Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2230 was completed by five illustrators.

Zhong Xiangxin's rapid return to the core of the business world shocked many, while her peers were naturally amazed by Bian Mu's unique and miraculous medical skills. Zhong Xiangxin, a workaholic, threw herself into the management of a major project before she had fully recovered, ignoring all attempts by her father and daughter to dissuade her.

On the contrary, worried that her sister's business would expand further both at home and outside, Zhong Xiangxin devoted a lot of energy to project management.

Zhong Xiangxin's business scope is basically maintained between Lijin, Beiqi and Nanjin. Occasionally, he will take the opportunity to go to Binhai to hold an important meeting. When his friends in the business circles of the three places see the radiant General Manager Zhong again, they are secretly amazed. Naturally, Bian Mu's name will gradually leave a deep mark in everyone's mind.

Unbeknownst to many, Bian Mu's fame has gradually spread to specific circles in Beiqi and Nanjin.

Every now and then, patients from Beiqi and Nanjin suffering from various intractable diseases that had not responded to other treatments would make an appointment at the "New Concept" Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic for a trial consultation. This made Bian Mu somewhat hesitant. Unlike other practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, Bian Mu never sought fame or the substantial financial rewards it might bring. In his view, it was unwise to rashly seek medical treatment in Lijin without a suitable place to stay.

The "numerical medicine" school of thought emphasizes "four-dimensional harmony" and "six-element balance" in treating patients. It seeks a comprehensive, holistic approach that harmonizes heaven, earth, and humanity. Otherwise, even the most skillful diagnosis and the most targeted remedies will inevitably be less effective. If a patient is impatient and expects immediate results after taking a few doses, the long-term efficacy will be significantly reduced, and no noticeable improvement may be seen in the short term. Therefore, Bian Mu is not particularly enthusiastic about treating patients who travel long distances seeking his expertise.

At the very least, patients from other places who have traveled a long way can hardly receive the full "nourishment" of the unique local environment of Lijin in a short period of time. Without this, all the treatment plans formulated by Bian Mu were at least 20% to 30% less effective from the beginning. In this regard, most of the TCM practitioners are either selectively "blind," pretending to be deaf and dumb, or they simply haven't grasped that level of understanding.

Therefore, Bian Mu secretly warned Dian Shuhua, Nurse Ye, Doctor Ning, Teng Daili, Sun Zhengting and others that when they encountered patients from other places, they should be classified separately, and if possible, they should not be charged. They should politely and tactfully persuade them to leave.

Those who absolutely cannot be persuaded to leave will be sent to the main building, where Bian Mu will handle them one by one with utmost patience.

As a result, Bian Mu's workload doubled, and she was constantly overdrawn in terms of energy. Because of this, Bian Mu complained in private.

Upon meeting Miss Zhong, Bian Mu's first reaction was somewhat of a sense of unease. People of such importance usually don't visit unless there's a reason, and when they do, it's always something troublesome.

Nurse Sun, Dr. Gong, and the others were all sensible people. They knew that Miss Zhong's arrival must mean she had something important to discuss. They greeted Miss Zhong in unison and then left for the day.

Miss Zhong claimed that she had already booked two tables at the Hyatt Hotel, and if it was convenient for Bian Mu, they could eat and chat together.

"What else is there to say? Let's pack up and drive off!" Bian Mu specially invited the painter Fang to go with him. Fang, still preoccupied with the strange painting, didn't stand on ceremony and took the right seat in the back row, heading off to the banquet. The eldest daughter of the Zhong family was accompanied by three men, one of whom was a seasoned chauffeur. Bian Mu remembered that the man's surname was Liu; the two had interacted a few times before, and the old man was a very nice person. The business assistant accompanying the eldest daughter of the Zhong family had arranged two tables, one for the host and one for the guest, quite appropriately, separating them with a double-layered screen, making things much more convenient for everyone.

Twelve dishes and a digestive soup were served, and the three of them ate and chatted.

"The relationship between the business and art circles has always been very harmonious, perhaps because we need each other. I help you become famous, and you help me enhance my image. If you encounter a big businessman with some artistic taste, he might even be willing to support the art industry. It's pretty much the same now. At gatherings, there are always famous painters and celebrities present; otherwise, the atmosphere would immediately feel a bit off, haha... So, the kind of thing you're experiencing today, my father and I both encountered back then. Using paintings to convey meaning is like writing a subtle and intriguing special letter to convey some special information that is inconvenient to say outright. Admittedly, there's a bit of a test involved. Because the intention is too obvious, the painting seems a bit contrived, and the artistic atmosphere is obviously weakened. Even a professional painter as excellent as Fang would feel a bit awkward looking at it, right?" As she spoke, Miss Zhong smiled very kindly at the painter Fang sitting next to her.

“Oh… I knew it! Why did they force something like a bottle or jar into the space that should have been blank? The color scheme is even a bit unprofessional. Even if you were to be spontaneous and deliberately seek a new way of expression, it wouldn’t have turned out like that… Now that you mention it, there seems to be some special internal logic behind it. Although it’s a bit deliberate, it’s also refreshing…” Painter Fang responded with a few words of subtlety.

Bian Mu only believed a small part of what the painter Fang said. After spending several months together, Bian Mu had a certain understanding of the painter Fang's artistic level. He could even make several guesses about that strange painting from different angles. How could the painter Fang know almost nothing about it?! That's impossible!
That's called being subtle!

"Hearing you say that... I remembered something..." As she spoke, Bian Mu recounted in detail the sudden visit of the old gentleman with a background in Taoist medicine that Old Hou had encountered.

Upon hearing this, Miss Zhong nodded slightly.

"The only thing I'm sure of is those four words, 'Memories of Midwinter'? They really came from that old man or someone very close to him?!" The eldest daughter of the Zhong family immediately grasped the crux of the problem.

Bian Mu smiled and nodded gently. The fish dishes on the table were quite exquisite, and Bian Mu couldn't help but eat a few more bites.

"So... you have some problems in your medical or pharmaceutical fields that the old gentleman and others behind him have been unable to solve. Since you are famous, they came to inquire with a try-and-see attitude? Seeing that you didn't react, they simply sent this painting to the clinic and urged them to hurry up? Ms. Fang! This portrait was recently painted, wasn't it?" Miss Zhong casually sorted out the relevant thoughts.

Upon hearing this, the painter Fang smiled and gently shook his head.

"That's not necessarily true. That oil lamp was painted at least a year ago, and the entire background was probably only painted in about twenty days. If I'm not mistaken, that painting was completed by at least five people, and they don't usually keep in touch. Maybe the drafts were just sent back and forth like that. Dr. Bian is meticulous. If you carefully examine the marks around the painting cabinet, it won't be hard to find out..." Painter Fang responded with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Bian Mu and Miss Zhong nodded slightly, finding her analysis quite reasonable.