Chapter 222: Homemade Chinese Medicine in Exchange for Food

Dean Shen was a little shocked when he heard Lin Sanqi's boast. Who in the country dared to say that they could get large quantities of food these days? Even the leaders of the central government didn't dare to make such a boast unless they desperately transferred food from other places.

But Lin Sanqi's previous miraculous deeds made Dean Shen have to believe it, so he couldn't wait to ask:

"Tell me, boy, tell me quickly, do you have any recipe for getting food to feed these hundreds of people?"

Lin Sanqi sat closer and whispered:

"You're planning to trade me ginseng worth 200,000 yuan for food, but have you ever considered this? You're supporting 600 people out of thin air. First, you have the question of whether you can afford to support them, and second, whether others will have any objections."

Dean Shen was full of doubts and asked, "What have you heard?"

"It's not something I've heard, Uncle Shen, think about it, so many employees of the General Hospital work hard from dawn to dusk, and the rations they get at the end of the month may not even be enough to eat enough.

As a result, the more than 100 employees of the branch hospital, along with hundreds of their families, who were originally about to rush back to their hometowns, can now receive free food and eat free meals every day. Do you think the employees of the main hospital will be convinced? Will anyone complain to their superiors?

This is something that is certain and definite. These days, employees still have a strong sense of ownership, so they won't pamper you.

My workplace is my home. Now the director is using the money that belongs to everyone to buy food, and then distributing it to others for free. This is just taking advantage of everyone's hard work.

Does this count? Sue him.

If one day, the superiors check and find out, wow, you said that running a farm is for self-reliance, but you are spending money to support them. Are you, Shen Guoming, going to be furious?

Where does the food come from?

Now, not only is Dean Shen finished, but Lin Sanqi also has to run away overnight.

Dean Shen is a smart man. It's not that he doesn't consider some things, but that he doesn't consider them well. To put it bluntly, he is taking a risk.

Now that Lin Sanqi said this, Dean Shen also felt that things might not be as simple as he thought. Grain matures in autumn, and the food supply in the past six months is indeed feeding these 600 people in vain.

Cash is given every month, but you have to have a way to buy food with the money. Looking at the situation in the rural areas of the Ming Tombs, it is obviously impossible to do black market transactions with farmers.

By this calculation, based on the current black market price of food, 200,000 ginsengs are far from enough.

"Okay, okay, I understand what you're saying. Just tell me what you can do."

Lin Sanqi finally revealed his true intentions:

"My method is also a bit risky. We will ask those 12 old men for some secret recipes, and then our Changping branch will make medicine based on these secret recipes. It just so happens that our Chinese medicine hospital can purchase a large amount of medicinal materials, so there is no shortage of raw materials.

I will be responsible for selling the pills I make. Once I sell them, I will exchange them for food and distribute it to the staff. This way, the main hospital won't need blood transfusions, and the branch hospital can be completely self-sufficient."

Lin Sanqi's inspiration came from Mr. Shi's "Hemostatic Pills" last night.

That pill can stop bleeding in a few minutes after being taken. Although it is only effective for one hour, if it can be used for emergency treatment, one hour can be life-saving time.

If the hemostatic pills are so awesome, how many secret recipes do these 12 old men have?

If the old men can contribute a few special prescriptions, such as nitroglycerin pills, analgesic pills, antipyretic pills, etc., and Lin Sanqi takes it to 2013, packages it, registers a brand, and then sells it, it will definitely make a lot of money.

Lin Sanqi had this confidence because the fact that "Lingnan Hall" could supply effective Chinese medicine had long been known in society.

"Angong Niuhuang Pills" and "Pian Zai Huang" have become another business card of Lingnan Hall and are in short supply.

As the general manager, Lin Tianhua only regretted that there were too few pills and he could only serve as a facade.

As long as there were enough pills, he would have sold them all over the country, becoming another profit growth point for the company. As for whether there would be a lawsuit due to the large quantity, the worst that could happen is that he could create his own brand.

If Lin Sanqi could get the secret recipe from the old national treasure in 1960, relying on the fact that the current medicinal materials are real, and the fact that the Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is staffed by elites of traditional Chinese medicine and has first-class pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities.

Then it is entirely possible to produce a miracle drug and sell it in 2013.

As for food, how much is it worth? Let alone supplying 600 people, even if it was supplying 60,000 people, Lin Sanqi wouldn't blink an eye.

Dean Shen's eyes started to roll rapidly when he heard Lin Sanqi's suggestion:

"Xiao Qi, I roughly understand, but I don't quite understand. Can you give me an example of how you plan to operate the whole process? I can evaluate it again, okay?"

"Uncle Shen, let me give you an example. For example, Tong Ren Tang has a pill called Angong Niuhuang Pill. Have you heard of it?"

"Yes, I've heard that it's used to clear away heat and detoxify, calm the nerves and open the mind, and it's quite effective."

Dean Shen's evaluation is that the efficacy is good. Unlike decades later, the current Angong Niuhuang Pills can only be considered famous, but definitely not a miracle drug.

After all, the last generation of Chinese medicine masters are still alive, and the Tongrentang Le family can only be regarded as one of them.

This is also the reason why Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has not officially purchased Angong Niuhuang Pills, because the doctors at Kuanjie Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine also have their own unique secret recipes and do not use Angong Niuhuang Pills. They are so confident.

Lin Sanqi continued to deceive:

"I just need a secret recipe medicine similar to Angong Niuhuang Wan, with the same efficacy. If the efficacy is better than Angong Niuhuang Wan, it would be great. With this pill, I can find a way to sell it.

"After I sell them, I'll use the profits to buy food and return it to our Chinese medicine hospital. Uncle Shen, think about this method. We don't ask for a penny of funding from the higher authorities, and we don't use up the financial resources of the main hospital. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"

Dean Shen glanced at Lin Sanqi and asked uncertainly:

"Can you guarantee that as long as we develop a pill similar to Angong Niuhuang, you will be able to sell it?"

Lin Sanqi patted his chest and said, "I'm absolutely sure!"

Dean Shen's eyes flashed with suspicion: "It's very risky for you to do this. What benefits will it bring to you personally?"

Dean Shen just didn't believe that there was any saint who was so dedicated to the public that he risked his life to contribute his secret shipping methods just to support the employees of a unit that had nothing to do with him?

Lin Sanqi was a little embarrassed: "Well, well, of course I have to make a small profit from the price difference, otherwise where would I get the pig head meat to eat?"

Dean Shen looked at Lin Sanqi, and Lin Sanqi was a little scared. Then he laughed:

"Okay, you're honest. If you can really help find a way to ship the food and buy it back, it's understandable that I'll let you make a little profit from the difference."

Dean Shen is from Suzhou, which has been the most prosperous place for commerce since ancient times. Therefore, he does not reject business and believes that there is nothing wrong with making money. Therefore, he can calmly accept Lin Sanqi making a profit from the "middle price difference".

But Dean Shen still has some concerns:

"Well, Xiao Qi, I'll talk to a few old men tomorrow to see if they have any secret recipes they can share."

Lin Sanqi quickly added, "It's okay if they don't contribute it. Just tell us the production process. They can keep the core secret recipe."

As a modern person, what Lin Sanqi fears most is that the state will expropriate property without compensation at any time. Public property and private property should be strictly distinguished and both should be protected by law.

"Okay, okay, it's up to them whether to keep it or not. How about this, we produce a trial batch of pills first, and then you can sell them out and see if we can mass-produce them based on sales. What do you think of this?"

If we have prepared the herbs and are ready to work hard, but you can't sell them, it will be a disaster for the finances of our Chinese medicine hospital. We can lose money for individuals, but we can't lose money for the whole group."

Lin Sanqi agreed. Doing business is risky. It's not enough to just have a good medicine. Good sales depend on many factors, including the right time, right place, and right people.

"Okay, let's do as you say. Let's test the waters first."

Dean Shen put his worries aside and picked up his chopsticks again to eat the pig's head, taking a sip of rice wine from time to time.

"Oh, Xiao Qi, you're full of ideas. You said people are panicking right now. What can we do to reassure the employees?"

Lin Sanqi thought, what could be more reassuring than distributing food to the workers? The conditions weren't quite there yet. Since material needs couldn't be met, then spiritual needs could be met.

"Uncle Shen, why don't you invite a theatre troupe, a song and dance troupe, or a cinema to perform at our farm? Firstly, it would boost popularity, and secondly, it would also satisfy the employees' spare time. Isn't that the best way to put our minds at ease?"

Dean Shen was delighted when he heard this:

"Okay, that's a good idea. When we were fighting in the past, art troupes would come to show their support. After watching the performances, the soldiers would roar and charge forward with their rifles in hand."

Speaking of this, Lin Sanqi also became interested:

"Let's invite the National Peking Opera Company and all four of its famous actresses. Maybe our farm can even attract some traffic and get featured in XX Daily."

Dean Shen rolled his eyes at Lin Sanqi:

"You are unlearned and unskilled. Of the four famous dan actresses, Cheng Yanqiu passed away in 1958. Mei Lanfang is now seriously ill. I have examined him, and he is in no condition to perform on stage." (Mei Lanfang died in 1961)

"And then there's Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng, both of whom are 60 years old this year. They can't catch their breath when they sing. They can sing a short piece, but it's impossible for them to sing a whole show. Besides, Shang Xiaoyun is in Shaanxi, not in the capital."

"Oh, Mr. Cheng Yanqiu is gone? What a shame."

Lin Sanqi's former university had a Peking Opera Club that often performed the famous Cheng school opera "The Hairpin," a comedy. If it could be performed at Changping Farm, it would definitely make the employees happy.

Thinking of Cheng Yanqiu, Lin Sanqi recalled a memory of his goddaughter Li Shiji. She said that Mr. Cheng Yanqiu would eat an elbow and ten eggs in one meal, and his appetite was amazing.

Lin Sanqi thought, it was a good thing that Mr. Cheng died early. If he were still alive, who knows how he would be criticized.

Dean Shen saw Lin Sanqi's regretful expression and said with a smile:

"Speaking of the Capital Peking Opera Theater, just like our Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it gathers the best actors in the country. Although the four famous actresses are good, there are many actors who are as famous as the four famous actresses and have excellent singing skills.

For example, Zhang Junqiu and Zhao Yanxia are also top-notch female roles; for the dahualian role, Qiu Shengrong is the best; for the laosheng role, Ma Lianliang is the best; for the xusheng role, there are Tan Fuying and Tan Si. Their singing skills are inherited from their families, but I don’t know if he can sing the xiaofan role well, hahahaha.”

Lin Sanqi blinked her innocent eyes and asked, "What's the meaning of this "Xiao Fan"? You're laughing so happily."

"I call you Xiaofan. It's from a line from the play 'Silang Visits His Mother' that Tan Fuying once performed in Tianjin. 'When I saw the princess steal the imperial edict, I couldn't help but feel delighted. I stood at the palace gate and called you Xiaofan.'"

The last part is called Xiaofan, which is very demanding and most actors can't sing it. Oh my god, even the famous actor Tan Fuying couldn't sing it, which is a huge loss of face for a member of the Tan family.

Tan Fuying was not convinced and said that if he could sing it in Peking, there was no reason why he couldn't sing it in Tianjin. So he put up the water sign again and performed "Silang Tanmu" again the next day, preparing to continue to call it a small show. At that time, a ticket cost three yuan and thirty cents.

All the opera fans in Tianjin came that day, but Tan Fuying got nervous and lost the tune. He asked Xiaofan to sing again and he couldn't sing it. So there was a joke about "three yuan and three cents" and Xiaofan. It is said that from then on, Tan Fuying never went to Tianjin to sing again because he was afraid.

Lin Sanqi was amused when he heard this. He could imagine the scene of Tan Si's death in Tianjin, so he asked:

"Uncle Shen, tell me anything else interesting."

"Interesting story. Okay, then let me tell you about Du Jinfang's life story. Du Jinfang doesn't know? Do Mei Lanfang and Meng Xiaodong know? In fact, Du Jinfang is..."

The two of them drank rice wine and chatted about gossip. They became happier and happier and didn't fall asleep until late at night.

(End of this chapter)