Two days later, Chen Xuan visited the Hundred Herbs Hall pharmacy again.
The same receptionist greeted him, "Welcome, do you have a prescription... Ah, didn't you forget to pick up your brewed medicine last time!"
She actually remembered him.
"Yes, something came up unexpectedly, so I forgot. But I'm not here to buy medicine this time; I'm here to sell medicine." He got straight to the point.
"Sell medicine?" She sized up Chen Xuan for a moment, showing some doubt, because his hands were empty, and he wasn't carrying any bags. But she pointed to a door inside the pharmacy anyway, "Go over there, look for Doctor Jiang."
He went to a separate room beside the hall, where a middle-aged man in a lab coat received him, "Are you selling medicine? Dry goods or wet goods?"
Due to Lu Mountain, a famous mountain in the world, most pharmacies around here both sell and buy medicine, mostly from those medicine farmers who rely on the mountain. Especially wild lingzhi or wild ginseng, whose medicinal effects are indistinguishable from artificially cultivated ones, but the word 'wild' can sell them for several times the price.
Chen Xuan had learned beforehand that dry goods were sun-dried herbs, while wet goods were freshly picked from the mountain. For medicinal insects like snakes, scorpions, centipedes, pharmacies usually only buy dry goods, which means processed ones.
He sat down opposite Doctor Jiang and placed a Blood Orange pill on the table.
"Kid, what's this?"
Doctor Jiang chuckled, as if he'd seen something curious, picked up the pill for a look, then took a couple of sniffs, "Keep it for yourself, we don't buy finished medicines here."
Chen Xuan wasn't fazed, "It's called Blood Orange, a medicine specialized for treating external injuries."
"Even if it's an Immortal Pill that cures all diseases, it's not possible." Doctor Jiang laughed heartily, "If you want to sell finished medicines, do you have a pharmaceutical manufacturing license? Have you done pathological and toxicological tests? We are a legitimate pharmacy; all our medicines come from legal sources. You don't even have packaging, who would dare to consume it?"
The reaction was fully within Chen Xuan's expectations.
Joan and her people had proven the prescription's effectiveness, and selling medicine to fund opening a shop was still his easiest achievable method. These past days he's been busy collecting and concocting medicines, resulting in a stock of about twenty pills, mostly the more visually effective Blood Oranges. But to sell them, regular transactions wouldn't work, since to outsiders, this thing is just a lump of mud, and before witnessing its efficacy, no one would take it seriously.
With a swift motion, Chen Xuan pulled out a pair of scissors.
"Hey, kid, talk nicely!"
Doctor Jiang's face suddenly changed, "Issues have roots and debts have sources, go to the hospital next door if you have a problem!"
Chen Xuan took a deep breath and sliced his hand with the scissors!
A piercing pain surged, and blood instantly oozed out.
The doctor's face turned even paler.
Hurting himself first before making a move, what kind of ruthless person is this?
"The medicine." He pointed to the pill in Doctor Jiang's hand.
"Ah, here, take it back..." He quickly handed it over, afraid of being mistaken for wanting to steal the medicine.
Chen Xuan didn't waste time and crushed the pill on the spot, swallowing half and applying the other half on the wound. In less than ten seconds, the pain began to subside, and a white frost started to appear on the wound.
Watching the transformation on his hand, Doctor Jiang was dumbfounded.
"...Is this magic?" After a long pause, he finally uttered a sentence.
"Then give it a try." Chen Xuan pushed the scissors to him.
He hesitated but didn't refuse, "This won't do, afraid of cross infection... Wait a moment."
After speaking, Doctor Jiang rummaged through his desk for a while and took out a finger blood needle for blood glucose testing.
Although it creates a smaller wound, it's convenient and sterile.
And he didn't immediately proceed.
Out of caution, he personally brewed two cups of tea, waited a full fifteen minutes, re-examined the wound on Chen Xuan's hand, and conducted a thorough inquiry to ensure there were no signs of poisoning before testing it himself.
Following Chen Xuan's demonstration, he pricked his finger several times, then swallowed and applied the Blood Orange, squeezing his wound hard, but no matter how much effort he put in, he couldn't squeeze out a drop of blood.
"Wow, miraculous!" Doctor Jiang changed his previous attitude, marveling repeatedly, "Kid, where did you get this medicine?"
"It's inconvenient to say."
"Why sell it to Hundred Herbs Hall? Can't it be mass-produced?" He had some doubts, "As long as proprietary Chinese medicines are effective enough, the drug administration will issue licenses. There wouldn't be a problem selling it yourself for any price."
That's precisely the issue.
Even if the materials are the same, without the Alchemist using his Qi to assist in pill cohesion, the result would be mere medicine residue.
Occasionally making some is fine, but Chen Xuan didn't want to spend his days stationed by a pressure cooker, exclusively practicing alchemy.
Moreover, following procedures requires going through reviews; questions like where the factory is, what machines are used, how many trials were conducted—he couldn't answer them. Can he say the medicine is hand-molded only by him? He's aiming to earn money to support the store, not be researched as a new human by others.
"How would I know? I'm just responsible for running errands," Chen Xuan made a gesture to leave, "Just tell me whether you want it or not, there are plenty of pharmacies around anyway."
"Wait, I can't decide on this, I'll call the boss over."
Doctor Jiang picked up his phone and walked to the door, speaking rapidly, accompanied by vigorous nodding, seemingly trying to prove his words were true.
Within half a minute, the boss came down from upstairs.
The man was estimated to be around sixty years old, with hair slightly graying at the temples, yet his spirit was remarkably vigorous. He walked with a brisk pace and, as soon as he entered the room, asked in a vibrant voice, "Are you the guest selling medicine? How should I address you?"
"Chen Xuan."
"Boss Xu," Doctor Jiang introduced, "He calls the shots for all business at the Hundred Herbs Hall."
Chen Xuan nodded. In truth, he didn't need an introduction; he had already figured it out. The boss's photo was hanging on the walls of the medicine hall and office, with the name Xu Wangxian written below.
"Have you tried it?" the boss asked his in-house physician.
"Hmm... It is indeed effective. However, the wound I made was relatively small—"
"Let me try too. Go get a knife and disinfect it with alcohol."
"Ah? This..."
"What do you mean 'this,'..." Xu Wangxian waved his hand dismissively. "It's not that I don't trust you, but for this sort of thing, I must verify it personally. There is a top-tier hospital right next door, so even if something goes wrong, there's no need to worry."
Seeing Chen Xuan's surprised expression, Doctor Jiang, while searching for the knife, explained, "Haha, don't let the boss's age fool you. He used to climb mountains alone to gather medicinal herbs."
Chen Xuan couldn't help but have a change of view about Boss Xu. He initially thought the man, due to his age, might treat the Hundred Herbs Hall more as a money-making tool, caring less about whether the medicine was effective or how effective it truly was. But now it seemed, this person not only cared deeply about the efficacy of the medicine but also exhibited quite a hands-on attitude.
After a series of operations, the result was exactly the same.
Xu Wangxian looked at the wound gradually being covered by white frost, wearing the same shocked expression, yet his look was more complex than Doctor Jiang's. It seemed to convey a mix of emotions. After a good while, he turned to Chen Xuan, "How would you like to sell it?"
"Ten thousand per pill."
"How many pills are there?"
"Twenty-six pills. However, only nineteen are entirely Blood Orange. The other seven are for treating pneumonia and respiratory-related diseases. I call it the Sweet Green Clear Pill."
Doctor Jiang looked at his boss with a troubled expression, "That would require two hundred and sixty thousand..."
Xu Wangxian didn't hesitate for long. "I'll take them all, at the price you mentioned."
Chen Xuan nodded with satisfaction. If the other party had even an inkling of trying to bargain, he would have left immediately. "Frankly, this pricing isn't high. If encountered with someone in dire need, flipping this price several times wouldn't be difficult."
He wasn't in a position to search for such individuals, but pharmacies collaborating with hospitals could easily do it.
"You're right, but after all, medicine is for treating illnesses and saving lives... If only very few people can afford it, it loses its inherent purpose," Xu Wangxian said with a wry smile. "Is it okay if the money is transferred by this afternoon? It takes some time to arrange such a large sum in cash..."
"Alright, let's sign the contract." Chen Xuan didn't make it difficult for him.
The ten thousand pricing also considered aspects of liquidity. He could certainly set it higher, and there would definitely be pharmacies willing to take it, but having them suddenly produce several hundred thousand or even several million in cash would be difficult. With today's economic downturn, it's common to defer payment for a few months, and he couldn't wait that long.
Furthermore, this is just the price for a batch of medicine.
He could always make more in the future.
After signing the contract, Xu Wangxian added, "Little friend, I have another request, though it's rather presumptuous. I wonder if you might agree."
It was 'buddy' earlier, now it directly turned into 'little friend.'
"Go ahead."
"If you have any new medicine to sell in the future, could you consider prioritizing our Hundred Herbs Hall? The price is negotiable... We'll definitely strive to meet your needs."
This wasn't much of a problem, and Chen Xuan agreed right away after contemplating.
After Chen Xuan left, Doctor Jiang couldn't help but say, "Transfer the payment to him first, as acquiring other medicinal materials might pose a problem... Moreover, an external wound miracle medicine priced at ten thousand a pill—few can afford it, not to mention bumping into someone who just happens to need it... Isn't taking it all a bit too risky?"
"Then what's your take?" Xu Wangxian carefully placed the contract into a file bag, as if it was some sort of treasure.
"Would it be better to take only half, or perhaps partner with other pharmacies to divide the load? We wouldn't need to trouble the lad; we could handle the negotiations ourselves."
"No need. I will accept however many he brings; that's the basic sincerity."
"Sincerity?" Doctor Jiang looked at his boss as if seeing him for the first time.
"Have you heard of the Immortal Pill?" Xu Wangxian suddenly asked.
"The kind in movies?"
"Some things in this world are inherently extraordinary, including medicine. No one knows where they hail from, thus they are collectively called Immortal's items. These things rarely make it to the public, circulating among only a few people." He gazed at the file bag and said slowly, "I have seen it, thirty years ago, although it was just from afar. I never thought I'd encounter it again after such a long time... and now it's delivered right to me. Do you think I could possibly let this chance slip by?"
Doctor Jiang was hearing such information for the first time, "Old Xu, are you serious?"
"You've been with me for so long, have I ever lied to you? I didn't mention it before due to lack of evidence; it would be like daydreaming. You're from a prestigious university, tell me what medicine can achieve this? The pharmacology couldn't even be fabricated. Do you still think it's an ordinary traditional Chinese medicine?" Xu Wangxian said with a burst of enthusiasm. "I bet you could take this medicine for analysis, identify all the components, and yet you couldn't reproduce even ten percent of its current efficacy."
"I... need a moment..." Doctor Jiang was in disbelief, "Are you saying there's truly an Immortal Pill in existence? Do the medical colleges know about these matters?"
"Nationwide? I would guess some might know. Yet such things are beyond common sense; discussing them only adds confusion and certainly wouldn't be included in textbooks." Xu Wangxian patted his shoulder, "Before obtaining the Immortal Pill, we were outsiders. You could treat it as a story, even a joke. But now with the Immortal Pill, Hundred Herbs Hall has a chance to break into that circle, so we should offer enough sincerity to the little friend."
"Chen Xuan claimed he's merely selling the medicine, not the one who creates it..."
"Is his claim definitely true?" Xu Wangxian laughed heartily. "Even if he's not the creator, what's his relation with the Alchemist that allows him to act as the sole agent for selling the medicine? Since there's a connection with the Immortal Pill, it's all about destiny. Whether the sincerity targets him or the Alchemist, it makes no difference."