Chapter 624: Partners in Ambition

Before heading over, he made sure to place a call. Even though Mr. Li had hired several professional managers for Jin Yu Interactive—each taking care of their own duties and handling much of the workload—there were still some social gatherings only he could attend personally.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that aside from his initial investment and support, Zhou Can barely does anything for the company these days, yet he pockets a massive dividend each month. Mr. Li never once complained, but Zhou Can always held onto that sense of gratitude.

His ability to appreciate kindness is one of the main reasons so many bigshots enjoy keeping his company.

“Li-ge, what are you busy with these days?”

As soon as the call connected, Zhou Can chuckled and asked.

“What else would I be busy with? Company matters, of course. Now that the company’s huge, little problems keep piling up. Whatever the department managers can’t handle, they push onto the VPs, and whatever the VPs can’t fix, comes straight to me. Like today—dragged into another drinking party and only just got home thanks to my driver.”

Mr. Li could only relax and banter like this with his old friend Zhou Can.

He held a high position, and whether at work or out in the world, he always had to watch every word and action.

That kind of life was exhausting.

So he especially cherished the leisure and comfort of spending time with Zhou Can.

“You’re always keeping things running at the company, while I just rake in the money lying down. You never minded, but honestly, I feel pretty guilty about it.”

Zhou Can said it with heartfelt sincerity.

“Enough, enough, you’re at it again. Come on, the money is just a number, brother. I do this because I love it and because I want to achieve something real—maybe even to show my old competitors what I’m made of.”

Back when Mr. Li left Tianyu Interactive, the biggest reason was his wife’s depression and suicide attempt. Beneath all that, there was office backstabbing and serious exclusion.

Now, Jin Yu Interactive had become his achievement, a unicorn in the central and southern region—even if it still lagged behind Tianyu Interactive.

Catching up to Tianyu’s scale and profits would probably only take a few more years.

He’d proven his worth, becoming a standout in the entertainment industry—earning attention from investors everywhere.

“Funny how things turn out—you love the entertainment world, I love healing people. Let’s catch up, just tea this time, no booze.”

Zhou Can laughed.

“Works for me. It’s been ages since we sat down together—I was starting to miss it. Hurry over!”

Mr. Li genuinely looked forward to his visit.

……

About fifty minutes later Zhou Can finally reached the villa area on Jiangxin Island.

Every time he came here, the sheer wealth hanging in the air was impossible to ignore.

Every square inch of this place practically reeked of money.

“You’re here!”

Mr. Li was lounging on a rattan chair in the front yard. When he spotted Zhou Can’s car at the gate, he pressed the remote to open it for him.

“Li-ge, what’s with the pose? Don’t tell me you drank too much and got dumped out here by your wife after being chauffeured home?”

“Get out of here—is my wife that kind of person? I heard you were coming and set myself up here to wait just for you.”

Just then, Mr. Li spotted Su Qianqian getting out of the car from the other side and quickly sat up.

“Oh, Qian Qian, you’re here too! I’ve been rooting for you and Zhou Can to get married sooner—then I can finally call you ‘Sister-in-law.'”

That instantly broke the ice, making Su Qianqian relax around the boss and warming her up to Mr. Li.

“Our wedding’s set for the day after National Day! I was planning to send you an invitation in a couple days.”

She was extra respectful toward Mr. Li.

With her workplace experience, she kept herself composed and proper even in such informal settings.

“Of course I’ll be there! Zhou Can and I aren’t just friends, we’re brothers—I’ll need a few drinks at your wedding, guaranteed.” The friendship between Mr. Li and Zhou Can never faded once it began.

Sometimes, fate between people is just strangely wonderful.

“Qian Qian, let those two men talk business. We can go inside and chat.” Mr. Li’s wife still needed a wheelchair or crutches. Compared to before, her condition had only seen slight improvement.

But being able to walk with crutches was great rehab for her legs.

It helped fend off muscle atrophy.

Vascular and nerve deterioration is especially grim—once things start to decline, rehabilitating them is nearly impossible.

The body’s blood vessels are incredibly resilient.

But as muscles break down, the vessels deteriorate too.

If you want to recover after that, you’re looking at a mountain of rehab and a ton of pain.

“Sis-in-law, is your leg any better?”

“Feels about the same, really. Lately my calf keeps cramping, but every hospital check comes back fine.”

Qiu Jie knew Zhou Can was a well-known doctor at Tuyu. She gave him a quick run-down of her symptoms.

Whenever Zhou Can asked about her condition she never held back.

“Calf cramps are often muscle spasms, but nerve issues could play a part. Have you been doing a lot of rehab lately?”

“I was training a lot before, but the cramps flared up, so I switched to the wheelchair these past few days.”

“Then just observe it for a few more days. If things don’t improve, come see me at the Tuyu Hospital Emergency Department.”

Zhou Can would always go the extra mile for Qiu Jie, both out of friendship for Mr. Li and genuine care.

He never hesitated to help however he could—and counted it as another way of repaying Mr. Li.

“Alright!”

Qiu Jie nodded without hesitation.

At that moment, Su Qianqian came over to stand behind Qiu Jie’s wheelchair and naturally began pushing her.

“You two chat. Qian Qian and I are heading inside to watch TV and relax.”

With that, Su Qianqian pushed Qiu Jie inside.

Zhou Can wandered over to the gazebo and flopped down onto another rattan chair.

“Wow, this chair is ridiculously comfortable! No wonder Li-ge loves to lounge out here.”

“Not just any chair—that’s handcrafted by top wood and bamboo artisans, specially treated and shipped all the way from overseas. If it wasn’t comfortable, would I waste that kind of money?”

Mr. Li rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

Unlike some rich folks, Mr. Li cared far more about comfort than showing off.

Custom-made furniture, infused with a craftsman’s soul, was a whole different beast from factory-made stuff.

“Li-ge, I’ve got something I can’t quite figure out. Mind if I talk it over with you?”

“Go ahead!”

“Here’s the thing—our hospital’s Pharmaceutical Division is getting ready to sell… to me, as a package deal.”

Zhou Can laid out the details for Mr. Li. This was confidential—he’d sworn to Director Zhu not to speak a word to anyone else.

He was only bringing it up with Mr. Li because he fully trusted him.

“Traditional Chinese medicine is one of our country’s true roots, the soul of our healing arts. It’s only fallen so far because the times have changed. The Tuyu Hospital Pharmaceutical Division has a rich history, handed down through generations. I really feel duty-bound to do this.”

Mr. Li’s response only made Zhou Can admire him even more.

No wonder he’d done military service—his patriotic passion ran deep.

“From the bigger picture I agree it’s my duty if I have the means. But I have no company management experience, barely any time or energy. If I mess this up… what then?”

Zhou Can couldn’t hide his worry.

“You’re too careful from all those years as a doctor. Business isn’t medicine—every entrepreneur’s a risk-taker. If you don’t have a clear treatment plan, you won’t act. But with the division, you’d just be the brains behind the scenes—hire a reliable team, point them in the right direction, and let them go. Won’t eat up your life.”

“You’ve seen battle, right? The general gives an order and the whole army charges wherever the flag points. You’re the marshal waving that flag—get it?”

That analogy eased a lot of Zhou Can’s anxieties.

So many hospital leaders and higher-ups had placed their hopes on him. Their only fear was he might mess it all up.

Now it didn’t seem so daunting after all.

“With all these people betting on you—and the financial base to do it—just give it your best shot. If you’re nervous about losing money, let me buy in. If we lose, we share the risk; less stress for you that way.”

To Mr. Li, money was just part of the game.

That carefree attitude was precisely why he made so much money.

But the folks grinding away their whole lives barely scraped by.

“It’s not the cash I’m scared to lose—I just hate the idea of failing. If you’re willing to invest, all the better. Honestly, I have no confidence about running a company. But working with you, I’d feel way more at ease.”

Hearing Mr. Li was willing to buy in, Zhou Can felt a rush of relief.

“Cross-industry projects are tricky. I’m only in to help shoulder the potential risk. Did you realize the Pharmaceutical Division loses over a hundred million a year? If that continues, there’s no guarantee you’ll ever see returns. R&D in medicine soaks up cash for years with no visible results. Even if you lose a hundred million a year, if I help bear fifty million, your load’s much lighter.”

Mr. Li was dead serious.

Zhou Can honestly hadn’t thought it through that far.

His thought was that, as a public hospital, Tuyu suffered from rigid institutional problems. Even if he couldn’t totally turn things around, he’d surely stem the losses a bit.

Now, after what Mr. Li said, he realized it might just be a bottomless pit.

Bleeding a hundred million a year—who could stomach that?

It was like buying an air conditioner for $1,500, only to spend $2–3,000 a month just on electricity. The running costs outstripping the initial price in no time.

And that bill just kept coming, month after month.

Buying the division had the same risk. Even at a deep discount, the buyout was still around $120 million—and lots of the tech was surely thrown in for free.

Otherwise, just one secret herbal formula could fetch more than that on its own.

With so many ancient Chinese formulas, the division’s real value was impossible to estimate.

Tuyu Hospital poured boatloads of money in every year but got little out—a sign that money wasn’t being stolen, but poured into research.

Every last cent was real, cold hard cash.

Privatizing and commercializing the division after purchase could let a lot of its tech finally make money.

“I’ll talk to the hospital leaders about letting you buy in. If they’re on board, I’ll call you—we’ll be rock-solid on this if we do it together.”

Zhou Can didn’t dare agree on his own just yet.

After all, Tuyu Hospital was only selling the division to him because they trusted him—with a sense of responsibility.

Bringing in an outsider might not sit well with those in charge.

“I’ve always wanted to buy a pharmaceutical company. You saw my wife’s condition—she’s becoming immune to her meds, and things are getting worse. My biggest hope is to develop a cure for her, or at least something that stops things from getting any worse.”

Thinking of Qiu Jie’s condition, Mr. Li couldn’t mask his concerns.

Money was long past mattering to him.

But you couldn’t buy health, no matter how much you had.

“That’s a brilliant idea. Qian Qian was cured with a traditional formula. Even though the medical field smears traditional medicine these days, I’ve seen its wonders myself. If you really focus on the research, I know you’ll get results. Foreign anti-cancer drugs these days work from the immune system up—drawing their inspiration straight from traditional medicine.”

Zhou Can’s eyes sparkled.

Only now did he grasp why Director Zhu asked him that question.

“How many lives can you save in a day?”

He saw the truth clearly.

Medicine is truly the backbone of healing.

Since ancient times, humanity’s primary tool against illness was always medicine—surgery came much later.

In the early days, surgery barely made a dent in the field.

……

The next day, Zhou Can took the initiative to speak to Director Zhu about bringing in a partner.

Director Zhu was very surprised.

He questioned Zhou Can closely about Mr. Li’s character and their friendship. Only then did his expression soften.

He didn’t give Zhou Can an answer right away.

A couple days passed before Director Zhu finally called him back.

Apparently, this decision wasn’t his to make alone.

“Zhou, regarding the idea of a partner for the Pharmaceutical Division, upper management has agreed. There are a few conditions, though: At all times, you must hold at least 60% of shares; the company’s general direction must always be determined by you directly, never handed to outsiders; and Tuyu Hospital will have first right to purchase any drugs produced.”

These terms were meant to keep the division from falling into foreign hands after the sale.

If it got too unwieldy—or vital formulas were sold overseas—the country could lose out in a big way.

To Zhou Can, the leaders were worrying unnecessarily.

Mr. Li was more patriotic than they realized.

He’d never do something like that.

After getting off the call with Director Zhu, Zhou Can immediately told Mr. Li the hospital’s terms.

Mr. Li didn’t hesitate for a second and agreed to them all.

And so, the purchase of the Pharmaceutical Division officially got underway.

You could sense Director Zhu was approaching retirement—and in a hurry to get everything settled.

Whenever procedural snags or internal obstacles at the hospital came up, Director Zhu handled them himself, cutting through red tape and helping Zhou Can secure the purchase at top speed.

Once the dust settled, Han Soul Pharmaceuticals was officially born.