1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 142 Chinese Medicine
The water-flying method, also known as "beating to remove the turbid juice", is a method of grinding mineral drugs under wet conditions and then using the different suspension properties of coarse and fine powders in water to obtain extremely fine powder.

Basically, the medicine is ground together with water in a mortar or ball mill so that the fine powder floats on the water surface or is suspended in the water. The suspension is then poured out and the remaining coarse material is added with water and the operation is repeated until all the medicine is ground. This method is often used for crushing and preparing mineral medicines that are difficult to dissolve in water, such as cinnabar, pearl, talc, etc., but require special fineness.

But what is somewhat mysterious is that the effects of the mineral-based medicinal materials prepared will be different depending on the method... For example, if only the upper half of the suspension is poured out each time, the heavier part can be discarded or discarded after inspection, or an equal amount of heavy iron and lead parts, as well as silicon dioxide impurities in the medicinal materials can be removed as needed. Realgar can also be used in this way to remove part of the arsenic trioxide in the medicinal materials.

In short, the water-flying method seems to be just a method of simply using physical principles to select and purify mineral-based medicinal materials, but in terms of clinical effects, the medicinal materials prepared by this method are far better than those prepared by other modern selection methods. The reason behind this is not something that Yang Mo, a layman, and Tu Gou, a half-baked student, can understand.

………………

But it is obvious that Yang Mo is averse to lead-containing products from the bottom of his heart. Even if this is yellow lead powder that has been processed by the water-flying method and has a very mild toxicity, the toxicity will be deposited in the body over time. Do you want to die?
Seeing Yang Mo nervously bringing a basin of water over and ordering her to wash off the lotus fragrance powder that might still be on her feet, Lu Yingying wrinkled her nose:
"Yang Shidan, why are you so nervous? My dad said that the art of incense, like Chinese medicine, also emphasizes the balance between the master and the minister. Since this recipe can be called the Jinzhu Palace Zhongfang and is recorded in the "Xiangcheng", then the disadvantages are naturally far less than the advantages;"

"Besides, this is a product that Sister Mu plans to promote to the island country. I just made it to test the effect. I won't apply it many times. Do you really have the expression that you want to send me to the hospital?"

Having said that, Lu Yingying still soaked her feet in the water obediently, with an expression of disapproval but slight delight on her face.

"Island country?"

Yang Mo was stunned.

Lu Yingying nodded: "Sister Mu thinks what you said to her before makes sense. When a country or region's per capita GDP exceeds 1 US dollars, the consumption mentality and consumption structure will change significantly, and people will enter a state of "being full and having nothing to do". They will begin to pursue self-identity and self-spiritual satisfaction, and are willing to pay for it, even at a premium;"

"In the past decade or so, the animation, comics, games, and entertainment films and TV shows on the island have grown rapidly and quickly become national industries. This is actually because of this;"

"Some time ago, Sister Mu asked many people to go to the island country to investigate, and also consulted many professionals in this field. The final conclusion is... your previous judgment was correct. The island country has basically completed its cultural renaissance. The national confidence has reached a peak, and it can't wait to show its presence in the world;"

"But corresponding to this, the world today is still bipolar, and the West firmly controls the cultural definition and discourse power. If the island countries want to break free from the shackles, they must rely on their own economic influence and create a super cultural symbol independent of the Western system in the world through the method of [cultural root-seeking]... In fact, since the early 1980s, when they began to fully revive the kimono culture, they have already started to do so;"

At this point, Lv Yingying reluctantly put her hands into the cold water and rubbed her feet: "Everyone knows about the blood feud between our country and the island country, but it is undeniable that at the cultural level, the two sides have been entangled for thousands of years, and the island country has never denied our status as the cultural overlord;"

"Sister Mu believes that in such an environment, as a former cultural hegemon, we should play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses;"

“Those labor-intensive products that can drive local employment, such as primary agricultural products, chemical raw materials, and mechanical parts manufacturing, are certainly indispensable, but it is also equally important to export products that can be traced back to the island countries and have extremely high profits… We can even lay an advantage and foundation for future plans by seizing some cultural niches.”

After repeating Miss Mu's words like a tape recorder, Lu Yingying lifted her feet from the foot basin and said, "Well, that's why Sister Mu asked me to try to reproduce the Lotus Fragrance Powder... The Tang and Song dynasties were originally dynasties that were highly respected by the island country, and this thing was researched by Jin Zhangzong... How about it, isn't it interesting enough?"

Yang Mo slapped the two feet that were stuffed in front of him, then curled his lips: "This thing is a powder. Although it is not troublesome to use, it is also not convenient... Is your sister Mu sure it can work?"

Lu Yingying felt the pain and poked Yang Mo viciously with her feet: "We are just testing the effect of the original recipe now. If the effect is good, we will naturally change it to a more convenient ointment!"

As he spoke, he struggled with Yang Mo's hands with his feet, and snorted coldly: "As for whether it is possible to walk... if conditions permit, I think you underestimate women's love of beauty!"

"You probably don't know that, in addition to the face, chest, and legs, feet are also one of the parts that women care about the most... If you were forced by my father to learn some medical knowledge like me, you should know that due to the difference in physiological structure, the bacteria on women's feet multiply several times faster than men's, and their feet are more likely to have odor;"

"But in the island country, urban women now not only like to wear high heels, but also have to take off their shoes when entering other people's homes."

As he spoke, Tugou used his invincible mandarin duck legs to suppress Yang Mo's hands, and said with a smug smile: "Think about it, high heels make your feet smell more easily. If your feet are full of odor, it would be so embarrassing to take off your shoes when you enter someone else's house or a decent restaurant!"

"If there is something that can not only help you get rid of the odor on your feet, but also make you smell good, I guess even if they are hungry, women in the island countries will buy themselves one... Humph, you are not a woman, you don't know how attractive this kind of thing is to most women, as it can both cover up ugliness and make you look more beautiful than others."

"In fact, Sister Mu wanted to make this thing into a paste after confirming the effect. It was not just for convenience, but to prevent the powder of Lianxiang Powder from remaining on the feet, which would cause disfigurement due to different skin colors... Sister Mu said that women in the island country now get up at five or six in the morning to put on makeup for a full one or two hours in order to look good. So what's the trouble of putting some powder on your feet?"

Yang Mo, who was beaten to a pulp by the girl's messy kicking skills, was so angry that he saw an opening and stretched out his big hand to grab the girl's foot. "Okay, although I don't know the actual effect, this logic seems to work... I just don't know if you plan to cooperate with the island country to produce, or produce the cards yourself? ... And how much is the price?"

Lu Yingying struggled twice but still couldn't free her feet from the other person's big hand. She could only say bitterly: "Then of course we should produce it ourselves and create our own brand... Don't think that Sister Mu is so eager for quick success. If we cooperate with the island country in production, we won't make anything except providing some raw materials and processing fees!"

As he spoke, he held the bamboo stool tightly with his right hand to prevent himself from falling. "As for the price... it has not been finalized yet, but Sister Mu said that although the raw materials of this thing are extremely cheap, for long-term considerations, even the distribution price cannot be lower than 1450 yen per tube... And according to our plan, if it is an ointment, one tube is only 120g, which is only enough for more than a week!"

1450 yen?

According to the current exchange rate, that would be about 10 US dollars per stick?

Miss Mu is pretty good, not as timid as other domestic companies. This distribution price should be reflected in the market at the level of 3500 to 6000 yen. Not only is there no pressure for the Japanese women who still have "three wallets" to spend, but it is also completely worthy of the brand "Jin Zhangzong Secret Recipe"... Although the proportion of purchasing and consuming Chinese herbal medicines in the Japanese is only about 33%, far from the exaggerated level of 72% in later generations, even so, it is still an extremely considerable market. It's just...

Yang Mo asked with some confusion: "If it is our own brand, how do we solve the channel problem?"

What many people may not be aware of is that since the 1960s and 1970s, Chinese traditional Chinese medicine products have been very popular around the world, especially in Southeast Asia... Of course, the vast majority of these medicines are produced and sold by pharmaceutical companies in Hong Kong, and few people in mainland China know about this.

In fact, the reason why the island countries and South Korea have been aggressively acquiring Chinese medicine formulas, registering Chinese medicine patents mainly based on the classic prescriptions in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" and "Golden Chamber", and developing Kampo medicines with all their might is, on the one hand, because Chinese medicine products do have unique advantages in many aspects; on the other hand, it is due to the need for cultural revival; but on the other hand, it is also because Chinese medicine products have an extremely broad market and potential worldwide.

It is somewhat frustrating that Chinese medicine and traditional Chinese medicine are not well received in China. But if you go abroad, whether you are in Southeast Asia, the United States, Europe, or even India, you can see Chinese medicine halls and all kinds of Chinese medicine products everywhere... In later generations, a large number of tourists even go to island countries every year just to buy those "Kampo medicines" in drugstores. I don't know what our ancestors would think after seeing them.

However, since the 1976s, the island country has been deliberately controlling and raising the import threshold for Hong Kong's traditional Chinese medicines, while on the other hand it has been working hard to build its own Chinese herbal medicine industry. Therefore, if it is OEM production for the island country's local Chinese herbal medicine companies, it is fine, but it is not so easy for foreign Chinese herbal medicine products to directly enter the market.

Upon hearing this, Lv Yingying smiled smugly: "Sister Mu said that the Chinese medicine companies in the island country shouted out the slogan "Learn from China within ten years" in the early 1980s, and various Chinese medicine academic exchange groups often come to our Qilu... It is said that the province is now discussing some high-standard planting projects of landmark Chinese medicinal materials with them. As long as the cooperation can be promoted smoothly, some of the island country's pharmaceutical and cosmetic channels can be shared... It is said that this matter was promoted by a Chinese medicine company called Tianjin."

A high-standard planting project for landmark Chinese medicinal materials?
Yang Mo couldn't help but frown.

As we all know, the reason why traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese herbal medicine are in a relatively embarrassing situation in later generations, in addition to some reasons that everyone knows, is also an objective reality: the serious shortage of qualified Chinese medicine practitioners and the degradation of the medicinal properties of medicinal materials. Especially the insufficient medicinal properties of medicinal materials are simply digging at the lifeblood of traditional Chinese medicine. As the saying goes, a good cook cannot cook without rice. If the medicinal properties of the medicinal materials cannot be guaranteed, what can you talk about the efficacy of the medicine?

In fact, there are only three reasons for the lack of medicinal properties of medicinal materials:

1. The land is becoming poor again and the growth environment is degraded;
2. Under large-scale industrial planting, the herbs either do not grow for enough years or are quickly grown and are useless;
3. The market is chaotic and it is difficult to purchase genuine landmark Chinese medicinal materials.

For the first and second reasons, everyone can see the problem at a glance;
But the third point may not be clear to everyone.

Take for example the most familiar herbs.
Under the premise of standardized planting...

The Panax notoginseng from Wenshan in southern Yunnan is better than that from Honghe across the river;

The medicinal effects of Schisandra chinensis, Saposhnikovia divaricata and Asarum sieboldii from Jilin are stronger than those from Guanzhong.
Similarly, Ophiopogon japonicus from Mianyang, Bashu, Coptis chinensis from Shizhu, and Angelica dahurica from Suining are more effective than similar medicinal materials from other regions.

There are many, many more like this.

In short, you just need to know that just as doctors often only regard wolfberries produced in Western Xinjiang as condiments, in the eyes of experienced Chinese medicine practitioners, Chinese medicinal materials that are old enough and those that are not old enough can certainly be regarded as two different things; and landmark Chinese medicinal materials and non-landmark similar Chinese medicinal materials are also completely different things.

Although this sounds very mysterious and some advocates of Western medicine do not agree with it, from clinical experience, there is indeed a significant difference.

Therefore, this is the reason why the island country is willing to "invite the wolf into the house" and carry out high-standard planting projects of landmark Chinese medicinal materials within China.

Their vision is on a global scale. Given China's current situation, they really don't have to worry about the country where Chinese medicine originated from snatching their territory - to be frustrating, the threat posed by all the pharmaceutical companies in China combined in the field of traditional Chinese medicine is not even as big as the little finger of Hong Kong, which has not yet returned.

………………

After carefully considering the cause and effect relationship, Yang Mo nodded in understanding.

This kind of thing can’t be said to be good or bad... Who can you blame if you don’t cherish your own baby?

At the very least, the high-standard planting projects of these landmark Chinese medicinal materials can also be regarded as leaving a spark for Chinese medicinal materials in China from another level - otherwise, all the land given by God to grow fruit trees or build houses will be used, which is really called crying without tears. (Again, I am not a Japanophile, and all the views in this book are as objective and neutral as possible)
only……

After searching in his mind, Yang Mo asked uncertainly, "Is that pharmaceutical company... called Tsumura Co., Ltd."

Lu Yingying thought for a moment and said, "I think it's called this name... The names of the units in the island country are all weird and hard to remember!"

Sure enough, it was the world’s largest Chinese medicine company in later generations!

Yang Mo frowned, and his expression became a little strange.

Ah,
At this time when the relationship between the two countries is warming up, it is a great honor to encounter such an ambitious Chinese medicine company.
seem……

There must be a loophole, right?
(End of this chapter)