All I wanted to do was set up Zhang Yuliang, making him flustered by his manipulation of the Hong Kong pharmaceutical market, malicious price increases, and deliberate sabotage of Likang's charitable activities. Then, Customs would seize some expired and counterfeit drugs from the Zhang Family's warehouse, and he would be severely punished for both genuine and counterfeit drugs.
For the Zhang Family, a leading local pharmaceutical company, this is not a serious blow; at most, Zhang Yuliang will be left looking disheveled.
Let alone expired or counterfeit drugs, those things can't bring down the Zhang Family. There are now many pharmaceutical packaging factories in North Point Hong Kong, specializing in producing packaging for popular drugs. Those Foreign Devil officials in Hong Kong can't possibly be unaware of what those packaging factories are doing or why they produce pharmaceutical packaging.
These drug smuggling companies are considered somewhat ethical for disguising expired drugs as new ones and selling them to mainland China. Many of them use flour or starch to fill capsules, or even produce drugs made entirely of starch and package them in locally made counterfeit drug packaging before selling them to mainland China. Although mainland receiving points in Macau, Shenzhen, and other places try to verify the authenticity of the drugs, a whole shipment cannot possibly contain only counterfeit drugs; it is often a mix of genuine and counterfeit, making it difficult to thoroughly investigate.
Moreover, these counterfeit drugs, Zhang Family and other large companies, wouldn't risk their reputation by selling them to the mainland. Instead, they would sell them at very low prices, openly admitting they were counterfeit, to other unscrupulous local businessmen who wanted to make a quick buck through smuggling.
The Britain colonial government was happy to see local pharmaceutical merchants privately manufacturing and smuggling counterfeit drugs to the mainland, as this would bring cash back to Hong Kong, and the drugs would not provide any benefit to China. Therefore, the government turned a blind eye to these activities.
Even if counterfeit or expired drugs are found at the Zhang Family, the worst that can happen is a fine, a reprimand, and the confiscation of all the stock in the warehouse as counterfeit or expired drugs. It might just cause Zhang Yuliang some initial chaos, and then he'll remember not to treat Chu Xiaoxin like an idiot.
This was a minor matter; the Customs Department could have easily handled it by having the Hong Kong Police Force Police Force some officers. Yet, Shek Chi-yik managed to get the attention of Hong Kong Governor Grantham, and even the British Forces in Hong Kong was mobilized for assistance. Why?
Killing Likang along with the millstone? That's practically impossible. The rats in Likang's warehouses are probably weeping by now. The only valuable thing is the Santonin deworming medicine, now turned into Flower Pagoda Candy. If Song Tianyao hadn't come up with a solution, this batch of Santonin deworming medicine would probably still be sitting in the warehouse, moldy. Absolutely no one would bother to check if it was counterfeit, because only a lunatic would make counterfeit versions of such a low-toxicity, unsellable drug.
Is this a case of killing one to scare the rest, or making an example of one to warn a hundred? Are they trying to select a few of these drug dealers with egregious behavior and arrogant smuggling practices to serve as pimps?
That's because Shek Chi-yik is terrible at interpersonal relationships. Likang is here building up his wife's image as a great and glorious Philanthropist and hydrological scientist, while Shi Zhiyi is there making an example of her to prevent Likang from getting any benefit.
So it's unlikely. Song Tianyao followed the crowd and stood up to applaud and congratulate Oxfam. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
Really? Shek Chi-yik is that generous?
The thought crossed Song Tianyao's mind, and he whispered to Xianyu Shuan, who was waiting for him to speak, "Go to the docks yourself and tell Gao Lao Cheng to go see Golden-Tooth Lei. Fuyixing has nearly 20,000 members, but I don't need too many. Just 1,000 men. Divide them into two groups and keep a close eye on which warehouse the British Army is storing the drugs from various companies in at the Customs Department. Whether these two groups are playing cards or just lounging around near the warehouse, they should guard it for me. As long as it's not Foreign Devil entering or leaving the warehouse, even China person working at Customs should be stopped. Tell them that if they don't want their whole family to die, they should stay away from this warehouse. Anyone who dares to force their way in, beat them down first. Likang will pay for the medicine, and if anyone is arrested, Likang will bail them out. After the whole thing is done, Fuyixing will receive every penny of the benefits they are owed."
"Understood, Secretary Song." Xianyu Shuan touched his felt hat and turned to leave the church.
"Young Master Lin, news has come from all the docks that today all the warehouses of pharmaceutical companies and Western medicine shops were seized by Customs! The medicines in the warehouses were escorted by the British Army to the Customs' large warehouse at the Central Pier." An employee of the European Coast Company rushed in from outside, forgetting to even knock on the office door, and told Zhang Yulin, who was watering flowers inside, the news he had just received.
Zhang Yulin put down the flowerpot he was holding and smiled at the panting employee, "I knew it already. Waiting for your notification would have been like the sky falling. This morning, Ah Shing from Five Counties, the Customs officer, called my house and told me that Customs was going to make a big move today. The reason, it seems, is that the United States heard that recently many Hong Kong have been using the guise of drug trafficking to smuggle military-grade drugs from other places into Hong Kong under the pretense of ordinary drugs, and then secretly smuggling them to the mainland. The main drug is sulfonamide powder, used by Nationalist Armies for stopping bleeding and inflammation. Once this news was leaked by the United States, the Britain Foreign Devils couldn't turn a blind eye even if they wanted to, so they simply made a big show of it. Companies like the Hong Kong Pharmaceutical Association have reduced their production of not only military-grade hemostatic powder, but even sulfonamides, and have all switched to the more profitable antibiotic business. Ah Shing and the Foreign Devil from Customs have informed me that they should notify the various companies to retrieve their goods within two days at most after the investigation is completed. I have also informed the other people in the Pharmaceutical Association that everything is fine."
Just then, Zhang Yuliang walked in from the next room with a cup of coffee. "Third Brother, what's wrong? Customs is checking the goods?"
"Someone was smuggling military supplies and medicines, and the United States exposed it. Of course, Foreign Devil Britain have to make a show of force, and also bring out the British Army to show they take it seriously. This isn't the first time they've thoroughly investigated all the pharmaceutical warehouses in Hong Kong. Of course, nothing's wrong. When it comes to business, as my brother said, the most important thing is to follow the rules. As long as you stay within the rules, even if you do something out of line, it doesn't matter, as long as you don't cross the line." Zhang Yulin said, pruning the branches and leaves of the flowers and plants with scissors.
Zhang Yuliang took a slow sip of his coffee. He was alert, but when he heard that the British Forces in Hong Kong had intervened and sealed off all the pharmaceutical warehouses in Hong Kong, he felt relieved. The British Army didn't move around casually, which meant that no one was trying to cause trouble.
After chatting with Zhang Yulin for a couple of minutes and finishing his coffee, Zhang Yuliang finally spoke up, "Third Brother, I'm going to Tsim Sha Tsui to meet some Shanghai businessmen. I might have a business dinner tonight, so please remember to tell Mother I won't be able to come home for dinner."