Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 131: Hitting a Wall

Li Xu was trying to sell Aconite in his old classmates’ group chat.

But it wasn’t going well.

Hu Qiming was the first to reply, "I’d like to help, but I’m not even an attending physician. I’m just a gofer. My words don’t carry any weight, so no one would listen to me anyway."

Jiang Peng said, "I’ll give it a shot. I’ll mention it to my director today, but I can’t guarantee they’ll place an order."

Li Baojie: "Same here. The pharmacy department and the relevant leadership handle medicinal material procurement at the hospital. We doctors don’t have a say."

Li Xu replied, "It’s alright. Just help me ask around. If it doesn’t work out, then so be it."

The results were not surprising.

Half a day later, his classmates in the group chat reported back. Their hospitals had formal procurement processes for medicinal materials and wouldn’t purchase Aconite separately.

Li Xu made a list, crossed off a few hospitals, and handed it to Song Sisi. "You don’t need to go to these hospitals. Try the others, and also, go to the Chuanlong Medicinal Materials Company and ask if they want our Aconite."

Chuanlong Medicinal Materials was a major supplier of traditional Chinese medicinal materials in Feng City.

They had partnerships with many hospitals.

Their demand for medicinal materials was enormous.

If he could sell to them,

it would be an excellent sales channel.

"No problem."

Song Sisi was eager to give it a try. "Boss, just wait for my good news."

"Good luck."

In the afternoon, Li Xu was seeing patients at the clinic.

Song Sisi went out to sell the Aconite.

Following the list, she first arrived at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital.

For the occasion, she had changed into her most professional navy-blue suit, her hair meticulously tied back in a ponytail, making her look much more mature than her actual age.

"Hello, I’d like to see the person in charge of the pharmacy department," she said to the nurse at the front desk, offering a professional smile. "It’s about a supply of special-quality traditional Chinese medicinal materials."

The nurse didn’t even look up. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but..."

"Director Zhang from the pharmacy department went to a meeting at the Health Commission today." The nurse finally glanced up at her. "You can leave your materials."

Song Sisi didn’t have a business card, so she could only leave a phone number. "Oh, and this is a sample of our Aconite. Could you please pass it along...?"

She took out a few slices of exquisite, high-quality Aconite.

"Just put it over there." The nurse pointed to a table in the corner piled high with promotional flyers. "The director will look at it when he gets back."

Song Sisi hesitated for a moment but still placed the Aconite on the pile of crumpled papers.

As she turned to leave, she heard the nurse mutter, "Another salesperson."

The situation at the Municipal No. 2 People’s Hospital was even more disheartening.

She did manage to meet the deputy director of the pharmacy department, but he frowned as soon as he heard her price.

"One hundred yuan per pound? Young lady, do you know what our usual procurement price is?"

The deputy director pushed up his glasses. "Fifty yuan is the absolute maximum. A Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine isn’t a five-star hotel. We can’t afford such luxuries."

Song Sisi hurriedly opened her bag and took out a few pieces of talisman paper. "Please, look at the quality. It’s pure, wild-harvested, and hasn’t been soaked in Daban Liquid..."

"No matter how good the quality is, the medical insurance won’t pay us a penny more," the deputy director cut her off. "Unless you can prove this Aconite can double the therapeutic effect, there’s nothing to talk about."

As she walked out of the hospital, Song Sisi’s back was no longer held as straight as it had been when she arrived.

She stood at the bus stop, opened her notebook, and crossed off the names of the first two hospitals. The next one on the list was "Huichun Hall," a private chain of traditional Chinese medicine clinics.

’Private clinics should care more about the quality of their medicinal materials...’ she muttered, trying to psych herself up.

Huichun Hall had an antique, traditional decor, and the fragrance of moxibustion drifted through the lobby.

When the receptionist heard she was a medicinal materials supplier, they politely showed her to a waiting room.

A flicker of hope ignited in Sisi, only to be extinguished by a man in a white coat who walked in.

"I’m the consulting physician, Doctor Lin. I’m also involved in procurement." Doctor Lin picked up a slice of Aconite and held it up to the light. "It’s certainly good stuff. But 100 yuan is too expensive. If you can lower the price to 50, we’ll consider it."

Song Sisi was speechless. ’That’s some ruthless haggling,’ she thought.

Before she left, Li Xu had instructed her: 100 yuan per pound, no negotiations.

She had no choice but to brace herself and say, "But these are all premium-grade Aconite..."

"That won’t work," Doctor Lin said, shaking his head. "In a prescription, it’s useless if only one ingredient is high-quality. As for... soaking in Daban Liquid, all Aconite is soaked in Daban Liquid these days. Isn’t it all used the same way?"

Having picked up some knowledge from her time at the clinic, Song Sisi countered, "But Aconite is the ’monarch herb’ in many formulas. It plays the primary role."

But no matter what she said, she couldn’t make the sale.

As the sun began to set, Song Sisi stood before the impressive office building of the Chuanlong Medicinal Materials Company, her calves aching from all the walking.

She glanced at her watch—4:40. If she didn’t go in now, she’d run out of time for the day.

"Excuse me, is the purchasing department manager in?" Her voice was already a bit hoarse.

The receptionist smiled politely. "Do you have an appointment? Our manager is currently with a guest."

Song Sisi bit her lip. "No, but I can wait."

And wait she did, for over an hour.

The air conditioning in the meeting room left her hands and feet ice-cold, and the tea in her hands had long since lost its warmth.

When the clock hands pointed to 6:10, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit finally pushed the door open and entered.

"I’m Liu Bohong, the deputy manager of the purchasing department." The man glanced at his watch, signaling for her to keep it brief. "What medicinal material?"

As if grasping at a lifeline, Song Sisi opened her bag. "Premium-grade Aconite, prepared using ancient herbal processing techniques. It hasn’t been soaked in Daban Liquid, and its medicinal effects are stronger than ordinary Aconite..."

"Price?" Liu Bohong cut straight to the point.

"One hundred yuan per pound."

Liu Bohong suddenly laughed. It wasn’t a polite smile but a hearty laugh, the kind one lets out after hearing something absurd. "Young lady, do you have any idea what our standard purchasing price is? Twenty yuan per pound! And that’s for very good quality Aconite!"

Song Sisi’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she persisted, "Our Aconite is different. The District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has already purchased 1,000 pounds..."

"The District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine?" Liu Bohong’s smile faded slightly. "An order placed by Dean Sun?"

He picked up a slice of the Aconite again and examined it closely. "The quality is indeed good, but at this price... unless you can prove it’s really worth it."

"The District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine just used it to save a patient with multiple organ failure!" Sisi said urgently.

Liu Bohong shook his head. "A single case doesn’t prove anything. How about this: leave your information, and we’ll look into it."

He stood up, clearly signaling that the meeting was over.

By the time she walked out of the Chuanlong Company’s main entrance, the sky had turned completely dark.

Song Sisi took the bus back to the clinic.

"Boss..." Song Sisi placed the wooden box on the table, her voice thick with emotion. "I couldn’t close a single deal."

Li Xu poured her a cup of hot tea. "Tell me what happened. Take your time."

As Song Sisi recounted her day, Li Xu’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

When he heard about the reaction from the Chuanlong Company, he couldn’t help but sigh. "I never thought something so good would be so hard to sell..."

"They just don’t get it!" Song Sisi suddenly became agitated. "That manager even said our Aconite was ’all style and no substance’! He didn’t even look at the sample properly!"

Li Xu patted her on the shoulder. "Don’t worry. That’s just how the market is. People are used to measuring everything by its price, but they forget that the value of some things can’t be calculated in money."