I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

Sherry and Zhao Yike sat at their desks, a screenshot of the signing notice from Qingshun County displayed on their computer screens.

She has watched it several times already.

Each time, it confirms the same fact—

Guangjitang did indeed sign the contract, and He Ying did indeed win this round.

She leaned back in her chair and tapped her fingers twice slowly on the edge of the table.

Then, she picked up her phone, found Zeng Siming's number, and pressed the call button.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

Zeng Siming's voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding more cautious than before:

Zhao Yike skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point:

Did you see the signing of the contract with Guangjitang?

"I saw it."

"The Hongtu Pharmaceutical line is off the table. He Ying never intended to talk to us from the beginning; she just kept stalling."

Zhao Yike's voice was calm, but every word carried a chilling coldness.

"Since the open road is blocked, we'll take the covert road."

The price of Codonopsis pilosula is still high; you should continue to purchase it.

We'll push the price up to 30% higher than it is now, and we'll buy as many as we can, regardless of their condition.

in addition--"

She paused for a moment:

"Can you find any past environmental or quality-related issues with Guangjitang in other places? Anything, big or small, please compile and send it to me."

Zeng Siming was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone. Zhao Yike was about to go all out.

Regarding environmental protection... Guangjitang received a rectification notice in a neighboring province three years ago, and it has already passed the inspection.

This matter has already been publicly addressed when Qingshun County refuted the rumors last time, so using it again may not be very effective.

But regarding quality—"

He paused and continued:

"I heard from a colleague that a batch of herbal slices from Guangjitang was found to have 'unstable indicators' during a random inspection in a province a couple of years ago. Although it passed the re-inspection in the end, the incident circulated in the industry for a while."

Zhao Yi leaned back in his chair and sneered:

"Okay, investigate this matter thoroughly. Compile all the details—time, location, batch, and retest results—and send them to me. It doesn't need to be solid evidence, just something that raises suspicion."

Zeng Siming replied, "Okay."

After hanging up the phone.

Zhao Yike placed her phone on the table and looked out the window.

The sea in Sydney shimmered with tiny sparkles in the sunlight, but she wasn't admiring the scenery; her mind was preoccupied with calculating the next crucial moment.

After Guangjitang signed the agreement, the next steps are land approval and environmental impact assessment. It will take time for the project to officially start construction.

During this period, as long as she can stir up public opinion and make He Ying constantly need to put out fires while pushing forward the project, the other party's speed will slow down.

If we slow down, there's still a chance.

……

Before we know it, the Spring Festival is almost here.

The market for Codonopsis pilosula in Qingshun County has suddenly become popular again.

The period before the festival is usually the off-season for medicinal herb trading, but this year is different—

There were several times more buyers from the provincial capital than in previous years, and they were more generous with their purchases. Prices rose several times in just one week, breaking the historical high.

Wang Desheng sat in his office, holding a newly printed price monitoring report.

The red curve on the report rises almost vertically, with each increment showing a larger increase than the previous one.

He read the report from beginning to end, then picked up the landline on the table and dialed Du Yuming's number.

The phone was answered after two rings.

"County magistrate, something terrible has happened."

The price of Codonopsis pilosula has risen again, and it has now reached an all-time high.

Based on this trend, prices will continue to rise after the holiday.

The farmers have completely gone mad—

People have already started destroying other crops to grow ginseng instead, and we can't stop them.

Du Yuming paused for a moment on the other end of the phone:

"Don't panic... How much longer do you think you can hold out?"

"It's hard to say."

Wang Desheng's voice was filled with obvious anxiety.

"At the current rate of increase, if it continues to rise after the Spring Festival, it can only last for a maximum of two more months."

If prices collapse, at least one-third of the farmers in the county will lose everything.

Many of the farmers who blindly expanded their planting areas had borrowed money to invest. If the project collapses, it's not just a matter of losing money—they won't be able to repay their loans, and their normal lives will be disrupted.

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "What I'm more worried about is causing social instability, and then..."

Before he could finish speaking, Du Yuming realized the gravity of the consequences.

He paused for a few seconds before speaking, "Send the monitoring report to Secretary He first, and I'll report to her simultaneously."

After hanging up the phone.

Wang Desheng took a picture of the report and sent it to He Ying, along with a note:

"Secretary, the price of Codonopsis pilosula has exceeded its historical high. Farmers are expanding their planting area rapidly, and it is estimated that this will affect more than one-third of the growers."

……

at the same time.

At the market in Shuangqiao Town, Bai Jiangfei stood next to a makeshift purchasing point with several bags of Codonopsis pilosula samples in front of him.

He was wearing a dark, old coat and looked no different from those buyers who spent years running around the market.

The task Jiang Dongmei assigned him was very simple—

At the market, they act as "generous out-of-town buyers," allowing farmers to witness firsthand that someone is buying their produce at high prices.

Several passing farmers stopped to ask about the price.

Bai Jiangfei casually quoted a price, which was 20% higher than the normal purchase price.

The farmers exchanged glances, their eyes filled with both doubt and interest.

One of the older farmers asked:

"Are you really going to buy it at this price?"

Bai Jiangfei smiled, took out a wad of cash from his coat pocket, and patted it in his hand.

"Cash settlement, whatever amount you have, we'll take."

The news quickly spread throughout the market—

In less than half a day, Bai Jiangfei had spent most of the cash he brought, and seven or eight sacks were piled up at the collection point.

He didn't deliberately incite anyone; he just needed enough people to see that he was actually taking money and receiving goods.

That evening, Bai Jiangfei sent Jiang Dongmei a message:

"I bought a batch of goods at the Shuangqiao Town market today. Prices have already gone up, and the news spreads quickly. I expect even more people will follow suit in the next few days."

Jiang Dongmei replied with one word:

"good."

After seeing the reply, Bai Jiangfei put his phone on the table without giving it much thought.

He felt perfectly justified in doing things for money.

……

Beijing.

He Ying sat at her desk in the Party School dormitory, with the price monitoring report sent by Wang Desheng spread out in front of her, her brows slightly furrowed.

She flipped to the last page of the report, looked at the data highlighted in red again, then closed the report and placed it on the table.

She picked up her phone and sent a message to Du Yuming:

"County Magistrate, is there a trend of the price of Codonopsis pilosula (太子参) hitting its daily limit?"

Du Yuming quickly replied: "Currently, prices are still rising and show no signs of stopping. The Agricultural Bureau's assessment is that someone is continuously pushing up prices; it's not a spontaneous market movement."

He Ying stared at the line of text and remained silent for a few seconds.

She remembered what Zhou Lin had said before—

"Someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes."

I also recalled Lin Chen's reminder relayed by Chen Dapeng, as well as the two precise releases of rumors.

These events, taken individually, may all be mere coincidences, but when put together, they form a complete chain.

She typed a message in reply to Du Yuming:

"The agricultural bureau's monitoring cannot stop; it must report prices and increases every three days."

In addition, keep track of the market situation with Guangjitang so that they can prepare for large-scale purchases after prices drop.

The signing of contracts for contract farming should be accelerated to secure farmers' guaranteed purchase agreements before prices collapse.

Du Yuming replied with one word:

"good."

He Ying put down her phone, leaned back in her chair, and looked out at the gray sky.

She didn't know what tricks Zhao Yike would pull next, but all she could do now was to make sure the path that had already been paved was solid.

Zhao Yike is trying to create a long-term disaster by artificially inflating prices in the short term.

She used contract farming to support farmers before prices fell.

She cannot afford to lose this protracted battle...