Physician's Odyssey

Chinese medicine was only a small reason why Tosca Pharmaceutical Conglomerate invested in the Three Flavour Medicine. Most importantly, they wanted to use the Three Flavour Medicine to open up the domestic market, especially after Rangure’s death.

Cambell Pharmaceutical Company took a heavy blow, and there was an empty slow in China’s medical industry right now. Many foreign medical enterprises were trying to use this opportunity to get a share of the pie.

But Tosca Pharmaceutical Conglomerate’s strategic intention was ahead of all its competitors.

After Su Tao made an international call to Joanna and explained his intentions, Joanna knitted her brows and pondered briefly, “You want us to enter China’s market through a joint venture?”

Su Tao could tell the unhappiness from Joanna’s tone. The Tosca Pharmaceutical Conglomerate wasn’t short of money, and they could establish a foreign medical trading company in China. But if it was a joint venture, it meant that they would share the pie with others.

“You should have some understanding of China. The Tosca Pharmaceutical Conglomerate might be influential in the internal world, and you guys weren’t any weaker than the Neuer Pharmaceutical Conglomerate. But if you guys want to enter China’s market without someone familiar, you guys won’t be able to get used to it. There are so many multinational companies, and this is also the reason why they don’t last.” Su Tao explained patiently.

Joanna fell into a brief silence before she replied, “A joint venture isn’t impossible, but we want at least 70% of the profits.”

Her request was reasonable. The products were all provided by the Tosca Pharmaceutical Conglomerate, and not much operation cost was needed after the company was established. It belongs to the asset-light strategy. Nodding his head, Su Tao replied, “I will discuss with them and inform you if there are any results.”

“Then, I’ll await your good news.” Joanna nodded.

Now that they were almost done with their official business, there was a need to maintain their relationship a little. Su Tao smiled, “How are things going for you? Did Tony cause any trouble for you?”

“Don’t mention it!” Joanna smiled bitterly. “After he came back, he called the board of directors for my impeach, trying to get me off the board.”

“So, what’s the result?” Su Tao knew that Joanna was smarter than her brother.

“The board naturally ignored his request.” Joanna shrugged. “So my mother is now unhappy with me. Because she feels that I’m the one that caused her son’s setback.”

“I didn’t expect that men and women didn’t share equal status in Italy. Patriarchy seems to be a serious problem there as well.” Su Tao smiled.

“I won’t deny that.” Joanna smiled.

The United Nations had conducted a survey of men and women’s income. The income of women in Italy was much lower compared to men. Women received an annual income of about 10,247 EUROS, while male migrants’ annual income was 14,100 EUROS. Not to mention that there was gender inequality in employment.

Men and women were different from birth. So how could everyone be balanced?

Then again, the difference in income was just the secondary. Most importantly, men and women have to be treated equally in terms of their value.

After going into details with Joanna on the joint venture, Su Tao sat on the couch and fell into deep thoughts. He had to think of a solution to deal with Sun Changle and Shao Wentao’s conspiracy.

His first step was to expose their conspiracy with his interest unharmed. Most importantly, he had to make use of this revelation to benefit him as much as possible.

Although Sun Changle and Shao Wentao did not meet out in the open, the calls between them never stopped. It was just like what Xia Yu had investigated. Sun Changle and Shao Wentao shared the same interest.

Shao Wentao sat on the couch and received the plate of fruits. There were all kinds of sliced fruits on the plates, including apples, cantaloupe, and oranges. As he ate a slice of apple, the sweet juice flowed down his throat, and smiled, “Old Sun, what did Fei Mingyang say?”

Fei Mingyang might be conservative, but his future development is limited if he relies on real estate. The medical industry is a treasure. When I revealed it to him a little, he immediately became fidgety. Furthermore, he has a favorable opinion about Su Tao. After all, it was Su Tao who treated his kidney stones the other time.”

Nodding his head, Shao Wentao sneered, “Many people’s interests were involved when the Cambell Pharmaceutical Company closed down. Everyone knows that it was Su Tao who pushed for the investigation for Wang Guofeng’s death, which dragged Rangure out in the open.”

Feeling a little heartache, Sun Changle replied, “I’m losing hundreds of millions of dividends every year. You’re not doing any better than me, right?”

“The Cambell Pharmaceutical Company knows the ways of the world, and they will give dividends to some medical specialists annually.” Shao Wentao sneered.

“We can only rebuild a channel now. As long as we clinch the representative rights for Tosca Pharmaceutical Conglomerate, we can repeat Cambell Pharmaceutical Company’s operation. This time, we will be the distributors for profits, so how much we earn is totally up to us.” Sun Changle smiled.

“Old Sun, you should know that I don’t lack money. My eyes are more on the leader position.” Shao Wentao spoke, pretending to be serious.

Sun Changle naturally knew Shao Wentao well. This person might place great importance on authority, but who wouldn’t want more money? He smiled casually, “Don’t worry about it. The leader position will definitely be yours. I’ve been following Yue Zun around to understand his network, and most of those around him weren’t clean themselves. You just have to threaten them and they will give up supporting Yue Zun. As for Yue Zun, I’m currently carrying out the plan, and when the time is right, it will catch him by surprise. Not to mention the leader position, who knows if he might even be removed from the National Healer Team!”

Sun Changle smiled eerily when he finished speaking. The plan to frame Yue Zun was something that Shao Wentao and Sun Changle came up with to ensure Shao Wentao obtained the leader position.

Shao Wentao sighed inwardly. It was fortunate that Sun Changle wasn’t interested in the leader position. Sun Changle only requested to give him some secret channels to accumulate wealth after he took office. Otherwise, Shao Wentao knew that he wouldn’t be Sun Changle’s match when it came to schemes.

As the selection became closer, Shao Wentao began to feel fidgety. He couldn’t wait to see how Yue Zun was ruined. Among all the current candidates, Yue Zun was still his biggest opponent even after suffering some impact from the allowance plan.

Shao Wentao had even started to dream of sitting in Yu Youqing’s seat. In his opinion, that was the limit he could reach as a doctor.

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Based on what was previously agreed, Su Tao and Ling Yu headed for General Lane to visit the Wang Family. This time, the housekeeper received Su Tao with a completely different attitude; he had a bright smile on his face.

“Master is currently treating a patient. So please let me lead you guys to the living room.” The housekeeper took care of Su Tao and Ling Yu.

“It’s fine; the patient is more important!” Su Tao smiled casually.

When they entered the guest room, Su Tao saw a beast-engraved incense burner. It was burning with sandalwood, which had a calming effect. He noticed that the Wang Family was more particular compared to his previous visit.

By burning incense when receiving guests makes one feel soothed.

The housekeeper served the two of them with tea. As Su Tao and Ling Yu chatted while they drank tea, Wang Rui walked hurriedly about ten minutes later with a smile on his face. He spoke out, “I’m sorry for keeping you guys waiting. I wasn’t planning on receiving patients in the morning, but there’s a serious case that took a while.”

“Senior Wang, you’re too courteous. You’re a physician, and you’re just doing your duty.” Su Tao smiled.

Shaking his head, Wang Rui smiled bitterly, “It’s mainly because there’s not enough manpower. I have to treat many patients myself personally.”

Su Tao knew that this was the marketing technique of the Wang Family’s Pharmacy. The rarer it was, the greater its value. When everyone knew that Wang Rui, a National Healer, would treat them personally, they would naturally come rushing over. If he allowed his disciples to treat the patients, this marketing method would lose its charm.

That was the difference between the Three Flavour Hall and the Wang Family’s Pharmacy. The former was like a fast-food restaurant chain, while the latter was like a five-starred restaurant. If you want to dine in a five-starred restaurant, you need both a fat wallet and social status.

“You’re the master in TCM, so juniors like us should learn from you.” Su Tao smiled.

“I have actually thought of opening branches for the Wang Family’s Pharmacy, but I can’t find any talent. On this matter, I think that Three Flavour Hall has been doing a good job, walking a new path that I’ve once considered, but did not have the courage.” Wang Rui sighed.

Wang Rui was speaking from the bottom of his heart. Although he had conflicts with Su Tao in the past, he still admired how Su Tao managed his pharmacies.

Wang Rui was only trying to influence others by himself, while Su Tao allowed more physicians to do it, bringing a greater value than him.

After half a year of observation, Wang Rui knew that the Three Flavour Hall’s development wouldn’t affect the Wang Family’s Pharmacy’s reputation. Still, it would ultimately bring TCM into the general public.

It was something that Wang Rui felt both gratified and salty about.

He was gratified that there was a successor for TCM, and he was salty that the future of the Wang Family’s Pharmacy might be affected by the changes brought to TCM. So knows if it might even be lost in history.

“Talents in TCM are divided into grades. Those without sufficient experience could take care of simple illnesses, but for complicated ones, it’s best to leave them to the masters. It’s the truth  that there are different grades for physicians, and the Three Flavour Hall is preparing to develop in this direction.” Su Tao explained with a smile.

Nodding his head, Wang Rui smiled, “I’m getting old, and I can no longer keep up to the rhythm of youngsters like you. But I know that the Three Flavour Hall will change the general public’s mindset about TCM in the future. So if there’s any way I can help, just let me know.” Wang Rui nodded with a smile.

Receiving Wang Rui’s promise, Su Tao was happy. At the very least, this trip wasn’t in vain.