I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

"Haha, it was actually just a coincidence," Li Jing'an said casually. "When I was traveling in Japan, someone introduced me to a medicine that a professor at a famous Japanese university had developed. This medicine is very good for the body and brain, especially suitable for the elderly. It can even be called a miracle drug! It can supplement all the nutrients needed by the elderly, suppress and clear viruses in the body, improve immunity, and has a therapeutic effect on various diseases."

"At the time, I spent a lot of money to buy out the patent. I originally planned to build a factory in Hong Kong for production, but somehow American capitalists found out about it. They offered hundreds of millions of US dollars and shares to cooperate."

"Hundreds of millions? That's a lot of money! And it's in US dollars?!" Several middle-aged women couldn't help but exclaim in low voices upon hearing this.

Li Jing'an continued without pausing, "Actually, what they call cooperation is just an attempt to buy out my patent. Moreover, this drug is specifically formulated for Asian physiques. These American capitalists have ulterior motives; they don't want the drug produced, fearing it will improve the health of Asians and threaten their Western interests. When they saw I wouldn't budge, they resorted to coercion. Hong Kong is still British territory, but who am I? I'm a man of principle! No matter how good the terms, I won't sell the formula to them. I plan to return to the mainland, produce the drug, and contribute to the health of our people, benefiting the masses! Then I won't sell it to foreigners; let them be envious and anxious!"

After hearing this, everyone burst into laughter and gave Li Jing'an a thumbs up.

Okay, the truth is that after Li Jing'an went abroad this time, he settled down in Hong Kong permanently.

When he first arrived in Hong Kong, he did indeed have a lot of money in his hands, but after a while, once the novelty wore off, he felt uneasy. He suddenly understood why retired cadres in China always liked to "retire but not retire," insisting on criticizing their former workplaces. There was no way around it; the sense of loss was simply too great.

Back home, he was used to being surrounded by admirers and treated like royalty. But what does money matter abroad? Unless you're a big capitalist who can create jobs for the locals, who cares about you? If you only have money, not only will no one give you face, but you might also be targeted by local bullies and treated like a fat sheep to be slaughtered.

Li Jing'an was quite troubled. He had originally planned to register a company in Hong Kong and do something casual to pass the time. But upon closer examination, what could he possibly do? Although he knew roughly what major events would occur in the next few decades, he had no idea about the specific timing and details. In this state of partial understanding, engaging in finance was tantamount to gambling, which he dared not touch; engaging in real industry was too risky and had too long a cycle, which he did not want to endure. As for real estate, Hong Kong was currently experiencing market turmoil and extreme volatility due to the British government's negotiations with the mainland regarding the handover, which he avoided at all costs.

He just wanted to find an industry with no risk and extremely high profits to dive into. After much thought, he concluded that the best way to get this kind of windfall was to return to the mainland.

Subsequently, his attention was focused on the promising market of "health supplements".

At that time in mainland China, the health supplement industry was just emerging, and relevant laws and regulations were almost non-existent, making it fertile ground for unchecked growth. This industry required little investment but yielded huge profits; it was practically a get-rich-quick scheme. Before domestic capital could react, he could simply use money to overwhelm the market with overwhelming force.

This is practically a foolproof, guaranteed money-making business!

"Ivy, stop wandering around. Don't you have samples of the oral liquid in your bag? Bring them over and share them with everyone." Li Jing'an called out to his female companion, who was still looking around. Then he introduced her to everyone, "Hi, this is my secretary, her English name is Ivy. This is her first time in China, so she's quite new to the country, like a country bumpkin, hahaha."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Come on, everyone take a strip. This is an exclusive formula, even those who aren't elderly can drink it. It boosts immunity and is very good for the body. Oh, and another thing, if you practice Qigong while drinking this, it's practically a magic elixir, making you progress by leaps and bounds! I haven't revealed this before, for fear that it would be snapped up after it hit the market and production capacity wouldn't be able to keep up." Li Jing'an mysteriously took out several long, narrow boxes from his secretary's bag and distributed them to everyone. "I specially made it into an oral liquid form for easy absorption. The packaging hasn't been designed yet, I just wrote a name on it. If it works, please don't promote it for me! It'll be a huge hassle before I even start production."

The old man took the box, thanked him profusely, and glanced at it. He saw three big characters written on the box: "Brain Gold".

"Hey, Dad, there's a Mercedes outside!" Just then, a chubby little boy ran in from outside with his schoolbag on his back. He was a little confused when he saw so many people standing in the front yard.

Everyone's attention was drawn to it again, and Li Jing'an also looked over.

The chubby boy ran straight to Xu Damao and Qin Huairu. Li Jing'an's eyes lit up, and he asked with a smile, "Damao, is this your son?"

"Yes, Brother Li, this is my son. He's eight years old this year. He goes to the school where Uncle San used to teach." Xu Damao proudly patted the little fat boy's head.

Li Jing'an looked at him with a smile: "This kid is really good-looking. How are your studies?"

"Well, he's just average. He's only in the top ten in his class, far worse than his sister." Xu Damao said modestly, but his mouth was practically stretched to his ears, which hit the nail on the head.

"Really? What does that mean? It means the seeds are good, right, Da Mao?" Li Jing'an gave Xu Da Mao a meaningful look.

"Yes, yes, the seeds are good, hahaha! Brother Li really hit the nail on the head!" Xu Damao laughed, not forgetting to glance at Sha Zhu next to him.

Upon hearing the word "seed," Sha Zhu's face immediately turned awkward, and he felt extremely uncomfortable, as if the other person was implying that his seed was inadequate. After all, he didn't even have a child yet.

Qin Jingru's expression also changed slightly. Her hand on her son tightened involuntarily, causing the chubby boy to cry out, "Mom, I'm hungry, let's eat."

Xu Damao then realized what was happening and quickly said, "Hey, look at me, let's not talk about this here. Brother Li, let's go to my place, I can have Jingru cook a couple of dishes."

"Oh, maybe next time. I'm about to head out after I finish looking at the house; I have dinner appointments with people from the Food and Drug Administration tonight. I'm really sorry, Da Mao, but I'll treat everyone to dinner when I have time," Li Jing'an politely declined.

Xu Damao did not give up, and led Li Jing'an to his small courtyard on the west side.

Even after Li Jing'an left, the crowd didn't disperse and continued their discussion. Some were talking about Li Jing'an, while others were examining the oral liquid in their hands.

"Ugh, those American devils are really despicable! They can't stand to see others doing well!"

"Yes, otherwise how could Li Jing'an become a minister? He has backbone and remains unmoved!"

"Do you think an ordinary person could resist the temptation of hundreds of millions of US dollars? Honestly, it's all thanks to Li Jing'an, otherwise they would have succeeded. They just can't stand to see us doing well. If it weren't for their suppression, our living conditions would have surpassed theirs long ago."

The third aunt, holding an oral liquid in her hand, spoke to Jia Zhangshi with a face full of disgust for the West.