An Huchun

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	An Huchun (安壶春)
Alias(es)	Chairman An; “Big Boss” (used by children and nephews of Tianjingyan Medicinal Herb Planting Base employees) 198
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group / Five Watches; Tianjingyan Medicinal Herb Planting Base
Occupation/Role	Chairman and former president of Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group; pharmaceutical researcher
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 3

Background / History

An Huchun is the second son of the An family. His elder brother, An Zhongqian, rejected their father An Jiaxing’s expectation that he inherit the family business, left home, and became chief physician of Cardiac Surgery at Magic City Second People’s Hospital. An Huchun was therefore left connected to the family enterprise despite having received a comparatively relaxed “happy education” rather than succession training. 4 833

An Jiaxing had originally intended An Huchun to be a transitional leader until An Wuyang was old enough to inherit Wugengtian. The plan failed when An Jiaxing died before An Wuyang came of age, leaving An Huchun to lead the group despite considering himself unqualified for the role. 833

Under An Huchun’s leadership, Wugengtian neared bankruptcy amid repeated centralized-procurement failures, high costs, and declining operations. Rather than decide unilaterally, he and Li Wenya gave An Wuyang the choice between liquidation—which would preserve most family assets—and attempting to save the company at the risk of heavy debt. 3

During the crisis, An Huchun approved a 136 million yuan severance package for laid-off employees despite the group holding less than 20 million yuan in cash and facing major loans, bills, and supplier payables. The plan offered 2N+2 compensation and doubled annual salary for management personnel. 14

After Wugengtian recovered through products including the Snowy Skin Series, An Huchun increasingly withdrew from daily management to concentrate on research and development, while allowing An Wuyang to assume operational control. 208 601 649

Personality

An Huchun is guided by a strong conscience in business. He refuses to exploit workers or compromise pharmaceutical raw-material quality, even when those principles leave Wugengtian disadvantaged against less scrupulous competitors. He considers money sufficient once it meets one’s needs and does not want An Wuyang to become someone who pursues profit without compassion. 68

His employee-focused instincts can be financially aggressive. He favors creating opportunities for longtime employees’ children, paying generous severance, and treating the group more philanthropically than An Wuyang’s sustainability-focused approach. 14 100

At the same time, he is a highly ambitious, risk-tolerant investor. He repeatedly supports expensive long-term projects, arguing that profits should be used to buy time and build future capabilities rather than retained indefinitely. 28 146 699

Scientific research is his primary passion. He routinely prioritizes laboratory work over management, social obligations, meals, and even family dinners; when research produces results, he becomes intensely focused and difficult to distract. 161 567 677 680

His research drive can also make him ethically pragmatic. He seeks reliable human-trial data and has asked An Wuyang to arrange test subjects abroad, while maintaining that he wants suitable volunteers rather than illicitly obtained subjects. 772 797 798

Abilities & Skills

Pharmaceutical Research

An Huchun is an active researcher who works directly with Fu Yuhang and Mo Li rather than merely funding their work.

• Participated in research that isolated the Energy Recovery Factor from ginseng extracts and confirmed its effects. 157 161
• Helped determine that only genuine forest-grown ginseng transplanted to Tianjingyan Medicinal Herb Planting Base can produce Energy Recovery Factors; cultivated or counterfeit ginseng cannot. 458
• Studies Korean-ginseng phenolic compounds, including conjugated-triene structures and their cis-trans isomers. 680
• Coordinates research into artificial stem cells combined with the Vitality Recovery Factor. 585
• Conducts or supervises research based on materials obtained from Koria’s special medicinal-herb cultivation base. 601 627 677

Research Leadership

• Recruited and retained researchers through major investment, including Fu Yuhang and Mo Li. 699
• Responded to the poaching of Wugengtian’s R&D staff by proposing his own talent-poaching recruitment plan. 120 136
• Prefers building a long-term talent pipeline through university preparatory classes rather than relying solely on poaching. 791 792
• Supports expansion into botany, medicine, iPSC technology, gene editing, and other research-intensive fields needed for Tianjingyan’s development. 791

Long-Term Project Planning

• Planned expansion of the Tianjingyan Medicinal Herb Planting Base, beginning with 10,000 mu and including at least 2,000 mu for bitter orange flowers. 75
• Proposed a 2,000-mu super-giant glass greenhouse, initially estimated at more than 680 million yuan for construction alone. 107
• Planned a new R&D center beside the Tianjingyan base to study bitter orange blossoms and other herbs. 28
• Proposed a top-tier proton knife treatment center estimated at roughly 3 billion yuan. 698 699
• Advocated investing up to 10 billion yuan over five years in iPSC research, partly in hope of developing treatments for An Wuyang’s hereditary heart condition. 699 704

Research & Projects

Project / Field	An Huchun’s Role	Documented Development
Bitter Orange Blossom Essential Oil	Research and product-development lead	Comparison tests showed promising results after the group’s layoffs were finalized. 21
Snowy Skin Series	Strategic backer	Planned to reinvest product profits into herb-base expansion and a new R&D center. 28
Energy Recovery Factor	Researcher and supervisor	Worked with Fu Yuhang and Mo Li to isolate the factor and investigate its source and effects. 161
Forest-Grown Ginseng	Researcher	Confirmed the requirement for genuine forest-grown ginseng transplanted into Tianjingyan soil to produce Energy Recovery Factors. 458
Rheumatism / Cloudfire Vine Project	Evaluator	Considered the initial Rheumatism Project of limited value because of Cloudfire Vine’s cost, then left the investment decision to An Wuyang. 458
Lupus Project	Prospective investor	Expressed immediate, strong interest after An Wuyang forwarded Professor Wei Zhenghong’s materials. 286
Proton Knife Medical Center	Project advocate	Proposed a high-end treatment center for tumors, cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy-related issues, and trigeminal neuralgia. 698 699
iPSC Technology Laboratory	Project advocate	Advocated heavy investment in iPSC talent and research, with the potential to develop heart-treatment applications. 699 704
Injectable Agents and Stem Cells	Research lead	Advanced research on combined injectable agents based on Vitality Recovery Factor and in-vitro-cultured stem cells. 798 830

Story Role / Major Arcs

Wugengtian’s Bankruptcy Crisis

When Wugengtian was on the verge of collapse, An Huchun refused to abandon its legacy without first placing its fate in An Wuyang’s hands. He was prepared to lose most family assets to save the company and treated employee severance as an obligation rather than a cost to be minimized. 3 14

Recovery Through Cosmetics and Herb Cultivation

Following the success of the Snowy Skin Series, An Huchun pursued a broader recovery strategy: expand Tianjingyan’s growing capacity, increase bitter orange cultivation, establish a stronger R&D base, and protect the group’s interests against Tsunamura Pharmaceutical and Caimai Pharmaceutical’s interference. 28 48 75

R&D Center Poaching Crisis

After major cosmetics brands poached key members of Wugengtian’s R&D center, including personnel from the bitter orange blossom, centella pharmacology, and engineering teams, An Huchun abandoned his earlier reluctance toward aggressive recruitment. He began planning to poach researchers from universities and competing institutions. 115 120 136

Delegation to An Wuyang

As Wugengtian stabilized, An Huchun intentionally transferred more daily authority to An Wuyang so that his son could gain experience before formally inheriting the company. He remained available for advice but increasingly concentrated on research with Fu Yuhang and Mo Li. 208 246

Transition into a Research-Focused Chairman

By the time An Wuyang had transformed Wugengtian into a rapidly expanding pharmaceutical giant, An Huchun regarded stepping back as fortunate: it allowed him to devote himself to research while An Wuyang handled the company’s commercial direction. 601 649 833

Relationships

• An Wuyang — Son and successor. An Huchun entrusted him with Wugengtian’s fate during its bankruptcy crisis, later delegated daily management to him, and openly credits him with raising the group to unprecedented heights. 3 208 833
• Li Wenya — Wife and first love. They presented a united front during the bankruptcy decision, supported the severance plan together, and continue to travel and make family decisions as a couple. 3 14 106 725
• An Jiaxing — Father and former head of the An family business. An Jiaxing’s succession plan placed An Huchun in a transitional role rather than preparing him as the main heir. 4 833
• An Zhongqian — Elder brother. Despite An Zhongqian’s conflict with their father over the family business, the brothers maintain a good relationship. 4
• Fu Yuhang — Research collaborator. Works with An Huchun on Energy Recovery Factor, ginseng, stem-cell, and other projects. 161 458 585
• Mo Li — Research collaborator. Works alongside An Huchun and Fu Yuhang in the R&D center. 161 458 585
• Tang Wenshu — Long-serving subordinate of roughly twenty years. An Huchun trusts his interpersonal ability and supports An Wuyang’s efforts to promote him into greater management responsibility. 208 246
• An Shicang — Family member who joins An Huchun and An Wuyang for discussions about An family succession and Wugengtian’s future. 833

Notable Quotes

“First, we liquidate the group. Through this move, we can preserve most of the family's assets… Second, we try to save the group. This path is extremely difficult, and we might even end up deep in debt.” 3

“Although we're investing a little more this year, investments will decrease next year. We're spending money to buy time.” 146

“Besides, what's the point of making money if you don't spend it?” 146

“Wugengtian can make money!” 698

Trivia

• An Huchun is often called the “Big Boss” by employees’ children at Tianjingyan Medicinal Herb Planting Base, while An Wuyang is called the “Little Boss.” 198
• He prefers appearing low-profile despite the family’s wealth and considered buying an Audi A4L for that purpose. 120
• He and Li Wenya are portrayed as an evenly matched but humorous pair; An Wuyang describes them as sharing similarly low standing in the household hierarchy beneath Li Wenya. 230
• He was reluctant to perform at Tianjingyan’s Lantern Festival banquet but ultimately sang at An Wuyang’s request. 773