Chapter 632: Chapter 603: Small Country, Few People
Xu Chunliang said that this matter should be asked to Dean Gu. Huichun Hall is just putting up the money and the formula; primarily it’s a technical equity investment, and they don’t interfere with specific management. Gao Xinhua somewhat regretted not investing some shares himself but was concerned about gossip due to his public position.
The two returned to the office, and Gu Houyi had already prepared the tea. Xu Changshan invited, "Come and have some tea. Don’t leave tonight; there’s a nice lamb restaurant nearby, and Chunliang is treating us."
Xu Chunliang laughed, "Grandpa, how come I don’t know about this?"
Gao Xinhua said, "If we ask you to treat, you treat. Anyway, you’re spending your grandpa’s money."
Everyone laughed.
"Don’t say that. Chunliang hasn’t spent my money for a long time. This kid’s got skills," Xu Changshan said with a proud face when he mentioned his grandson.
Gao Xinhua looked at Xu Chunliang, secretly lamenting how wonderful it would be if he were my son-in-law. He took a liking to Xu Chunliang at first sight, but unfortunately, his daughter, Gao Xiaobai, didn’t click with him, and feelings can’t be forced.
Gu Houyi said, "Since I’m here, of course, it’s my treat. Let me fulfill my duty as a host."
Gao Xinhua took a sip of tea and said, "Pu’er from Xianhong Farm."
Gu Houyi replied, "You could taste it. Chunliang brought it over. It’s the reception tea for our hospital."
Gao Xinhua picked up a tea cake and looked at it. It already had the name of the hospital printed on it — Changshan Hospital of Gastroenterology and Colorectal Surgery. Doesn’t this mean that Elder Xu is willing to endorse the hospital?
He’s truly a dear grandson. Changshan Gastrointestinal Hospital — it takes a lot of love to put your name before gastroenterology, but isn’t directly printing ’gastroenterology’ on the tea packaging a bit unseemly?
Xu Changshan asked, "What do you think of this name?"
Gao Xinhua insincerely said, "It’s nice."
Xu Changshan explained the meaning: Changshan, homophonic with ’intestines’ and ’good’, fits perfectly with a specialty hospital.
Gao Xinhua thought to himself, "As long as you’re happy," and put down the tea cake, asking, "When are you planning to open?"
Gu Houyi said, "The procedures are all done. Renovations should be complete by early next month. Next is installing equipment and recruiting staff. I’m planning for a trial run on May Day."
Gao Xinhua said, "Isn’t that soon?"
Xu Changshan said, "I didn’t expect it to be this fast. I used to think renovations were quite complex, but it turned out to be so simple, and the results are great."
Gao Xinhua said, "That’s because you have your own people. I just took a walk around the construction site. With these renovation standards, if it were our hospital, it wouldn’t be under five million."
Gu Houyi nodded, "I’ve noticed that too, which is why public projects have so many layers."
Gao Xinhua quickly clarified, "Dean Gu, although I was responsible for infrastructure when I worked with you, I didn’t line my pockets. At most, I benefited from some food and drinks."
Gu Houyi laughed, "Then you filled up your belly." He had completely stepped down now. Looking back at past events, he was very open-minded. Both public and private have their own issues; the biggest problem is actually public-private partnerships. Changxing, under Zhao Feiyang, had become awkward all around.
Gu Houyi used to care about Changxing, but since Zhao Feiyang sold the Weishan Island Branch, he was completely disheartened. The current Changxing is not the same as before. Although Zhao Feiyang hasn’t been in charge for long, the changes are significant, essentially negating all of Gu Houyi’s previous policies. There’s nothing he can do other than sigh.
It’s time to say goodbye to Changxing. Now, Gu Houyi is fully focused on the construction and preparation of Changshan Hospital of Gastroenterology and Colorectal Surgery.
While everyone was having a lively chat, Zheng Peian came over. He came by every day. Gao Xinhua helped transfer him to emergency internal medicine. Zheng Peian had mostly detached from his specialty. The aim of this adjustment was to concentrate his energy and time here.
Gao Xinhua sighed inwardly, "In Changxing Hospital, doctors like Zheng Peian are numerous. In this era where everything is about money, the number of doctors who remain true to their principles is as rare as a phoenix feather."
Xu Changshan talked about dinner plans, but Zheng Peian couldn’t make it; he had a night shift and had just come to make a quick round before leaving.
Xu Chunliang said, "Why not swap shifts with someone, Uncle Gao doesn’t visit often."
Zheng Peian replied, "Tonight’s really not possible. I can’t find anyone to switch with."
Gu Houyi said, "One must do their job well, so don’t force Xiaozheng."
Zheng Peian said, "Look at Dean Gu’s perspective, Chunliang; you’ve got a lot to learn."
Gao Xinhua said, "Chunliang is doing well too. He’s officially gone to the Cultural and Tourism Bureau, and his deputy section level is confirmed. He’s a bona fide national cadre."
Zheng Peian said, "Cultural and Tourism Bureau? Isn’t that the department for food and fun? It suits his vibe perfectly."
Upon hearing this about his precious grandson, Xu Changshan was immediately displeased, "And your vibe is great? You’ve been eating, drinking, and having fun for half your life, and I haven’t seen much progress from you."
Zheng Peian quickly pleaded, "Master, I was wrong. Please don’t criticize me, I’ll get to work."
Xu Chunliang said, "Don’t worry, I brought you two boxes of wild Maofeng tea."
Zheng Peian laughed, "Just leave them here, I’m usually around here anyway."
Zheng Peian had just left when Li Jia Kuan arrived. Li Jia Kuan had retired early with thirty years of service and completed his retirement procedures at Gusu Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. This time, Li Jia Kuan brought some news.
Gusu Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital has been acquired by Renhe Hall.
Upon hearing about Renhe Hall, Xu Chunliang became intrigued, "The Renhe Hall headquartered in Jizhou?"
Li Jia Kuan nodded, "It seems like the acquirer also includes a Korean Medical Group."
Xu Changshan asked, "Korean Medical?"
Li Jia Kuan replied, "That’s the national medicine of South Korea."
Gao Xinhua sneered, "What national medicine do they have? Didn’t they just learn a few tricks from us and then shamelessly claim it as their national treasure? It’s really shameless."
Gu Houyi said, "Are they looking to get into cosmetic medicine?" South Korean cosmetic medicine is quite famous.
Li Jia Kuan said, "I’m not entirely sure about the specifics, but it’s a big move. Not only did they acquire our hospital, but they also bought an old traditional medical hall in the county, Tongde Hall. You might have heard of it."
Xu Changshan was taken aback, "Tongde Hall? Old Tang’s medical hall?"
Li Jia Kuan nodded, "Yes, that one. After Mr. Tang passed away two years ago, Tongde Hall barely managed to stay afloat. His sons were all busy fighting over the inheritance and couldn’t focus on practicing medicine. I heard they sold Tongde Hall along with the ancestral secret recipes for over twenty million."
Hearing this, Xu Changshan was somewhat angry, "These useless children, how can they just sell off our ancestors’ heritage?"
Gu Houyi sighed, "Things like this have been happening for a long time. It’s not just South Korea; there’s also Neon (Japan). Having these two neighbors is quite vexing. One likes to steal, and the other likes to rob, not a decent one among them. Do you really think they’re making commercial acquisitions?"
Gu Houyi shook his head, took up the teacup, and took a sip.
Gao Xinhua said, "Dean Gu, don’t keep us guessing."
Gu Houyi said, "Their real aim is to acquire our medical secrets through acquisitions. When you visit Neon (Japan), you can see Han formula medicines everywhere in their pharmacies. Neon has been vigorously promoting this. Traditional Chinese medicine is what they call Han formula medicine. They call it Han formula because our traditional Chinese medicine entered Neon during the 5th to 6th centuries and after evolution became their systematic medicine. According to authoritative statistics, over 90% of the popular Han formula medicines in Neon are basically derived from our Introduction to Pathogenic and Natural Diseases and Essentials of the Golden Cabinet."
Gao Xinhua lamented, "Here we are in our own country, constantly promoting the idea that traditional Chinese medicine is useless, while others regard it as valuable."
Gu Houyi said, "You may not know, but Neon and South Korea collectively occupy 80% to 90% of the world market share for traditional Chinese medicine. While traditional Chinese medicine originated in our country, it blossomed in South Korea and bore fruit in Neon. Many of our domestically grown Chinese medicinal herbs are exported to Neon and South Korea, where they are processed into tablets, capsules, etc., that meet international standards, and then sold at many times the price, with the majority of sales ending back in our country."
Xu Chunliang said, "So they’re basically taking us for fools, aren’t they?"
Gu Houyi responded, "Exactly, many of our citizens idolize foreign things and think imported medicines are better, without realizing the roots of those medicines lie in our own country. At least Neon labels it as Han formula, acknowledging their medicines originate from us. South Korea doesn’t even bother with that; they just outright claim it as their so-called cultural treasure of the Republic of Korea."
Xu Chunliang disdained, "To hell with it, their ’treasures’ are just pancake faces and kimchi."
Everyone laughed.
Gao Xinhua said, "Even the kimchi was stolen from us. Recently, they’ve started stealing pork belly too. For crying out loud, we’ve been raising pigs longer than their country’s history."
Xu Changshan didn’t scold them for their crude language. Such a petty little country does indeed deserve disdain. Xu Changshan said, "So, their real aim in acquiring hospitals and medical halls is the secret recipes?"
Gu Houyi said, "Pretty much."
Xu Changshan said, "It’s truly insidious."
Xu Chunliang said, "We can’t entirely blame them. There are always a few people in our country, willing to sell anything for a little profit. As the saying goes, it’s hard to guard against treachery at home."
Xu Changshan told Xu Chunliang, "I don’t care about others, but our Old Xu Family’s secret recipes, they can’t be sold at any price."
Xu Chunliang said, "Rest assured." He recalled meeting Zhou Renhe in Jizhou a few days ago, during which Zhou Renhe specifically mentioned the Korean Medical Group. It’s evident their visit to Dongzhou is with an agenda, most likely targeting their Old Xu Family.
After dinner, Xu Chunliang first took his grandfather back home. Just as he arrived home, Mei Ru Xue called. She had just finished a meeting and had originally planned to have dinner with Xu Chunliang.
Xu Chunliang told Mei Ru Xue to go directly to Zhuangyuan Street, where he’d join her for a late-night meal.
Mei Ru Xue suggested going to the Dongzhou Normal University Pedestrian Street, which isn’t far from the Hidden Dragon Mansion, and she could conveniently pick him up on the way.
He suddenly realized that today was the last day of the double monthly ticket event. If anyone had any monthly tickets, they should take advantage of the double period and vote for "Doctor" in the portal—monthly tickets, monthly tickets, monthly tickets!
