Chapter 344: Chapter 344: An Ulterior Motive

Sun Qingshuang took two boxes of Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules from his briefcase.

He had thoughtfully marked the instructions and dosage in English.

Lisa took the medicine and prepared a packet for Lily.

The small granules dissolved, releasing a faint, clean scent of herbs.

It was Lily’s first time drinking a traditional Chinese patent medicine.

She wasn’t used to it at all.

She turned her head away, unwilling to drink.

Lisa had to coax her for a long time before she persuaded her daughter to drink it down.

Seeing the situation, Sun Qingshuang tactfully took his leave.

Before he left, he put down Li Xu’s paper.

Whether or not the paper would capture Davis’s attention

still depended on the effectiveness of the Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules.

This was all he could do.

...

After seeing Sun Qingshuang out, Davis returned to the living room and asked his daughter, "Sweetheart, how are you feeling?"

Lily said weakly, "Not great. It’s so bitter..."

Davis consoled her, "That’s how medicine from the Dragon Country is."

Lily said, "Like a wizard’s potion?"

Davis chuckled. "Mm, you could say that..."

The father and daughter chatted idly.

Davis didn’t hold out much hope,

but in his heart, he longed for a miracle.

And a miracle...

...truly did happen.

Less than half an hour after Lily drank the Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules, Davis noticed a stunning change—Lily’s coughing frequency had clearly decreased.

Her once-violent coughing had become an occasional, soft cough.

Her breathing had also become much more stable, no longer so rapid.

A bit of color seemed to have returned to Lily’s tired little face.

Before long, she was leaning against Lisa’s arms, fast asleep.

It was the most peaceful sleep she’d had in days. She wasn’t woken by violent coughing, nor did she twitch in her sleep.

Davis and his wife looked at each other in pleasant surprise, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"My god... This... is it really working?"

Lisa asked excitedly.

Davis was also very excited.

He picked up the digital thermometer, checked Lily’s forehead, and found that her temperature was actually dropping.

"Oh, my god!"

If he wasn’t afraid of waking his daughter,

Davis would have jumped for joy.

Lily slept for the entire afternoon.

When she woke up, her spirits were clearly much better.

She even felt a little hungry. Lisa prepared some light food for her, and Lily ate it all.

That evening, Lily took her second dose of Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules.

That night, she slept even more deeply and soundly.

The next morning, Lily’s fever was completely gone.

Her cough had also almost disappeared, leaving only an occasional slight tickle in her throat.

Full of energy, she jumped out of bed, ran to Davis and his wife, and cried out happily, "Mom, Dad, I’m all better!"

Davis happily went forward and hugged Lily.

The joy in his heart

was something Tamiflu Granules had never given him.

"This... This is a miracle!"

Davis was completely relieved.

After breakfast,

instead of going to the office, Davis picked up the paper Sun Qingshuang had left behind yesterday and examined it carefully.

The paper’s unique formulation principles, molecular mechanism of action, and detailed clinical data...

He was shocked by the detailed and rigorous data in the paper, and even more shocked by the profound depth of Chinese medicine.

He realized that his previous understanding of Chinese medicine had been far too narrow.

Davis called Sun Qingshuang. "Mr. Sun, I’ve read the paper. It’s very well-written. I will personally recommend it to the editorial team of *Liu XX* and ensure it receives a fair review."

Sun Qingshuang was overjoyed. "Then I must thank you, Mr. Davis."

Actually,

Davis’s motives weren’t entirely pure.

He had another goal.

Tamiflu Granules were produced by Jide Pharmaceutical.

They had been getting a lot of attention recently.

And he also owned his own pharmaceutical company.

It was a competitor to Jide Pharmaceutical.

If he could use this matter to suppress Tamiflu Granules, why wouldn’t he?

Therefore, he was taking it very seriously.

Back at the editorial office, Davis immediately convened a meeting with the members of the editorial team, including the senior executive editor, the executive editor, and several senior editorial consultants.

"Everyone," Davis began, getting straight to the point, "I’ve called this emergency meeting today to recommend an academic paper from the Dragon Country. It’s a study on the clinical efficacy and mechanism of action of a traditional Chinese patent medicine called ’Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules’ in treating this year’s influenza A."

Thomas was also at the meeting. When he heard the words "Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules," he was startled.

He never expected that this paper, which he had already deleted, would reappear at an editorial team meeting in this manner.

His expression flickered, but he quickly regained his composure.

Davis had his assistant print out Li Xu’s paper and distribute it to every editor present.

He continued, "The data in this paper is incredibly detailed, and its arguments are rigorous. More importantly, this medicine—it really works. Just yesterday, my daughter took it, and today, she’s already better..."

He recounted Lily’s illness and her rapid recovery after taking Lianhua Suanzaoren Granules to the group, his voice full of emotion.

His personal experience was more persuasive than any data or argument.

The editors in attendance exchanged glances.

They all knew Davis was always rigorous, and they also knew his daughter had recently been ill.

For Davis to recommend it so enthusiastically spoke volumes about the paper’s value.

However, Thomas couldn’t remain silent.

He knew clearly that once this paper was published, it would be a devastating blow to Jide Pharmaceutical.

"Mr. Davis, forgive me for being blunt."

Thomas cleared his throat and questioned, "I believe this paper has some flaws in its research methodology and data..."

He tried to use "academic flaws" and the "controversy surrounding Chinese medicine" as excuses to block the paper’s approval.

Hearing this, Davis’s expression darkened.

He knew Thomas was lying, because the paper’s data was extremely complete and rigorous.

His sharp gaze swept over Thomas as he said firmly, "Thomas, I don’t know what these ’flaws’ you speak of are. But I can tell everyone responsibly that this paper’s data is very rigorous, and its clinical effectiveness has been personally verified by my own daughter. Besides, it’s not that Chinese medicine has no scientific basis; it’s just that we in the Western medical community don’t understand it well enough."

He turned to the other editors. "Everyone, I know you may have some biases against Chinese medicine. But as editors of *Liu XX*, our duty is to pursue scientific truth and serve global healthcare. With influenza A running rampant, if there’s a truly effective drug, we have no reason to shut it out. Still less can we shelve it because of personal prejudice or certain conflicts of interest!"

Davis’s tone was severe, striking right at Thomas’s weak spot and intimidating the other editors present.

They all understood that the "conflicts of interest" Davis mentioned referred to the relationship between Thomas and Jide Pharmaceutical.

Thomas’s expression turned even uglier.

But he couldn’t refute it.

Because the so-called flaws in Li Xu’s paper were simply fabrications. If he were actually asked to point them out, he wouldn’t be able to.