“Ah Long is no ordinary person!” Director Zhao introduced, “Yunnan Province is a natural treasure trove of Chinese medicinal herbs, and Ah Long can identify almost all the medicinal herbs produced in Yunnan. He is a valuable talent in our office.”
"Oh! Really! That's quite something!" Song Hao exclaimed in surprise.
"I've been going up the mountain to collect herbs with my father since I was little, so I know quite a bit about them. Director Zhao is praising me!" Ah Long said with a smile.
"Your family lives in Dali Prefecture. You used to go to Diancang Mountain to collect medicinal herbs often, so you must be very familiar with that place, right?" Tang Yu asked hurriedly.
“Yes, my home is in a village in the Cangshan Mountains, and I grew up in the mountains,” A Long replied.
"Have you heard of a man named Shi Tingchuan? He was collecting medicinal herbs in Cangshan decades ago. We're here to find him," Tang Yu said.
"Shi Tingchuan!?" A Long shook his head and said, "I've never heard of such a person. Which village is he from?"
“We don’t know that yet, we only know that this person collected herbs in Cangshan Mountain decades ago,” Tang Yu said.
"Let me ask my father when I get home. He knows almost all the herb gatherers in Diancang Mountain," Ah Long said.
"That's good, it'll save us a lot of trouble finding him this way. Director Zhao, thank you so much for finding Ah Long to be our guide!" Tang Yu said gratefully. Her and Song Hao's hopes of finding Shi Tingchuan increased significantly.
"President Tang, you flatter me!" Director Zhao said with a smile. "As soon as I heard that President Tang and President Song were going to Diancang Mountain, the first person I thought of was A Long. Listen, A Long, your task these days is to accompany President Song and President Tang to Dali Prefecture to find someone, and to do a good job in all aspects of hospitality."
"It's a pleasure to serve President Song and President Tang!" Ah Long replied happily.
"Ah Long, if you can help us find that person and achieve our goal, you will have done a great service for Tianyi Hall," Song Hao said with a smile.
"Don't worry, Mr. Song and Mr. Tang, as long as that man named Shi Tingchuan is still living in Dali, I will be able to find him," A Long said confidently.
"By the way, Director Zhao, besides looking for this man named Shi Tingchuan, we also need to find another person in Yunnan. His name is Ren Zhiqian, and he moved to Yunnan from Qinghai about fifteen or sixteen years ago. He is skilled in using anesthetics. You can use your connections at the office to inquire around and see if you can find any clues about him," Song Hao said.
“No problem!” Director Zhao quickly took out a piece of paper and wrote it down, then asked, “President Song, do you have any more information about this person?”
"That's all we know for now," Song Hao said helplessly.
“If this person has used anesthesia to treat patients, they should leave some clues. I’ll go back and instruct people to investigate. Because of our work, we are quite familiar with health departments at all levels. Let’s consult them first to see if such a person has ever been in any area,” Director Zhao said.
Tang Yu saw that Director Zhao was very shrewd and capable, and nodded, saying, "That's a good idea. Let's consider this matter and the search for Shi Tingchuan as two important tasks assigned to your Yunnan office by the Tianyitang headquarters. General Manager Song and I will work with you on these two tasks. If we can find one of them, you will have made a great contribution to Tianyitang."
Upon hearing this, Director Zhao was surprised and thought, "To find these two people, President Song and President Tang actually came to Yunnan in person, which shows how important they are. They must have some kind of unparalleled secret formula or miraculous medicine."
"The most important thing right now is to find that person named Shi Tingchuan. Finding him could trigger a revolution in the history of traditional Chinese medicine, or a major discovery," Song Hao said.
"Is Shi Tingchuan that important?" Ah Long asked in surprise.
“Yes, but this matter is too special. I will explain it to you in detail after we find this person,” Song Hao said.
"Ah Long, this is a task assigned by the Tianyitang headquarters, and it's being handled personally by President Song and President Tang. You must assist President Song and President Tang in doing this task well. If it involves confidential matters, you must strictly keep it a secret," Director Zhao instructed with maturity and caution.
“I know what to do.” Ah Long nodded seriously.
Song Hao and Tang Yu exchanged a smile, feeling proud that Tianyitang had such employees.
Chapter Thirty: The Gastrodia elata Procurement Battle in March (1)
Heaven is high, earth is low; thus, Heaven and Earth are established. High and low are arranged, thus, nobility and baseness are positioned. Movement and stillness have their constants; thus, strength and gentleness are determined. Things of a kind gather together; things of a group are divided into categories; thus, good fortune and misfortune arise. In the heavens, images are formed; on earth, forms are created; thus, change is revealed. — *The Book of Changes*
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The car entered Kunming city and stopped in a courtyard next to a street near Cuihu Park. There stood a four-story building, which was Tianyitang's temporary office in Kunming.
Thanks to Tang Yu's prior instructions, Director Zhao did not disturb anyone in the office, and the staff worked quietly. Song Hao and Tang Yu did not even attend the welcome banquet that Director Zhao had booked for them at the hotel; they simply ate a simple meal in the staff canteen and then returned to the room prepared for them to rest.
In the evening, Tang Yu listened to Director Zhao's work report for a while, then arranged for Ah Long to accompany her to Dali early the next morning before returning to Song Hao's room.
"Director Zhao and his team are doing a very good job, but they are complaining that the products are in short supply and often run out of stock. I think it is necessary to set up a branch factory of Tianyitang Pharmaceutical in Yunnan, which would also make good use of the abundant Chinese herbal medicine resources here," Tang Yu said.
Song Hao nodded and said, "We should also consider establishing a Yunnan branch of Tianyitang at the same time. I think we should start implementing it after we get back this time."
Tang Yu said, "We can talk to Director Zhao about this tomorrow and ask him to start the preliminary preparations."
Song Hao said, "That's fine. Given Tianyitang's current growth momentum, opening one or two branches in various locations each year shouldn't be a problem. Let's start by expanding domestically, and when the time is right, we can develop Tianyitang branches overseas. Medicine travels the world, and that's what matters!"
The next morning, while Zhao Lida and A Long were having breakfast with Song Hao and Tang Yu, Tang Yu said, "Director Zhao, the environment in Yunnan is quite good. Based on the current situation, last night General Manager Song and I discussed the plan to establish a branch of Tianyitang and a pharmaceutical factory in Yunnan. Your office can start the preparation and site selection work first. In addition, this work has already begun in other places."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Lida exclaimed with delight, "It's wonderful that Tianyitang headquarters has decided to open a branch and pharmaceutical factory in Yunnan! I had originally intended to do the same, but I hadn't had a chance to submit the proposal."
Ah Long also said happily, "With the strength and development speed of our Tianyi Hall, we should be expanding into Yunnan. This place has unique advantages. I think that if Tianyi Hall enters Yunnan, its scale will surpass that of the headquarters in just a few years."
Song Hao laughed and said, "It would be best if the Tianyi Hall branch could surpass the headquarters in size! Funding is no longer a problem; the key is talent. To deal with the Luo family branch, we almost emptied Tianyi Hall's manpower. Fortunately, the second batch of students from the Famous Doctors Training Institute has arrived, which should be enough to handle the Yunnan branch in the future."
Ah Long said, "President Song, Yunnan is a province with a large concentration of ethnic minorities and has a variety of unique ethnic minority medicines. I hope that Tianyitang can not only be a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, but also incorporate ethnic minority medicines."
Song Hao nodded and said, "You're right. We've discussed this plan before. Tianyitang is also preparing to establish a research institute for ethnic minority folk medicine. I think we should set up the headquarters at Tianyitang's Yunnan branch. All medicine under heaven is one family. Everyone should give full play to their strengths and work together to cure the diseases of the world. Tolerance is the key to greatness! This is the way Tianyitang should develop."
"President Song, you are even more admirable than the legends say!" Ah Long said admiringly.
"Is that so!" Song Hao laughed. "That's why the Heavenly Doctor Hall exists today!"
After breakfast, Song Hao and Tang Yu bid farewell to Zhao Lida, left the office, and embarked on their trip to Dali in an off-road vehicle driven by A Long.
After leaving Kunming, we went straight down the highway.
"President Song, President Tang, this must be your first time in Dali, Yunnan," said Ah Long, who was driving.
“Yes! I’ve heard so much about Dali, but I’ve never seen it before. I’d like to take this opportunity to explore it properly,” Song Hao replied.
"It would be a great regret in life not to have traveled to Yunnan! Leave the finding to me. I'll ask my friends to inquire about Shi Tingchuan among all the herb gatherers in Cangshan. Mr. Song and Mr. Tang can just enjoy their trip to Dali to the fullest," A Long said with a smile.
"Thank you, Ah Long! Finding the person is our main purpose for this trip," Tang Yu said.