Chapter 18: Public Opinion Guidance
As a former owner of the blueprint for making anti-inflammatory medicine, Fan Mingkun knew exactly what raw materials were needed to produce it.
Each anti-inflammatory pill required 2 units of level-1 herbs.
Now, Zhang Tuohai was charging 3 units.
This meant that for every two anti-inflammatory pills Zhang Tuohai made, he would earn one pill as profit.
If Zhang Tuohai had only processed 100 batches as he indicated, then he would have ended up with 50 anti-inflammatory pills.
A full fifty pills!
What time was it now? It was after the beast attack!
How many people in the regional channel were injured? How many people needed medicine? Even those who weren’t injured—who could say there would only be one beast attack? Wouldn’t they need to buy a pill just in case?
At that time, what would be the price of an anti-inflammatory pill? What wouldn’t people trade for one?
Thinking about all this potential wealth he had exchanged for just a pound of marinated meat, a piece of naan, and 500 milliliters of water, Fan Mingkun felt a pang of regret.
What does it mean to lose a watermelon while picking up sesame seeds? This is it! Fan Mingkun angrily threw the naan he had been reluctant to eat to the ground and slapped himself hard.
“You glutton! So what if you were hungry for two days? Couldn’t you endure one more day?”
Watching people in the regional channel flock to the trading channel to deal with Zhang Tuohai, Fan Mingkun grew even angrier.
All this wealth should have been his, but now it all went to Zhang Tuohai.
“No way, if I can’t have it, neither can you!”
With bloodshot eyes, Fan Mingkun opened the regional channel and started ranting.
“Are you all stupid? An anti-inflammatory pill only needs 2 units of herbs, but Zhang Tuohai, that greedy merchant, wants 3 units. He’s clearly ripping you off, and you’re all lining up to give him money. Are you stupid?”
“If I were you, I’d join forces and boycott his greedy behavior until he lowers the price to 2 units per pill.”
After typing two paragraphs, Fan Mingkun turned his attack directly on Zhang Tuohai.
“Zhang Tuohai, the whole of humanity has been thrown into the apocalypse, and everyone is facing a massive crisis. At a time like this, everyone should unite and help each other through these tough times, yet you’re still thinking about making money. Do you have any conscience at all? If I were you, I’d make medicine for everyone for free to help people get through this crisis!”
As a professional troll, Fan Mingkun knew that when attacking someone, you must place yourself on the moral high ground, presenting yourself as a noble and righteous figure to justify criticizing others.
Fan Mingkun’s comments were not only seen by people in the regional channel but also by Zhang Tuohai, who had been monitoring it closely.
Reading Fan Mingkun’s words, Zhang Tuohai almost burst into laughter.
He thought Fan Mingkun was crazy.
Still trying to use internet trolling tactics here.
Maybe in the peaceful society of the past, this might have worked a bit.
But now? It was complete nonsense.
What kind of environment was this now? The apocalypse!
A survival apocalypse for everyone! Even offering anti-inflammatory processing services was already the greatest help he could provide to everyone.
At least, it was far better than what this guy, who only knew how to talk, could do.
As for a united boycott? That was even more of a joke! Right now, he was the only one in the entire region offering anti-inflammatory processing services.
Boycott him? If he shut down the service, where would people go to get anti-inflammatory pills? How many would die from infected wounds in a few days?
Only a fool would believe Fan Mingkun’s nonsense.
Such people, whether alive or dead, were just a waste of resources.
Zhang Tuohai watched with amusement as Fan Mingkun ranted, while scrolling through trade messages, prioritizing those offering three units of level-1 herbs.
Just then, he received a private message.
“Hey handsome, need some help getting rid of this annoying fly? Just add a fried egg to my breakfast. —Su Qi”
“Are you Su Mo’s sister?” Zhang Tuohai thought the name sounded a lot like Su Mo.
“Yes, Su Mo is my sister. What do you think of my offer? Even though he’s not much of a real threat to you, having a buzzing fly around is still annoying, right? Plus, if some fools do get swayed by him, you lose out too, don’t you? How about leaving it to me? I’m not asking for much, just a fried egg.”
Su Qi said.
“Alright, it’s a deal. If you handle it well, I’ll throw in an extra anti-inflammatory pill.”
Zhang Tuohai replied with a smile.
“Great, leave it to me.” Su Qi responded cheerfully.
With Zhang Tuohai’s approval, Su Qi began to confront Fan Mingkun in the regional channel.
“Don’t listen to this kid’s nonsense. He’s just jealous and slandering out of spite. Whether it’s 2 units or 3 units of herbs per pill, even if it’s 3 units, the fact that the big guy is willing to help process anti-inflammatory pills at this time is already a huge favor. If I were him, I’d charge 10 units per pill and then sell the finished pills at a high price. Isn’t that more profitable? I bet Fan Mingkun is hoping to trick you all, so he can exchange for pills himself and sell them back to you at a high price. If you believe him, you’re asking for trouble.”
“Moreover, the big guy is currently the only one processing anti-inflammatory pills in our area. If you piss him off and he shuts down the processing channel, where will you get your anti-inflammatory pills? Go ahead and wait to die!”
“And don’t forget, the big guy is also our area’s only food supplier. If he gets pissed and shuts down the food supply, where will you get food?”
“That’s all I have to say. Decide for yourselves. Frankly, I’d be happy if you all stopped trading so I could make more trades with the big guy for anti-inflammatory pills.”
“Now opening pre-orders for anti-inflammatory pills: one pill for a loaf of bread, a bottle of mineral water, and 20 units of any level-1 material. Blueprints are also accepted. First come, first served, limited to 10 people.”
Su Qi felt it wasn’t enough and added more fuel to the fire.
“Are you crazy? Where are we going to get 10 anti-inflammatory pills?” Su Mo nudged Su Qi, who was enthusiastically stirring things up.
“I’m just talking big. If anyone actually shows up, we’ll just say they’re sold out. No one knows if it’s true or not anyway,” Su Qi said indifferently.
Su Mo thought it over and realized that seemed about right, so she said no more.
Su Qi’s remarks caused an immediate uproar in the regional channel.
Some who had been swayed by Fan Mingkun’s arguments quickly snapped out of it.
Right now, Zhang Tuohai was the only person who could provide anti-inflammatory pills. If they offended him, where would they get the pills in the future? And those who were low on food supplies were even more anxious.
Many of them were relying on Zhang Tuohai’s food trades to survive. If Zhang Tuohai really got angry and cut off the food supply, they might actually starve.
To avoid angering Zhang Tuohai, these people quickly organized and started verbally attacking Fan Mingkun.