I Can Hear the Heart's Voice of Traditional Chinese Medicine-Chapter 423 - 174: I Provide the Formula, You Provide the Funds
"Thank you, Uncle," Ji Qinglan smiled slightly.
"No need to thank me, we’re all family."
The four of them chatted on and off while Lu Xuan, being an outsider, kept quiet. But when cosmetics were mentioned, Lu Xuan had some thoughts.
Currently, there are very few cosmetics with traditional Chinese medicine formulas; most are a mix of chemicals and various extracts. Purely traditional Chinese medicine-based cosmetics might not be non-existent, but at least Lu Xuan hadn’t seen any.
Yet there’s no shortage of traditional Chinese medicine-based cosmetics. Lu Xuan wondered if they could use cosmetics to promote traditional Chinese medicine?
As Ji Huan and the others discussed these matters, Lu Xuan kept contemplating this question and concluded it was entirely possible.
...
After dinner at the Ji Family’s house, Ji Qinglan drove Lu Xuan home.
"Lu, we’re here."
As Ji Qinglan’s car stopped below the apartment building, Lu Xuan, who had been thinking for a long time in the passenger seat, finally spoke up: "Qing Lan, what is your cosmetics company planning to focus on?"
"Whitening and anti-spot," Ji Qinglan replied.
"Why, Lu, are you interested in cosmetics?"
Lu Xuan awkwardly smiled, "Not really."
"So, about the formula..."
"The formula we bought last time doesn’t work; it has too many side effects. Not only does it have little effect on spots, but it also causes skin allergic reactions. Our employees tried it, and I tried it on my hands too—it caused rashes. The millions spent on that formula were wasted." Discussing the formula situation, Ji Qinglan was somewhat frustrated; spending millions without any result.
Thinking back, Ji Qinglan felt she had indeed been foolish, spending so much money on a formula she thought was a great deal, but it turns out the seller was the one making a profit.
What Ji Huan said wasn’t wrong at all. If it were that effective, wouldn’t it be better to collaborate using the formula or sell it to a big brand for tens or hundreds of millions?
Why just throw a few million to us?
"For whitening and anti-spot, actually, many traditional Chinese medicine formulas have these effects." Lu Xuan pondered and said.
Initially, Ji Qinglan was stunned; she didn’t understand why Lu Xuan suddenly discussed this with her. But the next moment, she realized and exclaimed in surprise, "Lu, do you want to collaborate with me?"
"Something like that, but I’m afraid I can’t directly collaborate with you, Qing Lan."
"That’s okay."
Ji Qinglan also knew Lu Xuan’s special status, making it impossible for him to collaborate directly with her. Even without any position, granting share options wouldn’t be possible.
"The collaboration is simple. Lu, you provide the formula. If it’s about shares, they can be under Auntie’s name. If Auntie doesn’t participate in management, I can offer more generous terms for the shares. Don’t worry; I’ll negotiate with my friend, and she will agree."
"Of course, it all depends on you having a whitening and anti-spot formula."
"I do have one."
Lu Xuan thought for a moment and said, "However, although the traditional Chinese medicine formula is effective, it does have a flaw—the smell of the medicine cannot be masked."
"The smell doesn’t matter; worst case, we use extracts," Ji Qinglan was unconcerned.
Lu Xuan shook his head with a wry smile, "Extracts probably won’t work. Traditional Chinese medicine is quite mysterious; its active ingredients can be analyzed, but even if their components are identical, the effects vary based on where they are derived. Take some Chinese medicines, for example.
Let me give you an example: Suanzaoren. Raw, it treats excessive sleep, while processed, it treats insomnia. If you only use extracts, it’s difficult to achieve the intended effect."
Without extracts, the smell of traditional Chinese medicine certainly can’t be covered."
"If extracts can’t be used, it becomes a bit troublesome,"
Ji Qinglan frowned. "What about adding other fragrances?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Lu Xuan shook his head, "I recommend not adding any, otherwise it might be challenging to achieve the desired effects, and it might even disrupt the original medicinal properties of the traditional Chinese medicine."
Ji Qinglan felt a bit troubled.
Having heard of the traditional Chinese medicine formula from Lu Xuan, she was full of hope, knowing that the strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine could be off-putting to most. However, now with advanced technology, the smell could be set aside, with extracts used or other means to mask it.
But if neither of these two methods were viable, this traditional Chinese medicine formula might be hard to gain market acceptance.
Nonetheless, Ji Qinglan had no intention of giving up. Lu Xuan’s medical skills were beyond doubt; both elders in their family were saved by him. There’s no need to doubt his traditional Chinese medicine formula’s efficacy; she just wanted to clarify how effective it was.
"Lu, let’s not mention the smell for now. What about the effect?"
Ji Qinglan asked, "If it can achieve excellent whitening and anti-spot results with no side effects, there’s still a market for it."
"The effect is certainly not bad, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought it up. I’m just worried the smell of traditional Chinese medicine will lead to low market acceptance."
Hearing this, Ji Qinglan had already made up her mind: "I plan to give it a try."
"Alright, I’ll send you the formula later."
"No rush."
Ji Qinglan thought for a while and said, "There’s no need to hurry with the formula. Even if you want to provide it, it should be after we sign the contract. However, I’ve thought of an even better approach—Auntie doesn’t have to be involved. You can directly apply for a patent for the traditional Chinese medicine formula, and we’ll pay you an exclusive patent fee. Although I might not be able to pay the patent fee in a lump sum, how about we offer a share?
For instance, if we earn 10 yuan per bottle, we’ll pay you 3 yuan as the patent fee."
