Chapter 449 — Planning the Company

"So that's how it is!" Wei Zhao nodded in sudden understanding. "But Uncle Guan seems to be doing rather well for himself these days? He's not leaning on the family anymore?"

"Since that time, he hasn't leaned on me for anything," Guan Xuemin shook his head with a bitter smile. "But Xiao Xiang was lucky—he found himself an even more formidable backer, and now he's riding high. Whenever he has a free moment, he wants to prove to me that he can succeed without me."

"Heh, I never imagined Uncle Guan had this side to him." Wei Zhao laughed when he heard it. "He must know that you meant well for him back then; it's just that the knot in his heart hasn't come undone yet."

"Of course he knows. He simply can't let go of it." Guan Xuemin said, "Well, never mind him. After all these years, I've grown used to it. He may look like he still holds a grudge, but in his heart he's still good to me."

"I don't even know who my parents are... heh..." Wei Zhao was a little melancholy. Though he had only come to understand what parents meant after growing up, he still harbored some resentment over having been abandoned by them. Fortunately, he had two masters who doted on him, and they had made up for the parental love he had lacked as a child.

Guan Xuemin was slightly taken aback. He had made many guesses about Wei Zhao's origins, and had even thought that Wei Zhao might be a descendant of the benefactor who had once guided him—this was one of the reasons he trusted Wei Zhao unconditionally. But he had never dared to ask.

For one thing, Wei Zhao never mentioned his origins, so it would have been awkward to ask outright; for another, he feared it was a secret Wei Zhao was not permitted to tell, and asking would only create embarrassment.

"You... you don't know who your parents are?" Guan Xuemin looked at Wei Zhao in astonishment.

"Heh, I only have two masters. But they've both treated me well, treating me like their own son... they're just a bit strict, though I know it's for my own good." Wei Zhao never deliberately concealed his origins; there was nothing to conceal.

"It's good that you have that attitude. But anyone who treats you well, whether or not they're your birth parents, you'll treat them as family, won't you?" Guan Xuemin laughed. "'Shifu, shifu'—it means the master is as a father!"

"Yes, exactly. So my childhood wasn't lacking in love, and I'm psychologically quite normal." Wei Zhao nodded very seriously.

"Was your medical skill taught to you by your master?" Guan Xuemin hesitated a moment, then asked.

"Mm. One master taught me martial arts, one master taught me medicine, and there's a wicked uncle-master who taught me to steal and to gamble..." Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile.

"I see..." Guan Xuemin felt a bit of a headache over Wei Zhao's complicated master-disciple relationships. "Your medical skill is already so remarkable—then your master..."

"Heh, Grandpa Guan, that I can't say. Both my old man at home and my martial arts master have somewhat special identities, and until I have their permission, I'm afraid I can only keep it secret." Wei Zhao had no wish to hide anything from Guan Xuemin, but matters of his sect were not something he could reveal without his masters' consent.

Even people as close to him as Yang Huaijun knew nothing of these things.

"That's all right, I was only asking casually." Guan Xuemin felt a faint disappointment, but he didn't blame Wei Zhao—after all, Wei Zhao had done nothing wrong. "Let's talk about the company. The finished medicines that could be launched first—one is a painkiller, one is a trauma medicine. As for other types, without formulas, I can't make the decision..."

"Heh, I do have formulas for a few other types, but I don't know which ones would sell well." Wei Zhao knew nothing about business.

"Well... as long as it works, it'll sell." Guan Xuemin said, "Take the common cold medicine, for instance. If you could formulate a Chinese patent medicine with few side effects, it would sell just as well! But there are already established formulas and long-standing pharmaceutical companies for those. It wouldn't mean much for us to enter and fight for market share."

"The formulas for cold medicines are indeed fixed. Even if I improved them, there wouldn't be much of a gain. The best approach is to supplement with acupuncture or cupping, but that's impossible for medicine sales unless it's a clinic. You can't very well sell cold medicine and throw in silver needles and cupping jars, can you?" Wei Zhao nodded and laughed.

"Actually, I'm no expert in business either; I'm just offering my personal opinion," Guan Xuemin said. "You should still hire a management expert to run the company."

"That's true, but a professional manager isn't someone you can find just by wanting one." Wei Zhao knew Guan Xuemin was right. "First, whether the person can be trusted; second, whether he truly has the ability... After all, whether the pharmaceutical company can make a splash on its first try depends entirely on this professional manager's ability."

"On that point, I think you should ask Mr. Lai from just now. He's been in the business world so long, he should be more experienced. It shouldn't be hard to ask him to find a professional manager!" Guan Xuemin said. "At least it'll be easier than us finding one ourselves."

"You're right..." Wei Zhao nodded.

Fatty Lai had probably been gone about half an hour when he came rushing back in a fluster, several bags of Chinese herbal medicine in his hands, and burst into Guan Xuemin's study: "Divine Doctor Lin, I've bought them, I've bought them all!"

With that, Fatty Lai set the bags down on the tea table in front of Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao looked at the pile of bags before him with some puzzlement. Why so many? Even if a catty of each herb he had written down had been bought, there shouldn't be this much!

Wei Zhao opened one bag and checked the amount of herbs inside. They were all portioned out at five taels each according to the prescription he had written. He couldn't help but find it strange: "Isn't this enough? What's in the other bags?"

"The other bags are the same, just bought from different stores!" Fatty Lai said, panting. "There are so many swindlers these days. I was afraid I'd get fake medicine from one shop, so I figured I'd buy from a few more and see—there's bound to be real stuff in there somewhere, right?"

"..." Wei Zhao was momentarily speechless at Fatty Lai's words. These herbs weren't cheap, yet Fatty Lai was willing to spend so freely! But then he thought: to curry favor with him, the man had given away a whole building for free; a little money on herbs was nothing.