The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 162

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 162

 

“Ah, Father said I only needed a consultation today…”

 

Im Eunyeong turned her eyes toward Im Suchul as she spoke.

 

It seemed she didn’t particularly like getting acupuncture.

 

“Eunyeong, are you not good with needles?”

 

“It’s not that I can’t handle them!”

 

I asked Im Suchul, but Im Eunyeong answered maturely.

 

“Trust me just this once. I’ll really make it painless for you.”

 

“Father always says that too… Alright.”

 

When both I and Im Suchul were firm, Im Eunyeong agreed without further protest.

 

Well, her lively personality made her seem younger, but she was past the age of throwing tantrums unreasonably.

 

“Do you use acupuncture for sweating symptoms too? Do you needle places like Lieque, or perhaps Baihui?”

 

“Yes. We needle those areas. The effects are better than you’d think.”

 

Korean medicine doctors who only use anatomical acupuncture methods wouldn’t bother with acupuncture treatment for such symptoms, but regular acupuncture can be somewhat effective with long-term treatment.

 

“I’ll needle your head and hands and feet. Let’s try just 10 needles.”

 

“Please use as many as needed. I got them daily for growing pains, and I can handle even 30 well.”

 

“Ah, Father!”

 

“Ooh, that’s impressive?”

 

And I can maximize the effect of a single needle, creating significant changes even with just one treatment.

 

“Come this way.”

 

I first inserted needles at points effective for cooling heat, like the Lieque that Im Suchul mentioned.

 

There were many points on the hands and feet corresponding to the Ying points of the Five Shu points.

 

I quickly finished the needle insertion while Im Eunyeong had her eyes tightly shut.

 

Swoosh.

 

Like drinking lukewarm water, I let gentle energy flow through.

 

The excessive heat that was overflowing and flowing out as sweat naturally receded.

 

“It doesn’t hurt, right?”

 

“Yes, it was fine. You insert them less painfully than Father does?”

 

My, how mature she is.

 

After seeing Lee Jungsub once, all young patients seemed mature to me.

 

“You didn’t say anything strange in the Acupuncture Room, did you?”

 

As I was about to return to the Examination Room after finishing treatment, Im Suchul, who was sitting in the Waiting Room, stopped me.

 

“Of course not. She took the treatment so well?”

 

“My goodness, at Home she makes a fuss over the slightest pain, but she handles it well outside.”

 

Im Suchul let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Oh, right. Since you’re here, would you like to see your daughter’s medicine being prepared?”

 

Today was a day when I was working with Hwang Sanghun, so things were quite distributed.

 

Since there were only guardians in the Waiting Room, I could spare about 10 minutes.

 

“Teacher Inae, I’m going downstairs briefly, so call me if any patients come.”

 

“Yes~.”

 

“Oh, is that alright? I wouldn’t understand much even if I looked…”

 

When I suggested a tour of the Herbal Medicine Preparation Room, Im Suchul said this while taking the lead.

 

Since Kim Chunsik and I had made such bold claims, he must be curious about what quality gypsum we use.

 

“Just take a look at how we manage things.”

 

Unless I concentrate my energy to examine properties, I don’t know much about evaluating mineral-based medicinal materials by sight, touch, or taste.

 

So there wasn’t really a way to explain, but just showing it should be quite reassuring.

 

Since An Juhui, who works alone on the 2nd Floor all day, might be surprised, I sent a message to announce our visit as I went down the Stairs.

 

[When? I’ll step away from my station]

 

[Right now~]

 

[Eek]

 

An Juhui hurriedly opened the door.

 

“Did I come too suddenly? Should I wait outside for a moment?”

 

“No, it’s part of the job. Please come in.”

 

Should I have given her more time to prepare mentally…?

 

The Herbal Medicine Preparation Room was maintained as cleanly as always.

 

“That doesn’t look like decoction preparation. Are you conducting experiments?”

 

If there was something different from usual, it would be the dozens of petri dishes placed on the laboratory table.

 

Of course, the dishes contained powders, pills, candies, and such.

 

“I’m trying to make throat lozenges. I’m attempting various approaches to balance medicinal properties with taste.”

 

“Ooh!”

 

Im Suchul was amazed.

 

Hmm, it’s just crudely testing various medicinal materials in different amounts.

 

But saying it like that makes it sound impressive, doesn’t it?

 

“It’ll take more time to find a good combination, won’t it?”

 

“Gamgil-tang seems quite good. It’s not for nothing that it’s been adapted into things like Ryukakusan.”

 

“Does it work well even when made into candy?”

 

“In my opinion, yes.”

 

An Juhui handed prototype samples to Im Suchul and me.

 

Indeed. The medicinal properties are quite substantial?

 

It might be different from what I sense through energy, but… should I try giving it to Kim Taeyun once?

 

If it had even 30% of the effectiveness compared to the Hyangseongpajeok pills tailored for him, it would be considered a success.

 

“Is all of this medicine going out?”

 

Im Suchul, who was impressed after eating the candy, pointed to the herbal medicine boxes stacked by the entrance and asked.

 

“Do you collect them for several days before sending?”

 

“Of course not. We have to send them daily. These are prescriptions from yesterday afternoon to this morning, and the delivery driver will pick them up later.”

 

Im Suchul gaped.

 

“Aren’t there still only 4 branches? You’re saying 4 clinics dispense nearly 30 prescriptions a day?”

 

“We have two vice directors here, and Branch 4 also has two directors, so there are 6 Korean medicine doctors working per day.”

 

“Still, that’s an enormous amount! And it’s not even specialized…!”

 

From what I heard from classmates working as vice directors elsewhere, it was indeed quite a lot.

 

“How do you do promotion… I saw the blog, Instagram, and YouTube, but do you also do flyers and banners?”

 

“We focus mainly on online. Many people take medicine consecutively, and they bring referrals too.”

 

“Actually, 1/3 of it is prescribed by Doctor Han.”

 

An Juhui added a comment at the end.

 

“Oh come on, it’s not always like that. Doctor Kim is amazing too…”

 

“Ah, Professor Kim is indeed amazing.”

 

“Rather than that, why don’t you watch the medicine preparation process before you go.”

 

I led Im Suchul toward where the medicinal herbs were stored.

 

“Should I prepare Baekho-tang? The decoction process isn’t anything special.”

 

At my words, An Juhui fluttered the prescription.

 

“You’re alone here making medicine and even conducting experiments?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

An Juhui nodded nonchalantly as if it was nothing.

 

When she put the prescription down on the table, Im Suchul glanced around and asked.

 

“Is it okay to show me all this?”

 

“The medication instructions that go out anyway include all the herb compositions and explanations.”

 

An Juhui put on gloves and began weighing herbs in a bowl.

 

As she said, there was nothing particularly special about the decoction process. After putting all the weighed herbs into a non-woven bag for medicine and running the decoction machine, it was done.

 

Baekho-tang-gagam had few herbs, so if done alone, it wouldn’t have taken even 5 minutes.

 

“Ah, this is that famous gypsum?”

 

But at Im Suchul’s seemingly polite comment.

 

“That’s right. Isn’t it so lustrous?”

 

An Juhui’s face lit up.

 

“I fell in love at first sight! The color itself is extraordinary!”

 

“…Is that so? I’m sorry, I don’t know how to judge properly…”

 

“Honestly, I can’t tell much just by looking either.”

 

“Touch the granules! There’s a tingling, cool sensation that travels up through your fingertips!”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

“After Teacher Juhui changed the supplier here, the directors at other branches praised it too.”

 

I tried to explain the advantages in terms of effectiveness, but.

 

“The way it crumbles when you roll it between your fingers is extraordinary, isn’t it?”

 

An Juhui continued chattering about things that were hard to understand.

 

Usually I didn’t mind much since she enjoyed it alone, but with a guest nearby, I felt somewhat embarrassed.

 

“So that’s how you judge quality. That’s impressive.”

 

Im Suchul answered like the polite professional he was, but I slightly regretted bringing him along.

 

“Smell this licorice fragrance too. I can say with certainty that licorice has the most perfect fragrance in the world.”

 

“I see!”

 

After putting all the Baekho-tang into the machine, we looked at several other herbs as well.

 

“Thank you so much for giving me this tour. This is my first time visiting an external decoction room, and it was very impressive.”

 

Soon I had to go see patients, so we finished our brief tour and went upstairs.

 

Was that sincere rather than just polite words?

 

Im Suchul muttered with a slightly entranced expression.

 

A little later.

 

I was coming out after seeing a patient who had arrived in the meantime.

 

“Doctor, Im Eunyeong’s guardian would like to see you again briefly. Would that be alright?”

 

Im Suchul requested another meeting with me.

 

“Please come to the examination room. Do you have any other questions?”

 

“Yes. This might be an impertinent question, but… may I ask about the dispensing fees and the clinic supply prices for individual herbs?”

 

It would have been rude if I had asked so bluntly.

 

It would have been like asking about the cost compared to what patients pay.

 

However, since Im Suchul’s intention to receive supply from our external herbal pharmacy was clear, I showed him the price list without hesitation.

 

“Please wait a moment. I have something prepared.”

 

An Juhui had organized the amounts purchased from pharmaceutical companies in an Excel file with supply prices for inside and outside the network.

 

I printed a price list based on the prices we supply to those outside the network.

 

“…There’s quite a difference from where I’m currently using.”

 

“The cost is also on the expensive side, and except for some products, I don’t have plans to expand much outside the network.”

 

While I had mass production in mind for things like candy, I currently had no plans to expand decoction services that make medicine by order to external clients.

 

I had only set the prices; this was the first inquiry I’d received.

 

“What about the internal prices?”

 

“That’s a secret.”

 

“Ah, is it because it’s Busan that it won’t work?”

 

Disappointment was clearly visible on Im Suchul’s face.

 

Oh, he even had intentions of joining the network?

 

I hadn’t expected that since I heard his practice was already doing well after opening.

 

“Gijang is quite far from here and the commercial district is different… Is there a distance requirement from existing branches?”

 

Im Suchul asked directly.

 

“No. There’s no set distance in kilometers. It’s fine as long as none of the existing clinic directors object.”

 

I had answered it was a secret thinking he was just asking out of curiosity, but who knew he’d be this seriously interested.

 

I pondered very briefly before answering.

 

“I don’t mind. But are you really considering joining the network?”

 

Excluding me, the closest branch is Daegu, and there’s no reason they’d object.

 

As for me… well, I wouldn’t lose patients just because one more branch is added in Gijang.

 

It would actually be better if patients coming through SNS promotion were somewhat distributed.

 

“I apologize for asking as if testing the waters. It was just a thought that occurred to me after seeing the decoction room earlier, so it’s not clear yet. I’ll review it from various angles and get back to you.”

 

Im Suchul apologized politely.

 

“Not at all. You can ask about the criteria anytime!”

 

I waved my hand dismissively.

 

I hadn’t shown him the decoction room specifically to recruit him, but who knew it would make him consider joining the network?

 

* * *

 

Im Suchul had never considered belonging to a network when he first opened his practice.

 

After working as a vice director at a specialized network, he even thought his colleague who opened within the same network was somewhat foolish.

 

Why would anyone do that when they had to spend several million won monthly on advertising costs and pay a significant portion of their revenue?

 

Of course, his mentor Kim Chunsik had also joined a network, but he thought that was because he had been a professor his whole life and lacked confidence in business.

 

But after actually meeting the CEO of Seongsuhaneui Clinic and touring the decoction room, he was genuinely impressed.

 

They were truly serious about medicinal herbs as they claimed, and the medication instructions on the delivered packages were different from the copy-and-paste ones Im Suchul had been sending.

 

He could genuinely feel that they had paid very careful attention to detail.

 

‘Five prescriptions of medicine per day…’

 

And the quantity was substantial too.

 

Even aside from money, Im Suchul had the desire to prescribe and treat as much as he had studied.

 

Several patients came to mind.

 

He hadn’t recommended medication because he wasn’t 100% confident, but wouldn’t they have gotten better if he had told them to take medicine?

 

CEO Hanyewon aside, if other branches also prescribed that much medicine, wouldn’t there be something special about the network itself?

 

Perhaps he too could have several medication consultations per day.

 

‘If that were possible, paying a few percent of revenue wouldn’t be a loss.’

 

Im Suchul agonized.

 

“Dad, don’t I look a bit paler?”

 

And seeing his daughter’s face, emotion moved before reason.

 

He had been observing day by day, but now her complexion had noticeably changed, and her sweating had greatly decreased.

 

Her pulse had also stabilized in speed.

 

His prescription hadn’t been wrong, but until now he hadn’t known whether it was right or wrong.

 

And CEO Hanyewon had made an answer that could have been wrong into the right one.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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