Merchant and doctor

Chapter 1826 Old Flagpole

She was about the same age as Bian Mu, dressed in a fashionable summer dress, tall and with long hair. The woman was very fair-skinned, and her demeanor was completely unlike that of a local from a small county.

"You must be the owner of the shop, right? My dad was worried you might get lost, so he specifically asked me to greet you here." The girl greeted him with a smile as she walked up to the front of the car.

"Oh! Don't be so polite, please get in the car!" With that, Bian Mu quickly got out of the car, opened the back door, and invited the girl to get in and give her directions.

"You have so much free time! Every little bit saved counts!" With that, the girl gracefully boarded the SUV.

Following the girl's directions, Bian Mu and his group slowed down and headed towards the location of "Hongyang" Pharmaceutical Company.

"Young lady! Do you also work at the pharmaceutical factory?" Old Pei, sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head and asked with a smile.

“Me? No, I teach in town!” the girl replied readily.

"Oh! Teaching and nurturing students, hmm! That's good, that's good!" Old Pei replied casually.

“When I was preparing for the college entrance exam, my dad wanted me to study pharmacy, but I didn’t want to. I felt that the humanistic environment of school was more suitable for me.”

"Really? Which subject do you teach?" Old Pei asked with a smile.

"math!"

"high school?"

"Yeah! Temporarily assuming the first year of high school. They're really strict where I am. If the academic performance doesn't improve, they won't let us move up to the second year, let alone the graduating class!"

"Really? I heard that your county's college entrance exam results have been catching up with the top schools in the city in recent years! They're really pushing hard!" Old Pei said with a smile.

"It's alright! It's a county-level high school. Only Lishi County is slightly better than us. We should be ranked second!"

Hearing this, Bian Mu smiled knowingly and remained silent.

Chatting and laughing, we arrived at the factory gate.

Wow! The factory leaders are personally leading the team, and there's a dozen or so people lined up here to welcome Bian Mu!

"Master Bian, is that right? I am An Delin. I warmly welcome Master Bian to visit our factory for an on-site inspection!" As soon as President An finished speaking, a round of applause broke out from the surrounding area.

For a moment, Bian Mu was really not used to it.

"I dare not accept such praise! You are all seniors in the industry. I am just a junior in the field of Chinese medicine preparation. I am grateful for your warm welcome. I will take it as you are doing this because of Elder Huang!" Bian Mu spoke very politely and sincerely.

"Hey! Your name has spread far and wide. A few days ago, we went to Beiqi to attend an industry technology summit. Tickets were really hard to come by. Several famous professors mentioned your name, Mr. Bian. Really, we are all honest people in our factory and we don't lie!" At the end, President An even made a joke with a smile.

Amidst laughter and chatter, and surrounded by admirers, the crowd welcomed Bian Mu and his companions into the company gate. Bian Mu noticed that the pharmaceutical company's gate was still the original brick and stone structure from years past; the only change was that the traditional iron gate had been replaced with an automatic electronic gate. The decorations on the gate, inside, and outside remained completely unchanged. Interestingly, not far behind the guardhouse just inside the gate, there was still an old flagpole, clearly an antique, not a modern replica.

Bian Mu had a good impression of this old pharmaceutical factory from the first impression.

Seeing Bian Mu stop and look up at the ancient flagpole, President An and his entourage also stopped and admired it with Bian Mu for a while.

"Wow! This is standard equipment for a general! Judging from this... the mounting stones and other accessories have probably been lost, right?" Old Pei, the herbalist, broke the silence with a few casual remarks.

Upon hearing this, a look of delight appeared on President An's face.

"Sir, you must be an expert in this field, right? That's right. The land our factory occupies was originally the official residence of a famous general during the Ming Dynasty. I heard it was originally intended to be preserved as a cultural relic, but for some unknown reason, it was converted into a flour mill. Later, the flour mill went bankrupt, and our factory moved here according to the arrangements made by our superiors. The old workers say that this general's flagpole is quite auspicious, so we're doing it for good luck! Everyone has been taking good care of it, and whenever there's any damage, we contact the local cultural relics management office to come and repair it. We cover all the costs." General Manager An explained with a smile, quite interested.

“Oh! Taking the position of the gate as the reference point, this flagpole is in the ‘Xun’ position, and the Qian position is empty and full. To say it’s auspicious… I’m afraid…” Bian Mu muttered a few words naturally.

Upon hearing this, Mr. An's expression immediately turned solemn. His daughter was closest to him at the moment, but she didn't care. She smiled and looked up at the horizon a few times, then curled her lips, clearly not taking it seriously.

"So, Master Bian is also skilled in divination! I admire you! Well... shouldn't this flagpole be moved to a different location?" Mr. An said politely with a smile.

"Not at all, not at all! It was just a spontaneous remark. You've misunderstood. Let's not take up too much of everyone's time. Let's go and visit your company's best workshop first!" Bian Mu said with a smile, getting back to the point.

"Please, Mr. Bian!" With that, Mr. An respectfully accompanied Bian Mu and his party toward the core area of ​​the factory.

Even after walking quite a distance, General An and the others would occasionally turn their heads to glance at the so-called Commander-in-Chief's old flagpole. Clearly, they were quite bothered by Bian Mu's words earlier, feeling that an expert of such high rank as Bian Mu was not just talking casually, but must have something to say.

……

Compared to the modern pharmaceutical companies in Lijin, "Hongyang" Pharmaceutical Company looks much more shabby. The office building is only three stories high, and all the production workshops are only two stories high. According to a female engineer, each workshop is equipped with a basement, a very professional auxiliary workshop building with a basement. Including this floor, it is only a three-story building.

After looking around, Bian Mu did not find the so-called R&D center.

"President An! Doesn't our company have a technology research and development center?" Bian Mu asked casually as they walked forward.

"We used to have one, but my predecessor withdrew it to cut costs, so don't worry, Mr. Bian! The R&D team is still there, but it's been merged into the city. We're basically just temporarily renting two offices there. It saves us a lot of money over the years, and the actual R&D results are much better than what we could achieve locally. You're an expert, so you definitely know more than us! Putting everything else aside, just the information update rate alone is far better than what we're doing here working behind closed doors," Mr. An explained with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Bian Mu glanced at where Lao Pei was standing. The two exchanged knowing smiles, thinking that President An was quite quick-witted. Putting aside other aspects, this decision alone showed that this pharmaceutical company was not simple and had put a lot of thought into its business operations!

Unbeknownst to Bian Mu, An Zong's daughter had fallen behind and was now chatting animatedly with "Striped Face"!
"President An! Your company's business philosophy is quite pragmatic, I admire you! Does the factory have employee dormitories?" Bian Mu suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, President An and his group were taken aback, momentarily confused as to what Bian Mu meant.

Bian Mu then explained that he wanted to visit the staff dormitory.