My husband Can Cultivate

Chapter 385: What are you laughing at!

The clinical trials went poorly. But Denise tampered with the data and materials, making them appear as perfect as possible. All that mattered was deceiving Kong Yue. Beyond that, she couldn't care less.

However, the public didn't know any of this. All they knew was that Denise was a top expert, so they were full of confidence in the drug she had developed. Kong Yue pulled some strings to get their drug approved by the Western Medicine Association, and they had already started pre-sales. Pre-orders, both online and offline, were flooding in. Kong Yue was very pleased with this.

At the same time, the Qifei Group's drug was also sent to the Western Medicine Association for inspection. In Jingnan Prefecture, the Western Medicine Association was merely an organization under the National Medicine Association, though it operated independently. Yang Qi did not use his status to pressure anyone. After all, he was full of confidence in the Qifei Group's drug.

However, at that very moment, the media broke a shocking story: the Qifei Group's research on four new drugs had completely stolen patents from Kong's Pharmaceutical!

Once the news broke, it caused an absolute uproar.

Originally, no one paid much attention to the Qifei Group's Western medicines. Everyone thought that while the Qifei Group was skilled in traditional Chinese medicine, their Western drugs were bound to be inferior. Thus, no one paid them any mind. But when this news came out, the Qifei Group immediately started trending online.

All four new drugs had stolen patents from Kong's Pharmaceutical? Are they insane?! What were they trying to pull? There was no need to go this far just to research Western medicine. You don't have to be this shameless just to save money.

The media even listed evidence, showing that the research materials, drug effects, and target demographics for both companies were almost entirely identical. Even a fool could see this was imitation! This went beyond patent theft. These were just damn knock-offs! To call it "research and development" was a complete joke!

Most crucially, these four new drugs had already been patented by Kong's Pharmaceutical. The media even produced the patent certificates. They also claimed that these four new drugs were originally being researched by Denise's team. When she left the Qifei Group, she might have accidentally left behind some materials, which were then shamelessly copied by the Qifei Group.

In an instant, the internet and the streets were filled with curses. The Qifei Group was fast becoming a public pariah. Coupled with behind-the-scenes manipulation by Kong's Pharmaceutical and their spending on online trolls and independent media outlets to attack the Qifei Group, the company was completely unable to fight back.

The matter grew so large that it alarmed the Western Medicine Association, which had already formed an investigation team to look into the issue.

When the Qifei Group heard this news, they were utterly shocked.

"Damn, thank god we listened to Jiang Yue's advice. Otherwise, we would have definitely walked right into this trap!"

"Yeah, Kong's Pharmaceutical is just too devious!"

"Those utterly shameless people! They're the ones who stole our research, and now they have the nerve to turn around and falsely accuse us?"

Everyone was infuriated.

Ye Fei looked at Yang Qi and said, "Little Qi, you guessed this would happen, which is why you agreed to Jiang Yue's suggestion, right? Kong's Pharmaceutical probably doesn't know that we already consolidated the four new drugs into one and completely abandoned the previous research approach. And they still accuse us of stealing their patents? That's hilarious!"

Li Qingyan laughed. "I'm actually looking forward to seeing them cry their eyes out when our drug is officially released. HAHAHA!"

Yang Qi smiled. "Have our public relations department coordinate with Yan Bo's media group. Let's let this situation escalate and expand its influence. This can serve as free publicity for us. Otherwise, I bet many people still don't even know what the Qifei Group has been researching. When the time comes, we will definitely take everyone by surprise!"

Everyone nodded repeatedly. Yang Qi's idea was brilliant: use the opponent's defamation to promote themselves and pave the way for the new drug's release.

"Right, we should also post a message on our official website that our new drug is about to be released!" Li Qingyan added. "Don't specify how many or what the effects are. Let's make it a bit mysterious!"

It had to be said, this woman was a business genius. Yang Qi's judgment was spot-on. Given time, she would undoubtedly become a pillar of the Qifei Group.

Subsequently, the Qifei Group's official website published the news. The resulting backlash was overwhelming, more than a hundred times stronger than before. This was mainly because Yan Bo's media group had also gotten involved, fanning the flames. The sheer volume of criticism was terrifying, as if the public was trying to drown the Qifei Group in vitriol.

"Something feels off. Are people really this hostile toward patent thieves nowadays? This doesn't seem right. The effect is a hundred times stronger than we imagined. The Qifei Group has almost become a public pariah!" Fang Neng frowned, a sense of unease washing over him.

"Hah, what do you know? People online will believe any rumor they hear, and many are just joining the hate bandwagon. They don't care about the truth; they just want to vent," Denise laughed. "Young Master Kong, just you wait. It won't be long before you can acquire the Qifei Group for cheap!"

Kong Yue also nodded. "I've already spoken with the Western Medicine Association. Their investigation team leader is my man. This time, we will not let the Qifei Group's drug pass inspection, no matter what. Next, we'll make their charges stick and ensure they can never recover!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Fang Neng seemed to decide not to overthink it. All they had to do now was wait for the Qifei Group's downfall.

That day, the investigation team from the Western Medicine Association arrived at the Qifei Group, their demeanor incredibly aggressive.

"Everyone, stop what you're doing! Listen up. We have solid evidence that your company's new drug infringes on another's patent. Have your boss and president come out to submit to our questioning."

Wow, this team leader was certainly putting on airs. He was acting as if the baseless accusation was already a foregone conclusion. This man's name was Zhang Miao, precisely the person Kong Yue had arranged.

Ye Fei, Li Qingyan, Cao Zhenguo, and the others arrived at the conference room. Their consciences were clear, so they had nothing to fear from an investigation.

"You must be Ye Fei, the chairman and president of this company," Zhang Miao said coldly, looking at Ye Fei. "I'm here to inform you that your new drug is suspected of stealing someone else's patent. No, not suspected—it's a fact. The evidence is conclusive. Do you have anything to say?"

He then pulled out a laptop and displayed the so-called evidence.

Ye Fei didn't even glance at the evidence. The others also showed faint smiles.

This annoyed Zhang Miao even more. What kind of attitude was this? Were they looking down on him?

"Outrageous!" Zhang Miao roared. "What do you think you're doing? You have no respect for the law! Stealing someone else's patent... no, this can't even be called patent theft; it's blatant imitation! The internet is saying your Qifei Group is a heartless, unscrupulous company. I'd say they're right. Look at what you've done. And you're still laughing?"