Chapter 362 — The Leader Has a Plan — Of course, even if such a thing could be mass-produced, Wei Zhao had no intention of mass-producing it, nor of letting the formula leak out; rarity lends value, and only when a thing is treated as a unique treasure will people pursue it with frenzy.

What was more, the moment such a thing appeared in the world it would surely draw the attention of every faction and set off a mad scramble for it. Wei Zhao had no wish to stand on the crest of the wave just yet; he would bring out only a few pills, never admitting that he had refined them himself, releasing a handful now and then at irregular intervals — enough to keep himself hidden and quietly out of sight.

Originally Wei Zhao had planned to produce a few pills and, at the opening of Dr. Guan's pharmaceutical company, present them to the celebrities who came to show their support, so that Dr. Guan's name would make a spectacular debut. But bringing one out early as a birthday gift for the Divine Physician Kang was not a bad idea either...

If he believed in it and felt the effects after taking it, then his word would carry all the more weight; if he did not believe, then it could only be said that he was fated not to enjoy such a fine thing.

At first Wei Zhao had intended to wait until the birthday banquet of Kang Xiaobo's second grandfather was over before starting to compound this elixir, but because of that phone call he had no choice but to make his preparations ahead of time.

Fortunately, there was still time.

On Saturday afternoon, Kang Xiaobo's call came through, and Wei Zhao drove to the Ningshi Road station to pick him up.

Tang Yun's father, Tang Jucheng, was scheduled for surgery on Monday, and Tang Yun had to rush about the hospital with her mother, so she was there at the moment; Wei Zhao would pick up Kang Xiaobo first, then go and fetch Tang Yun.

As for the matter of Xiaofen, Kang Xiaobo had already squared it with his parents: Wei Zhao was his good brother, Tang Yun was Wei Zhao's girlfriend, and Xiaofen was Tang Yun's best friend — that was the whole of the connection.

Kang Xiaobo's parents suspected nothing; on the contrary, they thought it a good sign that he was willing to bring classmates along. After all, in the past Kang Xiaobo had been most reluctant to visit his second grandfather's house.

Though the people there invited him warmly enough, Kang Xiaobo remained indifferent. How could his parents know that Kang Zhaoming privately heaped mockery on him and merely put on a normal face in public?

The car stopped at the Ningshi Road station, and Kang Xiaobo pulled open the door and got in: "Leader, let's go pick up Xiaofen first — she's at home!"

Wei Zhao nodded. Xiaofen's family lived in the shantytown, and he knew the way there well enough by now.

"Ah, Xiaofen doesn't really want to go anymore. We'd agreed on it, and now she's backing out..." Kang Xiaobo sighed after getting in. "I talked at her for ages and she grudgingly said yes, but who knows whether she'll change her mind again in a minute?"

"That's only natural. Going to see Kang Zhaoming — that's a wound in her heart that will never heal. She may have steeled herself beforehand, but when the moment comes, it's understandable that she'd flinch," Wei Zhao said. "After all, Kang Zhaoming hurt her. She wants to forget him completely this way, but you have to take her feelings into account too."

"I understand that too, so I'll stay by her side the whole time and won't let Kang Zhaoming bully her!" Kang Xiaobo clenched his fist. "I'll protect her from being hurt!"

"I believe you." Wei Zhao nodded. But even if Kang Xiaobo had not said it, he would still stay at his side and not let anyone bully him or Xiaofen. Wei Zhao parked the car below Xiaofen's building; Kang Xiaobo went up to fetch her, and Wei Zhao sat in the car and called Tang Yun.

"Hello..." The call was picked up quickly, and Tang Yun's voice came through, pitched very low. "Wei Zhao, are you here? My dad's asleep, I can't talk loudly..."

"Not yet. I came with Xiaobo to pick up Xiaofen," Wei Zhao said. "I'm downstairs at her place. I'll come get you in a bit."

"Mm..." Tang Yun answered softly, and before she could say more, Wei Zhao heard her mother's voice from the other end: "Yun'er, is that Xiaolin? Hurry up and go out and have fun, we don't need you here, I'm here and that's enough. Your dad hasn't had his surgery yet, so he doesn't need you nursing him either!"

Then came Tang Yun's voice, a little embarrassed and a little helpless: "All right, all right, Mom, I know. Don't worry about it — I'll leave in a minute, won't that do..."

"Heh..." Wei Zhao smiled and hung up.

Kang Xiaobo was already helping Xiaofen down, limping step by step. Xiaofen was lame, and it showed plainly when she walked; at home she almost always used a wheelchair, but a wheelchair would obviously not do today.

"I said I'd carry you down on my back, but you wouldn't have it. See? You nearly fell, didn't you?" Seeing Xiaofen stumble and almost go down at the entrance of the building, Kang Xiaobo instinctively caught her...

Xiaofen was dressed stylishly and innocently today: a candy-colored T-shirt, cropped denim pants, her hair carefully styled, light makeup on her face. After this stretch of treatment at the hospital, she had shed her former sickly look entirely.

Add a pair of delicate sunglasses, and she had something of the air of a lovely young girl, not unlike Tang Yun's style — no wonder they were best friends. One could well imagine that the Xiaofen of before had been a girl with no shortage of suitors, in no way inferior to Tang Yun.

But fate's unfairness had made her drop out of school and take sick leave at home; without Kang Xiaobo, Xiaofen would hardly have stepped out of her own door again. Her heart had not yet opened all the way, but she was already much more cheerful than before.

If not for the trouble with her leg, Xiaofen would have been even more radiant.

"Xiaofen, you look lovely today." Wei Zhao offered the praise as reassurance. A girl like Xiaofen was desperately short of self-confidence now, and needed constant encouragement.

"Really...?" Xiaofen lowered her head, pleasantly surprised. "I was afraid Xiaobo would think I was embarrassing..."

"How could I? Taking you out is a credit to me!" Kang Xiaobo said. "With a companion this pretty, how could I be embarrassed?"

"But my leg..." Xiaofen knew Kang Xiaobo was only comforting her; at least where his parents were concerned, he wouldn't dare tell them the truth.

"Don't worry, the Leader says he'll cure you! He has a way!" With that, Kang Xiaobo shot Wei Zhao a look. "Isn't that right, Leader?"

Kang Xiaobo wanted Wei Zhao to comfort Xiaofen a little. Even if he could not cure her leg right now, he hoped Wei Zhao could give her confidence — after all, Xiaofen knew that Wei Zhao understood medicine.

"Xiaobo, don't try to comfort me... The doctors at the hospital all say there's no hope..." Xiaofen sighed, her expression dimming.

"It can be cured, but it needs certain medicinal ingredients, and I have to go home to fetch them," Wei Zhao said. "The trouble with your leg lies in the nerves, not the bone, and that is why the hospital is powerless. The nerves of the human body are a rather delicate and mysterious tissue; if a nerve dies, surgery cannot cure it in many cases. But from the standpoint of Chinese medicine, it is merely that the meridians are blocked and not flowing freely. Once the meridians are opened, you can recover."

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