Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Chen Jue drifted off without realizing when, and woke up early the next morning.

Huo Jilin was just stirring awake, and seeing that he was up, quickly reached out a hand to steady him: "Up this early? Not gonna sleep in a little longer?"

"No need."

"Having some noodle drop soup for breakfast?" Huo Jilin threw on his clothes in a few quick motions and climbed off the heated bed.

He wasn't picky about food. Chen Jue rubbed his fingers, ready to start working.

Huo Jilin had gotten pretty good at making noodle drop soup. Yesterday they'd stocked up on ingredients—pork leg bones, and Huo Jilin had grabbed pork liver as well. Today's soup had pork liver mixed in.

He was aiming to boost Chen Jue's blood and qi.

After the warm soup, the two of them got down to work.

The autumn wind had kicked up, and it was definitely cooler. But Chen Jue was working so hard he still broke a sweat.

The Huo family's stove was ideal for making medicine. Chen Jue wanted to test how the medicine came out at different dosages, so they worked on it together.

Meanwhile, Huo Jilin took the horse out for a run. When he came back dragging a bundle of bamboo and a bundle of horse grass, it meant he was done tending to the old horse ancestor for the day.

The whole day was a whirlwind of activity, with the fire never going out. Besides chopping bamboo, Huo Jilin also threw the big bones on to stew, not letting the fire go to waste.

By the time they hit the heated bed that night, they could barely stay still.

Three days after the dextrin was done, the cold remedy granules were finished. When the uniform brown granules were spread out on the white linen cloth, Huo Jilin gave Chen Jue another thumbs-up.

No need for words—just looking at the prototype, it was solid.

Chen Jue ignored him, just pinching some into his mouth to taste. The medicinal taste was strong enough, just a bit bitter. Huo Jilin had cut back on the licorice, since most medicines in this era didn't use much of it—otherwise folks would think it wasn't potent.

After all, "good medicine tastes bitter" was the common wisdom.

This batch was set aside for Old Doctor Tang to check out. If he gave it the nod, then future kids' medicine could get more licorice.

"Don't swallow it, just give it a taste."

Huo Jilin said this while watching Chen Jue savor it, then scooped a spoonful into his own mouth. He rolled it around on his tongue a few times—basically no different from what his factory made now.

Chen Jue was amazing.

He could remember the dosages and formulas so precisely.

A true genius.

Was he a gem left behind in this world?

His parents who gave him up must have known he belonged in a hospital, right? Letting him be born in a hospital and spend his whole life there.

It was just a shame his life was so short, like a shooting star streaking across the sky.

Maybe heaven also thought it was a shame to take him back so soon, so it gave him this life over again.

Hope he lives a long life this time around.

The look Huo Jilin gave Chen Jue was one he didn't even recognize himself.

At that moment, he didn't know why all these superstitious thoughts popped into his head.

He said to Chen Jue, "It's great, no issues at all."

Chen Jue said, "I know."

He was totally confident, and Huo Jilin smiled.

This time, Chen Jue didn't go to town with him. His medicine spoke for itself—if he had to explain it to prove it was a cold remedy, it wouldn't be convincing.

Sure enough, when Old Doctor Tang saw the granules, he was genuinely stunned.

He'd thought those two were full of it that day, but in just four days, the medicine was right in front of him.

Poured out from the cut-open oil paper packet, the granules gave off a rich medicinal smell. Doctor Tang held it to his nose, took a whiff, then listed off: "Ephedra, perilla leaf—releases the exterior, disperses cold, opens the lungs, and calms wheezing; saposhnikovia; angelica dahurica: dispels wind, releases the exterior, resolves dampness, and relieves pain;

Kudzu root, cassia twig: relieves fever and aches in the body."

He grabbed some granules, popped them in his mouth, tasted them for a moment, then went on: "

Tangerine peel, bitter apricot kernel, platycodon: regulates qi, resolves phlegm, sends rebellious qi down, and stops cough; licorice, dried ginger: tonify the middle and generate fluids; this formula is indeed right for cold damage."

Huo Jilin nodded: "Old Doctor Tang is truly skilled. That's exactly the herbs used to make it."

Old Doctor Tang looked at him, eyes already bright: "This medicine is already cooked and ready? You just take it straight like this?"

Huo Jilin smiled: "You can take it as is, if there's no hot water. If there is, it's best to dissolve it in hot water. That way it's not much different from a decoction, and you keep about eighty percent of the potency."

He wasn't overselling it. The effects of a proper decoction were naturally better than the dissolved kind—the boiling, the steam, the heat, all of it was part of the healing. No matter how well the concentrated medicine was preserved, some loss was unavoidable.

Old Doctor Tang stared at him for a moment: "Keeping eighty percent is already very good."

He had the pharmacy apprentice fetch a kettle and brewed the medicine in a bowl. The already strong medicinal smell grew even stronger with the rising steam. Old Doctor Tang closed his eyes, took a careful sniff, then slowly nodded.

He looked at the pharmacy apprentice: "You drink this."

The apprentice let out an "ah," his voice a little hoarse. Old Doctor Tang shot him a glare: "It's just right for your wind-cold. Don't waste it—I'm also using you to test it. What, you don't want to?"

The apprentice sniffled and said, "I do, I do!"

He blew on it as he drank. After he finished the bowl, sweat broke out on his forehead. He licked his lips and said, "Tastes about the same as what I brew myself."

Old Doctor Tang looked at Huo Jilin: "This medicine—how did you say we'd work together last time? What's the price?"

Shopkeeper Li smiled: "Old Doctor Tang, leave this to me. As long as you give the word, that's enough."

Old Doctor Tang nodded: "Work out a price the common folk can afford."

Saying that right in front of Huo Jilin—Old Doctor Tang really didn't mince words. Shopkeeper Li gave a dry laugh and walked him to the front.

After seeing Old Doctor Tang out, Shopkeeper Li topped up Huo Jilin's tea: "Boss Huo, shall we talk about how we'll work together? How should we set the price?"

Huo Jilin had already thought it all through on the way over, so he said to Shopkeeper Li: "Shopkeeper Li, for a regular cold, you need at least six doses of medicine here. Three days is one course of treatment.

Six doses of cold medicine run three hundred wen.

That's not cheap."

Seeing Shopkeeper Li about to jump in, Huo Jilin raised a hand slightly to wave him off: "I know this is the lowest price among all the medicine shops in Pingshan Town. The Hall of Benevolent Aid is honest and doesn't cheat anyone, and the consultation fee is low. The biggest chunk of the cost is the herbs, processing them, and keeping the shop running. The latter two cost more than the herbs themselves, because that's labor."

Shopkeeper Li, seeing that he understood the matter thoroughly, could only nod helplessly: "Our prices are already very low. Old Doctor Tang is up there in years and still hasn't retired, just 'cause he can't step away. Our pharmacy doesn't have many physicians—he alone can treat a wide range of ailments, which has already saved patients a great deal in consultation fees. So we truly can't lower our prices any further."

Huo Jilin nodded: "That's exactly why I'm willing to partner with Jishi Hall. Honest business, no tricks, a pharmacy for the common folk—the medicine I'm making is for everyday folks."

Shopkeeper Li nodded repeatedly: "I understand. The medicine you and young Chen have provided is really handy. As long as it matches the ailment, it can be taken directly without having to call a doctor to your door."

Calling a doctor to your house costs extra, you know, even more than the medicine itself. Wealthy families could afford such house calls, with house-call fees usually starting at one guan—there was just no getting around it.

That's why Shopkeeper Li was so pumped about this pre-made medicine. If it could truly be mass-produced, the yearly death count from colds would definitely go down.

But he had no clue how pricey this stuff would be. If it cost too much, it'd be useless.

So he looked at Huo Jilin eagerly: "Boss Huo, what are you charging for this medicine?"

Huo Jilin pointed to the ten packets on the table: "We're just starting, still working out the costs of materials and labor. So these ten packets, a full course of treatment, are priced at one hundred wen."

Shopkeeper Li's hand shook as he held the packets: "H-How much?"

Huo Jilin repeated: "One hundred wen."

Shopkeeper Li drew a deep breath: "You can really do this price?"

He'd figured it'd be at least two hundred wen, because although these were just small packets, they're the concentrated stuff from boiled and dried herbs. When you steep 'em in hot water, you get a full bowl—same as one dose made by boiling three bowls of water down to one.

All that work pre-boiling and packing, and it's only a hundred wen?

Shopkeeper Li could hardly believe it.

Huo Jilin gave him a smile: "As I said, this is medicine regular folks can afford. A hundred wen is actually still a bit pricey. Later on, once we can control the costs of materials and labor, the price for cold medicine will drop further. How low it'll go and how many years it'll take—we'll figure that out as we go. I wanted to be straight with you about that, Shopkeeper Li."

In today's money, a hundred wen is about a hundred yuan. In a modern pharmacy, a box of 999 cold medicine runs about forty yuan.

That's still more than double the price, but there's no helping it—when everything's done by hand, costs are high.

At first, he might even lose money on it.

But even losing money, he had to push the price down, because the market had to get rolling first. Folks had to afford it before they'd accept it, and only then could it develop on a large scale.

Once these packets hit every pharmacy, that's when he'd start making money.

Huo Jilin wasn't ashamed of his end goal. He ran a pharma company—what's the point of a business if it doesn't make money?

How could a business that doesn't make money last long-term?

Shopkeeper Li was already super excited. He even wanted to grab Huo Jilin's hand. Holding the packets tight, he kept saying: "This is great, just great. Boss Huo, if you need anything from me, just say the word—whether it's herbs or anything else. I just wanna get production going ASAP..."

Huo Jilin waved his hand: "I won't bother you about the herbs for now, Shopkeeper Li. The herbs you've got here are all bought from suppliers, and the price can't go any lower. I'll take care of the herb supply myself. However—"

He paused, looking around the front of Jishi Hall. Shopkeeper Li caught on right away and quickly said: "If you need anything from Jishi Hall, just say so. I'll speak with the owner. For something that helps folks and does good for everyone, I'm sure the owner will get it and back it."

That's exactly what Huo Jilin was after. He could register with the yamen and get official backing, but for the brand to be trusted, he still needed a pharmacy.

"I need Jishi Hall to hang our pharma company's sign. Start in Dongling County, then spread across the whole country, even to the capital."

Huo Jilin said calmly. He knew Shopkeeper Li got the weight of those words, since his face showed he was clearly hesitant.

Huo Jilin didn't push him, only saying: "The minute this medicine was made, I thought of Jishi Hall first. Only Jishi Hall, the way it is now, really lives up to the healer's spirit. So I want to test it out here at Jishi Hall, to help folks."

In the end, Shopkeeper Li said he'd go back and talk to the owner. From his serious look, it was basically a done deal.

Huo Jilin smiled too: "No rush. We'll start making it first. Just get back to me before the next cold snap, Shopkeeper."

Shopkeeper Li looked up at the sky. It was already getting colder—mid-September now, and it'd only get colder each day. By October, up here in the north, winter would be in full swing.

This Boss Huo wasn't giving him much time either.

Shopkeeper Li smiled and asked: "Boss Huo, could you write down your pharma company's name? What's it called?"

Huo Jilin said: "Chen's Pharmaceutical."

He'd come up with the name on the road.