Inside the Xingfeng Pharmaceutical office.
Li Xiaorou was busy. She had just returned from a gathering of various pharmaceutical industry professionals in Shancheng, still wearing the evening gown she had worn to the event.
Li Xiaorou had been constantly in the public eye lately; Xingfeng Pharmaceutical had become incredibly popular. Every day, she faced numerous media interviews, and she was required to attend various industry gatherings.
Although she had only been serving as the General Manager for a few days, Li Xiaorou was already capable of handling everything on her own.
She had been running around outside for several days and had only just returned today, leaving a significant amount of work left to process.
During this period, Xingfeng Pharmaceutical had not only expanded its workforce but had also purchased new equipment.
Chen Feng had provided her with a new batch of raw materials last time.
She planned to begin nationwide sales in a few days once production levels increased. This was also what the state expected.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door. Li Xiaorou said, "Come in."
Soon, a staff member walked in.
"President Li, people from Huirui Pharmaceutical are here. They said they have something to discuss with you."
Hearing the name "Huirui Pharmaceutical," Li Xiaorou felt a hint of confusion.
This pharmaceutical company could be described as world-renowned, producing a vast variety of drugs.
What was a company of this caliber doing here?
"Let them in," Li Xiaorou said, putting away the documents in front of her.
A moment later, Lu Mingze and his secretary entered the office.
Lu Mingze said with a smile, "You must be President Li. I am Lu Mingze, General Manager of the Dragon Country branch of Huirui Pharmaceutical."
Hearing his identity, Li Xiaorou was not overly surprised. She gave a polite smile and asked, "So it is President Lu. May I ask what brings you to our factory?"
Li Xiaorou was no longer the fresh graduate she once was; she had encountered too many influential figures during this period.
The military, the Ministry of Health—every one of them was a titan among titans.
A branch manager of Huirui Pharmaceutical was not enough to truly shock her.
Seeing how calm Li Xiaorou remained, Lu Mingze was quite surprised.
"President Li is truly young and talented. I have come today to discuss a potential cooperation with your factory."
Lu Mingze sat directly on the sofa.
Li Xiaorou looked at him and asked, "What kind of cooperation?"
Li Xiaorou was somewhat displeased by Lu Mingze's attitude, but she found it difficult to say anything.
"We at Huirui are very interested in the 'Healing No. 1' developed by your factory. I see that your scale is still too small. Huirui is willing to inject capital into Xingfeng Pharmaceutical to help you expand production. What do you think, President Li?"
Hearing Lu Mingze's words, Li Xiaorou rejected him decisively: "No thank you. Xingfeng Pharmaceutical is not short on funds."
Li Xiaorou wasn't lying; Xingfeng Pharmaceutical indeed did not lack funds.
After the recent sales of their drugs, the liquid assets in Xingfeng Pharmaceutical's account had reached over ten million.
If Chen Feng hadn't transferred the fifty million yuan state deposit from the Xingfeng Mining account last time, she would have expanded production long ago.
She had even asked Chen Feng about this matter, as her boss spent money far too quickly.
She had no idea where that fifty million had gone.
Furthermore, even if they truly were short on funds, she would have gone to the bank for a loan.
There was no need for outside investment.
"President Li, 'Healing No. 1' is a wonderful medicine for the country and the people. If you don't expand production, how can it benefit the public? Huirui has very good relationships with several high-ranking officials, and they also hope that Huirui can help Dragon Country's pharmaceutical enterprises reach a higher level."
"I'm afraid President Li might not know, but other pharmaceutical companies have already gone to court to sue Xingfeng Pharmaceutical for suspected industry monopoly. If you agree to Huirui's investment, we can help settle this matter."
Lu Mingze first asserted Huirui's strength within the country, and then pointed out the crisis facing Xingfeng Pharmaceutical.
Using a two-pronged approach, he didn't believe this woman wouldn't panic.
However, after Lu Mingze finished speaking, he found that Li Xiaorou still looked relaxed, as if she didn't care at all.
"Is President Lu planning to force a takeover of Xingfeng Pharmaceutical?" Li Xiaorou inquired.
Before Lu Mingze could speak, the female secretary beside him spoke up proactively.
"President Li, we don't quite like hearing that. Huirui injecting capital into Xingfeng Pharmaceutical is clearly a good thing. How has it become a forced takeover in your eyes?"
The secretary's tone was somewhat sarcastic.
She was also a woman and roughly the same age as Li Xiaorou.
Seeing Li Xiaorou become a General Manager at such a young age naturally made her feel a sense of jealousy.
Li Xiaorou did not answer, but instead took out her phone and sent a text message.
Seeing Li Xiaorou send a text, Lu Mingze smiled.
He wasn't afraid of Li Xiaorou contacting anyone; he was only afraid of him not being the one to contact them first.
As long as someone made a call, it would simply come down to whose connections were stronger.
Lu Mingze said with a smile, "President Li, I sincerely hope you will consider it. With Huirui's strength, if we invest in Xingfeng Pharmaceutical, it will absolutely increase the sales of 'Healing No. 1.' Even selling it worldwide would not be a problem."
Just as Lu Mingze finished speaking, his phone rang.
It was a call from the legal team of Huirui Pharmaceutical.
Seeing the caller ID of the legal team, Lu Mingze immediately smiled.
The legal team calling at this time meant there was likely progress regarding the lawsuit against Xingfeng Pharmaceutical.
As soon as the call connected, an anxious voice came through.
"President Lu, our lawsuit has been dismissed by the court, and people from National Security have arrived at our door to take us in for investigation!"
Hearing this, Lu Mingze stood up instantly.
"National Security? What's going on?"
A court dismissal was one thing, but why had it alerted National Security? Lu Mingze couldn't understand.
"I don't know! They said we are suspected of illegally obtaining state secrets and are taking us away for investigation!"
As soon as the lawyer on the other end finished speaking, the call was cut off, clearly because the phone had been taken away.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Lu Mingze's forehead. He looked at Li Xiaorou, only to see her remaining calm.
At this moment, Lu Mingze finally realized something was wrong.
Indeed, was 'Healing No. 1' really that effective? Why had the state shown no reaction at all?
The only logical explanation was that Xingfeng Pharmaceutical belonged to the state.
Just then, five people walked into the room.
All five were dressed in black suits with buzz cuts, and each had a sharp, piercing gaze.
Their eyes fell on Lu Mingze simultaneously.
One of the young men walked up to Lu Mingze, pulled out his credentials, and said
"Lu Mingze, right? You are currently suspected of spying on state secrets and illegally smuggling drugs abroad. Please come with us."
Looking at the large words "National Security" on the credentials, Lu Mingze was stunned.
The female secretary beside him turned deathly pale with fear.
This was National Security! A department that was only mobilized for extremely serious matters.
Lu Mingze forced a smile and said, "Gentlemen, is there perhaps some misunderstanding?"
The young man said sternly, "Whether it is a misunderstanding will be determined once you come with us."
With that, two young men unceremoniously escorted Lu Mingze away.
Li Xiaorou said to the departing men, "Thank you for your hard work."
The National Security officers all nodded in greeting to Li Xiaorou.
Li Xiaorou was not surprised by their rapid appearance, as National Security personnel were stationed at their factory gates twenty-four hours a day.
These people were there to prevent spies from infiltrating the factory grounds to steal technology.
Currently, the security level of Xingfeng Pharmaceutical was even higher than that of Xingfeng Mining.
This was the reason behind Li Xiaorou's confidence.