Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1240 Vice Minister Li's Endorsement, Tao Guangzheng Returns to His Post (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 4K Chapters)

Without exception, everyone who came at this time was looking for Fang Yan to inquire about cooperation matters related to the medicinal herb base.

The signals conveyed by Fang Yan and Lao Hu during the meeting just now were telling everyone:

“We can help you sell your medicinal herbs at a higher price and earn more foreign exchange.”

So now everyone's here, some looking for dialect, some looking for Lao Hu.

The crowd was so dense that it was impossible to move around them, especially the people from the dialect group. Everyone assumed that since they were all from the health system, they would be easier to talk to than Lao Hu, so the largest number of people crowded around him.

If Fang Yan hadn't practiced martial arts, he wouldn't have been able to stand steadily given the force of all those people jostling him.

It was the old men around him who suffered.

I wanted to go out but couldn't; a noisy crowd of people was jostling around me.

Seeing this, Fang Yan quickly said to them:

"Don't panic, everyone. There are too many people here, and it's hard to explain everything in just a few words. We can talk slowly during lunch. Our institute's leaders will be there too, so we can discuss everything together to reach a conclusion. I can't make a decision by myself. Hey... don't push!"

"Please, everyone!" Fang Yan called out loudly to the crowd.

Finally, someone stepped forward and addressed the others:
"Stop crowding around, listen to Director Fang!"

Fortunately, everyone was quite considerate and reacted after hearing the sound.

The crowd gradually dispersed, like the receding tide, leaving behind crumpled notebook pages scattered on the ground.

Zhao Xiwu staggered two steps, pointing at Fang Yan and laughing and cursing:

"You've stirred up a hornet's nest, you little rascal! My water glass was almost knocked over."

Dialectal form of bowing:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Zhao Xiwu waved his hand and called out to Fang Yan:

"Let's hurry up and go!"

Fang Yan nodded. At this moment, Lao Hu squeezed in, holding a thick stack of notebooks with contact information written on them.

"Goodness, I didn't even realize my hands were being shoved with contact information."

Fang Yan said to Lao Hu:

"Come over here when we eat later and talk to them about the collaboration."

Old Hu wanted to sit at the table with the overseas Chinese businessmen, which is why he spoke in dialect.

Old Hu nodded and said:

"I'll eat a couple of bites of rice, and then I'll come over when it's time to offer the toasts."

Then everyone headed toward the banquet hall.

More than 1,500 people gathered here, and it felt like a sea of ​​people just by looking at it. The staff led everyone to their respective tables, and Fang Yan sat at the table of the Huaxia Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine this year.

They were seated at a table close to the core circle of leaders from the Ministry of Health.

After we sat down, the table was already full of cold dishes, liquor, and soft drinks.

Next came speeches from several leaders of the Ministry of Health.

The crowd subconsciously quieted down. The Minister of Health, holding a wine glass, slowly walked onto the makeshift podium.

He was the first to speak.

After a few polite words, which I won't go into detail here, Vice Minister Li took the stage to speak.

His smiling gaze swept across the room, finally landing on Fang Yan, and then he said:
"Today's meeting was more lively than expected, especially towards the end. I could hear the commotion backstage."

A knowing laugh rippled through the audience, and many people subconsciously glanced at Fang Yan's table, their eyes filled with a teasing tone.

"This is a good thing," Vice Minister Li said, raising his glass. "It shows that everyone is really determined to do a good job with traditional Chinese medicine, to let the wisdom of our ancestors shine, and to make real money. The minister just told me that this is a down-to-earth kind of excitement!"

He paused, his voice deepening:

“In the past, we always said that traditional Chinese medicine is a treasure, but if a treasure is kept in a box, it becomes just an ornament. Today, what Comrade Fang Yan and Mr. Hu said actually revealed a truth: no matter how good a treasure is, it must be seen, used, and benefited from by people in order to truly come alive.”

"I know that many of you here have been guarding medicinal herb mountains and holding ancient books, waiting your whole lives for this day. Now the opportunity has come. The Ministry of Health is making a statement: as long as it is for the development of traditional Chinese medicine, for the benefit of the people, and for the return of the foreign exchange we deserve, we will provide the personnel and the policies we need!"

As soon as he finished speaking, some people in the audience couldn't help but applaud.

Vice Minister Li smiled and waved his hand: "Don't rush to applaud, I have something else to say. Cooperation is fine, but it can't be done recklessly. The medicinal herbs must be from authentic sources, the prescriptions must be effective, and we must make money with a clear conscience. We must not only make foreigners admire the capabilities of traditional Chinese medicine, but also ensure that they can't find fault with our medicinal herbs!"

"Finally, I would like to offer three toasts to everyone." He raised his glass, his eyes shining. "The first toast is to the wisdom left by our ancestors, which gives us food to eat and confidence; the second toast is to everyone here, for it is not easy to uphold this cause; the third toast is to the future... May traditional Chinese medicine go further and thrive, so that the whole world knows that it is Chinese and the best!"

After saying this, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass, showing the bottom of the glass to everyone. A thunderous applause erupted from the audience, and over a thousand people stood up in unison, clinking their glasses together, the crisp sound mingling with cheers.

Vice Minister Li is basically endorsing traditional Chinese medicine.

Of course, this is also an endorsement of dialects.

His initiative in stepping forward demonstrated his stance.

After Vice Minister Li stepped down from the stage, the lights in the banquet hall came back on, and a burst of noise immediately followed.

Waiters pushed food carts between the tables, serving hot dishes one after another. The rising steam mixed with the aroma of wine and food, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere in the hall.

"Let's begin!" someone shouted, and everyone took their seats. The sounds of chopsticks clattering against plates, laughter, and clinking glasses mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere even more vibrant than the applause from before.

The leaders from the Ministry of Health also began toasting people at each table. Fang Yan's table was close by, so it would be their turn soon.

When the minister, accompanied by several vice ministers and directors, arrived at the table of the Huaxia Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fang Yan was serving steamed shad to the old men at the table.

They all prefer light flavors, and steamed fish with its scales on is their favorite. Right now, they're all holding their bowls, waiting for their local dialect to serve them some food.

Seeing this, the minister smiled and said to Fang Yan:

"It's great to have a young person at the research institute!"

When everyone saw the leader arrive, they quickly stopped what they were doing to greet him.

"Dean Ji, Dean Zhao, and everyone else, you should all have a few more drinks today," the minister said with a smile, raising his glass.

Everyone put down their chopsticks and picked up their teacups.

Dean Ji Zhongpu said, "I offer this tea in place of wine to the minister."

The minister chuckled, shared a drink with everyone present, and then, turning to Fang Yan, his tone became more serious: "Xiao Fang, you must take Vice Minister Li's words to heart. The policies have been given, the platform has been built, now it's up to you how you play this game." He pointed to the braised bear paw on the table, "This dish looks expensive, but if our medicinal herb base is established, in the future, foreigners will be coming with US dollars to buy it, and that will be much more precious than this."

Fang Yan stood up and raised his glass, deliberately making sure the rim was half an inch lower than the minister's glass: "Please rest assured, Minister, we will definitely safeguard the 'authentic' roots. We will neither arbitrarily change the prescription nor be complacent and stick to old practices. We will definitely deliver a solid report to the national medicinal herb bases."

"Good!" The minister clinked glasses with him. "I'll be waiting for your good news."

"Click!" The cameraman who was recording the scene captured the moment.

Next, Fang Yan and the others clinked glasses with the other vice ministers. Vice Minister Li patted Fang Yan on the shoulder, and then left with everyone with a smile.

Next, Fang Yan quickly invited the old men to eat, as everyone knew that after the leaders finished toasting, some people would arrive.

Sure enough, Fang Yan and the others had only been eating for a short while when someone came over.

It was the old director of the Yunnan Research Institute who came over and placed a package on the table: "Director Fang, and everyone else, this is the best Panax notoginseng powder from our area. Please try it when you get back. I just spoke with Mr. Hu, and we're willing to set aside 200 mu of land as a test field to grow it according to your standards. If it works, we'll promote it!"

Fang Yan glanced at the table and, sure enough, Lao Hu followed behind.

Then, everyone started chatting.

As they were talking, several professors from Sichuan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine came over with wine glasses. The senior professor in the lead was carrying a small cloth bag. He lifted the cover to reveal dozens of plump Sichuan fritillaria bulbs, each one resembling a small pearl.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Sichuan fritillary bulb from Songpan."

"A genuine local product area."

This was quite an opening, and soon people kept coming over to offer toasts.

Representatives from Henan brought slices of Chinese yam, while those from Zhejiang presented specimens of Hangzhou white chrysanthemum. Even researchers from XJ held up dried purple gromwell root, insisting that Fang Yan smell the "fragrance of herbs nurtured by snowmelt from the Tianshan Mountains."

Fang Yan then asked a waiter to bring over a long empty table, where he categorized and registered the samples sent from various places. He then had Lao Hu calculate the profits for everyone on the spot: "According to the current international market price, the export price of authentic Huai yam is five times that of ordinary yam. If it can pass international organic certification, it can double again..."

When it came to the medicinal herbs from Yunnan, the old director of the Yunnan Provincial Institute stood up and bowed to everyone at the table:
"To be honest, every year our Panax notoginseng from Wenshan is subject to price gouging by middlemen. After listening to what Director Fang and Mr. Hu said today, I finally understand. It's not that our medicine is bad, it's that we haven't found the right approach. We'll take this experimental field!"

“We’ll do it too!” The old professor from Sichuan stood up and said, “I’ll send a telegram back this afternoon.”

Fang Yan quickly called out to stop:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the initial agreement. Next, our research institute will need to discuss the necessary medicinal materials. Also, some medicinal materials from the southwest region can be sent directly to our factory in Guangdong. Please don't get too excited yet!"

The noise attracted the attention of leaders from the Ministry of Health at the next table. Vice Minister Li watched the scene from afar and smiled at the minister beside him, saying, "You see, they've already put in their best effort without us having to urge them."

The minister looked at Fang Yan, who remained composed despite being surrounded by people, and nodded: "It's not easy for a young person to do things this well. He understands the properties of medicinal herbs and also understands people's minds. This is the kind of person who can get things done."

Hearing his own people being praised, Vice Minister Li was quite pleased.

I feel much better now that I've gotten rid of Director Sun, who's in charge of personnel, today.

……

After the meeting, people from many places expressed their intentions. Next, we need to discuss the contract in detail at the research institute. Fang Yan's research institute and several factories can't handle such a large volume. Although they are expanding their scale now, the volume is still quite large.

Therefore, some of it will need to be allocated to other research departments.

In addition, we need to find ways to expand the scale of production.

In any case, current production capacity can no longer keep up with international demand, and with the upcoming export to Japan, these high-quality, authentic medicinal herbs are arriving at just the right time.

Of course, I hope that Kobayashi Kazumasa's plans won't be ruined by Tsumura Pharmaceuticals.

If we can't penetrate the Japanese market, we'll have to continue expanding sales in other regions.

Once the leaders from the dialect and research institute had finalized the arrangements, the dinner party came to an end.

Next, the Ministry of Health's mid-year conference concluded successfully.

Everyone dispersed.

Fang Yan and the group of old men left the Ministry of Health and started driving home. Fang Yan had been drinking, so his assistant, Anton, drove.

The same goes for Lao Hu; his bodyguard, Lao Cui, drives him.

Although there's no longer a law against drunk driving these days, everyone has chosen the safest way to drive.

Accompanying them were some elderly gentlemen from research institutes. Fang Yan first took them back to the research institute before returning to Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

They all drank quite a bit today, and since it's already 3 PM, they haven't gone to work.

When they got home, Fang Yan's sister-in-law brought them tea.

Then Fang Yan heard his wife, Zhu Lin, say to him:
"I just got a phone call from Professor Zeng from your institute."

"Just now?" Fang Yan paused, realizing he had just returned from there.

Zhu Lin said:

"Yes, just a few minutes ago."

He asked in dialect:

"What's wrong with him?"

Zhu Lin said:

"They said the person you hired has already reported for duty."

He asked me to tell you.

Fang Yan rubbed his temples. This old Zeng was even more of a riddle. There were so many people looking for him.

"Who is it?" Huang Huijie, who was pouring tea for Lao Hu, asked.

Old Hu took a sip of tea, then suddenly slapped his thigh:
"Snapped!"

He said:
"It must be that guy who came back from XJ!"

Fang Yan immediately realized:

"Yes! Tao Guangzheng!"

It must be Tao Guangzheng who's back. It's been so many days; he must be the one who's arrived.

Zhu Lin also realized:
"Is it the one you found to treat Aunt Wang's brain tumor?"

“That’s right.” Fang Yan nodded.

Then he said:
"I'll change my clothes and go see him right away."

Having said that, he took off his clothes, which reeked of alcohol, and beckoned to his apprentice standing beside him:

"Anton!"

I stood up at Andong Station:
"Hey, Master?"

Fang Yan pointed in the direction of Peking Union Medical College Hospital:
"Go drive the car to the gate, we're going to the research institute right away."

Anton immediately agreed.

Then Lao Hu also stood up:

"I am coming too!"

Dialectal wave:
"It's alright, you should rest!"

Lao Hu said:

"I'm not drunk. I need to go and see about brain tumor treatment!"

"Maybe we're witnessing history again."

PS: 4000 extra words added. That's all for today. See you tomorrow!

I'll finish writing 10,000 words today.

(End of this chapter)