After breakfast, Qingyan sat in her study looking at the report submitted by Yuelai Inn. She saw that Doctor Lu had managed to find the inn's suppliers, hoping that those medicine merchants could sell some useful medicinal herbs to help in the emergency.
Yesterday, Yin told Doctor Lu that he must help the military camp physicians with their work. Doctor Lu originally disagreed, and if Qingyan hadn't come to dissuade him, Doctor Lu would definitely have refused.
She was very upset when she learned of this. It seemed that Yin and Yin's other methods would have to rely on the connections of the Yuelai Inn again.
"Sulan, did Fourth Prince instruct you on anything?" Qingyan was annoyed. If Yin had said something, she probably wouldn't have cared much, and might even have helped them continue the instructions.
“The master said that you should wait for him to have lunch together,” Su Lan quickly said. “This morning, when the master was doing his morning exercise, Erlu whispered a few words in his ear, and the master’s expression didn’t look good.”
Qingyan frowned. Could it be that Yin didn't know?
That's enough!
Once Yin returns, she will ask him for clarification before making a decision. If Doctor Lu was forced to find a purchasing channel, it would be somewhat understandable.
"Prepare lunch." Qingyan looked terrible; she wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing or the wrong thing.
To outsiders, Yin and she are a family; if one of them makes a promise, she will definitely have to compromise.
Before lunch, Qingyan sat in the dining hall, deliberately letting the twins eat alone, waiting for Yin to give her a promise.
"Little Darling, where are the children?" Yin heard that Doctor Lu had contacted the medicine merchant at Yuelai Inn. He knew that Qingyan must have misunderstood, so he decided to find out the truth first and then explain to her.
After a morning of waiting, Doctor Lu finally spoke up. It wasn't Yin who brought it up, but rather the two imperial physicians who persuaded him to.
The Imperial Medical Academy had limited medicinal resources, and many of them were specially imported from outside the Great Wall. These were specifically prepared for Emperor Kangxi, and if he had any illness, these medicines would be the first thing he would use.
The remaining imperial concubines and princes used mostly old, stale medicines.
"Si Si, the children are taking their afternoon nap. Why do we need to use the medicine merchant from Yue Lai Inn?" Qing Yan selects medicine merchants primarily based on the medicinal materials they produce. Imperial merchants who sell medicinal materials are not within her scope of consideration.
"The medicinal herbs sold by the imperial merchants were no good. The two imperial physicians strongly objected. After Doctor Lu came over, he also discovered which herbs were being used, which was undoubtedly a blatant disregard for human life." This explanation from Yin was acceptable to Qingyan.
Qingyan lowered her head, carefully recalling the excuse Yin had given her. Doctor Lu was quite capable; to be able to gain the trust of the imperial physicians after only a short career in medicine, he was definitely skilled.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Qingyan held the lifeline of Yuelai Inn in her hands. The medicine merchants would definitely ask Doctor Lu first whether she had mentioned that the herbs had been pre-ordered. Doctor Lu was obviously lying behind her back.
Yin asked in surprise, "Didn't Doctor Lu mention that?"
Yin was very busy a few days ago. When Doctor Lu went to negotiate with the medicine merchant, he repeatedly instructed that Doctor Lu must inform Qingyan in order to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
Qingyan shook her head directly; if she had told him, she definitely wouldn't have been angry.
“I thought he had already said that, so I didn’t mention it. Little darling, if the medicine merchant can provide the medicinal herbs from that year, I will buy them at the retail price of Minsheng Pharmacy!” Yin said to Qingyan in a low voice.
She looked at Yin with a puzzled expression. Did they really not need to touch the medicinal herbs in the Imperial Hospital anymore?
"I have no problem with that, but are you sure Minsheng Pharmacy won't try to lower the price?" Minsheng Pharmacy has already been handed over to the servants of the Imperial Household Department. To prevent any leaks, the managers of Minsheng Pharmacy have caused quite a bit of trouble, and some of them have even become mortal enemies with Yuelai Inn.
"I guarantee that no one will try to lower the price. I can control it." Yin had a mental ledger and knew roughly how much silver those medicinal herbs would cost. Kangxi had also told Yin about it in advance.
After considering it for a while, Qingyan nodded in agreement.
"You can buy from me, but you need to arrange for imperial physicians to inspect the medicinal materials on the spot upon receipt. I have strict rules, and the materials must be inspected on the spot. Moreover, there can be no repercussions later." Qingyan explained the rules first, since these rules were somewhat inflexible.
The imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy disliked doing business with Yuelai Inn because they had to inspect the medicines on the spot and sign and stamp the receipts in case someone substituted the medicines, leaving the medicine merchants with no way to explain themselves.
Previously, pharmaceutical merchants did not have so many rules, but some oversights occurred in the course of business. Back then, when Minsheng Pharmacy was first taken over by the Imperial Household Department, those imperial merchants hoped that their own people would serve as suppliers.
"Okay, I'll give the order!" Yin nodded in agreement. "I don't want the suppliers from Minsheng Pharmacy to come over. After all, those people are imperial merchants, and who knows how much kickback those people from the Imperial Household Department might get from them."
Qingyan scoffed. Now that they've realized these problems, what were they doing before?
Initially, Mingsheng Pharmacy opened free clinics, which greatly boosted its reputation. Now, nobody likes to see a doctor at Minsheng Pharmacy anymore. Not only are the fees high, but the medicinal herbs are also of little medicinal value, basically just wasting the family's money.
"Furthermore, don't let Doctor Lu get involved. Yuelai Inn needs Doctor Lu to revise the medicinal cuisine. If Doctor Lu gets distracted and Yuelai Inn's business declines, I won't hesitate to fire him." Qingyan knew the royal family's methods all too well.
Everything had to be delayed because of the royal orders. Doctor Lu probably felt that the tasks assigned by the royal family should be completed first.
"No!" Yin quickly said, "Little darling, I will talk to Doctor Lu. Yuelai Inn is his main place of duty. Here at the military port, when we are training here, he is an additional dispatched doctor, not a formal member here."
Qingyan scoffed, "Doctor Lu probably wouldn't think that way. Royal affairs are of utmost importance. If he could get the answer from the military port, he wouldn't need to go to the Yuelai Inn at all. Merchants are lowly, and compared to the doctor here at the military port, the latter has a much higher status."
At this moment, Qingyan no longer trusted others. Even if Doctor Lu did a good job, she believed that Lu Taifu would definitely choose the latter when faced with this choice.
"Little darling, don't you trust your own eyesight?" Yin shook his head helplessly. This little guy lacked confidence again. "The night before last, I discussed it with Doctor Lu. That man remembered the life-saving grace his father-in-law had shown him, and he refused to come and become a doctor no matter what."
"What?!" Qingyan was stunned. "In the end, why did you agree?"
“My father-in-law vouched for him, but he said he would stay at the Yuelai Inn and leave with us when we leave the naval port.”
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