Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 218: Bezoar, More Expensive Than Gold

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Bezoar, More Expensive Than Gold

The price of Bezoar was skyrocketing year after year.

Li Xu looked it up. The latest market price for Natural Bezoar was as high as 7,500,000 yuan per kilogram—more expensive than gold!

「In the past,」

Bezoar hadn’t been so expensive.

This was mainly due to its extreme rarity.

As far back as ancient medical texts, it was classified as a precious medicinal ingredient for clearing heat, detoxifying the body, and reviving consciousness. It was often used to treat acute conditions like high-fever convulsions and comas from strokes.

However, this remarkably effective substance was, in essence, a gallstone formed within a cow’s body over a long period due to pathological conditions like bile stasis and inflammatory blockages.

In other words, the formation of Bezoar was an extremely sporadic event. A cow had to live under specific conditions for several years before a high-quality stone might naturally form in its gallbladder or bile duct.

For this reason, the natural formation of Bezoar was both rare and unpredictable.

In the agrarian societies of the past, draft cattle were a vital tool for rural productivity. These animals had relatively long lifespans, ate natural feed, and lived at a slow pace. These conditions made it possible for them to occasionally develop biliary diseases and accumulate these inconspicuous "yellowish-brown foreign objects" inside their bodies.

At the time, however, people knew little of their value. They were even considered unclean and often discarded along with the entrails during slaughter.

In an era with a less-developed distribution system for medicinal materials and limited information,

Bezoar never entered the mainstream and failed to realize its proper medicinal value.

With the changing times, agricultural production methods underwent a fundamental transformation. Mechanized farming gradually replaced traditional animal labor, and the number of draft cattle plummeted.

Meanwhile, the modern breeding industry pursued high-efficiency turnover. Beef cattle are typically slaughtered around two years of age, far short of the time required for gallstones to form.

Furthermore, improvements in scientific breeding and disease control systems also significantly reduced the incidence of biliary diseases in cattle herds.

The combination of these multiple factors has caused the production of Natural Bezoar to plummet to extremely low levels in recent years.

According to estimates, the annual national output of Natural Bezoar is less than one ton, while the actual demand far exceeds six tons, creating a massive gap between supply and demand.

Against this backdrop, the price of Bezoar began to soar.

Twenty years ago, a kilogram cost only a few hundred thousand yuan.

Ten years ago, it broke one million yuan per kilogram.

And this year, it has already surpassed the seven-million-yuan mark—a staggering increase.

Li Xu found that in 2013, at a Jiade auction, a single 66-gram piece of Natural Bezoar sold for over four million yuan, setting a record for Bezoar.

This leap in price stemmed from both the scarcity of the resource itself and the traditional Chinese medicine market’s heavy reliance on its irreplaceability.

In famous traditional Chinese medicines like the An Gong Bezoar Pill, Pianzaihuang, and Xihuang Pill, Bezoar is one of the core ingredients. Its critical role in the efficacy of these medicines makes it impossible for manufacturers to easily substitute it with other substances.

The national Materia Medica also has strict regulations for these formulas, mandating the use of Natural Bezoar. This "inescapable demand" forces pharmaceutical companies to grit their teeth and purchase it, even at exorbitant prices.

What followed was a sharp complication of market order. Due to the high prices and difficulty in regulating its source, a large number of counterfeit and shoddy products flooded the market.

Unscrupulous dealers used methods like dyeing and filling to create "imitation Bezoar." Some even sold synthetic compounds online, passing them off as natural products. Ordinary consumers lack the ability to distinguish them and are easily deceived, not only losing money but also potentially endangering their health.

"I have to get that Bezoar."

Li Xu’s heart pounded with excitement.

It wasn’t just about its value.

More importantly, it was about the medicinal efficacy of Natural Bezoar.

In many medicinal formulas, Bezoar is an indispensable core ingredient.

This is especially true for certain emergency remedies in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is absolutely essential.

Li Xu didn’t even have time for breakfast.

He immediately called Song Sisi.

The phone rang a few times before it was answered. Song Sisi’s voice was thick with congestion and exhaustion.

"Hello, Boss... It’s so early."

"Sisi, where are you and your parents right now? Are you about to head to the police station?" Li Xu asked, getting straight to the point.

"Yeah, we’re just about to leave. My dad didn’t sleep well all night, he’s still fuming about that ten thousand yuan." Song Sisi sighed. "But we’ve decided. We’ll just give him the ten thousand. We’ll consider it paying to make the problem go away. We don’t want to drag this out with him any longer."

"Don’t!" Li Xu stopped her immediately. "Sisi, listen to me. Don’t rush to the police station, and don’t be in a hurry to pay. I’m coming over to find you now. I’ll handle this."

"Huh? Boss, you’re coming?" Song Sisi was stunned. "There’s no need, really. This is too much trouble. You already lent me money, I feel bad enough as it is..."

"Listen to me," Li Xu’s tone left no room for argument. "Tell me about the cow’s condition. How badly is it injured?"

"Its hind leg is lame, it can’t stand up. Yesterday, a few people from the village helped carry it to the shed in Foolish Song’s yard. The vet took a look and said the bone might be dislocated or broken. It’ll be very difficult to treat, and it definitely won’t be able to do heavy labor anymore."

"Okay, I understand," Li Xu said in a low voice. "Wait for me at home, I’ll be there soon. Remember, before I arrive, don’t make any promises to Foolish Song, and especially don’t bring up compensation."

"But..."

"No buts. Trust me," Li Xu said.

After hanging up, Song Sisi was still a bit dazed.

She couldn’t understand why her boss was so concerned, to the point of coming all this way himself.

’Could it really be... because of me?’

At that thought, her cheeks couldn’t help but feel a little hot, and a warm feeling spread through her heart.

Li Xu hung up the phone and withdrew thirty thousand yuan in cash.

He hailed a Didi on his phone.

A little over an hour later, he arrived at Dasong Villa.

「By this time,」

A crowd of curious villagers had once again gathered outside Foolish Song’s yard.

The village chief, Song Dehai, and two police officers were also there, trying to persuade him of something.

In the yard, Foolish Song was sitting on a small stool, right next to the big yellow ox, Da Huang, which was lying on the ground.

He was puffing away on a traditional long-stemmed pipe, rolling his eyes with an air that said no one could possibly convince him otherwise.

"I’m telling you, it’s useless! If I don’t see ten thousand yuan today, nobody’s settling this! I don’t even have a wife, I’m counting on this ox! Ten thousand is already letting you off easy!"

When Song Xuecai saw his smug face, his anger flared up again, but thinking of his daughter, he could only force it down.

His face grim, he said, "Foolish Song, we’ve talked it over. Ten thousand it is. Stop making a scene!"

Although Song Xuecai was pained by the thought of the money, he didn’t want to drag the matter on any longer.

He wanted to end this farce as quickly as possible.

"Oh? You’ve come to your senses?" Foolish Song raised an eyebrow and slowly blew a smoke ring, a smug look on his face. "Should’ve just done this from the start, right? Had to drag it out and make a fool of yourselves!"

The villagers also started murmuring among themselves, feeling that although Song Xuecai had suffered a huge loss, the matter was finally resolved.

Just then, Li Xu arrived. He stopped Song Xuecai, "Uncle Song, there’s no need to pay."