"Thank you!" Song Hao said gratefully. He then took the insulated medicine bottle and drank the medicine while it was still warm.
"Are you feeling better today?" Qiu Ru asked with concern.
"I'm much better! I was probably just tired, but everyone is so concerned about me. I feel really bad about it!" Song Hao said.
"You are the pillar of Tianyi Hall, and there can't be any accidents. You also need to pay attention to the balance between work and rest. Besides, you are a doctor yourself, you should understand these principles. Why did you exhaust yourself like this? It's frightening." Qiu Ru said reproachfully.
"Thank you for the reminder, I'll pay attention in the future," Song Hao said with a smile.
"By the way, your results are quite good. The medicinal herb garden has basically covered Wansong Ridge," Song Hao said.
Qiu Ru said, "Besides providing Tianyitang with some of the best medicinal herbs, this place will become a base for cultivating high-quality medicinal varieties to supply more herbs to Baicaoyuan in the future. Only in this way can we meet Tianyitang's demand for medicinal herbs. My ideal is that one day, Tianyitang will be self-sufficient in all its medicines, including the pharmaceutical factory, and that the herbs will be of the highest quality in the world. Tianyitang's medicines will be a brand, and the herbs from Baicaoyuan will also be a brand."
“Great!” Song Hao said happily, “I didn’t expect that you also don’t want to limit the development of Baicaoyuan to one place. This coincides with some of my ideas. If Tianyitang wants to develop in the long term, it must have its own production base that can provide enough medicinal materials so as not to be affected by the ups and downs of the raw material market. In that case, you can submit your plan as a proposal to the headquarters. After the headquarters studies it, it can be implemented.”
"Brother Song, it's so great to work with you! You always give us the best platform to showcase our abilities," Qiu Ru said admiringly.
"Hehe!" Song Hao laughed, "As long as a person has seven parts skill, Tianyi Hall can make them bring out ten parts of it."
Song Hao only rested in the Hundred Herbs Garden for four days before returning to the Heavenly Medicine Hall and throwing himself into his work. Seeing that he was indeed well and knowing his temperament, no one tried to stop him. They simply reduced the number of house calls he was scheduled for.
Song Hao first processed several documents awaiting his approval. One document caught his attention: a joint submission from the production and sales departments of Tianyitang Pharmaceutical, urgently requiring approval. The gist of it was that Tianyitang Pharmaceutical was already operating beyond capacity just to maintain the production of existing products, and several newly built and operational production lines were also being used for newly developed products. Although there were two pharmaceutical plants under construction, they would not be completed and put into production for another six to eight months, far from meeting Tianyitang Pharmaceutical's current urgent need for expanded production and the ongoing development of new products. He suggested seeking strategic cooperation with a large, well-established pharmaceutical company.
The document was followed by an approval document from the Tianyitang board of directors, indicating that the board had essentially approved the proposal. It bore the signatures of Tang Yu, Song Zihe, Lin Fengjiu, Wu Qiguang, and others. Now, it awaited the final decision from Song Hao, the president of Tianyitang.
Song Hao then approached Tang Yu and said, "The suggestion from the pharmaceutical factory's production and purchasing departments is good, but are there any large pharmaceutical companies willing to cooperate with us? You should know that no matter where our Tianyitang medicines are produced, our trademark cannot be changed. The other party is merely acting as an agent to strictly follow our requirements for production."
Tang Yu said, "We have already conducted an investigation in this regard, and there is currently a large pharmaceutical group that meets our production requirements."
"Which one?" Song Hao asked.
Tang Yu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Tianyi Group!"
“Tianyi Group!” Song Hao was taken aback upon hearing this, then shook his head and said, “That won’t do. You should know the situation I’m facing right now. How could I possibly cooperate with Tianyi Group?”
“Song Hao!” Tang Yu said, “We’re discussing work now, let’s not let personal feelings get involved. For the development of Tianyitang, we must select a powerful pharmaceutical group, and Tianyitang Group meets our requirements in all aspects. Tianyitang Group is currently the world’s number one international enterprise in the production scale of Chinese medicine products, with the world’s most advanced production equipment. It has twelve large pharmaceutical factories and seven pharmaceutical companies in China. The production scale of these twelve factories alone is sufficient to ensure the timely and smooth production and sales of Tianyitang’s products. Another important point is that after we cooperate with Tianyitang Group, we can immediately open up overseas sales networks. With the help of Tianyitang Group’s existing overseas sales channels, Tianyitang’s medicines can be sold to overseas markets without any obstacles.”
“What you say makes sense, but it’s just wishful thinking on our part. Tianyi Group won’t cooperate with us in this way. Aren’t they afraid that Tianyitang will seize Tianyi Group’s market share?” Song Hao shook his head and said.
"No," Tang Yu said, "because it's a win-win situation. We've already contacted people from Tianyi Group and tentatively established a cooperation agreement; we're just waiting for your approval."
"What! You've already started contacting people from Tianyi Group about this cooperation?" Song Hao was taken aback again. He understood that Tang Yu and his grandfather were "forcing" him down this path.
“Yes,” Tang Yu replied calmly, “Tianyitang Pharmaceutical’s production situation is urgent, and we must resolve this matter as soon as possible. We are currently discussing specific cooperation intentions with representatives of Tianyi Group. This is also a decision made by the board of directors. Because you have been recuperating at Baicaoyuan these past few days, we haven’t informed you. However, the final decision rests with you, so we haven’t overstepped our authority. Song Hao, for the long-term development of Tianyitang, Tianyi Group is currently our best partner. Yes, my grandfather and I did this not only to ease the tension between you and your parents, but more importantly, Tianyi Group is indeed the best partner.”
Song Hao listened in silence. This matter was both unexpected and reasonable to him. Song Hao was also very clear that the strategic cooperation with Tianyi Group was of paramount importance to the development of Tianyi Hall, and that Tianyi Group had already made efforts and contributions to the construction of Tianyi Hall from the very beginning, which was an undeniable fact.
Tang Yu waited nervously for Song Hao's reply. Although she and Song Zihe had intended to "force" Song Hao to cooperate with Tianyi Group, if they encountered strong opposition from Song Hao, the cooperation plan would have to be shelved. Besides the fact that Song Hao was the president of Tianyi Hall and had the final decision-making power, his feelings also needed to be taken into consideration.
After gazing out the window at the distant Baishui River for more than half an hour, Song Hao turned around and said to Tang Yu in a low voice, "Since the board of directors has already made a decision, there is no point in me vetoing it." After saying that, he signed his name on the proposal.
Tang Yu felt relieved upon seeing this and smiled with satisfaction.
“Actually, as the executive vice president of Tianyitang, you should have this authority as well,” Song Hao added.
Tang Yu held the signed document in her hand as if it were a treasure, and said with a beaming smile, "Now that's what a person who does big things looks like! You have guts! Also, I should tell you that when Tianyitang and Tianyi Group officially sign the cooperation agreement, it will only be effective if you and Mr. Qi Yannian, the chairman of Tianyi Group, sign it at the same time."
"Well... I think I'd better not go. You can sign for me," Song Hao said somewhat reluctantly.
"That's not up to you!" Tang Yu said with a smile, then turned and left with the documents, probably because Song Hao had changed his mind.
Song Hao stood there, shaking his head helplessly.
As soon as Tang Yu returned to her office, she couldn't wait to call Qi Yannian.
"Mr. Qi, Song Hao has agreed to our cooperation," Tang Yu said happily.
"Really!" Qi Yannian exclaimed with surprise and delight, "This stubborn boy has finally calmed down. Tang Yu, thank you for your work; it has finally made Song Hao accept us."
After a brief phone call with Tang Yu, Qi Yannian excitedly said to Du Qingmiao beside him, "Did you hear that?! Our child is starting to accept us!"
"Brother Nian!" Du Qingmiao was so excited that she burst into tears.
"That's perfect! Our efforts haven't been in vain!" Qi Yannian breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's first gradually integrate Tianyi Group's businesses on the mainland into Tianyi Hall, and then at the appropriate time, transfer them all to Tianyi Hall. I think we should rename it Tianyi Hall Group. The two will be unified, both still within the Tianyi Sect. And with this nominal cooperation, we can openly meet him in the future, and he will have no reason not to meet us. Let's proceed step by step, doing everything we can to move him, and one day, he will acknowledge us."
"Good lad! You truly deserve to be a descendant of the Qi family. In just a few short years, you have developed Tianyitang into what it is today, creating a business miracle! Son! You are truly our good son!" Qi Yannian exclaimed with emotion, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Hao'er has the talent of a leader, and it was Heaven that gave him an opportunity to revitalize the medical profession! If we had kept him by our side back then, he could not have achieved such great success. Thinking about the suffering that my son and I have endured over the years, it was all worth it." Du Qingmiao cried tears of joy again.
Tianyi Group dispatched a business delegation led by Li Tong to discuss cooperation with Tang Yu and others from Tianyi Hall. Initially, Li Tong was arguing for the interests of Tianyi Group, but then he received a phone call from Qi Yannian.
"Agree to all the conditions proposed by Tianyitang! And there are a few additional points..." Qi Yannian instructed over the phone.
"This... Chairman, wouldn't doing this mean we're handing Tianyi Group over to Tianyitang?" Li Tong asked, completely bewildered after hearing Qi Yannian's words.
"I'm just afraid they won't accept it!" Qi Yannian said with a hearty laugh.
The subsequent negotiations went exceptionally smoothly, even beyond Tang Yu's expectations. In the draft cooperation agreement, Tianyi Group practically provided free production for Tianyitang and was responsible for sales in overseas markets. Tang Yu quickly understood the implications and accepted the terms without hesitation, signing the initial agreement. This left Li Tong and the other negotiators from Tianyi Group shaking their heads in dismay.
Especially on the day the initial agreement was signed, Tang Yu secretly accepted 1 billion yuan from Qi Yannian for the continued development of Tianyitang. Tang Yu only told Song Zihe and Lin Fengyi about this. Lin Fengyi exclaimed, "This Song Hao is a double treasure trove! He can not only attract talent but also amass great wealth. How can Tianyitang not prosper, and how can the medical profession not flourish!"
After seeing the draft agreement, Song Hao frowned and said, "Is Tianyi Group really that generous?!"
Tang Yu hurriedly said, "There are a few more points to clarify. The cooperation between Tianyi Group and Tianyitang is not just a commercial collaboration, but also a contribution by Tianyi Group to the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Tianyitang has now become an important force in the development of traditional Chinese medicine, and its business model is an irreplaceable model for various pharmaceutical industries. Tianyi Group is doing this to set an example."
"The predecessor of Tianyi Group was Tianyi Sect, the leading sect among all medical schools. However, over the years, their development has focused more on medicine than on medical practice, somewhat deviating from the path of medicine and failing to take up the responsibility of promoting it. Tianyi Hall, on the other hand, has achieved this, emphasizing both medicine and medical practice. Therefore, Tianyi Group also wants to use Tianyi Hall to fulfill the regret they have not yet achieved. Mr. Qi has called me many times, repeatedly emphasizing this point. He hopes that Tianyi Hall can gather the strength of the world to jointly shoulder the historical responsibility of revitalizing medicine," Tang Yu continued.
Song Hao had no room for rebuttal, but he subtly sensed Qi Yannian's intentions. Recalling his original intention in founding Tianyitang, he did not express any objection to the agreement before him, which seemed to be a "merger" of Tianyitang and Tianyi Group. Moreover, he could no longer express any objection to the good intentions of both parties, so he sat there and tacitly agreed.