Jingrui Pharmaceutical’s sudden reversal didn’t worry Xu Bingguo.

The sour jujubes were in such high demand that even if Jingrui Pharmaceutical didn’t want them, he was sure he could find other buyers.

He was just furious that they were breaking their contract.

On the other end of the line, Manager Liu sighed and explained, "Old Xu, it’s not that we’re being difficult. We... we really have no other choice."

He laid bare the predicament his company had recently faced.

"You have no idea. This past month, a new drug called ’Dragon Bone Calming Pill’ suddenly appeared on the market, and it’s uncannily effective. The moment it launched, it dealt a devastating blow to our company’s flagship product, the ’Sour Jujube Seeds Calming Soup.’"

"In just half a month—a mere two weeks—the total national sales for our ’Sour Jujube Seeds Calming Soup’ oral solution plummeted by 50%. And the decline is still ongoing. The company’s marketing department projects that by next month, our sales could fall by more than ninety percent."

"Now, upper management is completely pessimistic about the product. The board of directors met late into the night yesterday and decided to immediately make a strategic cut to the production of the ’Sour Jujube Seeds Calming Soup’—a cut as high as 90%!"

"So, Old Xu," Manager Liu’s voice was filled with resignation, "if we’re not producing it anymore, what use do we have for your sour jujube seeds?"

Xu Bingguo hung up the phone, his brow furrowed.

He couldn’t believe it.

He immediately called several other pharmaceutical companies.

"Hello, Manager Zhang? This is Xu Bingguo from Divine Wood Sour Dates Processing... That’s right, we’ve met before. I was calling to ask if your company is buying sour jujube seeds. Let me tell you, the quality of the seeds we process is top-notch... What? You’re not buying anymore? Why not? Our Xingtai sour jujube seeds are a premium traditional medicinal ingredient... Ah, your Sour Jujube Seeds Calming Liquid isn’t selling either? Oh, okay... I understand..."

"Manager Qu, it’s Xu Bingguo. Are you... Ah, you don’t need sour jujube seeds either... I see... I see..."

...

Xu Bingguo made five or six calls. The answer was the same every time: no one wanted sour jujube seeds.

He was stunned.

His company had practically bet the farm, stockpiling thousands of tons of raw sour jujubes bought at a premium.

Now, suddenly, none of the buyers wanted them.

So who was he supposed to sell all these sour jujubes to?

An immense wave of fear washed over him.

He could no longer think about anything else. He rushed out of his office and roared hoarsely at the jujube farmers waiting in a long line in front of the purchasing station:

"We’re not buying anymore! We’re not buying! All of you, go home! We’re not buying any more sour jujubes!"

He immediately ordered his employees to close the main gate of the purchasing station.

The farmers immediately erupted in chaos.

"What’s going on? How can you just stop buying all of a sudden?"

"Yeah! We’ve been waiting in this line for hours!"

One old man, furious, rushed forward, rattling the iron gate as he yelled at Xu Bingguo:

"On what grounds?! Everything in my basket is the best red jujubes, all painstakingly sorted! Not long ago, you were even buying the rotten, green-skinned ones, so why won’t you take these good ones now?!"

"Because no one wants them anymore!"

Xu Bingguo looked back at him, his face a mask of despair, and roared, "The jujubes you’re holding are nothing but a pile of worthless trash now."

...

「Dashan Village.」

Village Chief Liu Jun was in high spirits, directing the villagers as they loaded basket after basket of plump, ripe, crimson sour jujubes, freshly picked from the mountains, onto the village’s truck.

For over a month, thanks to his tireless persuasion and vigilant patrols, the village’s practice of harvesting unripe fruit had finally been curbed.

Now, the sour jujubes were ripening en masse.

He was ready to lead the villagers to a magnificent comeback.

Just as he was fantasizing about how much income this year’s sour jujube harvest would bring the villagers,

his phone rang.

It was a call from a friend of his at the county processing plant.

"Hey, Old Li! We’re harvesting the sour jujubes now. When is your plant sending a truck over to pick them up?"

Liu Jun asked cheerfully.

But all that came from the other end was a long sigh.

"Old Liu... don’t... don’t load the truck. Our... our plant isn’t buying sour jujubes this year."

"What?"

The smile on Liu Jun’s face froze instantly.

After pressing for answers, he learned from his friend about the sudden, massive storm that had engulfed the entire sour jujube market.

The major processing plants had all halted their purchases of sour jujubes because the downstream pharmaceutical companies had collectively stopped buying from them.

Even the few small plants that were still buying were offering terrifyingly low prices—only a fifth of what they were just a short time ago.

After hanging up, Liu Jun stood frozen in place.

He looked at the mountain of red sour jujubes before him—a pile that embodied the hopes of the entire village. Then he looked behind him at the expectant faces of the villagers watching him.

He fell silent.

"Chief, what’s wrong? Did the price go up again?"

a villager asked excitedly.

Liu Jun looked up, his smile more pained than a grimace.

"We’re finished..."

"The market... we ruined it ourselves."

"Now, no one even wants our best red jujubes..."

...

Li Xu returned to Feng City, pulling a suitcase behind him.

He took a taxi to his clinic.

He’d assumed that with him being away, the clinic would be quiet, if not completely empty.

To his surprise, the clinic was packed with patients, mostly seniors, but with a few younger women as well.

And Song Sisi, who was supposed to be on an extended vacation, was dressed in a crisp white uniform, swamped with work by a massage table.

"Next up is Aunt Wang. It’s your turn."

Her voice was laced with exhaustion.

"Boss! You’re finally back!"

Song Sisi’s sharp eyes spotted Li Xu first.

A look of delighted surprise instantly lit up her face.

But she was so busy that she couldn’t stop the massage she was giving a patient with a neck problem.

She could only manage to flash Li Xu a pained smile, not even having a moment to say anything more.

Li Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sight.

He didn’t take a break either. He put down his luggage, washed his hands, and walked over to a patient further back in the line. "Sir, is it your lower back that’s bothering you? Come on over to this table. I’ll take a look at it for you."

And just like that, he joined the "battle."

One focused on neck and shoulder massages, the other on lower backs and legs, each tending to their own patients.

They were busy until evening, when they finally saw off the last patient.

At last, the clinic was quiet again.

Exhausted, Song Sisi collapsed into a chair, not wanting to lift a single finger.

Li Xu poured her a glass of warm water and asked with a smile, "What happened? I told you to take a vacation. How are you even busier now than you were before I left?"