The next morning, at the headquarters building of Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group, Zhong Hai rarely appeared during working hours. Besides the administrative center that had received the news, many group employees entering and leaving the headquarters showed expressions of surprise.
As a nationwide large pharmaceutical enterprise with extensive overseas business, as the head of Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group, Zhong Hai was basically away year-round. The number of times he could appear at headquarters each month could be counted on one's fingers, let alone during regular working hours.
"Chairman, the representative from Huayao Group has arrived. Should we arrange them in the reception hall, or invite them to your office?"
The female secretary from the administrative center who had been waiting at the front desk hurried forward, though she was no longer the Assistant Tian from before.
"Please invite them to my office. Also, during my conversation with the guest, no one is to come in and disturb us!"
After thinking it over, Zhong Hai decided to have the conversation with the Huayao Group representative in a more private setting.
In the chairman's office, Zhong Hai rarely sat at the tea table himself, brewing tea while his heart pounded with nervousness, guessing who Huayao Group would send this time.
Huayao Group was the absolute giant at the very top of China's entire pharmaceutical industry, directly controlling countless mid to upstream resources as well as terminal pharmaceutical sales market channels. Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group's rise over the past twenty years was absolutely inseparable from its cooperation with Huayao Group.
The door opened, and the female secretary escorted in a middle-aged man in his forties. With just one glance, the tea utensils that Zhong Hai was washing with hot water trembled slightly in his hands.
"Mr. Zhong, it's been a long time."
The middle-aged man stood smiling in the center of the office, looking at Zhong Hai at the tea table, nodding slightly and extending both hands.
Zhong Hai quickly put down the tea utensils, taking three steps in two to reach the middle-aged man, actively extending his hand.
"So it's General Manager Han... oh, Leader Han who came personally!"
For a socially prominent entrepreneur who was already sixty years old to actively show deference to someone ten years younger than himself was something that hadn't happened in Zhong Hai's memory for a very long time.
Han Guoping, Executive Vice President of Huayao Group, in charge of pharmaceutical production and sales, was among all the vice presidents the one with the greatest authority.
"Mr. Zhong, you are the senior here, please don't be so polite."
Han Guoping politely shook hands with Zhong Hai, then courteously let the other take a seat first.
"Does the leader have any instructions for this visit?"
Zhong Hai carefully sat on only half the sofa, his demeanor and behavior completely unlike that of an entrepreneur and industry leader who had long held high positions, but more like a small official within the system.
"Instructions wouldn't be the right word, but it's all good news for Mr. Zhong... Excellent tea. Mr. Zhong's tea ceremony skills have improved considerably."
Han Guoping smiled as he accepted the tea bowl Zhong Hai handed him, carefully blowing on it before taking a sip, showing a satisfied smile. "First, several domestically produced drugs from Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group have shown excellent clinical performance and have already received recognition and attention from above. They're being recommended for inclusion in the medical insurance catalog. As early as next month, the relevant departments will contact you. Seize this opportunity!"
Zhong Hai was stunned at first, then couldn't help but show great joy after a few seconds. In this country, what could make a pharmaceutical enterprise happier than being included in the medical insurance catalog?
China's enormous pharmaceutical market and increasingly mature middle to upper-class families had a demand for high-end drugs that was growing substantially each year, and the policy prioritizing domestic drugs would allow Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group to grab the largest share of the pie.
"Second, the group is also prepared to prioritize supplying several state-controlled special pharmaceutical raw materials to Mr. Zhong according to relevant industrial support policies. Finally, Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group can also compete for the first batch of national-level biological pharmaceutical cooperative research projects.
"Some connections have also been smoothed over by several group leaders. It just depends on whether Mr. Zhong still has this ambition? Haha, this can't be settled with just a cup of tea!"
From great joy to excitement to a grave expression, Zhong Hai felt somewhat overwhelmed by the succession of good news, but decades of struggling and climbing still allowed him to quickly calm down.
The spacious chairman's office suddenly fell into a strange quiet, with only the occasional sound of Han Guoping sipping tea, while Zhong Hai himself stared blankly at the tea table in silence.
"Alright, now that we've finished with the open matters, it's time to discuss the hidden ones..."
After finishing the last sip, Han Guoping's entire demeanor suddenly underwent a tremendous change. A pair of sharp, spirited eyes pierced like blades into the eyes of the daydreaming Zhong Hai.
"Oh... what instructions does the leader have? Please speak!"
Zhong Hai snapped back to attention, quickly lowering his eyebrows and voice submissively.
"These are some overseas special pharmaceutical raw materials we urgently need. We hope Comrade Zhong Hai can help find external channels to supply some. Price and customs issues are not problems. We won't shortchange your contributions on the special front."
Han Guoping took out a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the tea table, while observing the changes in Zhong Hai's expression. "Additionally, regarding the drug 'Yiwen De,' we hope Zhong Pharmaceuticals can increase production, and we still hope Comrade Zhong Hai can find a way to obtain the process technology in its raw material formula."
As soon as these words were spoken, a layer of fine sweat appeared on Zhong Hai's forehead, and his expression became increasingly uncomfortable.
"Leader, Zhong Pharmaceuticals has been working hard to expand production capacity all these years, but you surely know that several key raw materials for producing Yiwen De all come from 'that side.' If we want to obtain the process technology, with my small frame, forget about whether I can get it or not, I wouldn't even dare to mention it..."
As Zhong Hai spoke, his face actually began to turn pale, and his head hung lower and lower.
Yiwen De was a patented drug that Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group had imported from Japan at great expense twenty years ago. It was a long-acting injection for treating various types of blood tumors, especially effective for various leukemias with good clinical results, though the price was also outrageously expensive.
Currently known side effects included causing elevated body temperature and heart rate in users, so dosage control was extremely strict. Usually patients only needed one injection per quarter.
However, in another secret field, Yiwen De had another official name: Anti-blood Infection Immune Medication. When the single dose exceeded five times the normal amount, it became the most important strategic material for secret agencies of various countries to combat the Blood Clan.
Unfortunately, the preparation process technology for several special raw materials used to produce Yiwen De was impossible to obtain, so they had to rely on imports. Even though Zhong Group was one of the few pharmaceutical companies globally authorized to produce Yiwen De, complete domestic production was impossible.
"I understand, so I'm just asking routinely this time. Comrade Zhong Hai doesn't need to be nervous. Zhong Pharmaceuticals is ultimately an excellent private enterprise that benefits the country and people, meeting the disease medication needs of the masses."
Han Guoping sighed slightly, his expression returning to normal and his tone becoming much gentler. "Comrade Zhong Hai, as long as the war hasn't ended, the higher-ups need people like you who can stand on the side of the nation and people to maintain contact with 'that side.' If you can actively seek out useful information, we will also provide generous rewards."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Hai was greatly moved and repeatedly expressed his thanks, but the sweat on his forehead had already clearly formed beads.
"However, I also know that Comrade Zhong Hai is constantly being tempted by 'that side.' I hope Comrade Zhong Hai will not sell out the interests of the nation and people to 'that side' on key issues. If you need money, just come to me. For everything else, take care of yourself."
After speaking, Han Guoping stood up, actively extending his hand in a gesture of farewell.
Zhong Hai also quickly stood up, grasping the other's hand and nodding repeatedly.
Broker was the label Zhong Hai had given himself.
Although Han Guoping had brought him many benefits this time, Zhong Hai could clearly feel the warning from above. He even believed that certain important figures knew about Tsurumi Harume's arrival.
However, as the Chinese pharmaceutical enterprise with the closest ties to overseas Orthodox Blood Clan major families, Zhong Hai also had sufficient confidence and courage to thrive at the junction of two worlds, which was also key to his ability to simultaneously receive support from upper-level forces.
After Han Guoping left, Zhong Hai's emotions gradually calmed, and his expression returned to normal. He brewed himself a new pot of tea, drinking leisurely, the previous humility and cautiousness completely swept away.
The former Zhong Hai had been just a small citizen with some brains during the reform and opening period. Using the first bucket of gold earned through speculation on the coast, he had opened a small enterprise producing pharmaceutical intermediate materials in his hometown C City.
In an era when all materials were scarce, Zhong Hai's small workshop wasn't exactly wealthy, but it lived quite comfortably, and some business even became export trade. Until thirty years ago, when a female college student entered Zhong Hai's field of vision, his life began to undergo earth-shaking changes.
The female college student was named Meng Xiang, beautiful and moving, gentle and elegant, attracted to Zhong Hai's spirit of tenacious struggle. For Zhong Hai, who only had a junior high education level, this was almost a fatal romantic temptation.
Their passionate romance lasted a year. It wasn't until they began having more intimate relations in that conservative era that Zhong Hai learned she was actually an international student from Japan and a child of Japan's famous Tsurumi Financial Group.
Massive overseas investment fell into Zhong Hai's business like a pie from heaven. Along with it came various overseas high-end patented drugs entering Zhong Pharmaceuticals' production lines.
In an era when attracting investment was considered national policy, Zhong Pharmaceuticals, which received equity investment from Japan's Tsurumi Financial Group, received high praise and strong support from local government. It seemed that overnight, Zhong Hai became a model of reform and opening private enterprise economic development.
Meng Xiang's support for Zhong Hai had far exceeded the limits of a passionate girlfriend, once making Zhong Hai fantasize about the feasibility of cross-national romance.
But unexpectedly, Meng Xiang became pregnant, then mysteriously left without saying goodbye.
Meng Xiang, like a petal that came with the wind and landed on a sleeve, left behind a sleeve full of fragrance before departing with the wind. The process of searching for Meng Xiang was so bewildering and full of puzzlement.
Several years later, when Zhong Hai had his own family and was gradually forgetting, a business representative claiming to be from Huayao Group and a mysterious military officer visited together. Only then did Zhong Hai realize he had fallen into a bizarre world that normal people could not understand.
A small boy who looked similar to Meng Xiang was brought before Zhong Hai. The little boy had his own name, called Meng Huai. Both strange and familiar, he was the last remembrance Meng Xiang had left for Zhong Hai after her death.
That year, China's relevant departments approved Tsurumi Financial Group's application for additional investment in Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group. Subsequently, multiple state-owned financial institutions also invested in Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group, joining the group's shareholder ranks.
Zhong Hai once again became the darling of the capital market, once again enjoying unlimited glory. Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group also began its magnificent second major expansion journey.