Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2057 is not part of the same system at all.
No one in this world can easily achieve a respectable personal career.

Nie Yixiong was no exception. Compared with his peers, the old man was just more talented, more quick-witted, and more dedicated to his work. However, if these advantages were accumulated over 10 years, Nie Yixiong would gradually sit in the top spot of the local TCM community in Lijin. Looking at the TCM community in China, Nie was also a well-known TCM master who was among the top, and in some technical fields, he could even be called unparalleled in the world!

Perhaps the halo behind his head was too dazzling, making people think that Nie Yixiong had occasionally suffered setbacks back then?! It's hard to imagine!
Seeing Dian Shuhua's surprised expression, Bian Mu smiled and invited him into the house to check the water, electricity, and gas systems to see if there were any leaks.

“Ever since Elder Cen retired completely, Elder Nie has basically stopped seeing patients. Unless they are very close, the children of other patients simply turn them away! On the surface, it seems that whenever the old man made a small mistake back then, it was due to carelessness or old age. But that’s not the case. The difference between us and their generation is not entirely due to a lack of clinical experience. If we discuss the technical aspects further, there is actually a generation gap between them and us!” Bian Mu said casually while checking around.

Upon hearing this, Dian Shuhua paused for a moment, then remained silent.

"Let alone Nie Lao's generation, even the new generation of renowned TCM doctors like Lan Bingru and Zhao Xicheng back then had a technological gap with us!"

"Huh?! It can't be that bad! Teacher Lan is very skilled at treating mild cancers. She has so many patients that she can't keep up with them. They come from all over the country. A few years ago, I had nowhere to live, so I just stayed in the ATM room across from Teacher Lan's clinic. I could see the scene in front of the clinic from time to time. Teacher Lan really has a knack for it!" Dian Shuhua questioned gently.

"Hehe... Their medical practice lacks a holistic system framework. They are indeed skilled in certain localized areas and may have even achieved some technological breakthroughs, but... many logical nodes are missing. They don't know exactly where these are or how to fill the gaps, and this remains the case to this day. So, when they occasionally encounter unusual patients, they still falter. Fortunately, their overall medical skills are quite high, leaving room for improvement afterward. Plus, their reputation is there, so who among the patients and their families has the power to question someone of their caliber?! Right now, there are no outsiders here! We can say whatever we want! This will prevent us from getting stuck in a similar technical quagmire in the future. Technically, with the continuous improvement and refinement of the 'digital medicine' theory, the Waterloo that the two predecessors I mentioned earlier encountered can theoretically be completely avoided," Bian Mu replied with a smile.

"Really? I believe that! But... is the difference really that big?" Nie Yixiong and the others have been famous for a long time, and Dian Shuhua has always admired them, so he can't fully accept it for a while.

"There's plenty of time! The differences will become even more apparent in the future. Think about it, starting with elementary school math, especially in high school, if you make even a small mistake while solving a problem, not only will the answer be wrong, but some types of problems simply become unsolvable. So... things like using medicinal soil from between tiles and collecting broken tiles from the surrounding area today are not a matter of who is more careful or careless. Fundamentally, we are not using the same technical model for the treatment framework design at all. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Bian Mu said with a smile.

"Oh... I see... I understand! Lacking advanced mathematics as a foundation, it ultimately falls into empiricism and can never fully meet strict medical standards, is that what you mean?" Dian Shuhua had received a formal education in the modern era, so he could understand some things.

With a slight smile, Bian Mu nodded gently.

"A few years ago, AlphaGo defeated the world's top Go players. With slight adjustments to the rules, the human players were completely defeated. One of the core issues was that AlphaGo's most important weapon was pure mathematics. We haven't seen similar reports since. In the future, with the adoption of traditional Go rules, top AI players should be able to easily defeat most of the world's top professional Go players. The core issue is that 'experience accumulation' is definitely no match for a rigorous, scientific, and mathematically sophisticated system. This is very similar to the generational gap between two generations of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Fortunately, you and I are fortunate to stand on AlphaGo's side!"

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Dian Shuhua reached out his right hand and gently patted his forehead a few times, his eyes shining.

"That's so true! Having a rigorous mathematical foundation makes all the difference, I understand! So... Old Master Nie is quite wise after all!" "Absolutely! To this day, apart from having his precious granddaughter contact me, the old man still refuses to meet with me. The fundamental reason is actually just one thing: the old man is intelligent enough to realize long ago that I am completely on a different level from him!"

“Oh…I understand! Then in the future…” The words were on the tip of his tongue when he suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter. Dian Shuhua had always held great respect for the older generation like Elder Nie, so there were some things he couldn’t say.

"It's been unusually quiet in the industry lately! Everyone's been secretly speculating about us! By the way, come back a few more times in a while, and this little courtyard won't be of much use anymore. Accountant Yu won't need to pay the rent anymore. I'm planning to rent it out myself. Keep a set of keys. I'm thinking of tidying it up a bit. I'm planning to try planting some medicinal herbs nearby. Would you like to participate?"

"Of course! Is there anything I can do for you?"

"We need to provide you with a car so it will be more convenient for you to travel back and forth. In case of bad weather like wind and rain, it's still more convenient to have your own car. Please bear with us, the clinic has limited funds, so we can only provide you with a minivan."

"Why spend that money! Have you forgotten how I used to live? Intercity buses are very convenient, just like public buses. I've checked, they're only empty for two or three hours around midnight, but we can't travel during that time anyway, right? Don't worry! Not having a car won't cause any problems!"

"Well... let's give it a try first. If it really doesn't work out, we can buy a van. We can use it to pick up medicinal herbs from Ningguo Temple!" Bian Mu said with a smile.

"No need! I've been wandering the streets for years, and while I've suffered, I've also gained a lot of skills without even realizing it! Don't worry! I definitely won't mess things up."

"Alright then! Let's try it for a while. But it's getting colder and colder! We need to spend money to build a shed. The herbs grown in the shed are for reverse research purposes, not for use on patients. The local villagers can handle the specifics. We can't manage that."

"Oh?! Reverse research?"

“Yes! On the one hand, it provides factual evidence for the clinic, and on the other hand, it’s for researching better and more effective traditional Chinese medicines. As you know, the scale of artificial cultivation of Chinese medicinal herbs is getting larger and larger. There are some things we can’t just read other people’s papers all day long, as they are not very useful for reference. Some things we have to do ourselves. Also, this is only the first step. We also need to have our own laboratory, even if it’s simple! We can’t do without one. Right now, we have limited funds, so I plan to borrow the laboratory in Xiaobailou for the time being. In any case, the ancients’ understanding of the properties of medicines is becoming more and more limited. Our colleagues are too superstitious about the Two Classics and Thirteen Treatises, which won’t do. We have to re-verify from an experimental and empirical perspective.” Bian Mu said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Dian Shuhua realized that the young master was really going too far!