Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 563: Chapter 563: Shameless

Zhang Yarong’s wife was pressing him about the medicine.

Zhang Yarong said in frustration, "Oh, you think I’m not anxious? Regular Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance is easy enough to find. You can get it on the market for several thousand yuan a gram. But the doctor said it has to be top-grade Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance. That stuff... you can’t buy it even if you have the money. I’ve called in so many favors and haven’t even found a trace of it."

"Then what are we going to do?"

Hearing this, Professor Zhang’s wife started to cry. "My brother’s constitution has always been weak. Putting him through chemotherapy directly would be a death sentence."

Ding Kaifang and Li Xu, who were just about to leave, froze in their tracks when they heard the words "top-grade Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance."

Ding Kaifang turned to look at Li Xu, his face a picture of delighted surprise.

Wasn’t the piece of Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance they had dredged up from the Philippine Sea a while back exactly the "divine object one can only stumble upon by chance, not seek out" that Professor Zhang was talking about?

It weighed twenty jin, was as hard as wax, grayish-white in color, and emitted a unique, pungent aroma.

It was as if it were tailor-made for this very moment.

If they could win over Professor Zhang with the Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance, did that mean... they wouldn’t need to offer him shares, or even that a high salary would be secondary? Could they secure this giant with just this?

Ding Kaifang shot him a questioning look, as if to say: ’Doctor Li, this is a godsent opportunity. Would you be willing to part with some of it?’

Li Xu gave a slight nod.

Ding Kaifang quickly turned back and asked with concern, "Professor Zhang, is... everything all right at home? I overheard you mention Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance?"

Zhang Yarong didn’t hide it. He sighed and said, "Oh, it’s nothing. My brother-in-law was diagnosed with late-stage cancer a while back. Now he desperately needs top-grade Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance to save his life."

Hearing this, Li Xu asked, puzzled, "Professor Zhang, forgive my presumption. I heard you mention chemotherapy. If he’s undergoing chemo, why does he need Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance? While it can promote qi circulation and blood flow, it’s not a direct anti-cancer drug."

"Sigh, it’s like this..." Zhang Yarong explained.

It turned out that his brother-in-law, though only in his sixties, had a very poor constitution from overworking in his youth. He suffered from a deficiency of both qi and blood.

Although chemotherapy is a standard treatment for cancer, and arguably the last line of defense, it’s also a double-edged sword.

While chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells, they also indiscriminately attack all rapidly dividing cells in the body, including hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow and mucosal cells in the gastrointestinal tract.

A healthy person might be able to endure it.

But for someone with a frail body like his brother-in-law, chemotherapy is utterly devastating.

Often, the patient dies from a collapsed immune system and multiple organ failure before all the cancer cells are even killed.

"I made a special trip to the Capital City to consult a famous master of traditional Chinese medicine," said Zhang Yarong. "The old master prescribed a formula ’to support the body’s constitution, detoxify, and enhance efficacy.’ Its purpose isn’t to kill the cancer cells directly. Instead, it acts as a shield to protect the body’s healthy cells during chemotherapy, greatly boosts the immune system, and allows the patient to ’live with the tumor’ and survive the ravages of the treatment."

"And the core medicine guide for this formula is top-grade Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance. The old master said that only Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance that has been refined over a hundred years possesses the miraculous ability to ’restore yang from collapse, protect the heart, and preserve the pulse.’"

"So that’s how it is."

Li Xu nodded, understanding completely.

This therapeutic approach of "integrating Chinese and Western medicine to reduce toxicity and enhance efficacy" is not uncommon in the field of TCM oncology. It’s also currently recognized as a relatively scientific method.

However, most doctors lack the courage and skill to handle such a top-tier medicinal ingredient.

The expert Professor Zhang found must be a national-level master.

Of course, the requirements for the medicine were also top-tier.

"Professor Zhang, if it’s a matter of saving a life, then I think... we might be able to help."

Li Xu said calmly, "As it happens, I have a piece of top-grade Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance."

Zhang Yarong was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand in disbelief. "Dr. Li, I know you want me to come work for Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, and I appreciate the sentiment. But... this is no time for jokes. Top-grade Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance isn’t something one can just produce out of thin air."

He thought Li Xu was either bragging or lying to get on his good side.

Li Xu didn’t waste words. He took out his phone and found the photos he had taken on the yacht that day.

The photos were very clear. The grayish-white Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance lay quietly on the deck. Although one couldn’t smell its fragrance through the screen, its unique texture and patterns were instantly recognizable to an expert.

"Take a look at this."

Li Xu handed the phone to Professor Zhang.

At first, Zhang Yarong was rather indifferent and gave it a casual glance.

But with that single glance, his eyes went wide, as if drawn by a magnet.

He snatched the phone, quickly zooming in on the photo, then zooming in again, carefully examining every detail.

"This... this texture... this color..."

Zhang Yarong sucked in a sharp breath and exclaimed, "This is top-grade grayish-white ambergris! And judging by its size, it must be at least a dozen jin! This is the best of the best!"

Although his wife didn’t understand medicine, seeing how excited her husband was, she knew they had found a lifeline. She kept nudging him, asking anxiously, "Old Zhang, can it be used?"

"It can be used! It’s more than usable!"

Zhang Yarong was extremely agitated. "Dr. Li, this... just give me some of this. Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda."

Huh?

Li Xu was taken aback.

He wondered if he had misheard.

Give?

Not buy?

This was a priceless treasure.

Even if it was to save a life, wasn’t this a bit too forward?

He remained impassive, neither refusing nor agreeing. He just said faintly, "The medicine is in Feng City. We’ll have to go back and get it."

Zhang Yarong was already getting impatient. "Then hurry up and get it. It would be best if you could bring it tomorrow. As long as the medicine arrives, as for your Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory matter... I will give it priority consideration."

"Priority consideration?"

A cold sneer flashed through both Li Xu’s and Ding Kaifang’s minds at the same time.

’So, even if we give you medicine worth millions, all we get in return is "priority consideration"?’

’Not even a firm commitment?’

’This old man really knows how to play his cards.’

The two of them didn’t say much more and politely took their leave.

Once inside the car, a brief silence filled the cabin.

After a moment, Ding Kaifang broke the silence as he fastened his seatbelt. "Doctor Li, to be honest... I feel like this Professor Zhang is... not quite the venerable and highly respected old expert I had imagined."

Li Xu leaned back in his seat and gave a wry smile. "Me neither."

Before coming, they had thought Professor Zhang was the type of scholar with noble character and integrity, dedicated solely to the cause of traditional Chinese medicine.

But now... he seemed far too calculating, and even a little... shameless.

He hadn’t even agreed to join the company, hadn’t even given a verbal promise, yet he was already asking them to give him medicine.

That was top-grade Dragon’s Saliva Fragrance. A piece the size of a fingernail was worth a fortune.

Even if he did join Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, they couldn’t just give it to him for free.

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