Chapter 374 — What a Pity It Was Fake

He had not given it much thought before — that his son should bring classmates along to the birthday feast was only natural. But two men and two women — that was a little too conspicuous.

Once Kang Jingming put it that way, Father Kang too began to suspect that these were two couples. Could his son have gone astray?

Still, with so many eyes upon them, Father Kang could hardly question Kang Xiaoyinbo there and then. And he knew well enough that his own nephew hardly meant well: earlier the man had done everything in his power to stop Kang Xiaoyinbo and his classmates from staying at the hotel — there must be some old grudge at work.

It seemed, then, that the grudge lay with the girl at his son's side. As for all that talk of the girl being shameless, of seducing first one man and then another, Father Kang was only half inclined to believe it.

At ten o'clock sharp, the birthday banquet of the miracle doctor Kang formally began, and Wei Zhao, as the guests trickled in, caught sight of several familiar faces.

There was Liu Tianyi, and there was Guan Xuewen — the two of them sat at one table now, chatting idly. And Kang Guifeng, Kang the miracle doctor's eldest son and the present helmsman of the Kang Miracle Doctor Group, sat at their table as well, keeping the pair company with easy laughter and talk.

Wei Zhao did not go over to greet them. He kept to his corner, waiting for the banquet to begin — for once Kang Xiaoyinbo had presented his birthday gift, he would turn and take his leave. It seemed plain enough that once he had established his own "Doctor Guan" brand, he and Kang the miracle doctor were bound to become rivals, so there was no point in standing on ceremony. And judging by how things stood with Kang Xiaoyinbo now, there was surely no possibility of reconciliation with Kang Jingming's family.

Not so long as Xiaofen was in the picture — impossible!

To the emcee's impassioned speech and the applause of the guests, Kang the miracle doctor came slowly forward. He was a dignified-looking old man, dressed in a red hanfu, and carried himself with something of the air of an ancient physician.

That he had shot to fame on the strength of a single wondrous prescription and vaulted in one bound to the head of the nation's pharmaceutical industry left one somewhat speechless — yet it could not be denied that Miracle Doctor Kang's wound-healing medicine truly had wondrous effects.

Of course, many an old hand in medical circles had little liking for Kang the miracle doctor. To their minds he could hardly be called a miracle doctor at all; he had chanced upon a good prescription somewhere or other, and that was what had made his name for him. As for the other medicines his company turned out, they were nothing but the common remedies for everyday colds and aches and fevers, their formulas all publicly known and wholly unremarkable.

Were it not for the fame of his wound-healing medicine, whether those everyday remedies would sell at all was another question entirely. But the man had luck on his side: with the red medicine leading the way, whatever came after — even ordinary medicines — sold briskly all the same.

Thus in a short span of time the great colossus of the Kang Miracle Doctor Pharmaceutical Group was built. In truth, many people knew full well that Kang the miracle doctor's own medical skill was nothing extraordinary.

"We thank all our guests for attending the sixty-second birthday of Miracle Doctor Kang. And now, his sons and grandchildren will present their blessings!" The emcee began the first item of the banquet — the offering of birthday gifts by the children and grandchildren. Only after they had made their offerings would it be the turn of the notables of society and the doctor's old friends and acquaintances; everyone else had no chance to come up on stage at all, and could only leave their gifts at the registration desk by the door.

First to the stage was Kang the miracle doctor's eldest son, Kang Guifeng. Head high and chest out, he strode up, a red brocade box in his hands, its wrapping exquisitely fine.

"Father, what I bring you is a century-old snow lotus from the Tianshan Mountains!" Kang Guifeng presented the brocade box with both hands and said reverently, "I wish you health and long life!"

"Good, very good! Bring it here and let me see!" Kang the miracle doctor instructed the emcee.

The emcee hurried the brocade box up and presented it to Kang the miracle doctor. It was opened, and inside lay indeed a Tianshan snow lotus — to judge by its size, if not a full hundred years old, then seventy or eighty at the least!

"Oh—" The whole hall was stirred. Worthy indeed of a family of miracle doctors — even the birthday gifts they gave were rare treasures seldom seen!

After the eldest son, Kang Guifeng, had withdrawn, the next to present his congratulatory gift was the younger son, Kang Cuipu. In his hands he too held a brocade box of like kind, incomparably fine.

"Father, what I bring is a thousand-year ginseng, already taking on human form! This is a wild ginseng that your son had men searching the mountains for three years and three months to find!" Kang Cuipu presented the brocade box with both hands and said reverently, "I wish you a life as long as the southern hills!"

"Good, good, good!" Kang the miracle doctor said "good" three times over, and motioned to the emcee: "Bring it up and let me see! Let me see what a thousand-year ginseng looks like!"

The century-old snow lotus the eldest son had brought was already a rare sight; that this ginseng should be a thousand years old made it rarer still. How could Kang the miracle doctor not be stirred beyond measure?

The emcee hurried the brocade box up and presented it to Kang the miracle doctor. He opened it, and inside lay indeed a ginseng of enormous size! It had already grown into human form — whether or not it was a thousand years old, it was truly a rare treasure of the world, seldom seen.

The guests all let out gasp after gasp, gazing enviously at the great ginseng in Kang the miracle doctor's hands, their mouths never ceasing their words of congratulation.

"Your uncle has certainly learned how to flatter — sending over such a fine ginseng. Except it is a fake. Seems he's the same sort as that Kang Jingming: a swindler and a cheat." Wei Zhao had not spoken loudly, addressing only Kang Xiaoyinbo, Tang Zhi, and Xiaofen, yet the guests standing nearest to them overheard every word.

"A fake? Is it really fake?" At Wei Zhao's words, the nearby guests stirred with consternation and, one after another, turned to look at him.

Had no one paid it any mind, the matter would have passed quietly enough. But as ill luck would have it, their commotion reached Kang Cuipu's ears, and he turned a cold, baleful gaze upon Wei Zhao, his look anything but friendly.

Kang Cuipu, however, said nothing. He merely shot a glance at his son, and Kang Jingming sprang out at once, jabbing a finger at Wei Zhao and bellowing, "Where does this creature come from, stirring up trouble here? What do you mean, fake? Since when is there such a thing as fake ginseng?"

Seeing Kang Jingming leap out in such a fluster, Wei Zhao smiled faintly. "Cultivated ginseng is fake by its very nature. Never mind a thousand years — it isn't even ten."

Wei Zhao had no wish to meddle in Kang Xiaoyinbo's family affairs, but this Kang Jingming was truly detestable; he did not mind a few words of mockery at his expense, enough to make a fool of both him and his father.

"Guards! Throw this man out of here! How dare he make trouble at my grandfather's birthday feast!" Kang Jingming roared, beside himself with fury.

Every guard in the banquet hall knew of the connection between Wei Zhao and Li Yixun, and so, though they heard Kang Jingming's order, none dared lift a hand.