Chapter 584 - 578_1
Lin Yue said these words with a hint of jest, but her mind was preoccupied with another matter. Zhao Erhu had taken a batch of medicinal herbs on his last voyage, which proved extremely popular. The Foreign Tribes faced a scarcity of medicinal materials, and even common herbs, once transported there, would sell for several or even dozens of times their original price, resulting in brisk sales. There’s a saying, after all, that it’s not about worrying whether the goods will sell, but whether there’s enough of them.
With the experience from last time, Zhao Erhu naturally planned to transport a large batch of medicinal materials on this trip. Uncertain of the channels to purchase these and unable to discern the authenticity of the herbs, he had made an arrangement with Jiang Ziqi to cooperate. Under this agreement with Jiang Ziqi’s pharmacy, they would buy a large quantity of medicinal materials at a preferential price. Although this was not the cheapest option, it guaranteed quality and quantity, and Zhao Erhu was indifferent to the slight price difference. The profit from selling overseas was several to dozens of times higher or even more, and only those with short-sightedness would fixate on such small gains when the quality and quantity of the medicinal materials were of utmost importance.
Initially, Lin Yue had merely thought of selling the medicinal herbs overseas, but presented with Doctor Zheng’s Immunity-boosting Pills, she conceived of another route: taking prepared pills or potions to the Foreign Tribes to sell, where the profits were surely only higher, not lower. With the scarcity of medicinal materials there and medical research, as well as medical skills not as developed as in Dazhou, the western medicine that was effective came from later developments. At present, the medical arts of the western Foreign Tribes were far behind and incomparable to Dazhou’s.
Once Lin Yue had an idea, she naturally had to put it into action, drawing up a plan for selling the prepared pills and potions overseas. An important part of the plan was to decide whether they would obtain the recipes to make the pills themselves or purchase them directly from Jimin Hall.
Lin Yue did want to obtain the recipes and produce the medicine herself, but firstly, it was unlikely that Jimin Hall would agree, and even though she had a good relationship with Jiang Ziqi, he was the Family Head of the Jiang Family and had to prioritize their interests. If she only requested one or two recipes, Jiang Ziqi might be willing to provide them, but he probably would not agree to more. Secondly, she did not have the capacity to quickly assemble the necessary workforce. The production of medicine, unlike other tasks, required utmost care; even a slight oversight in the processing of the ingredients or a tiny error could lead to different medicinal effects and potentially severe consequences, including severe risks to human life.
For this trip, bringing prepared pills overseas meant she would mostly have to purchase them from Jimin Hall. Even so, she had to negotiate with them first, because it was not possible to obtain such a large supply of pills at once. Additionally, Lin Yue remembered a few excellent recipes, which were not even available at Jimin Hall. These treasures she did not want to give to Jimin Hall and would have to arrange production herself.
However, this matter was not something Lin Yue could decide on her own; she still needed to discuss it with Zhao Erhu. Now, Zhao Erhu was conducting business on behalf of the Emperor, with the Emperor taking the lion’s share of the profits. She could not get involved in the medicinal herbs business belonging to the Emperor, but the pill trade was her own idea and it wouldn’t make sense to let the Emperor benefit. This venture should be hers, but that assumed that the Emperor would agree to let Zhao Erhu transport goods for her. Otherwise, she would be celebrating prematurely, effectively adorning the Emperor with a wedding dress. She thought that the Emperor wouldn’t be so petty as to refuse such a minor request if he tasked Zhao Erhu with errands, right?