Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 221: Everything is Ready, Except for the Formula

Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Everything is Ready, Except for the Formula

"Young man, you... that thing of yours..."

The bearded worker snapped out of his daze. Staring at the Bezoar in Li Xu’s arms, he could barely get the words out, his eyes filled with envy and jealousy.

Li Xu patted his shoulder, pulled ten hundred-yuan bills from his wallet, and handed them over. "Thanks for your help, sir! This is for you and the guys. Have a good time."

"Haha, thanks!" the bearded worker said, taking the money with a twinge of envy.

Meanwhile, a refrigerated truck pulled up to the slaughterhouse.

It bore the logo of the Feng City Restaurant.

The driver got out and saw a crowd of people.

He went over to see what the commotion was about.

He was shocked by what he heard.

A fist-sized Bezoar?

’What incredible luck!’

When he learned that the Bezoar belonged to Li Xu, he was even more envious.

Afterward,

the workers helped load the beef into the truck.

Li Xu and Song Sisi then rode back to the city in the truck.

The driver dropped them off at the clinic’s entrance.

"Thanks, sir."

Li Xu opened the door and walked into the clinic.

Song Sisi was still buzzing with excitement. "Boss, your luck is just unreal!"

On the way back, she had looked it up online. The price for a kilogram of Natural Bezoar was as high as 7.5 million yuan.

’So expensive!’

’Heh, expensive is good.’

Li Xu smiled and nodded. "Yep, just got lucky. I was originally just buying the cow to avoid getting hassled by Foolish Song in the future. I never expected it would have a Bezoar... Haha..."

"Boss, hurry up and weigh it!"

"Alright."

Li Xu placed it on the scale used for weighing medicinal herbs. 560 grams.

A little over a jin and a tael.

"Wow, if you sold this, it could go for four million yuan!"

Song Sisi’s eyes lit up.

Li Xu took out the Bezoar and examined it carefully. "This Bezoar is of exceptional quality. If we put it up for auction, it could fetch an even higher price."

"Boss, are you going to sell it?" Song Sisi asked.

Li Xu answered without a moment’s hesitation. "Of course not."

He had his system, after all.

Plus, with the dividends he received from Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, he wasn’t short on cash.

An opportunity to get a Natural Bezoar of this quality was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

He hadn’t sold the rosewood or the Musk he’d acquired before, either.

Naturally, he wouldn’t sell the Bezoar.

Besides, at a critical moment, a Bezoar could save a life.

"Boss, how do you think ancient people discovered that Bezoar had medicinal properties?"

Song Sisi stared at the Bezoar, her expression one of utter confusion.

’Isn’t it just a cow’s gallstone?’

Li Xu chuckled. "Well, that brings up a little story."

Since there were no patients in the clinic,

Li Xu began to tell her the tale.

"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the famous physician Bian Que enjoyed traveling the world to practice medicine. One day, he came to the Bohai Sea region, where he treated patients and researched medicinal substances."

"One day, he was taking some processed Cyanite Stone from a medicine jar, preparing to grind it into a powder to treat a neighbor named Yang Wen, who was suffering from hemiplegia caused by a stroke."

"Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside. Bian Que went out to see what was happening and found that it was about an old ox that Yang Wen’s family had raised for over a decade. For some unknown reason, the animal had grown progressively thinner and could no longer work the fields. So, Yang Wen’s son, Yang Bao, had hired someone to slaughter it."

"As it turned out, Yang Bao had discovered a stone inside the ox’s gallbladder. The crowd was curious, and Bian Que was quite interested as well, so he told Yang Bao to keep the stone for him to study later."

Yang Bao laughed. "Sir, surely you don’t intend to use this as medicine? The ox’s illness was caused by this stone; it’s the root of the sickness. How could it possibly cure anything?"

Bian Que couldn’t answer right away, so he simply placed the stone on his table next to the Cyanite Stone.

"Just then, Yang Wen’s illness flared up again. Bian Que rushed to his side and found him in critical condition: his eyes had rolled back, a phlegmy rattle sounded in his throat, his limbs were cold, and he was gasping for breath."

As he performed acupuncture, he urged Yang Bao, "Quick, go to my house and grab the Cyanite Stone from my table!"

Yang Bao returned, panting, with the medicine. Without inspecting it closely, Bian Que quickly ground it into a fine powder, took a small dose, and administered it to Yang Wen. A short while later, the patient’s convulsions stopped, his breathing steadied, and his mind became clear."

When Bian Que returned to his room, he discovered the Cyanite Stone was still on the table, but the Cow Stone was gone. He quickly asked his family, "Who moved the Cow Stone?"

"Yang Bao came to get the medicine just now," they replied. "He said you sent him."

This accidental mix-up gave Bian Que pause for thought. ’Could it be that a cow’s gallstone also has the effect of clearing phlegm and calming convulsions?’

"The next day, he deliberately swapped the Cyanite Stone in Yang Wen’s herbal prescription with the Cow Stone."

"Three days later, Yang Wen’s condition had miraculously improved. Not only had the convulsions ceased, but he could also move his paralyzed limbs slightly. Overjoyed, Yang Wen thanked Bian Que profusely."

Bian Que said, "Don’t thank me. You should be thanking your son."

"He then explained how Yang Bao had mistaken the Cow Stone for the Cyanite Stone. ’This stone,’ he said, ’having been steeped in bile for a long time, has bitter and cooling properties that enter the heart and liver. It has the effect of clearing the heart to restore consciousness and calming the liver to stop internal wind.’"

Yang Wen asked, "What is this medicine called?"

Bian Que pondered for a moment. "This concretion forms in a cow’s body and turns yellow in the gallbladder. Let us call it ’Bezoar’."

Then he added, "A Bezoar with such miraculous effects is a treasure. Given the ox’s association with the term ’ugly’ in the zodiac, let’s also give it the nickname ’Ugly Treasure’."

And that is how the medicinal ingredient, Bezoar, came to be.

"Is that story for real?"

Song Sisi asked, her face a mask of astonishment.

Li Xu shook his head. "There’s no way to verify if it’s true or not. You can just treat it as a legend. However, the medicinal effects described in the story are absolutely real."

"Bezoar clears the heart and resolves phlegm, opens the orifices, cools the liver, extinguishes wind, and detoxifies. It’s mostly used in its raw form for conditions like high fevers leading to coma, stroke with phlegm obstruction, convulsions from seizures, mania, sore throat, canker sores, and carbuncles. It’s miraculously effective for these things."

Song Sisi looked at the large Bezoar. "Used raw? You mean you just put it directly into medicine?"

"Not exactly," Li Xu explained. "It requires some simple processing."

"According to *Lei Gong’s Theory of Refining*: ’When using, it must first be pounded alone, then ground as fine as dust.’"

"And the *Bureau Formulas* state: ’Whenever used, first grind it separately until fine, then add it to the other medicinal ingredients.’"

The processing method for Bezoar is quite simple: you just remove the impurities and grind it into a fine powder.

The piece of Bezoar in Li Xu’s hands had very few impurities and could be ground directly into powder for use.

Just as they were speaking, Ding Kaifang called. "Doctor Li, I heard you got your hands on a Bezoar?"

’Heh.’

’News travels fast.’

Li Xu wasn’t surprised.

After all, he had ridden back in the procurement truck from the Feng City Restaurant.

The procurement staff were employees of a subsidiary under the Ding Group.

Natural Bezoar was precious, so of course word would spread quickly.

"That’s right. And it’s of exceptional quality," Li Xu replied.

Ding Kaifang’s voice was filled with excitement. "Doctor Li, you must know how precious Natural Bezoar is on the market right now. It goes for seven to eight million a kilogram, and even then, it’s a seller’s market—there’s no supply. Many pharmaceutical companies are trying to acquire it. Tongren Hall, in particular, desperately needs Natural Bezoar for their signature product, the An Gong Bezoar Pill. Are you selling? If you are, I can make an introduction for you. I guarantee the price won’t be low."

"I’m not selling."

Li Xu remained firm.

But an idea did spark in his mind.

’The An Gong Bezoar Pill?’

’That’s an incredible medicine!’

’Could I make it myself?’

Li Xu had a rough idea of the ingredients for the An Gong Bezoar Pill.

Bezoar, Rhino Horn, Musk, Pearl...

All of them were precious medicinal ingredients.

And he possessed all the core ingredients.

The Bezoar, he had just acquired.

The Natural Rhino Horn and Natural Supreme Musk he had purchased for a hefty price some time ago from Ye Shihui, the antiques collector in Feng City.

As for the other ingredients, like Pearl, Cinnabar, realgar, Huang Lian, and Camphor, he already had them in his medicine cabinet. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He had everything he needed; all that was missing was the exact formula!