Chapter 930 - 896: I’ll Host

Xu Chunliang told her this was all his grandpa’s idea. Once his grandpa was back in Dongzhou, he would call Elder Ye to explain the situation. The Ye Family’s hospitality during this period had really moved his grandpa; he was worried that if Elder Ye tried to keep him, he himself wouldn’t have the heart to leave, so whatever needed to be said, he’d let the two old brothers talk it out themselves.

Ye Qingya said she understood after listening. Xu Chunliang didn’t hide anything from her and told her he had just come back from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Administration.

As soon as Ye Qingya heard that, she knew he’d gone to see her mother. She lowered her voice and said, "You don’t need to tell me about work matters. I came to you for another reason—if you have time in the next couple of days, come with me to Du Yun Temple. I’d like to consult Master Tonghui about some calligraphy questions."

Xu Chunliang said he had absolutely no problem with that and tentatively set it for the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow he had to go to Shuimu for the intensive classes; skipping the very first day would not look good.

Around noon, Vice Dean Pan Junfeng contacted Xu Chunliang and invited him to dinner that evening. Xu asked who else would be there. Pan said he’d asked an old classmate along so they could have a small gathering to catch up; Pan was planning to pay out of his own pocket, so he hadn’t invited other colleagues from the Infectious Disease Hospital.

Xu Chunliang suggested that he should be the host instead, and asked Pan Junfeng to come over to the Star Hotel and bring his friend along. He would also call a few friends from the medical and pharmaceutical system.

Xu Chunliang tried to reach Fu Guomin, but Fu politely declined. It wasn’t that he was refusing Xu Chunliang’s invitation—he was just particularly nervous about running into fellow Dongzhou natives right now. He was busy preparing for the barbecue restaurant; once the paperwork was done and the place officially opened, he would host everyone.

Knowing what Fu had been going through lately, Xu Chunliang didn’t push him. Thinking it over, he realized he didn’t actually know that many people in the Capital City’s health system. One of them was Hu Yuchun, director of radiation oncology at the Capital Tumor Research Institute—someone Fu had introduced him to. Hu and Xu had already had drinks together several times; Hu was very straightforward by nature.

Another was the current head of Huiren Hall, Huang Gongxian. Xu Chunliang wanted to consult him about some issues in the traditional Chinese medicine industry.

Xu Chunliang also called his classmate Chen Qianfan. Chen’s schedule in the Capital City basically matched his; Chen never missed a session of the intensive course. Chen’s reason for attending Europe Business School was different from Xu’s.

Xu Chunliang was there to earn a degree; Chen Qianfan was there to build a network.

Before the guests had even arrived, Xu Chunliang received a summons from the Jizhou Taibai District Intermediate Court, requiring him to appear and respond to the lawsuit within the specified time.

Xu Chunliang cursed those bastards under his breath for being so blind. This time he was determined to resolve once and for all the question of ownership of the Renhe Hall brand.

The first to arrive was Hu Yuchun. Their institute was nearby. Hu was now well established and his regular workload wasn’t heavy. His biggest hobbies were drinking and playing cards, and he was naturally keen on social connections.

Xu Chunliang greeted him warmly and led him into the private room.

Hu Yuchun asked, "Is Old Fu coming later or not?"

Xu Chunliang shook his head and told him that Fu Guomin wanted to keep a low profile for a while, take some time to settle himself, get his thoughts straight before moving forward again.

Hu Yuchun sighed. "A disaster out of nowhere, it really was a disaster out of nowhere. I’ve been wanting to find a chance to talk some sense into him, but he just won’t pick up my calls."

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "Time can heal everything."

Hu Yuchun burst out laughing. "Exactly—there’s no hurdle you can’t get over."

Xu Chunliang briefly told Hu Yuchun about their plan to build a new hospital. The reason he’d asked Hu over was to see if, through Hu’s connections, they could establish cooperation with the Capital Tumor Research Institute. After all, hanging a few more plaques never hurts, and it’s more convincing for patients.

Before Xu Chunliang could even make the request, Hu Yuchun took the initiative. "I can help with that. We’re the national authority on tumors. I can help your hospital establish a technical cooperation relationship with our institute. Simply put, we can organize well-known domestic experts to regularly go to your hospital to treat patients, and roll out new models like joint tumor consultations and tumor specialist clinics. If conditions permit, we can even hang a plaque at your new hospital: Capital Tumor Research Institute Dongzhou Diagnosis and Treatment Center."

Xu Chunliang smiled. "Director Hu, that’s your promise, then."

Hu Yuchun said, "I haven’t even had a drink yet—I’m not talking drunk. We hit it off as brothers, and this is well within my capability. I’ll take care of it."

At this moment, Pan Junfeng arrived together with his old classmate, Yuan Musheng, a brain specialist from the Capital Medical University Affiliated Hospital. Yuan Musheng knew Hu Yuchun; there’s a Dongzhou Fellow Townsmen Association in Capital City, and the two of them are not only from the same hometown but also in the same profession, they’d already been very familiar with each other back when they were in grad school.

Hu Yuchun laughed and said, "Old Yuan, you come here to drink without even giving me a shout."

Yuan Musheng chuckled, "You’re just trying to grab the moral high ground first. Same old rule, cards first, food later."

Xu Chunliang wasn’t very interested in playing cards, and just then Chen Qianfan arrived. That guy immediately sat in as a card partner; Chen Qianfan’s main mission tonight was to show up and support Xu Chunliang.

Xu Chunliang arranged for a waiter to boil water and make tea, taking care of the logistics.

The last one to arrive was Huang Gongxian. Huang had only just come out of the storm at Huiren Hall not long ago, thanks largely to Xu Chunliang’s righteous help. Since Xu Chunliang had invited him for drinks this time, he’d specially brought a case of Wuliangye.

Seeing the friends Xu Chunliang had invited tonight, Pan Junfeng couldn’t help feeling a bit awed. The kid might be young, but in terms of connections he himself couldn’t even see the back of his shadow. They hadn’t even started eating yet, and Hu Yuchun had already decided to help their hospital lock in a partnership with the Capital Tumor Research Institute. Mulan Group, Equatorial Capital—each of these big names was something that, in the past, Pan Junfeng wouldn’t even have dared to dream of being associated with. And now Xu Chunliang had somehow managed to get involved with them one by one.

The younger generation is truly formidable; the future looks promising.

While the four of them were playing cards, Xu Chunliang sat with Huang Gongxian drinking tea, taking the opportunity to ask about things in the industry. Huang told him not to underestimate nationally key-protected traditional Chinese medicine brands. These days the state is paying more and more attention to the protection of TCM, and the categories are getting more and more refined. There are protections aimed at national brands, like Tongrentang, Jiuzhitang, Qingyu Hall and the like; and protections aimed at specific TCM products, like An Gong Niu Huang Pill, Pianzihuang, Hundred Treasures Pill—these have already been labeled "national treasure–class" Chinese medicines and enjoy top-secret–level protection. That means their formulas will never be disclosed to the public, which is also what gives them the highest brand value.

Once you get certified by the state, it means your brand value shoots up overnight.

Huiren Hall, which Huang Gongxian runs, successfully made it into the second batch of key-protected brands. He told Xu Chunliang that he should still fight to get in as early as possible, because there are quite a few preferential policies from the state that come with it.

Both Hu Yuchun and Yuan Musheng are serious card addicts; they played two rounds before eating. When they finally started, it was already seven in the evening.

As usual, Chen Qianfan had brought alcohol, but today he’d brought Moutai, mainly because one of Xu Chunliang’s leaders from his workplace was present and he wanted to help him save face. In fact, the hotel had already prepared liquor as well—also Moutai—plus red wine and beer for the guests to choose from.

While they’d been playing cards just now, Chen Qianfan had already been paying attention to the Infectious Disease Hospital’s plan to build a new hospital. After a few drinks, Chen took the initiative and said, "Our Qianfan Group has quite a bit of money sitting on the books recently and we haven’t found anything suitable to put it into. We were almost going to just buy some financial products. Dean Pan, Chunliang is my old classmate and my good brother. If your hospital’s construction needs funding, I can lend a hand. I won’t brag too much, but one or two hundred million, I can put that up."

What Chen said was, to a large extent, just to lift Xu Chunliang up. Of course, he’d still have to do due diligence before investing. If the project turned out to be good, he would definitely put money in. Even if it wasn’t that great, bragging a little tonight to support Xu Chunliang wouldn’t have any fallout.

Pan Junfeng knew this wasn’t just drunken talk. Qianfan Group is a listed company, and in the middle-aged and elderly health-wine market, Five-Whip Rejuvenating Wine practically holds the same position that Moutai does in the sauce-aroma category. Pan was very pleased in his heart, but with Xu Chunliang sitting right there, he couldn’t really make a statement. He smiled and said, "All investment matters are handled entirely by Chunliang. The specific investment and construction of our new hospital are all under his management. As long as he nods, there will absolutely be no problem on my side."

Xu Chunliang grinned and said, "With that from Dean Pan, I can finally roll up my sleeves and really get going. Old Chen, if you want to invest, then don’t be stingy. Our hospital may not be that big right now, but frankly, one or two hundred million is something we really can’t be bothered with. To be honest, Equatorial Capital is getting ready to be the lead investor, and Mulan Group has also shown interest in coming in. They’ll be putting in at least one billion each. Brother Chen, if you’re thinking less than five hundred million, then don’t even start. Otherwise people will say I’m using public power for private gain."

Yuan Musheng laughed, "Xiaoxu, the way you put it even has me tempted. How much total investment are you planning for Phase II of the new hospital?" Although he was speaking to Xu Chunliang, he glanced at Pan Junfeng first. It was his first time meeting Xu, so he didn’t know him well. One or two hundred million is no small sum for a hospital investment; how come Xu wasn’t even interested? Could this Chen Qianfan be someone he’d invited just to play the shill and help him talk big?

The hospital’s leadership team was hoping for fifteen hundred million in investment, and that was already the bottom line. With such a big piece of land, you really couldn’t build anything decent for less than that. But the investors still hadn’t signed the formal contracts, so how much could ultimately be locked in was hard to say. That made it awkward for Pan to give a definite answer. Xu’s abilities were strong, sure, but Pan had no way of knowing just how much capital he could finally bring in.

Xu Chunliang said, "For now we’re setting it at three billion. If we’re going to build, then we’re building a top-tier hospital in the country."

Hu Yuchun said, "Three billion? With that, the conditions would count as top-tier even by international standards."

Huang Gongxian said, "That should be enough to open a general hospital. But hospital investment is getting bigger and bigger these days. To some extent, how advanced your diagnostic equipment is determines the level of your medical diagnosis." He was talking about Western medicine; on the surface it sounded like praise, but deep down he didn’t approve of this excessive reliance on auxiliary testing in Western medicine.

Xu Chunliang said, "That’s just the first phase. Once the hospital is built, it definitely won’t stop at that figure." The reason he dared say that was because he’d already discussed it with Mo Han—Equatorial Capital is not short of money.

At this point, Pan Junfeng didn’t even dare to cut in. This little brother seemed like he ought to tone it down a bit. After all, everyone at the table tonight was an industry elite, each one sharper than the next. What was real and what was bluff, they could tell just by listening.