Chapter 647: Laying the Foundations

As expected, Li Chunqiu's lobbying efforts convinced many veteran TCM practitioners to contribute to the inheritance of TCM.

Although people from all walks of life tend to be narrow-minded and reluctant to share their knowledge, these elderly TCM practitioners were all broad-minded and dedicated to saving lives.

The news that tycoon Xia Yu intended to fund the establishment of a Chinese medicine school and hospital quickly spread in the circle. In the end, Li Chunqiu had not even said anything when he visited, and the person being visited had already agreed.

Things went extremely smoothly, and Xia Yu's confidence increased greatly. He immediately communicated with the Hong Kong government and easily obtained permission to establish a Chinese medicine school and hospital.

Xia Yu was willing to personally fund such a good thing for the benefit of the people, alleviating the pressure on education and healthcare. Unless MacLehose was stupid, he would not disagree.

After obtaining the approval, Xia Yu asked his master Li Chunqiu to gather all the old Chinese medicine practitioners who were willing to join, and personally participated in the discussions on the construction of the Chinese medicine school and the Chunqiu Hospital.

Unsurprisingly, after the organisation was established, Xia Yu, as the leader and investor, became the honorary president and chairman of the board of directors of the Xiangjiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as the chairman of the board of directors of the Chunqiu Hospital.

The presidency of the Xiangjiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine fell to a highly respected elderly man.

The presidency of the Chunqiu Hospital fell to Li Chunqiu, and a large group of grey-haired elderly men had no objections at all.

After all, Li Chunqiu was a highly skilled doctor and also the master of Xia Yu. There was no doubt that he deserved to be the dean, both in terms of ability and reputation.

After the upper-level organisation was set up, the group quickly got to work. Xia Yu also asked Jiuding Real Estate Group to get involved and find suitable places to build the TCM college and Chunqiu Hospital.

The upper-level strategy was progressing smoothly, and Xia Yu's Chinese medicine company naturally did not fall behind.

He went directly to the president of the Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong branch, Wang, and told him of his idea to find suitable places on the mainland to grow traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.

Faced with Xia Yu's investment intentions, Wang readily agreed and reported to the higher-ups immediately after Xia Yu left, causing them to pay great attention. After all, Xia Yu's investment intentions, judging from their nature, would benefit the country and the people for at least several decades. For the mainland, which is in dire need of foreign exchange, this is a piece of fat that they cannot refuse.

Not to mention Xia Yu's status, which ensured that his request would definitely be met.

After Wang Ping informed him that the mainland had already sent someone to Qianzhou and Guizhou to help Xia Yu find a suitable base for growing medicinal herbs, Xia Yu was very happy.

However, there was still one crucial step needed to get Taiji Pharmaceutical on the right track, and that was to find a qualified helmsman.

This helmsman must not only understand business management, but also have a certain understanding of traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. These two conditions have eliminated almost all talent, and Korn/Ferry International was unable to find suitable talent in a short period of time.

Just when Xia Yu was a little distressed, Li Chunqiu called and asked him to come over.

Master Li Chunqiu's only apprentice in medicine, Wang Haoyun, had returned to Hong Kong!

Arriving at the Chunqiu Medical Hall, Xia Yu saw an elegant middle-aged man in his thirties or forties chatting with Li Chunqiu.

'Master!'

After greeting Li Chunqiu, Xia Yu looked at the elegant middle-aged man and said with a smile, 'This must be Brother Wang, right? I'm Xia Yu!'

'Yes, I'm Wang Haoyun. How are you, junior?'

The elegant middle-aged man Wang Haoyun smiled and shook Xia Yu's hand.

He had been in the United States for the past two years and had had relatively little contact with Hong Kong, so he didn't know Xia Yu's identity. Li Chunqiu had also not told him yet, so he was able to call Xia Yu "junior" without any qualms.

As for Wang Haoyun, Xia Yu didn't know much about him either, because Li Chunqiu rarely mentioned him.

The only few times he mentioned him, Xia Yu only learned that Li Chunqiu had a disciple before him, who was very talented and inherited his medical skills. Because he wanted to keep traditional Chinese medicine up to date, he went to the United States to study Western medicine as well. He used to come back often a few years ago, but in the past two years, due to his busy schedule, he hasn't returned to Hong Kong.

'Yu, I asked Haoyun to come back because his work there has come to an end,'

'Yu, don't let your senior's age fool you, he is well-versed in both Chinese and Western medicine, and among his peers in Hong Kong, there is hardly a more outstanding doctor than him,'

Li Chunqiu said to Xia Yu.

Wang Haoyun quickly and humbly said, 'Master, you are too kind, I am not that outstanding,'

'You don't need to be so humble in front of your family, you are good at everything, except that you are a bit soft-hearted,'

Li Chunqiu's straightforward words made Wang Haoyun involuntarily smile wryly.

'Haoyun, the main reason I asked you to come back this time is for your junior brother. Your junior brother's plans are very ambitious, and I am also involved in them, which will have a profound impact, but we are short of manpower.'

Upon hearing this, Wang Haoyun looked at Xia Yu, who responded with a smile.

'You haven't been in Xiangjiang for the past two years, so you don't know the situation of Ah Yu. He is Xiangjiang's premier Chinese tycoon, with assets of over ten billion.'

Li Chunqiu's words left Wang Haoyun dumbfounded. He couldn't believe it and looked at Xia Yu again, blinking his eyes in disbelief, unable to believe that this young junior was a billionaire.

'Master, are you serious?'

Wang Haoyun swallowed, asking again.

Li Chunqiu smiled and stroked his beard, saying to Wang Haoyun, 'Isn't your junior here? You'll know if you ask him. You should know about the Jardine Matheson Group. Most of its assets have been acquired by your junior, including the Hongkong Land Group.'

Xia Yu smiled, not being humble, and said indifferently, 'What Master said is more or less correct, there are still tens of billions of assets.'

Once again receiving confirmation, Wang Haoyun was silent for a moment. This was too much of a shock for him. He didn't expect that after only two years of not being back, his master had already taken on another disciple, and that disciple was also a tycoon worth tens of billions of dollars, which was equivalent to more than 2 billion US dollars. If placed in the United States, he would definitely be able to make it onto the Forbes list of tycoons. This was too dreamlike!

The private hospital where he now works is owned by a medical tycoon, but as far as he knows, the assets are only about 300 million US dollars, which is nothing compared to Xia Yu.

Thinking about Xia Yu's identity, Wang Haoyun was at a loss for words, and felt that it was inappropriate to call Xia Yu 'younger brother'.

Xia Yu saw through this and said with a smile, 'Don't think so much, older brother. No matter how much money I have, I'm still my master's disciple.'

Li Chunqiu also laughed and said, 'That's right, Haoyun, don't feel burdened. We're all brothers.'

In order to prevent Wang Haoyun from getting caught up in his own thoughts, Li Chunqiu simply asked Xia Yu to explain his plan.

'Yu, why don't you tell Haoyun your plan first?'

'Okay!'

'Senior...'

As Xia Yu spoke, Wang Haoyun's attention was diverted, but after listening, he was still shocked by Xia Yu's generosity.

Xia Yu was single-handedly promoting the inheritance and modernization of traditional Chinese medicine, and the impact would definitely be profound.

Although he is also proficient in both Chinese and Western medicine, and in his spare time in the United States he also researches the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine, his achievements are insignificant compared to Xia Yu's plan.

Fortunately, he knows the power of capital and does not belittle himself.

'Hao Yun, your roots are ultimately in Hong Kong, and your research in the United States is also under the roof of others, which is very restrictive. It happens that your junior brother has such a huge plan, and with your junior brother's financial support, it should be better than staying in the United States,'

Li Chunqiu said slowly.

Xia Yu also quickly said, 'Brother, my Taiji Pharmaceutical Company is determined to combine Western medical methods to keep traditional Chinese medicine up to date, and you happen to be an expert in this field, so I would like to ask you to be the general manager of Taiji Pharmaceutical.'

His master's persuasion, coupled with Xia Yu's direct offer of the position of general manager of a company, really shook Wang Haoyun's mind.

Fortunately, he likes doing research, and in the United States, he was subject to various constraints such as funding. Now, if he joins Xia Yu's company, he definitely won't have to worry about research funding, which is extremely attractive for a researcher.

On the contrary, Xia Yu's position as general manager, although attractive, was not what he wanted.

Wang Haoyun thought about it and decisively decided to come back and help Xia Yu. He looked at Xia Yu with a serious face and said, 'My junior, I will help you, but I prefer scientific research. I don't have the ability or energy to be the general manager. You should find someone else for the position of general manager.'

Wang Haoyun's deferral made Xia Yu look up to him even more. He said happily, 'Okay then, senior brother, you will be in charge of the research and development of all the medicines at Taiji Pharmaceutical.'

With Wang Haoyun, an elite who is proficient in both Chinese and Western medicine and who is also just engaged in research on modernising traditional Chinese medicine, Xia Yu felt at ease about the research department at Taiji Pharmaceutical and his worries were relieved.

Once Wang Haoyun had joined, Xia Yu only needed to find a management talent to run the company, which was much less difficult.

Although Wang Haoyun appeared to be refined and gentle, once he had made a decision, he acted with great determination. He flew back to the United States the next day to prepare for the move.

Meanwhile, Xia Yu once again commissioned Korn/Ferry International to recruit an executive with management experience in pharmaceutical companies, as well as talent with experience in pharmaceutical retail.

Five days later, Zhang Gufeng, recruited from a pharmaceutical company in Southeast Asia, took up the position of general manager of Taiji Pharmaceutical, in charge of the commercial and personnel departments.

Wang Haoyun, who had returned, became deputy general manager, directly in charge of the research department, and was responsible for building a pharmaceutical research centre from scratch.

Wang Bowen, who had served as a senior executive in the Chinese herbal medicine market in Xiangjiang, was poached to become deputy general manager of Taiji Pharmaceutical and general manager of the subsidiary Yangshengtang, where he was responsible for building Yangshengtang from scratch.

In this way, the foundations of Taiji Pharmaceutical were formally laid.