The next day, everyone left the inn and came to the famous "Zhongjingtang" in Nanyang. This "Zhongjing Hall" was opened by Zhang Xihe, a descendant of Zhang Zhongjing. Zhang Xihe is the 41st generation descendant of Zhang Zhongjing. Zhang Zhongjing was a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty and lived in Nieyang County, Nanyang (now Zhangzhai Village, Dongdong Town, Dengzhou, Nanyang). and contemporaries Bian Que and Dong Feng are known as the "Three Divine Doctors of Jian'an". Because of his book "Treatise on Typhoid Fever and Miscellaneous Diseases", he was called "the saint of medicine" by later generations. Zhang Xi and the word Hanting, he inherited the ancestral business, moved the pharmacy from Dengzhou to Nanyang City, in order to commemorate the ancestor of the medical saint Zhang Zhongjing, so named "Zhongjingtang". This Zhang Xihe is a few years older than Qin Zhenxuan, with a tall body and a beard, and he looks like a bold person. Zhang Xihe and Qin Zhenxuan belong to the world, and Zhang Xihe's father Zhang Lipo and Qin Yanxuan's father Qin Lanting have a good relationship.

Zhang Xihe was very happy to see Qin Yanxuan arrive. Da Lao Yuan ran out and grabbed Qin Yanxuan's hand and said, "Oh, Brother Hengzhi, I miss my brother." I've been writing from you for a long time, why did you travel for so many days? ”

Qin Yixuan was also very happy to see Zhang Xihe, and the two of them joined hands and entered the backyard of the medicine hall. Zhang Xihe asked the guys in the store to greet everyone. Zhang Xi and the servants served tea, Qin Yixuan and Zhang Xihe returned to the topic after greetings, and Shang Zhilin and Cai Zhongshan sat on the side.

Qin Yixuan put down the tea bowl, pointed to Shang Zhilin and Cai Zhongshan and said, "Han Ting, let me introduce you to my two new friends. This young lady's name is Shang Zhilin, and this brother's name is Cai Zhongshan, both of whom are saints of the Huanghua Temple in Runan. This time, I came to Nanyang to buy a batch of medicinal materials to save the people who were plagued by the plague in Runan. The funds for the purchase of medicinal herbs were provided by Huanghua Temple, and I was deeply touched by such charitable acts. This plague is malaria, and I hope that my brother will reach out to help and borrow your old Zhang family's ancestral skills to make a prescription for the people of Runan. Shang Zhilin also stood up and said: "If Mr. Meng Zhang does not hesitate to give a prescription, the people of Runan will be very lucky, and it will not be in vain for your reputation as 'Zhongjingtang' I." I kneel down for you on behalf of the people of Runan. Cai Zhongshan also knelt down for Zhang Xihe.

Zhang Xihe hurriedly stretched out his hand to hug each other and laughed: "Get up, I, Zhang Xihe, can't afford such a big gift." Since he is a friend of my virtuous brother, he is also a friend of my Zhang Xihe. The two of them funded the purchase of medicinal materials for the people of Runan, which is rare in the world. What is my Zhang Xihe's prescription? But why do you leave the divine doctor around you and don't ask, but you are willing to seek the near and far? ”

Qin Yuxuan hurriedly said: "Brother Han Ting's words are wrong, it's okay for my Qin family's little ability to show others some minor illnesses." Compared to your 'Zhongjingtang', it's a class with an axe, and such a big plague depends on you, brother. Zhang Xihe laughed: "Hengzhi, you don't have to be humble and put gold on your brother's face." Although malaria is not a minor disease, it is still a cure for your Qin family, and your brother knows it. You can open this recipe. The two pushed each other.

In the end, Zhang Xihe couldn't argue, so he had to say: "Hengzhi, why don't you and I each open a prescription, and then we will discuss it again, and finally come up with a prescription?" ”

Qin Yixuan is actually very expert in the treatment of malaria, but this time he came to "Zhongjingtang" to see Zhang Xihe to raise his face and show his modesty. When Qin Yixuan saw Zhang Xihe say this, he was no longer polite.

So the two of them each picked up a pen, brushed a little bit on the paper, and each opened a prescription. Then put the recipes together for comparison, and after the two looked at each other's recipes, they suddenly laughed. Shang Zhilin and Cai Zhongshan didn't know what was going on, so they hurried closer to see the square, and couldn't help but be dumbfounded when they saw it. It turned out that the medicines prescribed on the two prescriptions were almost identical, except for Zhang Xihe's prescription for Korean ginseng, and Qin Yixuan for codonopsis, and there was a slight difference in the weight of individual medicinal materials. The main herbs of this prescription are Artemisia annua, Korean ginseng (or Codonopsis), ambergris, Changshan, Polygonum multiflori, arsenic, Bupleurum chinensis, skullcap, verbena and so on.

Finally, Zhang Xihe asked Qin Zhenxuan: "Brother Xian, ordinary people know that Korean ginseng is much more effective than codonopsis, but why do you open codonopsis?" ”

Qin Yuxuan said: "What my brother said is very true, everyone knows that the effectiveness of this Korean ginseng is more than ten times better than that of Codonopsis, and the effectiveness of Codonopsis is not as good as that of ginseng." But this is not to treat a person, where is there so much Korean ginseng in Nanyang? Even if there were, how many of these hundreds of thousands of silver would be enough to buy? Putting it among the tens of millions of people in Runan is tantamount to a drop in the bucket. ”

Zhang Xihe patted his head, and then laughed: "Yes, yes, I still thought that I would prescribe medicine for the landlord's old wealth." I forgot that it is a prescription for tens of millions of people, yes, it must not only be effective, but also economical, and save more money for the two. Use codonopsis instead of Korean ginseng, but not in larger quantities. ”

Qin Yanxuan said: "Han Ting, these flavored medicines in Nanyang will not be out of stock, right?" This time it's a lot. In addition to the purchase of medicinal materials in Runan this time, if we can reach an agreement on the matter of opening a branch in the capital, I will also pick up several truckloads of medicinal materials and transport them to Beijing when I leave. You must know that this Wanxi is a good medicine! ”

"Well, I already knew that. I have been preparing to open a branch in the capital for a long time, and there is no need to discuss this matter, so it is decided. The key is to see when to leave for the capital and where to drive in the capital? Zhang Xihe said.

Qin Yuxuan said: "Brother, don't worry about this matter, I have already gone to the capital, and I will open a medicine shop on Dashilan Street in the capital." There are the most pharmacies on that street, 'Tong Ren Tang' is also on that street, and 'Lao De Ji' is also there. I had already viewed the house there and paid the deposit. ”

Zhang Xihe was excited when he heard it: "Great, let's open our semicolon on Dashilan Street in the capital." Catch Ming'er also pay tribute to the emperor and the queen mother. After I left, let someone take my old man over, and with him in charge of 'Zhongjingtang', I would have no worries. ”

After the two discussed, Zhang Xihe said: "It's still early, let's go to the Guyi Street medicinal herb market and set down the medicinal materials that can be purchased first." ”

Qin Zhenxuan and Zhang Xihe took Shang Zhilin and Cai Zhongshan to the medicinal herb market on Guyi Street in Nanyang. The Guyi Street medicinal herb market is very busy, and pharmacies from all over the country come here to purchase medicinal herbs. Medicinal farmers from Hubei, Sichuan and other local areas also ship their medicinal herbs here, hoping to sell them at a good price.

Zhang Xihe led Qin Zhenxuan and others to a few medicinal herb shops, looked at the fineness of the medicinal materials, asked the price, and ordered a few medicinal materials in different medicine shops. However, I couldn't find the medicinal material "Artemisia annua" when I went around, and I turned around the shops and stalls in the entire Guyi Street medicinal material market, but I didn't find "Artemisia annua". It turns out that this "Artemisia annua" is not a precious medicinal material, and the medicinal farmers in Henan and Sichuan grow a lot of Artemisia annua, but for some reason the "Artemisia annua" medicine cannot be bought in the market. This "Artemisia annua" is indispensable for the treatment of malaria, and it is also the most effective, if there is a shortage of one or two other drugs, it can be replaced, but "Artemisia annua" has no alternative drugs.

Zhang Xihe shook his head again and again: "Strange, strange, this 'Artemisia annua' is everywhere in the market on weekdays, what's wrong with it now?" In the end, they came to a medicinal herb shop called "Dadetang", and the shopkeeper was also surnamed Zhang.

Zhang Xihe didn't go around the bend, and asked Boss Zhang directly: "I haven't gone to the market in the past few days, why is this 'Artemisia annua' out of stock?" Does Boss Zhang know what's going on? Boss Zhang said: "Oh, Brother Hanting, you don't know yet, malaria is now prevalent in Runan, and this 'Artemisia annua' is a necessary medicine." A few days ago, I had so many 'Artemisia annua' that I had piled up in the warehouse, but a few days ago, I was bought all of them at once. Not only that, but all the 'Artemisia annua' in this Guyi Street was also bought overnight, and the price was extremely low. ”

Zhang Xihe said in surprise: "It turns out that someone wants to hoard Juqi, monopolize the market, and want to use the plague in Runan to make a fortune. Does Boss Zhang know who bought all the 'Artemisia annua'? Boss Zhang looked outside the pharmacy, came back and whispered, "Who else did you say?" Not him yet? ”

"Meng San?" Zhang Xihe seemed to understand, "This guy relied on the power of his uncle Guo Yinchang, the prefect of Nanyang, to bully people in Nanyang, and to buy and sell by force. Sure enough, he monopolized 'Artemisia annua', and if someone else changed, he would sell me Zhang Xi and face. Only this Meng San and I have repeatedly fought against each other, and it is like fire and water, and it will be difficult for this batch of medicinal materials to be in his hands. ”

It turned out that Meng San's name was Meng Deqing, who was the nephew of Guo Yinchang, the prefect of Nanyang, and opened a pharmacy called "Sheng Yuantang" near Wollongong, Nanyang. This guy has no one in his eyes on weekdays, arrogant and domineering, bullying men and women, and rampant in the township. This 'Artemisia annua' was bought by him by force. Meng San's ancestral medical skills were not bad, but they couldn't be passed on to his generation. The two elder brothers were promoted by his uncle, and each of them became an official. Meng San has not studied well since he was a child, he didn't even pass the exam, and he didn't learn much about family medicine. I couldn't see others by myself, so I hired a Langzhong Zhu Ziqian, who was also a quack. Because his reputation is too bad and his medical ethics are poor, most people don't go to his "Sheng Yuantang" to see a doctor and grab medicine, so the pharmacy is full of people and the business is cold. Compared with Zhang Xihe's "Zhongjingtang", it is simply a world of difference. Because of the superb medical skills, noble medical ethics, and peaceful drug prices, and the fame of Zhang Zhongjing's 41st generation descendants spread all over the country, it was crowded every day. Of course, this made Meng San's eyes red, and he came to the door several times to find trouble, but he was resolved by Zhang Xihe's kind words. But Meng San still regarded "Zhongjingtang" as a thorn in his side, and tried his best to squeeze out Zhang Xihe, which was also the main reason why Zhang Xihe wanted to go to Beijing with Qin Yixuan to establish a branch. This time, he heard that malaria had occurred in Runan County, Xiangcheng County and other places in the east, and thought that the opportunity to make a fortune had come, so he took advantage of his uncle's relationship and prestige to buy and sell the land to buy the entire Nanyang "Artemisia annua", preparing to monopolize the "Artemisia annua", and then sell it at a high price to earn huge profits.

After Qin Zhenxuan learned about this situation, he felt that things were very tricky, so he said to Zhang Xihe: "This place is not too far from Chongqing, and it will be there through Xiangyang, Hubei. If it really doesn't work, we will go to Chongqing to buy 'Artemisia annua'. Moreover, Chongqing's 'Artemisia annua' has better medicinal efficacy than the local area, and the price is also lower. ”

Zhang Xihe shook his hand again and again when he heard this: "Hengzhi, you don't know, although the road to Chongqing is not very far, you need to cross Shennongjia." This Shennongjia Mountain is high and densely forested, infested with wild beasts, and the road is bumpy, which is really dangerous, and there is no way to go to Shennongjia. Besides, Meng San must have also gone to Chongqing to buy 'Artemisia annua', and you may not be able to buy it if you go." Even if you buy Shennongjia, you may not be able to come back safely. Take a step back and say, even if you can come back, it will be a month later, and by the time you deliver the medicine, I'm afraid most of the people in Runan will already be dead. I'll first see how much 'Artemisia annua' is still in stock in my shop, and I'll give it all to you." ”

Qin Yanxuan sighed when he heard this: "Thank you brother for your kindness, but this time the amount is very large, and it is far from enough for you alone, and you have to find a way to procure it." ”

Zhang Xihe said: "Hengzhi, in my opinion, I have to go to Meng San for this matter." You're going to go to him tonight and talk to him about the price. Although the price is certainly not low, but also to find out how much he wants? However, brother, I can't go with you, the two of us are like fire and water, and we can only mess things up if we go. Qin Yuxuan nodded.

In the morning, when he returned to Zhang Xihe's house, Zhang Xihe held a feast for Qin Yixuan and others. It was already half the afternoon after eating, everyone returned to the inn to rest, and in the evening, Qin Yixuan called Shang Zhilin and Cai Zhongshan to walk towards Wollongong.