Chapter 106
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: The Herb Quality Test
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It might have been a somewhat rude request.
Not like some big corporation running a coding test or anything, but making someone evaluate medicinal herb quality as part of the hiring process at a small neighborhood clinic.
If word got out online, it'd be the kind of thing that draws a barrage of complaints like, "What kind of place pulls that?"
"This is my first time with an interview like this."
But An Joohee grinned as if she'd been waiting for it.
Unlike her skeptical attitude just moments ago, she straightened up proudly.
It was the demeanor of someone utterly confident in her knowledge of herbs, no matter the test.
"Shall we head to the decoction room together?"
For the test, I'd prepared ginseng.
Ginseng has long been considered the world's finest in the form of Korean ginseng. It appears repeatedly in Chinese medical texts, and in practice, it delivers the best results.
I laid out two types of Chinese ginseng I'd sourced separately, along with American ginseng, next to three types of domestic Korean ginseng.
"Based on the aroma you mentioned earlier, could you pick out the finest one?"
Foreign ginsengs look quite different, so distinguishing them wasn't hard.
American ginseng has short rootlets and a smooth body. Among the Chinese varieties, the Zhanchi ginseng from Yunnan Province is dark in color and roundish. And the Changbai Mountain ginseng from Jilin Province is a bit plump, you might say?
"Oh, you even use American ginseng? It's got higher levels of verified pharmacologically active ginsenosides. Its cool nature makes it suited for different uses than regular ginseng, though."
An Joohee picked up the American ginseng on the far left as she spoke.
All I'd wanted was for her to select the best domestic Korean ginseng, but she started explaining each one.
"Isn't lumping Zhanchi ginseng in here kind of off? It's got clear advantages in nourishing blood and stopping bleeding compared to Korean ginseng. If you're comparing, you should do it against this one. Out of these six, the weakest aroma is the Changbai Mountain ginseng."
As An Joohee said, Zhanchi ginseng had distinctly different effects from the rest.
Somehow in Korea, even Zhanchi gets lumped in with other Chinese ginsengs for comparisons, but it's an essential battlefield staple with immediate effects on all internal and external bleeding, so prized that it's called "worth more than gold" or "gold unexchangeable."
The Chinese ginseng historically used came from the Changbai region in what was once Goguryeo territory.
It's not bad at all. Of course, I prefer ginseng grown on the Korean Peninsula.
"This one's the best. Geumsan ginseng, right?"
An Joohee unhesitatingly selected my favorite ginseng.
"Producing region and quality don't always correlate perfectly, but this is definitely top-grade. The middle one's from Yeongju, and the right one's from Hongcheon?"
She evaluated and ranked all three domestic Korean ginsengs.
Wait... how does she even know the growing regions?
"All correct?"
"Yes. As I mentioned, our clinic uses Geumsan ginseng. We don't use foreign varieties that often."
"Ooh, great. What's the next one?"
An Joohee's eyes sparkled.
...Would she get mad if I said that's it?
I'd really only meant to check if she could tell at a glance.
Looking at An Joohee's face brought back memories of my old disciples.
They'd study hard to show off their skills, and if I put off the test, they'd get all sulky.
So, reluctantly, I pulled out some deer antler velvet.
"Distinguishing the tip, upper, middle, and base sections of deer antler velvet... too easy?"
Click. Click. Click. Click.
An Joohee arranged the deer antler sections from finest to lowest in order.
Deer antler velvet refers to a deer's antlers, and since the composition differs greatly from base to tip, they're named from the tip end: tip, upper, middle, base, and lower.
The tip is the most premium and expensive, followed by upper, middle, and base.
Of course, An Joohee boldly picked up the tip.
"This is the tip, with the highest concentration of nutrients and cell growth factors. It's especially good in formulas for growing children, and I recommend it for elderly patients needing a major boost to their vitality."
"Yes."
"The upper section has a lot of vascular tissue, so the cross-section is dark red. Excellent for invigorating blood flow, making it useful for women with blood stagnation."
She must have thought just distinguishing them was too simple, because she recited their effects too.
"The middle is hard, with more mineral content than growth factors. It's more affordable, so it's used in tonics sometimes. If targeting bone fractures or osteoporosis, you might specifically choose the middle section."
"Spot on."
I mainly used the tip but kept upper and middle sections for specific needs.
We didn't stock the base.
That's the lowest part, connected to the skull, where it's hardened into bone with abundant minerals but virtually no value as deer antler velvet medicine.
"Can I take a look at the other herbs too?"
"Of course."
Now I really had nothing else prepared.
An Joohee started pulling out and examining various herbs on her own.
"Ah! Now that's proper astragalus root. You really use the good stuff."
She even sniffed the aroma.
"You use prepared aconite too? Huh? This is raw aconite? No way you use it unprepared, right?"
She raised questions about unusual herbs.
Prepared aconite comes from the daughter root of the Aconitum plant family—extremely hot in nature and toxic.
Among medicinal plants usable in formulas, it's about as extremely yang as it gets.
Preparation processing alters a herb's properties, and for toxic ones like aconite, it's essential.
Methods vary slightly, but the most common is soaking in saltwater and boiling. Sometimes raw aconite is processed under pressure for direct use.
"Ah, I prepare it myself. Buying pre-prepared removes all the toxicity, but it also weakens the potency."
Of course, for regular patients, I prioritize safety with maximum preparation.
But I had one patient who truly needed extreme yang energy.
Regular prepared aconite wasn't enough to suppress Seol Yuhee's yin energy, so I kept raw aconite on hand to control the toxicity myself.
"Don't worry, I won't ask that much of you. It's just for one patient who needs my personal touch."
"I wasn't asking because I don't want to. Sounds fun, actually."
An Joohee toured the decoction room with great interest.
"Pretty spacious, and well-maintained. Has the director been handling all this personally until now?"
"Yes. It's just as crucial as diagnosis and prescribing."
"If I start working here, is it just compounding the prescriptions? No miscellaneous chores?"
An Joohee tilted her chin up as she asked.
"No unrelated odd jobs. The basics are compounding prescriptions from me and the two other branch directors. You'll handle ordering too. Of course, if you find a better supplier than our current one, feel free to switch."
"...!"
"The items we contracted from the place we met at before haven't arrived yet, so you can start by sorting inventory slowly."
"You're handing over full authority?"
"Naturally."
To delegate my work and responsibility, authority comes with it.
I nodded.
"We'll move the decoction room to the entire second floor soon. Oh, if you have preferred equipment, let me know. I'm thinking of adding one more unit."
"...You handle volume for three branches with an off-site decoction room?"
It was a fair point for An Joohee to question.
Sure, each branch dispensed a lot, but renting space now—with opportunity costs and a herbalist's salary—would mean losses.
But sometimes, you invest through short-term deficits.
"To provide the best medicine, sacrificing a bit of profit is worth it."
"Ahh!"
"Network-affiliated branches will grow gradually, so facilities need to be ready first."
Right now, I'm close with all the branch directors, so I can ask them to use our off-site decoction room. But who knows later?
Before branches hit 10 or 20 and slip from my control, I want contracts specifying we handle the decocting.
"You've got big dreams."
I chuckled at An Joohee's words.
"Will you join me in making them reality?"
Not that grand, but... maybe chatting with Lee Areum recently got me used to this phrasing.
It wasn't some lofty dream, but An Joohee was essential to the future I envisioned.
Someone who could handle compounding as well as I did—or better.
"When should I start?"
An Joohee gladly agreed to join.
"The sooner, the better."
"Give me a week to find a place in Busan."
Our goals aligned perfectly, so negotiations went smoothly.
Her expected salary matched what I had in mind closely, and her only request was specifying duties clearly in the contract.
After hearing about her past jobs, I happily agreed.
"Alright. See you next week!"
The woman who'd entered arms crossed and skeptical left the clinic beaming.
I felt great too, having gained a valuable asset.
With An Joohee on board, the workload on me and the staff lightened considerably.
Compounding 4-5 extra prescriptions after clinic hours took at least an hour.
I'd start the decoction machines before leaving, and staff would package and ship first thing upon arrival—that was our routine.
Sometimes we'd reorder when stock ran low.
Now, I just wrote prescriptions, and An Joohee handled compounding, usage instructions, and shipping—everything herb-related off my plate.
"How's it feel having us handle decoctions for your prescriptions? Everything okay?"
I casually asked the branch directors during our video conference.
"Oh, yes!"
Chu Miyoung had used off-site services before, so the process hadn't changed much. Had patients noticed?
"One atopic dermatitis patient whose treatment was plateauing improved dramatically. Of course, it's subtle whether it's cumulative effects or the new herbs!"
"What formula did you use?"
"White Tiger Plus Ginseng Decoction with added gypsum!"
White Tiger with extra gypsum on top of ginseng?
White Tiger Decoction already packs 20g of gypsum per dose— and she added more.
Gypsum is rarely used, like aconite.
If aconite is extreme yang, gypsum is extreme yin. Adding it to a prescription meant a patient with severe fire-heat.
"The gypsum quality might've made the difference. I'm no expert on mineral drugs, but our herbalist switched suppliers."
"Ooh, intriguing. Hope I get a patient needing gypsum."
Kim Chunsik chimed in at my words and Chu Miyoung's.
"Haha, everything else is great too, so use us plenty."
"Will do, thanks."
"Alright, chit-chat over... shall we study? Oppa Sanghun looks bored."
"Huh? No. Just checking when to use White Tiger Plus Ginseng."
"Everyone's so enthusiastic. Perfect, since gypsum came up—let's review White Tiger symptoms."
Great, user feedback positive.
I pulled a book from the shelf.
I'd expected someone to bail, but our academic exchange meetings continued regularly?
Lately, Kim Chunsik was doing old-school lectures—refreshingly different from Master's perspective.
A few days later.
[Director, hope you're well. Park Sunyoon here. I have a favor to ask—mind a quick call?]
A message from Park Sunyoon.
I tensed up.
I chatted casually with Park Seseon now that we're close, but Sunyoon never called without reason.
Last time was when I asked her for a favor.
'Come to think of it, I threw out a blank check then.'
Something to request this soon? What could it be?
"Hello? A favor? What's up? Anything I can help with?"
- Ah, yes! Thanks for calling right away. Grandma suddenly got hurt. I was hoping to ask for treatment.
But it didn't seem serious.
I'd braced for company business, but treatment was right up my alley—no favor needed.
"Happy to. I'll do my utmost. Come to the clinic!"
Park Sunyoon sounded a bit troubled.
"Thing is, she hurt her hip somehow and can barely get up. ...Could you do a house call?"
Ah, house visit?
"How far?"
"You're in Busan! Near Haeundae."
That'd make anyone hesitate to ask.
But Park Sunyoon had helped before.
An Joohee was serendipity, but her connection for wholesale Chinese herbs at cost? A couple house calls were a steal.
"Perfect. I'll head over this evening."
I accepted.
But after hanging up, I thought.
'Park Sunyoon's grandma... isn't she nearly 90?'
Wait, PK Honorary Chairman Choi Gwijae...?
A total heavyweight.