Chapter 457: Convincing Mr. Deng
On January 17, the fifth year of my life in Shangzhou, four days after returning home, I called Mr. Deng. He took a while to answer the phone.
I said, "Boss, I'm back and I'm here to visit you today."
"Come on, I'll send you a map of the location. Sixth floor, 6016."
At nine in the morning, I arrived at Huaxi Building on Huaxi Road. I went up to the sixth floor and walked straight ahead. I arrived at room 6016 and knocked on the door.
Mr. Deng opened the door and said excitedly, "You're finally back." He hugged me and said, "Please sit down." After that, he made me some tea.
I said, "So it's right here, not far from my new home."
He brought me some tea, sat down across from me, and said, "I was thinking of renting a hotel, but I ended up choosing this place. Downstairs are shops selling medical equipment. How's your business there?"
I smiled and said, "I gained three things. First, I learned something from Mr. Dong, and I feel that I have made a great step forward in my Taoism.
Secondly, they found two people for us, one of whom was a young acupuncturist named Fu.
The other one is a renowned Chinese medicine practitioner named Wang, but I haven't officially discussed this with Dr. Wang. I'll contact him after the hospital opens in the Philippines and see how the revenue is.
Third, I have an idea, a very urgent idea, and I want to have an in-depth discussion with you."
President Deng smiled and said, "The fact that you can have such an in-depth conversation proves that you've been thinking about it for a long time. Talk quickly."
I talked about how Japan developed Kampo medicine, how the United States, Germany, France, and South Korea rushed to register Chinese medicine trademarks, and how they developed Chinese patent medicines.
Then, he said with great force: "We will take the path of developing traditional Chinese medicine."
Mr. Deng took out a pack of cigarettes, handed one to me, and took a few puffs himself before asking, "Is this okay?"
"It's feasible. Overseas, they use traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, apply Western medicine's refined analytical methods, and then use modern technology to produce them. We must follow this path."
"Your idea is very good."
"Mr. Deng, we can't just stay at the idea stage. Given our current limited financial resources, we need to make plans in advance."
He put the cigarette in his mouth, but didn't smoke it. He asked, "Why early?"
I had already thought of him as Liu Bei and myself as Zhuge Liang, and we had a discussion about "Longzhong Discussion". I spoke nonstop for an hour.
This "Longzhong Discussion" had only one theme: first, to turn the secret recipe of Zhang Youcheng, a famous pediatric professor at Shangzhou College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which was specially formulated to treat children's cough, into a Chinese patent medicine.
Zhang Youcheng was well-known in Shangzhou and even the entire province for curing children's coughs. He could cure any disease with ease. Mr. Deng naturally knew this. At this moment, he suddenly raised a question:
"Why hasn't it been developed? There are plenty of other people with more money than me."
"The reason why Chinese patent medicines haven't been developed is because of the Chinese people's small-peasant mentality of 'dominating'."
"dominate?"
"Yes, famous Chinese medicine practitioners throughout the ages, rooted in this agricultural society, have formed a consensus to keep secrets. They would even pass the knowledge down to males, not females. If it was passed down to males, it would benefit their own family, while if it was passed down to females, it would be passed down to outsiders.
This small-scale peasant mentality has become an iron rule. If there are no descendants, they would rather take them to the grave, causing many secret recipes to be lost."
Mr. Deng nodded and said with deep understanding, "There's a doctor like this in my hometown who specializes in treating kidney disease. He had no children of his own and gave birth to five daughters in a row. Although he took on several apprentices, he didn't pass on his true skills to them."
"Yes, he simply wanted his own line to dominate the medical world with this prescription for generations, and live a prosperous life. Just like Zhu Yuanzhang, all his descendants were supported by the national treasury. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the state-supported Zhu royal family numbered over two million.
He wants his descendants to live a good life forever. But in the end, won't he still perish? The same is true of Chinese medicine. Many people just want to use a secret recipe to make their descendants enjoy it for generations. Their small-scale peasant mentality is too strong.
Mr. Deng said, "Traditional Chinese medicine uses observation, auscultation, listening, questioning, and palpation to distinguish between cold and heat, deficiency and excess. If it is made into a Chinese patent medicine, it will become a single prescription to treat the disease. Isn't that acceptable?"
I said, "Traditional Chinese medicine is good, but we need to reflect on the fact that it's been deified since the Song Dynasty. We can actually simplify it. We can create four types of medicine for cold, heat, deficiency, and excess. We can even create just two types: cold and heat. If the condition is caused by either cold or heat, you can get a diagnosis from a doctor and then go buy the medicine yourself."
"Is this okay?"
"Okay, if not, how do you explain Japan's Jiuxindan and Longjiaosan? They don't care whether you are suffering from cold or heat, they are all just the same medicine and very effective.
This demonstrates that as long as the effective ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine are extracted, they transcend the so-called cold and heat. There's more than one way to Rome; all roads lead to Rome. Traditional Chinese medicine also needs to be improved, integrating modern pharmacological analysis and modern production techniques before it can be widely adopted."
President Deng chuckled. "It's easy for you to convince me, Deng Fugen. Whether you can convince Doctor Zhang is a question mark. I declare my willingness to cooperate."
I said, "I heard he usually has to squeeze in time to go to the bathroom. Let's find out who has a good relationship with him. Let's use the evening time to visit him."
President Deng said, "It's a deal."
At noon, we had lunch at Mr. Deng's place. He had a canteen, and we ate in a small private room inside.
Mr. Deng said that dental hospitals don't require a lot of investment, so his plan is to open a chain of stores across the province. He'll start with a location in Upstate. Once this one is established, he'll expand across the board.
I said, "Your goal is to go public."
He laughed and said, "You know everything."
"Of course I understand. Going public depends on your market capitalization and how many companies you own."
President Deng said, "Let's do a five-year plan."
After lunch at Mr. Deng's, I went home. Without even taking a nap, I started by researching Zhang Youcheng's information. I looked up every report and profile about him.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, I called Secretary Tian.
He said, "Brother, Master Wan, when you disappear, you disappear completely, and when you reappear, you say you want to meet immediately. Where are you?"
I recounted what had happened over the past few months.
He said, "Let's meet in the evening. I'm going back to the city."
I called Mr. Deng again and said, "I've found someone who can contact Zhang Youcheng."
"who?"
"According to online information, Zhang Youcheng is from Dongli Town. Secretary Tian from the town accompanied him back to his alma mater, Dongli Middle School, to give a speech. Secretary Tian and I happen to be friends. Let's book a place tonight so the three of us can chat."
Mr. Deng said, "We have the same personality. We're both impatient. Come over to my place. There's a tea room here."
After dinner, I was getting ready to go out. My mother asked, "Are you going out again?"
I said, "I want to make money. I can't leave such a big villa empty."
She waved her hand: "You go, you go."
Just as I got out of the elevator, I received another call from Tan Shaojie: "Teacher Wan, have you arrived in Shangzhou?"
I said, "I'm really sorry, I'm afraid I won't be able to come before the New Year. Maybe after the New Year."
He said, "I've made an appointment with Lao Long. He said he's very grateful to me and that the hotel is now back in operation. Everything is fine."
"Oh, bless Lao Long. If you can come, you will definitely come. It depends on how things are going here."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
