Chapter 139: Chapter 123: Thrills
Returning to Vanke Mansion, it was already two in the morning, and Qi Yun was surprised to find the living room lights still on.
Could it be that Zhao Qing hadn’t slept yet?
He felt a sense of vigilance and checked the mirror before getting out of the car to ensure there were no lipstick marks on his lips.
Then he stood outside the car, shook his clothes, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a few drags to mask the scent of perfume on him before he stepped toward the house.
He took out his key to open the door, only to see Zhao Qing sitting on the sofa, hugging a pillow and watching TV.
Qi Yun’s heart felt like facing a formidable enemy, but he feigned surprise and asked, "Why aren’t you asleep yet?"
Zhao Qing got up from the sofa, threw herself into his arms, and sniffed him before replying, "It’s too late, I was worried about you and couldn’t sleep."
Qi Yun’s expression remained calm as he stroked her hair.
Fortunately, nothing unusual was discovered, which allowed his tight nerves to relax slightly.
"Hehe, I’m back now, right? Go to sleep, you have work tomorrow."
"Alright." Zhao Qing nodded obediently, kissed his cheek, and then left his embrace, "I’ll go to bed first, you sleep earlier too."
"Mm, go ahead."
Hearing the bedroom door close, Qi Yun exhaled a long breath.
...
The next day, Zhao Qing took Nuannuan to kindergarten, and after entering the office, she suddenly realized a notebook was missing.
"Could it have fallen in the car when we went for hot pot yesterday?" she mumbled to herself, taking out another set of car keys from her bag and preparing to look in the car.
She went to the parking lot behind the building, opened the rear car door, and indeed found a small notebook on the floor mat behind the driver’s seat.
"Hehe, found it."
She reached into the car to pick up the notebook, and as she was about to retreat, the corner of her eye caught a pair of silver high heels in front of the passenger seat.
Zhao Qing’s smile froze instantly, her gaze fixed on those high heels, an unexplainable unease spreading in her heart.
She was certain those high heels weren’t hers, and they weren’t there when she came back last night, but Qi Yun had driven out late at night...
"No, it can’t be. He only went out for a little while, and he’s always been very measured, it’s impossible he’d do something to betray me..."
"But..."
Zhao Qing sat in the seat disheartened, mumbling to herself, as if two little figures in her mind were battling.
She really wanted to ask Qi Yun for clarity but was afraid it might be a misunderstanding, making him feel she didn’t trust him.
But if she didn’t ask and pretended nothing happened, it made her feel stifled like having a bone stuck in her throat.
After much thought, she came up with an idea.
She found a plastic bag in the trunk, packed the high heels inside, and then went back to the office.
"If he really did something to betray me, surely he’d be feeling guilty, and I just have to observe his changes carefully..."
...
On the other side, after getting up and having breakfast, Qi Yun took out his phone and called the pharmaceutical company boss he sold the wild watermelon to last time, arranging to visit him later.
The current situation was that he knew the price of Tufuling would rise in the short term, but he neither had a purchase channel nor a sales channel. The only way he could think of was to find a reliable insider for help.
The pharmaceutical company boss had been in business for many years and surely understood Tufuling well, plus he might have the information Qi Yun needed.
More than half an hour later, Qi Yun drove to the pharmaceutical company, unexpectedly greeted at the door by the boss, Cao Yufei.
Qi Yun hurriedly got out of the car and greeted, "Boss Cao, long time no see, you look much better."
Cao Yufei shook his head with a smile, "I have to thank Mr. Qi for your encouragement that day, it helped me understand a lot."
"Don’t call me Mr. Qi, it sounds odd, just call me Qi Yun," Qi Yun waved dismissively.
Cao Yufei laughed heartily at this, "Alright, then don’t call me Boss Cao, just call me Old Cao, with my current situation, I’m no boss."
The two exchanged pleasantries, considerably narrowing the gap between them.
Cao Yufei led Qi Yun to the office, took a bottle of mineral water out of a box on the floor, and handed it over with a wry smile, "I can’t offer you good tea, just some water."
"Water’s fine, I’m not a tea person anyway," Qi Yun laughed and took the mineral water, unscrewing it for a sip.
Cao Yufei sat opposite him and offered him a cigarette, inquiring, "Is there something you need today?"
Qi Yun took the cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and replied, "Yes, there’s something I want to ask your advice on."
Cao Yufei waved his hand with a smile, "Don’t say advice, if I know something, I’ll surely tell you."
Qi Yun nodded and didn’t beat around the bush, directly asking, "Old Cao, what’s the market situation for Tufuling?"
"Tufuling?" Cao Yufei looked at him in surprise, "Do you want to buy or sell?"
"I want to buy a batch, but I don’t have a channel, and I don’t really understand it," Qi Yun said frankly.
Hearing this, Cao Yufei thought for a moment and asked, "What grade are you looking for? I have over two hundred kilograms in the warehouse, but the quality isn’t great, you can take it if you want, I’ll give it to you for free."
"No need to give it to me, I need a lot," Qi Yun quickly declined, "Is there a grading system for it?"
Cao Yufei flicked some ash off his cigarette and replied, "Yes, high-quality Tufuling can sell for over two hundred per kilogram, while poor quality ones can only fetch ten to twenty."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yun was taken aback, "Such a wide price difference?"
"Indeed." Cao Yufei nodded and continued, "It’s a classic case of you get what you pay for; high-quality has strong medicinal effects and thus costs more, most of it taken by large pharmaceutical companies for drug production."
"As for those of average quality with little medicinal effect, they mostly go to the health supplement market."
Hearing this, Qi Yun pondered for a while before asking, "So which type is more popular in the market right now?"
"Of course, the high-quality kind, but it’s not absolute, it mainly depends on quality and price," Cao Yufei responded.