The posts from Kong Yu and Liu Anquan once again caused quite a stir online.

The landscape of public opinion had become exceptionally complex.

On one hand, thanks to the experts’ previous over-the-top promotion of Lianhua Granules, many people had blindly purchased it, only to experience firsthand that it was ineffective.

This made them develop a strong aversion to Lianhua Granules and even traditional Chinese patent medicines as a whole. Consequently, they dismissed any voice defending Chinese medicine as "whitewashing" or the work of "paid shills."

On the other hand, however, a portion of the public who were infected with the H1N1 flu later on had not been swayed by the earlier promotion of Lianhua Granules.

When they went to pharmacies to buy medicine, some of the owners strongly recommended Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules.

After taking the medicine, these patients experienced the miraculous effects of Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules firsthand and made a swift recovery.

They saw all the criticism of Lianhua Granules and Chinese medicine online and felt confused and indignant.

They became organic supporters, taking it upon themselves to promote the efficacy of Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules online and urging everyone to recognize the correct brand.

@SpicyGirlWhoLovesHotpot: I had a high fever from the H1N1 flu a couple of days ago. The pharmacy owner recommended I buy Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules from Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory. One box down, and my fever broke and my cough disappeared.

It was a lifesaver.

To all you people online bashing Chinese medicine, did you buy the wrong kind?

Lianhua Granules are useless, but Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules actually work.

Make sure you get the right brand!

@YourBrokeUncleWang: I’m a pharmacy owner. Lately, a lot of my customers have been telling me that Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules from Ding’s Pharmaceutical are incredibly effective. The repurchase rate is extremely high.

For those of you online saying Chinese medicine is useless, did you maybe buy a different brand of "Lianhua"?

Please, everyone, keep your eyes peeled. Not everything with "Lianhua" in the name is the same.

@JustANobody: My coworker recommended I buy Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules, and they really work.

Seeing so many people bashing Chinese medicine online, I just have to speak up for it!

Everyone, make sure you look for Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory.

For a moment, online public opinion reached a stalemate.

Voices of criticism and support clashed, with each side attacking the other.

The situation was chaotic.

...

「Jide Biopharmaceutical Company Headquarters」

James Oliver sat at his large desk and glanced at his watch.

His plan had been in motion for over half a month. By now, public opinion in Dragon Country should have been overwhelmingly critical of Lianhua Granules and Chinese medicine. The people should have completely lost faith in traditional Chinese medicine, paving the way for Tamiflu Granules to enter the market.

"Smith, bring me the latest public opinion report from Dragon Country."

James said to his assistant.

The assistant quickly presented him with a detailed report.

James took the report, and as he flipped to the first page, the smile on his face slowly froze.

The report showed a large volume of negative commentary targeting "Lianhua Granules" and promoting the "Chinese medicine is useless" narrative.

This was in line with his expectations.

However, the content that followed left him dumbfounded.

The report was filled with a startling number of voices defending "Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules."

These comments detailed the miraculous effects of "Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules," with some users even uploading proof of their recovery and before-and-after photos.

"What’s going on here?"

James frowned.

The public opinion landscape had not become the one-sided affair he expected.

While there were many voices criticizing Chinese medicine, there were just as many supporting another "traditional Chinese patent medicine"—Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules—and their numbers were growing by the day.

"Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules? What is that? Our previous intel never mentioned this patent medicine!"

James glared at Smith, his eyes filled with displeasure.

Smith pulled up their intel. "Chairman, according to our reports, Dragon Country did have a formula with Sour Jujube Seeds as the main ingredient undergoing approval. But its name wasn’t finalized at the time. It’s also a new drug, so the approval process should have been much slower. More importantly, how did it get linked to ’Lianhua’? This was completely outside of our predictions!"

James’s expression was grim.

His script had been completely thrown off.

And they couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

The H1N1 flu is most severe in winter.

And once Tamiflu Granules entered the Dragon Country market, it would still need time to build a reputation and sales volume.

If they delayed any longer, they wouldn’t make much money by the time flu season was over.

"Initiate the market entry plan for Tamiflu Granules immediately."

James made his decision. "I don’t care what this ’Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules’ is, it won’t stop us from conquering the Dragon Country market. We need to ramp up our promotional efforts and make Tamiflu Granules the only effective drug for this H1N1 flu outbreak, and we need to do it as fast as possible."

...

「Southern Hospital」

Academician Zhang Lin had been in a terrible mood lately.

He had thought his reputation in the national medical community would be enough to sway public opinion, completely discredit traditional Chinese medicine, and clear the path for Tamiflu Granules.

Who would have thought "Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules" would come out of nowhere and completely derail his plans?

It had earned him some harsh criticism from his contacts in America.

"Damn those Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules!"

Zhang Lin muttered, his face a mask of bitter resentment.

He knew Jide Pharmaceutical was already displeased. If anything else went wrong, his influence in the American pharmaceutical industry would likely take a major hit.

New orders had come down: cooperate with the promotional campaign for Tamiflu Granules and ensure the imported drug became the number one choice for treating the H1N1 flu in Dragon Country.

Zhang Lin took a deep breath, composing himself.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number for a news agency.

"This is Zhang Lin from Southern Hospital. I have some new research and recommendations regarding the treatment of the current H1N1 flu, and I was hoping your agency could provide some coverage."

The editor who took the call immediately recognized its importance.

With the H1N1 flu running rampant, public demand for related news was immense. "New recommendations" from Academician Zhang Lin were undoubtedly a bombshell. The editor immediately assigned reporter Li Yang to conduct the interview.

When Li Yang received the assignment, she wasn’t exactly thrilled.

She had already grown wary of Academician Zhang’s "expert opinions."

The last time, Academician Zhang had vouched for Lianhua Granules with such confidence, only for it to be met with a flood of negative reviews. It had been embarrassing for her as the reporter who covered it. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

’The Lianhua Granules he recommended last time were totally useless. Let’s see what he comes up with this time,’ Li Yang grumbled to herself as she organized her interview equipment.

Despite her dissatisfaction, her professionalism drove her to prepare thoroughly.

Arriving at Southern Hospital, Li Yang found Academician Zhang Lin sitting in his office.

Academician Zhang still had his usual refined and affable demeanor, as if the recent "fiasco" had never happened.

"Academician Zhang, good to see you."

Li Yang greeted him politely, but inwardly, she was already preparing to pick his arguments apart.