Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 158: Guiding Production

A rich medicinal aroma filled the workshop of Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, and the brand-new production line glinted coldly under the fluorescent lights.

Ding Kaifang wrung his hands, pacing back and forth outside the sterile workshop, occasionally peering inside through the glass window.

He had put on a brand-new white lab coat for the occasion, and even his leather shoes were polished to a mirror shine.

"Doctor Li, this way, please!" Seeing Li Xu walk in, Ding Kaifang hurried over to greet him, his face creasing into a wide, beaming smile. "We were just waiting for you to give the final approval."

Li Xu nodded and followed Ding Kaifang through the sterilization corridor.

In the changing room, he also changed into a sterile uniform, putting on a mask and a hairnet.

"The first batch of the True Martial Soup Pill is going into trial production today."

Ding Kaifang explained as they walked, his voice filled with excitement. "We followed the formula you provided. The ratio of medicinal ingredients is exact."

Inside the workshop, a dozen or so workers in blue sterile uniforms were busy at their respective stations.

The grinder emitted a low hum as it milled dried medicinal ingredients like Poria Cocos and Atractylodes into a fine powder.

Li Xu walked over to observe, pinching a bit of the powder and rubbing it gently between his fingertips.

"The powder isn’t fine enough." He frowned slightly. "True Martial Soup requires a powder that is ’fine but doesn’t fly away, moist but not sticky.’ This particle size will affect the initial pelleting."

Ding Kaifang quickly called a technician over. "Hurry, switch to a 200-mesh screen!"

The adjusted powder poured down from the screen like flowing water, appearing as a uniform, light brown color under the lights.

Workers poured the powder into special stainless-steel containers and began to slowly add distilled water.

"Control the amount of water carefully," Li Xu instructed from beside the operating table. "Like this—" He demonstrated a pouring motion. "First spray it as a mist, then slowly add more."

The powder gradually became moist under gentle stirring. The workers’ gloved hands moved with the soft precision of kneading high-grade dough.

Gradually, tiny particles began to form, rolling around the container like miniature pearls.

"Around 0.8mm is optimal." Li Xu picked one up and inspected it against the light. "Too small and they’ll fall apart easily. Too large and it will affect the subsequent shaping."

When Ding Kaifang leaned in for a closer look, he noticed that the surfaces of these small pellets had a uniform luster, unlike any other traditional Chinese medicine pills he had ever seen.

He couldn’t resist reaching out to touch one, but a sharp glance from Li Xu stopped him.

"This is the most critical stage. Any contamination will affect the medicinal efficacy."

Originally, Li Xu hadn’t understood any of this.

But the intelligence he had received over the past two days was all knowledge related to making the True Martial Soup Pill.

It even included video demonstrations.

Li Xu had already mastered a great deal of the relevant information.

That was why he was able to come and provide guidance.

After the initial pelleting was complete, the small pellets were transferred to a larger pill-coating pan.

This special piece of equipment resembled a tilted turntable, which continuously rotated to allow the pills to be evenly coated with new powder.

"A little slower on the rotation speed." Li Xu stared at the turntable. "The principle of True Martial Soup is ’a slow simmer over a gentle fire.’ The same logic applies to its formation."

After the technician adjusted the parameters, the rotation speed of the pill-coating pan decreased.

Li Xu personally grabbed a handful of powder and sprinkled it into the pan with a specific rhythm.

Miraculously, the powder seemed to be drawn by a magnet, adhering evenly to the rotating pellets.

"See? You have to sprinkle it like this." Li Xu demonstrated. "Relax your wrist, as if you’re fertilizing a young seedling."

Ding Kaifang tried to imitate his movement, only to find the powder either clumped together or scattered everywhere, making the workers chuckle in amusement.

Li Xu, however, was tireless, correcting his technique over and over again.

As time went on, the pills in the pan gradually grew larger.

Li Xu would occasionally call for a stop to sort out the differently sized pills.

The larger ones were set aside, while the smaller ones continued to be coated.

"This portion of white peony powder needs to be added now." Li Xu pointed to the ingredients prepared nearby. "The principle of True Martial Soup is to ’first support the yang, then nourish the yin.’ The order in which the ingredients are added to the pills cannot be altered."

By the time the pills reached the size of a mung bean, a unique aroma had begun to drift through the workshop—the mellow sweetness of Atractylodes, the subtle elegance of Poria Cocos, and the spicy fragrance of ginger.

Ding Kaifang took a deep breath and was surprised to find that the stuffy, tight feeling in his chest had eased considerably.

The final process took place in another sealed workshop.

The formed pills were sent into a polishing machine, where a special coating material was added.

Li Xu stood before the control console, personally adjusting the temperature and humidity parameters.

"The traditional method uses honey, but I’ve made an improvement." He pointed to a graph on the display screen. "At this temperature, the coating can form an ideal microporous structure, which both protects the medicinal properties and facilitates absorption by the body."

Ding Kaifang watched, completely captivated.

On the screen, the surfaces of the pills were becoming smooth at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if they were being meticulously polished by an invisible pair of hands.

Two hours later, the first batch of the True Martial Soup Pill was finally ready.

Under the lights, the brownish-tan pills gleamed with a gentle luster. They were as uniform as mung beans in size, and their surfaces were as fine as high-quality porcelain.

"Care to try one?" Li Xu picked up a pill and handed it to Ding Kaifang.

The pill was slightly bitter, but it also had a hint of sweetness.

A few days ago, Ding Kaifang had specifically bought some True Martial Soup Pills produced by other manufacturers from the market, so he had a good idea of their quality.

The True Martial Soup Pill they had just produced was in no way inferior to those from the major manufacturers.

In fact, it was even better.

"Excellent, excellent." He was ecstatic. "With quality this good, we’ll definitely win over the hospitals."

"Of course."

Li Xu nodded.

The five ingredients of the True Martial Soup Pill—Poria Cocos, Peony, ginger, Aconite, and Atractylodes—were all authentic, high-quality medicinal herbs. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The quality was second to none.

"Doctor Li, how many should we produce in the first batch?"

"Let’s make 1,000 boxes for now." Li Xu turned around. "True Martial Soup isn’t an ordinary health supplement. We need to observe patient reactions."

"Also, I’ll go to the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and start with a trial there."

"Okay, I’ll have to trouble you then, Doctor Li."

"Don’t be so formal, President Ding. When the True Martial Soup Pill sells, I get a share of the profits too."

The two of them discussed the pricing.

On the market, a box of True Martial Soup Pill was priced between 30 and 60 yuan.

The materials they used were very high quality.

Adding in the costs for equipment, labor, and other expenses, the cost per box was nearly 20 yuan.

Naturally, the selling price would have to be higher.

They decided on a wholesale price of 40 yuan.

Factoring in the profits for middlemen, agents, and the hospital, the final suggested retail price would be 70 yuan.

...

In the conference room of the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dean Sun stared at a data chart on the projector screen, his fingers tapping a steady rhythm on the tabletop.

"Everyone, take a look at this data." Dean Sun pushed up his glasses, his voice filled with unconcealable joy.

He clicked the remote, and a line graph on the screen shot up sharply. "Last month, our patient cure rate increased by 11.3%, and our readmission rate dropped by 8.7%. These are rare results for the entire city!"

A low murmur of amazement rippled through the conference room.

The department directors exchanged glances, and some began flipping through the data reports in their hands.

"Director Guo, how are things in your Internal Medicine department?" Dean Sun looked toward the director of internal medicine, Guo Yu.