Chapter 237: 233. Inter-City Talks (Please subscribe, please vote for monthly tickets!)

When Zhang Ran and Xia Zhangqing came out of the study, they saw Chang Meilan pulling Liu Lu along, talking incessantly about something, while Liu Lu wore a look of embarrassment.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Ran asked casually upon seeing this situation.

Seeing that Zhang Ran had come out, Liu Lu immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Dad."

Zhang Ran asked curiously, "What is going on with you two? Why are you pushing and shoving?"

Chang Meilan held a jade bracelet in her hand; it had exquisite carvings, and its color was warm, moist, and smooth. Under the reflection of the lights, it had a clear and transparent feel—it was clearly a high-quality item.

"Brother Zhang, I just want to give Xiao Lu a gift, but she keeps making excuses to decline. You should persuade her," Chang Meilan said.

Zhang Ran curiously examined the jade bracelet, then shook his head and said, "This is a good item, but it is a bit too valuable; it's not appropriate."

Liu Lu also nodded and said, "Auntie Chang, thank you for your kindness, but it really is too valuable. I accept your good intentions."

Liu Lu was no longer someone who hadn't seen the world; she had her own judgment regarding high-quality items. She knew at a glance that this thing was very valuable, which is why she had not accepted it.

Upon hearing Zhang Ran's words, Chang Meilan hurriedly said, "Brother Zhang, don't be in such a rush to refuse. Let me tell you the origin of this jade."

Zhang Ran was a bit curious. What kind of origin could this jade have? Looking at Chang Meilan's expression, it seemed to be related to him?

Xia Wen was watching silently from the side. She had previously heard her mother say that this jade bracelet was to be kept as her dowry, but now, in the blink of an eye, it was about to become someone else's. At this moment, Xia Wen truly doubted whether she was her mother's biological daughter.

However, Xia Wen was not jealous of Liu Lu; instead, she also showed a look of curiosity. Although the jade bracelet was valuable, Xia Wen did not value it particularly highly.

Chang Meilan wore a look of nostalgia as she said, "This jade bracelet is a treasure of our village. It is said to have been passed down for many years and has always been kept in the hands of each generation's village chief."

"It was said that if the village could no longer survive, we would take it out and sell it."

"Actually, we were prepared to sell it back then, but we were lucky enough to meet you, Brother Zhang. This jade bracelet is a gift our village wanted to give you to express our gratitude, and it represents the heartfelt wishes of the people in our village."

"It's just that after you left back then, Brother Zhang, you never came back, and we couldn't find you, so it stayed with me. I was just waiting for the time I could meet you again to hand it over to you."

"Now that you have returned, I took the liberty of giving it to Xiao Lu."

Zhang Ran felt a sudden realization after hearing this, but he still wanted to refuse; this thing was truly not cheap.

But seeing Zhang Ran's reaction, Chang Meilan immediately said anxiously, "Brother Zhang, this is the heartfelt wish of our entire village. Please do not refuse!"

She had previously said she would give it to Xia Wen as a dowry only because Zhang Ran was gone. Now that Zhang Ran had returned, it naturally needed to be returned to its rightful owner.

As for returning the item to the village, she had tried that before, but it was quickly sent back to her.

"Zhang Ran, just accept it. This is a token of their village's sincerity, and you can certainly accept this jade bracelet with a clear conscience for what you did back then," Xia Zhangqing also advised.

Zhang Ran looked at Chang Meilan, sighed, and said, "Alright. Xiao Lu, accept it."

Seeing that her father-in-law had nodded, Liu Lu hesitated for a moment before nodding and accepting it. "Thank you, Auntie Chang."

"Why are you thanking me? Xiao Lu, remember to bring the little ones over to play often," Chang Meilan said, a smile immediately appearing on her face.

"Alright, I will," Liu Lu said politely.

"Alright, the catching up is done and the business is discussed, so we will be leaving now," Zhang Ran said, seeing that things were mostly settled, and proposed his departure.

Chang Meilan was a bit reluctant, but she knew Zhang Ran's personality, so she only said at the end, "Brother Zhang, you must come over to sit for a while when you have time."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely come over to bum a meal then," Zhang Ran said, waving his hand.

The next day, Zhang Ran spent the morning playing with the four little ones in Yi City, and in the afternoon, he returned to Chang City to play for a while longer. By four o'clock, amidst the reluctant expressions of the four little ones, he sent them off on their flight.

And just as Zhang Ran was playing with the four little ones, Yi City and Chang City were not quiet at all.

On the second day, Xia Zhangqing had people notify the leadership team to hold a meeting, focusing on the situation regarding Dasheng Pharmaceutical.

As expected, this matter, which was beneficial to the entire Yi City, received everyone's support. At the same time, everyone began to use their own connections, striving to settle this matter quickly.

Meanwhile, Chang City was also holding a meeting. When they learned of Tian Yaohui's actions, some people's expressions were indeed unpleasant, but in the end, they decided to help Tian Yaohui.

After all, what Tian Yaohui said was correct; if they were truly acquired by Dasheng Pharmaceutical, it would be a huge loss for their Chang City.

After all, the main product of Dasheng Pharmaceutical was 'Yong Ge', and they did not know what raw materials were used for 'Yong Ge', but they understood that it was certainly not the raw materials used for Dragon Tiger Ointment.

Just this one point would cause huge losses to the enterprises that relied on the production of Dragon Tiger Ointment from Yaotian Pharmaceutical, and perhaps many would even go bankrupt—and these enterprises were basically all Chang City enterprises.

Moreover, Tian Yaohui also pointed out that once Dasheng Pharmaceutical completed the acquisition, the focus of Yaotian Pharmaceutical would definitely move to Yi City. This would be another economic blow, and it would cause many employees to lose their jobs, which was the real big issue.

Tian Yaohui also made one point clear: there was no need to completely block Dasheng Pharmaceutical's acquisition plan, just delay it for a while.

However, although he said it that way, everyone understood that this time could be very long—it could be one year, or it could be two years.

By Monday, Chang City had completely made up its mind and began to prepare to investigate the acquisition situation of Dasheng Pharmaceutical. Once there was the slightest hint of non-compliance, they would immediately halt the acquisition.

However, just at this time, they received news from the provincial level, asking their main leaders to go to a meeting.

When these people all arrived, they discovered that besides them, only the leaders of Yi City were there.

In that instant, they understood exactly what the reason for this visit was.

It seemed that this Dasheng Pharmaceutical was not stupid and knew how to find people for help. However, the leaders of Chang City were still confident; the provincial level also needed to consider the impact that would be brought about if Yaotian Pharmaceutical collapsed rapidly.

Very quickly, the meeting began, and the theme was the situation between Dasheng Pharmaceutical and Yaotian Pharmaceutical.