Chapter 140: Out of Stock
After sending a few of her besties off, Zhuang Feixue’s mother asked, “Feixue, are these elixirs from Chu Feng?”
Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “No, they’re from Illya.”
She thought the relationship between Chu Feng and Illya seemed a bit strange. Her third brother thought Illya was a pretty boy clinging to a sugar daddy, but Feixue suspected it might actually be her second brother who was doing that.
Chu Feng had said the elixirs were formulated by an old Chinese medicine practitioner—a fellow villager of Illya’s—who disliked publicity and had entrusted them to Chu Feng and Illya to sell.
If the pharmacist was really Illya’s fellow villager, then wasn’t it obvious her brother was lying?
Her mother’s expression shifted. “How could that be?”
“It seems Illya knows a reclusive old traditional doctor.”
“Really?” her mother asked.
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Yes.” With looks like Illya’s, there was no way he came from an ordinary place. Maybe he really did grow up in some hidden paradise. Her mother frowned, her expression turning odd.
Previously, Illya had joked at the dinner table about opening an elixir shop and selling unlicensed products. Her mother thought he was kidding, but it turned out to be true—and what’s more, the elixirs were selling like hotcakes.
“Feixue, you really don’t have any more beauty elixirs?” her mother asked. Some of the rich ladies had wanted to buy more, but Zhuang Feixue had told them she was out of stock.
She still had five beauty elixirs left, but planned to keep those for herself. She had no idea how much Chu Feng had left—if everything sold out, she wouldn’t have any for personal use.
“Not many left,” she admitted.
Her mother hesitated. “Give me two, then.”
Zhuang Feixue frowned. “I don’t have many left.”
Her mother said a bit awkwardly, “Haven’t you already taken quite a few? You said the first dose has the best effect.”
Zhuang Feixue gave an awkward smile. “It’s not that many…”
Her mother sighed. “You child…”
*
Later, the elixirs had completely sold out, and her account balance had increased by over a hundred million.
Looking at the account, Zhuang Feixue felt that when it came to making money, her brother might actually be better than their father. The student had surpassed the master!
“Sis,” Zhuang Feixue ran into her brother Zhuang Cheng when she got home.
“School break?” she asked.
Zhuang Cheng nodded. “Yeah. Sis, I heard your virility elixir is selling really well.”
“It’s not a virility elixir! It’s called a health elixir,” she corrected him.
Zhuang Cheng smirked. “You just gave it a nice name to spare those guys’ pride. But we all know what it’s really for.”
Zhuang Feixue: “…You’re not wrong.”
Zhuang Cheng said with curiosity, “I didn’t think Illya’s unlicensed product would be such a hit. Seems like selling elixirs is even more profitable than being a celebrity. One drama earns maybe tens of millions, but selling elixirs has already earned you over 100 million. You’re raking in cash until your hands cramp up! Too bad it’s not all yours.”
He then whispered mysteriously, “Since the elixirs are real, does that mean what Illya said about Zhuang Zhiming’s kidney deficiency is also true?”
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Probably. Illya sometimes says weird things, but he’s not the type to lie.”
Zhuang Cheng laughed. “Never thought that guy, who always acts so high and mighty, is actually just a pretty shell with no substance. So that rumor must be true too?”
“What rumor?” Zhuang Feixue asked, confused.
“I heard Zhuang Zhiming had someone named Jiang Shang buy elixirs from you on his behalf. Do you remember this person?”
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Sounds familiar. I think he bought eight health elixirs.”
Because the elixirs weren’t limited at first, she remembered the few people who made bulk purchases.
Zhuang Cheng sneered, “Idiot.”
At that moment, their sister Zhuang Ming came in carrying multiple shopping bags. Zhuang Zhiming walked downstairs.
“Shopping again?” he asked.
Zhuang Ming nodded.
Zhuang Zhiming knew his sister’s bad habit—shopping sprees.
“You’re not a kid anymore. You should start doing something useful and stop wasting money,” he lectured.
Zhuang Ming sat on the couch, retorting, “Hey, I heard you asked someone to buy virility elixirs from Zhuang Feixue. Is it true?”
Zhuang Zhiming’s face turned red. “Who told you that nonsense?”
Zhuang Ming said coolly, “Fine, fine, forget I said anything. But the elixirs Chu Feng is selling seem really popular.”
Zhuang Zhiming frowned and said nothing.
Health elixirs were all the rage in elite circles. Everyone knew what they were really for, even if no one said it outright. Zhuang Feixue’s elixirs were selling incredibly well, and apparently the beauty elixirs were already out of stock. No testing had been done on them either. Just where had Chu Feng gotten them from?
“Did you ever get the elixirs tested?” she asked.
Zhuang Zhiming’s face darkened. “I didn’t, but someone took it to get tested. It contains several precious traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Someone tried to make an imitation, but it had no effect at all.”
Zhuang Ming sighed regretfully. “What a pity. If it could be mass-produced, it’d make a decent health supplement.”
At first, Zhuang Ming thought that Illya selling medicinal elixirs was just a gimmick to attract attention. But as far as she knew, Zhuang Feixue had already sold nearly a hundred elixirs, earning over a hundred million yuan. Zhuang Ming couldn’t help feeling quite envious. Though her family was wealthy, the money allocated to each family member was still limited.
Zhuang Ming was a woman and didn’t hold a position in the family business. She only received a few hundred thousand yuan in pocket money every month. To most people, that was an astronomical amount, but in her social circle, some friends would casually spend tens of millions on a sports car. So, a few hundred thousand a month didn’t go far.
Zhuang Zhiming nodded, his expression unreadable. In truth, he had someone buy some elixirs. After taking them, he instantly felt revitalized and ended up spending the night with one of his girlfriends in a marathon session of “300 rounds.” It had been a long time since he’d felt that kind of vigor.
On one hand, Zhuang Zhiming was thrilled that his personal issue could be solved, but on the other, he harbored resentment toward Chu Feng.
As far as Zhuang Zhiming knew, Zhuang Feixue had used the two types of elixirs to build an impressive network of connections. Some of those people were ones that his elder brother, Zhuang Zhiyuan, had tried hard but failed to win over.
“Where did Chu Feng get those elixirs?” Zhuang Ming asked suspiciously.
“They say it was concocted by a reclusive old traditional Chinese doctor,” Zhuang Zhiming replied. “Apparently, the guy’s quite skilled. He even made an antidote elixir.”
After news of the Beauty Elixir and the Health elixir surfaced, Shen Yutong’s previous purchase of the detox elixir from Chu Feng also came to light. Because of the detox elixir, people began to put more faith in the other elixirs sold by Zhuang Feixue.
“Chu Feng went back to the town?” Zhuang Ming asked.
Zhuang Zhiming nodded. “Yeah.”
“Is he playing hard to get? Or is he really not interested in the Zhuang family’s business?” Zhuang Ming said uncertainly.
Zhuang Zhiming shook his head. “Who knows.”
“Zhuang Feilei sure is shameless. She’s not even part of the Zhuang family anymore, and she still won’t give up her position,” Zhuang Ming sneered.
After Zhuang Ming exposed Zhuang Feilei’s real identity, she had been waiting for her to be kicked out. But the second branch of the family made no move, which left her extremely disappointed.
—
On the set.
Zhuang Feixue was holding a script and memorizing lines when her phone rang.
She answered it impatiently and said in a calm voice, “Sorry, we’re out of stock. I don’t know when the next batch will be ready. I’ll post an announcement when it’s available.”
Su Miaomiao looked at Zhuang Feixue and said, “Miss Zhuang, another person calling about the elixirs?”
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Yeah.”
“There seems to be a lot of demand lately.”
“There is,” Zhuang Feixue confirmed.
Chu Feng had said that the alchemist needed time to make the elixirs, and the next batch wouldn’t be ready for at least another month. She still had a few elixirs left, but those were not for casual sale.
Zhuang Feixue shook her head and thought to herself: If I had known the elixirs would be this popular, I should’ve implemented purchase limits from the start.
“Miss Zhuang, Miss Feilei is here,” a stage assistant said awkwardly.
Zhuang Feixue frowned. She didn’t expect Zhuang Feilei to find her here.
“Feilei,” Zhuang Feixue looked at Zhuang Feilei, somewhat helpless.
Zhuang Feilei didn’t come alone—Li Chengjia was with her.
Ever since the engagement cancellation scandal, the drama of the two Zhuang sisters “fighting over a man” had made the headlines. If their father hadn’t spent money to suppress the trending topic, they might’ve made the front page.
Zhuang Feixue hadn’t expected her sister to bring Li Chengjia with her.
“You’re here too, Young Master Li?” she said coldly.
Li Chengjia replied awkwardly, “Feilei wanted to see you, so I drove her over.”
Zhuang Feixue thought to herself: Li Chengjia really is devoted. Even after Zhuang Feilei’s true background was revealed, he still pursued her even more diligently than before.
But this kind of behavior only made Zhuang Feixue dislike him more.
She looked at Zhuang Feilei coldly and said, “What do you want?”
Zhuang Feilei frowned. “Chu Feng hasn’t been in touch since he left. Can you persuade him to return to the Zhuang family?”
Zhuang Feixue said flatly, “He has his reasons. But I’ll talk to him.”
Zhuang Feilei lowered her head. “I can tell… Mom really misses him.”
Zhuang Feilei had always been close to Su Manqing. Even after her true parentage was exposed, Su Manqing still cared for her. But since there was no blood tie, their relationship had inevitably grown distant.
If Chu Feng returned to the Zhuang family, things might improve. But he had only visited briefly before leaving again. Su Manqing still worried about him and felt guilty, but she didn’t have the courage to reach out.
Zhuang Feixue nodded gently. “I’ll try to talk to Chu Feng when I get the chance.”
She believed her younger brother had a strong mind of his own. He seemed easygoing on the surface, but deep down, he followed his own principles—very hard to sway.
“Feixue, are you selling those elixirs on behalf of Chu Feng?” Li Chengjia asked.
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Yeah.”
Li Chengjia hesitated, then said, “I know you and Chu Feng are close, and you want to support him, but you shouldn’t be selling fake medicine. What if someone gets hurt?”
Zhuang Feixue rolled her eyes and said impatiently, “I’m not begging you to buy it. Why do you care so much?”
Did she not know whether the elixirs worked or not? She had taken more Beauty Elixirs than anyone. And though she hadn’t tried the other elixir, the feedback from the Health elixir users was incredible. Rumor had it that one couple had been childless for seven years, and now the wife was pregnant—all thanks to the elixir.
