Chapter 351: The License

And so, the “Huang Family Pharmacy” opened with great fanfare. With the one thousand yuan in activity funds brought by Xin Nachun, Huang Zhen had plenty of money on hand. He immediately hired people to renovate the shop and order the necessary equipment.

The Huashan sect was located on Mount Hua. Every year, countless pilgrims came to the mountain to offer incense. As one of the major landlords on Mount Hua, the Huashan sect had many shops on and off the mountain. So, doing business was not unfamiliar to Huang Zhen.

However, on Mount Hua, they were the local tyrants, and the government would give them some face and not deliberately make things difficult. But this was a new place, and they had to maintain good relations first.

After some consideration, Huang Zhen decided to first pay a visit to the “director” of the Nanbao cooperative. When he was renting the house, this director had been very enthusiastic and had said that if he wanted to open a shop, he could go directly to her.

This “director,” Huang Zhen had originally thought, was just the “shopkeeper” of the “cooperative.” Although it was rare for a woman to be a shopkeeper, it was not unheard of in the Great Ming. But what he later learned shocked him:

It turned out that this female director was also a “cadre”—he knew what a cadre was, it was an official of the short-hairs. It was one thing for the short-hairs to let a woman be an official—Wu Zetian had been an emperor, after all—but a mere shopkeeper was also considered an “official”!

Speaking of “imperial shops” in the capital, there were many, but he had never heard of the shopkeepers inside being “officials,” not even “clerks.” The short-hairs actually gave an official title to the shopkeeper of a cooperative branch. This abuse of official titles was by no means the right way. The prosperous market here was just an illusion. The short-hairs had plundered Guangdong and destroyed several major pirate groups, seizing a large amount of wealth and goods, all piled up in this small Lingao. How could the market in Lingao not be rich? And look at those flashy streetlights, ditches, and paved roads—it was sheer extravagance! They were spending money like water, just to look good to outsiders and attract ignorant commoners—no different from when Emperor Yang of Sui wrapped the trees in Luoyang with silk.

With this “truth-seeing” thought, Huang Zhen prepared four kinds of gifts and a solid red envelope—not circulation coupons, but a gold ring weighing half a tael. He believed that everyone understood and liked the value of gold. Even if it couldn’t be used directly in the market, it would be collected.

This female director was a middle-aged woman. She was originally the wife of a grocer in Guangdong. After her husband died, the widow couldn’t support the shop. Hearing that life was easier in Lingao, she came to Lingao with her children and a small amount of property. To make a living, she joined the cooperative as a clerk.

She had been a shopkeeper’s wife and was very familiar with the ways of business. She could also write and do arithmetic, and she was very charming when dealing with customers. In less than a year, she became a business backbone. After three years, she was promoted to branch director.

Hearing that he was going to officially open a shop, she was overjoyed. It turned out that Li Mei had recently issued new evaluation indicators for the cooperative. The Nanbao branch’s performance was good in all other aspects, except for the real estate rental project, where the number of vacant shop-houses was too high. Although it was better than the Chengguan Town branch, the situation in Chengguan Town was special. In the future, it would be an administrative and cultural district, not a commercial one.

Besides, although the cooperative was a commercial unit, it also had the meaning of “promoting development.” The branch director also served as the director of the local branch of the “Ministry of Commerce’s Trade Promotion and Development Office,” and there was also assessment pressure in terms of attracting investment and tax growth.

Hearing that Shopkeeper Huang not only wanted to open a shop, but also a much-needed pharmacy in Nanbao—Runshitang had a branch here co-run with the Ministry of Health, and there was a long queue outside every day, and medicines were often sold out. It wasn’t that Nanbao itself had a large population, but a large number of people from the Li areas also came to buy medicine and see a doctor.

Now with another pharmacy, it could divert some of the patients. It was a double harvest in both the commercial and civil affairs fields. The director became even more enthusiastic and began to introduce the commercial policies.

“Shopkeeper Huang is opening a pharmacy. The first thing is to get a few licenses,” the director said, taking out a piece of white paper and scribbling on it with a pencil.

Huang Zhen nodded. He had already experienced the short-hairs’ fondness for issuing licenses.

The first was naturally a business license. Under the rule of the Senate, there was no Bureau of Industry and Commerce, but whether you opened a shop or set up a stall, you still had to apply for a business license. It was just that the issuing unit had become the police station. Specifically, the Civil Affairs Department of the National Police was responsible.

The reason why there was no industrial and commercial department and the police were in charge was mainly based on the experience and lessons of later generations. An administrative department like the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, which only had administrative law enforcement power and lacked violent law enforcement capabilities, had very low law enforcement efficiency in China. It often couldn’t manage the big ones and couldn’t manage the small ones. There were loopholes everywhere. Therefore, referring to the system of the old Japanese police, this authority was given to the National Police.

Hearing that this matter would even involve the police, Huang Zhen felt a little uneasy. But since things had come to this, there was no reason to retreat halfway.

Next was the tax registration certificate, which was obtained from the General Administration of Taxation. Huang Zhen naturally understood the matter of collecting taxes, but the commercial and industrial taxes in the Great Ming were very low, and the collection was very crude. In most cases, the national standard tax was pitifully small, but the “fees” and “donations” collected by the yamen were as numerous as ox hair, and temporary levies were also common. Huang Zhen managed the assets of the Huashan sect and knew that it had always been a matter of low taxes and heavy fees. The former went to the public, and no one cared. It was fine to pay a little to deal with it, and there were many rich and powerful people who didn’t pay at all. The latter was collected and used by the yamen itself, so it was not so easy to slip through.

In Lingao, it was completely the opposite. There were no “fees and donations” here, but there were many kinds of taxes. Not only were there taxes on shops, but also on employees. Not only were there business tax and income tax, but also stamp tax… The list went on and on, and the calculation method was very complicated. He was immediately confused.

Seeing his difficulty, the director stopped and smiled. “This can’t be explained in a short time. You should go and get the tax registration certificate first. Someone will help you explain it then.”

“Yes, yes, thank you, Director.”

“Originally, this would be it. But since you are opening a pharmacy, you will have a few more things to do.”

“Please enlighten me, Director.”

The director said that since it involved medical and health care, a “medical and health business license” had to be obtained—this license was also issued by the National Police, or more precisely, managed by the National Police’s Health Supervision Department. All management in the public health field was the responsibility of this department. As for the reason, it was the same as why the business license was issued by the Civil Affairs Department.

Huang Zhen nodded helplessly, thinking that since he had to get some “business license,” he might as well get them all at once. Unexpectedly, the director said again:

“It’s just that to apply for this medical and health business license, you must first have two certificates: since there is ‘medicine,’ you must have a ‘traditional Chinese medicine license,’ and since there is ‘pharmacy,’ you must have a ‘traditional Chinese medicine pharmacist license’…”

Before she could finish, Huang Zhen quickly said, “Well, do I need a ‘shopkeeper’s license’ to be a shopkeeper?”

The female director smiled sweetly. “That’s not necessary. But if you are willing, you can also take an examination for a business management qualification certificate. It will be very useful if you don’t open your own shop in the future and work in our state-owned commercial enterprises.”

Huang Zhen almost fainted.

The female director said some more words like “medical matters are about people’s health and life, so we must be cautious.” Huang Zhen just agreed.

As for this professional qualification certificate, it had to be taken at the Lingao General Hospital in Dongmen Market. In fact, there was a lot of controversy within the Senate and the health system about the issuance of traditional Chinese medicine professional qualification certificates. Because a considerable number of Yuanlao suggested “abolishing medicine and preserving pharmacy” for traditional Chinese medicine. However, the health department was unable to train enough medical personnel who were slightly familiar with modern medicine, so it was finally decided to maintain the status quo. As Deng Kezhang, the head of the medical affairs section of the Lingao General Hospital and secretary of the Ministry of Health’s office, said, “the placebo effect also cures diseases.”

“Shopkeeper Huang, don’t be anxious. Our Senate has never made things difficult for the common people. As long as the conditions are met, there will be no deliberate difficulties. If there is anything you don’t understand, just come over, and I will do my best to help.” After saying that, she gave him a flirtatious look.

Huang Zhen pretended not to see it, got up, and bowed.

“Thank you for your guidance, Director. I will go and do it now.” As he spoke, he presented the four kinds of gifts.

“Oh my, how can I accept your gift?” the female director said with a smile like a flower. “We don’t do this here. Don’t make me make a mistake…” As she spoke, her hand inadvertently touched Huang Zhen’s arm. “You’ve come from afar, and it’s not easy to do business here. Don’t spend too much—if you really want to thank me, just come and talk to me often. We can have a mutual exchange—it’s all for the service of the Senate and the people.”

Huang Zhen got goosebumps. He had originally wanted to give her a gold ring, but it seemed that giving it would only cause more trouble. He quickly said with a smile, “It’s just four kinds of local products, just a small token of my appreciation. I hope the Director will take care of me and give me guidance in the future…”

After saying that, he quickly got up to leave. The director refused to accept his gift. After a few refusals, it was finally returned. Huang Zhen was secretly surprised: this short-hair was really incorruptible! But this female pseudo-short-hair seemed to be very interested in him… He immediately got goosebumps all over. Unbearable, unbearable.

Returning to the shop, he told them about the need to take an examination. Jiao Gongli and Song Shengying were also heroes of their own right. Hearing that they had to take an examination to open a business, they were both at a loss. They had experienced many things in their lives, but this was the first time they had taken an examination. But since they had come to Lingao, there was no reason to retreat. They had to follow what the female director said and went to the bookstore on the street to find the 1634 Annual Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner and Pharmacist Examination Syllabus and Guide to study. Huang Zhen saw that the bookstore was full of similar books, like the collections of eight-legged essays for students taking the imperial examinations. He couldn’t help but feel a little unsure. He picked out two more related books, Past Examination Papers Collection and Review Compendium, to bring back for the two of them to review. As for registration, it was even simpler. The bookstore handled the registration, which involved paying fees, filling out forms, pressing fingerprints, and getting an admission ticket.