After Luo Ran left the office, he dialed a number and instructed, "How are the preparation for the men I asked?"
"Don't worry, is five hundred enough?" A sinister voice smiled from the other side and continued, "I guarantee that business on that day will be prosperous!"
After a brief pondering, Luo Ran sniffed his nose and replied, "Add another hundred more. No matter what, I don't want any mistakes three days from now."
"Mr. Ran, don't worry about it. We've worked together several times. Oh, right, are you sure we don't have to take care of the other side?" The voice from the other side curiously said.
Nodding his head, Luo Ran responded, "Just act according to my plans."
After hanging up the call, Luo Ran gave a call to another number. The dial tone lasted slightly longer before the other side picked it up. When the call was picked up, he asked, "What's the situation in Three Flavour Hall?"
"Mr. Ran, we're currently having a meal together. As for the specifics, I've just sent you a message." The one answering the call had found an excuse to visit the washroom, but he was afraid of being discovered and went into a safe passage. After he was halfway down the stairs, he cautiously looked at the door he came from.
"Remember to inform me if there are any updates. Don't forget the reason why you're in the Three Flavour Hall!" Luo Ran responded.
"I will definitely do a good job of gathering information!" The voice from the other side replied.
His name was Hou Cheng, a pawn that Luo Ran arranged to the Three Flavour Hall. This was considered a long-term investment, and as long as Hou Cheng remained in the Three Flavour Hall, Luo Ran would be able to grasp any first-hand information of the Three Flavour Hall in the future.
Hou Cheng was an intern in the Three Flavour Hall, and his pay was just a measly ¥2,500 a month. On the other hand, Luo Ran gave him ¥10,000 a month, so he was confident that Hou Cheng would be loyal to him since money makes the world go round.
However, Luo Ran did not think that Hou Cheng would last long as a spy. After all, he expected that the Three Flavour Hall's branch would only be able to last for a year under the pressure of the Medicine King Hall before it closes down.
It was mainly because Bai Fan did not even bat an eye at the cost to attack the Three Flavour Hall's entry into He City's market. His insanity even exceeded Luo Ran's imagination.
When Luo Ran returned, he saw Bai Fan standing by the window with his back against him.
Luo Ran reported, "Senior Brother, I've just double confirmed that the show will start three days from now!"
"Alright, you've done well." Bai Fan indifferently replied as he waved his hand towards Luo Ran.
When Luo Ran left the room, he noticed that his Senior Brother was unusually silent. He could tell how much importance Bai Fan had placed in the Three Flavour Hall.
Is Su Tao trying to topple the course of development for TCM?
Bai Fan's brain circulated as he constantly analysed Su Tao's plan. He had to grasp what Su Tao was thinking!
Since a decade ago, TCM has moved its focus onto herbs. Even the famous pharmacy chains out there did not provide any medical consultations. Even if there would be physicians occasionally in the pharmacy, they mainly earned their income through the sale of herbs.
Dealing with herbs had a higher chance of replicating. So the Medicine King Hall managed to swiftly expand and have nearly a hundred chains throughout the nation. They even went as far as developing the Medicine King Garden with the Nie Family to create the largest herb distribution center in the country.
However, Su Tao's Three Flavour Hall was trying to change that trend.
The Three Flavour Hall was promoting medical consultation, while herbs were secondary. This made Bai Fan baffled. How is he going to earn a profit from consultations?
But even if Bai Fan did not see eye-to-eye with Su Tao's business mindset, he was still concerned in his heart, since he also had hesitations in his heart many years ago.
Why didn't the Medicine King Hall have any physicians but just a few employees in white gowns, who had no foundation as physicians responsible for retrieving the herbs?
Many of those active in the TCM Association were merchants that dealt with herbs. They knew how to control the market price and sell them for a high price before buying them at a low price.
The main reason for TCM's decline wasn't due to the lack of profit system in TCM, but those that receive the biggest profits knew nothing about TCM. They only knew how to manipulate the herbs' effects, but they had no idea that physicians had to create new prescriptions for a better effect.
That was what Su Tao was trying to change
Because of the pressure, Bai Fan was also trying to change. His first step would be having an in-house doctor in the new branch, and if the result was good, he could introduce medical consultations in the other outlets.
Through the window, Bai Fan looked out at the scenery and fell into silence. He became instantly absent-minded and was actually hesitating on whether he should find a new partner.
Compared to Su Tao, Wang Guofeng was just a physician with brilliant medical skills. On the other hand, Su Tao was young, but he had ambitions and visions that far exceeded his age. Most importantly, Su Tao was trying to change the entire TCM industry through his own methods.
Suddenly, Bai Fan realised that his opponent is extremely formidable, and he had underestimated Su Tao in the past. For the past few months, Su Tao had shown shocking growth.
Suddenly, his phone rang, so Bai Fan turned around and came to his desk before taking his phone up and looked at the message.
"Mr. Bai, how are you today. We've done our investigation, and there's a silver mine beneath that mountain in Sichuan Province's Zhanxiang County."
Looking at this message, jealousy flickered in Bai Fan's eyes. "It's no wonder why you would run to such a remote location and rent the mountain at such a high price. So you already had such plans a long time ago. What a person that dredges for money. But I will not let you have it your way!" Initially, he thought that Su Tao was trying to make money through skincare, but it turned out that the latter now had another plan!
Like an average person, Bai Fan also felt that Su Tao was after the silver mine beneath the mountain.
But in fact, Su Tao only wanted to protect the Golden Chicken Mountain since it's the home for wild herbs.
Because of Bai Fan's investigation, the secret of a silver mine beneath the Golden Chicken Mountain was also one step closer to being exposed.
At this moment, Bai Fan also had his thoughts and he was wondering if he should join forces with the government in Sichuan to excavate this mine and earn a profit.
On the other hand, Su Tao had secluded himself in the concoction room at the branch and started to manufacture the Mind Revitalising Pellet.
Although he had experience with brewing the soup version, he still encountered many problems in his attempt to convert it into pellets.
He had to concentrate the essence while ensuring that the medicinal effect wasn't lost. Not only did this require skill and experience, but it also meant multiple failures in the process.
In ancient history, many Emperors consumed Golden Pellets. Those pellets were created by concentrating the soup, and their method of manufacture was also recorded on the Imperial Physician Scripture. Hence, Su Tao was trying to combine the Mind Revitalising Soup and Golden Pellet's manufacturing method.
Due to the Cloud Grass' rarity, there was a limited supply, and he had to find the most suitable method so that he wouldn't waste the ingredients. At the same time, he had to ensure that the body can absorb the pellet upon consumption.
Although there was a great difficulty, Su Tao realised that he had gained a new understanding of the herbs' composition and broke through a bottleneck.
Converting soups into pellets was also a way to improve TCM. Even if many factories did that, there weren't many TCM pellets circulating in the market, and they couldn't replace Western Medicine's position. Hence, it was beneficial for the development of TCM if he could improve on the art of manufacturing TCM's medicinal pellets.
After pondering for an entire day and night in the concoction room, Su Tao finally made a bottle of the Mind Revitalising Pellets that were effective in treating Senile Dementia. One bottle contained a hundred and twenty pellets, which could guarantee the improvement of Cao Dingjun's condition with two pellets a day.
After he carefully wrote the label on the bottle, not only did he write the consumption method, he even indicated any diet taboo before placing it in a small box.
When he came out, Zhao Jian immediately rushed over. "Master, you're finally out."
Nodding his head, Su Tao handed the box over to Zhao Jian. "Send an express delivery to Minnan Province. I've already written the address on it. Oh, right, is Old Dou here?"
Receiving the box, Zhao Jian nodded his head. "He arrived yesterday in the afternoon. He knew that you were in the concoction room and didn't allow me to disrupt you."
Su Tao realised that he had been too focused on his task and neglected his guest. Thus, he immediately said, "Quick, bring me to see Old Dou."
Dou Fanggang had a straightforward character, and he wasn't too into the etiquette. He was the kind that would entrust himself to you the moment he determined your worth.
Seeing Dou Fanggang in the living room, Su Tao immediately apologised, "Old Dou, I'm really sorry to leave you waiting."
When Dou Fanggang saw Su Tao's eyes covered in blood veins, he shook his head and smiled. "Little Su, you weren't idling around, and I knew that you didn't mean it. However, you have to share with me what you were doing in the concoction room."
With a smile, Su Tao replied, "Then I'll have to invite you into the concoction room."
When Dou Fanggang entered the concoction room with Su Tao, the latter handed the pellet over to Dou Fanggang. After Dou Fanggang examined it, he placed it before his nose to take a sniff before putting it in his mouth.
Roughly ten minutes later, Dou Fanggang's eyes radiated and he asked, "This is a medicine for mental health?"
Amazed at Dou Fanggang's ability to guess the medicine from the changes it caused in his body, Su Tao nodded his head, "Yeah, this is pretty effective for Senile Dementia."
Dou Fanggang heavily patted Su Tao's shoulders, unable to contain his joy. "Wonderful! Senile Dementia is a common illness, and it's also a world-class problem in the medical industry. With this pellet alone, you're capable of winning respect from people around the world."
Shaking his head in regret, Su Tao replied, "Old Dou, you're rejoicing a little too early."
After a brief stun, Dou Fanggang sighed, "There are actually some herbs in it that I couldn't guess."
"It's Cloud Grass!" Su Tao showed a wry smile. Cloud Grass belonged to an extinct herb, so it was understandable that Dou Fanggang failed to recognise it.
"Cloud Grass?" Dou Fanggang was known to be a walking encyclopedia of herbs. Hence, he instantly found its origin from Su Tao's words. "There were records of it in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. This is a miraculous herb that can even bring back the dead, and its effect is even more magical than ginseng. But this herb has a strict requirement on the growing environment and collection method."
Nodding his head, Su Tao smiled. "Yeah, I found it on Sichuan Province's Golden Chicken Mountain."
With heavy flickering in his eyes, Dou Fanggang replied, "No wonder you would add a Mountain Herbs Project to the Qihuang Charity Funds. So it's meant to protect the Cloud Grass."
"Not only Cloud Grass, but I also want to protect the other herbs that are on the verge of extinction." Su Tao responded.
"You have my support in this matter!" Dou Fanggang's gaze fell on the few pellets on the table and sighed. "The worth of these pellets is simply priceless! It's only a pity that they cannot be mass-produced. Otherwise, it would be a powerful weapon for TCM."
