Chapter 73 - 073 Hard to find good things

Words : 1660 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Tiger bone? More than 30,000 yuan? Du Heng couldn’t help but marvel at Xu Pinglin’s luck. He actually found such a treasure! Of course, his resources and connections were crucial too. For an ordinary person, where would they even begin to look for tiger bones? These days, finding tiger bones probably means sneaking into a zoo to dig up a carcass. China began regulating the use of tiger bones in medicine in 2018. Even before that, regulations prohibited the trade of any tiger parts. Items already in collections could only be kept as such. Director Zhang was probably in a bind. It was such a good item for medication, but he didn’t dare use it, and he didn’t need it himself. So, keeping it at home, it truly became just a collector’s item. Then Xu Pinglin came knocking. It was probably better to just give it to him. "Director Xu, did you give the more than 30,000 yuan directly to Director Zhang?" "No, that old man insisted I buy a Qing Dynasty jar; the tiger bone was a gift. No purchase, no gift. Buy the jar, get the bone." Du Heng laughed. My guess was spot on. "Director Xu, a palm-sized tiger bone for over 30,000 yuan? You’ve struck gold! If you dared to announce this, I guarantee people would be throwing 100,000, even 200,000 yuan at you." "Is it really that much of a big deal?" Xu Pinglin asked. "It absolutely is. Tiger bones and rhinoceros horns are truly priceless and hard-to-find treasures in today’s society. Think about it yourself. If you’d used beef keel bone or deer keel bone, do you think you’d have these kinds of results?" "That’s true." Du Heng couldn’t stand this kind of smug attitude when someone had clearly benefited. "Have you heard of the Angong Bovine Bezoar Pill? It’s considered a divine remedy in traditional Chinese medicine." Xu Pinglin thought for a moment. As a Western medicine doctor in the Gastroenterology Department, he might know a bit about Chinese patent medicines for gastrointestinal issues. However, he wasn’t familiar with other types. After all, there were numerous Western medicines, and they were updated so rapidly that he had no time to learn about other areas of Chinese herbal medicine. He felt like he’d heard the name somewhere before, yet it also seemed like a long time since he last heard it. For a moment, he was a bit muddled and couldn’t recall. Du Heng paid him no mind and continued, "That stuff is a life-saving divine medicine. It’s effective for dozens of conditions, like epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, toxic encephalopathy, cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, sepsis, severe hepatitis, pulmonary encephalopathy, schizophrenia, craniocerebral trauma, systemic lupus erythematosus, and many others. What’s more, when you’re in dire straits, it can buy you a crucial breath, giving you a chance to be rescued." "That doesn’t sound right. If this medicine is so good, why does no one talk about it anymore?" "It’s simple. The main ingredients are cow bezoar, musk, rhinoceros horn, and gold foil. The other three are manageable, but rhinoceros horn is incredibly hard to get these days. Once it’s replaced with substitutes, the medicine’s efficacy is drastically reduced, making it no different from ordinary remedies. That’s why it has fallen from its pedestal." Xu Pinglin said with some regret, "So it’s useless then?" "Pretty much. The ones sold in pharmacies now are mediocre at best; their reputation is mostly hype from the pharmacies. Any truly good batches wouldn’t be sold publicly anymore." "What a shame." "So, Director Xu, just count your blessings in private. A palm-sized tiger bone will last you a long time. Good things are hard to come by these days." "Hearing you say that, I’ll be sure to store it carefully when I get back. This thing could be a family heirloom." Du Heng laughed heartily. "That’s not an entirely unreasonable thought! Also, when you get back, don’t tell anyone you’re using tiger bone for medication, and don’t mention you even have it. It’s a prohibited item these days." "I know." Just as they were speaking, a car suddenly drove into the Health Clinic’s courtyard, stopping under Du Heng’s office window. The driver honked the horn a few times. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Du Heng looked out through the glass and saw it was his classmate, Wei Kaida, who had arrived in his car. Du Heng looked at the car beneath his window and Wei Kaida, who was leaning out to wave. His expression soured. He opened the window and yelled, "Are you nuts? Go park in the backyard! And stop honking! Just showing off your car, are you?" Wei Kaida, wearing sunglasses, gave a flashy hand gesture, honked once more, and then drove into the backyard. Du Heng smiled helplessly and said apologetically to Xu Pinglin, "Sorry to have Director Xu witness that. He’s my classmate, always joking around." Xu Pinglin smiled, showing he understood. "It’s perfectly normal. They’re all young men, after all." With that, he stood up and prepared to leave. Du Heng rose and saw Xu Pinglin out. Neither of them mentioned anything about a registration. Wei Kaida sauntered in, sunglasses on, keys swinging from his fingers. No matter how you looked at him, you’d never think this punk was a doctor. "Ma Ti’er, who was that you were seeing out?" His close friends all called him by his nickname; very few used his actual name. Du Heng swatted at Wei Kaida’s hand that was swinging the keys. "Can’t you act a bit more respectable? Looking like that, who’d dare let you treat them? Besides, look how overcast it is outside. Are you crazy, wearing sunglasses?" Wei Kaida, grinning, intercepted Du Heng. "You don’t get it. This is called being ’hip’." "You’re about as ’hip’ as the West Coast," Du Heng retorted, slapping Wei Kaida’s hand away. "Come to my office; let’s talk." "Can’t. Gotta head back." Wei Kaida glanced at the sky. "This damn weather is nuts. It just cleared up this morning, and now it’s overcast again." He slapped the keys into Du Heng’s hand. "I’m taking off. If it starts pouring later, I’ll have a hard time getting back. Oh, right, after you meet your mother-in-law, bring your girlfriend to meet everyone." "Alright. I’ll treat you to a meal on the 2nd." Wei Kaida had just turned when he saw Li Nating coming down the stairs. He instinctively pulled back the foot he’d just put forward. After the previous incident, Li Nating and Du Heng hadn’t exchanged a single word. Whenever they encountered each other at the Health Clinic, they acted as if the other didn’t exist. Today was the same. Seeing Du Heng and Wei Kaida at the main entrance, she tilted her chin up, straightened her neck, and walked past with her chest out, still not offering a greeting or even a glance at Du Heng. As she passed, Wei Kaida took off his large sunglasses, his eyes fixed on Li Nating’s retreating figure. He whispered to Du Heng, "Buddy, is she from your clinic?" This wolf... Du Heng was speechless at this predatory behavior. Among their group of friends, Wei Kaida was the biggest sleazeball and the top playa. Back in school, he wasn’t as handsome as Du Heng, nor was he particularly wealthy, but this damn guy just knew how to be a scoundrel, and he hit the mark every single time. "Hey, come on, tell me," Wei Kaida urged. "She’s a nurse at our Health Clinic." "What’s her name? How old? Married?" Du Heng had no desire to indulge this rascal. Wei Kaida, however, wasn’t bothered. "Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll find out myself." Then, he suddenly raised his voice, "This new Big Ben I just got, I’ve barely driven it twice myself, and now I’m giving you the keys! Make sure you take good care of it!" His voice was so loud that it not only drew Wang Zhenzhen’s attention from the registration office window but also made Li Nating, who had just exited the hall, turn her head to glance at them. However, Li Nating only spared them a quick look before immediately turning her head back and continuing on her way. Du Heng hadn’t expected Wei Kaida to pull a stunt like this. He quickly said in a low voice, "Don’t mess around. You have a girlfriend, remember?" "’Her neck, fair and slender; her teeth, like rows of melon seeds; her cicada brow and moth-like eyebrows—a true classic beauty!’" Wei Kaida recited, completely ignoring Du Heng’s words as he strode after Li Nating. This guy... Du Heng was truly speechless when it came to Wei Kaida. He pours all his energy into chasing girls. Those lines he just spouted—someone without a bit of literary knowledge wouldn’t just struggle to say them, they probably wouldn’t have even heard them before. If he’d put even half that effort into studying medicine, he’d probably have his doctorate by now. "Hi, I’m Du Heng’s classmate. My name is Wei Kaida, and I work at my family’s clinic. Might I have the pleasure of getting to know you?" Shameless? This rascal didn’t even know the meaning of the word! He sidled right up to Li Nating and began his introduction. Even though Li Nating completely ignored him and just kept walking, he shamelessly persisted with his introduction. Even when they had walked so far that their voices were inaudible, Du Heng could still see that rascal trailing after Li Nating. Whatever. Let him be. Du Heng turned and went back to his office. Though he disapproved of Wei Kaida’s behavior, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. If only I had that kind of shameless spirit and smooth-talking ability, I might have been married with kids by now. But that kind of ability... you really can’t just envy it into existence. Personality dictates everything, huh.

Chapter 73 - 073 Hard to find good things

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