I Can Talk to the Internal Organs-Chapter 161 - 134: Traditional Chinese Medicine—A Different Track
Cough cough~~
Mm~
In the auditorium, it was so quiet that only a few coughs could be heard.
On the stage, the host checked the time. After eight-thirty, he picked up the microphone, "Alright, time’s up, now, let’s warmly welcome the director of Nanhe Ruxi City Jingcheng Hospital, National Master of Chinese Medicine, Huang Fusheng, to the stage for a speech."
As the words were spoken, applause erupted, and from the right side of the stage, an elderly man in a cyan Tang suit strode with the vigor of youth.
The host immediately handed his microphone to the old man and then stepped aside to leave the stage.
The person who came on stage was Huang Fusheng.
He raised one hand and slowly pressed down, signaling everyone to stop applauding, and his loud voice echoed throughout the hall thanks to the microphone.
"The host just now is my apprentice, he didn’t host professionally at all. I told him not to announce my title, but he still did. No choice, I made a mistake when I accepted him as an apprentice, and now even if I want to return him, I can’t."
Huang Fusheng’s jibe drew laughter from the audience.
Nobody expected that such a National Master of Chinese Medicine would perform a stand-up comedy as soon as he got on stage.
"I presume everyone knows why I’m here this time. There are also city leaders present, and before coming here, we talked on the phone, and in the past two days, we’ve exchanged some ideas. It went very smoothly. I didn’t expect the leadership team of Jianghan City would give us such strong support. They’ve even allocated land, solicited bids, and even advanced money. Here, I sincerely thank these leaders. Hmm, now that the thanks are done, let’s move on to discussing the problems."
"Yesterday, when chatting with the leaders of Jianghan, one of them suddenly asked me why we needed to establish this medicinal herb base, and why a practitioner of Chinese medicine would be doing this instead of letting merchants who buy and sell herbs do it. At that time, we didn’t have enough time, so I couldn’t answer that question. Today, in front of so many friends from the medical field, I’ll take the opportunity to answer it."
"The role of the medicinal herb base is essentially an integrated self-operating e-commerce base combining training, cultivation, identification, sales, logistics, and storage. Once this herb base is established, we can provide planting techniques to herb growers to help them cultivate better, higher-quality authentic medicinal herbs. With good herbs, we’ll also provide sales channels, ensuring that what is grown can be sold, and growers won’t be stuck with unsold produce. We will also continuously purchase herbs in bulk to store in warehouses, to prevent significant price fluctuations in the herb market that would harm farmers financially."
"Actually, these things are not new tricks; agriculture already has such an integrated model. But why haven’t we done the same with medicinal herbs? It’s simple: no one understands, no one does it, and the profit is low."
"The profit in this herbal medicine market is too low. If not hyped up, the prices can’t go up. You’d be better off growing fruits instead, right."
"But if there’s no profit, do we just not do it?"
"The profit from grains is also very low, but why do we still insist on maintaining farmland boundaries?"
"As everyone knows, we are the world’s largest producer of grain, yet we are also the largest importer of grain. What would happen if we ever faced a grain shortage with over a billion people?"
"I lived through years of famine. In those years, I didn’t know how to describe it. Later on, I read books, learned about history, and then understood it was called the Great Famine when people ate each other!"
"Many of you here are young. You should know your parents were very frugal, unwilling to throw away leftovers that had been sitting for days, eating stale food even if it caused stomach issues. It’s really not their fault. If you’ve experienced what it means to be hungry, you’d understand how happiness it is to be full."
"Heh, going off on a tangent here. Some might ask me, what’s the connection between all this talk about grains and medicinal herbs? Surely we’re not going to be eating herbs every day, right? Indeed, herbs aren’t as important as grains, but they can serve as a strategic weapon."
"You are all medical professionals and should be clear that the various advanced medical equipment used in modern medicine, as well as all currently expensive Western medicines, are over 90% produced by foreign companies. Once they hold us by the throat, what impact would it have on us?"
"Last year, medical expenses accounted for 5% of the total GDP. This percentage doesn’t seem much, does it? But the actual figure is 6 trillion!"
"The Empire of the Eagle has been fighting a war in Afghanistan for twenty years, spending only 2.26 trillion, equivalent to our 15 trillion. In other words, our 2.5 years of medical expenses are enough for the Empire of the Eagle to wage another twenty years of war. Compared to medical expenses, the money spent on war is negligible."
"Aging population, declining birth rates, early onset of diseases, countless societal problems piling up. When the day comes that medical expenses are unsustainable, when a mere virus can disturb our country, when our descendants’ health is controlled by foreign countries, who will defend our homeland? Who will guard our borders against the enemy?"
"Everyone, don’t feel this is impossible, nor that Huaxia’s current strength is eternal. The days of oppression, humiliation, and destruction were less than a hundred years ago."
Elder Huang’s words were resounding, making the entire hall fall completely silent.
Indeed, it’s undeniable that Western medicine, aided by the power of technology, has been modernized and become the banner of modern medicine, which should be a good thing.
But the accompanying excessive medicalization has also indeed become an undeniable and serious problem.
Even though the medical equipment Elder Huang mentioned is something domestic teams have been catching up to technologically, the gap between the two cannot be closed in just ten or eight years.
This means that if our medical technology is always throttled by foreign countries, we’ll have to send a huge amount of Renminbi abroad each year for medical expenses.
At the same time, the expansion of medical capital means that capital will keep doubling down to secure its interests, becoming more unbreakable.
Thus, the only breakthrough is to overtake in a curve, just like when Mr. Qian Sr. saw the dominance of the Empire of Yuan, the petroleum hegemony, and proposed developing new energy vehicles. Competing on a different track with foreign countries is the essence.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is another track!
"Sorry, the topic got a bit heavy, but this is our fundamental purpose for building a pharmaceutical base. There are still too few practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine in the country, and not every practitioner can perform acupuncture. So, ensuring the quality and quantity of Chinese medicinal materials has become the most urgent task at present. Many minor ailments, even if the patients do not understand Chinese medicine, can be diagnosed remotely by doctors, and they can fetch the medicine themselves and be cured with just one or two doses. Therefore, as long as the quality of Chinese medicinal materials is guaranteed, it can greatly alleviate the shortage of doctors, which is beneficial to both the country and the people."
"Of course, building a pharmaceutical base is not something only we are doing. After discussing with the leaders above, Ying Deshuang, the president of the national Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, proposed a plan for eight pilot cities. This means, apart from me, there are seven other cities that have also been designated as pilot cities for Chinese medicine. Of these, four are the Four Major Pharmaceutical Cities, and the remaining four have been chosen by us old folks, and I chose Jianghan."
"I won’t explain the reason for choosing this place," he continued. "Anyway, since I’m here, it’s impossible for me to leave without doing anything. I’ll be interacting with all of my colleagues in the future, and I hope you’ll overlook any disturbances. If there’s anything that must offend someone, please remember my words: I’m doing this without seeking any personal gain."
"That’s all for the first issue. Now, let’s talk about the second matter."
"Having resolved the issue of medicinal materials, we naturally must also address the issue of personnel. Initially, Jianghan City didn’t have a quota for integrating Chinese medicine into primary and secondary schools, but since I chose Jianghan to establish a pharmaceutical base, I have to cultivate both medicine and people, so the selection of Chinese medicine teachers must also proceed simultaneously."
"However, there are conditions to be met for participation in the selection. First, those who do not study with anatomy as a foundation and do not learn Yin Yang and Five Elements, are not wanted; second, those who have not been practicing independently for more than a year, are not wanted; third, those who seek backdoors, are not wanted. These are the strict requirements. Afterward, you need to pass an assessment before becoming a teacher officially. I hope those joining will take this matter seriously, and do not come in with the intention of gilding. I can let you in, and I can also let you go!"
No one found anything wrong with these conditions.
Most of the traditional Chinese medicine practitioners coming over could meet the criteria, but the majority of them were not locals.
Many of them felt it wasn’t worth it to consider quitting their jobs to move to Jianghan specifically to be a Chinese medicine teacher.
Thus, considering everything, the number of local Chinese medicine practitioners in Jianghan could actually be counted on one hand.
"What a pity, I’m getting older. If I were ten years younger, I would definitely give it a try. What a great opportunity to contribute to the country." Sun Tongfu said with a smile.
"This matter should be left to the young people. If we’re to teach those children around ten years old, I fear their noise might just be too much for our ears." Lu Mountain replied.
"Hahaha, indeed," Sun Tongfu laughed.
Tang Yi looked at Lu Jiu, "Brother Lu, are you going to participate?"
Lu Jiu nodded, "Together?"
Tang Yi waved his hands repeatedly, "I’ll pass, I’m not qualified."
He wasn’t being modest; his skill level was indeed too lacking. The requirement of practicing independently for more than a year immediately disqualified him.
Li Wei, sitting nearby, sneered upon hearing that Lu Jiu was going to participate, displaying a smug expression.
In his opinion, the spot for this Chinese medicine teacher was his and no one else’s.
Lu Jiu was merely there for show, at most.
"Brother Li, what about you?"
While Li Wei was secretly pleased with himself, Tang Yi suddenly asked him.
Li Wei snapped back to reality, adjusted his collar, and said, "Teaching kids is no big deal."
Tang Yi smiled, "Brother Li, are you so confident?"
Li Wei replied indifferently, "Do you think anyone could outperform me?"
Uh...
Alright then.
Tang Yi was no stranger to Li Wei’s confidence. He was long accustomed to hearing such statements from him.
But sitting next to him was Lu Jiu, so Li Wei’s words had a somewhat pointed intent.
It seemed that Li Wei was still harboring some resentment towards Lu Jiu’s sudden rise.
Tang Yi was not one to gossip. As long as Li Wei didn’t provoke Lu Jiu directly, there was no need to bring it up.
After all, everyone has someone they don’t like. Tang Yi himself wasn’t fond of Li Wei either but maintained a facade of friendliness.
After all, they were all adults who knew how to restrain themselves.
Lu Jiu wasn’t a fool; it was clear that Li Wei’s words were somewhat directed. What puzzled him was why this person displayed hostility towards him twice for no apparent reason.
Had he ever offended this person?
