Why did you provoke me?

Zhou Jingyan went to say goodbye to Yu Meng and told her that he wanted to leave Xiao Hao behind to accompany Nangong Tianshou.

Yu Meng naturally wouldn't refuse. She saw him to the door and said tactfully, "I look forward to our next collaboration."

Zhou Jingyan and his men left. Secretary Wu watched the departing car and asked, "Teacher Yu, he understood what you meant, right?"

Yu Meng turned and walked back. "Do you think just anyone can be the head of a family?"

"I know that, but I'm not worried that he might do something rash. The old man and the young man have already made arrangements. If he fights to the death for the Zhou family, the outcome won't be good."

Yu Meng slowed her pace. "Uncle Wu, aren't you paying a little too much attention to him?"

Secretary Wu habitually scratched his head. "Really? Anyone who can be the head of a family is talented. I'm just valuing talent, aren't I?"

"Really?" Yu Meng said skeptically.

Secretary Wu looked around and said, "I've thought about it carefully. The key to breaking the deadlock is getting rid of those clansmen who are holding us back."

If he did that, firstly, he wouldn't take the position of family head and would become an ordinary member of the Zhou family. But that seems impossible, since his father is the head of the main branch, and his identity dictates that he is not an ordinary person.

Another option is to completely sever ties with the current Zhou family, leaving with nothing and taking Xiao Hao with him. However, even that doesn't guarantee their safety. After all, as long as the main branch of the family is alive, the new head of the Zhou family will have a thorn in his side, and he'll have to remove it sooner or later.

"Uncle Wu, don't tell me you've taken a liking to Zhou Jingyan's abilities." Yu Meng's face was full of disbelief.

To everyone's surprise, Secretary Wu actually nodded. "We can take over the Jia family, so taking over the Zhou family isn't too much to ask, is it?"

Yu Meng shook her head repeatedly.

Secretary Wu grew anxious, "You don't agree? What a great opportunity!"

"Uncle Wu, what you're doing is kicking someone when they're down. He'll have a thorn in his side for a long time."

"What should we do then? I really need more people."

"We'll send people to help him turn the tide and win decisively. Once things stabilize, our people can withdraw."

Secretary Wu walked slowly. "Once the work is done, our people will naturally come back. But this will make him even more short-staffed, and he has no one he can use in the Zhou family. He can't support the Zhou family on his own."

Yu Meng smiled and continued, "He won, but there won't be many Zhou family members on his side. At this point, the Zhou family is practically defunct."

Secretary Wu's eyes lit up. "If Nangong and Xiaohao can stay, he will naturally come over. If we promise to help him build the Zhou family now, in the eyes of outsiders, we will be a unit, and no one will believe him if he wants to object."

Looking at Secretary Wu's appearance, Yu Meng couldn't help but sigh. You can't judge a book by its cover. She had only schemed against Nangong Tianshou, but this seemingly gentle Secretary Wu dared to scheme against Zhou Jingyan.

No wonder she was willing to share her affairs with Secretary Wu; they were essentially the same kind of people. The difference was that she was doing it for herself, while Secretary Wu was doing it for the club.

Secretary Wu was unaware of Yu Meng's thoughts. If he had known, he would have protested his innocence, saying he had no intention of doing so; he simply needed more people, and there happened to be a suitable candidate at the moment.

"Then you'll go and talk to Nangong?" Secretary Wu asked Yu Meng in a low voice.

Yu Meng rolled her eyes at him. "Of course. He's not better yet, and Qian Chuan needs time to prepare the medicine. Besides, I saved his life. He should think about how to repay me."

Secretary Wu paused for a moment, then gave a thumbs up. Given enough time, he could figure out a way to keep the person there.

In a short distance, the two completed their arrangements for the Zhou family and Nangong Tianshou.

"I'll go check on the cafeteria. Xiao Hao is too young; he can't eat the same things as the adults. When his father was here, we didn't care what he ate, but now that his father isn't here, we have to be more careful." Secretary Wu chuckled as he turned towards the cafeteria.

Yu Meng smiled and said, "It's starting already? I really look forward to that day."

Just like last time, Yu Meng did not visit Nangong Tianshou until he recovered.

Qian Chuan truly possesses exceptional talent in medicine. After Nangong Tianshou took the medicine he developed, he was able to walk again within seven days.

When Qingyuan found out, she was stunned. This was the power of pure medicine. It was even more effective than the medicinal stones she made herself. She even went out of her way to get a few vials to study them.

When Yu Meng arrived, Qian Chuan was explaining the principles of the potion's formulation to her. But it was clear Qing Yuan couldn't understand; she kept adding her own alien concepts, resulting in a hodgepodge. She hadn't figured anything out.

"Aunt Qing, every profession has its own secrets; do you expect to climb an entire mountain?"

"Yu Meng, you're here. Don't you always say that you should always maintain your enthusiasm for learning?" Qingyuan teased with a smile.

"But you're climbing over mountains?" Yu said with a smile as he sat down.

"Sigh, when you get old, you're always defiant and want to try everything." Qingyuan handed the remaining medicine to Qian Chuan. "Don't give me any next time. I've ruined them all."

"Aunt Qing, what if it works out? Then we'll make a profit."

"You're trying to fool me too? Do you really think I'm old and easy to fool?"

Qingyuan turned to Yumeng, "You've come at the right time. I've studied those ores, and there are some pleasant surprises."

"Really," Yu Meng said happily. Qingyuan said there would be a surprise, so the result must be great.

Qingyuan opened the small door under the table and took out a small shelf for holding test tubes.

The test tube above contains two colors, and the energy is highly reactive.

The tyrant's tentacles had secretly reached into a test tube, and in an instant, the contents of the test tube were sucked dry.

Yu Meng flicked it with her finger, and the tentacle retracted slightly, but not completely.

"If it likes it, let it suck it. Extracting this is very convenient with a machine." Qingyuan wasn't angry and spoke up for Bawang.

The tyrant raised its tentacles, but Yu Meng didn't speak, nor did it suck up the contents of the test tube again.

"Aunt Qing, have you tried it? How was the result?"

"It's softer than black hair, and I don't experience any hallucinations, but I wonder how much of it there is?"

Yu Meng laughed, "Aunt Qing, you think there's not enough good stuff. Secretary Wu has already arranged for many people to collect it. Any more would attract attention, and then there would be another power. It's better to keep it as it is. It doesn't matter if there's less, as long as the supply doesn't stop."

Qingyuan looked at Yu Meng and said, "At the beginning, I wanted to research something useful for the soldiers. After all, they are following you, and it wouldn't be right to favor one over the other. I don't know how I came up with this idea."

Yu Meng didn't speak; she knew Qingyuan hadn't finished speaking.

At this moment, Qian Chuan took out a small bottle from the cabinet next to him.

"This is a pill I made using something Aunt Qing suggested, along with some medicinal herbs and aliens. It can improve a warrior's stamina and muscle training to a certain extent."

Yu Meng took it. "I tried it, did it work?"

"I tried it myself. I ate three pills, and now I can climb over walls without any problem. I can just put one hand on it and get over," Qian Chuan said in a low voice.

"Wow, that's amazing?" Yu Meng looked at it, picked up a piece, and popped it into her mouth. "I'll try it."

"Don't eat it." Qingyuan reached out to stop her, but Yu Meng moved quickly.

Qingyuan stared intently at Yu Meng, "Is something wrong? Does your stomach hurt? How could you be so quick? Qian Chuan ate it all. How can one person produce data? You're taking too much risks."

Qian Chuan, standing to the side, wanted to say it was alright; if there were a problem, why would he have eaten it? But seeing Qing Yuan's expression, he chose to keep quiet.