Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2212 Medicine Coins
For a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, being proficient in the properties of various Chinese medicinal herbs is merely a basic skill in the workplace. However, while it's easier said than done, it's an endlessly difficult task! The term "proficient" has no absolute depth; Huang Bojia certainly qualifies, and Sun Zhengting must have a thorough understanding of the properties and effects of Chinese medicinal herbs. The question is, can Sun Zhengting compare to Huang Bojia?
Teng Daili and others are even worse than Sun Zhengting!
It is evident that, currently, within the TCM community of Lijin City alone, many professional TCM doctors suffer from varying degrees of superficiality, complacency, and a lack of understanding of the underlying principles of pharmacology. The reason for this is quite simple: with the increasing efficiency of online learning, most TCM doctors no longer need to painstakingly sift through every commonly used Chinese herbal medicine.

In addition, professional TCM doctors have access to an increasingly rich variety of medical procedures that are easy to use and produce immediate results when practicing medicine. They also have access to advanced Western-style medical examination facilities, affordable and readily available Chinese patent medicines, and various advanced treatment instruments. This saves time and effort, and as long as the illness is not too serious, the effects will be seen quickly, more or less.

Nowadays, very few people work as hard as Bian Mu in the study of traditional Chinese medicine!
A comprehensive understanding of the medicinal properties of Chinese medicinal herbs cannot be limited to the herbs themselves. How to fully utilize the core medicinal properties of various Chinese medicinal herbs has always been a very big and difficult problem. For example, under different processing methods, the same medicinal herb from the same place can sometimes exhibit such great differences that it is beyond the imagination of today's young TCM doctors.

As for how to use a medicine cauldron to secretly refine certain high-quality Chinese medicinal materials, most traditional Chinese medicine doctors nowadays know almost nothing.

Over time, the unique medicinal effects of various medicine cauldrons were gradually forgotten by the Chinese medicine community.

The production of traditional Chinese medicine is becoming increasingly automated, highly purified, and intensive, with assembly line operations. A complete production cycle can cover the arduous journey of our predecessors over hundreds of years. The continuous emergence of various new technologies is further propelling the industry forward. In the mighty tide of the times, the unique image of the medicine cauldron has long been forgotten.

Occasionally, a bright young traditional Chinese medicine doctor might come across passages about the wondrous uses of medicine cauldrons in old editions of traditional texts, but at most, he would treat them with a sense of curiosity, simply as old legends.

Perhaps, the medicine cauldron, outdated and obsolete, has already turned into dust and smoke of the past.

Currently, many antique collectors in Lijin City occasionally dabble in medicine cauldrons, but... their focus is entirely on the potential for appreciation. They have never been interested in what the medicine cauldrons were originally used for. The material, origin, whether there is a story to tell, and how much appreciation potential they can have in the future are the key concerns for them.

The Mr. Huangfu in front of me might be a member of that circle.

From a medical perspective, would he help me collect rare medicinal cauldrons? To further my understanding of traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology?! A complete stranger, why would he be so kind?! Even if it's just because of Zhao Xicheng…

Bian Mu didn't think he had much of a relationship with Teacher Zhao Xicheng, so it seemed like they weren't even close enough to talk about this kind of thing.
that……

They're probably still considering it from the perspective of antique collecting, right?
Why did they invite me out? To help them authenticate the medicine cauldron in their hands from a medical perspective? Logically, that seems a bit far-fetched.
Zhao Xicheng is a genuine master of traditional Chinese medicine. Why would he get involved in such a mess for a little money?! Is it worth it?!

For a moment, Bian Mu's mind was truly blank. "What connection do those three old coins in the box have with the medicine cauldron?! Just chatting? Doesn't seem like it... There's no room for casual conversation in this kind of situation... So they're testing me?! If I answer correctly, we can continue the conversation to something useful; if I answer irrelevantly, I might become a laughing stock, and the matter of the medicine cauldron will naturally be forgotten?! Could this be a little trap they set up beforehand?!" Bian Mu's mind raced, but he still couldn't figure out what these two were really up to.

Seeing that Bian Mu sat there without any reaction, and his expression was somewhat uncertain, Zhao Xicheng quickly explained, "About you... my junior brother has been quite nosy, so... we have indeed heard some things. With the actual medical skills you have mastered so far, those medicine cauldrons can only play their special role if they are gathered in your hands. In the hands of Mr. Huangfu and the others, they are just a bunch of antiques waiting to be sold, which is only a waste for the development of local traditional Chinese medicine!"

Bian Mu had become much more mature. After Zhao Xicheng finished speaking, he just smiled faintly and didn't say anything.

This composure is something Bian Mu has gradually cultivated over the past year or two; it's not easy!

Seeing this, Mr. Huangfu, who was sitting next to him, smiled and said a few words.

"Making the best use of resources is in accordance with the natural order! I've long heard that the academy master is a rare medical genius in recent decades. Logically, we should have collected all those medicine cauldrons and presented them to your esteemed academy long ago, so that they would be returned to their rightful owners and everyone would get what they deserve! However... we've only met by chance, and if the academy master doesn't offer some insightful advice, we'll just have to let them drift away naturally." With this feigned retreat, Mr. Huangfu had effectively put Bian Mu in a difficult position.

"You two think too highly of me. Teacher Zhao knows better than anyone the special medical value of the medicine cauldron. I do intend to restore the true function of various medicine cauldrons in the past to the greatest extent possible. I couldn't refuse your kind invitation, so I'll just make a wild guess." As he said this, Bian Mu turned to the side and gently picked up the solid wood box to examine it carefully for a few moments.

It's quite heavy; with normal strength, it's easy to slip if you're not careful. Without a doubt, this Mr. Huangfu has some skill.

Bian Mu passed the first hurdle almost unintentionally, without any major mishaps.

“This one in the middle can’t be considered an old coin in the strict sense. Strictly speaking, it seems to be the legendary ‘medicine coin.’ It is recorded in various documents from the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty. It should be a kind of token passed down among people like herbalists, merchants, pharmacies, and famous doctors. It couldn’t be used normally in the market. It can only be considered a token of a special industry. Mr. Huangfu, I wonder if I guessed right?” As he spoke, Bian Mu glanced at the seat where Mr. Huangfu was sitting.

Mr. Huangfu smiled and clapped his hands lightly a few times.

"As expected, you live up to your reputation! To be honest, you're only the third person to know the true purpose of this thing on the first meeting! Don't laugh at me, but I've been collecting all sorts of antiques since I was just over thirty. You could say I've seen a lot over the decades! But I've stumbled several times over these medicine coins. So... could you please explain in detail what these three old coins were used for? Also, how many are genuine and how many are fake? Or are they all counterfeit?!" Well! Mr. Huangfu spoke politely, but in reality, he had given Bian Mu a second question.