Great Development

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, two days went by.

On this day, Wang Yan was discussing logistics company matters with Lü Shouyi when his phone rang.

He answered it casually; it was a call from Cheng Yong.

"I need three hundred thousand, I need it now." Getting straight to the point, that was what Cheng Yong said.

Wang Yan was a straightforward person as well, replying directly: "Wait for me at your shop." He then hung up the phone.

It seems he has reached his limit, Wang Yan thought.

Afterward, Wang Yan bought a large bag at the supermarket and took three hundred thousand in cash from his space; this was something Wang Yan always kept on his person.

He drove straight to Cheng Yong's God Oil Shop.

Slipping into the shop, Cheng Yong was slumped on the floor, decadent, with a cigarette in one hand and alcohol in the other. He looked up at Wang Yan without saying a word.

That was the despair of life. Although Wang Yan had never experienced it, and certainly never would in the future, he could understand it.

Wang Yan said nothing, simply tossing the bag containing the three hundred thousand with a "thud" in front of Cheng Yong.

Three hundred thousand in cash still had some weight to it, and Cheng Yong seemed to perk up quite a bit.

Wang Yan said: "This is definitely not enough, so just consider it a deposit. How much you get depends on your final results. You understand what I mean, right?"

Cheng Yong said: "I understand. What do you want me to do?"

"Don't rush. Get yourself settled first. Contact me once you've settled everything."

"Alright, I'm leaving now. I'll wait for your call." After saying this, Wang Yan slipped out of Cheng Yong's God Oil Shop.

Another week passed, and both Cheng Yong and Huang Mao had finished handling their affairs.

They both called Wang Yan at the same time.

Wang Yan arranged to meet them both at a restaurant to start planning their course of action.

Sitting at the dining table, Wang Yan noticed that Huang Mao's hair had been cut off; he had shaved it into a crew cut, looking much more spirited.

Wang Yan nodded with satisfaction: "Look at that, how spirited. What was that mess before?"

After saying that, he asked another question: "Have your family members been tested? Did anyone match?"

"My brother matched with me. He agreed to it, too."

Huang Mao nodded. Even though several days had passed, knowing he could be saved still made him unable to hide his excitement.

"Alright, then wait a few months and you can go straight in for the surgery."

Having said that, fearing Huang Mao might misunderstand, he added an explanation: "I'm not tricking you. We still need you to open up the market in the early stages; two or three months should be enough."

He then looked at Cheng Yong with concern: "Your father is alright now, right?"

Cheng Yong replied: "He had the surgery, nothing major. He'll be fine after some proper recovery."

"He's old, after all, and can't handle too much stress. Don't send him to a nursing home in the future; they have to manage so many elderly people and can't look after them properly. Find a caregiver to look after him. Do you still have money?" Wang Yan asked.

"There's still quite a bit left," Cheng Yong replied.

"Alright, I won't say anything more. If you run out of money, tell me."

As he spoke, he looked at Huang Mao: "The same goes for you."

He paused, then continued: "That's enough about personal matters. Now, let's talk about what you need to do next."

"It's very simple. Old Cheng, you have channels in India, so you are responsible for transport and smuggling. A-Hao, you are responsible for expanding the patient base and selling the medicine. The division of labor is clear."

"Do you have any questions?"

Seeing them both shake their heads: "Good, then let's go into the details."

Wang Yan then explained everything in detail to the two of them.

Wang Yan was relatively at ease with Cheng Yong; the man had been through decades of ups and downs, understood many things, and had been doing smuggling for many years. He was familiar with the ropes, so Wang Yan didn't need to say much.

As for Huang Mao—oh right, he couldn't be called Huang Mao anymore; he had shaved his head, so what "yellow hair" was left?

As for Peng Hao, Wang Yan had to worry quite a bit. The main issue was that Peng Hao was too young, stubborn, and lacked experience in managing people. Wang Yan had to teach him everything step by step.

Wang Yan didn't have much expertise himself and had never had experience in this area before, but this was thanks to the four months since he had transmigrated. Coupled with the fact that Wang Yan's mental state was much higher, he had truly progressed rapidly. Teaching Huang Mao was more than enough, and he could even practice his own skills along the way.

Blah, blah, blah—Wang Yan talked for a long time, finally letting the two of them, primarily Peng Hao, know how to proceed.

As long as Wang Yan kept an eye on things from time to time in the future, there shouldn't be any major problems.

"That's all I have to say. You both understand now, so let's start acting."

After Wang Yan finished speaking, the three of them parted ways and began their respective operations.

In the following period, Wang Yan took Cheng Yong and Peng Hao to India.

He transferred the domestic agency rights to Peng Hao, letting them hand the goods over to Cheng Yong, who then used his channels to start shipping the goods into the country.

As for Peng Hao, Wang Yan handed over all the patients previously held by Liu Sihui to him, making him responsible for maintenance and sales.

Peng Hao's comprehension was actually quite good. After Wang Yan guided him for a while, the operations were managed by Peng Hao—not exactly perfectly, but at least in a standard, professional manner with very few slip-ups. He also became increasingly steady.

Wang Yan was very satisfied with Peng Hao's progress. In this business, the most important thing was stability.

As for Peng Hao, he was walking on the right path.

Wang Yan, meanwhile, was operating through the two companies in his hands. Benefiting from the dividends of Hua Nation joining the WTO, both companies had entered the fast lane. Furthermore, since Shanghai was a major port city with ever-increasing cargo throughput, Cao Cao Logistics developed rapidly as a result.

Wang Yan applied for loans for both companies separately; due to the rapid development of the businesses, the loan approvals went very smoothly.

With the loan money in hand, and without mixing it with the laundered funds, Wang Yan went on a hiring spree, building logistics channels across various regions.

Naturally, the employees recruited were still mostly family members of patients, and the benefits and compensation were among the best for this era.

The purchasing power of money in this era was still very strong. The funds in Wang Yan's hands allowed the logistics company to blossom everywhere, expanding his footprint further and further.

Money makes things easier at any time. In two months, he had opened the logistics company throughout the areas surrounding Shanghai, using the logistics channels to deliver medicine to patients.

Regarding the rapid development of the logistics company and the Clothing Factory, some people were suspicious. However, Wang Yan's accounts were impeccable, the flow of funds was crystal clear, operations were compliant, and he had never evaded taxes, paying them on time. The legal representative was not him, but Lü Shouyi. The reason he didn't put Wang Jia's name on it was that he wanted Lü Shouyi to take the fall if anything went wrong; it wasn't a big deal anyway. After a round of investigations yielded nothing, the curiosity regarding Wang Yan's rise simply faded away.

With matters left to Cheng Yong and Peng Hao, Wang Yan had nothing to worry about other than occasionally asking about the situation.

The company was managed by Liu Sihui and Lü Shouyi, and the two were becoming increasingly adept at their roles.

As for Wang Jia, she stayed home to look after Lü Ping, and when she had free time, she would push the stroller and go shopping with Liu Sihui, living quite comfortably.

They were all doing very well, so Wang Yan didn't need to exert himself; he just had to steer the direction when necessary.

Although Wang Yan didn't have to do much, he still didn't have it easy.

Every day was spent constantly tempering his body, learning various types of knowledge, and undergoing continuous self-innovation, self-iteration, and self-sublimation. Occasionally, he used the information he remembered to play the stock market. Now that the virus was showing signs of emerging, people in some regions were panicking, and the stock market was constantly fluctuating, allowing Wang Yan to reap significant gains.

It wasn't that Wang Yan lacked a conscience or anything of the sort, but the key was that no one could fix this kind of situation, and Wang Yan didn't stand high enough to have that kind of power. Besides donating some supplies and money, what else could he do?

It would be no exaggeration to say that Wang Yan was now worth tens of millions, and that wasn't even counting the many funds that hadn't been fully laundered.

He pulled up the System Panel.

Wang Yan

Attributes: Strength 8

Agility 8

Physique 9

Spirit 13

Unallocated points: 0

Storage space: 1m³

Skills: English LV2

Fighting LV1

Management LV1

...A bunch of level-zero skills omitted.

Wang Yan had gained a great deal from his exercise and studies during this period.

His weight had gone from 145 to 150, and his three-dimensional attributes of strength, agility, and physique had each increased by one point. Previously, because his body lacked exercise, the improvements had been rapid, but now, if Wang Yan wanted to continue improving, he wouldn't be able to maintain the speed of the past six months. Overall, it could be considered steady progress.

His English skill had reached LV2. According to the system, Wang Yan's English was now at a level of proficient mastery. Additionally, through constant study of Sanda and mixed martial arts, his Fighting skill had finally entered the introductory stage. With his current physical condition, if he were to fight an ordinary person who wasn't particularly gifted, Wang Yan should be able to win decisively while sustaining only minor injuries.

Furthermore, Wang Yan's six months of management experience hadn't been in vain, as it had also improved to the introductory LV1. Many other skills, such as stock finance, health and wellness, and a whole host of others, had all improved relatively.

To be honest, Wang Yan didn't even want to leave anymore. After all, here he was a successful person worth tens of millions, with plenty of time and nothing to do but enrich himself. In real life, he was just an ordinary, annoying real estate salesman. The pros and cons were clear at a glance.

Wang Yan also knew this wasn't realistic; he could only keep learning to improve himself. There was no guarantee he wouldn't go to a world filled with the flames of war and artillery fire in the future, and having more skills never hurt—learning more things was just a way to save his life.

Over the past two months, Wang Yan's medicine-selling enterprise had fully formed an industrial closed loop.

Upstream, Cheng Yong smuggled the medicine into the country. Midstream, the logistics company and the transport of medicine complemented each other, growing larger and larger. Downstream, the sales were distributed to patients by Peng Hao, and finally, the money was collected to complete the cycle.

Countless people passed through the process, but very few knew the truth. Delivering medicine and collecting money were two separate channels, both controlled by Peng Hao.

To be honest, Wang Yan was just taking advantage of the kid's honesty. Then again, if he weren't honest, Wang Yan wouldn't have dared to use him.

As sales increased, Wang Yan could no longer control it.

Before, when they were selling, Nuowa Company had already become aware. Now that Wang Yan had increased sales volume for another two months, the pirated medicine had become rampant. During this period, Nuowa Company suffered direct losses of over a hundred million.

Nuowa Company was in an uproar and immediately began a fierce crackdown.

There was no helping it; the waters of the pharmaceutical industry were too deep. Once Nuowa Company got angry, the power of a pharmaceutical giant was displayed to the fullest.

Leaders and officials at all levels received phone calls one after another, with pressure being applied layer by layer, eventually landing directly on the Shanghai police force. The police didn't want to deal with this messy business, but what could they do? When the higher-ups spoke, the lower-downs had to run themselves ragged.

Wang Yan had been prepared for this. Seeing that the New Year was only a few days away, Wang Yan directly called a halt, deciding to wait until after the New Year to talk about it.

January 31, 2003, New Year's Eve.

On this day of ten thousand lights and universal celebration, Wang Yan gathered a group of people to celebrate the New Year together.

Lü Shouyi and Wang Jia, the couple with their child, Liu Sihui and Liu Tiantian, the mother and daughter, plus Huang Mao and Peng Hao who hadn't gone home.

Cheng Yong had originally intended to come over, but since there were only three men in his family and it was inconvenient for his elderly father, Wang Yan didn't have them come.

Everyone happily watched the Spring Festival Gala, ate the New Year's Eve dinner, reminisced about the past, and looked forward to the future.

Listening to the crackling of firecrackers outside, Wang Yan sighed, "Now this is what you call a New Year." In the current Shanghai, fireworks and firecrackers were not yet banned, and the Spring Festival Gala of this era was full of classics and was very worth watching.

Wang Yan drank quite a bit of alcohol that day, and Lü Shouyi even made an exception to join him for a few drinks; he was truly grateful to his brother-in-law Wang Yan, for without him, he wouldn't have the harmony and happiness he enjoyed today.

There was no need to even mention Peng Hao; Wang Yan had already promised to arrange his surgery after the New Year, and now that he had no worries about food or clothing and hope was right before his eyes, he felt ten thousand times grateful toward Wang Yan.

As for Liu Sihui, there is no need to say much; it could be said that she was completely under Wang Yan's thumb.

The table was filled with laughter and joy, and everyone present saw their lives improve because of Wang Yan; it is fair to say that this was the happiest New Year they had experienced in years.

The world is not entirely filled with laughter and joy, but human joys and sorrows are not always shared, and Wang Yan could not hear their clamor.

Accompanied by the countdown of the Spring Festival Gala and the countless fireworks outside the window, the year 2003 arrived.

After the New Year, Wang Yan arranged for Peng Hao to undergo surgery, and before leaving, Huang Mao gave him the phone number of one of his subordinates.

Wang Yan resumed selling Gleevec through remote control; since the crackdown in Shanghai was strict, Wang Yan stopped selling there and began moving from place to place.

For a time, Zhao Lizhong, the domestic head of Nuowa Company, was utterly exhausted; the decline in sales and the loss of his own income were secondary, but the main issue was that Switzerland had expressed dissatisfaction multiple times, and if he didn't find a solution, Zhao Lizhong's career would be all but over.

No matter how exhausted he was, there was nothing he could do but frequently pressure the police force, who in turn pressured the parent company to lean on India.

India, however, was not easily intimidated. Everything there was a matter of exchanging interests, and empty threats could not scare them. They held their ground firmly, taking the opportunity to negotiate various conditions.

The police were also in a difficult position; whenever they went out to investigate and conduct interviews, the patients looked at them as if they were enemies.

They did manage to catch a few, as even the most tightly organized groups leave traces, but these were just small fry, and they were all patients themselves; plus, with the money provided, they wouldn't say a word. The police were helpless and, for a time, had no leads.

Wang Yan also felt the situation was becoming complex; he had always thought his plans were foolproof, but when things came to a head, he realized there were still many oversights.

Actually, this was normal; Wang Yan was just an ordinary person, and the education and experiences he had before did not add up to as much as what he had learned in the past six months. If it weren't for the advantage of his foresight, Wang Yan would have already been inside singing Tears Behind Bars.

Just as Wang Yan was pondering, Peng Hao called to say that a man named Zhang Changlin had contacted him, wanting to get a channel for Gleevec.

Peng Hao's surgery was very successful, and he was currently in the hospital under observation for recovery; if there were no signs of rejection, he would be able to be discharged in a while. Aside from directing his subordinates to sell medicine, he had nothing else to do all day but wait to go to prison.

Over the past six months, Wang Yan had unknowingly become immersed in this, and since he had been studying all along—and he didn't have a photographic memory—he was starting to forget some of the things he remembered when he first arrived.

Hearing what Peng Hao said, Wang Yan suddenly remembered: "How could I have forgotten him!" He was so excited he slapped his thigh.

"This Zhang Changlin is truly a professional; the police hadn't even found Peng Hao, yet he managed to find him first." Regarding this, Wang Yan could only lament that everyone has their own area of expertise.

Wang Yan gave Huang Mao some instructions, telling him to deal with Zhang Changlin and negotiate the terms first.

Huang Mao still needed some time before he could be discharged, so he wasn't in a position to take action yet, and they needed to stall for a while.

Wang Yan had an idea in mind and decided to go into hiding.

At this point, he couldn't worry about the patients' emotions and could only do his best to appease them. He had never faced such a massive situation before, and if he couldn't keep it under control, he would end up singing Tears Behind Bars.

For now, he could only say all the right things and promise that sales would resume in at most a month or so, at which point the price would drop to four thousand, which finally managed to stabilize the situation.