Seeing this, Tang Yu smiled with delight.
A week later, in the provincial capital, at a grand hotel, major media outlets gathered. The provincial governor personally presided over the signing ceremony for the cooperation agreement between Tianyitang and Tianyi Group. Song Hao also saw Qi Yannian and his wife, Du Qingmiao, once again. The father and son, Qi Yannian and Song Hao, became the focus of attention under the flashing lights.
"Mr. Qi, thank you Tianyi Group for your support of Tianyitang, which has led to our cooperation." Song Hao shook hands with Qi Yannian and said with mixed feelings.
"Mr. Song is young and promising; this is what we should do." Qi Yannian shook hands with Song Hao, feeling rather awkward. He was extremely unwilling and uncomfortable with Song Hao addressing him as "Mr. Qi."
Seeing that the Song father and son had finally clasped hands despite the unusual circumstances, Tang Yu and Du Qingmiao exchanged smiles. Du Qingmiao shed tears of emotion again. She noticed that Song Hao had subtly glanced at her several times, clearly aware of her presence as his mother. A feeling of happiness welled up within her, and in her excitement, she kept telling Tang Yu, "Song Hao looked at me again!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Yu couldn't help but shake her head and smile bitterly.
At the subsequent reception, Song Hao was intentionally seated between Qi Yannian and Du Qingmiao. Qi Yannian actively urged Song Hao to drink, while Du Qingmiao kept serving him food. Song Hao didn't seem aloof and politely responded. The family seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Seeing this, Song Zihe, who was sitting at the same table, secretly wiped away several tears of emotion.
That evening, when Du Qingmiao took Qi Yannian to Song Hao's room to talk to him and try to rekindle their relationship, she found the room empty. Tang Yu, who rushed over upon hearing the news, told Qi Yannian and Du Qingmiao with regret that Song Hao and the squad leader had already returned to the Tianyitang headquarters in Baihe Town that night.
Upon hearing this, Du Qingmiao felt a pang of sorrow and tears welled up in her eyes again.
Qi Yannian comforted him, saying, "This child has done very well today. Some things need to be done step by step."
Then Tang Yu chatted with Du Qingmiao for a while. Du Qingmiao already regarded Tang Yu, the capable woman who helped Song Hao establish Tianyitang, as her daughter-in-law. Moreover, Tang Yu had played an important role in easing the relationship between Song Hao and her husband in the previous and recent successful cooperation between Tianyitang and Tianyi Group, for which Du Qingmiao was especially grateful.
During her conversation with Qi Yannian and Du Qingmiao, Tang Yu clearly told them that Song Hao's unresolved issue was his inability to let go of the death of Song Zihe's son, Song Gang. It was also the root of his inability to forgive and accept the couple.
"Time heals all wounds," Tang Yusui comforted the Qi couple.
"Although Song Gang died in another conspiracy, it was also caused by our mistake in planning. For this, our Qi family has wronged the Song family, and Song Hao has reason to resent us." Qi Yannian was filled with regret.
"Furthermore, Song Hao repeatedly instructed that the truth of this matter must never be known to his grandfather, otherwise he might never be able to face his grandfather for the rest of his life. Therefore, we cannot persuade Song Hao through his grandfather. However, in any case, the successful cooperation between Tianyi Hall and Tianyi Group has already brought about a turning point in things," Tang Yu said.
“We will act prudently in this matter and will not cause Song Hao and Mr. Song any further suffering. Thank you, Ms. Tang Yu, for mediating and giving our family a chance to finally sit down and have a meal together,” Qi Yannian said gratefully.
"No need to be so polite!" Tang Yu said with a smile. "Firstly, it's for Song Hao's sake, and secondly, it's for the development of Tianyitang."
"We feel much more at ease knowing that Song Hao has you by his side. We're sorry to have troubled you," Du Qingmiao said with concern, holding Tang Yu's hand.
“Actually, Song Hao should be proud to have parents like you. From the very beginning of Tianyitang’s establishment to the current cooperation with Tianyi Group, Song Hao’s dream can be realized ahead of schedule,” Tang Yu replied.
"Smart Tang Yu!" Du Qingmiao praised, "We will do everything we can to help Song Hao realize his dream, and our dream is for our family to live happily together. If he can call me 'Mom,' that would be the happiest thing in my life."
The Qi couple then visited Song Zihe in his room before returning to their own room at the hotel. Although Song Hao had left early and without saying goodbye, the Qi couple still felt a sense of satisfaction.
"Tang Yu is truly remarkable. Not only is he helping Song Hao manage all the affairs of Tianyi Hall, but he has also managed to get the Tang family of the medical sect to join Tianyi Hall. He's just as capable as you were back then. Our son has good judgment!" Qi Yannian exclaimed happily.
"It's more accurate to say that our son has guts!" Du Qingmiao said excitedly. "There's also a girl named Luo Feiying in the Heavenly Doctor's Hall who's always by Hao'er's side. I also heard that Qiu Ru, the girl Hao'er invited to the Hundred Herbs Garden, is a great beauty and she's also interested in Hao'er."
"Hehe!" Qi Yannian laughed, "You really know a lot of details!"
Du Qingmiao said, "Of course, I am Hao'er's mother. It's just that all three girls are very outstanding, and although all three are in love with Hao'er, they can't all marry him in the end. It's really hard on Hao'er. If I had to choose, I would choose Tang Yu. But I'm afraid Hao'er won't be able to let go of the other two!"
"If all else fails, we'll just keep three beauties in one room!" Qi Yannian joked.
"Pah! How could you, as a father, say such a thing?" Du Qingmiao scolded. "Fortunately, we haven't taken Hao'er overseas yet, otherwise, if those young ladies from wealthy families saw our outstanding Hao'er, who knows how much trouble they would cause!"
Qi Yannian laughed and said, "That's the advantage of being an outstanding man! Sometimes, even if you don't provoke it, romantic affairs will come knocking on your door. But don't worry, Hao'er will handle his own affairs."
The collaboration between Tianyitang and Tianyi Group greatly alleviated the production pressure on Tianyitang Pharmaceutical and saved a significant amount of money and human resources for establishing branches in various regions. Subsequently, Tianyitang successively established branches in several major provinces and cities, achieving remarkable success. At this point, the need for talent became an urgent problem for Tianyitang to solve.
At an annual meeting of branch managers held at Tianyitang headquarters, Tang Ji, Dou Haiqin, Lin Fengyi, Wu Qiguang, and others proposed that Tianyitang initiate the establishment of a "China Traditional Chinese Medicine Folk Development Federation," recruiting a large number of TCM practitioners as members and appointing outstanding individuals to Tianyitang to address the urgent talent shortage in various branches. This would also bring together grassroots TCM resources to jointly discuss and promote the development of TCM. Song Hao readily agreed to this proposal. Furthermore, he proposed establishing a "Traditional Chinese Medicine Folk Development Award Foundation," with Tianyitang contributing ten million yuan annually (with the possibility of gradual increases depending on circumstances) to reward those grassroots TCM practitioners who have made outstanding contributions to independent research, regardless of nationality, gender, or age, but who have made special achievements in TCM research. Awards ranging from 200,000 to 1 million yuan would be awarded by the foundation. Song Hao's proposal was unanimously approved by the attendees.
Forty-Two Days Medical Hall Traditional Chinese Medicine College
Within just half a month of announcing the establishment of the "China Federation of Folk Traditional Chinese Medicine Development," initiated by Tianyitang, over 7,600 people from all over the country had applied. They unanimously elected Song Hao as president, Tang Ji, Song Zihe, and Lin Fengyi as vice presidents, and appointed several secretaries-general. Thus, the "China Federation of Folk Traditional Chinese Medicine Development" was officially established. In the following years, membership rapidly expanded to over 300,000, making it the world's largest non-governmental TCM association.
After the establishment of the "China Federation of Folk Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine" and the "Reward Foundation for Folk Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine", another bold plan took shape in Song Hao's mind: to create the "Tianyitang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine".
The role of Tianyitang's renowned physician training institute is becoming increasingly evident. Besides lectures by renowned doctors, its main function is to provide students with clinical internships, combining theory with practice. This has resulted in outstanding performance from the students trained by the veteran TCM doctors, and has also supplied a large number of frontline doctors to various branches. At headquarters, Tianyitang provides special care to outstanding talents, offering various benefits and a fully equipped individual apartment-style dormitory.
The opportune moment, coupled with the urgent need for TCM talent, led Song Hao to make a decision: to establish the Tianyitang TCM College to cultivate TCM professionals for Tianyitang itself. More importantly, he aimed to create a higher education institution of TCM capable of truly training TCM doctors.
Therefore, with the strong support of the local government, a piece of land was acquired next to Tianyitang to begin construction of the Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College. This project was naturally awarded to Liu Tian's construction company, and Liu Tian guaranteed that a fully equipped teaching building would be delivered to Tianyitang within five months. The specific enrollment plan is as follows:
The first batch of 200 students was not selected from among the top-performing students. Instead, interested applicants first submitted detailed personal information. Those selected by the Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College Admissions Office then underwent on-site assessments, essentially interviews, by representatives from Tianyitang. Only those who passed were ultimately admitted. Admitted students reside at the Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College for a ten-year, fully-funded, tuition-free education, becoming true professional university students. The first batch of over 200 students was selected from more than 10,000 applicants, with Song Zihe, Lin Fengyi, and others personally participating in the interviews. These veteran TCM doctors spared no effort in recruiting suitable candidates for studying TCM, aiming to select their own direct disciples from among them.
During this period, in accordance with the regulations of the State Education Commission, junior and senior high school courses were conducted simultaneously, with a focus on adding professional courses in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and adopting a multi-dimensional teaching approach. The initial plan was to cultivate the interest of these promising young talents in TCM, first introducing them to the history of TCM development, and then familiarizing them with the cultivation and processing of various Chinese medicinal herbs in the Hundred Herbs Garden, while simultaneously providing practical teaching in pharmacology and medicinal properties. Regular internship visits were also conducted to the outpatient department of Tianyitang Pharmacy, allowing students to experience firsthand and truly engage with the practical aspects of TCM.
Next, students will memorize basic TCM formulas and learn human anatomy. Familiarity with the human body's structure and the distribution of meridians and acupoints is the first step in learning medicine. Following this, they will receive intensive training in classical Chinese literature, laying the foundation for their future study of classical TCM texts. The trial period is one year. During this year, students who genuinely lack interest in TCM can choose to leave the school and study at a regular institution. After two years, students will receive a comprehensive and systematic education, progressing gradually.
After seven years of comprehensive and systematic study, students are then divided into specialized departments based on their individual characteristics and interests, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Massage. This not only trains doctors for the pharmacy but also cultivates future talent for Tianyitang Pharmaceutical Factory and Baicaoyuan. There is also a Department of Surgery. Headed by Shui Mingyang, this is Tianyitang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine's most unique Western medicine department, producing world-class surgeons. The program aims to cultivate well-rounded students while also developing their specific strengths.
The textbooks used at Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College were all compiled by Song Zihe, Lin Fengyi, Zhang Jiafang, and others. They had consulted the textbooks used by regular national TCM colleges for junior college and undergraduate programs. Besides being unsuitable for the children's learning, the main problem was that the content of these textbooks had deviated from the true teaching characteristics of TCM. As a result, these veteran TCM doctors shook their heads and abandoned them.
Lin Fengyi once lamented: "Ignoring the classics means losing the meaning of inheriting tradition, and we will never cultivate true TCM doctors! In particular, failing to distinguish between the important and the trivial, and mixing TCM and Western medicine knowledge from the beginning, can disrupt students' correct understanding and knowledge of TCM. Some Western medicine courses should only be taken after students have a certain foundation in TCM. Otherwise, they will not become TCM practitioners, but will only produce 'half-baked' Western doctors. This is deeply misleading to both themselves and others!"
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
The establishment of Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College and its unique enrollment practices were the result of considerable effort by Song Hao, who finally obtained formal approval from the State Education Commission and was designated as a pilot unit for national traditional Chinese medicine education bases. Tianyitang's influence is now far greater than before, and the college's unique enrollment and education model deeply aligns with the principles of traditional Chinese medicine teaching. With Tianyitang taking the lead and setting an example, the State Education Commission has also provided special support to the lagging traditional Chinese medicine education system through flexible methods. The current trend of lagging traditional Chinese medicine education has thus been reversed, beginning with Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College.
Years later, eight of the world's top ten renowned traditional Chinese medicine practitioners were from Tianyitang, and they were the first batch of graduates from Tianyitang's College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. But that's a story for another time; let's just leave it at that for now.
This is the student class planned for enrollment at Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College. Based on the urgent need for talent at various branches of Tianyitang, seven additional adult classes have been established, building upon the existing renowned physician training institute. Students are recruited from members of the "China Federation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Folk Development Associations." This work began even before the Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College was under construction.
During this period, everyone at Tianyitang was extremely busy. The construction and enrollment of the Tianyitang Traditional Chinese Medicine College were proceeding simultaneously, and the Tianyitang TCM-themed Beauty Salon broke ground next to the Tianyitang Pharmacy. The original beauty department, after development and expansion, would later be separated from the Pharmacy. At the same time, four more Tianyitang branches were established in four provinces and cities. At this point, Tianyitang had fourteen branches across the country. Song Hao planned to establish Tianyitang branches in every province and city nationwide within the next two years, and then further expand to major large and medium-sized cities.
The successful implementation of this series of plans owed much to the 1 billion yuan that Qi Yannian secretly transferred to Tianyitang. Song Hao, on the other hand, was a hands-off manager who never inquired about Tianyitang's financial situation. He would simply express his ideas and have others carry them out, so Tang Yu didn't let him know how this money came about.
Everything at Tianyitang is thriving.