Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 204: Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Procurement

In the internal medicine clinic of the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guo Yu lifted his stethoscope from the young patient's chest.

"It's nothing serious, just a sore throat from a common cold." He said while entering a prescription into the computer, "I'll give you some anti-inflammatories and a fever reducer, plus some Watermelon Frost..."

"Doctor," the patient suddenly interrupted, "can you prescribe the Watermelon Frost from Ding's Pharmaceutical Factory?"

Guo Yu's fingers paused over the keyboard, and his brow furrowed slightly. "Our hospital only carries the Watermelon Frost from Sanjin Pharmaceutical Factory."

"Then never mind," the patient said, waving his hand. "Just give me the fever reducer. I'll buy the Watermelon Frost at a pharmacy outside."

Guo Yu stared at the patient for a couple of seconds before deleting the Watermelon Frost from the prescription, leaving only the fever reducer.

After the patient left, he couldn't help but mutter, "That's the third patient today who's specifically asked for Watermelon Frost from Ding's Pharmaceutical..."

Sheng Miaoli, who was sitting nearby, looked up. "Director Guo, haven't you heard?"

She took out her phone, swiped a few times, and showed the screen to Guo Yu. "The Watermelon Frost from Ding's Pharmaceutical is trending. Ji Youyou recommended it, said it works like magic."

Guo Yu took the phone. The screen showed Ji Youyou's Weibo post and a comment section filled with frantic messages from people trying to buy the product.

He scrolled down and suddenly spotted a familiar name in one of the comments: "Dr. Li Xu's formula."

"Li Xu?" Guo Yu's head snapped up. "It's a new formula he developed?"

Miaoli nodded, then quickly shook her head. "It's a collaboration between Li Xu and Ding's Pharmaceutical Factory, but it isn't a new formula. I asked him about it. He said it's mainly because they use high-quality watermelons, which is why it's so effective."

'Is it really that amazing?'

Guo Yu was skeptical.

*Cough, cough.*

Suddenly, his throat felt a little itchy, and he coughed a couple of times. He'd been seeing patients nonstop for the last few days, and his own throat was feeling a bit raw.

An idea struck him. "Miaoli," he instructed, "go out to a pharmacy and buy me a box of that Ding's Watermelon Frost. I want to see how well it works."

"You got it."

Miaoli took off her white lab coat and headed out to buy the medicine.

Half an hour later, Miaoli ran back, panting. "Director Guo, all three nearby pharmacies are sold out! The clerks said they won't be restocked until next week at the earliest."

Guo Yu's eyes widened in surprise. "It's that sought-after?"

He grew thoughtful. A glance at the computer system showed there were no more scheduled appointments.

He asked Miaoli to hold down the fort in the clinic and went to the dean's office by himself.

...

Dean Sun was reviewing some documents when Guo Yu hurried in. He put his papers down. "Is something the matter?"

"Dean, take a look at this." Guo Yu handed him the phone, its screen showing Ji Youyou's Weibo post and the trending topic about Watermelon Frost.

Dean Sun squinted at the screen for a while, then said in surprise, "Advisor Li developed such a great medicine without saying a word?"

"And that's not all," Guo Yu said excitedly. "There's also a product called Strongly Fragrant Dry Rice Pills that can treat anorexia. I heard sales are limited because the ingredients are rare. If we could get Li Xu to supply our hospital, we could definitely attract a lot of patients with anorexia."

Dean Sun was convinced. He thought for a moment, then picked up his desk phone. "I'll give him a call now and ask about the situation."

Once the call connected, Dean Sun got straight to the point. "Advisor Li, I hear you recently developed the Strongly Fragrant Dry Rice Pills and the Watermelon Frost, and they're very popular. With such great medicine, why didn't you offer to supply our hospital first?"

Li Xu's voice came from the other end of the line, with a hint of a smile in it. "Dean, the hospital's procurement process is too much of a hassle. We couldn't afford to wait, so we went through the retail pharmacy channels."

"None of that," Dean Sun chided with a laugh. "For the Watermelon Frost and those Rice Pills, I can authorize a direct purchase, just like we did with the True Martial Pills. Just give me a straight answer: can you supply us or not?"

After a brief silence, Li Xu replied, "Alright. I'll have the factory prioritize our hospital's supply. The quantities might not be very large, though..."

"As long as it's enough for our needs, that's fine," Dean Sun said, satisfied. "Oh, right, don't forget about your expert consultation hours next week!"

After hanging up, Dean Sun said with a smile, "It's handled."

...

「The next day.」

In the pharmacy of the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a deliveryman from Ding's Pharmaceutical Factory placed two sealed cardboard boxes on the counter.

"Two hundred boxes of Watermelon Frost, ten boxes of Rice Pills. Please sign here."

Director Han, the head of the pharmacy department, carefully checked the list before signing.

He curiously opened a box of Watermelon Frost. The small, dark blue spray bottle inside looked no different from those of other manufacturers.

He couldn't resist giving it a spray. *TSSS!* A cool mist dispersed into the air, carrying a faint herbal aroma.

"Whoa, that scent..." Director Han clicked his tongue in appreciation. "No wonder it's getting so much hype online. It's much more soothing than regular Watermelon Frost."

...

「Internal Medicine Clinic.」

The workday had just begun, and there weren't many patients. Guo Yu took the opportunity to organize some case files.

A nurse came in holding a box of Watermelon Frost and placed it on his desk. "Director Guo, the Ding's Watermelon Frost you wanted is here! The pharmacy just sent it up. Could you please sign the requisition form?"

"Alright."

After signing the form, Guo Yu couldn't wait to tear open the package and spray it twice on his itchy throat.

The moment the liquid made contact with his throat, a wave of penetratingly cool relief shot from his pharynx straight to the crown of his head.

Guo Yu closed his eyes involuntarily. This wasn't just an ordinary cooling sensation; it was a deep, soothing relief that seemed to penetrate the tissue, as if an invisible pair of hands was gently smoothing away every trace of inflammation in his throat.

"Director, how is it?" Miaoli asked curiously from the side.

Guo Yu opened his eyes and cleared his throat. His voice was noticeably clearer. "Incredible..."

He sprayed it again. "This works better than any throat medicine I've ever used!"

Miaoli looked at him, astonished. "For real? Let me try!"

She sprayed her own throat twice.

Although her throat didn't hurt, it still felt wonderfully soothing.

"No wonder it's so popular. The effect really is amazing... Oh, right, Director, what about the Rice Pills? How well do they work?"

Guo Yu shook his head. "We can't just casually try the Strongly Fragrant Dry Rice Pills."

Miaoli was confused. "Why not?"

Guo Yu explained, "A single bag of those Rice Pills costs tens of thousands. Is that something we can just sample for fun?"

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot."

Since there were few patients today and work was slow, she couldn't resist sending a message in her old class group chat:

Guys, the gap between us and Li Xu is getting wider and wider. His medical skills are better than ours, and now he's making his own medicine... How can the difference between people be so huge!

Miaoli snapped a picture of the Watermelon Frost and sent it to the group: The medicine he developed is trending, and even celebrities are using it! I just tried some, and it feels amazing.

Li Baojie: [For real? I haven't been keeping up with the news.]

Miaoli: [Just search for it, you'll see.]

Li Baojie: [Holy crap... a celebrity recommending Watermelon Frost... And those Rice Pills are being scalped on the black market for fifty thousand!]

Hu Qiming: [@Li Xu, Godfather, teach me your ways. How are you so damn good at everything?]

Li Xu: [...]

...

P.S. Thanks to 'pzSS' and 'Fox Bat in the Starry Sky' for each tipping 100 coins. And thanks to all the readers who subscribe and vote.