CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36: COULDN’T HOLD BACK ANY LONGER

The night is deep, silence prevails in the Hawthorne family’s villa, and the lights are almost all turned off at a certain time.

Cyrus Hawthorne leaned tiredly against the desk, his long and slender fingers pressing firmly on his aching brow, his lips as thin as a line slightly pursed.

The aftereffects left by the car accident seemed to be acting up ahead of schedule.

After a moment, he forcibly subdued the discomfort in his head, and with an indifferent expression, continued handling emails from subordinates and partners, focused and swift, seemingly unaffected by the nearly excruciating headache.

Cyrus’s dark eyes did not leave the computer for a moment; he reached for a document on the desk from memory, and as soon as he opened it, he noticed something was off.

He fixed his gaze and looked closely, initially somewhat puzzled, but upon a second glance gradually took the document seriously, until he finished reading it.

Although the document seemed rough and stumbling, it earnestly marked the difficult points clearly, instantly comprehensible.

Moreover, the content on the last page was actually someone’s insights and improved formula for new healing medicine.

Cyrus’s eyes suddenly half-closed, his fingertips lightly rubbing the edge of the paper, a very faint smile flickered in his gaze.

Not sure who made this document, but it coincides with his thoughts.

Those people from Hawthorne Corp., it seems, couldn’t hold back any longer.

Just then, someone knocked on the study door, Mrs. Lynch pushed it open and came in, placing down the coffee, "Young Master, the coffee you wanted."

"Mm." Cyrus nodded slightly, paused for a few seconds, and suddenly asked, "Who came into my study today?"

"Young Master, I didn’t notice that," Mrs. Lynch said, recalling what Ann Vaughn had reminded her, adding cheerfully, "But today the Young Madam did come home once."

Ann Vaughn? Cyrus immediately dismissed the thought; it couldn’t be her—a country girl—where would she acquire such skills and insights!

Cyrus’s indifferent gaze fell on the document, his thin lips drew a faintly mocking arc.

-

Ann Vaughn hadn’t gone to the hospital for several days. During the day, she attended patients at the small clinic, and at night she went to perform acupuncture and prepare medicine for Sawyer Jennings, then returned to the clinic to extract medicines.

Aside from the essential herbs at the small clinic, Ann Vaughn contacted the herb merchants once more, hoping to order some higher-grade materials.

"Miss Vaughn, when your grandfather was alive, we intended to raise the prices, but seeing you come twice, I felt embarrassed to mention it. To be honest, cultivating these herbs isn’t easy nowadays, and the ones you want aren’t easy to find, you know..."

Upon hearing this, Ann Vaughn was somewhat surprised by the sudden price increase, and inquired about the cost.

The merchant named a figure.

Ann Vaughn’s pen dropped with a "pop," and her brows furrowed slightly: "This price seems rather unreasonable, doesn’t it?"

Even the ordinary herbs were three times higher than before; was he thinking she was naive and purposely bullying her?

"How is this unreasonable? If not for your grandfather, the price would be even higher; I’ve already given you the most favorable rate. You don’t believe me? Go ask other herb merchants."

The merchant’s boastful words came over, seemingly sure that she couldn’t find other suppliers.

Annie suddenly felt a surge of discomfort rising inside her.

From the beginning, this merchant had received substantial favor from her grandfather, even the initial plot of land for cultivation was arranged by her grandfather through acquaintances, as were the funds and connections generously provided by him.

There’s no exaggeration in saying that without grandfather, whether he could have started the herb business successfully is doubtful.

But now with her grandfather’s passing, this person actually thought she lacked experience in this field and casually inflated prices, wearing the guise of giving her a big advantage. It’s absolutely excessive.