“You two are obviously acting on a whim. I feel that with my current abilities, I am still unable to take this on. I’m sorry!”

Honestly, Lu Jiu was tempted.

Truly.

The reason Lu Jiu left the big city was because hospitals already had a set of rules based on Western medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine within these rules faced constraints everywhere, and treating patients was never satisfying.

If these rules were all broken and replaced with a framework built by Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lu Jiu was actually quite willing to work on that.

He became a doctor hoping to help as many people as possible overcome their ailments, yet sadly, he didn’t have the ability to be in more than one place at a time. Although running his own clinic was great, the people he helped were indeed quite limited.

Moreover, most of the patients he encountered didn’t have complicated conditions; ordinary Chinese medicine was enough to address them, but Lu Jiu couldn’t divide the workload; he had to see them one by one, causing many complex cases to wait in long queues.

In some respects, the model of a personal small workshop isn’t suited for a society with many patients.

Even in a small county.

“This is not a whim. Do you really think I called Shen from Jinling just to help me build this herbal base?” Huang Fusheng laughed. “If you hadn’t come today, I would have sought you out tomorrow. We are definitely building this hospital. Think carefully, is it reasonable that a place with a herbal base and policies for integrating Traditional Chinese Medicine into primary and secondary schools doesn’t have a decent hospital of its own.”

“For Traditional Chinese Medicine to rise, does it rely on herbal medicine? On people! If you don’t create a conducive work environment, how can talent be attracted? Rely on your local Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital? Stop kidding; hospitals that have long been Westernized face difficulties in reform, due to the self-interests of medical staff, leadership circles, pharmaceutical representatives, pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment companies, and various intertwining interests. Do you still want to push for healthcare reform?”

“Dream on!”

“Last time during a meeting, that ambitious Dean Qi from your Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital promised to the leaders above that the Traditional Chinese Medicine department would be constructed within one or two years. In my opinion, it could only end in failure.”

“So rather than waiting for others to do it, why not do it ourselves!”

Lu Jiu asked, “Then why not Brother Da, why me specifically?”

Huang Fusheng and Shen Congwei exchanged glances and burst into laughter together, “That’s because they don’t care. A newly-built private hospital in a small county has no attraction for them. Even if they do well, they won’t earn much money, nor will their power be elevated. They’re not Jianghan people. Tell me, who else could we ask besides you?”

Uh…

Seems true.

Lu Jiu continued, “Then why use my name?”

Shen Congwei chuckled, “It’s customary for private hospitals to use names. For instance, our brother’s Jingcheng Hospital is named after my brother’s father, Huang Jingcheng, who co-founded the hospital. Since this new hospital wants you as its dean, it must use your name.”

Lu Jiu pondered for a while, “I still want to purely focus on treating patients. Once the hospital is established, I’ll surely have a lot of miscellaneous tasks, which I don’t like.”

Huang Fusheng laughed, “You’re overthinking it. Once the hospital is built, as the dean, you’re the one giving orders; the management staff are the ones executing. You decide what kind of hospital it becomes; they implement your vision. You can also stay in the clinic all day treating patients with no issue.”

Well, all the gentle refusals have been blocked by these two.

Lu Jiu found himself unable to find an excuse to decline.

To refuse directly?

Yet Lu Jiu secretly held some expectations.

But faced with their heavy trust, Lu Jiu still felt the burden was somewhat heavy.

It’s not that he couldn’t bear it, just feeling unworthy of it.

Moreover, what if things went wrong?

He wouldn’t mind losing his own money.

If he lost others’ money, Lu Jiu wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully.

“You kid, you’re usually straightforward, why are you hesitating now, show some courage, huh?” Huang Fusheng frowned.

“Worried you may not do well? It’s okay, for a pure Traditional Chinese Medicine hospital, disregarding the costs of medical equipment, it only requires a few million to invest. Before coming here, our brother already consulted the leaders in Jianghan. There’s a vacant building near the outer ring, which we can lease, renovate a few floors in a few months and start running. Even if it loses money, over two or three years, it won’t lose much. Besides, aren’t we here with you, what are you afraid of?” Shen Congwei laughed.

Only a few million?

Lu Jiu knew that even for a second-tier private hospital, the investment needed to be tens of millions.

Besides the construction land, the major cost is medical equipment.

High-end machines like CT scanners cost millions per unit.

Jianghan People’s Hospital only has three of them.

But a pure Traditional Chinese Medicine hospital, without medical equipment, could indeed reduce costs significantly.

If the construction land is leased, costs would be even lower.

Pausing for a moment, Lu Jiu slowly opened his mouth, “Teachers, principals, let me go home and think about it.”

Huang Fusheng and Shen Congwei exchanged glances before Huang Fusheng spoke, “Alright, but if you don’t give me a convincing reason, the dean will have to be you.”

Lu Jiu smiled helplessly, without directly responding to Huang Fusheng, and took the excuse that it was getting late not to disturb their rest, leaving the hotel room promptly.

Once he was gone, Shen Congwei curiously asked Huang Fusheng.

“Brother, before coming here, you didn’t mention wanting Lu Jiu as the dean, what are you thinking?”

Huang Fusheng laughed, “Do you know what I saw when I came here? This guy, while treating patients, used the Heaven-Piercing Cool Needle Technique.”

Shen Congwei was stunned, “Are you sure?”

That’s a top-tier draining acupuncture technique.

Lu Jiu knows this too?

During school, didn’t see Lu Jiu with that skill?

Did he hide it, or progress too fast?

Huang Fusheng nodded, “Not just Heaven-Piercing Cool Needle Technique, he also knows Mountain Burning Fire. With these two acupuncture techniques, it’s enough to show his proficiency in Acupuncture, but what surprised me most is his solid foundation in pattern differentiation and exceptional preciseness in understanding pathological mechanisms. This is why he can prescribe for late-stage lung cancer patients, and I’ve seen his prescription, it’s very concise. This shows his deep knowledge of medicine isn’t merely from books; quite possibly, he tasted herbs as a child.”

“Think about it, a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner who knows acupuncture, classical prescriptions, is already comprehensive. Yet, this guy also understands The Book of Changes!”

Upon hearing this, Shen Congwei was completely unsettled.

“What!?” Shen Congwei hurriedly asked, “How do you know?”

Huang Fusheng said, “During the interview, I asked him a question about where the self-healing ability in humans comes from. His answer was, it originates from the cosmic galaxy. You say, with such an understanding, how can he not know The Book of Changes?”

*Gasp~~*

Since Jinling University of Chinese Medicine was founded, has there been such a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner?

This thought immediately popped into Shen Congwei’s mind.

But soon, he himself concluded an answer.

No!

Not just Jinling University of Chinese Medicine, Shen Congwei even feels, on a national level, it’s incredibly rare to find a twenty-something who equally masters Acupuncture, classical prescriptions, and The Book of Changes.

“With what you just said, I feel being a dean at a township Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital somewhat underutilizes his talent. Alas! I genuinely should have tied him down in the hospital back then, not letting him leave even if I had to die, clearly a potential National Master of Chinese Medicine!” Shen Congwei clenched his teeth.

What does having a National Master of Chinese Medicine at a hospital mean?

Although Jinling Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has four or five National Masters, who would ever think it’s too many?

“Hahaha, should thank you; if you hadn’t let him go, I wouldn’t have become his teacher. As for letting Lu Jiu be the dean, it’s actually my way of compensating those with family tradition medicine on behalf of the nation. Frankly, Lu Jiu’s skill must come from his family tradition, and I don’t really believe he learned these skills from university. But you know, despite having such family tradition, he still doesn’t own his clinic.”

“I had my students carefully investigate Lu Jiu’s background, and discovered his family has had quite a hardship. An ancestor of his, Lu Jingxuan, was a formidable practitioner who participated in the revolution, supplying a lot of medicine to our Red Army and saving many lives, only to be unlucky, discovered by Fusang Ghosts, losing countless medical writings and prescriptions, and dying in resistance. Many Lu Family members died or fled during that calamity.”

“Although the legacy retains something, later generations lacked talent, and after experiencing the burning and looting of medical texts, by the time of Lu Jiu’s grandfather, continuing the legacy became incredibly difficult. His grandfather was even reported for illegal practice. Were it not for his uncle joining the Health Commission, not to mention opening a clinic, even treating patients wouldn’t have been possible. So, this child manages to study Traditional Chinese Medicine to this extent relying on his family tradition, it’s undoubtedly not easy.”

“We all understand, Traditional Chinese Medicine’s preservation through history owes much to the persistent efforts of those with family traditions. If people like these don’t receive support, then our talk of developing Traditional Chinese Medicine holds no ground, wouldn’t you say?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep