"Hey, Li Xu, have you finished packing?"

The voice on the other end of the line was Professor Gao’s.

"I’m all packed. I’ll head over tomorrow," Li Xu said.

Professor Gao laughed. "Haha, I was starting to think you wouldn’t have the time."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Haha, you’ve caused such a stir in Feng City, how could I not know?" Professor Gao chuckled. "Dean Song from your City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine specifically called to ask me to persuade you."

"Huh?"

"Don’t worry, I respect your decision. If you want to go, you go. If you don’t, you don’t. You’re a household name now, a famous ’Divine Physician.’ No one can force you." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Professor Gao, please don’t tease me."

Li Xu felt a little embarrassed.

"Alright, I’ll stop joking around."

Professor Gao’s tone changed. "I’m calling to let you know there’s been a last-minute change of plans on my end. I’m not in the provincial capital right now. I’ve come to Xingtai."

"Xingtai?" Li Xu asked curiously. "What are you doing in Xingtai?"

"Sigh, it’s a long story," Professor Gao sighed and explained. "It’s currently the harvest season for sour jujubes in Xingtai. But many local farmers, chasing short-term profits, are conducting a premature harvest, picking the fruit before it’s fully ripe—a practice known as ’robbing the green.’ These unripe sour jujubes are not only sour and unpalatable, but more importantly, their medicinal effects are extremely poor. They don’t meet the standard for medicinal use at all."

"This practice doesn’t just disrupt the market; it’s a tremendous waste and destruction of our medicinal resources. That’s why the local medicinal materials association and the government invited me over. I’m here to give a few lectures to the jujube farmers and run a public awareness campaign to help them understand the harm of ’robbing the green’ and learn how to utilize this precious sour jujube resource scientifically and sustainably."

After hearing Professor Gao’s explanation, Li Xu understood.

He had read similar reports before.

In recent years, the price of Sour Jujube Seeds had skyrocketed.

It had surged from 500–600 yuan per kilogram to over 1,000 yuan per kilogram.

The price of raw sour jujubes, the upstream material for Sour Jujube Seeds, had also risen from 5 yuan per jin to over 15 yuan per jin.

Even so, the fruit was still hard to come by.

Some production areas were even experiencing premature harvesting and poaching.

The so-called "robbing the green" meant picking the sour jujubes while they were still unripe.

Their medicinal efficacy was greatly reduced.

The losses far outweighed the gains.

So, why had the price of Sour Jujube Seeds skyrocketed?

It all came down to its effects.

Sour jujube, also known as wild jujube, mountain jujube, or spiny jujube, not only has delicious pulp, but its seed is also an excellent medicinal ingredient.

There was even a legend about it.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, a young girl ventured into the mountains to find herbs to cure her mother’s years-long insomnia.

Along the way, thorns scratched her hands and feet, and where her blood dripped, a thorny, red-branched shrub miraculously grew.

She cut the branches to use as firewood. As they burned, a strange fragrance suddenly burst from the fire—the small red fruits on the branches were roasted, and dark red, glossy-skinned seeds popped out!

After her mother took the seeds, she slept soundly until dawn.

The villagers, moved by her filial piety, named the tree the "Sour Jujube Tree" and its seeds "Sour Jujube Seeds."

Li Shizhen classified it as a top-grade herb, hailing it as the "Sleeping Advisor." Westerners, in turn, called it the "Eastern Sleeping Fruit."

Legends are legends, but it was undeniable that Sour Jujube Seeds were a common medicine in TCM for treating insomnia.

Modern life is fast-paced and stressful, and the number of people suffering from insomnia and anxiety is rising every year. This has led to a continuous increase in both the clinical use of Sour Jujube Seeds and their consumption in health supplements, where they are treated as both food and medicine.

Before Li Xu’s father passed away, a 65-year-old neighbor, Uncle Zheng, had been taking Chinese medicine long-term for his poor sleep.

His father had replaced the main ingredient in the prescription, "Sour Jujube Seeds," with Polygonum vine, Poria spirit, and Bai Ziren—ingredients with similar effects but lower prices.

The reason for this was the skyrocketing price of Sour Jujube Seeds.

At the clinic, Sour Jujube Seeds had already risen to 1.18 yuan per gram. In a prescription costing over 40 yuan, the Sour Jujube Seeds alone accounted for a third of the price.

Therefore, after considering all factors, his father had stopped using Sour Jujube Seeds.

After Li Xu took over the clinic, he had also seen some patients with insomnia.

For example, Ding Aiguo’s wife, Xue Mei.

However, Xue Mei’s condition was severe at the time, so he had used rosewood.

Its price was much higher than that of sour jujube.

It wasn’t a widely applicable solution.

There was also the Calming Pill, which was derived from the Six God Pill. He had made some of those. It had helped Jiangyou Village Chief Ma’s son regain his senses and also had a sleep-inducing effect.

But the Six God Pill’s ingredients were also expensive, using Bezoar, rosewood, toad...

All things considered, although the price of Sour Jujube Seeds had risen, it was still one of the cheapest and most effective Chinese medicinal herbs for treating insomnia to date.

As Li Xu was thinking this over, Professor Gao continued on the other end of the line, "I estimate I’ll have to stay here for about a week. If you’re free now, why don’t you come directly to Xingtai? It’d be a good chance for you to see firsthand what our medicinal herb industry looks like from the source. It will be beneficial for you when you write prescriptions in the future."

"Okay!"

Li Xu heard this and immediately agreed.

He had the intelligence system.

’This trip might yield some unexpected gains.’

"In that case, I’ll buy a ticket to Xingtai directly, Professor Gao."

"Great! I’ll send you the address. Call me when you get to Xingtai."

After Li Xu hung up the phone, he first booked a ticket for the next day and then started looking up related information.

Xingtai is located at the eastern foot of the southern section of the Taihang Mountain range. It has a warm temperate climate with ample sunlight and a large diurnal temperature range. This significant temperature difference between day and night in the mountainous and hilly areas is conducive to the accumulation of sugars and nutrients in sour jujubes.‌

The local soil is sandy and slightly alkaline, and the terrain is mountainous and hilly. The steep topography provides good drainage and prevents waterlogging. These site conditions promote the growth of sour jujube trees, resulting in plump and uniform fruit.

"Xingtai Jujube Seeds" have become the authentic medicinal source for sour jujube. The area is also where China’s sour jujube resources are best preserved, covering the largest area and leading in production nationwide.

Its output accounts for 40% of the national production of Sour Jujube Seeds.

Nearly 165,000 acres of wild sour jujube forests, complemented by over 825,000 acres of suitable cultivation area, have forged the reputation: "For sour jujubes, the world looks to China; for Chinese sour jujubes, the world looks to Xingtai."

Neiqiu County in Xingtai is even acclaimed as the ’Hometown of Chinese Sour Jujube Seeds.’

Li Xu looked at the address Professor Gao had sent. Sure enough, it was in Neiqiu County, Xingtai.

’Still, he didn’t think Professor Gao’s promotional efforts would be very effective.’

For so many years, the local authorities had repeatedly publicized the ban on premature harvesting, but the practice had never stopped.

It was all driven by profit.

’But this trip will be a good opportunity to understand the Sour Jujube Seed industry and see if I can change the situation.’

Li Xu then called Hu Qiming.

"I’m going on a business trip tomorrow and won’t be at the clinic for a while. If you’re coming for the support program this weekend, just come as usual. Have Sisi help you with the photos. By the way, when does your support program end?"

"It was supposed to end this month, but our dean applied to provide you with individual support instead."

"Hm?"

"Heh, nominally it’s to ’support’ you, but really it’s to have you support *me*, and to maintain a connection with our Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine."

"..."

Li Xu gave a wry smile.

’Dean Song is really pulling out all the stops to recruit me.’

’Oh well, I’ll deal with it when I get back.’

...