Chapter 187

Wei Sheng was truly at a loss when it came to his uncanny ability to attract haters.

He had already left the entertainment industry behind and started fresh in traditional Chinese medicine research and development. So why were these trolls still so persistent, chasing after him with smear campaigns and fabricated stories?

He clicked on one of the posts. Great! This time it wasn’t the usual entertainment industry haters. It was a new bunch, likely hired by competitors in the pharmaceutical industry—paid trolls and smear merchants. That made things easier.

Wei Sheng immediately had his team compile all the posts spreading false rumors, accusing their mosquito repellent balm of bribing officials and engaging in shady deals. One copy was sent to the Nine Streams County government, and another to Liang Yi.

Even in a new field, Lawyer Liang was still a top-tier expert in suing trolls. Who’s afraid of whom?

The Nine Streams County government was furious when they received these baseless accusations.

They had finally developed a flagship product with the potential to go global. They were doing everything they could to encourage Wei Sheng to scale up production, even rallying the entire county to expand the cultivation of the medicinal herbs needed for the balm. They were hoping to build a signature industry for the region. And now someone dared to slander them out of thin air?

If only the rumors were true, and they could actually exchange benefits with Boss Wei. In fact, they had already earmarked a plot of land near the county seat for him. If Boss Wei gave the word, the county would fully cooperate—heck, they’d even give him the land for free. As long as he could help them build up this industry, they’d be more than happy to “exchange benefits” with him~~

But now, thanks to these slanderous posts, what if Boss Wei decided to distance himself from them to protect his reputation?

The county had never expected Wei Sheng’s anti-slander strategy to be this direct—he simply commissioned his lawyer to sue every poster whose content had high views or shares.

Huh? That’s a lesson learned!

Initially, the county had considered appealing to higher authorities to have the defamatory posts taken down. But doing that might make them look guilty. On second thought, Wei Sheng’s approach was better. The best way to deal with rumors is to confront them head-on!

They had nothing to hide. Even if higher-ups came down to investigate, they weren’t afraid. So why should they fear a bunch of online trolls?

Poor trolls! Early in the morning, they received formal legal notices stamped by Gongyi Law Firm, followed by official notifications from the Nine Streams County government. They were completely thrown off.

Weren’t governments and celebrities supposed to be terrified of bad publicity these days? At the first sign of negative news, they usually panic and rush to delete posts and silence critics. The trolls had already planned their next move: if the posts got deleted, they’d immediately record the takedowns and use them as “ironclad evidence” to launch a new wave of attacks. They even had their talking points ready:

Look! They’re deleting posts! That means they’re guilty! If there were no shady deals, why would they be so nervous?

Damn it! They had their whole smear campaign lined up, and now Wei Sheng—and this tiny, no-name county—weren’t playing by the rules?

Why won’t you delete the posts?!

Heh. Wei Sheng made it clear: not only would they not delete anything, they were worried the trolls might delete the posts themselves and destroy the evidence. So he quickly mobilized his team to lock down all the proof. No way were they letting these rumor-mongers get away.

Did these people really think today’s internet users could be stirred up by a few baseless lies? Maybe if they were targeting another industry, some folks might jump on the bandwagon. But traditional Chinese medicine?

Who didn’t know how many lives Chinese herbal remedies had saved during the pandemic just a few years ago?

It’s incredibly hard for traditional Chinese medicine to gain traction, especially in a poor county like Nine Streams. Finally, they had a breakthrough product—an herbal balm that could reduce malaria transmission and even had the potential to go international. And it was homegrown. If we don’t protect something like this, if we don’t support it, and instead tear it down with baseless accusations… what are you, the infamous Fifty-Cent Army¹?

Well then! With that label slapped on them, Wei Sheng and the Nine Streams County government didn’t even need to demand post deletions. The smear posts targeting the all-natural mosquito repellent and traditional Chinese medicine quietly disappeared from the internet.

Did they think deleting posts would erase the fact that they ever existed? Not a chance!

Did they think Lawyer Liang was some pushover? Sure, he’d been moonlighting as a screenwriter these past couple of years, but he hadn’t abandoned his original profession. You dare to slander his son? Line up and wait your turn—he’s coming for all of you.

Hu Qianqian was furious too. “We’re all Chinese! How can these people be so shameless? Even if they don’t like Wei Sheng, what grudge do they have against traditional Chinese medicine? It’s part of our cultural heritage! They’re Chinese too—don’t they want our country to succeed?”

Liang Yi sneered. “Chinese? These people don’t even remember who their ancestors are. Whoever pays them is their new ancestor.”

That was exactly why Liang Yi refused to let these trolls off the hook.

It wasn’t just because Wei Sheng was his stepson. It was because these people had crossed a line.

He’d seen plenty of fan wars and slander in the industry—even worse than this. But this time was different. This time, they were trying to undermine the very foundation of thousands of years of traditional Chinese medicine.

First, they’d take down Wei Sheng. Then they’d label the herbal, hormone-free mosquito balm he developed as some shady, overpriced product sold by sketchy influencers. And next time someone tried to bring a traditional remedy to light, they’d do the same thing all over again. As long as it wasn’t a foreign-imported pharmaceutical, they’d call it a scam by a celebrity trying to cash in on gullible fans.

But guess what? People actually believed in Wei Sheng.

His fans truly believed in him!

That was Liang Yi’s greatest confidence in pursuing this lawsuit.

In all the years since entering the industry, if Wei Sheng had to name his greatest achievement, it wouldn’t be fame or fortune. It would be the unwavering trust of his fans.

They believed he wasn’t the kind of person who would trade their health for a quick buck. They believed he developed this balm not just to make money, but because he genuinely cared.

And a few days later, their faith was rewarded.

While Lawyer Liang was busy mailing out legal notices in bulk, Wei Sheng, in his role as an investor, attended a press conference hosted by Nine Streams County.

At the press conference, the county announced that it would be signing a strategic cooperation agreement with Wei Sheng’s company, Yuanxi Biotech, to launch the “Hundred Villages, Ten Thousand Households Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs Co-Prosperity Plan.”

According to the plan, over the next five years, Yuanxi Biotech would become the largest shareholder in a county-level cooperative focused on cultivating traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Through contract farming, the cooperative would sign purchase agreements with impoverished villages willing to participate.

This meant that even villages without the resources to form their own agricultural cooperatives—or those with too few permanent residents to qualify—could still benefit from the cooperative’s perks and policies.

And with such a massive order like the “Hundred Villages, Ten Thousand Households” plan, the cooperative could negotiate discounts on seeds, seedlings, farming equipment, and tools—deals no single village could secure on its own.

Wei Sheng and Yuanxi Biotech also rolled out several support policies for the plan. These included supplying the first year’s seeds and seedlings at cost to all participating farmers, and setting up local collection points in each village to make it easier for farmers to sell their herbs.

Truthfully, given Wei Sheng’s current financial standing, he could’ve provided the seeds and seedlings for free. But that’s not how things should be done. Anything gained too easily—whether it’s love or anything else—won’t be cherished.

Wei Sheng had seen it firsthand during his trips to the countryside to source local specialties. Some farmers would scatter handfuls of seeds saved from previous harvests without a second thought, not caring if some didn’t sprout. But if they bought imported seeds from a store—ones that cost a few cents apiece—they’d treat them more carefully than a wife in postpartum recovery.

Even if they couldn’t afford to buy seedling trays, they’d at least make their own seedbeds, carefully planting each seed one by one, tending to them with great care. If even one seedling died, they’d feel the loss for days.

Wei Sheng never intended to make money off the common folk by selling seeds or seedlings. But he also couldn’t bear to see the high-quality seeds they had worked so hard to negotiate down in price being handed out for free, only for people to casually scatter them across the mountainside.

Waste was one thing. More importantly, if the growers themselves didn’t care about germination rates or seedling survival, it would directly impact next year’s medicinal herb yield.

And if the local herbs saw a sharp drop in production, then their entire plan to scale up next year would fall apart.

Honestly, if he were a little more ruthless, he could have sold those affordable seeds at a higher price and made a nice profit for the company. After all, when seeds cost more, growers are more likely to invest time and effort into their crops, which in turn boosts yields.

But when Wei Sheng saw the data reported from Nine Streams County, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Because even with national support and aid from wealthier regions, while over 90% of the impoverished towns in Nine Streams County had officially lifted themselves out of poverty, many struggling families still didn’t earn more than 10,000 yuan a year.

Back when they were filming near Bailong Ravine, Wei Sheng had met many such families. The men worked outside the village, but without education or skills, they earned less than 5,000 yuan a month. On paper, that’s 60,000 yuan a year—not a small sum.

But that’s not how the math works. From what Wei Sheng learned, many of the women left behind in the villages had no jobs. They grew a bit of grain, but just enough to feed themselves. Even if they sold some, grain prices were so low it hardly counted as income.

If a woman had a decent husband, he might send her 1,000 or 2,000 yuan a month. Life would be tough, but manageable.

But if she was stuck with a man who only cared about living it up while working away from home, sending back just 500 or 800 yuan a month, she’d have no choice but to grit her teeth and get by.

Even in the most frugal rural households, with one or two elderly family members, a few children, and the woman herself to support, how could anyone expect her to save money on just a few hundred yuan a month?

Faced with these “real poverty households,” how could Wei Sheng bring himself to sell them expensive seeds?

That press conference? It practically slapped the faces of all those online haters until they were swollen.

You accused Wei Sheng of using “three-no” products to scam people?

Sorry to disappoint, but the development team behind this hormone-free, all-natural herbal ointment? Every core member is a registered member of the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The team lead is even the president of the Nine Streams County Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. You really want to call them a shady, unlicensed outfit? Please. They’ve got enough certifications to bury you alive.

You claim Wei Sheng is in bed with the Nine Streams County government?

Come on! If your eyes are useless, do the world a favor and donate them to someone who needs them.

This wasn’t Wei Sheng bribing local officials to sell his medicine. It was the local government practically begging him to expand production, ready to throw money at him to build a new factory.

What’s that? You don’t believe it? You think no local government would be that desperate?

Please! The folks in Nine Streams County are sharp as tacks. If they dared to make things difficult for Wei Sheng or tried to squeeze him for favors, he’d pack up and move the factory to another county in a heartbeat.

And you know what? Rumor has it that after Wei Sheng forwarded those smear posts to Nine Streams County, the county’s publicity department did a little digging as part of their crisis management.

They traced the IP addresses behind those posts and guess what they found? A whole bunch of them came from neighboring counties.

So that’s what this was—trying to sabotage the friendship between Wei Sheng and Nine Streams County, hoping that once he started keeping his distance, they could swoop in and lure this God of Wealth over to their side?

Truly despicable.

Translator’s Notes

• three-no products: ‘Three-no’ products (sān wú chǎn pǐn) is a Chinese regulatory term for unregulated goods that lack three key elements: a production standard (no standard), a quality certification (no inspection), and a hygiene or safety license (no supervision).