Chapter 302 — The Question of Seed Capital

And Wei Zhao actually had a formula of similar efficacy? Then again, thinking of Wei Zhao's painkiller formula, Guan Xuewen did not doubt for a moment that Wei Zhao was merely boasting.

If he said he had it, then he certainly had it; if he said it worked, then it certainly worked. Of this, Guan Xuewen was utterly convinced.

"If it truly exists, then together with the painkiller formula we already have, these two flagship products brought to market could well put us on equal footing with the divine physician Kang." Guan Xuewen nodded. He had little interest in business dealings, but his interest in Wei Zhao's formulas was boundless.

"Grandpa Guan, I'll put up the formula as my stake and borrow your reputation—what say you to the two of us jointly founding a pharmaceutical company?" Wei Zhao laid out his intent.

Through their several encounters, Wei Zhao had come to a rough understanding of Guan Xuewen: the old man held fame and fortune lightly, was almost entirely without desire, and yet prized formulas above all else—not out of greed to claim them for himself, but out of a wish to study their pharmacological properties.

"My reputation—you're welcome to use it..." Guan Xuewen waved a hand. "I lack neither food nor clothing; there's no use for more money. But do you know how much capital it takes to establish a pharmaceutical company? Especially since with a formula like this we must keep it in our own hands and cannot contract the work out to other factories—we'd also need a full production line to match. Without a hundred million in seed capital, I'm afraid it simply cannot be done!"

"A hundred million?" Wei Zhao had no such business experience and was slightly taken aback. "That is rather a lot. Grandpa Guan, do you have the money? I could take a smaller share of the equity, that's fine too."

A hundred million was nothing at all to the Wei Zhao of before. Though the old man had lied to him that a single assignment paid only a few hundred yuan, Wei Zhao knew very well in his heart that many of his own assignments had run into the hundreds of millions—he simply had not been willing to quibble with his stingy old man, for that was the man who had raised him, and there was no need to reckon matters so precisely with him.

Only now did Wei Zhao find himself genuinely short of money, and only now did he realize that without money, nothing could be done.

"Heh heh... My money, beyond what covers ordinary daily expenses, has gone almost entirely to medical causes from consultation fees." Guan Xuewen smiled. "You know as well as I do that at my level, one has little to spend money on—the school basically reimburses all daily expenses."

Wei Zhao was somewhat at a loss now. It seemed he had been a bit too simple in his thinking, assuming that with a formula in hand the money would follow; the matter of seed capital had never crossed his mind.

If it came to drawing in investors, Wei Zhao could manage it—were he to explain the industry's prospects to Gu Pengzhan, he was sure the man would be interested. But Gu Pengzhan's own company had not even sorted out its internal problems, and Wei Zhao was unwilling to hand over the formula to a company he had so little confidence in.

It was not that Wei Zhao did not trust Gu Pengzhan; the crux was that whether the company would even belong to Gu Pengzhan in the future was another matter entirely. And even if it did, judging by those several bastards among the shareholders—men capable of orchestrating the assassination of Gu Mengyao—there was no telling whether the sight of this formula would set their greed ablaze and move them to seize it for themselves.

"My eldest son does have that kind of money in hand, but I will not use his money." Seeing Wei Zhao silent, Guan Xuewen went on: "He is a somewhat covetous man. He must not be involved in this matter!"

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was startled; he had not expected Guan Xuewen to say such a thing. Most people, when something good comes along, think first of their own children, yet Guan Xuewen had flatly ruled out any possibility of involving his eldest son.

"Heh heh, he has money enough to spend already. I do not wish to ruin him." Guan Xuewen smiled. "My younger son—Xinxin's father—does business in Linzi and has some money in hand, but his company is not very large; the whole enterprise put together is likely worth only two or three hundred million, with nowhere near that much liquid capital. So I do not wish either of them to take part in this matter. My health is still sound at present, so it is no concern, but in the future... heh heh..."

Guan Xuewen did not go on, but Wei Zhao would surely understand his meaning. Indeed, Wei Zhao understood him well, and was deeply shaken—he had already been certain that Guan Xuewen was an upright old man indifferent to fame and fortune, but he had never imagined the old man saw things so clearly. At the very moment Wei Zhao had but proposed the notion of a partnership, he had already shut both of his family members out of it.

"Grandpa Guan... giving them some non-voting shares would be no problem at all," Wei Zhao said, a little embarrassed.

"No need." Guan Xuewen shook his head. "Never mind them—I don't even want the equity myself!"

"Ah?" Wei Zhao was startled. "How can that be? Then how am I to borrow your reputation?"

"You rascal... let me finish!" Cut off by Wei Zhao, Guan Xuewen was torn between laughter and tears. "I hadn't finished speaking!"

"Er... all right, Grandpa Guan, go on." Wei Zhao, now well acquainted with Guan Xuewen, had lost his initial reserve.

In truth, the two had long since become friends despite the difference in their years, ever since they had discussed medical questions the last time.

"Xinxin is the granddaughter I love most. If possible, just allocate a small portion of the shares to her name—that will do," Guan Xuewen said. "Not much; enough for her to live on hereafter."

"That goes without saying." Wei Zhao agreed without a moment's thought.

"Don't be in such a hurry to agree. Boot it up yourself—you still have to come up with the money on your own!" Guan Xuewen waved a hand and said gravely, "True, my name carries weight with every great family, and I could bring in a good deal of investment, but this pharmaceutical company of yours—you'd best not let outsiders take a share in it!"

"The profits from the Kang family's Golden Wound Medicine have long made people's eyes turn green, but there's nothing to be done—no one can worm their way in. They run it in an entirely clan-based fashion, with no outsiders involved," Guan Xuewen went on. "So long as the old master Kang is still alive, there won't be any trouble. But your company—if you let others in, I can't promise that my name will still carry any weight when profit is on the table."

"I understand, Grandpa Guan. I'll find a way to raise the capital myself." Wei Zhao nodded.

Guan Xuewen said nothing more. A hundred million in start-up capital might sound like a fairy tale to an ordinary person, but Guan Xuewen knew that Wei Zhao was no ordinary person.

A man who was a comrade-in-arms of Yang Huaijun, a man in possession of such marvelous medical skill—how could he possibly be ordinary?

"By the way, there's a patient's case I'd like to discuss with you. Lend me your judgment—see if you can think of any good course of treatment?" As he spoke, Guan Xuewen began pulling a stack of medical records from the table, already prepared beforehand.