Fame and Profit, A Century-Long Plan to Train Doctors

Serena Feng wasn’t dreaming. After Dr. Marcus Guile offered his apology, Dr. Redwater also mumbled a few words of apology. His voice was quiet, but it was indeed an apology.

Serena staggered a step, quickly saying, "It’s—it’s fine, you don’t need to be so formal, sirs."

Serena felt a bit light-headed, but thankfully she was sensible enough not to just stand there and accept Dr. Guile’s gesture. Otherwise, people would gossip that she was getting arrogant.

She’d been looked down on plenty of times before, but no one had ever apologized for it. This was the first time someone with higher status and ability had ever apologized to her for such a thing. For Serena, it was a rare experience.

Serena was still a bit dazed. When she told Prince Nolan about it later, he rubbed her head and said, "My Serena deserves it."

If you want people to respect you, you have to rely on yourself. Prince Nolan could step in for Serena, but that would only make others obey her in appearance, not in their hearts. Only by showing her own strength could Serena truly win them over—just like Dr. Redwater and Dr. Guile.

The more Dr. Guile and Dr. Redwater heard about Serena’s achievements from Simon Sun, the more they admired her. When they learned Simon was discussing making small medical tools with Zuo An, they immediately asked to join in.

The two brothers had spent their whole lives trying to raise the level of medical skill. Now that such a great opportunity had come, of course they wouldn’t let it slip by. Serena agreed right away when she heard.

She only came up with the idea; with others to execute it, she was happy to play hands-off boss. After all, out of the four of them, one is a research maniac and the other three are medical nerds. When the research pays off, the profits will definitely be hers.

Of course, as for fame, she didn’t want it at all. Serena never planned to make her name through medicine—she just wanted to make a killing.

"You really are a little money-grubber. You have more silver than you could ever need." Prince Nolan truly couldn’t understand why Serena was so obsessed with earning silver—the assets of Feng Manor now surpassed most noble houses.

"No one ever thinks they have too much silver. How about it—should I let Vincent Su partner with me? Don’t say I neglect old friends; he was the first one I thought of." Remembering how she’d chosen Victor Yun over Vincent last time, Serena made the offer herself this time.

Prince Nolan didn’t hesitate at all. Since Serena said no one ever thinks they have too much silver, he certainly didn’t. He immediately agreed on Vincent’s behalf: "All right, fifty-fifty split."

Giving Serena half was already generous—at least in Prince Nolan’s eyes. If Vincent were negotiating, it’d be seventy-thirty, with Vincent taking seventy and Serena thirty. After all, Serena only provided the manufacturing method, then just waited to count her silver.

"Fifty-fifty? That’s ruthless. You don’t have to do anything—just have people follow your instructions and you get half." Technology is the real value, you know? She could easily outsource the work, have others produce it, and sell it herself.

Labor and raw materials are dirt cheap these days.

"Fifty-fifty is plenty. You should know, ordinary people won’t buy these things." Prince Nolan rapped Serena on the head, not holding back at all.

Don’t let money be all you think about.

"You’ll make yourself stupid." Serena slapped his hand away, annoyed. "Ordinary people won’t buy them, but sales definitely won’t be low. There aren’t many doctors in the Nine Provinces Realm. I’ve been discussing with Dr. Guile and the others about founding a Medical Academy. Once we train waves of doctors, our products will naturally sell."

Talk about being a schemer—Serena absolutely had the makings of one. She’d already figured out her potential customers. When it came to business, even Prince Nolan had to admit he admired her.

"I really wonder how your mind works. You always think of things that others never do." There were few doctors in the Nine Provinces Realm, but truly wealthy families never lacked for them. Serena was targeting the needs of the majority—and that was smart.

It showed she had the vision of a ruler and the perspective of someone in power—she cared about the common people.

Someday, when the Lan clan and the Feng-Li clan rule together, the people will surely live better than they do now.

"It’s just some ordinary ideas. By the way, Dr. Guile and I want to found a Medical Academy—that’s something that truly benefits the people. Do you want to get a piece of the action?" Of course, she wouldn’t let others have all the benefits. The Academy would train doctors, but also bring fame and profit.

Dr. Guile and Dr. Redwater genuinely wanted to teach more people medicine. Serena, on the other hand, was in it for profit. As for fame, she planned to let Prince Nolan claim it.

"What’s your plan?" Prince Nolan lived up to his reputation—he immediately sensed the opportunity in Serena’s words.

Serena’s eyes sparkled as she laid out her plan: "It’s simple. I want to train doctors for free. If you join, I’ll announce to the world that you’re paying all the costs, just so patients can have doctors to treat them. Of course, I won’t do charity—once each doctor can practice independently, they’ll work for me for five years. I’ll pay their wages during that time."

"Can you afford it? You’ll need a lot of silver up front. Can you recoup it later?" Prince Nolan considered the feasibility. If it worked, the reputation would last far longer than any disaster-relief campaign—even the Emperor couldn’t steal it.

"I get profit shares from the Yun clan and from gambling—there’s over two million taels, plenty for start-up capital. As for making it back, you can rest assured: medicine is a lucrative business, and I’ll definitely earn it all back." As a doctor, Serena was confident—she knew the biggest herb merchant in the Nine Provinces Realm.

Medicine and pharmaceuticals go hand in hand. If you control both, it’s hard not to make money.

"If you’re confident, of course I’m willing. Draft a detailed plan and I’ll have Vincent Su provide the initial funding—you won’t have to use your own silver." Prince Nolan saw Serena’s confidence and made his decision. He didn’t care much about profit or loss; losing a little silver was nothing. What mattered was that Serena’s plan was truly meaningful.

Spending a few million taels to train hundreds or thousands of doctors and station them in the army would absolutely reduce soldiers’ deaths and disabilities. To Prince Nolan, the lives of his troops mattered far more than silver.

"All right, I’ll discuss the details with Dr. Guile and Dr. Redwater. I’m sure those two are truly public-spirited—they’ll be happy to teach their skills to others." Serena didn’t mind sharing the surgical techniques that could actually be used in this era—since in the end, she’d be the one to profit most from it all...