These shopkeepers had been with the Shi family for many years. Some of them had been employed by the Shi family since Shi Wenjun's father was in charge. They had a deep bond with the Shi family.
Plus, their interests were tied to the Shi family's. If the Shi family fell, they would lose their jobs.
"Yes, report this to the authorities."
The other shopkeepers agreed.
Shi Wenjun frowned and shook her head. "There's no evidence. The Chen family's pills have different names from ours. There's no point in reporting this to the authorities."
Shi Wenjun was very clear about this.
Based on the pills alone, there was no way to prove that the Chen family had stolen the Shi family's recipe unless they compared the two families' recipes. But even if the results were the same, what would that prove?
There was no solution.
After all, they hadn't been caught red-handed.
Shi Wenjun sighed. She knew that Wu Chenwei must have hidden the recipe from them, stolen it, or copied it down. This couldn't have happened in a day.
In other words, Wu Chenwei had been plotting against the Shi family for a long time.
Shi Wenjun wanted nothing more than to kill Wu Chenwei right now. But even if she did, it wouldn't change the bigger picture.
Plus, a life for a life.
"Everyone, although the Chen Clan has also begun to sell medicinal pills, their medicinal effects might not be stronger than ours. All they're relying on is the price. Let's lower the price a bit and stabilize the situation first." In the end, Shi Wenjun made a decision to deal with the crisis.
The shopkeepers nodded. That was the only way.
In contrast to the Shi family's gloomy mood, the Chen family was in high spirits.
Around the banquet table were the backbone of the Chen family and Wu Chenwei, toasting each other.
"Young Master Wu, if we can defeat the Shi family in one fell swoop, you'll be the one to take the credit," Chen Wenlin said to Wu Chenwei, raising a glass of wine.
The latter looked smug.
"Well said, well said. But don't underestimate the Shi family, especially that Shi Wenjun. She has a lot of tricks up her sleeves. We must crush the Shi family once and for all this time." Wu Chenwei's tone was laced with hatred.
Chen Wenlin chuckled, wondering why Wu Chenwei hated the Shi family so much. But of course, he wouldn't ask.
This time, he had teamed up with Wu Chenwei. Wu Chenwei would provide the pill formulas, while he would be responsible for providing the money and manpower.
One had to know that this business had always been dominated by the Shi family. It wasn't that Chen Wenlin hadn't thought of entering the market, but he lacked the pill formulas.
What was the foundation of the Shi family?
From Chen Wenlin's point of view, the Shi family's heritage lay in the hundreds of pill recipes accumulated over a hundred years. Frankly speaking, without Wu Chenwei, even if the Chen family could surpass the Shi family in the medicine hall business, they would never be able to compete with the Shi family in terms of pills.
But things were different now. With the pill formula, Chen Wenlin was confident that he could crush the Shi family within a year. At that time, the Chen family would be the number one family in Maple City.
"By the way, Lord Chen, I heard that your daughter was once engaged to that Lin Jin?" Wu Chenwei, who was a little tipsy, suddenly asked.
At the mention of this, Chen Wenlin's expression didn't look too good.
Recently, he had been trying to find a way to mend his relationship with Lin Jin. However, the latter simply ignored him and this made Chen Wenlin feel humiliated.
In the past, Chen Wenlin could still hold his temper. But now that the Chen family was growing stronger by the day, there was a possibility that they could even surpass the Shi family. Chen Wenlin couldn't help but feel smug.
Arrogance was bound to lead to arrogance.
"That was in the past. The engagement is no longer valid," Chen Wenlin said with a wave of his hand.
He knew why Wu Chenwei was asking this. Today, he had used his connections to get Wu Chenwei out of the government's clutches.
Hence, he found out that Wu Chenwei had ordered someone to set fire to Lin Jin's house.
"Lord Chen, I have a grudge against this Lin Jin. If you still wish to mend your relationship with him, we might not be able to continue our partnership," Wu Chenwei said with a hint of threat in his voice.
Chen Wenlin smiled.
"I only wanted to use Lin Jin but he didn't know how to appreciate my kindness. To tell you the truth, I've always found him an eyesore. If Young Master Wu wishes to deal with him, I'm more than happy to oblige. Not only will I not stop you, I'll even lend you a hand."
"Alright, that's what I was waiting for." Wu Chenwei downed the wine in his glass, his eyes filled with hatred. If Lin Jin hadn't gone looking for trouble, Shi Wenjun wouldn't have chased him out.
A woman divorcing her husband.
To a man, this was a great humiliation.
How humiliating!
Wu Chenwei obviously hated Shi Wenjun, but he hated Lin Jin even more.
"Since that's the case, Lord Chen, how should we deal with this Lin Jin?" Wu Chenwei asked.
Chen Wenlin said, "This Lin Jin has grown up. He's a Rank 2 beast appraiser so we can't do anything to the Beast Appraisal Association. However, I heard that he has also been admitted into the Friar Association and has a small conflict with Yang Jie from the association …"
At this point, Chen Wenlin didn't continue. Wu Chenwei was also a cunning and two-faced person. He let out a hearty laugh and said, "As expected of the Chen Family's Patriarch. Your tactic of using someone else to do your dirty work is indeed brilliant. Let's think of a way to turn this small conflict between Lin Jin and Yang Jie into a big one. It'd be best if they become mortal enemies.
Having said that, Wu Chenwei laughed maniacally, his voice tinged with madness.
"Right, Young Master Wu, let me introduce you to someone who can help us deal with Lin Jin. He's my nephew, Chen Cheng. Come, greet Young Master Wu!" Chen Wenlin suddenly said.
…
Lin Jin was once again a guest at the Zu Manor. This time, it was completely different from his first visit.
Last time, only Zu Tianhong and Zu Can came out to welcome him. But this time, everyone in the Zu family was there, including the mute Third Elder.
This was a grand occasion.
At the same time, it also showed how much the Zu family valued Lin Jin.
Zu Tianhong stepped forward and said, "Appraiser Lin, sorry for the trouble."
Lin Jin waved, indicating that it was fine.
Zu Can leaned over and whispered, "Brother Lin, for the past two days, Second Elder, Third Elder, and even Zu Tianli have been behaving themselves. They don't dare to go against my father on many things anymore. Actually, Second Elder and Third Elder aren't bad people. It's just that they were provoked by Zu Tianli."
Lin Jin nodded in understanding.
Second Elder came to visit again this morning but Lin Jin ignored him as usual. The old man didn't seem angry and from his attitude, it seemed like he really wanted to apologize and admit his mistake.
Hence, why would Lin Jin make things difficult for an old man?
His visit this time was to help form a blood pact with the two-headed snake. This was also out of respect for Zu Can and Zu Tianhong. As for Third Elder's inability to speak, that would depend on Lin Jin's mood.
This time, there were no more obstacles to forming a blood pact. The Zu family was extremely cooperative. After feeding the dying two-headed snake a pill, Lin Jin somehow managed to restore the creature's vigor and vigor.
Just from this alone, Lin Jin was able to tell that he was much better than the other beast appraisers the Zu family had invited over the past two days.
The blood pact began.
Zu Yuan came over anxiously. Lin Jin took a drop of his blood and another from the two-headed snake. As the two blood fused, the incantation was invoked and the blood pact was formed.
To every beast appraiser, blood contract was the foundation of every beast appraiser. It was a must-learn spell.
Even an apprentice beast appraiser had to have a firm grasp of it.
However, even though it was a blood pact, Lin Jin's execution was pleasing to the eye and smooth no matter how one looked at it.
The people the Zu family had invited in the past would always encounter all sorts of difficulties and stumble. Like reciting an essay, they would stutter or get stuck for no reason. But Lin Jin's blood pact was as smooth as flowing water. There was no pause at all. By the time the blood pact was completed, they hadn't even realized what was going on.
"Alright!"
Lin Jin opened the cage and let the two-headed snake out.
Zu Yuan ordered his pet beast excitedly. The two-headed snake immediately slithered out obediently and settled down beside Zu Yuan.
Zu Tianhong looked excited.
Although there were some troubles and obstacles, they finally succeeded. The descendant of the Zu family had formed a blood pact with this Rank 2 pet beast. As long as they familiarized themselves with it and nurtured Zu Yuan, in a year at most, with Lin Jin's help, the Zu family would have a Rank 3 pet beast.
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