Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2485 Public Auction Talisman
"Found something good again?" Bian Mu greeted him with a smile.

With a smile and a gentle shake of his head, Old Hou said nothing and handed the blue cloth cover to Bian Mu.

"This was given to you by name specifically; it's a free gift, not for sale," Old Hou said with a smile.

"Have more people from the Taoist medicine side arrived?"

"It should be a woman, around thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. I haven't seen her before. She doesn't exactly have an otherworldly air about her, but her eyes are bright, her posture is upright and her steps are silent. She has definitely trained. She doesn't talk much. She gave me a quick tour, exchanged a few polite words, and then left."

"Oh... what gifts did you return the favor with?" Bian Mu asked with a smile.

"Good tea, American ginseng, and jujubes, isn't that a bit too meager?" Old Hou replied with a smile.

"That's the gist of it, there's nothing wrong with it at all, thank you for your trouble!" As she spoke, Bian Mu invited Lao Hou to sit down by the window near the door. Lao Hou wasn't very familiar with his female colleagues in the restaurant, so it was a bit inconvenient for them to sit at the same table and talk. Naturally, the dinner with his colleagues was postponed.

"Oh?! The 'Public Plate Talisman Scripture'?! Why send a set of books like this? Did she say anything before she left?" Bian Mu gently unfolded the blue cloth cover, revealing five old books in total. He stacked them one by one, all with the same title, except that the specific volume number was marked in large traditional Chinese characters in an inconspicuous place.

"No! She just said the tea was good, but it's not easy to find in the market. Her master usually prefers that kind of aroma. She left happily. What do you think of the book? Is it worth anything?"

“It’s not worth much. You’ll understand once I mention the Gongshu Ban Book.”

"Oh...wasn't it supposed to be just two volumes? How come there's a set of five?"

"The revised edition, with the additional content equivalent to our later teaching aids and reference books. Look at this page, the main sentence is only seventeen or eighteen words, but the annotations are three to five pages long. In fact, the main content is still the original two-volume set."

"Oh... how much could I sell this for at the Flower Field Ghost Market?"

"The paper isn't valuable, and the layout is just average. One book will cost at most 300 yuan, and five books will cost at most 2000 yuan. That won't be any higher," Bian Mu replied with a smile.

"Does that mean... Daoist doctors also develop various new medicines? Is this a reminder that we should pay more attention to the professionalism of the equipment used in pharmaceutical manufacturing, and not blindly believe in Western-style assembly lines? Is that the meaning?" Old Hou guessed with a smile.

"Sure! There is some hint, but... it doesn't necessarily mean emphasizing tradition over modern techniques. Taoist medicine has a very broad scope. It is said that the current new school of Taoist medicine can almost rival the entire traditional Chinese medicine school in terms of content. Moreover, in recent years, many masters have emerged, and the major schools are not to be underestimated!"

"That's a bit too advanced, I can't figure it out!"

"Just pick any book to take with you, let's eat first!" With that, Bian Mu picked out the third volume and carried it with him, then invited Old Hou to go out and grab something to eat.

……

The two of them enjoyed a hearty meal of mutton soup, fish-flavored rice noodles, and seven or eight other fresh side dishes.

"I heard this book is divided into Yin and Yang?" Old Hou asked casually.

“Indeed! You can learn the Yin books openly and honestly. They cover everything from engineering and carpentry to mechanics and construction. If you master them, you might not necessarily become rich, but having a skill will certainly ensure that your family can make a living for three generations. However, in the past, these were all considered elementary school knowledge and not suitable for formal occasions!” Bian Mu replied with a smile.

"I've heard about it too. I've heard that many things are done in reverse. They're supposed to be righteous books, but they secretly contain evil techniques like curses and vows?"

"I don't think so. It's more likely that later generations added some unusual elements to the book's name, which ultimately made its reputation murky and difficult to discern..."

"That makes sense! So... what was she thinking bringing this kind of basic science stuff over here?" "A warning!"

"How should we advise them? What should we warn them about?!" Old Hou asked curiously.

"Look at other countries, anything purely in the sciences gets rushed to the world's top journals, with everyone vying to get it published. They include every experimental process and detailed step, holding almost nothing back. And what's the result? Once it's recognized by scientists worldwide, they gain both fame and fortune—a double win. Sometimes, if they happen to run into a universally recognized academic luminary who offers a few words of criticism, they're incredibly lucky! They might even become famous overnight! On the other hand, look at our side, especially the practices of our ancestors. For example, these engineering and construction 'miracle books,' why did they later turn things upside down, completely reversed, and why have they passed down such bizarre things from generation to generation?!"

"She means... she's advising you to disclose only a portion of the advanced concepts and special processes of your new drug? Or all of them? Really? Foreigners have patent laws too, right? Patents are money! What kind of good intention is this?! I don't understand..."

"Don't rush! A completely new TCM philosophy must be open. Daoist medicine may have done quite well in this regard. At least, in recent decades, although it doesn't seek empty fame, it has achieved a lot in medical practice. The main reason is its openness. In this respect, the approach of the top-tier doctors in Lijin is somewhat conservative... The main point of contention now is the pharmaceutical manufacturing. The relationship between openness and patents in pharmaceutical manufacturing is actually quite subtle and cannot be explained in a few words..."

"Then...should we listen to her?" Old Hou asked curiously.

"Listen to part of it!" As she spoke, Bian Mu took out the old book from her pocket and casually flipped through a few pages.

Old Hou was enjoying his meal and didn't want to disturb Bian Mu's thoughts, so he lowered his head and stopped talking, focusing on eating the mutton beside him.

"Engineer Xiao is an upright man. He has some pharmaceutical technology, I mean the new kind. We should reveal some of it to the old man." Bian Mu muttered to himself as he flipped through the pages.

"Xiao Jianfeng?"

"Yes, and his granddaughter, Xiao Xiaoqin! I asked a friend to check her out. She's quite upright and honest in her work. Most importantly, she's quick-witted and can apply what she's learned to the workshop very quickly."

"You've split the distribution? What kind of thinking is that? Aren't you going to apply for a patent?"

“It’s not contradictory. We can transfer a portion first and then apply for a patent for the core part. There’s no contradiction between the two. Look here…” As he spoke, Bian Mu pointed to a long passage in the book and reminded Lao Hou to look at it.

Old Hou put down his chopsticks and carefully glanced through the document, but he struggled with it and couldn't understand it at first.

"What does that mean?! I don't see anything at all!"

“Dualism, huh! Truth and falsehood, different people, different things, different professors!” Bian Mu replied with a smile.

"I still don't understand!" Old Hou shook his head with a smile.

"By separating the real from the fake and imparting the knowledge to specific individuals, we can conceal our true intentions. How should I put it, it's a bit like a marionette..."

"They've even brought out marionettes... My brain really can't handle all this nonsense, it's giving me a headache!" Old Hou laughed at that moment.

Hahaha……

Bian Mu was so happy that he put the old book in his hand on the table and laughed non-stop.

"I don't plan to follow the ancients' methods; they're meaningless. However, directly publishing papers in the public... I can't do that right now," Bian Mu said with a smile.

Hearing this, Old Hou was even more confused.