Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 235: Equity

Half an hour later, Ding Kaifang arrived at Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.

"Doctor Li, don’t tell me you’ve developed another new medicine?" he asked eagerly the moment he walked in.

Li Xu didn’t answer directly. Instead, he poured him a cup of tea. "How are the Watermelon Frost sales going?"

At the mention of Watermelon Frost, the worried look on Ding Kaifang’s face vanished, replaced by a proud smile. "Great! Absolutely fantastic! Thanks to the celebrity endorsement, its effectiveness has crushed every other similar product on the market.

Our first production run of two hundred thousand boxes sold out in less than a month. Now, distributors from all over the country are calling every day, begging for more stock.

The only problem is, once the second batch is gone, that’s it. We’ll have to wait for next year’s watermelon harvest in Zhouzhuang before we can produce more."

"What if I told you I have a blockbuster product with effects that rival Watermelon Frost—or are even superior in some ways—that isn’t limited by seasonal availability and can be produced year-round?"

Li Xu said with a smile, taking a sip of his tea.

Ding Kaifang’s eyes instantly lit up. "What product?"

Li Xu said nothing. He simply pushed the small porcelain vial containing the "Dragon Bone Powder" in front of him.

Ding Kaifang took it with a puzzled look, uncorked the vial, and was immediately met with a cool, sweet, and soothing medicinal aroma.

He poured a little of the powder onto the tip of his tongue to taste it.

"Hm?" His eyes suddenly lit up.

The powder melted the instant it touched his tongue, and a cool sensation immediately washed over his throat, feeling incredibly refreshing.

What was even more amazing was that the powder wasn’t just cooling; it also had a rich, indescribable sweet aftertaste that lingered pleasantly.

"This... what is this?"

Ding Kaifang asked, pleasantly surprised.

’This stuff is an absolute treasure.’

"I call it ’Dragon Bone Powder,’" Li Xu revealed. "Its core ingredient is top-grade Five-Floral Dragon Bone, mixed with herbs like Knotweed and almond, and prepared according to ancient methods."

"Its direct competitor is Dragon Horn Powder from Japan. But I guarantee that in terms of both taste and efficacy, ’Dragon Bone Powder’ will completely surpass it!"

"Dragon Bone Powder? Five-Floral Dragon Bone?"

Ding Kaifang’s face was filled with delighted surprise.

Ever since he had pivoted to producing traditional Chinese medicine, he had done his fair share of research on various medicinal ingredients.

So, he naturally understood the weight behind the words "Dragon Bone."

But his excitement lasted only a few seconds before it quickly cooled.

"*Sigh*..." Ding Kaifang placed the vial back on the table and shook his head helplessly. "Doctor Li, it’s a great idea, but this can’t possibly be mass-produced."

He explained, "Dragon Bone, especially the Five-Floral Dragon Bone you mentioned, might not have been difficult to find in ancient times, but it’s extremely rare now. Most of the Dragon Bone on the market is fake, made from common fossilized animal bones or even stone powder. The real, high-grade stuff is either monopolized by major hospitals and pharmaceutical companies or is absurdly expensive. Without a stable, abundant supply of raw materials, no matter how good this ’Dragon Bone Powder’ is, it’s nothing but a pipe dream. It will never make a big impact."

He added, "This is also why the makers of Japan’s Dragon Horn Powder eventually had to change their formula and stop using Dragon Bone. It’s not that they didn’t want to; they just couldn’t find or afford it anymore!"

Seeing the regretful "I get it, but my hands are tied" look on Ding Kaifang’s face, Li Xu laughed.

"What if... I can solve the Dragon Bone supply problem?"

Ding Kaifang’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with disbelief. "What did you say? Solve the Dragon Bone supply? How is that possible! Don’t tell me you found a Dragon Bone Ore deposit?"

The idea sounded so absurd that he shook his head as soon as he said it.

"You’re right," Li Xu said, his smile widening. "I did indeed find a ’Dragon Bone Ore’ deposit."

"What?!"

Ding Kaifang shot up from his chair, staring intently at Li Xu as if trying to find any sign that he was joking.

"Doctor Li, this is no laughing matter! This is a business deal worth hundreds of millions, maybe even billions!"

"Do I look like I’m joking?"

Li Xu pointed to the opposite chair, gesturing for him to calm down. "President Ding, the stakes in this venture are enormous. Before I tell you the source of the Dragon Bone, we need to get the unpleasantries out of the way. Even brothers must keep clear accounts."

Ding Kaifang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He sat down again and nodded gravely. "Name your terms."

"It’s simple." Li Xu held up four fingers. "I want to invest in the pharmaceutical factory under your Ding Group. In exchange for the ’Dragon Bone Powder’ formula and the information about the ore deposit, I want a 49% stake."

49%!

It was a very delicate number.

It meant Li Xu would become the pharmaceutical factory’s second-largest shareholder, giving him a huge say and significant dividend rights, but leaving the controlling interest in the hands of the Ding Group.

Ding Kaifang agreed almost without hesitation.

"I agree!"

He made the decision with extreme decisiveness.

Because he was well aware that the current success of Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory was built almost entirely on the formulas Li Xu had provided.

From the initial "Mao Duddu Eye Drops" to the sensational "Watermelon Frost" and even the "True Martial Pill," the core technology for every one of them was firmly in Li Xu’s hands.

Previously, Li Xu had only been taking a cut of the profits from his formulas. While his earnings were substantial, he was still ultimately an outsider.

Now, his request to become a shareholder and bind himself more deeply to the company was a fantastic development for the Ding Group!

It was like personally ushering the God of Wealth into their home.

Besides, if what Li Xu said was true—if he really did control a Dragon Bone Ore deposit—Ding Kaifang felt it would be worth the gamble to give him a controlling stake, let alone 49%!

"Excellent. I’ll have our legal department draw up the contract immediately," Ding Kaifang said, a man of swift action. "Now, can you tell me where this ’Dragon Bone Ore’ deposit is?"

Li Xu raised his teacup, took a sip of water, and then slowly uttered a place name that Ding Kaifang found completely unexpected:

"Shanyang County, Mopan Mountain."

"What? Mopan Mountain?!"

Ding Kaifang’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "You mean that mining area that’s been such a huge headache for us?"

"That’s right." Li Xu nodded. "The Five-Floral Dragon Bone I used to make this vial of Dragon Bone Powder was bought from the Mopan Mountain mining area a few months ago. Of course, at the time, I bought it for the price of bluestone."

Ding Kaifang’s mind raced as a stunning thought took shape. "Are you saying... what’s buried under Mopan Mountain isn’t useless waste rock, but a literal mountain of Dragon Bone?!"

"Precisely," Li Xu said with a smile. "So, what you need to do now is not figure out how to develop it for tourism, but to do everything in your power to secure the contract for the entire Mopan Mountain mining area from the city government!"

The impact of this revelation on Ding Kaifang was immense.

He felt as if his entire worldview had been turned upside down.

’The huge mess that had the entire city government and every entrepreneur completely stumped... was actually a mountain of priceless treasure?’