Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1133 A Drunken Truth Revealed: "We've Done a Good Deed!" (Two Chapters Combined)
“This…” He Jingwei hesitated.

"Can't solve it, can you?!" Fang Yan picked up his wine glass and asked He Jingwei tentatively.

He Jingwei licked his lips and said:

"If you show sincerity, we definitely can't refuse to help."

Dialect eyebrow raising:

"Sincerity?"

"Uncle, you might as well just say it. We've already come this far, there's no point in playing riddles."

He Jingwei had drunk quite a bit by now. He shook his head, trying to clear his head, and then stared at Fang Yan as he said:

"Give me the secret formula first. After we verify it, we will naturally send out the necessary personnel to help with the operation."

Fang Yan smiled after hearing this, shook his head, and said:

"Uncle, it's not that I don't trust you, but if you were in my shoes, would you agree to such conditions?"

After saying that, he turned to He Dong, who was standing to the side, and asked:

"Cousin, will you say yes?"

"I..." He Dong opened his mouth, holding the wine glass, then turned to look at his father and said:

"Dad, I'm afraid this won't work."

"..." He Jingwei was speechless. His son was really not smart enough. Even at this time, he was lying through his teeth to help his own people!

Upon hearing He Dong's words, Fang Yan said:

“That’s right, Uncle. Once you get the secret formula, not only will you be unable to make the decision, but even Professor Huang might not be able to. My existence will become dispensable. I still maintain that it’s not that I don’t trust you, but that I don’t believe the people behind this are so particular.”

"What is the characteristic of capitalism? It is to maximize profits. If you have already obtained the secret formula from me, even if you yourselves want to fulfill your promise, the people behind you will think it is unnecessary."

"Then I'll go from being highly sought-after to being completely dispensable."

After speaking in dialect, he shook his head, picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and said:

"I'm sorry, I can't offer you that kind of sincerity."

"Just forget what we talked about today as soon as you leave this door, and pretend nothing happened."

After speaking in dialect, he added:

"Also, don't invite your maternal uncle and Professor Huang tomorrow. I have to discuss cooperation with other people tomorrow as well."

"..." Upon hearing this, the He family father and son were immediately shaken.

They came with a mission; otherwise, why would they have traveled all that way back?
Fang Yan's words extinguished their hopes. The moment the words left his mouth, He Jingwei's face changed drastically. The alcohol and embarrassment manifested as bulging veins on his forehead. He gripped his wine glass tightly, his knuckles turning white, and said:
"If one proposal doesn't work, we can continue to discuss it. Why rush to reject it?"

Fang Yan shook his head and said:

"If the fundamental problem cannot be solved, there is no point in saying more, so let's not waste our time."

The way they say it in the local dialect is to try and determine whether they have an inside accomplice.

If there's no inside contact, just get rid of them. If there is an inside contact, then we must find that person.

He Dong slammed down his chopsticks, his eyes red as he interrupted:
“Cousin! Professor Huang has connections everywhere in the medical world in Europe and America! As long as you nod your head, he can arrange for you to leave the country, he can even…” Before he could finish speaking, He Jingwei kicked him hard in the shin and shouted, “Shut up!”

The air in the room suddenly froze.

Fang Yan smiled, slowly picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said:

"My cousin is really quite drunk..."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to He Jingwei:
"But Uncle's nervousness makes me curious. Do you really have helpers back in China?"

He Jingwei's Adam's apple bobbed, and a hint of panic flashed in his averted gaze:
"What nonsense are you talking about!" He forced a smile, trying to calm himself down and smooth things over:

"We just feel sorry that your jewel is being tarnished! You have a gold mine in China, yet you're restricted in every way, and you can't do anything without being restrained! Look how free you are abroad..."

The dialect interrupted directly:
"Alright, there are plenty of people who want the secret recipe. I don't have time to waste with you. I'm welcome to chat casually in the future, but let's forget about discussing cooperation."

"Anyway, you can't decide too many things on your own, so let's leave it at that for today. You should all go back and rest early."

He Jingwei probably didn't expect Fang Yan to be so decisive and directly reject them.

Fang Yan continued:

"Don't worry, I'll keep what I said today to myself. After all, it's hard to guard against a thief in your own home. If we investigate this, it will make some people very uneasy."

He Dong said to Fang Yan, "Cousin, is this really necessary? We were just having a good talk a moment ago."

"That's all for today, you should get some rest." Fang Yan's words were crisp and decisive as he stood up and made to leave, leaving no room for negotiation.

The expressions on He Jingwei and his son's faces instantly turned ugly.

He Dong was so anxious he almost jumped off his chair, grabbing Fang Yan's sleeve:
"Cousin! No, no, no! We can talk this over!"

Fang Yan stopped what she was doing and looked calmly at the hand that was holding her sleeve.

Knowing that a forceful attempt to stop him would be useless, He Jingwei immediately adopted a more earnest, even pleading, tone:

“Fang Yan! Don’t go! Sit down a bit more! There’s no need to rush. We can discuss whatever you want to say…” He hurriedly steadied the chair that hadn’t been knocked over at all, and then said:
"That's not what we meant!"

He Dong realized what was happening and quickly let go, forcing a fawning smile: "Yes, yes, cousin, I was just talking nonsense because I was drunk. Dad's right, it's all about sincerity! We're really sincere!"

Fang Yan sat down again, his gaze sweeping over the anxious faces of the father and son with a hint of scrutiny:

"Sincerity? I've already made myself very clear, and now I can be even more blunt: your so-called 'sincerity' is just making a fool of me!"

"No! Absolutely not!" He Jingwei quickly waved his hands, trying to think of something to say, "We just want to... want to make sure the prescription is real and valuable! That way we can try to get more resources from Professor Huang..."

"Ensure the prescription is genuine? That's easy." Fang Yan scoffed.

He said:
"Find a few patients with idiopathic pulmonary interstitial fibrosis from abroad, and I'll take out the prescription and test its effectiveness directly in front of you."

"If the 'power' behind you is really that powerful, finding a few patients who meet the verification criteria shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"I'll treat you right here and now! After the treatment, you can go directly to check your lung function recovery."

“The effect is immediate, which naturally proves it’s real. Wouldn’t that give you more confidence to operate? Why go through all that trouble and insist on getting the formula into your hands first?” Fang Yan said, staring at He Jingwei.

He knew the other party was about to fall into his trap. As long as they followed his lead, he could uncover all their plans.

However, after speaking in dialect, He Jingwei's eyes showed a clear hesitation.

He didn't speak, but instead picked up his teacup and took a large gulp, trying to calm himself down.

Seeing this, Fang Yan said directly:
"What? This method won't work either? Don't you trust the witnesses, or don't you trust the 'power' behind you? Or... do you never really want to cooperate, and just want to get something for nothing?"

That's a very important question.

He Jingwei's forehead was beaded with sweat.

What Fang Yan said was not part of their plan at all. What they needed was to get the secret formula out without alerting any officials.

The proposal put them in a very difficult position.

"This...this is certainly negotiable!" He Jingwei could only give a vague answer, trying his best to remain calm. "It's just...coordinating this will take time, after all, it involves a wide range of people..."

"Hmph, time?" Fang Yan sneered, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
“I don’t have that much time to beat around the bush with you. If Professor Huang is so capable, and he can’t even handle this little bit of coordination, then he should just go back to England.”

Young and hot-blooded, He Dong was repeatedly interrogated by Fang Yan and scolded by his father. He was both anxious and angry. Under the influence of alcohol, a surge of anger rose within him, and he couldn't help but blurt out:

"Of course we can coordinate! It's just... it's just that we're afraid of making too much noise and alerting the domestic situation... we'll have trouble explaining it to our people here!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, He Dong suddenly realized his mistake, his expression changed, and he hurriedly shut his mouth.

She looked at her father with a terrified expression.

"Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting!" He Jingwei's expression changed drastically, and he shouted angrily to stop him, his heart sinking to the bottom.

He Dong's thoughtless remark is practically an admission of guilt! Does it prove they have an inside agent in China?

He hurriedly switched to dialect, forcing a smile, trying to salvage the situation:
"Fang Yan, this kid's completely drunk! He's saying he's afraid of alarming some unnecessary connections, making things difficult! There aren't many people, really not many! Just some old connections...that's all..."

The more he explained, the more incoherent he became, even using ambiguous terms like "old connections" and "network," and sweat beaded on his forehead.

Fang Yan knew that they definitely had someone in their country, but He Jingwei couldn't possibly mention that person now.

He said to He Jingwei:
"Don't be nervous. I'm not interested in who your connections are back home. So many people go abroad for business trips every year; it's not like it's just one or two people who have taken bribes..."

His tone was quite calm, even as if he was used to it, which left He Jingwei at a loss.

No...did I just get nervous for nothing?
He Dong was also completely dumbfounded. His heart was pounding in his chest, but Fang Yan reacted like this.

Fang Yan said to them:

"That's it. You know my attitude, and I know your level."

"It's getting late. I have some things to do this afternoon, so I need to sober up a bit."

"Please make yourselves at home!" he said, pointing to the doorway.

This is practically kicking them out; it's a clear indication that they look down on them.

He Jingwei stood up somewhat awkwardly. He'd had a bit too much to drink, and his speech was slurred. He said haltingly:
"Um... Fang Yan, today really... really didn't satisfy you, mainly because I drank quite a bit... Sigh, my son and I both lost our composure. We'll take our leave now! This matter... we'll discuss it in detail another day! There will definitely be a way to satisfy you!"

"Cousin... well... I'm sorry! But we're definitely sincere... after all, we're family, we would never harm you." He Dong couldn't be tough in front of Fang Yan at all, and his words softened considerably.

He wanted to say something more, but He Jingwei stopped him.

There was no point in saying anything more now. Fang Yan already felt they were out of options, and they couldn't offer a good price. The most important thing now was to hurry back and discuss it with Huang Qiming. He Jingwei practically dragged the still bewildered He Dong, walking hurriedly towards the door of the private room, not even bothering to exchange a few more polite words with Fang Yan.

That figure from behind looked like it was fleeing in a panic.

Fang Yan watched them practically dash out the door, which He Jingwei slammed shut behind them with a bang.

The room, which had been bustling just moments before, was now empty except for Fang Yan.

Fang Yan stood up, ladled out a bowl of the untouched cabbage and meatball soup, and began to drink it slowly. Before he could even take two sips, the door was opened from the outside.

At this moment, the hospital director and leaders from the Ministry of Health walked in.

Everyone was stunned to see Fang Yan still drinking soup.

They immediately laughed again, and the health ministry leader said to Fang Yan:

"Well done, young man..."

The dean took the lead, walking to the table and picking up a bottle of wine. He shook it; both bottles were emptied quickly, clearly indicating that Fang Yan and the He family father and son had drunk quite a bit. He smiled and shook his head.

"This Moutai wasn't wasted; it really brought out their true colors."

The Ministry of Health leader looked directly at Fang Yan, his eyes filled with approval:

"This segment wasn't originally planned, but they unexpectedly revealed their true colors. Their statement, 'It's hard to explain to our people here,' really brought it all to the surface. It seems their network of connections in China is even deeper than we anticipated."

He said in dialect:

"I thought you wouldn't come in for a while."

The health ministry leader walked to the window of the private room, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked in the direction where the He family father and son had left:

"We can't wait any longer. The clues on them are still very important. We've already sent people to follow them. They might contact their 'informants' back home when they get back, which is a great opportunity to follow the trail."

Fang Yan put down the soup bowl and wiped the corner of his mouth:

"They're just small fry; they can't make many decisions. They're in a hurry to go back and report, and they still need to see Huang Qiming's reaction."

"When He Jingwei said 'we'll talk another day,' he was actually trying to buy time and come up with a new solution."

"Delay?" The health ministry leader scoffed. "How can we give them that chance?"

He lowered the curtains and said:
"What you just said about having them arrange for people with 'idiopathic interstitial pulmonary fibrosis' to return to China for treatment is a good starting point. Let's continue down this line."

The dean nodded:

“That’s right. We can go with the flow and make them feel that there’s still a chance if they’ve loosened their grip on the dialect.”

After saying that, he looked at Fang Yan:

"This is both a trap for them and a way to see if we can get them to contact people in China to coordinate resources as soon as possible. Then we can follow this lead and catch all the people hiding in the shadows in one fell swoop."

Fang Yan thought for a moment and added:
"When He Jingwei was trying to smooth things over earlier, he mentioned 'old connections,' which means that this informant is likely within the medical system, or even... a senior academic with experience abroad and contact with people in the British medical system."

"Hmm, that makes sense." The Ministry of Health leader nodded.

The dean then noticed the almost untouched lion's head meatballs on the table, picked one up with serving chopsticks and put it into the dialect bowl:

"We were so focused on business earlier that you haven't eaten enough, have you? You'd better have something to eat now."

Fang Yan smiled, picked up the lion's head meatball, and took a bite:
"They were both really drunk, especially He Dong. After three drinks, he forgot who he was. But it's thanks to his quick temper that we were able to get any information out of him."

"Ultimately, it's because you handled things well," the Ministry of Health leader praised.

"We neither revealed our intentions nor made them feel that there was an opportunity. This kind of restraint is not something that ordinary people can master."

He paused, then his tone became serious:
"Now we'll see what they do."

After pondering for a moment, Fang Yan said:
"This lead may be more complicated than we thought."

The Ministry of Health leader nodded in agreement, then turned to his accompanying secretary and instructed:
"Pass down the notice: closely monitor the communications and whereabouts of He Jingwei and his son, and record all contacts."

"In addition, check the list of all people who have left the country in the past five years who have been involved in 'cooperation with traditional Chinese medicine secret formulas,' especially those who have had dealings with British medical companies. Check both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine practitioners."

The staff left as instructed, and the private room fell silent once more.

The dean served Fang Yan another bowl of soup and said, "Thank you for your hard work today."

Fang Yan picked up the soup bowl, took a sip, and smiled: "It's not hard work. As long as we can dig out these parasites, it doesn't matter if we have to do it a few more times."

At this moment, Fang Yan realized what was happening and asked the hospital director and the Ministry of Health leaders:

"You two haven't eaten yet, have you?"

The Ministry of Health leader said with a smile:
"Haha, it's alright, we'll go eat in a bit, the food is already prepared."

It turns out that while Fang Yan and the others were eating and drinking here, they were waiting next door, listening to their conversation.

"You two have worked hard too!" Fang Yan said to them.

They waved their hands and said:

"nothing."

"Exactly, the key thing is that you're the one doing the work, and we're just listening from the sidelines. I guess you must be under a lot of pressure eating this meal today."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan smiled and said:

"No, those two aren't enough to put any pressure on me."

The Ministry of Health leader said:
“That’s true. We’ve been through much more dangerous things in Hong Kong, so this little incident is nothing to worry about.”

The dean suddenly realized, "That's quite true."

Fang Yan glanced at his watch, then stood up and said to them:

"Alright, I'm full and have some things to do this afternoon, so I'll be leaving now. You two should go and have your meal too."

The two nodded in agreement, and Fang Yan then left the cafeteria.

While I still had some time, I went home to wash up, changed into clean clothes, and drank some tea to mask the smell of alcohol. Then I returned to Xiehe Lane and started my afternoon work as if nothing had happened.

While Fang Yan was starting his afternoon work, Huang Qiming at the Yanjing Hotel received some "good news".

The He family father and son who went in his place today brought back some unexpected good news: the secret recipe Fang Yan had was actually negotiable. However, this guy was different from what they expected; he not only wanted money, but also wanted to go abroad.

After learning of his intentions at noon, He Jingwei said that he was undecided, which is why he came back to discuss it with Huang Qiming.

Little did Huang Qiming know that what was originally a matter, after being altered by He Jingwei and his son, would actually turn into a good thing.

He was also somewhat pleased, feeling that he had underestimated He Jingwei before, and of course, he had also overestimated Fang Yan.

This guy is clearly not as difficult to deal with as I imagined.

That makes sense. Money and fame don't really sway Fang Yan. In this part of China, money still requires receipts. Fang Yan himself has quite a bit of money, but there's not much he can buy. He's sitting on a mountain of gold but can't buy anything, so life is still miserable.

As for fame and fortune, Fang Yan is actually quite famous and wealthy now. He has already been highly regarded in China. Winning the Nobel Prize wouldn't be very attractive to him and wouldn't fundamentally change anything.

Only by going abroad can one truly understand the ultimate goal of dialect studies.

Money and fame—only abroad can elevate a dialect to a higher level, no! Several levels!
Huang Qiming had already figured out his motivation for using the dialect.

The logic is sound and reasonable; it turns out I made a mistake before.

However, He Jingwei's ability to discern the need for dialects still impressed him somewhat.

Even He Dong said that he found the dialect very useful today.

Huang Qiming said to them:

"You've worked hard. Today's matter is indeed a major breakthrough. You've helped me break the deadlock. Once things are settled, you'll definitely get your share of the benefits."

"However, I would advise you to maintain a good relationship with Fang Yan; he's quite capable..."

Upon hearing Huang Qiming's words, He Jingwei said:
"Professor Huang is joking. Even if Fang Yan goes abroad, he can only work under you. He is very capable, but he can only show his abilities by your side. He can only do what you tell him to do!"

He Dong also said with a forced smile:

"That's right, Professor Huang, you are the one who controls destiny. No matter how skilled Fang Yan is in medicine, he can't cause any trouble without your connections!"

"That young guy thought he was something special, but he didn't realize that connections are the most important thing!"

Huang Qiming nodded, clearly pleased with what he heard.

These two, father and son, are quite aware of the situation...

“However, I think you still need to make arrangements for this as soon as possible. After all, it’s not just our family that’s coming this time. There are people from the United States and Malaysia as well,” He Jingwei said.

He Dong also reminded:

"Yes, yes, the Malaysians aren't afraid, especially the Americans, like Kim Jong-un and Mike Chen..."

He Jingwei glanced at his son and said:

"Logically, we should show Fang Yan our skills and capabilities, that we have a way to get him out of here, otherwise someone else might beat us to it."

Huang Qiming nodded upon hearing this.

Said:

"Makes sense."

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words is now complete. There will be an extra chapter later.

(End of this chapter)