I Can Talk to the Internal Organs

Chapter 369 - 335: Youth Palace

"Haha, Lu Jiu, starting to take on apprentices?"

In the medicinal cuisine department, Lu Jiu was having lunch with Jiang Zeshen.

When An Xianda and others came over and saw Lu Jiu sitting with a child, they couldn’t help but tease him.

"A student from the class," Lu Jiu replied with a smile.

An Xianda laughed, "Impressive, already getting students to do intern doctor work. When they grow up, won’t they be fresh graduates with over ten years of experience, hahaha."

Lu Jiu laughed, "Brother Da, do you have any promising TCM prospects in your class?"

An Xianda waved his hand, "Don’t mention it, there are very few who listen attentively in class. If they truly wanted to learn Chinese medicine, there might not be even one."

"Even if there were, I wouldn’t dare bring the kids to the hospital. You see, today’s primary school students aren’t like you were back then, with weekends and free time; now they’re all in tutoring classes."

"In the past, parents could tutor in language, math, and English, but now that it’s not possible, they’re moving on to other directions, like dancing, music, and painting. Whatever adds points to the college entrance exam, they start learning it intensively at this stage. TCM isn’t included in these bonus points, so why would parents let us take up their precious time?"

"This child’s parents are quite open-minded to let him be with you; it’s rare!"

Lu Jiu nodded.

This is actually a fundamental issue.

In college entrance exams, only art and sports students score lower than regular students.

These are fields of specialty students.

Strictly speaking, TCM could also be considered a specialty.

After all, medicine as a subject is best cultivated from a young age; even if one doesn’t become a renowned doctor, just learning some TCM health knowledge can help prevent oneself or even family members from falling ill.

If this policy were introduced, it would definitely be more effective than setting up a few TCM clinics nationwide.

After all, in Huaxia, no parent neglects their child’s future. As long as something is linked to their child’s future, parents almost unconditionally support it.

Moreover, having a foundation in TCM, even if they choose to study Western medicine, it’s quite helpful.

For instance, currently, many Western doctors working in clinical settings have realized that gallstones can’t just be removed by cutting out the gallbladder. Doing so can lead to bile duct stones afterward, and the patient’s illness isn’t fundamentally resolved but instead poses greater hidden dangers.

If someone has a basic TCM foundation, they’d know from the start that simply removing organs is an irresponsible medical practice.

Such methods should only be a last resort when absolutely necessary!

Therefore, the theoretical guidance of TCM can greatly benefit the development of Western medicine.

It would make surgical treatments in Western medicine more standardized and rigorous.

However, nothing comes overnight; policies like integrating TCM into primary and secondary education already provide substantial support for TCM.

"Brother Da, recently, Wei Medical Hall has received quite a bit of funding, and we’ve increased our personnel. Do you think we could find a nearby spot to collaborate with the government to set up a Youth Palace, themed around TCM and traditional culture? What do you think?" Lu Jiu asked.

Lu Jiu TCM Hospital is still under renovation, and many people temporarily don’t have fixed positions for consulting.

Most of these are young doctors from the Wei Medical Hall Academy.

Their level is no less than that of Tang Yi and others, especially under the guidance of Wei Medical Hall’s doctors, their foundational theories are unquestionably solid.

Having these individuals take turns teaching at the Youth Palace would not only temporarily alleviate the shortage of positions at Lu Jiu TCM Hospital but also provide Jianghan’s children with a venue to experience TCM culture.

Lu Jiu thought this could be worth a try, and the purpose was not to make money.

"A Youth Palace themed around TCM and traditional culture?" An Xianda was curious and sat down beside Lu Jiu, "How do you plan to do it?"

Lu Jiu smiled and said, "I think culture needs to be gradually deepened in various aspects. Since Jianghan has been chosen by the teacher as a pilot city for TCM, simply establishing herbal medicine and TCM hospitals isn’t enough."

"In the past, due to a lack of resources, many things couldn’t be done. Now with more resources, we should make good use of them. The Youth Palace is a great place; by engaging the kids, you engage a family."

"We will turn the Youth Palace into a base for traditional culture, incorporating ancient studies, TCM, and even martial arts, following the Wudang Mountain model. Do you think this would attract children?"

An Xianda responded seriously, "Kids would definitely love it, but what about the parents?"

Lu Jiu laughed, "Brother Da, why do you think parents now love to push their kids so hard?"

An Xianda said, "Of course, it’s because they’re afraid their kids will lose at the starting line."

Lu Jiu laughed, "Actually, if you really talk about starting lines, every child in Jianghan City has already lost, lost at their parents’ starting line. If they were born into a family in Jinling, they wouldn’t need to try hard; they’ve already won."

"So, the fear of their kid losing at the starting line is essentially a forced rat race, with a hint of unwillingness. So how do you adjust the parents’ mindset? It’s simple: give them a sense of honor through their child!"

"Our Youth Palace aims to first obtain official certification, secondly to organize various competitions like calligraphy contests, TCM knowledge competitions, martial arts contests, etc., to grant awards, thirdly to collaborate with TV stations for live broadcasts to enhance the influence of these contests, thereby raising the prestige of the awards, and fourthly to give outstanding contestants opportunities to explore larger platforms."

"With this combination of strategies, even if the skills we cultivate have nothing to do with the college entrance exam, parents would absolutely be willing to let their children participate. When one child comes, an entire family is influenced. Under this model, after a few years of nurturing, do you think more people would come to our hospital for health management?"

Hmm?

Interesting!

He had friends who often let their children participate in competitions, and whenever they won an award, even just a participation excellence award, they would proudly share it in their social circles.

This mindset of showing off their child is indeed a commonality among all parents.

An Xianda didn’t expect Lu Jiu to seize on this detail and come up with the Youth Palace plan.

If executed according to his ideas, the parents in Jianghan City would likely become the most loyal supporters of TCM because of their children.

Once the influence expands, and all families have faith in TCM, then as the largest TCM hospital in Jianghan, backed by medicinal herb bases, Lu Jiu TCM Hospital could completely dictate the lifestyle of Jianghan citizens.

This means that if development reaches this point, Jianghan City could enter a state of comprehensive disease prevention, theoretically achieving large-scale prevention of serious illnesses.

This would definitely be an unprecedented enhancement of the people’s happiness!

But what about profitability?

Eventually, theories must return to practice.

"Lu Jiu, have you considered profitability? If the Youth Palace expands, and Lu Jiu TCM Hospital’s patients increase, even surpassing Jianghan People’s Hospital, do you think there will be resistance?" An Xianda asked.

He was clearly implying that if the interests of all public hospitals in Jianghan City were compromised, what would Lu Jiu TCM Hospital do?

Lu Jiu chuckled at his words, "That’s exactly why I want to set up this Youth Palace. After Lu Jiu TCM Hospital establishes a partnership with Wei Medical Hall, even if we do nothing, we will eventually affect the interests of all public hospitals in Jianghan City. Therefore, before this happens, we must bind ourselves with the government. As long as we become the largest taxpayer in Jianghan City, the better we develop, the less resistance we’ll face, Brother Da, now you should understand."

An Xianda’s eyes widened slightly.

Wow!

A strategic plan!

Investing the hospital’s earnings partly into doctors, partly into normal operations, and using the surplus for the Youth Palace; this effectively means the hospital pays taxes twice, once as a hospital and once as a Youth Palace.

The larger the Youth Palace, the broader Lu Jiu TCM Hospital’s audience becomes, and the more profitable it will be. As this cycle rotates, taxes will increase, and it might even create more job opportunities in Jianghan City.

Once established as a force capable of impacting all public hospitals in the city, it would mean Lu Jiu TCM Hospital becomes the leader of Jianghan’s medical community.

Thus, even if the Jianghan Government wanted to help public hospitals suppress Lu Jiu TCM Hospital, it might not be possible.

One is tax revenue, the other is public opinion.

An Xianda couldn’t help but glance at Lu Jiu, "You cheeky fellow... so crafty, why not travel back to ancient times and become a strategist?"

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