The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Deeper Cooperation

So, this was the deeper partnership Ji Huan had been talking about.

For a moment, even someone as composed as Xin Ziqi found his heart in turmoil.

He couldn’t believe that Ji Huan was truly willing to offer up the anesthetic for their collaboration.

But along with his disbelief, he couldn’t help but feel some doubt.

"If other clinics and pharmacies get their hands on this medicine, they will certainly study it in secret. Even if they can’t crack the formula right away, given enough time..."

"Let them try. By the time they figure it out, we’ll have already established a firm foothold. We can hit them with a one-two punch by launching other new medicines. What’s there to be afraid of?"

Ji Huan sounded so nonchalant that Xin Ziqi felt even more uncertain.

’Launch other medicines one after another...’

Even the established families specializing in pharmaceuticals would need at least a few years of research to develop a single new medicine.

Some might even take ten, or even dozens of years...

’How can she make it sound so easy?’

But he didn’t know that besides her main field of study, Ji Huan had also been minoring in Chinese pharmacology for years. Standing on the shoulders of giants, how could it not be easy?

Ji Huan just smiled without a word, letting him guess on his own.

As expected, Xin Ziqi’s thoughts went in the wrong direction. He assumed it was another secret formula Ji Huan had inherited from her master’s sect.

"Does your master truly not mind?"

"My master said that a single physician, no matter how skilled, can only save so many people in one lifetime. A hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand? Any more than that is likely impossible.

"But if you promote and share good methods and good medicines, you can not only inspire other physicians but also save more people through their hands.

"In the long run, it also promotes the collision of theories and the exchange of techniques between different schools of thought. Where there is collision, there are sparks. Where there is exchange, there is progress.

"Jealously guarding one’s own secrets is no way to move forward. Closing your doors to tinker on your own is also not the answer. If the entire medical world wants to develop rapidly and undergo earth-shattering change, it must open the floodgates, letting new things flow in and new things flow out."

Xin Ziqi was stunned for a long moment before letting out a sigh.

"My own views have been too narrow."

He stood, straightened his outer robe, and bowed deeply to Ji Huan.

Ji Huan was taken aback. "What are you doing?"

"In ancient times, one could be considered a teacher for teaching a single word. What Miss Ji has taught me is far more than a single word. You deserve this bow. If you don’t mind, I would also like to..."

"Wait!" Ji Huan hastily cut him off. "You’re not thinking of asking me to be your master, are you?"

Before Xin Ziqi could answer, she said anxiously, "Don’t. Please, don’t. You know my skill level. I only know about anesthesia. The rest is all just talk..."

Xin Ziqi didn’t see it that way.

The things Ji Huan knew, the formulas she had written—he had never heard of or seen anything like them before.

For that reason alone, there was so much he could learn from her.

Ji Huan felt a headache coming on.

"Technical exchanges, academic discussions... these things don’t have to happen between a master and a disciple. Classmates can do it, colleagues can do it, and friends can do it. Aren’t we business partners right now? You can ask me anything, anytime. Just please, don’t bring up this master-disciple business again."

Xin Ziqi was older than her. If he spent his days calling a girl younger than him ’Master,’ she would feel awkward even if he didn’t.

Besides, ’Master’ wasn’t just an empty title. Once you accepted it, you had to take on the responsibility. Ji Huan was fine with talking big, but she didn’t want to be responsible.

However, her evasive attitude clearly made Xin Ziqi misunderstand.

"It was presumptuous of me. I have put Miss Ji in a difficult position."

"It’s not that you’re not good enough, it’s... you’re the wrong gender. My sect has a rule: we only accept female disciples, not male."

To avoid crushing Xin Ziqi’s confidence, Ji Huan started spouting nonsense again.

Fortunately, Xin Ziqi actually believed her, although he found the rule a bit strange.

Ji Huan breathed a sigh of relief, and their conversation returned to the main topic.

"Those two anesthetic formulas... find some opportunities to test them more thoroughly. Don’t rush them into production, especially the Sleeping Powder."

Xin Ziqi nodded in agreement. "That was my intention as well."

"Besides the pharmaceutical workshop, we could also consider setting up a medical Equipment Workshop, specializing in producing medical equipment like plaster bandages, plaster splints, plaster casts, and various types of surgical tools... I’ll write down the methods for making them for you later."

This time, Xin Ziqi was speechless for a long while.

Ji Huan knew what he was thinking and put on a tough look. "I’m not giving this away for free. I own half of the pharmaceutical workshop, and I want a piece of the medical Equipment Workshop, too."

Xin Ziqi didn’t hesitate for a second. "I was just about to talk to you about that. I think that for both the pharmaceutical workshop and the future Equipment Workshop, the profit-sharing ratio might need to be revised."

"How do you want to change it?"

Ji Huan thought Xin Ziqi felt that giving her fifty percent was too much.

But it was just the opposite.

"If it were just the hand cream, it would be one thing. But now with the anesthetic... you might not realize what a sensation it will cause once it’s released... I can’t take too much advantage of you. So, for the pharmaceutical workshop, I’m willing to give you another twenty percent."

’Give up another twenty percent? Doesn’t that mean I get seventy and he gets thirty?’

Ji Huan shook her head.

"We agreed on fifty percent, so it’s fifty percent. Let’s stick to the contract."

It wasn’t that she wasn’t tempted, but she believed more in the saying that a man’s heart is never content, just as a snake tries to swallow an elephant.

The anesthetic would bring immense wealth, but it would also bring endless trouble.

All that trouble would have to be handled by Xin Ziqi.

She would be hiding behind the scenes, contributing nothing but a formula and her words. Was she really going to take more than half the profits for that?

Right now, Xin Ziqi was certainly willing, but over time, there was no guarantee that resentment wouldn’t grow.

Once that resentment took root, the twenty percent he gave up today would become the fuse.

Even if Xin Ziqi wouldn’t feel that way, his family or some other schemer might in the future... So, it was better to be moderate.

She held the most crucial knowledge. She wouldn’t ask for more, but she also wasn’t stupid enough to slave away for someone else’s benefit.

The reason she demanded a fifty-fifty split wasn’t just about making money; it was also to ensure she had enough say in matters if anything were to happen in the future.

Considering this, once the pharmaceutical workshop and the Equipment Workshop were up and running, she would need to have her own people involved in the management.

But right now, she didn’t have any suitable candidates...

Ji Huan skipped this topic and moved on to something else.

"By the way, do you have a way to treat the wounds on the homeless man’s face?"

Xin Ziqi answered truthfully, "Those wounds are quite old, and I don’t specialize in scar removal."

"I see..." Ji Huan scratched her chin. "Seeing how he’s lost the will to live, he probably doesn’t care whether the scars are removed or not. Let’s just get him through this current crisis first."

As they talked, they would go in from time to time to check on the homeless man.

He remained stable, but no one dared to let their guard down.

Sure enough, late at night, just as Ji Huan was about to leave, the homeless man developed a high fever.

They applied cold compresses and decocted medicine, but his temperature didn’t drop at all. Instead, the fever made him delirious, and he mumbled incessantly in his stupor.

While Xin Ziqi was decocting medicine in the kitchen, Ji Huan hesitated for a moment, then leaned in, putting her ear close to the homeless man’s lips to listen carefully.

"Wh-why..."

He repeated the same phrase over and over.

It seemed to carry a bone-deep hatred, yet also seemed to be mixed with some other emotion.

Unable to glean any useful information, Ji Huan quickly stopped her less-than-honorable eavesdropping, coughed guiltily, and glanced around.

Before Xin Ziqi came back into the room, she took the cloth from the homeless man’s forehead, dipped it in cold water, wrung it out lightly, and placed it back. In no time, it was warm again.

They changed the water basin after basin and forced down bowl after bowl of medicine. They struggled all the way until 2:59 AM, and only then did the fever finally, perilously, begin to subside.

Ji Huan couldn’t stop yawning, so tired that tears welled up in her eyes.

"You should go back and rest. There shouldn’t be any more problems," Xin Ziqi said, his face also showing signs of fatigue.

Ji Huan nodded haphazardly. Before leaving, she urged him to lie down on the kang for a while too, since there were still more than four hours until dawn.

Early the next morning, after confirming that the homeless man’s condition had stabilized in all respects, Xin Ziqi left the medicine for the next few days and returned to town with Ping’an.

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