I am chasing a rough man in the 80s
Chapter 287: You Can Still Laugh

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: You Can Still Laugh

The Du Family intended to establish a northern market, mainly to launch a new drug. This medicine had already completed clinical trials. In Du Zhong’s words, it showed great prospects.

The unique geographical conditions in the North meant that several medicinal herbs only grew there. Through tremendous effort, the Du Family finally obtained approval to construct a factory.

Du Zhong hosted Yu Jingting and his wife at the biggest state-owned restaurant in town that evening.

It wasn’t until all eight courses were served that Yu Jingting, guiding Suizi, arrived.

"Apologies for our late arrival. I’ll take care of the drinks tonight." Yu Jingting pulled out a bottle of ’lao bai gan’ from behind his back.

He was late because he had to fetch wine from the Principal’s place.

He initially planned to bring a bottle of Maotai to drink with Du Zhong, but his frugal wife forbade it, saying that if anyone should offer drinks, it should be their host. She then hid the wine away.

Suizi was expert at hiding things.

After she hid an urn full of old coins, Yu Jingting never saw it again. The same thing happened with the five bottles of wine.

She found and revealed them nearly three decades later at their son’s wedding, leaving Yu Jingting astonished. He had completely forgotten about them!

Of course, that’s a story for another time.

"Jingting, you’ve arrived just in time. Check if there’s enough food. Unfortunately, this place is a bit small. Once we’ve grown our business, I’ll take you all—"

"Director Du, you have the appetite to eat? If I were you, I’d be terribly worried." Suizi held her waist and spoke lightly.

Yu Jingting pulled out a chair for her and wiped it off with his sleeve before she sat down.

Du Zhong, splashed with cold water by Suizi’s remark, stared dumbfoundedly at the couple across him.

His first reaction surprisingly was:

Was Xiaoli also so attentive to the Empress Dowager when she came to Jiangnan? Of course, that’s not the point—

"Why would you say that?"

Suizi sat down, and Yu Jingting pulled out a clean handkerchief for her to wipe her bowl. Once done, he took out their personal cups.

As Suizi lifted her glass, instead of responding to Du Zhong directly, she asked,

"Black soybean Juice. Want some?"

"No thanks, but you were saying —"

"When you get married and your wife is pregnant, you can prepare some black soybean juice for her. As long as she doesn’t have insufficient amniotic fluid, it’s very beneficial for the baby."

Suizi took great care of the baby in her belly.

Although these practices weren’t given much importance in that era, she did her best within her means.

Du Zhong sought help from Yu Jingting. This... this?

She was trying to discuss serious business, who wanted to listen to mother’s advice?

Yu Jingting spread his hands, powerless to help. His wife didn’t talk much usually, but once she opened her mouth, no one could interrupt until she finished presenting her point of view. Perhaps it was a side effect of being a teacher?

"Director Du, do you know the difference between Northern black beans and Southern ones?"

"Northern black beans are larger. However, black beans thrive in warmer weather, so Southern black beans are smaller and more aromatic. They also have a higher nutritional value. But, what does this have to do with me?"

Du Zhong was getting impatient. He felt like a child with a new toy, eager to show off and prove his worth. But Suizi kept interrupting him.

"Suizi, if you like black beans, I can bring you several dozen kilos next time. But now, can I please discuss business with Jingting?"

Addressing Jingting, Suizi said, "Take note, he owes us several dozen kilos of black beans."

Just as Du Zhong was about to lose his temper, Suizi suddenly became serious.

"Isn’t the matter of black beans related to you? Director Du, no, Du Zhong. You come from a family of medicine specialists and know the habits of medicinal herbs like the back of your hand. You remember that black beans love warmth, so why haven’t you thought about what environment the raw materials for your new product prefer?"

"The main ingredients we need can withstand the cold, and they only grow in a few mountain ranges here. They’re abundant and we’ve conducted our research in advance."

"Oh, so they are area-restricted. Is the abundance based on stockpile quantities?"

"In the past, they were left to rot on the mountains because nobody harvested them. They’re there every year and aren’t particularly precious."

Suizi casually pulled out a small book from her bag. Yu Jingting had just bought a provincial map that afternoon.

When Du Zhong saw the map unrolled by Suizi, he felt a chill run down his spine.

The places where the medicinal herbs were harvested were circled on the map in red ink. From the moment Suizi had stepped in, all her words held purpose.

This woman had been in control of the entire conversation.

"Your so-called abundance, when marked on a map, isn’t even the size of an eraser. The formula was kept confidential, so you didn’t communicate with my husband clearly. But based on your main medicinal herbs, I calculate some data. I think you might be interested."

Suizi opened the book to the title page, where she had marked the data with a red pen, filling an entire page.

"This herb requires a certain amount of rainfall. Although the North doesn’t experience much natural disasters, if a severe dry spell happens, the herb production will decrease."

"How’s that possible? There wasn’t a problem for so many years. The year that I start using it, it starts to decrease?"

"I said in severe cases. These plants, which only grow in certain places, might even go extinct in disaster years."

Du Zhong felt like he was hearing a tall tale. Suizi’s novel concept challenged his understanding. The disbelief appeared clearly on his face.

"I went to the library this afternoon and checked the newspapers. I found some data. This spring, the rainfall has been significantly less than previous years, about 50% less. If autumn continues this pattern, the wheat production in the North will decrease this year."

Du Zhong couldn’t laugh any longer. His face reflected a thoughtful expression, and his replies to Suizi became much more cautious.

"It’s a common herb. Even if we only manage to gather as much as last year due to a decrease, it shouldn’t affect next year’s output."

"What if... there’s a drought next year? The year after that, another drought?"

Starting from this year, the North will experience the most severe drought since the nation’s founding — a rare disaster.

In her previous life, Suizi had never farmed, so her memory of this period was vague. But, she had strong deductive abilities.

Based on the information Du Zhong had shared in his previous life and the events happening now, Suizi could piece together a clear picture.

"But, all these are low-probability occurrences. It’s been many years since the North last experienced a severe drought," Du Zhong hesitated.

"To you, these are low-probability events. But, let me ask you: what would you do if a low-probability event actually occurred?"

Du Zhong was speechless.

"Jingting, if you and Director Du were independent partners and encountered such a situation, guess what he would do?" Suizi asked.

"Facing a lack of main medicinal herbs and unable to meet output expectations, he would either accept his fate and be removed ignominiously - becoming the laughingstock of his family - but Du brother doesn’t strike me as someone who would accept defeat so easily - he would probably make a desperate move?"

"Hey!!!" Du Zhong was hurt. How could Jingting betray his trust?

"If there’s a shortage of herbs, I believe Du brother would replace the main herb with inferior ones or even use other herbs. Based on my understanding of him, that’s what he would do."

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