Behind the medical center, Chen Yu had a dedicated preparation room.
This was where he routinely decocted traditional Chinese medicine or prepared medicinal liquors.
The spacious, well-lit room was filled with the heavy aroma of Chinese herbs. A row of small, wood-burning stoves held a collection of clay pots.
The firewood crackled as it burned, and steam rattled the pot lids.
Chen Yu was holding an original copy of the Records of Traditional Chinese Medicine from China, engrossed in its pages.
At his feet, Little Curry was meticulously chopping firewood with a small axe, tending to the stoves beside him.
Just then, a middle-aged man knocked and entered.
He took a deep breath and said, "Chen, I smell money."
Chen Yu glanced at the man, dressed sharply in a suit and leather shoes that probably cost over ten thousand US dollars, but didn’t reply.
His name was Ryan Kent.
He was from the Eli Lilly Company.
He had been Chen Yu’s contact for Physical Fitness No. 1, and they had met many times, so they could loosely be considered friends.
Kent walked straight over, sat down opposite Chen Yu, and pulled out a check. He pushed it solemnly across the table with both hands and said, "Dr. Chen, please, you must give us the opportunity to invest in your show."
Chen Yu glanced down. It was a check for five million US dollars.
In fact, they had heard a few days ago that Chen Yu was planning to produce a weight-loss show and had already contacted him about investing.
And today, they had shown up with the check in hand.
Without even putting down his book, Chen Yu said, "It’s not necessary."
It was just a weight-loss show; the production costs wouldn’t be that high.
Chen Yu could afford it himself.
However, Chen Yu had already decided to split the investment opportunities.
He gave a share to O’Neal, a share to Hill’s father, and a part to the league itself, since the show might feature NBA game footage and would need the league’s authorization.
’Since I think it’ll be profitable, and I’m not short on cash, why would I take Eli Lilly’s money?’
Little Curry, standing nearby, got up to take a look and was secretly astounded.
Ryan smiled at Little Curry, put the check away, and looked at the row of clay pots. "In that case, Dr. Chen," he asked, "have you had any thoughts about the weight-loss drug?"
Investing in Chen Yu’s TV show was secondary; what they really wanted to invest in was the weight-loss drug he planned to make.
Physical Fitness No. 1 was selling well.
After all, a large number of star athletes were using it, and it was endorsed by a medical authority like Chen Yu.
But the market for sports supplements was too small. Eli Lilly wanted to break into the general consumer market, but they were worried that the advertising costs would be too high to recoup their investment.
A weight-loss drug, however, was a different story.
It was a market potentially worth tens of billions. With Chen Yu’s endorsement, it was guaranteed to be a bestseller and a huge moneymaker.
Chen Yu gave a noncommittal shake of the book in his hand and said, "I’m thinking about it."
For the past few days, Chen Yu had been pondering the weight-loss drug.
To develop a real pharmaceutical drug, the costs and effort involved were far beyond what Chen Yu could afford.
After all, from research and development to certification and market release, who knew how long the process would take.
To date, there were only a handful of FDA-approved weight-loss drugs on the market, like Orlistat.
So, he would have to follow the same path as Physical Fitness No. 1: market it as a health supplement and claim in the advertisements that it wasn’t a drug, but a supplement with weight-loss effects.
Therefore, Chen Yu still planned to create a formula, and he had been spending all his time researching just that.
After reviewing a lot of material, Chen Yu had a few ideas.
In traditional Chinese medicine, there were roughly six main approaches to weight loss.
Harmonizing the stomach to eliminate fat, invigorating blood to remove stasis, expanding the chest to resolve phlegm, soothing the liver and promoting gallbladder function, promoting diuresis to drain dampness, and purging to unblock the bowels.
The core concept was to boost the body’s metabolism and strengthen the metabolic organs.
Combined with controlling intake and exercising, it was sure to be effective.
There were many, many formulas corresponding to these six approaches.
For example, for harmonizing the stomach to eliminate fat, there were formulas like Jiao San Xian and Bao He Wan. For promoting diuresis to drain dampness, there were formulas like Wu Ling San.
However, none of these were specifically weight-loss drugs. In traditional Chinese medicine, obesity itself wasn’t considered a disease; only the series of problems caused by obesity were.
It wasn’t like Western medicine, which is highly targeted. Orlistat, for instance, works by inhibiting gastric and pancreatic lipases to prevent fat absorption.
So, in Chen Yu’s view, using traditional Chinese medicine for weight loss was more like a systematic project. The main goal was to regulate the body, improve organ function, and let the body slim down on its own.
Taking a single formula to make one product definitely wouldn’t be very effective.
But combining them was also difficult. You couldn’t just put them into a single product, like a capsule. Grinding some Chinese herbs into powder completely changes their effects.
Seeing Ryan still staring at him with a fervent gaze, Chen Yu had an idea and briefly explained his current dilemma.
’This guy has been in the pharmaceutical industry for so many years and has single-handedly packaged and launched so many products. He must be rich in experience.’
Unexpectedly, his casual question actually gave Kent an idea.
"Dr. Chen, according to what you’ve said, weight loss is a systematic project that needs to be tackled from multiple angles. In my opinion, that’s actually a good thing!" Ryan said excitedly.
Chen Yu was taken aback. ’A good thing?’
Ryan clearly had a plan forming. "For example, just as you said, there are six methods. So, we create six different concentrated liquids, package them separately in oral-solution-style vials, and sell them as a series. Then we tell the consumer they need to drink all six ’essences’ every day for it to be effective."
"I don’t think that’s a problem at all. You’ve seen people trying to lose weight—they take handfuls of pills every day. Drinking six small vials of liquid is nothing to them. And we can make the packaging even better, charge a higher price, and make them feel like they’re getting their money’s worth."
"We could even tell them to take it at specific times and in a specific order, or else it won’t work. That way, if it doesn’t work for someone, we already have an excuse."
"Also, since they’re concentrated liquids, we can create different concentrations and price them differently. That would be even better for marketing."
Physical Fitness No. 1 was sold in a diluted form.
Chen Yu stared at Ryan. ’As expected of these businessmen. They really know a thing or two about how to get people to open their wallets.’
What he saw as a problem, they turned into a selling point.
"I’ll think about it some more," Chen Yu said.
Ryan nodded with a smile. "No problem. As for the specifics, we’ll follow your lead completely."
The weight-loss show was in the planning stages, but O’Neal had already started diligently gaining weight for it.
By February 7th, when Chen Yu’s group headed to Atlanta, his weight had soared to 373 pounds.
That was almost the same weight he had been last summer before his surgery.
At first, Chen Yu had tried to stop him.
But first of all, it was impossible to stop him.
Secondly, Chen Yu had come to terms with it. ’Fine, get fat. However much you gain, I’ll make sure you lose every single pound of it on the show.’
This year, the Phoenix Suns had two All-Star selections: Hardaway and O’Neal.
Chen Yu was once again the team doctor for the West.
But this time, the head coach for the West was Popovich.
Halfway through the season, the Phoenix Suns had slipped from first in the West to second.
The Spurs had started to surge, climbing to first in the West.
O’Neal’s weight gain was genuinely affecting his performance.
Fortunately, the Phoenix Suns weren’t too concerned; as long as they secured a top-four spot, it was fine.
Jordan was also traveling with them.
He was sidelined until just before the All-Star Game, so he was traveling directly from Phoenix to Atlanta.
Carter, on the other hand, had returned to Toronto early and would travel to Atlanta from there.
On the plane, O’Neal was rambling on, complaining to the others about how unfair it was and how the league needed to change the All-Star voting rules.
Chen Yu smiled without saying anything. He knew why O’Neal was so worked up.
Because this year’s starting center for the West was actually the rookie, Yao Ming.
The last person to be selected as an All-Star starter in his rookie season was Hill.
And Yao Ming was the first international player to do so, absolutely making history.
In terms of votes, Yao Ming had received over 1.1 million, surpassing O’Neal, which was a tough pill for him to swallow.
Putting fame aside and just looking at the stats, Yao Ming was only averaging 13.2 points and 7.6 rebounds so far this season, not even in the same league as O’Neal.
It was purely because Yao Ming had so many fans in China who had voted him into the starting lineup.
As O’Neal kept grumbling, Jordan couldn’t take it anymore and snapped at him to shut up.
Jordan was annoyed. ’You lost your starting spot, but I’m not a starter either! And what’s more embarrassing is that I have to have Carter give up his spot for me.’
He was now champing at the bit with a single thought: he had to put these so-called "successors to Jordan" in their place during the All-Star Game.
O’Neal pouted and fell silent.
Just then, Little Curry, who was sitting between Jordan and Chen Yu, said with a face full of envy, "When I grow up, I hope I can make it to the All-Star Game too."
Little Curry was close with Chen Yu. Plus, while Old Curry had never made it to an All-Star Game himself, he wanted his son to experience the atmosphere. So, just like before, he had pawned Little Curry off on Chen Yu.
He himself had taken his wife on vacation.
Little Curry had wanted to come anyway.
"You?"
Jordan turned his head, shot a disdainful look at Little Curry’s stick-thin arms, and was about to let out a couple of mocking remarks when Chen Yu cleared his throat as a warning.
’This guy,’ Chen Yu thought. ’Isn’t it enough that he’s crushed so many people’s spirits? How can he go after a kid?’
Jordan caught himself and immediately changed his tune. He reached out, ruffled Little Curry’s hair, and said with a grin, "Yeah, I believe you can do it. Because you have the acknowledgment of the God of Basketball."
He patted his own chest, a smug look on his face.
He was just spouting nonsense, but Little Curry’s heart swelled with excitement. The boy nodded vigorously, his eyes shining.
Chen Yu saw this, shook his head slightly, and went back to his book.
He was still thinking about the formula.
After thinking it over and over, Chen Yu decided he agreed with Ryan’s suggestion.
He might as well create six concentrated "essences." It would be as if some mysterious power required you to collect and drink all six bottles together for it to work.
As for the large dosage, Chen Yu had thought about that too. Just as Ryan said, these Americans took handfuls of diet pills at a time. What was drinking six vials of liquid in comparison?

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