The proprietress was genuinely wary of the Chen Clan Kinship Association, especially Brother Jiu, whose notorious reputation made him difficult to deal with.
But it was impossible to say she was afraid of him. It was just that, during wartime, she did not want to stir up trouble for no reason.
Hearing the names of the raw materials he listed, she found them somewhat unfamiliar and casually looked them up. "Medicine to strengthen immunity? Is Brother Jiu suspecting... that the Insect Race plans to release a virus?"
The Insect Race had indeed done such things before, though that was a long time ago. They were not skilled at researching viruses, but they were capable of deploying them. Sometimes, they even seized medicines developed by the Human Race for their own treatment.
The proprietress had only asked casually, but Brother Jiu replied coolly, "Since you have no intention of cooperating, don't ask so many questions. I just want to know whether you have this kind of stock."
"I never said I wouldn't cooperate with you," the proprietress answered seriously. "It's just that we've never worked together before, so I asked... mainly because it's a little strange. Why aren't you working with the Chen Family internally?"
"Because we're too close," Brother Jiu said expressionlessly. "Some business cannot be discussed with relatives. You should understand that."
"That really is true." The proprietress nodded. She felt this deeply herself. "Then I'm rather honored. What business does Brother Jiu want to discuss with me? Some Chen Family members rent counters in my mall... should this be kept from them?"
She spoke of confidentiality, but there was no lack of threat in her words—what he wanted to discuss with her was something the Chen Family did not know about, right?
Brother Jiu did not take it