Lin Jin jumped in fright.
The Shi family was now like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing a juicy piece of meat, including Shi Wenjun.
Before Lin Jin could react, the crowd 'pounced' on him.
"Appraiser Lin is truly skilled. It's an honor to be able to witness Appraiser Lin's pelletization."
"Appraiser Lin is truly an expert in pelletization. I have some questions about pelletization and I hope Appraiser Lin can enlighten me."
"Appraiser Lin …"
The Shi family swarmed over and Lin Jin felt like he was about to explode.
Fortunately, Fourth Uncle cleared his throat to remind the crowd and they finally calmed down.
"Appraiser Lin, I've learned a lot today. Sure enough, there's always someone better out there. If Appraiser Lin doesn't mind, why don't you stay for a meal? We can use this opportunity to learn from Appraiser Lin in pelletization."
Fourth Uncle was being very respectful.
Lin Jin finally realized that the method he copied from the Museum of Deadly Beasts must have been unusual or else the Shi family wouldn't have reacted this way.
But asking for guidance was out of the question.
It wasn't that Lin Jin was being stingy, but he really didn't know much about pelletization. If he gave him any pointers, he would definitely be exposed.
Hence, Lin Jin flatly refused.
He didn't have time.
The Shi family didn't think anything was wrong. After all, pelletization techniques like the Spiritual Pellet Scripture couldn't be taught so easily. If they were in Lin Jin's shoes, they wouldn't agree to it either.
Now that the pelletization was complete, Lin Jin had other matters to attend to so he excused himself.
Shi Wenjun sent him off. By the time she returned, she saw Fourth Uncle discussing a strategy with the others.
Now that there were no outsiders around, they spoke more freely.
Then, Fourth Uncle said, "Appraiser Lin is young and promising. Not only is he a Rank 2 beast appraiser, but he's also an expert in pelletization. Do you know if he's married or not?"
The group was smart enough to understand what Fourth Uncle meant.
However, they didn't know much about Lin Jin so when they saw Shi Wenjun come in, they quickly asked about her.
Shi Wenjun had investigated Lin Jin's background so she knew a lot about him.
"Appraiser Lin isn't married, but he was once engaged!" Before Shi Wenjun could finish, Fourth Great Uncle panicked. "He was engaged? Who was it? "
"The Chen family!" Shi Wenjun answered.
"What?!"
The Shi family was shocked. In recent years, the Chen family, who also owned a medicine hall, had overtaken the Shi family in the medicine hall industry. Since they were in the same line of work, they were enemies. When they heard that Lin Jin was engaged to the Chen family, they couldn't sit still.
Fourth Great Uncle's expression changed. "This is bad. The Chen family has surpassed us in terms of medicine halls. If they bring Appraiser Lin over now, with Appraiser Lin's alchemy skills, our Shi family won't stand a chance."
Everyone was filled with despair when they heard this.
Shi Wenjun burst into laughter. "Fourth Uncle, Appraiser Lin was once engaged to the Chen family, but not long after, the Chen family broke off the engagement."
Fourth Great Uncle and everyone else were dumbfounded.
That expression was clearly saying that the Chen family were fools. Had Chen Wenlin's head been kicked by a donkey? How could he do something so stupid?
Shi Wenjun continued, "I've looked into this matter. Appraiser Lin keeps a low profile and doesn't compete with others. He has never shown his brilliance while Chen Wenlin is a hypocrite. Although he looks righteous on the surface, he's actually a selfish man. Initially, he was eyeing Appraiser Lin's status as an official beast appraiser. But after Appraiser Lin was suppressed by the association's chief, Chen Wenlin was put in a difficult position. Coupled with his daughter's insistence on breaking off the engagement, Chen Wenlin agreed. I heard that after Appraiser Lin revealed his brilliance, Chen Wenlin regretted his decision. He tried several times to mend his relationship with Appraiser Lin but to no avail. "
"Haha, serves him right!" Fourth Great Uncle jumped up in joy. "Heaven is on our Shi family's side! Heaven is on our Shi family's side!"
Shi Wenjun was already aware of Fourth Great Uncle's plan. She wanted to say something but held herself back.
After all, Fourth Great Uncle was doing this for the sake of the family.
"Wenbing, your daughter Huilin happens to be sixteen years old. She's smart and virtuous so she can be a candidate. Fifth Great Uncle, your granddaughter Ruotong is about the same age. She's a year younger than Huilin so she can be a candidate as well."
Fourth Great Uncle rubbed his hands together as he made his arrangements. Shi Wenbing and Fifth Great Uncle had no objections.
By marrying the Shi family's daughter to Lin Jin, they would be able to rope in this expert alchemist who had mastered the Scripture of Pellets. This was a win-win deal.
Suddenly, someone said, "If only he could marry into our family."
Fourth Great Uncle frowned and reprimanded, "We're the ones begging Appraiser Lin, not the other way around. Marry into our family? Do you think that useless Wu Chenwei …"
Halfway through, Fourth Great Uncle realized that he had misspoken so he fell silent.
Everyone's expressions changed and the atmosphere turned awkward. After all, Shi Wenjun was here and she had just divorced her husband this morning, chasing Wu Chenwei out of the Shi family.
Wu Chenwei was obviously embarrassed by this, but the Shi family was disgraced as well.
Shi Wenjun's expression remained unchanged as she stood up and said, "I understand Fourth Great Uncle's intentions. Using marriage to rope in useful people has always been a good strategy. As the head of the Shi family, I agree to befriend Appraiser Lin, but we shouldn't be too hasty in this matter. Otherwise, it might backfire."
The Shi family nodded.
Before arranging a marriage, one had to ask for the other party's opinion first. Otherwise, a good thing might turn into a bad thing.
As for Wu Chenwei, no one mentioned it again. After all, Shi Wenjun was the current head of the Shi family. If she divorced her husband, no one could interfere. Moreover, they had long disliked Wu Chenwei. Fourth Great Uncle had said more than once that the man wasn't worthy of Shi Wenjun.
Indeed, he wasn't worthy.
Hence, a divorce was done. With Shi Wenjun's age, looks, background, and capabilities, it wouldn't be difficult for her to find another son-in-law.
But soon, a piece of news reached the Shi family, causing a huge commotion.
In the afternoon, the Chen Medicine Hall suddenly started selling pills that were identical to the Shi family's but at a lower price.
With this, the Shi family could no longer sit still.
Previously, the Chen family had already suppressed the Shi family in the medicine hall business. Hence, the pill business became the Shi family's lifeline.
Now, the Chen family was starting to do the same. More importantly, the pills they were selling were identical to the Shi family's. This was akin to trying to take the Shi family's life.
It wasn't hard to imagine that if the Chen family took over the pill business, the Shi family would definitely collapse.
Hence, Shi Wenjun panicked.
By the time the sky turned dark, the Shi family had already sent out people to relay the news from all over the world.
There were two things that could be confirmed.
One was that Wu Chenwei and Chen Wenlin had joined forces, and the other was that the Chen Family's pills were definitely related to Wu Chenwei.
Although there was no direct evidence, anyone with a brain could figure it out.
Even if the Chen family wanted to start a pill business and hire a pill refiner, they didn't have the pill formulas.
The pill recipe was the true core secret.
Now that the Chen Medicine Hall was selling the same pills as the Shi family's, it could only mean one thing. Somehow, Wu Chenwei stole the Shi family's pill formulas and gave them to the Chen family.
In the main hall of the Shi family's medicine hall, the shopkeepers from all over the country had gathered. All of them looked anxious.
"Boss, let's report the Chen family to the authorities for theft," one of the shopkeepers stood up and said.
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