"Has it already been launched on the market?"
Ye Qiusuo nodded. "All the procedures have been completed. The demand is currently increasing continuously."
Zeng Liqing stood in the outer courtyard of the research institute, his expression complex. "If this can help people, it counts as a good thing."
"If given the chance, would you be willing to come back?" Ye Qiusuo asked.
"What do you mean?" Zeng Liqing stared at Ye Qiusuo. When he left the company, everything was still harmonious. He didn't know that now, Zhang Chengjue and Ye Qiusuo were only one step away from an open confrontation.
Ye Qiusuo lowered her gaze to a wild grass by the roadside. Compared to the surrounding withered yellow lawn, it looked particularly conspicuous.
"After you left, several other members of the research team also left Tianqiu."
"They left too? Without them, how will the follow-up research proceed?" Zeng Liqing's face changed. "From start to finish, you never planned to devote effort to eliminating the mushroom's side effects."
Removing this side effect while preserving the mushroom's medicinal efficacy required immense effort and financial resources. As researchers, they had hoped to eliminate the side effects before launch. However, the company deemed this side effect harmless and not worth the wasted time and money.
"If I asked you to come back and continue researching how to eliminate the side effects, would you be willing?"
Zeng Liqing was stunned, finally beginning to sense something was amiss. The biology departments on the eighth and ninth floors were brought into the company by Ye Qiusuo, but the person who later took control and managed them was always Zhang Chengjue; she hadn't been very visible.
"What about Zhang Chengjue?" Zeng Liqing probed, a suspicion forming in his mind.
"My invitation has nothing to do with him."
Ye Qiusuo's visit to Zeng Liqing today was for a later plan. The Healing Mushroom was a good project, the result of so many researchers' hard work. It would be a shame to waste it.
These words... Zeng Liqing seemed to understand something. He looked at Ye Qiusuo. "We can return, but the project's progress must be under our own control."
"Agreed."
There was one more thing Zeng Liqing hadn't figured out. "But the Healing Mushroom is already on the market. Are we preparing for a second phase?"
"When the time comes, I will contact you again. For now, please trouble Dr. Zeng to contact the other members."
...
Day by day passed. Zhang Chengjue, watching the continuously flowing funds, grew increasingly inflated. In the company, he was now almost openly taking control, pushing Ye Qiusuo to the sidelines.
Previously, most projects originated from Ye Qiusuo, so he had to respect her. Whenever he represented Tianqiu Tech externally, he received everyone's respect, but once back at the company, basically no one listened to him. Now it was different. The Healing Mushroom project came from his team, and its revenue stream was even better than several of Ye Qiusuo's projects. In his eyes, Ye Qiusuo no longer existed.
Ye Qiusuo endured quietly, waiting for the day to erupt. However, even she hadn't anticipated it would come so quickly.
A certain public account suddenly published an article directly targeting Tianqiu Tech's latest Healing Mushroom project.
"Exposing the Three Major Crimes of Tianqiu's Healing Mushroom: When Tech Companies Tamper with Healthcare, Where Should the Common People Turn?"
The article was written with deep emotion and was highly inflammatory. It even linked to several of Ye Qiusuo's projects to accuse Tianqiu Tech of having grand ambitions, attempting a monopoly.
Of course, the key issue of the Healing Mushroom was also detailed, specifically regarding its hallucinogenic effects.
The word 'hallucination' too easily made people associate it with something else. The article's author even provided a set of data, claiming that after the Healing Mushroom went on sale, a group of people, in pursuit of stimulation, were secretly purchasing it at high prices.
Having grown to its current size, Tianqiu Tech naturally had a PR department. Zhang Chengjue's first reaction was to have PR contact the publisher. That very night, the public account article was reported and deleted.
In the internet age, if you truly want to conceal something, deleting a public account article isn't enough to handle it.
The act of reporting and deleting the article, instead, blew the matter wide open, directly exploding onto the headlines.
Food and drug safety issues have always been a bottom line the public will not tolerate. Tianqiu Tech was also the most famous tech company in recent years, with many comparing it to major foreign corporations.
[??? Since when did Tianqiu Tech get involved in medicine and food?]
[I know about this mushroom. A relative used it not long ago, and the effect was quite good. Originally needed two months to recover, but was completely healed in less than a month.]
[Side effects cause hallucinations? Not what I'm thinking, right?]
[Isn't this just drugs? Selling this openly? Are the relevant authorities dead?]
[Seriously, can't tech companies just focus on tech products? Why must they get involved in the medical field.]
[People above probably don't know how profitable the medical field is.]
[Is this Professor Ye's company? So disgusting?]
[Let's be fair, this matter has nothing to do with Professor Ye, right? It wasn't her research.]
The situation grew bigger and bigger, with various people behind the scenes adding fuel to the fire. Tianqiu Tech, because of the Healing Mushroom incident, was suddenly exposed to the storm.
Zhang Chengjue held an emergency shareholders' meeting overnight to discuss how to suppress the matter.
"All relevant procedures, we completed them. We got the certificates. Where's the problem? It's just a hallucination," Zhang Chengjue was practically speechless about the online discussions. "What drug doesn't have side effects?"
He wanted to fight head-on, but a shareholder took a different approach, coming up with a marketing angle.
"In recent years, haven't many people wanted to go to Yunnan to eat poisonous mushrooms, to experience the hallucination of seeing little people? Ours is non-toxic, harmless, and good for the body. We can market it. The product would be perfect as a snack."
Ye Qiusuo: "..."
Yet, Zhang Chengjue's eyes lit up, thinking this was a great idea. Their product was, after all, convenient and easy to consume.
"This marketing won't work," Ye Qiusuo finally spoke up to remind them. "Once you associate it with hallucinations, they won't let you sell it as a snack."
"This hallucinogenic effect is harmless to the human body," Zhang Chengjue originally needed to think about it, but as soon as Ye Qiusuo spoke, he felt she didn't take him seriously. "Market it this way. Let's vote."
The next day, Tianqiu Tech's official blog began promoting that a snack version of this Healing Mushroom would soon be released. The mushroom content would be reduced, but the taste would be better, and those fated might even see little people dancing around them.
Seeing that message on the official blog, Ye Qiusuo's expression turned grim.
She knew Zhang Chengjue would crash and burn later, but she didn't expect him to be so brainless as to actively hand the knife to outsiders.
This was no longer just a side effect issue; it was an ideological issue.
One week after the mushroom snack was released, someone sued Tianqiu Tech in court.
Because their child was addicted to eating this stuff, leading to neglecting studies and becoming immersed in seeing hallucinations every day.
Shortly thereafter, someone revealed that in the week after the mushroom snack hit the market, the regional suicide rate instantly skyrocketed—allegedly all of the suicides occurred after consuming the mushrooms.
Regardless of its truth, once this news came out, it was fatal.
[I said early on this stuff is just drugs. Tianqiu Tech not only didn't take it seriously but also made it into a snack for the market. Who wouldn't say capital is amazing?]
[We hope the relevant departments conduct a thorough investigation and take all these so-called mushroom products off the shelves.]
[Should Professor Ye come out and explain?]
[What does this have to do with Professor Ye? She's just a researcher.]
[Tsk tsk, it seems the public still doesn't understand how Celestial Sphere Tech got its start. This company wouldn't have gotten off the ground back then without Ye Qiusuo. To this day, Ye Qiusuo holds as much stock as Zhang Chengjue, the company's spokesperson. She has a say in company resolutions. So, do you think Professor Ye should come out and explain?]
[So Professor Ye is also an executive?]
[They're all capitalists, bloodsuckers. Who cares about us ordinary folks?]
This matter quickly attracted the attention of higher authorities.
It must be said that Zhang Chengjue had stepped over the line with pinpoint accuracy. Soon, officials from above began to intervene, demanding the removal of the so-called mushroom snacks from shelves and even launching an investigation into the therapeutic mushrooms.
The results came quickly: the snack products were permanently banned, and the therapeutic mushrooms were temporarily suspended for rectification.
Regarding the therapeutic mushrooms, the relevant authorities did not completely shut them down, as they were indeed beneficial. However, given the current public outcry, they could not go against popular sentiment.
"Once you resolve these side effects, you can apply again for approval as a medical food."
Upon receiving this news, Zhang Chengjue felt a pang of anxiety.
That's how companies are. When they run smoothly, funds flow in continuously. But if one link in the chain breaks mid-operation, the entire structure can collapse.
He had expanded his operations too aggressively.
Even without him calling for it, the other shareholders proactively demanded a meeting to discuss the next steps.
"This project is essentially ruined."
"The top priority now is damage control."
"The initial capital investment was too large; recouping it now will be very difficult." Song Jiren looked at Zhang Chengjue. He had previously cast an abstention vote on this project.
"I know." Zhang Chengjue was growing visibly impatient. He turned his focus to Ye Qiusuo. "How much longer until your project can enter the market? Our company needs funds now."
Ye Qiusuo looked up. "At least another year. Furthermore, funding for the project needs to be allocated this month."
Not only did her project have no results to show, but it was also asking the company for more money.
Zhang Chengjue's expression darkened. The meeting concluded without a concrete plan. The other shareholders remained on the sidelines, watching. At this moment, it truly seemed the company was his alone.
The situation was far more complicated. Because of this incident, other tech companies that had been wronged in the past began to secretly undermine Celestial Sphere Tech, trying to carve away its market share.
Zhang Chengjue worried about money every day. He went to the company to see if any valuable projects could be fast-tracked for development, only to find that the newcomers had no useful projects in hand. The projects from the older researchers looked promising but were still far from yielding results.
"What is the meaning of this?" Zhang Chengjue received a call notifying him of a shareholders' meeting. When he arrived, he found Ye Qiusuo sitting in his usual seat.
"Professor Ye has invested a sum of money to help the company's operations."
Song Jiren kindly explained the situation from behind.
Zhang Chengjue's face fell. This was essentially a capital increase and share expansion, diluting their existing shares.
"I don't agree."
"The vote has already concluded," Ye Qiusuo said calmly. "It obtained two-thirds of the voting rights of the shareholders present and is effective immediately."
"What do you mean 'present'? You never notified me." While speaking, Zhang Chengjue looked at the two other shareholders who had previously sided with him, only to find them avoiding his gaze completely.
"Is that so? Perhaps there was an issue with the company's notification system." Ye Qiusuo pointed to the seat opposite her. "Have a seat."
Zhang Chengjue did not move.
Ye Qiusuo didn't mind. Those two shareholders were easy to deal with; all they sought was profit. Having witnessed the consequences of following Zhang Chengjue, little persuasion was needed.
However, shares like these needed to be reclaimed slowly.
