Although it was a very subtle movement, it was still captured by Lu Ming.
And from this single action, Lu Ming knew that the entire incident must have been premeditated, and it was not Qiao Ling's fault, nor was it related to Renzhi Pharmacy.
The TV station, Liang Youde, Catherine, and even some troublesome patients, they were all in collusion, deliberately setting a trap to harm Qiao Ling.
Poor Qiao Ling, she still didn't know the truth of the matter.
She probably really thought that Renzhi Pharmacy had problems with quality control and failed to discover the moldy gecko in time.
Xiu Luo asked doubtfully, "This is too abnormal. As far as I know, Renzhi Pharmacy's quality control is the strictest in Jinling, and even ranks in the top three nationwide. They have always adopted an attitude of 'better none than flawed,' which might lead to a shortage of medicine, but never to moldy medicine."
This sentence also reminded Lu Ming.
That's right.
Lu Ming knew Qiao Ling's character well.
This woman was extremely meticulous and very serious about the details of her life, never sloppy.
Would she fail to notice if the gecko was moldy?
Besides, among so many people in the entire pharmacy, no one noticed?
This was abnormal.
After much thought, there was only one possibility – an inside mole.
Xiu Luo glanced at Lu Ming, "Warlord, I don't think it's just Catherine, Liang Youde, and the TV station colluding. There must be an inside mole within Renzhi Pharmacy, otherwise, the plan wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
Lu Ming nodded, their views coincided.
Xiu Luo continued, "I'll start investigating now and see who betrayed Renzhi Pharmacy."
"En."
Lu Ming responded softly.
Although he asked Xiu Luo to investigate, he didn't hold much hope.
He wasn't doubting Xiu Luo's ability, but he clearly knew that finding the inside mole would not be an easy task; by the time Xiu Luo found out, Renzhi Pharmacy would have been sealed, and its reputation ruined. What would be the point?
Lu Ming's goal was to clear Renzhi Pharmacy's name in the shortest possible time!
The time limit could not exceed one day.
The longer it took, the greater the loss, and the lower the possibility of recovery.
The difficulty was indeed immense.
Lu Ming sat in the car, tapping his fingers lightly on the car window, fully contemplating a solution.
Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap.
After a long while, Lu Ming's eyes lit up, and he murmured to himself, "As things stand, I can only take a risky gamble and use some special means."
He said to Xiu Luo, "Immediately prepare a set of military-grade listening equipment for me."
"Ah?"
Xiu Luo was stunned.
Military-grade listening equipment was the highest level of listening devices, completely unnecessary in normal life.
Even for ordinary investigations, it wouldn't be needed.
However, Xiu Luo never questioned Lu Ming's decisions. As a soldier, he only knew one thing: strictly execute the Warlord's orders!
"Understood, I will handle it immediately!"
...
At Renzhi Pharmacy, the shop was sealed and prohibited from operating for six months.
Simultaneously, they had to pay a total of 6.8 million yuan for compensation and fines, a considerable blow.
The money was manageable, but the six-month closure was truly unacceptable.
The entire Renzhi Pharmacy fell into silence.
Many people had already started planning to resign and look for new jobs.
Inside the pharmacy's conference room.
Qiao Ling sat in her chair, head bowed, lost in self-recrimination and unable to extricate herself. Others also sighed, no one able to speak.
A moment later, a hunched figure walked into the room.
It was the patriarch, Qiao Kaicheng!
Qiao Ling immediately stood up, making way for him, and said with a face full of guilt, "Grandpa, I'm sorry, I messed things up!"
Qiao Kaicheng walked over slowly with a grim expression and sat in Qiao Ling's seat.
He paused for a long time and said, "Renzhi Pharmacy, a century-old brand, Jinling's number one pharmacy, has survived hundreds of years of storms and hardships. I never expected, never expected, that today we would be capsized in a ditch, defeated by a tiny gecko!"
The more Qiao Ling heard, the more self-reproachful she became, and with a thud, she knelt down.
"Grandpa, I am incompetent!"
Qiao Kaicheng sighed deeply, "It's not that you are incompetent, it's that I am incompetent, and my judgment of people is poor! Little Ling, although you have astonishing talent in medicine, you are still a child. I shouldn't have pushed you too fast and let you take charge of Renzhi Pharmacy at such a young age. It was my misjudgment, my misjudgment!"
Every word from Qiao Kaicheng was like a sharp knife, deeply piercing Qiao Ling's heart.
The pain was unbearable.
Tears welled up and streamed down her face, splashing onto the floor.
The proud Qiao Ling tasted the bitterness, helplessness, and self-blame for the first time.
At this moment, Qiao Ling's cousin, Qiao Qiong, said, "Grandpa, is there really no other way to save Renzhi Pharmacy? With your prestige, if you were willing to lower yourself and approach Liang Youde, perhaps the six-month suspension could be reduced to three months, which would be a little better."
Qiao Kaicheng chuckled, "Is it that simple? For some reason, Liang Youde is as stubborn as a turtle eating a scale, determined to destroy Renzhi Pharmacy! I called him, but he insisted on following the rules and showed no mercy."
Everyone sighed repeatedly.
If even the elder had no solution, then it was truly unsolvable.
Finally.
Qiao Kaicheng said, "Little Ling, you bear the greatest responsibility for this matter. You will temporarily step down from your position as the young patriarch of Renzhi Pharmacy and reflect in seclusion at home. From this moment on, all matters of Renzhi Pharmacy, big and small, will be handled entirely by Qiao Qiong."
Qiao Ling replied with a choked voice, "Yes."
Upon hearing this decision, Qiao Qiong's face remained as calm as water, but his heart was already blooming with joy.
A blessing in disguise!
He had been coveting the position of young patriarch for a long time, and today he finally got his wish!
The meeting continued, and everyone discussed how to minimize the losses.
Suddenly, an employee walked to the door and said, "Doctor Qiao, Lu Ming is here. He wants to see you."
Lu Ming?
Qiao Ling's heart trembled.
Whenever she encountered a problem she couldn't solve, Lu Ming would always arrive first and help her resolve it.
This time, was Lu Ming here to help her too?
But then she thought, Lu Ming wasn't a god, how could he possibly solve such a big trouble? Most likely, Lu Ming had heard of Qiao Ling's misfortune and rushed over to comfort her.
Even so, Qiao Ling felt a sliver of comfort, as women always need a shoulder to lean on.
At this moment, Qiao Ling really wanted to lean on a shoulder.
She said, "Grandpa, I'm going out for a bit."
Qiao Kaicheng gave her a contemptuous look and said with disdain, "You, you've been with these disreputable people for too long, and that's why you've become mediocre and incompetent! Why are you getting so close to a mere grave keeper?"
Qiao Ling bit her lip lightly and said resolutely, "Grandpa, Lu Ming is not a disreputable person. He possesses superb medical skills and excellent character. I feel very comfortable when I'm with him."
"Insolent!" Qiao Kaicheng roared, smashing the teacup on the table to the ground, and shouted, "You've committed a monstrous crime, and you dare to talk back to me like this? Incompetent and unfilial, Qiao Ling, do you still deserve to be a descendant of Renzhi Pharmacy? Get out, get out of Renzhi Pharmacy! I will remove you from the Qiao family genealogy, and from now on, the Qiao family will have no incompetent descendant like you who is disloyal and unfilial!"
Boom!!!
Qiao Ling felt as if struck by lightning, her mind went blank, and she collapsed onto the ground.
A moment later.
Tears rained down.
She sobbed uncontrollably.