Chapter 335: Fellow Disciples’ Little Thoughts

Chapter 335: The Junior Brothers’ Scheming

The bald man grinned and said, “Come on, we had a master-disciple relationship. Big Bro wouldn’t really be that heartless, right?”

Zhang Wanqiu was a thin, small man in his thirties who looked like an old man.

Song Guangjing’s face remained cold. “You’re not wanted here. Get out now, or I’ll have you dragged out.”

Everyone present today were big names in the medical field.

Though the bald man was rough around the edges, he knew better than to make trouble.

He gave a fake smile and said, “Big Bro, I came this time to invite you to an industry conference hosted by our company. All the big pharma players will be there. Rende Pharmacy wouldn’t chicken out, would you?”

The bald man gestured for someone to hand over the invitation, then added, “And Zhang Wanqiu—this was your star pupil. You’re just going to throw him away like this? What a waste.”

He shot a dirty look at Xiao Xiao. “You sure this little girl can handle something this big?”

Song Guangjing didn’t flinch. “Get security!”

“Alright, alright, I’m going. Looking forward to next time, Big Bro. Don’t disappoint me.”

The bald man seemed to have come only to deliver a message, and left with those words.

As for Zhang Wanqiu, when he faced Song Guangjing, his expression turned complex and torn.

“Master, I—”

“Don’t call me Master. I don’t have a disciple like you.”

Zhang Wanqiu’s face went pale. He hurriedly bowed to Song Guangjing before turning and leaving.

Even though they were gone, the party vibe was completely killed.

“What the hell is that bastard Wang Lei doing here? Isn’t he based in Shanghai? Why’d he suddenly come up north?” Zhou Zhonghua snapped.

“If I can come, why can’t he?” Liu Dai muttered beside him.

Zhou Zhonghua fumed. “After what he did pushed our master to his grave, someone like him has no business being here. For his stupid conference, we should just round people up and trash the place.”

“But he invited Big Bro. He didn’t even send you a damn invitation…” Wu Xuanzhong reminded him.

Only then did Ye Xiaoxiao learn that the bald man was named Wang Lei, her Master’s fourth junior brother.

And that Zhang Wanqiu had once been her Master’s apprentice.

But for some reason, neither of them was still part of Rende anymore.

Song Guangjing kept his cool, telling everyone to keep the party going and forget about what just happened.

Lu Hanchuan locked eyes with Xiao Xiao. “I’ll dig up dirt on those two.”

Meaning that even if they really intended to hold a conference, he’d make sure it never happens in the capital.

Ye Xiaoxiao shook her head. “Let me talk to Master about it first.”

Not everyone from the Ye family came to the apprenticeship banquet. They didn’t bring the kids—only a few elders and Xiaoxiao’s brothers showed up.

As for the Lu family, others couldn’t make it, but Grandma and Grandpa Lu attended.

Halfway through dinner, a few elderly gentlemen started taking the elders’ pulses.

They said they were there for the banquet, but they still managed to squeeze in some checkups.

Luckily, all the older guests were in good health, so the checkups didn’t take long.

One of the men even gave Miao Fengshan a remedy, saying it worked wonders for bone injuries.

After the banquet ended and everyone else had left,

Ye Xiaoxiao and Lu Hanchuan went to Song Guangjing’s place together.

Before parting, Ye Changning told Xiaoxiao, “Even if Mr. Song acts like it doesn’t bother him, having unwelcome guests at the banquet must have upset him. Stay with him awhile.”

Xiaoxiao replied, “I understand. Are Mom and Dad leaving tomorrow? I’ll go see them off at the station.”

Ye Changning said, “Don’t trouble yourself. Just come home more often when you can. Now that you’re married and your master is looking after you, Mom and Dad won’t worry.”

Ye Changan added, “Tomorrow, Mom and I will leave first. Changning can take care of everything else. Xiaoxiao, once your second brother’s wife has the baby, you must come stay in Shenshi for a few days.”

Xiaoxiao agreed, “Of course, I’ll definitely come.”

Miao Cuifang and the others waved goodbye, telling her to go to Mr. Song and just focus on her life in the capital without worrying too much about home.

Grandma and Grandpa Lu had their own driver to take them back.

“Xiaoxiao, come by tomorrow,” Grandma Lu reminded.

“Okay, Grandma. Be careful on the way—tell the driver to go slowly.”

Only after seeing her family off did Ye Xiaoxiao get into the car.

Back at Song Guangjing’s courtyard house,

his annoying junior brothers and their equally troublesome apprentices had also returned.

“Let’s hear it—what brings you here?”

Song Guangjing sat on the sofa and said authoritatively.

Zhou Zhonghua asked, “Shouldn’t we be talking about those two traitors first?”

Song Guangjing replied, “Those two may be wicked, but you guys aren’t so great yourselves.”

At least, that’s how he saw it.

Ye Xiaoxiao fidgeted awkwardly, wondering if she should even be standing there.

The apprentices of her martial uncles were all in the next room, sipping tea.

She glanced at Lu Hanchuan, who was cool as a cucumber.

“Senior Brother, that’s not right,” Zhang Dai protested. “How are we not good people? We actually came to ask for jobs at Rende Hall for our apprentices.”

Song Guangjing scoffed. “Knew you had an angle. Saying ‘jobs’—what you’re really saying is that Rende Hall belonged to our master, so you think you all deserve a share instead of me having it all to myself.”

But I’ll make this perfectly clear: the Rende Pharmacy today is no longer the one Master built. If you decide to join, you can only be employees—nothing beyond that, so don’t even think about it.”

Ye Xiaoxiao studied these gentlemen, who were roughly the same age as her master.

The Rende Pharmacy was currently short-staffed. Although it had several branches and drugstores, they were all quite small in scale. To grow the business and make it stronger, each store would need at least one highly skilled senior practitioner overseeing operations.

In Ye Xiaoxiao’s eyes, these weren’t just needy relatives seeking favors—they were talents who had come forward on their own.

What was the most valuable thing in the 21st century?

Talent!

She remembered that article headline well.

No one else spoke, probably because the idea of being just employees didn’t sound very impressive.

Most of them were rather traditional in their thinking. While their own businesses might not have been as large as Rende Pharmacy’s, they were still their own bosses.

Now, wanting to work alongside their senior apprentice only to end up as hired hands—that didn’t sit well with them.

Observing the changes in their expressions, Ye Xiaoxiao spoke slowly, “Esteemed seniors, you must each have your own pharmacies and clinics, right? I understand your position. The entrepreneurial environment has become increasingly difficult, and small independent clinics have little future going alone.

Since we already have the Rende Pharmacy brand, why not build it into something greater? Even though Rende Pharmacy belongs to my master, esteemed seniors like you could come on board as partners.”