Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 240: Word Gets Out

Chairman Zhao and President Qian were curious.

'Has Ding Aiguo gone mad?'

'It's obviously a pit of fire, yet he's jumping in willingly!'

Ding Aiguo laughed and said, "Old Zhao, and you call yourself a businessman. Who told you that was a pit of fire? In my eyes, it's a gold mine."

He no longer held back and briefly explained the situation with the Dragon Bone Ore to the two men on the other end of the line.

Upon hearing the phrase "a massive Dragon Bone Ore deposit," Chairman Zhao and President Qian on the other end of the line were utterly petrified.

Gripping their phones, they were shocked beyond belief.

Envy, jealousy, regret, bitterness... A cocktail of complex emotions churned within them like a tempest.

'So it wasn't a disaster, it was a treasure trove!'

'So... Ding Aiguo had seen through it all from the start. While they were busy trying to dodge the project, he had quietly snatched the biggest piece of the cake for himself!'

Business is tough in every sector these days.

But resource-based businesses are timeless.

'A Dragon Bone Ore deposit... it's a veritable gold mine!'

"I've been such a fool!" Chairman Zhao hung up and slapped his thigh in frustration. "The night Old Sun had his stroke, I should have known! Someone who could produce that Divine Medicine couldn't possibly be an ordinary person! How could a project he recommended ever lose money? Why didn't I use my head!"

President Qian's face was also etched with deep regret.

What they had missed wasn't just a project. It was a massive opportunity, one that could have changed the very destiny of their companies and ensured their longevity.

...

Meanwhile, at the Mopan Mountain mining site, exploration was in full swing.

Thanks to the professional equipment, a top-tier team, and the information Li Xu and Ding Kaifang had provided from their initial scouting, the survey progressed with exceptional smoothness.

「Three days later.」

A preliminary survey report landed on Ding Kaifang's desk.

The report confirmed the existence of a massive fossil bed within the mudstone strata approximately 50 to 200 meters beneath Mopan Mountain.

Based on initial core sampling and radar analysis, the survey team estimated that the core area alone contained a staggering 1,000,000 cubic meters of high-quality Dragon Bone!

"One million cubic meters!" Ding Kaifang's entire body trembled with excitement as he stared at the number on the report.

This figure was a far cry from the terrifying 3.99 million cubic meters Li Xu's intelligence system had indicated, but the survey team had its limits; larger and deeper veins remained undiscovered.

But the value of this one million cubic meters alone was already an astronomical sum!

Overjoyed, Ding Kaifang immediately launched a three-pronged plan of action.

First, he directed the company's legal and policy research teams to immediately secure the special mining permits required for "paleontological fossil resources."

This was the most critical step and had to be completed before news of the discovery leaked.

Second, he had the intellectual property department file for patent protection on the name "Dragon Bone Powder" and the formula Li Xu provided, moving as quickly as possible to lock down the core technology.

Finally, he personally took the lead in gathering the Ding Group's best engineers and equipment suppliers to begin designing a brand-new, modern pharmaceutical production line dedicated to "Dragon Bone Powder."

Everything was proceeding in an orderly and highly efficient manner.

...

While the Ding Group was celebrating its newfound treasure, Guo Hengchang's life back in Shanyang County was perfectly calm.

Every day, he took his medicine on schedule and focused on his recovery at home.

The medicine Li Xu had prescribed for him was like an Immortal Pill, pulling him back from the brink of death.

He felt better with each passing day. Not only had his coughing and wheezing completely vanished, but even the swelling and the pain in his femoral head—side effects from his previous steroid treatments—had been greatly alleviated.

He could even go out for a walk every day like a normal person, playing chess and chatting with his neighbors.

He cherished this long-overdue return to a healthy, peaceful life.

One afternoon, as he was watching TV at home, a friend he hadn't heard from in a long time suddenly called.

"Hey, Old Guo! Have you heard? They found treasure under that old factory of yours!"

On the other end of the line, his friend's voice was buzzing with excitement.

"What treasure? Are you drunk?" Guo Hengchang didn't believe him.

"I'm not drunk! The news is all over the county!" his friend exclaimed. "They're saying the Ding Group found a massive 'Dragon Bone Ore' deposit at your old mining site! You know, fossils from ancient elephants and rhinos, the kind that are treasures used in medicine! I hear it's worth an absolute fortune! Old Guo, you really sold it for a loss this time! You sold off a gold mine!" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"What!"

His friend's words struck Guo Hengchang's mind like a bolt from the blue.

'Dragon Bone Ore?'

'There was actually a Dragon Bone Ore deposit under my factory?'

He was stunned, the hand holding the phone frozen in mid-air.

After the immense shock, a wave of complex emotions washed over him.

'It would be a lie to say I don't feel any regret.'

'A treasure worth a fortune, and it just slipped through my fingers.'

However, as he calmed down, that tinge of regret was quickly replaced by a sense of acceptance.

He wasn't angry.

'For one thing, Li Xu is the man who saved my life.'

'Without Li Xu, I might still be bedridden, unable to move. Or worse, I might not even be alive anymore.'

'What good is a gold mine if you're not around to enjoy it?'

'It was Doctor Li who gave me a second chance at life.'

'That debt of gratitude is more precious than any mountain of gold or silver.'

'For another, I have to admit I just didn't have the ability to see it.'

'I was blind, mistaking the Dragon Bone Ore for worthless rubble.'

'It just wasn't in the cards for me.'

'That fortune was never destined to be mine.'

'Besides, just as Ding Kaifang said, the value of the Dragon Bone Ore is immense.'

'Even if I had discovered it, as the owner of a small quarry, I wouldn't have had the resources to develop it anyway.'

'In the end, the city would have just reclaimed the land and transferred it to a giant like the Ding Group.'

'I probably wouldn't have seen a single cent from it then.'

'And now?'

'Li Xu and Ding Kaifang not only gave me a transfer fee that far exceeded the value of that old factory, but they also gave me a cushy management position and a one-percent share of the company's profits!'

'For me, this outcome is already a tremendous blessing!'

At this thought, the last trace of resentment in Guo Hengchang's heart vanished like smoke.

He burst out laughing at his friend on the other end of the line.

"A loss? I don't think it was a loss at all!" he boomed. "This was a blessing in disguise. I met my saviors! My health is back, I have a nice, easy job, and I'll be getting a fat share of the profits every year. This life is way more comfortable than being some mine boss!"

After hanging up, Guo Hengchang let out a long sigh of relief.

'I was worried about how long that one-percent profit share would last.'

'But not anymore.'

'A new mine will be in operation for a very long time.'

'I won't have to worry about money ever again.'