"What exactly is going on with them?"
Zhu Fei muttered to himself and suddenly felt his mobile phone, which he was carrying, vibrating repeatedly.
He took out his mobile phone and found two text messages.
One was from Qiu Ruoxue, saying she was currently going to have dinner with Tang Mengyun and Pan Tingting, and that she would contact him later, so he needn’t worry.
The other message was from Pan Tingting.
Her way of speaking was obviously not as mild as Qiu Ruoxue’s. She scolded Zhu Fei, saying he had broken their original agreement, and she would definitely settle the score with him when she returned.
Zhu Fei didn’t take Pan Tingting’s non-threatening threat seriously.
However, after these two messages, Zhu Fei had also guessed why the three ladies might be going out to dinner together.
At that moment, he thought about it and decided not to interfere with the ladies’ dinner party; instead, he dialed Xu Pengfei’s number and called him.
Earlier, he had learned from Song Yan that Lan City’s Chunqiu Pavilion had apparently received a batch of somewhat rare medicinal materials.
Song Yan hadn’t specified which materials.
After all, he was no longer in Lan City, so he wasn’t particularly familiar with the current situation of Chunqiu Pavilion in Lan City.
He had merely suggested that Zhu Fei contact Xu Pengfei upon returning to Lan City and take whatever materials he needed.
Zhu Fei naturally wasn’t about to be polite with Song Yan. Soon after he dialed the number, Xu Pengfei’s hearty laughter came through.
"Haha! I guess you’re calling me now, Zhu, to ask about medicinal materials, right?"
Hearing Xu Pengfei’s teasing, Zhu Fei couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed.
It was true, it seemed that every time he contacted Xu Pengfei, it was to ask about medicinal materials and rarely anything else.
However, Xu Pengfei didn’t seem to mind and continued laughingly:
"Come on, tell me, Zhu, what do you want this time? I’ve received some new medicinal materials this morning. Tell me what you need, and let’s see if I have them."
"Don’t worry, Elder Song has already informed me that you can take whatever you need."
Hearing Xu Pengfei say this, Zhu Fei stopped dwelling on the earlier issue and smiled, "Then I’ll have to trouble Manager Xu again."
Having said that, Zhu Fei listed the ingredients needed for the pill recipe he was trying to prepare.
After listening, Xu Pengfei first said, "Hold on a moment, Zhu Fei."
Shortly after, about two minutes later, Xu Pengfei spoke with a resigned smile, "It seems I have to disappoint you this time, Zhu. The materials you just mentioned—I’ve already checked them."
"I have most of the other materials, but I don’t have the Light Flower. But don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye out for you."
"As soon as I get any news about this material, I’ll notify you immediately."
"Thanks, Manager Xu."
Zhu Fei wasn’t too disappointed about the outcome.
After all, the pill recipe he was working on was indeed for a pill.
Yes, a pill recipe, specifically one known as the Qi Gathering Pill.
As the name suggests, the Qi Gathering Pill is meant to help cultivators gather True Qi Spiritual Power to breakthrough realms.
Even though his current cultivation wasn’t sufficient to concoct pills, he knew that collecting ingredients for pill-crafting was definitely the right move.
"Brother Zhu, should I start preparing the rest of the herbs for you now?"
"Um, please do prepare them. Also, do you still have the herbs that Elder Song gave me last time?"
"Oh, the herbs from last time?"
Upon hearing Zhu Fei’s question, Xu Pengfei was clearly startled, but he soon remembered and hurriedly replied:
"I’m sorry, Brother Zhu. Since Elder Song brought those herbs himself last time, I didn’t pay special attention. But hold on, let me check for you now."
With that, the line went quiet.
Clearly, Xu Pengfei was looking for the herbs for Zhu Fei again.
However, Zhu Fei didn’t have to wait for too long; about five minutes later, Xu Pengfei’s laughter came through the phone again.
"Hehe, Brother Zhu, I just checked. In the batch of herbs we just received, we have exactly those you needed last time."
"How about this; why don’t you come over here, and I’ll pack both sets of herbs for you, and you can take them immediately."
Hearing Xu Pengfei say this, although Zhu Fei thought "how embarrassing," he nodded and said:
"Thank you, Manager Xu. I’ll come over right now."
After speaking, Zhu Fei didn’t continue the conversation but greeted Xu Pengfei and then hung up the phone.
About half an hour later, when Zhu Fei appeared at Chunqiu Pavilion again, Xu Pengfei was still as usual, holding the two packs of herbs, greeting Zhu Fei with a cheerful smile:
"Brother Zhu, here are the two sets of herbs you wanted. Do you have time now? If you’re free..."
"Hehe, drinking, right? Okay, but this time I must treat you, pick a place."
Before Xu Pengfei could finish, Zhu Fei had already agreed smilingly.
After all, Xu Pengfei was a decent person and, in some ways, had been a great help to him.
Elder Song had already mentioned dining together previously, and this time, there was no way Zhu Fei could refuse him again.
Otherwise, even if Xu Pengfei wouldn’t mind, he himself would feel somewhat unreasonable.
"Alright, since Brother Zhu insists, I won’t be pretentious. How do you feel about the restaurants in the commercial district?"
Hearing Zhu Fei agreeing to dine together, Xu Pengfei’s face lit up, and he immediately nodded, asking.
"Um, anywhere is fine, if Manager Xu wants to go to a high-end hotel, that’s fine too."
"Hehe, high-end hotels really aren’t that interesting; the restaurants in the commercial district have more character. Brother Zhu, just wait a bit longer, let me arrange things here, and then we can go right away."
After saying this with a smile, Xu Pengfei turned and walked towards an office in the back.
Not long after, when Xu Pengfei turned around and came back, his face no longer bore the happy expression from before, but instead showed a deep concern.
Zhu Fei immediately noticed Xu Pengfei’s unusual demeanor and couldn’t help asking, "What’s wrong, Manager Xu? Did something happen?"
Hearing Zhu Fei’s question, Xu Pengfei seemed to come back to his senses and gave a bitter smile, saying:
"Brother Zhu, I have to apologize to you again. My family just called me, telling me my wife was in a car accident. It’s serious; she’s in the People’s Hospital being resuscitated."
"They also asked me to come immediately, saying if I’m late, I... I might not get a chance to see her for one last time."
PS: A bit of a plot bottleneck; can only update twice for now, I need to organize the upcoming plot well, sorry everyone.