Free Web NovelChapter 361: Chapter 361 Cheng Yin Appears
"Mr. Lu, hello!"
Wang Hao hurried forward to greet him.
After Wang Hao had greeted him, Wen Yonglin patted Wang Hao on the shoulder and said to Lu Zongliang,
"This is Wang Hao, who just established his own traditional Chinese medicine company in Zao City. We’ll be relying on Mr. Lu to take good care of him in the future!"
Originally, Lu Zongliang had a smiling face, but as soon as he heard that the person before him was Wang Hao, his expression suddenly darkened and he immediately found an excuse to walk away.
Seeing this, Wen Yonglin’s expression also turned sour. No one in Zao City had ever shown him such disrespect, so who gave Lu Zongliang the audacity to do so?
Wang Hao also found it strange and even felt that there must be something wrong.
Wen Yonglin then introduced Wang Hao to three traditional Chinese medicine merchants, all of whom found excuses to distance themselves with the same attitude.
It was as if Wang Hao was a bomb; spending any extra time near him seemed to fear catching fire, everyone avoided him.
Just then, a middle-aged man in a formal suit walked into the banquet hall with a smile on his face.
Since important figures usually arrive late, Wang Hao was convinced that this man must be somebody significant and couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.
The middle-aged man was spirited, with well-defined features and a standard square face, conveying a very imposing presence.
But the middle-aged man kept smiling, which gave people a sense of approachability.
"That’s Cheng Yin!"
As Wang Hao scrutinized him, Wen Yonglin whispered in his ear, shocking Wang Hao.
Wang Hao hadn’t expected Cheng Yin to come; the Yi Family had only sent Yi Yaoyao directly, and the Wu Family didn’t even show up.
The influence of this Cheng Yin was said to be above the three big families of Zao City, far exceeding the Yi and Wu Families. Wang Hao hadn’t expected him to give face to the Wen Family by attending today.
As soon as Cheng Yin walked into the banquet hall, the traditional Chinese medicine merchants that Wen Yonglin had introduced to Wang Hao all crowded around him.
"Chairman Cheng, you finally arrived!"
The traditional Chinese medicine merchants seemed to know Cheng Yin very well.
What? Chairman Cheng?
Wang Hao immediately understood this Cheng Yin was the chairman of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. No wonder Wang Hao had never heard about such an association; it turned out to have been established after Cheng Yin’s return.
This also proved the strength of Cheng Yin’s power. In just less than half a month since he had returned, he had already gained control over the traditional Chinese medicine merchants of Zao City.
Wait a minute!
Wang Hao was suddenly taken aback. Why did Cheng Yin want to control Zao City’s traditional Chinese medicine merchants? Was it possible that Cheng Yin wanted to enter the traditional Chinese medicine business upon his return?
This thought made Wang Hao furrow his brow and even feel somewhat indignant.
Wang Hao wasn’t afraid of the competition, but these kinds of underhanded tactics were quite detestable.
One of the conditions for joining the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association was that a company’s annual turnover had to exceed 20 million. How could Cheng Yin’s turnover exceed 20 million in less than half a month?
This clearly showed he was using the association to suppress other competitors, denying them the chance to join.
Coincidentally, Wang Hao was among those being suppressed.
"Haha, Cheng Yin, long time no see! What brought you here today?"
Wen Yonglin came up to Cheng Yin and laughed loudly.
"Uncle Wen, it really has been a long time. I feel a little embarrassed for coming over to freeload as soon as I got back!"
Cheng Yin responded with a smile, but his gaze occasionally swept over Wang Hao.
Wang Hao had been observing the whole time and eventually noticed that more and more traditional Chinese medicine merchants had gathered around Cheng Yin.
Today was supposed to be Wen Yonglin’s event; why were all the guests standing by Cheng Yin’s side? What did this mean?
It was evident that Cheng Yin was aware of the real purpose behind Wen Yonglin’s reception and had purposely come to disrupt their plans.
Wasn’t Wen Yonglin’s intent just to introduce the big names of Zao City’s traditional Chinese medicine circle to Wang Hao? So Cheng Yin had deliberately appeared at the banquet to prevent those merchants from getting close to Wang Hao.
Wen Yonglin was astute; how could he not know the real reason Cheng Yin came? But since these merchants had legs of their own, they could choose whichever side they preferred—Wen Yonglin couldn’t control that.
What’s more, with Cheng Yin throwing his weight behind them, not even Wen Yonglin dared to offend them lightly.
"Let me introduce you: this is Mr. Wang Hao, who just established his traditional Chinese medicine company in Zao City. I urge you all to take good care of him in the future!"
Wen Yonglin managed to suppress the anger in his heart and introduced Wang Hao to them out of politeness.
Wang Hao also smiled politely at Cheng Yin.
"Oh, you are Wang Hao, I’ve heard about you long ago."
Cheng Yin feigned a smile.
"Wang Hao? It seems you don’t even have the qualifications to join the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, do you? I suggest you exit the Zao City market sooner rather than later!"
Cheng Lei suddenly stepped out from behind Cheng Yin and unleashed a wave of cold sarcasm at Wang Hao, not giving a second thought to Wen Yonglin’s presence.
Wen Yonglin’s eyebrows furrowed upon hearing this, but he remained silent.
"Lei, pay attention to the occasion when you speak!"
Cheng Yin chastised Cheng Lei with feigned seriousness.
"Even if what you’re saying is the truth, you should consider the face of your Grandpa Wen. Today’s banquet is hosted by your Grandpa Wen, so hurry up and apologize to him."
Even though Wen Yonglin was magnanimous, he couldn’t hide his displeasure at the poor act put on by the father and son, who clearly came to cause trouble. But considering that he was the host today, it wasn’t appropriate for him to lose his temper.
"Haha, Grandpa Wen, I sincerely apologize. I tend to speak my mind, but I absolutely didn’t mean to target the Wen Family, and I hope you won’t be angry, Grandpa Wen!"
Cheng Lei gave a fake smile, his laughter devoid of warmth.
Cheng Yin and his son were really too arrogant, flaunting their power in front of Wen Yonglin, and even Wang Hao couldn’t stand to watch it any longer.
"I heard that only members of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association can participate in the herbal medicine auctions, is that correct?"
Wang Hao couldn’t help but ask.
"Yes, that has been unanimously voted on by the members of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. Do you have an issue with that?"
Cheng Lei said smugly.
"But as far as I know, Mr. Cheng Yin, you’ve only returned to Zao City for less than half a month. May I ask how you managed to achieve a turnover of twenty million in this short time?"
Wang Hao inquired further. freēwebnovel.com
"It’s really laughable, after all, we are the Cheng Family. Does a trivial Traditional Chinese Medicine Association even require us to apply?"
Cheng Lei fairly shouted the words.
Wang Hao then stopped talking and looked meaningfully at the other herbal medicine merchants.
The other herbal medicine merchants were also taken aback; the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association was founded and planned by Cheng Yin himself. What did Cheng Lei’s statement imply?
Could it be that Cheng Yin never really regarded these herbal medicine merchants, that the establishment of the association was merely a way to use them?
Cheng Yin, after hearing Cheng Lei’s words, was momentarily stunned, then stepped forward and slapped Cheng Lei across the face.
"If you don’t know, then don’t talk nonsense. Now get out of here!"
Cheng Lei, slapped on the face, still didn’t understand what he had done wrong, and ran out of the banquet hall with an aggrieved look, covering his face.
Wang Hao was actually worried about Cheng Lei’s intelligence.
"Don’t misunderstand, everyone. Lei didn’t mean that; he’s just talking nonsense. We established this Traditional Chinese Medicine Association surely to unite the big players in the herbal medicine field to build an empire within the industry."
"Not only do we want to lead our company out of Zao City, but we also want to expand nationally and even globally!"
Cheng Yin declared passionately.
These words gave Wang Hao a headache, sounding nothing but empty slogans, utterly fake.
But it seemed the herbal merchants had been brainwashed, quickly forgetting Cheng Lei’s words and giving Cheng Yin a round of applause.
"For this, I even made a special visit to Elder Wei, hoping to gain his support!"
To completely ease the merchants’ doubts, Cheng Yin even brought up Elder Wei.
As he spoke, silence fell over the room.
Elder Wei was considered the ruler of Zao City, a mysterious figure not simply accessible at their will.
Cheng Yin mentioning that he had visited Elder Wei signified his significant influence.
Wang Hao was also taken aback; he had heard about Elder Wei many times, and from various pieces of information, knew that Elder Wei was in Zao City. If Cheng Yin truly had Elder Wei’s support, then Wang Hao could be in danger.
In the entirety of Zao City, nobody dared to cross Elder Wei.
