Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 133: Returning to Bailingyu Village

"Hello, are you Dr. Li Xu?" Liu Ming said as he walked into Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic. "I’m the R&D Director for Baixing Eye Medicine Group," he introduced himself.

Li Xu politely invited the man to sit down and asked directly, "Here for Mao Dudu?"

Liu Ming was startled, but then he smiled. "Dr. Li, you don’t beat around the bush. That’s right. Our group is willing to acquire your patent for twenty million, and we’ll also hire you as our chief R&D consultant with a starting annual salary of one million."

Song Sisi, who was in the middle of measuring herbs, almost knocked over the scale when she heard this.

Li Xu shook his head in refusal. "I’m sorry, but I’m already working with Ding’s Pharmaceutical. The technology is not for sale."

Liu Ming pressed, "Dr. Li, is it not enough money? We can negotiate. How about thirty million?"

Li Xu had already made up his mind. No matter how Liu Ming tried to persuade him or sweeten the deal, he wouldn’t budge.

"Dr. Li, if you ever change your mind, contact me anytime. Our company’s offer will always stand."

No sooner had Liu Ming walked out the door than Song Sisi rushed over, her eyes wide.

"Wow, Boss, are the Mao Duddu Eye Drops really worth that much?"

"Of course."

"I think you should’ve just sold it. That’s thirty million! You could coast for the rest of your life with that."

"Heh, thirty million is a lot of money," Li Xu said. "But with our current partnership model with Ding’s Pharmaceutical, as long as we can increase the yield of the foxtail grass, making thirty million will only take a year or two."

"I see..."

Song Sisi asked, still not quite getting it, "But can the foxtail grass yield actually be increased?"

"Maybe."

Thinking about the foxtail grass, Li Xu decided he would go to Bailingyu Village the next day with a batch of ordinary foxtail grass seeds.

He needed to test his theory.

If ordinary foxtail grass could grow into the mutated variant in the unique environment of Bailingyu Village, then the Mao Duddu Eye Drops would have a truly promising future.

If not, then the product was destined to remain niche.

This was also one of the reasons he couldn’t agree to Baixing Eye Medicine’s offer.

Even if he took the money for the patent, Baixing Eye Medicine would be unable to produce the eye drops in sufficient quantities due to the raw material issue, and they wouldn’t just let it go.

’Also...’

A new idea had just struck Li Xu.

Foxtail grass could be processed and sold as Mao Duddu Eye Drops. ’So why not the high-quality Aconite?’

For example, the True Martial Soup, which uses Aconite as its monarch herb.

It could be a decoction, or it could be made into True Martial Soup Pills with a fixed formula and sold as a patent medicine.

That would solve the sales problem for the Aconite.

Although the True Martial Soup Pills wouldn’t be as effective as a custom-prescribed True Martial Soup decoction, they would still be very effective for less serious conditions.

The True Martial Soup Pills wouldn’t need to rely on the hospital sales system.

They could be sold through Ding’s Pharmaceutical’s own sales network.

Li Xu’s mind raced.

True Martial Soup is composed of five medicinal herbs: Poria Cocos, Peony, ginger, Aconite, and Atractylodes.

The monarch herb was Aconite, which he already had.

It would be best if the other four herbs were also top-grade.

In that case, the True Martial Soup Pills made from them would have the best effect.

However, Li Xu knew it wouldn’t be easy to find other herbs of the same top-grade quality.

Take Poria Cocos, for example.

Poria Cocos is used as both food and medicine. Since ancient times, it has been regarded as one of the "Eight Treasures of Chinese Medicine" and has the reputation of being a "Divine Medicine for All Seasons."

It was even called an ’Immortal Treasure’.

Ge Hong’s "Baopuzi" once recorded a legend about Poria Cocos:

There was a man named Wang Ziji who consumed Poria Cocos continuously for eighteen years. Fairies from the heavens came to meet with him, he gained the Invisibility Technique, no longer needed to eat mortal food, and his skin became as smooth and flawless as jade.

The legend is surely exaggerated, but it still illustrates the wondrous properties of Poria Cocos.

Poria Cocos is more popular in the southern regions, where people use it in teas, soups, pastries, and other dishes.

This is mainly because Poria Cocos is a fungus that, in the wild, mostly grows parasitically on the roots of pine trees.

It is primarily found in regions like Anhui and Yunnan.

The Yunnan Poria Cocos is considered the highest quality, an authentic regional specialty known as "Yun-ling."

This is mainly due to Yunnan’s superior climate, soil, and cultivation techniques, which result in a higher concentration of medicinal compounds (like alcohol-soluble extractives).

’Do I have to make another trip to Yunnan?’ Li Xu wondered.

’I’ll deal with that later.’

The Aconite in Anchi Village was being harvested.

The whole process wouldn’t be finished until next month.

Also, dried talisman paper can be stored for a long time.

The matter of finding the other herbs was not urgent.

’First, I’ll go plant the foxtail grass.’

Li Xu announced his plan to go to Qinling the next day.

Song Sisi said, "Boss, I’ll go with you."

"No need."

Li Xu shook his head.

The fact that Bailingyu Village could grow mutated foxtail grass was a secret.

It wasn’t the right time to let anyone else in on it.

Once he confirmed that ordinary foxtail grass planted there had the same vision-enhancing effects as the mutated version, he would rent the surrounding farmland.

...

After a series of delays, Li Xu finally set foot on the mountain path to Bailingyu Village again. More than a month had passed since his last visit.

The late summer wind that swept through the mountains wasn’t oppressively hot.

It was still cool in the shade of the trees.

He carried a bulging hiking backpack filled with gathering tools and a large bag of foxtail grass seeds.

His hiking boots crunched softly on the gravel of the mountain path.

He walked slowly, stopping from time to time to observe the vegetation on the roadside, especially the wild foxtail grass.

"They’re growing well," Li Xu muttered to himself, squatting down to poke at a clump of foxtail grass.

The mountain path rounded a bend, and the dilapidated houses of Bailingyu Village appeared in view.

The village, uninhabited for two months, looked even more desolate. The roofs of several houses had clearly started to collapse.

Instead of entering the village, Li Xu headed directly for the mountain behind it—the place where the old man, Zhou Shugen, was buried.

’I wonder how Da Huang is doing.’

’Is he still standing guard by the grave?’

’Or has he left?’

The weeds on the hillside were even denser than during his last visit. Li Xu had to push his way through waist-high wild grass.

When he finally arrived before Old Man Zhou Shugen’s grave, the sight before him made him stop in his tracks.

The body of the dog, Da Huang, lay quietly before the grave. It was badly decomposed, with little more than fur left clinging to its bones.

The food left in the dog bowl had long since molded and spoiled, and was crawling with ants.

Looking closely at Da Huang’s posture—its head was turned toward the grave, its front paws slightly outstretched, as if even in its final moment, it was still protecting its master.

"’Just as I feared...’" Li Xu sighed softly.

When Da Huang had been unwilling to leave with him, he had anticipated this day would come.

Li Xu put down his backpack and took out a pair of rubber gloves and a small shovel.

He chose a spot to the right of Zhou Shugen’s grave and started digging a hole.

When he had dug about half a meter deep, he stopped and walked over to the dog’s body.

"Da Huang, I’ll bring you to your master’s side so you can keep him company."

Li Xu said softly, carefully placing Da Huang’s remains into the hole.