Chapter 3106 Discussion
By the time the prince's letter reached Beihai County, it was almost the New Year. Bai Shan sent the castrated and rejuvenated piglets to various government farms.
Zhou Man's belly had grown bigger because it was cold, so she wore more clothes and looked rounder. However, her small face hadn't changed much, so her head looked small and her body was big. Bai Shan was worried, fearing that she was tired. All the pregnant women he had seen gained weight all over.
So he helped her share her worries to the best of his ability. As soon as the prince's letter arrived, he went over to read it together.
In the letter, the prince told Zhou Man very frankly that it was the common idea of His Majesty and him to open another pharmacy outside the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Because he considered Zhou Man his confidant, he told her bluntly, "Such a powerful weapon must be in the hands of the royal family. How can we feel at ease if we hand it over to outsiders?"
It’s like an army. The emperor must have a core force in his hands. Otherwise, if outsiders rebel in the future, won’t the royal family have to leave it to fate?
The same is true for this important drug.
Zhou Man handed the letter to Bai Shan and said thoughtfully, "If the royal family has a pharmacy to centralize production, then our Imperial Medical Bureau will definitely not be able to compete with them if we only rely on sporadic production in various local medical bureaus. So, our Imperial Medical Bureau should also build a pharmacy."
Bai Shan: "...Don't you want to take this opportunity to talk to His Highness about charity?"
Zhou Man hesitated for a moment and then said, "Forget it, let Mingda bring up this matter. In order to prevent Xiao Yuanzhengtai from getting angry, I think we should also seek benefits for the Imperial Medical Bureau."
As they were talking, Daji came in with a letter from outside and said, "My dear, my lady, there is a letter from the post station."
Bai Shan reached out to take it and asked, "Whose is it?"
"My wife's."
When Zhou Man saw the handwriting on the envelope, his neck shrank and he whispered, "It's from Xiao Yuanzheng."
Bai Shan opened it for her and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid. Xiao Yuanzheng is not here. He will just curse you from a distance."
Xiao Yuanzheng, either having heard rumors or guessing that the prince was looking for Zhou Man for a prescription, specially wrote a letter to Zhou Man. He wrote two pages of eloquent letters, describing the difficulties they had faced in establishing the Imperial Medical Bureau and the difficulties its future development would face. Finally, he got to the point and talked about the royal family's desire to build a pharmacy.
He said, "Several ministers have said that departments have their own responsibilities, and medical matters should be handled by the Imperial Medical Bureau. Although penicillin is of great importance, this principle cannot be violated because of this. Otherwise, what is the point of having a court and a department?"
He continued, "The Imperial Medical Bureau has always been considered, like the Imperial Hospital, to be His Majesty's personal agency, not a government department. If we hand over this highly influential medicine to the royal family, won't we be further perpetuating this perception? I wonder when the Imperial Medical Bureau will finally gain recognition from the public..."
"Besides that, there's also the issue of the efficacy of the finished medicine," Xiao Yuanzheng said. "You and I both know that a recipe for a finished medicine depends not only on the quality and quantity of the herbs used, but also on the method used. A slight error can lead to a huge deviation in efficacy, and a good medicine can become a poison. The Imperial Medical Bureau is responsible for making the medicine, and at least the practitioners are students who have undergone formal training, so there's a guarantee. If it were handed over to the royal family, and a single step went wrong, and they didn't notice, it would cause serious harm..."
Zhou Man fell into deep thought, and Bai Shan also pondered for a while. After a while, he said, "What Xiao Yuanzheng said makes sense."
Zhou Man looked up at him.
Bai Shan then smiled and said, "So it's time to go back in time."
He placed the teapot on the table between his and Zhou Man's teacups, shifted the two cups, and pointed at the teapot, saying, "There should be a supervisory department specifically to inspect finished medicines."
Zhou Man's eyes lit up slightly as he said, "Yes," nodding to two teacups. "Not only the royal pharmacies need to be checked, but also the pharmacies of our Imperial Medical Bureau, and even the finished medicines sold in private pharmacies and clinics..."
Bai Shan: "...This seems to conflict with the functions of the county government."
Zhou Man looked up at him again.
"Well, not necessarily. Your Imperial Medical Bureau is short-staffed. Not to mention the manpower, just the establishment of the rules and regulations may take at least ten years. Let's take our time."
Let’s talk about what happens ten years later. By then he will definitely not be the county magistrate anymore, so Zhou Man cannot bear the humiliation at this time.
Zhou Man placed the two letters side by side on the desk, took a piece of white paper and spread it out, intending to write to Xiao Yuanzheng first.
Then he wrote back to the prince.
Bai Shan was grinding ink on the side, watching her write while saying, "By the way, Mr. Zhou, I have a note for you."
Zhou Man asked without even looking up, "What post?"
"Our wharf is about to open. The day after tomorrow, three ships will come to anchor here. These are the ships that Laizhou Wharf has promised to give us."
Zhou Man looked up in surprise, "Where did the ship come from?"
"The farthest one is from Chaozhou, and there are two more coming back from Jiangnan. They're all rushing back for the New Year. I heard they brought back a lot of beautiful fabrics and porcelain. Would you like to go and see them when the time comes?"
Zhou Man didn't care about these things, but was very interested in joining in the fun. He nodded repeatedly, "Then we have to go tomorrow, right?"
"Well, Governor Guo and his men will be here tomorrow. When they arrive, we'll go together." Bai Shan reached out and tidied up a strand of hair that had fallen from her forehead, and said with a smile, "You're in a heavy body, so you can stay in the princess's villa with Yin Huo and the others."
"Hey, what about you guys?"
"We live at Longchi Haisi."
That was actually just a title, given by Bai Shan himself. It was actually a courtyard with several houses put together. It was for Lord Cui and other officials and craftsmen who were building the dock to live in, and it was also their office space.
Zhou Man nodded. Because of this good news, she couldn't help but be more lively and a little more talkative when writing to the prince.
By the time the Crown Prince and Xiao Yuanzheng received the letter, it was already time for the court to seal it and prepare for the New Year.
The letter was delivered directly to home and the Eastern Palace. Because the person who delivered the letter was Bai Shan's guard, he didn't tell anyone, and neither of them knew that they received the letter at the same time.
When Xiao Yuanzheng heard that it was Zhou Man's reply, he immediately opened the letter and asked Imperial Physicians Liu and Lu, who had no time to bring him New Year gifts, to open it.
Doctor Liu knew that this was Zhou Man's letter, so he put down his teacup and looked at Xiao Yuanzheng with concern.
Seeing his expression gradually becoming serious and finally slowly closing the letter, I couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter, Master Zhou, don't you agree with our point of view?"
Xiao Yuanzheng put down the letter in his hand and remained silent for a long time.
Doctor Lu was anxious. "Director, please tell me, has Zhou Man already given the prescription to the Crown Prince?"
"not yet,"
Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, they heard Xiao Yuanzheng say expressionlessly, "But it will be soon. She said she has already agreed to the prince."
Imperial Physician Liu and Imperial Physician Lu: ...Can you speak without panting?
The two looked at each other and didn't speak for a while.
See you at 10:30 pm
(End of this chapter)
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