Chapter 573: Beer Festival

Chapter 573: Chapter 573: Beer Festival

"Kudzu root, pearl, and persimmon seed... these herbs are indeed documented to have sobering properties. But... as far as I know, their effects are mediocre when used alone. They might relieve a dry mouth or some dizziness, but to achieve a true ’sobering,’ let alone a ’mind-clearing’ effect? I’d say that’s quite difficult, wouldn’t you?"

"Can simply combining them produce some kind of miraculous effect?"

Gao Yuan knew the effects of various medicinal herbs like the back of his hand.

Without having tried it, he could only speculate on its effects based on conventional wisdom.

Li Xu smiled and nodded. "Elder Gao is right. A simple combination would indeed yield mediocre results. The true marvel of Chinese medicine lies in two things: ’dosage’ and ’processing’."

"The same herbs can produce wildly different results depending on the processing method, the ratio of ingredients, and even the order in which they’re combined. The difference can be night and day."

"Of course, the specific ratios and core processing techniques are trade secrets; you won’t find them on any ingredients list. Why don’t you both try it for yourselves? The proof is in the pudding, after all."

Li Xu’s words completely piqued Gao Yuan’s curiosity.

"Alright, I’ll give it a try."

Without hesitation, Gao Yuan tilted his head back and took a gulp.

The first sip was faintly sweet with a cool, herbal aroma. It went down smoothly, not cloying at all, but instead felt crisp and refreshing.

Seeing this, Elder Li followed suit and took a sip.

"Mm, not bad. It goes down easy," Elder Li remarked.

However, less than three minutes after they downed the "beverage"...

A remarkable change began to take place within their bodies.

Elder Li’s eyes, once hazy from the alcohol, gradually grew clearer.

He felt the burning, churning sensation in his stomach quickly subsiding, replaced by a warm, soothing comfort.

Even more amazingly, his head, which had felt fuzzy and heavy, now felt as if a cool breeze had swept through it. The grogginess was rapidly dissipating.

"Huh?"

Elder Li blinked in surprise and straightened his back. "Old Gao, do you feel it?"

The look on Gao Yuan’s face was even more dramatic than Elder Li’s.

As the "Medicine Fool," he was exceptionally sensitive to how medicines reacted in the body.

He could clearly feel the medicinal effect enter his stomach and spread rapidly, like a well-trained army swiftly breaking down and neutralizing the alcohol toxins in his system.

This feeling of clarity wasn’t the artificial stimulation of a caffeine buzz; it was a natural restoration, coming from deep within.

"This... How is this possible?"

Gao Yuan looked at the bottle in his hand incredulously. "I’m... sober already?"

He had just downed two full glasses of high-proof liquor.

He hadn’t passed out, but he was most certainly tipsy.

But now, he felt as sober as if he hadn’t drunk at all.

He even felt more refreshed than before he’d had a single drop.

"This is incredible. Absolutely incredible."

Elder Li said excitedly, "Doctor Li, this formula of yours is something else! It works better than any sobering remedy I’ve ever tried, and it’s so fast-acting."

Gao Yuan’s eyes were feverish with excitement. "Dr. Li, how in the world did you achieve this? I’ve studied the combination of kudzu root and pearl, and there’s no way it could produce such an immediate effect! Did you add some kind of special catalyst?"

Li Xu gave a cryptic smile. "Elder Gao, that’s one of our factory’s core secrets. Once you’ve joined us, we’ll have plenty of time to explore it."

Gao Yuan froze for a second, then burst out laughing. "Alright! On the strength of this drink alone, I’m in. I’ll join Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory."

Watching this unfold, Ding Kaifang grinned from ear to ear.

’It’s in the bag.’

’This time, it’s really in the bag.’

...

Once the party was over, Ding Kaifang immediately had his assistant start on Gao Yuan’s hiring paperwork.

He even personally saw to the "Medicine Fool’s" living arrangements. He went out of his way to find a villa in a quiet part of the city with a large courtyard. This would allow Elder Gao to do some gardening and also make it convenient for him to visit the factory and supervise the work whenever he pleased.

Early the next morning, Ding Kaifang eagerly dragged Li Xu to Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory.

Inside the warehouse, cases of the Kudzu & Pearl Tea were stacked to the ceiling, a truly spectacular sight.

"Doctor Li, take a look. This right here is our confidence."

Ding Kaifang patted a crate, his voice booming with ambition. "Everything is ready; all we need is a gust of wind. The moment this hits the market, I’m confident we’ll sweep the competition."

Li Xu nodded and asked, "President Ding, what’s the promotion strategy this time? Are you going to do what you did before? Hire influencers for livestreams or get a celebrity endorsement?"

Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory’s previous products, like the Aloe Vera Frost and Mao Duddu Eye Drops, had mostly relied on a combination of word-of-mouth buzz and influencer marketing, which had worked quite well.

Ding Kaifang shook his head, a conspiratorial look on his face. "This time, we’re doing something different. The usual playbook is too slow, and it won’t properly showcase this product’s ’hardcore’ power."

"Oh? And what’s that?" Li Xu’s interest was piqued.

"Doctor Li, do you know about the Qingdao International Beer Festival?" Ding Kaifang asked.

Li Xu certainly did.

It was the largest beer festival in Asia, drawing millions of tourists every summer—a true carnival.

"This year’s Qingdao International Beer Festival kicks off in just a few days."

Ding Kaifang said excitedly, "I have a friend who’s on the festival’s organizing committee. I talked it over with him. We’re going to join the festivities and make a huge splash."

"Every year at the festival, they hold all kinds of traditional ’King of Drinkers’ competitions. For example, there’s the ’Bottle Spin,’ which is a contest to see who can chug a bottle of beer the fastest. Then there’s the ’Big Gulp,’ which involves downing beer from massive, specially made mugs. And ’Raising White Fish,’ where you drink through a straw... These events are all about speed and drinking capacity. The crowds are always packed three-deep, and it gets incredibly rowdy."

"But..." Ding Kaifang’s tone shifted. "This year, I had my friend add a special new event: the ’Drunk but Unfallen’ Challenge."

"Drunk but Unfallen?"

"Right. The rules are simple. Contestants have to drink a huge amount of beer in a short period, then wait for fifteen minutes to let the alcohol fully take effect. By that point, most people will be completely disoriented and unsteady on their feet."

"Then, the contestants have to immediately perform a series of difficult balance tests. For example, they might have to do the ’dizzy bat’ spin ten times and then walk a balance beam, or stand on one leg with their eyes closed."

"Just think about it. After drinking, the alcohol impairs the cerebellum, so a person’s sense of balance and body control just plummets. Things they can do normally become impossible when they’re drunk. They’ll make absolute fools of themselves, stumbling and falling all over until they’re completely dazed."

"And that’s when..." Ding Kaifang said with a sly grin, pointing at the cases of tea. "We get up there. In front of everyone, we drink a bottle of our Kudzu & Pearl Tea *before* drinking the same amount of beer. After fifteen minutes, we’ll still be steady as a rock. We’ll do the dizzy bat spin and still walk a perfect straight line, like it’s nothing."

"Talk about a mind-blowing comparison, right? That’s more effective than hiring ten celebrities to shout a slogan. This is a real-time, undeniable demonstration of its power."