Song Hao said, "This is just the beginning, and if we can find the original place where those scriptures were hidden, then today's work will not have been in vain. It seems that our method is quite effective. Now, measure all the walls, including the courtyard walls. If those scriptures were hidden above ground, they should be hidden in the secret compartments inside the walls."
After a day, all possibilities of hidden scriptures in the walls were ruled out.
The next day, Ah Long and Shi Yun brought a ladder and began searching the upper parts of the house for possible hiding places. This old house didn't resemble northern houses; it didn't have a roof, making the search relatively easy. After a busy morning, they still found nothing.
“There’s only one possibility now!” Song Hao said, “The scriptures are buried underground. The search on the surface ends here. Tang Yu and I will pre-select some suspicious locations this afternoon, and then we’ll officially start the underground excavation tomorrow. Let’s continue this work by the four of us; we don’t need to bring in any more help, so as not to delay the office’s work. Ah Long and Shi Yun, after lunch, you two drive to Dali City to buy some excavation tools and some food. We need to prepare for a protracted battle.”
Thirty-seven celadon antique bowls
Song Hao began to re-examine the old house. After two days of searching, it was unlikely that the scriptures were hidden inside the buildings above ground. A thorough search of the walls and all the interiors and exteriors of the house revealed no hiding place large enough to hold hundreds of scriptures. They must be buried underground, either inside the house or somewhere in the courtyard.
“That Shi Tingchuan is a clever man. Fearing that Luo Beiming might come looking for those scriptures again in the future, he hid them in a secluded location. He felt safe enough to let his wife and children sell the old house later, intending to keep the secret there so that someone destined would discover it years later. He was carrying out a preservation project because it was not convenient for these ancient medical books to be published in his time. He finally met a medical professional, but he was greatly disappointed. This made him determined to bury these precious scriptures again,” Song Hao thought.
"But this has also caused me trouble in finding it!" Song Hao shook his head again.
Tang Yu then walked over and said, "Song Hao, don't rush, just search slowly. Now let's imagine that if you were to bury those scriptures in this old house, what kind of location would you choose? Let's look for some suspicious spots to dig up."
“That makes sense!” Song Hao nodded and said, “If we still can’t find it in the end, we’ll dig every meter and every inch of the ground to search for it. As long as those scriptures are buried in this old house, we will definitely find them.”
After observing for a while, Song Hao marked the marble tiles in several corners.
Ah Long and Shi Yun returned from Dali City and purchased some excavation tools, including two short entrenching tools that could be used in confined spaces.
Early on the third day, Song Hao, A Long, and Shi Yun began their underground excavation work. Tang Yu was in charge of logistical support, preparing three meals a day and serving tea. The division of labor was quite clear.
First, they started digging in a corner of the courtyard, at a spot Song Hao had marked the day before. After lifting the bricks, they dug vertically within a range of about one meter. When they reached a depth of one to one and a half meters and found nothing unusual or encountered hard rock, they filled the hole back in with soil and stones, restoring the original state. The two entrenching tools proved very useful.
Song Hao, along with A Long and Shi Yun, took turns working. At first, A Long and Shi Yun insisted that Song Hao not help, but under Song Hao's insistence, they had no choice but to give in. They were quite moved and secretly developed a bit more respect for Song Hao. They felt that this young boss of Tianyi Hall was so approachable and did not have that unapproachable and aloof image. The two were touched and felt very close to him.
After another day of searching five suspicious sites, they still found nothing. Song Hao, A Long, and Shi Yun were all exhausted.
During dinner that evening, Shi Yun sat there sighing and shaking his head, saying, "Why didn't Father and Mother tell me about this before they passed away? If they had known the location, we wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble to find it."
Song Hao said, "Mr. Shi Tingchuan did this for the safety of these scriptures, and also for your sake, as he was worried that this matter might cause you trouble. It's just that the times are changing too fast, something Mr. Shi Tingchuan hadn't anticipated. Mr. Shi's original intention was to safely leave these scriptures to useful people in future generations, so he buried them very discreetly. We should understand his good intentions. We'll just have to put in more effort."
After chatting for a while, Ah Long suddenly remembered something and said, "President Song, President Tang, there's something I'd like to report to you. Our Tianyitang Pharmaceutical products and Tianyi Group's products are displayed on the same counter in the same pharmacy. Because the names are similar, confusion often occurs. Customers who intend to buy Tianyitang products often mistakenly buy Tianyi Group's products, and then have to go back to exchange them after realizing it at home. Tianyi Group's sales staff have also complained to us about this, saying that we are suspected of infringing on their trademark rights."
Song Hao said, "Let's ignore them. When we registered the Tianyitang trademark, we consulted with the industry and commerce department. Although the two names are similar, it does not constitute infringement and has nothing to do with Tianyi Group."
Ah Long said, "That's how we responded to them too, and then it all fizzled out. In my opinion, Tianyi Group's long-established brand has already been overtaken by our Tianyitang in the domestic market, and the other party is just venting their frustrations."
"Hmph!" Song Hao sneered, "Our Tianyitang Pharmaceutical products will soon be sold in overseas markets. Once we've met the needs of the domestic market, we'll move into overseas markets. We want people to know that there will only be one Tianyitang in the future."
Upon hearing this, Tang Yu understood Song Hao's thoughts and sighed inwardly in despair.
Ah Long added, "What's strange is that since our Tianyitang products were launched, if there are similar products from Tianyi Group in a certain region, they quickly withdraw and sell them elsewhere. They are unwilling to compete head-on with us, which is also an important reason why our Tianyitang Pharmaceutical products were able to quickly gain a foothold in the market as soon as they came out."
Song Hao paused for a moment after hearing this, then said, "That's because our Tianyitang medicine is good. The other party knew they couldn't compete with us, so they took the initiative to back down. They are also self-aware."
"Yes! Quality is the most important thing. Our Tianyitang medicines are popular everywhere and are always in short supply. Salespeople from other pharmaceutical companies envy us, saying that being a salesperson for Tianyitang Pharmaceutical is the happiest thing in life because people actively seek you out to buy their products, and you almost don't have to go door-to-door to sell. As soon as a new drug is produced, our Tianyitang salespeople become highly sought after."
Shi Yun also smiled proudly, "Sailing on a big ship is easy! Tianyitang is our pride!"
Upon hearing this, Song Hao and Tang Yu exchanged a smile, feeling both relieved.
That evening, Song Hao lay in bed resting, thinking about tomorrow's work. Tang Yu brought in a plate of fruit, placed it on the table, and sat down by the bed. Looking at the blisters on Song Hao's hands, she said with concern, "Does it hurt? Let me take care of it for you."
Song Hao laughed and said, "It's nothing, I just haven't done this kind of physical labor in a long time. As the saying goes, 'Heaven will entrust great responsibilities to those who are first tested by hardship.' What I did was nothing."
Tang Yu sighed, "I didn't expect it to be this troublesome."
Song Hao said, "We've had a smooth journey so far. We've found the descendants of the Shi family and this old house. Heaven has been very kind to us. We should be content with what we have."
Tang Yu said, "Then let's keep looking. By the way, I contacted Yingying today to find out about the progress of Tianyitang's work. You know, last month the pharmaceutical factory's sales revenue has historically exceeded 100 million."
"This is great news!" Song Hao said happily. "The smooth development of Tianyitang in the past few years has been very gratifying. We can finally do what we want to do. Our next grand goal is to establish branches of Tianyitang in every province and city, and then expand to various countries overseas. That will be the arrival of a great era of traditional Chinese medicine! What is national is also global! The people benefited by traditional Chinese medicine are not just Chinese people."
"Song Hao, you truly are a leader! You always think further ahead than us," Tang Yu said with admiration.
"Hehe! It's just like treating an illness. After curing several ailments, we also need to consider the patient's future health, and do what can to promote longevity. All things are governed by the same principle, and the way of medicine is the way of heaven and the way of the world," Song Hao said with a smile.
"Song Hao," Tang Yu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Since you can understand these principles, you should also be able to let go of some things. Just now at the dinner table, Ah Long said that Tianyi Group would rather lose a certain market share than compete with our Tianyi Hall. You should understand the reason for this."
Song Hao listened, closed his eyes, and remained silent. After a long while, he sighed and said, "I know what you mean, but I can never untie that knot in my heart, and I will never forgive them. Although Grandpa forgave them, I will not. It's not that I'm stubborn, but unless it happens to you, others can't understand the pain. I'm tired, let's not talk about this for now."
Tang Yu shook her head, stood up with a sigh, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Dad! Mom!" Song Hao called softly, tears streaming down his face.
Three more days passed. After exploring and digging at nearly twenty locations inside and outside the house, in the front and back yards, they still found nothing.
"Could it be that the scriptures weren't hidden in this old house by Shi Tingchuan, but buried somewhere else? Or did we just not find it?" Song Hao paced anxiously back and forth in the main room.
Then, Song Hao unconsciously strolled into the courtyard. It was midday, and the sun was shining brightly. Song Hao glanced back and realized he had left the main room. Perhaps due to the dazzling sunlight, Song Hao noticed a marble floor tile in the center of the room casting a shadow, different from the surrounding tiles. He didn't pay it any mind and strolled back inside. He glanced at the tile again, only to find the shadow had vanished.
"The stone bricks on the ground are all the same, so why do they look different from the outside?" Song Hao found it strange, so he went back into the yard and looked back. Sure enough, he saw the strange stone brick again.
Song Hao returned to the house, squatted down next to the stone brick, examined it carefully, and touched it for a while. He felt that there was a layer of dampness on the stone brick. The midday sun shone on the floor of the house, and the surfaces of the other floor tiles appeared dry, but this one was different.
"Could there be something buried down there?" Song Hao's heart skipped a beat. He quickly called over Ah Long and Shi Yun, who were resting.
“Lift up this floor tile and see what’s buried underneath,” Song Hao said.
"Is it that batch of scriptures?" Ah Long asked in surprise.
Song Hao said, "No, it must be something else. It's what makes the surface of this stone brick appear damp. There can't be a waterway underneath, because this piece wouldn't be the only one standing out. Let's dig it up and take a look."
Ah Long found some tools, and together with Shi Yun, they pried up the stone brick, revealing a layer of fine sand and gravel underneath. Ah Long and Shi Yun then each took an entrenching tool and began digging. When they had dug about a foot deep, they encountered a square stone slab.