Chapter 308 - The Depressed Jiangnan Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Chapter 308 The Depressed Jiangnan Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine
“Okay, please tell me the location. I’ll be there later.”
Qin Haodong was very interested in the matters of the TCM, so he agreed immediately.
“Great, Dr. Qin. I was worried that you wouldn’t come.”
Gao Fengwen excitedly told Qin Haodong the address.
Qin Haodong and Lin Momo took the little girl to the kindergarten together and then drove to the location, only to find that it was a dilapidated primary school that looked a bit shabby.
As soon as he parked his car, Gao Fengwen, Zhong Sihai and Shen Xiangfu were already out to receive him.
“Dr. Qin, here you are!”
The three of them greeted him warmly.
Qin Haodong gave his regards and asked, “Mr. Gao, are the offices of the Chinese Medicine Association right here?”
Gao Fengwen said awkwardly, “I’m sorry, Dr. Qin. The office is in poor condition. The Jiangnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association is a non-governmental organization set up by old fellows like us. We have no funds or office space, so we can only make do here.”
Shen Xiangfu said, “Old Gao helped us get this place. He once cured the headmaster of this primary school, so he temporarily lent this office to our association. However, I heard that this primary school will be auctioned soon. Where we will move in the future is unknown for the time being.”
During this conversation, they gathered around Qin Haodong and walked into the office of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, which used to be the meeting room of the primary school. Although it looked a little shabby, the room was very spacious and there were about 70-80 people sitting in it.
These people seemed to be quite old. Some of them were even a few years older than Gao Fengwen. Many of them had long beards and gray eyebrows. They were authentic Chinese doctors.
Gao Fengwen told the crowd, “Let me introduce to you Qin Haodong, the Medical Sage in the South of the Yangtze River, who once cured the tumor of old Maldini without surgery. He just defeated the Nihon people in the contest of TCM a few days ago. Now, he invented the Blood Revival Pill, which has caused a sensation in the whole country.
Dr. Qin has earned us a lot of glory and made the whole world see the potential of TCM. He has scaled the heights of Chinese medicine. He’s our pride. Let’s applaud and welcome him!”
After this introduction, stormy applause was heard on the scene. Although the old men had experienced many vicissitudes of life, they were still very excited to see Qin Haodong.
“Medical Sage, you are the pride of traditional Chinese Medicine…”
“Medical Sage, I want to learn from you. I want to worship you as a teacher…”
“Doctor, you are my idol. I heard that you are not married yet. Do you want to be my son-in-law…?”
Qin Haodong was shocked by these old men’s enthusiasm. What was up with the old man who shouted and asked to make him his son-in-law? It looked like he was over 80 years old. His daughter had to be at least 50 years old.
Shen Xiangfu said, “Doctor Qin, when we get together, we often talk about your miracles in TCM. Everyone adores you very much.”
Gao Fengwen said, “Dr. Qin, you are a role model in the field of TCM. Do you think you can join the Jiangnan Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine?”
Although he smiled when he spoke, Qin Haodong felt that he was like an old fox looking at a chicken. However, he couldn’t find anything wrong with this.
Zhong Sihai also said, “Yes, Dr. Qin. You see, there are only old men in the Chinese Medicine Association. We need a young and promising force like you to join us.”
Shen Xiangfu told the crowd, “Let’s applaud and welcome Dr. Qin to the Chinese Medicine Association!”
There was another round of stormy applause in the meeting room. Although these people were not young, they were worthy of being TCM doctors. Their bodies were well taken care of, so their applause was thunderous and long-lasting!
Qin Haodong, who was moved by everyone’s enthusiasm, said, “Well, since you don’t care about my shallow experience, I will join the association.”
Gao Fengwen said excitedly, “Great, Doctor Qin! Welcome!”
Then, he asked Qin Haodong to sit on the rostrum with the three of them and told the crowd, “Today is our triennial general election. I propose that Dr. Qin Haodong be the president of our association.”
Shen Xiangfu and Zhong Sihai also agreed and spoke up. “We also propose that Dr. Qin Haodong be the president!”
Qin Haodong now knew what the problem was. It turned out that these old guys had pulled him into the association to force him to be the president.
“That’s not appropriate,” he hurriedly said, “I just joined the association. How can I be the president?”
“There’s nothing inappropriate about it,” Gao Fengwen said with a wry smile, “According to the regulations of Jiangnan Chinese Medicine Association, the next president is nominated by the previous president. As long as one is a member of our association, one can run for president. The person who gets more than 50% of the vote will become the next president immediately.”
Then, he told the crowd, “Now, let’s vote. If you agree that Dr. Qin should be the president, please raise your hand.”
As soon as he spoke, all the old men under the stage raised their hands in agreement. Some of them even raised two.
This was reasonable. Although Qin Haodong was younger, his achievements in TCM were worthy of his name and enough to win the respect of these predecessors.
“Okay, it’s a unanimous vote!” Gao Fengwen turned to Qin Haodong and said, “President Qin, from now on, you are in charge of the association and I can officially retire.”
“I… I… ”
Before he knew it, Qin Haodong had joined the association of TCM and become the president.
“Gaolao, this is not right. It’s really not right. You have a high prestige, so the position should remain yours. Don’t embarrass me!”
Gao Fengwen’s smile disappeared. Then, he sighed and said, “Doctor Qin, to tell you the truth, I don’t deserve the title of president.
You are aware of the situation of TCM. In order to revitalize traditional Chinese medicine, old men like us gathered to set up the association so that the treasure passed down by our ancestors wouldn’t die out in our hands.
However, nine years have passed. Although we have worked hard, we have achieved very little. TCM had still been on the decline every day until you gave us hope.
I’m not being modest. I’m just old and have limited energy and a rigid mind. You have excellent medical skills and strong ability, so I think the position of the president could only be yours. Only under your leadership can TCM be revitalized.”
Upon speaking of this, Gao Fengwen stood up and bowed deeply before Qin Haodong. “My family has been engaged in TCM for generations, and TCM is the treasure of our nation. No one here wants to see this heritage destroyed during our generation. That would make us feel ashamed to meet our ancestors after death.
Doctor Qin, I’m begging you, for the sake of the future of traditional Chinese medicine, take this position! ”
After he said that, led by Zhong Sihai and Shen Xiangfu, the whole room of TCM doctors bowed before Qin Haodong and cried, “Doctor Qin, for the sake of Chinese medicine, please take this post!”
As he looked at these gray-haired old people, Qin Haodong’s heart was full of emotion. Although TCM was declining day by day, these people were still working and struggling!
“Since you all trust me so much, I will not refuse anymore,” said Qin Haodong, “I promise you that from this day on, I will do my best to revitalize traditional Chinese medicine. As long as I live, I will fight for the cause of traditional Chinese medicine and never regret it! I will never flinch!”
“Never regret! Never flinch!”
All the old Chinese doctors present, who were excited by his words, exclaimed in unison.
After the new president was elected, everyone sat down again. Then, Gao Fengwen told Qin Haodong, “President, please take the floor.”
“There’s no hurry. Tell me about our Chinese Medicine Association first,” Qin Haodong said, “Mr. Gao, the purpose of establishing the association is to develop traditional Chinese medicine. What have we done for this goal?”
Gao Fengwen said, “Two main activities are carried out by our association. First, we provide free clinic for the common people on a regular basis to expand the influence of traditional Chinese medicine. Second, the association conducts internal exchanges on treatment experiences on miscellaneous difficult diseases.”
Qin Haodong nodded and asked, “That’s all? Nothing else?”
“We have only done this much at present,” said Gao Fengwen, looking slightly embarrassed.
Qin Haodong sighed. No wonder the Chinese Medicine Association had not developed much after so many years. They hadn’t found the direction for development at the root.
It was good to provide free clinic for the common people, yet it was far from revitalizing traditional Chinese medicine.
This was not the place for internal exchange. In the field of TCM, one loved what was his own. It was okay to exchange experiences with each other, but no one was willing to share their unique skills, which eventually led to the gradual loss of some unique skills and secret prescriptions.
“Mr. Gao, how many people are there in our association?” he asked.
“78 in total!”
“How many TCM doctors are there in Jiangnan City?”
“About 300 people have registered at the Sanitary Bureau and obtained the Certificate of Medical Practice,” Gao Fengwen said.
“Oh! Only 78 out of the 300 Chinese doctors have joined in,” Qin said, “The coverage of our association is not high enough.”
Shen Xiangfu said, “Yes, there are not many people in our association. There are several reasons for this.
On one hand, because the purpose of our association is to develop traditional Chinese medicine, we often provide free clinic services, which is unprofitable. Some doctors who only want to make money disagree with us and refuse to join us.
The five most famous clinics in the field of traditional Chinese medicine south of the Yangtze River are the longevity Drugstore of old Gao, the Rejuvenation Drugstore of old Zhong, the Xuanhu Drugstore of Fu Hailong, the Jishi Drugstore of Liu Baikun, and my Herbal Drugstore.
Three of the five clinic heads have come here. The other two are addicted to money. It has never occurred to them how they will make money if traditional Chinese medicine really goes down.”
Shen Xiangfu, who seemed very angry, calmed down and added, “There are also some people who are used to being alone and don’t want to join our organization.
In addition to the people who don’t want to join us, there are some people we don’t want to have. These people are not good enough. Their purpose for joining the association is to get rich and make use of the name of the association to deceive people and make money. Their motives are not pure. We directly reject such people.”
When he was finished, Qin Haodong basically understood the current state of the association.
While looking at the thoughtful Qin Haodong, Gao Fengwen said, “President Qin, you are young and flexible. What do you suggest for the future development of our association?”