Merchant and doctor

Chapter 1985 Taking the Pulse of a Cell Phone

In the latter half of the seventh lunar month, the "July Yellow" river crabs, a unique variety found around Lijin City, are at their best. They have thin shells, tender meat, and soft crab roe, and each crab weighs around eight ounces. Once the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month has passed, they start to grow bigger and bigger, becoming more earthy and tough, and they are no longer as delicious.

The Lianhu Scenic Area holds a "Crab Culture Festival" every year, and always purchases the best crabs from seven major production areas to entertain guests from all directions. Gu Yuefeng said that his son works there, so the crab feast is naturally entrusted to him to handle.

Since they were being treated so generously, Bian Mu thought it best to be generous and told Gu Yuefeng that each attendee could bring two family members, and any extra people would have to pay for it themselves!

Bian Mu only invited two forest rangers, Old Liang and "Knife Face," as they were there on official business. He didn't invite any other relatives or friends.

On a Sunday morning, Bian Mu drove to two different places to pick up Lao Liangtou and Gu Yuefeng. The Gu family had been saving money for their son's wedding and hadn't bought a car yet. "Striped Face" drove himself there.

The list of attendees was reviewed by Bian Mu several times, and finally 31 people were selected, which did not include Gu Yuefeng.

Among this group, the youngest is 37 and the oldest is 72, representing a mix of young, middle-aged, and older people, with the majority in their forties and fifties. Relatively speaking, these people are quite honest and mostly rely on luck for their livelihood. Most of them do not possess any particularly outstanding medical skills that allow them to accurately diagnose illnesses. For example, they are not exceptionally skilled in pediatrics, have a knack for treating coughs, or are first-rate in bone setting.

The doctors who run clinics in Lijin City, as long as they have something to offer, never worry about patients coming to them for treatment. They usually disdain attending these kinds of industry mutual aid gatherings. Over the course of a year, they have a relatively stable and satisfactory income. Among them are many scions of families who have passed down their skills for generations. They don't care about the special skills of other doctors, and they don't believe that any doctor would easily pass on their livelihood skills to outsiders. As for their own unique skills, they keep them to themselves and don't reveal them to anyone else.

Frankly speaking, most of the people who came to the meeting today are mediocre.

Unlike the chill of winter mixed with the spring sunshine, or the scorching heat of summer that makes your arms ache, the autumn sun is the most pleasant, attracting a constant stream of tourists.

When Bian Mu and the other two got off the bus, "Striped Face" had already arrived and was helping Gu Yuefeng's son sit there registering the actual number of people who signed in.

Gu Yuefeng's son looked to be in his thirties. He was quite tall, standing a few centimeters taller than Bian Mu. While not exactly dashing, he was rather handsome and refined. You might mistake him for a school teacher, as he occasionally revealed a scholarly air during his conversation.

Bian Mu had a pretty good impression of Brother Gu.

Listening to Gu Yuefeng's son's self-introduction, he learned that he was originally a full-time employee of Xinhua Bookstore with a low income. Due to connections with his high school classmates, he had been working part-time at scenic spots such as "Lianhu" for many years, making him a kind of event planner for the venue. Gu Yuefeng's son arranged a meeting room of moderate size, fully equipped with multimedia facilities, which could be used for writing on the blackboard or for projecting. The room was not only very clean, but Gu Yuefeng's son also specially placed some fresh green plants, some of which had already bloomed. The small flowers were not big, but they looked very festive.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Gu Yuefeng's son went on stage, said a few polite words into the microphone, and then went out to invite the attendees' families to go boating on the lake.

"Striped Face" naturally stayed behind and sat in the last row, ready to help out with any odd jobs.

Clearing his throat into the microphone, Bian Mu took the lead in sharing some new insights into the operation of private clinics.

"Hello everyone! In terms of age, I am definitely a junior. I've invited you all here today not to give a lecture, nor to set any rules. I don't think I'm qualified for that. I only have one purpose: to get together and exchange ideas so that we can improve the actual profits of our respective clinics. That's all! Afterwards, Dr. Gu's son has prepared a sumptuous crab feast for everyone. Please eat and drink well. This is also my heartfelt thanks to all my colleagues for their tolerance over the past year!" Bian Mu's opening remarks were simple and straightforward, sounding very natural and friendly.

A round of applause erupted from the audience.

I don't know if it was because I genuinely agreed with Bian Mu's speech or because I was applauding the plump "July Yellow" grapes, but thankfully, the applause was indeed friendly.

"I had a friend print out some analyses of new phenomena in daily outpatient clinics beforehand. They're quite detailed and specific, so I won't waste everyone's time here. My friend will distribute them to everyone now. Each person gets a copy. Consider it internal communication material for our industry. Due to various special considerations, please sign your name on the cover and write the date as 'today.' We'll have to collect them for destruction after the meeting. There's no other way! In certain circumstances, colleagues can indeed be enemies. I meant well, but if these booklets fall into the hands of people with ulterior motives, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause? Please understand!" As he spoke, Bian Mu raised his left hand, gesturing to the "striped-faced" man sitting in the last row to distribute the technical materials he had carefully prepared for internal industry communication.

Gu Yuefeng naturally got up to help distribute the items, and also specifically reminded people to sign their names. He also warned people not to take photos with their phones. He said that Bian Guanzhu had come out of his busy schedule for everyone's benefit, and everyone should also think about Bian Guanzhu's feelings.

As soon as people received the booklet, they couldn't wait to flip through it. Gu Yuefeng had clearly asked people not to take pictures. They were all elderly people who had been practicing medicine for decades. They could just pick out the most touching parts and study them carefully. At worst, they could write them down on paper or in their phone's notepad. In any case, not a single booklet could be leaked outside the venue.

"Everyone, please take your time. I'll start by talking about the most basic understanding of opening a clinic. That is, you really need to have solid fundamental skills. It's quite difficult to be proficient in all six techniques of traditional Chinese medicine. Including myself, we are all ordinary people. After all, geniuses like Master Nie, who come along only once in a century, are a minority. We can't compare to them, and we can't compare to them! However, since we've already set up a clinic on the street, we still have to put in some hard work. Now, I'll give you two demonstrations of pulse diagnosis, and you can all help to distinguish between genuine and fake." As he said this, everyone saw Bian Mu stand up on the podium and hold up his smartphone.

"Please take out your phones and try adjusting the volume a few times until you find a comfortable level. Mentally note the exact volume setting. Then, please play any music or record, as long as it produces sound. Finally, please lock your screens to a black screen state. Anyone interested in testing their phone, please come up to the stage. I'll examine your phone and tell you the exact volume settings. My medical school calls itself the 'Digital Medicine' school, so naturally, I have to be somewhat digital; otherwise, wouldn't that be deceiving the world?" Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned, and the entire hall fell silent.

There was no prior rehearsal, and at this moment, Old Liang and "Striped Face" were quite surprised, feeling that Bian Mu seemed to be overconfident!