Martial Arts Across the Heavens: Becoming a Martial God Starting from the Big Boss in Tangshan

Upon hearing this, Huang Feihong's face instantly turned ashen, and the veins on the back of his hand holding the fan bulged.

Foreigners again! Treaties again!

It wasn't enough that they forced the court to sign so many humiliating and unequal treaties with guns and cannons.

Now they're even using such despicable means to steal the medicine formulas from the factories they painstakingly built and researched!

He could no longer contain himself, and stepped forward, his voice trembling with excitement:

"My lord! This is absolutely not the case!!"

"That pharmaceutical factory was founded by Brother Chen and me. The prescriptions were developed through repeated experiments, combining Chinese and Western medical techniques. They have absolutely nothing to do with foreign secret formulas!!"

"Brother Chen is certainly not some escaped slave laborer. This matter must be a malicious frame-up by foreigners who covet the factory!!"

"Please, Your Excellency, investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Upon hearing Huang Feihong's words, Chen Wen turned to look at him with a strange expression, as if he thought Huang Feihong's words were somewhat... naive.

He raised his hand to signal Huang Feihong to calm down, and spoke in a calm tone:

"Brother Huang, what you're saying is useless."

"The foreigners are clearly trying to slander and rob us!"

"They won't present you with evidence, and the court won't uphold justice for us. Arguing is futile."

Admiral Fucha frowned, his face darkening.

"Chen Wen! How dare you openly criticize the imperial court?"

"Please calm down, my lord, and allow me to finish speaking." Chen Wen said calmly, bowing slightly.

Admiral Fucha stared at him and snorted coldly:

"Very well, I'd like to hear what kind of nonsense you have to spout."

Chen Wen straightened up, his expression becoming more serious:

"To be honest, sir, the factory has indeed improved recently. In fact, I originally planned to pay my respects to you today."

"This factory was able to open thanks to your approval and assistance. We should be grateful and share in the profits."

Fucha Admiral's eyes flickered slightly, but he remained silent.

Chen Wen continued:

"A 30/70 split. What do you think, sir?"

Upon hearing this, Wong Fei-hung, who was standing nearby, immediately became anxious and blurted out:

"Brother Chen! We started this factory ourselves, how can we give him only 30%..."

Chen Wen interrupted him.

"Thirty percent is ours. Seventy percent is a tribute to the Admiral."

"What?!" Huang Feihong was completely stunned, staring at Chen Wen in disbelief.

His mouth was slightly open, but no sound came out.

A 30/70 split? Or is it 30% for us and 70% for them? What... what is this supposed to mean?

A surge of intense resentment and pain welled up within him, and his face turned pale.

In his mind, Chen Wen had always been a person with a strong sense of righteousness, decisiveness, and even a certain aloofness. How could he be so obsequious and servile at this moment?

He knew Chen Wen was not that kind of person; there must be other plans behind this.

But the humiliating division of profits before his eyes was still unacceptable to him.

He gritted his teeth and swallowed back the question that was about to come out of his throat, deciding to see what Chen Wen was up to first.

Upon hearing Chen Wen's words, Admiral Fucha suddenly smiled and nodded in approval:

"Excellent! The first time I met Manager Chen, I knew you were a shrewd and capable man, and even more importantly... you knew how to read the situation! Now that I see it, I was right!"

"With your talent, Manager Chen, would you be interested in working for the yamen? I will certainly do my best to secure a good future for you!"

Chen Wen quickly cupped his hands in greeting:

"I am deeply grateful for your kindness, sir! However, this pharmaceutical factory has just started to get on track, and we need people in every aspect."

"If I go to the government office, I'm afraid it will disrupt the factory's operations."

Upon hearing this, Admiral Fucha nodded in agreement.

He was well aware that Huang Feihong had contributed to the creation of this pharmaceutical factory, but the core of the success was definitely Chen Wen.

It's easy to seize a factory by force.

But if we drive away the goose that lays the golden eggs, or destroy something crucial, the losses could be enormous.

"Manager Chen is absolutely right!"

"The factory is indeed the foundation, and we can't be careless about it. Just focus on managing it."

"Since you have chosen my path, I will naturally protect you. As for the foreigners... I will handle that."

Chen Wen then showed a grateful expression, before changing the subject:

"Thank you, sir!"

"In addition, there is one more matter that I need to report to you, sir."

"Last night, the Shahe Gang not only set fire to Po Chi Lam, but also sent people to try to burn down my factory."

"Fortunately, the factory was well-prepared, and several bandits were captured on the spot. They are still being held at the factory, awaiting your judgment."

"What?!" Admiral Fucha's expression changed, this time showing genuine anger.

"The Shahe Gang is so brazen! They even dare to raid factories?!"

The burning of Baozhilin has nothing to do with him, but the factory now accounts for 70% of his profits, which means his money is being taken away!

How can we tolerate this?

He immediately slammed his hand on the table and said sternly:

"Don't worry, Manager Chen! I will not let them off easily!"

"Immediately issue arrest warrants, issue citywide warrants for the arrest of all members of the Shahe Gang, and bring them to justice with severe punishment!"

Huang Feihong, who was listening from the side, was stunned and his mind was in turmoil.

Giving up 70% of the factory's profits... this price is even more frustrating than having the Shahe Gang burn it down!

Burning it would at least destroy it, and no one would get it. But now it's being given away to this corrupt official for nothing!

Chen Wen, seemingly oblivious to Huang Feihong's complex emotions, asked again:

"Sir, what should we do with the foreigners?"

The smile on Admiral Fucha's face faded, his brows furrowed slightly, and he showed a troubled expression:

"Well... Manager Chen, this matter is indeed tricky."

"I know perfectly well that they are mostly framing me and trying to seize it by force. But at present, the 'Westernization Movement' is very popular in the capital, and the emphasis is on 'harmony between China and foreign countries'."

"Foreigners are powerful; a single note from the consul can reach the emperor directly... I, too, cannot be too forceful."

He paused, as if making a decision, and said in a tone that suggested he was thinking of you:

"How about this, we should give up some profits to bribe those two foreign captains."

"It's better to pay up than to cause trouble. Once they've taken the money, they probably won't make any more trouble."

When Huang Feihong heard this, he was completely stunned and could hardly believe his ears.

The man before you is a high-ranking official of the imperial court, holding the rank of first-grade admiral!

How could they be so obsequious in front of two foreigners who were not even officials but just captains of merchant ships?

Instead of upholding justice, they're trying to force their own people to sacrifice themselves to feed the wolves?

Has the imperial court really become so weak?

This is utterly disgraceful!

Chen Wen was clearly also taken aback.

Although he knew long ago that the Qing Dynasty was spineless, he never expected it to be so utterly shameless.

It's absolutely disgusting.

Governor Fucha seemed to realize that his words were too timid and unbecoming of an official, so he quickly coughed and straightened his back:

"Of course, I won't force you. How about this: we each contribute 10% of the profits, making it 20%, which I will then transfer to you to smooth things over. That way, the matter will be considered settled, how about that?"

After he finished speaking, he stood up before Chen Wen and Huang Feihong could say anything more.

"I have urgent business to attend to and need to return immediately to sign the warrant for the arrest of the Shahe Gang bandits. I will not stay any longer."

"Manager Chen, please draft the detailed documents and contracts regarding the factory's profit sharing as soon as possible and send them to the yamen."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and hurriedly left the simple clinic with his entourage.

The clinic fell into a deathly silence.

Silence remained.

A long time passed.

Chen Wen walked to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and slowly took a sip.

"Brother Chen! You still have the mind to drink tea?!"

Huang Feihong finally erupted, his face flushed red, his chest heaving violently, and his voice trembling with extreme anger and resentment.

"We...we've been so humiliated! We painstakingly built the factory, and we poured our hearts and souls into developing the medicine, and now we're being forced to give up 80% of our profits!"

"Seventy percent of the money goes to corrupt officials, and the remaining ten percent goes to foreigners! What kind of world is this?!"