The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 224

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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 224

Compounding and manufacturing are strictly different.

Compounded medicines are customized medications prepared by pharmacists or traditional medicine pharmacists according to prescriptions from doctors or Korean medicine doctors, where dosage, form, and ingredients can vary for each patient, while manufactured medicines are drugs mass-produced by pharmaceutical companies.

External herbal pharmacies also, in principle, only make medicines as orders come in.

Of course, taking one or two extra ointments for family use is common enough that it can be overlooked, but making a thousand in advance and then exporting them without proper procedures?

Problems would arise one way or another.

So I conveyed a clear meaning of refusal.

“■■… ■■■■■….”

“■■■. ■■■■. ■■■■■.”

Faisal held his chin with one hand and seriously discussed something with his secretaries.

What are they talking about?

What more is there to say besides ‘Oh, I see. That’s unfortunate.’?

I poked the interpreter who had been relaying conversations to me so far.

The interpreter asked Faisal for permission before conveying the message to me.

“He says he’ll list up pharmaceutical companies worth participating by tomorrow, and complete meetings and contracts while he’s in South Korea.”

“What? No, wait. Wait a minute.”

I meant it can’t be done, not that he should bring pharmaceutical companies!

I hurriedly stopped them.

As I told Park Seon-yun who proposed business before, even though the formulation has changed, it’s still traditional medicine in the end.

It’s not a problem that can be solved by distributing it recklessly without medication guidance from Korean medicine doctors or traditional medicine pharmacists. Don’t the pharmacists in that country know nothing about traditional medicine?

“That’s not what I meant!”

I earnestly explained the situation.

“OK. I understand.”

Faisal smiled broadly, saying he understood everything.

…Huh? Did he really understand?

Usually when rejected, people show disappointment, but Faisal was triumphant as if he had closed a perfect deal.

He looked into my eyes and grasped my right hand with both hands.

“■■■■, ■■■. ■■■■, ■■■■■■?”

“What?”

What is he saying?

I really couldn’t understand at all, but somehow got goosebumps and stepped back.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

The reporters who had followed from Saudi Arabia all pressed their camera shutters at once.

“What, what is it?”

Don’t just understand among yourselves, let’s all know together!

Fortunately, the questions of myself and all the Koreans present were soon resolved.

“He says His Highness the Prince can solve all minor problems. He asked if you could become his personal physician.”

And I had to tear at my hair again.

He didn’t understand at all! How does that lead to that? What did he understand?

When I glared at the interpreter, he calmly conveyed Faisal’s words.

“He says if he invests a lot of money in pharmaceutical companies in each country for production, distribution, legal and other system aspects, they will find ways.”

“….”

“He also understood the point about needing Korean medicine doctors and traditional medicine pharmacist specialists, and said he’d prefer if the Clinic Director could come directly if possible.”

What, he did understand correctly.

Following that, conditions including an annual salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars plus housing, car, etc. came up.

He said he wanted to share the light he saw today with his people, so he was making this difficult request.

“Light….”

“Yes. That’s what he said.”

“Hmm.”

I pretended to consider for a moment.

The expression was excessive, but actually this was quite a familiar request.

In the martial arts world too, after treating a wealthy person once, being asked to become their personal physician was an annual event that never failed to happen.

“I’m grateful for the generous offer, but that would be difficult. I like meeting patients at the clinic.”

The answer was always refusal.

Taking care of just one person or one family would be easier work, but I preferred treating many patients.

It’s not that I held some utilitarian sense of duty to treat the maximum number of patients, but I enjoyed interacting with various people. It was also rewarding to treat unusual difficult patients.

That’s why when I stayed with the Sichuan Dang Family, I actively argued to open the Medical Institute even to common people.

“Ah, of course there would be many good opportunities at the Royal Hospital too, but I like it here.”

The proposed salary was really, really really really really a lot.

It’s not that I dislike money.

Having it is better than not having it, having more is better than having less…!

But I had already experienced that accumulating money beyond a certain amount doesn’t really have much use.

“■■■. ■■■■■. ■■.”

Only then did disappointment spread across Faisal’s face.

“Then it can’t be helped. He says he’ll respect your wishes.”

On one hand, he seemed to have somewhat expected the refusal.

Has this prince done a lot of this kind of scouting?

Like when he eats delicious food, does he immediately request to bring the chef to his palace?

“Weren’t there any other Korean medicine doctors in Saudi Arabia?”

I asked Ahmed.

Come to think of it, didn’t he say he would look into it last time?

“There were a few Chinese medicine doctors, but my acquaintances didn’t see as dramatic effects as I did. Some are reasonably satisfied and receiving treatment though.”

“Ah….”

“Ahem, His Royal Highness made too excessive a request. I had hoped that if the Clinic Director received acupuncture directly, the process would proceed at super speed, but I didn’t expect him to be this impressed.”

“So you deliberately brought me here.”

When I glared at him, Ahmed smiled sheepishly.

And he brought up a much more realistic story than Prince Faisal’s absurd proposal.

“Personally, I wanted to introduce a Japanese-style preparation system. We could establish a department at the Royal Hospital, hire Korean medicine doctors or Chinese medicine doctors, and bring herbal medicines from the Clinic Director’s network in preparation form for prescriptions. Even if it’s not 100% customized preparation, couldn’t it be an alternative?”

Ahmed repeated the same story to Faisal.

Faisal expressed admiration as if hearing it for the first time.

‘Did they plan this together? Or did the ambassador draw up the big picture alone?’

In any case, this was quite a good idea.

It seemed they had reviewed the systems of not only South Korea but also China and Japan in advance.

As Ahmed said, in Japan, instead of doctors examining patients and writing prescriptions for individual herbs, they select the original formula closest to the symptoms.

Pharmaceutical companies already distribute a wide variety of herbal medicines like Gyejitang, Galgeuntang, Bojungikgitang, Yeonggyechulgamtang, etc. as powder preparations.

In South Korea too, when prescribing insurance-covered herbal medicines, such preparations are utilized.

“Hmm….”

Ahmed and Faisal looked at me with expectant eyes.

“In that case, we wouldn’t have anything to lose… but wouldn’t thousands of units be too small for a pharmaceutical company to get involved? Um, if they’re going to develop products anyway, they’d need to sell much more….”

If it had come this far, there was nowhere left to retreat.

It really was a proposal with absolutely nothing to lose.

Employment cooperation would just require verifying and sending suitable people, so it wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

While I didn’t want to leave my homeland that I had returned to with difficulty, there would be one or two Korean medicine doctors willing to endure life abroad for big money.

Participating in preparation development was the same.

We just had to disclose my prescriptions with the pharmaceutical company we use and receive licensing fees, while the pharmaceutical company would handle everything else, right?

It seemed like the company’s cost-benefit analysis wouldn’t work out, but maybe they’d accept it if they invested heavily.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

Come to think of it, there was one pharmaceutical company that seemed likely to accommodate our circumstances considerably.

“When you line up companies, make sure to include PK. Director Park Seon-yun is very interested in our External Herbal Pharmacy.”

“Oh, is that so? We were naturally planning to include them anyway. Thank you for accepting this positively.”

After saying twice that I had no intention of expanding the business, it ended up like this anyway.

Ah! I don’t know anymore!

They’ll review it on their side and proceed if it makes sense!

I encouraged Faisal to do well on his own.

Faisal also greeted me with a very satisfied face.

“■■■! ■■■■. ■■■■!”

“May God’s grace be with you… I’ll see you again next week.”

I let out a sigh.

I hope next week he comes with just minimal security without those people.

“PK will probably accept. They seem to have something they’re preparing too. They’ll be very interested in Middle East expansion.”

While everyone was preparing to leave in a rush, Jeon Yu-ri also whispered something to me.

I also didn’t think they would refuse outright, even if the details changed.

“Director Park will probably be incredibly disappointed that she wasn’t here today.”

Jeon Yu-ri chuckled.

“But what brought you along, Ms. Jeon Yu-ri? You’re not in the bio industry, right?”

“Ah, I just came along because I wanted to get close. We need to install computer networks when building structures.”

Then she said she had finally been promoted and handed me a business card.

– LS Soft Director Jeon Yu-ri

Come to think of it, she had appeared at President Choi Gwi-jae’s birthday and had been in contact with the ambassador early on.

“You must have worked hard….”

“Not at all. To rise from the bottom to executive level, you have to do at least this much.”

Hmm, corporate life really seems difficult.

Even a third-generation chaebol persistently follows grandmothers up mountains, and this person would do more, not less.

“Clinic Director, would an additional interview be possible?”

Even after the prince, ambassador, and all their entourage had left, some Korean reporters remained.

This was thanks to loudly discussing business plans that would normally be conducted in private settings.

“I hadn’t heard anything in advance either, and what I just discussed is everything. I think we need to review it with each other. If it comes to fruition, it would be a great opportunity both for foreign patients and for Korean medicine’s overseas expansion.”

Since there wasn’t much else I could say, I answered the questions as conservatively as possible and finished the remaining interview.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

Finally, I’ll be free from these shutter sounds too.

“Oh my, they’re finally all gone.”

After the reporters and cameramen left, I collapsed exhausted onto the waiting room sofa.

What kind of ordeal was this after just coming to work normally?

In the time I would usually see 10 patients, I only saw 2, and my head was throbbing from worrying about things I’d never had to think about before.

If something like this was going to happen, they could have at least given me some advance notice!

“Clinic Director, you worked so hard.”

“Thank you.”

Seo Inae prepared two cups of honey water and offered one to An Juhui.

An Juhui asked cautiously.

“Do you think it will really happen?”

“Well, if it does, Teacher Juhui will have a lot of work to do in many ways.”

“Overseas expansion….”

She hadn’t said a word since explaining the medicine, but her face showed she was somewhat expectant.

“Um.”

Just when I thought the work was completely finished and was resting.

One person who hadn’t left yet approached hesitantly.

“Ah, the reporter with the severe turtle neck from earlier. Did you leave something behind?”

I had sensed someone was still there but hadn’t paid much attention, thinking they might be looking for something.

“Or are you here for treatment? Are you in pain after the thrust manipulation?”

Since they spoke to me, I asked what they needed.

This was the person who had been standing awkwardly by the door earlier, not rushing in with questions like the other reporters.

Of course, since it wasn’t just one or two people who came, it would be fine to just take notes and write an article.

Still, wasn’t this a bit too timid? It would be difficult to work as a reporter with this personality.

“I actually came for a different matter… but there were too many people….”

“Pardon?”

A different matter?

I, An Juhui, and Seo Inae all tilted our heads at the same time.

“Well, about catching the herbal medicine hat scam group in Miryang… I wanted to do an interview… I contacted you in advance before….”

Ah! That local newspaper! Come to think of it, there had been an interview request from them.

Unlike that mob of uninvited guests, this person had properly made an appointment.

I had definitely said it would be fine to visit anytime on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.

But with people suddenly swarming in, I had completely forgotten about it for a moment.

“I’m sorry! Please sit over here!”

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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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