Merchant and doctor

Chapter 1832 Mysterious Iron and Fire
Bian Mu remained calm, thinking that perhaps someone was just playing a joke on him, like an April Fool's joke. He circled the aluminum box once before walking up to it, deliberately turning sideways to open the spring latches on both sides at the same time. Then, Bian Mu reached out and tugged at the grab ring on the top cover.

Huh?! It didn't budge an inch.

Bian Mu looked down and examined it closely. He noticed two lines of text, resembling a steel stamp, stamped on the top cover. Judging from the marks, it must have been there for quite some time.

I glanced at it from the side and saw a line that looked like a password, a code of uppercase numbers. After a little compilation, the result was: 351729. Another line was in traditional Chinese characters, which meant that tapping a certain part of the body would decode it.

Bian Mu circled around again and finally found a place with a hidden mark engraved on it. The marks were symmetrical and identical, and their shape resembled a soaring flame.

"Playing hard to get!" Bian Mu thought to himself.

Bian Mu stretched out his right hand into a palm shape and patted the hidden mark a few times. The force was neither too light nor too heavy. The box was a little empty. The thumping sound was quite loud.

There was no reaction.

After tapping the left and right sides a few more times symmetrically, a soft sound was heard, and whoosh! Two small side panels popped out right next to the top cover. They seemed to be made of white brass. Once the side panels were opened, three lines of keypad were revealed inside, all in traditional Chinese characters in uppercase.

Bian Mu tried entering the password once.

Nothing unusual happened.

Bian Mu tried again to pull the ring on the top cover, and it opened easily.

The rest was much simpler. Bian Mu carefully removed the aluminum alloy box, revealing another wooden box inside. This time it was easy; there were no mechanisms or passwords. He then found the side door and gently opened it.

Wow! An old-fashioned metal tripod, dark in color, at first glance it should be made of cast iron.

After carefully examining it for a long time, I discovered that the words "Kui Bing Lei Ding" were clearly engraved on the bottom of the cauldron.

Holy crap! It really is a set of seven cauldrons?!

Bian Mu was somewhat bewildered at the time.

"You can't joke like that. Who exactly is the sender?" Thinking of this, Bian Mu called over the deliveryman and verified the sender's identity with him.

Mushanyun, Douban Lane, No. 12 Beicang Avenue

A very ordinary shipping company.

The deliveryman's work hours are very tight, and there's no time to waste! Without thinking too much, Bian Mu stretched out both hands and lifted the cauldron. It was so heavy! Luckily, Bian Mu had prepared beforehand, otherwise he would have hurt his back.

Upon closer inspection, this cauldron weighs at least sixty or seventy pounds, and its size is about the size of an ordinary rice cooker. This suggests that it is not made of ordinary cast iron and may actually be an authentic artifact.

"The item isn't damaged, you can go now!" After saying that, Bian Mu had the deliveryman take a few photos of himself at work and then sent him away.

With the help of Nurse Ye and others, Bian Mu tidied up the other packaging materials, channeled his inner energy, and carried the cauldron back to the clinic with one hand. He then placed the cauldron in an inconspicuous corner and continued seeing patients.

……

It was time to leave work again. Bian Mu sent the three young interns off to dinner, then picked up the strange iron cauldron from the corner and placed it on the consultation table, pondering it for a while.

It is hexagonal in shape with three pillars, each carved with a tortoise-like creature at its base. The design is novel, and the brushwork is both simple and exquisite, demonstrating great skill. Upon closer inspection, the three tortoises are different in form, belonging to the Taiwei Enclosure, Ziwei Enclosure, and Tianshi Enclosure, which were called the "Three Enclosures" in ancient doctrines. This creature was also named "Thunder Cauldron." According to related ancient doctrines, if there were seven similar cauldrons, with the character "Bing" in their names, standing on the Three Enclosures, they would be associated with "fire"!

"A fire cauldron?! How can that prove it's also a medicine cauldron? What if it's a Taoist alchemy tool?! We can't be prejudiced..." Thinking this, Bian Mu continued to ponder for a long time while lying on the table. The cauldron's mouth was closed, and there was an additional small lid. He turned it left and right, twisting and turning, but after a long time, Bian Mu still couldn't open the lid. However, the patterns engraved on the lid gradually became clearer: five-leaf clover, precious fruit granules, and bundled vines. Without a doubt, it contained ginseng, goji berries, and polygonatum—the three treasures of traditional Chinese medicine.

"It really is a medicine cauldron..." Bian Mu was pleasantly surprised.

Just then, Su Linwen strolled in from outside the door.

"What are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed!"

"Come on! Take a look at this thing, what do you think?" As she spoke, Bian Mu stood up and beckoned Su Linwen to examine the strange cauldron closely.

"A cauldron?! It's heavy! Look how crushed all the paper you put underneath is! It must weigh about fifty pounds!" Su Linwen asked in surprise as she examined it curiously.

"That's more than that! It's at least eighty pounds. I'm skilled now, so I don't feel it much. You try lifting it!" Bian Mu said with a smile.

Su Linwen knew she didn't have much strength, so she ignored Bian Mu's advice and stood next to the table, gently pushing it a few times with her right hand. Huh?! It didn't budge at all.

I tried again, and after a slight wobbling, it stood firmly again.

"No need to weigh it, it's at least 100 jin! Is it made of iron? It's all black."

"One hundred catties, a body weighing one hundred catties is called 'mountain shaking'... That is... Damn! Xuanbin iron?! This thing might even be a piece of Xuan iron! It could also be meteorite iron, no wonder it's so heavy!" Bian Mu couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"You mean... this thing might be extraterrestrial iron? Natural iron?!" Su Linwen knew quite a bit.

"Possibly! Even if it's not some kind of precious cauldron, judging by the material, it can't be anything simple. Haven't eaten yet? Let's invite Assistant Zhang out for a quick bite."

"Okay!"

Upon receiving Bian Mu's call, Assistant Zhang said she would meet her at the clinic to save Bian Mu from running around with the heavy cauldron.

The medicine cauldron was pulled along by a lever, and Bian Mu took it to a Suzhou restaurant. They found a random seat and waited for Assistant Zhang. Su Linwen chose a pot of good tea, and the two of them drank and chatted.

A moment later, Assistant Zhang hurriedly walked in from outside the door.

After ordering the food, let's get down to business. Bian Mu said that inspired by the Seven Cauldrons Gathering, for the sake of patent protection, new drug development needs to find a reliable lawyer to divide the patent into several parts and sign relevant agreements for each part.

Su Linwen was quite familiar with the law and offered many reasonable suggestions from the side.

The Dong sisters formed one group for additives, Huang Boxi formed another group for secret sealing technology, Bian Mu formed a third group, Duan Hongyi formed a fourth group, Assistant Zhang represented their company in a fifth group, Hongyang Pharmaceutical Company formed a fifth group... After sorting them out, Bian Mu was starting to get a headache!

“We’re going in the wrong direction. The responsibilities, rights, and obligations are overlapping. We can’t sign an agreement like this. Let’s eat first. The more we rush, the more problems we’ll cause.” As he spoke, Assistant Zhang picked up his chopsticks and began to urge the food on the table.

Amidst the laughter and chatter, Bian Mu shifted the topic to the medicine cauldron of unknown origin.

"To be honest, it's not a matter of 'unknown origin.' It's just that your name is already widely known. Luo City is the capital of medicine in the world. It's perfectly normal to send a medicine cauldron from there. You're just blinded by your own involvement!" Assistant Zhang teased with a smile.

“That’s true… hahaha…” Bian Mu replied with a laugh.

“That’s right. Luocheng is famous for its many medicinal herbs. That Liuwei Dingxin Dan (Six-Flavor Heart-Soothing Pill) comes from that area! It’s one of the top-selling medicines, available orally, intravenously, and by injection. It generates a lot of revenue every year.” Su Linwen actually knew quite a lot.

Amidst their laughter and conversation, the three decided to first have a true expert appraise the authenticity of the cauldron.