Chapter 28.1: A Horse Racing Bet

　　It had been five years since this matter occurred, yet Mr. Huang’s attitude remained so intense.

　　On the contrary, Jiang Dai felt rather hopeful.

　　The more bitter Mr. Huang was, the more it showed that he was still smarting over this. She had once asked her dad, where she had gotten to know that Mr. Huang did not care about his salary and immediately agreed to it when Bao Li first invited him to join the project team. 

　　When it came to the new product research, Mr. Huang and her father happened to hold the same view. Hence, Mr. Huang had probably given her father the highest level of trust, only to be let down completely. 

　　For him to be acting so harshly towards Bao Li, it would mean that this knot of his had yet to be resolved.

　　Not only were there no traces of disheartenment emitted from Jiang Dai, but she also went to ride for two rounds.

　　As noon drew closer, the temperature gradually increased.

　　At this point, Bai Zhi began to grow weary. “Daidai, why don’t we leave? The sun is getting far too strong.”

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　　“Oh my god, is this really the racecourse?”

　　As soon as the words left her mouth, Jiang Dai had the sudden urge to laugh.

　　Of course, this was the racecourse, but it was just that it was a pretty ordinary place, unlike the high-end place that they would usually visit. Even so, the racecourse was well-equipped with various facilities, and the dishes offered were pretty good as well.

　　Since Bai Zhi did not have much for breakfast and horseback riding was such a strenuous activity, she was pretty much starving at this juncture. Without much further ado, she began gobbling the food, reenacting a slap-in-the-face scene perfectly.

　　“Daidai, the taste of this frog dish is simply divine! In particular, this pickled radish! Aaah, I am dying.”

　　“They have indeed captured authentic flavors for this steamed fish head with diced hot red peppers dish. I have the sudden urge to invite the chef to work at my place. It is far too condescending for such an amazing chef to remain in such an inconspicuous restaurant.”

　　With that said, Jiang Dai could not help but stare at Bai Zhi speechlessly. “Stop talking when you are eating the fish. Also, do watch out for bones.”

　　……

　　If one were to take notice of Jiang Dai, it would appear that she was focused on having her lunch. In actual fact, her thoughts were mostly placed in a standby mode at all times.

　　‌Soon, she would prove that she had won the bet.

　　Huang Lai sat at a table with several students, eating quietly. Occasionally, they would discuss some academic topics.

　　Not long after, a group of approximately seven to eight men entered the restaurant. It was quite obvious that the entire group was led by the middle-aged man in the middle, as the others around him were boasting and singing the praises of him.

　　At first glance, Jiang Dai spotted Zhang He.

　　Dressed in an equestrian outfit that carried at least a six-figure price tag to such an ordinary racecourse, it was not difficult for anyone to guess what his intention was.

　　That middle-aged man, who was surrounded by people, should be Professor Zhen.

　　Since Jiang Dai and Bai Zhi were seated at a corner table, Zhang He did not look in their direction.

　　However, Bai Zhi soon discovered that Jiang Dai had been glancing in that direction at the corner of her eyes.

　　As such, her gaze swept doubtfully over the group for a moment. It was only then did she deem that the man, who was roughly 35 years of age, was the only one out of the entire group who was somewhat pleasing to the eyes.

　　Jiang Dai’s little friend, Bai Zhi, who had always had a keen sense towards any hints of gossip, could not help but probe, “Daidai, please don’t tell me you are interested in that man wearing a black vest? It does seem like he is somewhat older, but if you were to compare him with Huo Rongshen, wouldn’t he be significantly older? Jiang Dai, how is it that your taste is becoming increasingly hardcore? However, I’ve got to say that his taste seems pretty decent, and his equestrian outfit is of the most popular brand.” 

　　Rolling her eyes at Bai Zhi, Jiang Dai whispered, “That is Zhang He.”

　　Upon hearing that, Bai Zhi’s eyes brightened with interest. “F*ck, so you do know him in the first place! Why didn’t you introduce him to me?”

　　“……That’s Zhang He, the founder of Ya Li Group.”

　　As soon as the words left Jiang Dai’s mouth, Bai Zhi was stupefied for a moment before her countenance darkened. “F*ck, so it is that b*stard! The scum looks so disgusting and foppish. At a glance, anyone can tell he is not a good person.”

　　“……”

　　Ever since the arrival of Mr. Zhen and his group, the atmosphere in the restaurant had become somewhat delicate.

　　In addition to their scholarly appearance, Jiang Dai had long since known of the ongoing feud between Mr. Zhen and Mr. Huang. Apparently, both of them were colleagues at the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) University and had once been considered close friends who had found common ground.

　　It was just that as time changed, people began to change as well. In the end, they went their separate ways.

　　Even so, Mr. Huang remained obsessed with academic research. Although he worked on projects for commercial companies, his essential goal was to develop practical pharmaceutical products.

　　Not only that, he even used his private funds to open a TCM clinic, where its fees were charged far below that of a regular TCM clinic. Patients were offered the option of utilizing their medical insurance, which was a preferential option amongst regular folks. As for those minorities who were not covered by medical insurance, Mr. Huang would even go as far as to give them subsidies and fork out the remaining fees out of his own pocket.

　　These were good deeds that could have appeared in the news, but Mr. Huang was never fond of such a publicity method and had always kept a low profile.

　　Without any publicity and support from the government, his TCM clinic would soon be pushed out of the market.

　　Each industry had its own rules, and a TCM clinic was no exception as well. As for Mr. Huang, he set his consultations at such a low rate, sold countless medications at their cost prices, and cared for the poor. It gave rise to a massive blow to the other TCM clinics in both the surrounding and this city.

　　As such, others came together and forcefully pushed Mr. Huang’s TCM clinic out of the market. With other work on hand and having limited energy, his TCM clinic had been closed for two to three years.

　　On the contrary, his old friend, Mr. Zhen, was the total opposite of him.

　　When Mr. Zhen was younger, he was also a very ordinary teacher, teaching assiduously while working on his academic research.

　　Subsequently, commercialization became increasingly widespread. As such, Mr. Zhen began to cooperate with various medical institutions to make huge profits. Recently, he published a paper in a particular academic journal and won an award.

　　‌As such, TCM University promoted him to an Honorary Dean, receiving both fame and money concurrently. 

　　Both groups were seated at neighboring tables, yet Mr. Zhen’s group, in the beginning, pretended not to see Mr. Huang. It was only after a long time did Mr. Zhen raised his head suddenly and asked profoundly, “Isn’t this Old Huang? Did you bring your students here to ride horses?”

　　Upon hearing Mr. Zhen’s questions, Mr. Huang remained silent.

　　Another person from Mr. Zhen’s group mocked, “Old Huang, why don’t you come over and join us? We have more people and ordered more dishes. Those students of yours are so poor and pedantic, treating their professor with only just a few dishes.”

　　One of Mr. Huang’s students lost his cool and pointed out with a deep voice, “Professor Li, you should speak cautiously. It is our teacher who is treating us lunch.”

　　Upon hearing that, Mr. Zhen’s tone turned for the worse as he mocked Mr. Huang. “Sigh, you are already nearly 70 years of age, yet you are still a tutor of these post-graduate students. Old Huang, you have never liked to hear these words. Nowadays, a tutor lets his students work for themselves or even for free. You, on the other hand, raise them as if they are your sons. What an unprofitable business!”

　　Mr. Huang’s face stiffened at the sound of his mockery, yet he remained silent. At this display, Jiang Dai could speculate that this sort of ridicule between old colleagues must have gone on for a long while.

　　Whereas, his students were not as level-headed and looked as if they were about to make an outburst.

　　However, Mr. Huang’s silence suppressed their anger.

　　As for Jiang Dai, she became increasingly certain that everyone at that table, apart from Zhang He, should be Mr. Huang’s colleagues from the TCM University.

　　Due to the fact that they were either professors or teachers in TCM University and these students had yet to graduate, it would bring about adverse effects if they were to offend these people. Even so, she could tell Mr. Huang treated his students very well, and they also respected him very much.

　　As for Zhang He……it was very likely he was there to give Mr. Zhen money.

　　Mr. Zhen was now famous in the TMC industry and seemingly regarded as the most amazing TCM expert across the entire nation.

　　If Zhang He were to bribe Mr. Zhen and have him prove that he had collaborated with Ya Li to develop the products, this would probably cause a substantial amount of consumers and various media to side with Ya Li.

　　Even so, Mr. Huang’s silence had merely aggravated the other party’s humiliation.

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