"Xiaoshu! Didn't we agree you'd stop asking such silly questions? The fruit won't ripen until next year—we'll have graduated long before then!" Gu Mengyao reminded her.

"Oh... then why a willow?" Shen Yushu nodded.

"That... I don't know either. Wei Zhao, why?" Gu Mengyao asked.

"Haven't you ever heard the saying? 'A flower planted with care refuses to bloom; a willow stuck in the ground without a thought grows into shade.'" Wei Zhao laughed. "Willows are easy to keep alive. They need no fussing over."

"So that's it!" Shen Yushu nodded.

In Divine Doctor Kang's villa.

"Grandfather, our lab researchers have analyzed it, and it turns out dog droppings come in different kinds—different breeds of dog produce different droppings. So I suspect that not every kind of dog shit can be made into the Life-Extending Detox Pill!" Kang Zhaolong said.

"Oh? That's a major discovery!" Divine Doctor Kang took Kang Zhaolong's words very seriously. "No wonder no one ever discovered the efficacy of dog droppings—so different dogs produce different droppings! Zhaolong, you've done well! Have you worked out what kind of dog produced this dropping?"

"After comparing and sampling several thousand specimens of dog droppings, and consulting a great many canine experts, we reached a conclusion: this dropping was most likely left by a German shepherd!" Kang Zhaolong said.

"Oh? No wonder. I hear that breed is second only to the Tibetan mastiff in price—very rare and precious!" Divine Doctor Kang nodded. "All right then, get hold of one of these dogs as soon as you can, have it produce a sample for comparative analysis, and report the results back to me."

"Yes, Grandfather. I already had someone look into buying one before this. We should have news soon!" Kang Zhaolong said.

"By the way, when are you going to Yanjing to propose to the Xiao family?" Divine Doctor Kang asked.

Kang Zhaolong's heart stirred. That girl was quite pretty, after all; marrying her wouldn't be so unbearable. Even if the Xiao family's influence amounted to little now, they could still serve as a stepping stone for the Kang family. Later, once the Kang family had risen, he could trade the woman in for one from a greater clan!

But that was the old way of thinking. Now that he, Kang Zhaolong, was about to work out the formula for the Life-Extending Detox Pill, his confidence had swollen enormously, and he had begun to look down on Wang Xinyan.

"Grandfather, I think the pressing task before us is to determine exactly what kind of dog's droppings go into the Life-Extending Detox Pill. That is the Kang family's first priority. As for the marriage alliance, I say we put it on hold. If we truly succeed in developing the Life-Extending Detox Pill, the Kang family's standing will rise with the tide, and by then there may be no need to ally with the Xiao family at all!" Kang Zhaolong said.

"You make sense. I was too hasty before!" Hearing Kang Zhaolong's analysis, Divine Doctor Kang nodded in wholehearted agreement. "I've always pigeonholed our family as a bottom-tier clan, but if we have the Life-Extending Detox Pill, everything changes! The Golden Wound Salve, when you get down to it, is just a wound medicine. It can heal injuries, yes, but it's only popular with the ladies—a luxury for high society. The Life-Extending Detox Pill is different. This is a thing that saves lives!"

"Exactly. Once we succeed, we won't be a small family anymore. Then all those families will come begging to us..." Divine Doctor Kang said. "But if we can work out this formula, so can others, no?"

"Don't worry, Grandfather. We won't be as foolish as Kang Xiaobo and just hand out dog shit. We'll add essences and the like, make the pills fragrant and sweet-smelling. Then even if someone tries to analyze them, it won't be easy!" Kang Zhaolong said.

"Still, there's a risk. Our main ingredient is dog shit. However hard we try to cover it up, someone sharp-eyed will discover it, won't they?" Divine Doctor Kang said hesitantly.

"Yes..." Kang Zhaolong nodded. "It seems I'll have to study how to keep the formula secret!"

"Grandfather, I have an idea!" Kang Zhaoming, who had had no chance to get a word in, stepped forward. He didn't want Kang Zhaolong to hog all the glory. "We shrink the proportion of dog shit in each pill, make it extremely scarce, and let the useless filler make up the bulk. When it's taken, the patient just takes several pills at once!"

It had to be said: when it came to dirty tricks, Kang Zhaoming was worth three of any man. Hearing his words, Divine Doctor Kang and Kang Zhaolong were suddenly enlightened. "Zhaoming's method will work!" said Divine Doctor Kang. "Excellent. You two brothers—one the scholar, one the fighter—and the Kang family will flourish!"

Kang Zhaolong was somewhat displeased that Kang Zhaoming had split off half the final credit, but he had to admit the method was good: dilute the dog shit until it seemed no more than an auxiliary ingredient, and people would overlook it.

"Heh heh..." Kang Zhaoming chuckled. "Grandfather, that woman—since my elder brother doesn't want her, why not give her to me?"

Kang Zhaoming had no grand ambitions. Sneaking and scheming were more his line; running a corporation was something he truly had no wish to do. As long as he got his shares, living as a carefree wastrel would suit him fine.

So when he saw that Kang Zhaolong had lost interest in Wang Xinyan, he wanted to take her for himself.

"You little wretch, what nonsense are you thinking? She's your sister-in-law!" Divine Doctor Kang glared helplessly at his grandson.

"Heh heh, I was only joking..." Kang Zhaoming felt it was a bit improper too, and quickly took it back.

Sniffling and weeping, Fatty Lai finally got Wei Zhao's phone number out of Guan Xuemin.

He had gone to Liu Tianyi first, but Liu Tianyi refused to give up Wei Zhao's number no matter what. In the end Fatty Lai grew desperate and threatened to make an enemy of him for life, and only then did Liu Tianyi reluctantly give him a hint: "Brother Lai, it's not that I mean to make things hard for you by refusing—I simply don't dare. I'm the one begging Divine Doctor Lin for help. How could I go around leaking his information to others? Here's what you do: Professor Guan Xuemin is on very good terms with Divine Doctor Lin. Go beg him, and he's sure to have a way. He's the one I begged back then!"

So Fatty Lai, as though he had received an imperial edict, ran to Guan Xuemin's house that very night. When Guan Xuemin wouldn't tell him, he knelt at the man's doorstep and began to sob.

Guan Xin came home from the night shift and saw a fat man kneeling at her own front door, crying. She jumped in fright. "You... who are you? What do you want?"

"You're... you're family of Professor Guan Xuemin?" Hearing that someone was finally paying attention to him, Fatty Lai hurriedly looked up and asked.

"You're looking for my grandfather? What are you crying here for? Are you here to see him about an illness?" Guan Xin asked, puzzled. Her grandfather was not the sort to stand by and watch someone die. This fat man was crying so bitterly—could it be that her grandfather had refused to treat him or someone in his family?

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