing Tang dismissed the matter, tossing the phone back to Zhou Jin Fan.

He caught it hurriedly and shook his head. "Boss, you know more about Chinese medicine than I do, but I know more about the internet than you. Don’t underestimate these negative reviews—they can crash online sales."

"Oh? Is it really that serious?" Xie Qing Tang arched her brows, skeptical, but Zhou Jin Fan nodded with utmost seriousness.

And he wasn’t wrong. As those negative reviews appeared, some even claimed Benevolence Hall was riding a wave of online fame to sell sachets whose real effectiveness was minimal. Customers from other cities who wanted to buy them began to hesitate.