Chapter 154: The troubled Su Xingran makes his debut...
Perrin saw the human coming for him again and rejected her before she could even speak. "I've already told you, whether to stay there or return is Godwin's decision."
Shen Jiang had come to Perrin several times before, hoping he would find a way to bring Godwin back to this world, but this time it wasn't that. Shen Jiang, unlike his previous worried demeanor, smiled and said, "That's not what I came to talk to you about this time."
Seeing that she looked safe and sound, the silver dragon knew that she and Godwin had been getting along well. Thinking of the infatuated little black dragon, he became curious about how he was doing now.
Perrin: "Really? Well, let's get to the point. For example, how is Godwin doing now, after all this time?"
Shen Jiang recalled Godwin's recent commanding presence in his livestream and objectively described him, "He's lost all his magical powers and is no different from an ordinary person."
Wind Dragon Quick became excited upon hearing this: "You mean Godwin has fallen to the level of an ordinary person? Then wouldn't he be living a miserable life like a stray dog?"
Silver Dragon quietly clenched his palms. Although he hoped that the little black dragon would suffer a little, he didn't want him to live a truly miserable life. As the elder who had watched the black dragon grow up, Silver Dragon was the dragon in the world who most wanted Godwin to live a vigorous and prosperous life.
But no matter who you are, you'll stumble sooner or later. A dragon that has everything going its way won't be able to settle down and grow. Little Fenglong is a prime example. Compared to his outspoken self, he's now much calmer.
Shen Jiang glanced at Feng Long and asked, "Do you think Lord Black Dragon would allow you to live that kind of life?"
Fenglong Kuik was indeed a little regretful, but he had to admit it. He asked in confusion, "Didn't you say that he's almost like an ordinary person now?"
Shen Jiang chuckled softly and said meaningfully, "Lord Black Dragon's charm is unparalleled. Even without his magical powers, he still commands the most attention in the crowd."
There's no way around it, appearance is justice, and Godwin is also a handsome guy with audience appeal. His natural aura makes him particularly eye-catching, and most people who have watched his live broadcast are fascinated by his unique temperament.
The silver dragon let out a barely perceptible breath. However, the wind dragon, Quik, nearly lost his temper upon hearing the human's words. He hadn't imagined that the black dragon, favored by heaven wherever he went, could still attract tens of thousands of human followers despite having fallen to a similar level of poverty.
This is the power of faith of tens of thousands.
It was said that if a dragon possessed sufficient power of faith, it would eventually transform into reality, greatly increasing its strength. However, in the past thousand years, no dragon had ever truly achieved this, and so it became a legend.
Wind Dragon Quick couldn't imagine how terrifying Godwin's strength would be when his magic power recovered.
Silver Dragon suddenly changed the subject and said, "If Godwin feels uncomfortable there, you can try to persuade him to come back. Just tell him that everything will be back to normal when he comes back."
Shen Jiang understood. Silver Dragon was ultimately concerned about Godwin being out there alone. It would be difficult to get Godwin to come back on his own initiative. He'd probably have to wait a hundred or eighty years. If he had this kind of excuse, there might still be hope.
Silver Dragon: "Tell me, how did you get Godwin to forgive your deception?"
Shen Jiang was surprised that he knew everything, but there was no explanation. After all, she had done nothing, and Godwin could convince himself. Shen Jiang gave a fake smile and tried to get away with it.
Seeing that Shen Jiang was unwilling to answer, Silver Dragon simply used the mantra magic.
Silver Dragon was slightly stunned, his contemptuous gaze now filled with unexpected scrutiny. He then asked, "Since Godwin knew you were a liar full of lies, why didn't he kill you?"
Shen Jiang wanted to resist, but she was no match for the Silver Dragon. Soon, her will was conquered by the other party.
Shen Jiang's tone was calm, but his words were shocking enough: "Maybe it's because he's in love. There's nothing I can do. He seems to be in love with me so much that he can't help himself."
Silver Dragon: “…”
The wind dragon Quick, who was standing by and ready to take the human master away: "..."
The two dragons simultaneously imagined the scene of the once majestic Godwin being subservient to the demands of humans, and they felt a chill in their bones.
Silver Dragon really didn't expect that Little Black Dragon would not be as decisive and ruthless as before when faced with emotional problems. He was really angry at him for not fighting back.
Obviously, Godwin was not like this in the past, but once she encountered something related to this human, she was just as she said, irrational and unable to control her emotions.
What a loser.
The silver dragon could only use the Word of Truth magic once a day. While the Word of Truth magic was still in effect, he asked again, "What deal do you want to make with me? Do you want to steal Godwin's treasure from me?"
Shen Jiang's tone was still devoid of emotion. She answered honestly, "I'm running low on raw materials for my face mask. I'm trying to find enough herbs here to take back. They're the useless, annoying weeds you dragons use to get you back."
Silver Dragon didn't understand what Mask meant, but he grasped the key point: "The weeds in Longshan are very important to you, right?"
Shen Jiang replied emotionlessly, "Yes."
Silver Dragon: ...I'm very confused, but that won't stop me from slaughtering humans.
Shen Jiang quickly recovered from his confused state of consciousness, and looked at the silver dragon opposite him with clarity and anger: "Perrin, you are so despicable!"
Using magic to secretly probe her thoughts was truly shameless. She finally understood why Godwin always looked distant when he saw the silver dragon. It was probably because he had been afraid of the silver dragon Perrin since he was a child.
Perrin was unconcerned. He soothed him, "Don't worry. I already know what you're here for. Without further ado, I agree to allow you to search for the weeds you need in my dragon mountain. If you can't find the weeds you need, I can even provide silver dragon scales to help you find the right dragon mountain. Of course, my price will be twice that of other dragons."
Shen Jiang completely experienced what it meant to be dumb and unable to express her suffering. Facing the smiling Yinlong, she just wanted to shout, "Swindler!"
This is purely an act of taking advantage of the familiar!
Fortunately, the silver dragon Perrin didn't know the price of the Philosopher's Stone in her world. In the end, although Shen Jiang was ripped off by him, at least he didn't lose money.
Finally, Shen Jiang found the herb he wanted. Looking at Queek who was looking at him eagerly, Shen Jiang had to take out more magic stones to shut his mouth.
After this incident, Shen Jiang missed the days when Godwin was protecting him in the other world. After all, with him around, he would never fall into the trap of the unscrupulous businessman Yinlong.
After two days of lack of raw materials, Kunyuan Medicinal Materials Factory's production line finally returned to its previous busy state.
However, Boss Chen refused to do it.
He pointed at the purchase order and asked Shen Jiang, his slightly cloudy eyes full of suspicion and his tone full of blame: "Why did the price of raw materials suddenly increase so much?"
He clearly remembered how Shen Jiang, the medicinal herb supplier, had treated him. The relationship between the two was definitely special. It could be said that Shen Jiang had complete control over the purchase price of the medicinal herbs. Could it be that she felt the factory's current dividends were insufficient and was looking to make even more money from the costs?
Boss Chen was unwilling to believe that Shen Jiang was such a person, but the numbers on the purchase order did not allow him to feel at ease.
Shen Jiang was stunned for a moment. She knew that when you partner with someone, conflicts would inevitably arise. They were originally strangers who had become partners, but their friendship wasn't as important as their profits. But she hadn't expected that, just a few days after things started looking good, they would actually start a fight among themselves.
Shen Jiang's expression suddenly turned cold, and he patiently explained to him: "Mr. Chen, medicinal herbs are also agricultural products. It is normal for prices to fluctuate. Don't worry, this is only a temporary phenomenon. After a while, we want to..."
Boss Chen's expression eased a lot. He knew that what Shen Jiang wanted to say was just to comfort him.
Shen Jiang: "Even if we want to spend money, we have nowhere to buy it. Traditional Chinese medicine facial masks may be out of stock for a while."
Boss Chen had just calmed down when he almost couldn't breathe: "What did you say?"
Shen Jiang shrugged her shoulders. She declined to continue looking for the profiteer Silver Dragon. Instead of letting him tell her inner secrets, she would rather let Quick search each dragon's mountain one by one. As for time, it would definitely not be so fast.
But fortunately, the Chinese herbal mask was just the icing on the cake, not enough to delay anything. Shen Jiang said, "Don't worry, while the Chinese herbal mask is selling so well recently, why don't we take advantage of this momentum and find a way to sell our factory's medicines as well."
How could Boss Chen not be anxious? He couldn't care less about the rising prices of raw materials. Instead, he said, "We can't run out of stock of Chinese herbal facial masks. Xiao Chen worked so hard to open the online store, and I signed a supply agreement with the store. If we run out of stock, we will lose money."
Shen Jiang: "...How much goods did you agree to supply to the other party?"
Boss Chen: "We sell at least 10,000 masks of each type per month. I signed a one-year contract with them."
Hearing that it was only 30,000 copies per month, Shen Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. Remember, one month for them was two years in another world. Given this cycle, a shortage of stock wouldn't affect their cooperation.
Shen Jiang: "Don't worry, this small amount isn't a problem at all. At worst, we can just make sure we have the basic supply for the stores. By the way, what do you think about me just now saying I want to promote other medicines?"
What could Boss Chen do? He would take advantage of the recent popularity of facial masks and launch the factory's high-end line, Mingxintang, in one go.
Guo Dong was very optimistic about Mingxintang's traditional Chinese medicine facial mask. Drawing on his keen intuition, honed over years of experience, he felt it would definitely boost the company's performance. However, the company's sales department recently complained about him, citing issues with supply quantity.
It turned out that after their company's stores sold out their stock of the three traditional Chinese medicine face masks that month, they immediately decided to restock. Initially, things went smoothly, but when they went to restock, they were told that the masks were temporarily out of stock due to a shortage of raw materials. When the sales department dug up the contract signed by Guo Dong and the other party, they were surprised to find that Kunyuan only stipulated a minimum monthly supply of 10,000 units of each of the three traditional Chinese medicine face masks, while the total supply from Kunyuan was exactly 30,000 units.
There was no other choice, so the store simply raised the price temporarily, increasing the price of the facial mask by another ten or twenty yuan, and finally restricted purchases. Even so, the store's stock was quickly sold out.
Guo Dong was stunned. He hadn't expected this mask to sell out in just two weeks. Honestly, while effective, the price was considered high in the market, so Guo Dong's target audience was still a niche. If Kunyuan's factory manager, Chen, hadn't mandated a minimum monthly order of 10,000 units of each of the three types, Guo Dong would have planned to stock 10,000 units of all three.
Fortunately, Kunyuan said that they were urgently purchasing raw materials and would be able to resume supply in three days, so they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The popularity of Chinese medicine facial masks has completely exceeded the imagination of Zhang Shan, the purchaser. After all, the former Kunyuan Medicinal Materials Factory was
It was sunset, and he never imagined that after Guo Dong took the purchase price of 32 yuan per piece back, he first sold it at 59 yuan in the store, and later raised it to 69, 79 and even 89 yuan, and customers were still willing to pay for it.
Since Guo Dong had signed a one-year exclusive store agency contract, Zhang Shan and the others couldn't even get a share of the broth. Zhang Shan was furious. He couldn't believe that Kunyuan was the only company making traditional Chinese medicine masks on the market. He contacted several other traditional Chinese medicine companies and asked if they could make the same traditional Chinese medicine masks as Kunyuan.
Seeing that a traditional Chinese medicine mask with almost no gold content could be sold at an exorbitant price, other traditional Chinese medicine companies were jealous and began to imitate it. When buyers came to ask about it, they immediately patted their chests and guaranteed: "Of course, their raw materials are just so-so. We have the best traditional Chinese medicines on the market. Our traditional Chinese medicine mask is definitely better than theirs."
Zhang Shan inquired about the wholesale price, and found a mask for just eight yuan, exactly what he'd hoped for. Remembering his wife's praise for Kunyuan masks, he decided to give their herbal masks a try. He felt that all herbal masks were essentially the same, a scam. The results were decent, and they didn't contain any unhealthy ingredients, so he immediately clicked with them.
In his opinion, all masks are similar. But the one he bought is only 8 yuan, and when they sell it for 20 yuan each, Guo Dong's traditional Chinese medicine mask will inevitably be unsold.
After all, today's customers are very savvy and love to get a bargain. A facial mask that costs 89 yuan at Guodong's company can be bought at their company for 20 yuan, so this sinking market will naturally be theirs.
Zhang Shan also specially brought a few Chinese herbal facial masks from the brand he chose for his wife, intending to teach her a lesson. They only bought these Chinese herbal facial masks for a few dollars, so you can imagine how expensive Kunyuan's masks are.
Zhang Shan's wife was initially excited when she heard it was a Chinese herbal mask, asking him where he'd gotten it from since it was out of stock everywhere. But when she saw it was a different brand, she was immediately disappointed.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Shan immediately delivered the educational speech he had prepared long ago.
Zhang Shan's wife was stunned for a second by the industry's deep inside story. She asked, "Are you saying that the Mingxintang facial mask only costs a few cents, but they're buying it for 32 yuan?"
Zhang Shan nodded as a matter of course: "Of course, you can try this one I brought, I guarantee it will work just as well."
Zhang Shan’s wife walked into the bathroom skeptically to try the new facial mask. After a while, a howling broke out from the bathroom.
"You bastard! You said the mask would work, but look at this mask, it can't even hold its shape! It's falling off all over my clothes!"
Zhang Shan touched his nose and said, "It's okay. This mask is made of powder and water. If you stand there, you will definitely fall down due to gravity..."
"Mingxintang masks don't have this problem. And is this a Chinese medicine mask? It smells so earthy, it's awful!"
"Chinese medicine is grown in the earth, so the earthy smell is the real thing."
…
Faced with his wife's furious accusations, Zhang Shan finally realized the stark difference between his mask and the Mingxintang mask. But that wasn't the end of the story. When someone complained about a mask they'd bought from their store being infested with bugs, Zhang Shan finally explained to Mr. Chen, the owner of Kunyuan Herbal Medicine Factory, that the herbs they used were all top-quality.
Unlike Zhang Shan, many buyers did not choose to give up voluntarily. They had no idea that Kunyuan and Guo Dong had signed a one-year exclusive agency contract, and they all ran to Kunyuan to seek cooperation in the recently popular facial mask agency.
Boss Chen certainly didn't miss this opportunity: "Thank you all for your kindness, but the store agency agreement we signed with Jiaren Beauty is exclusive. We have to wait a year before we can sign with you all."
One of the buyers was immediately agitated: "Jiaren Beauty is just a small company. How much did Mr. Chen sign for the liquidated damages?"
Boss Chen thought he was joking and continued, "Don't worry, everyone. Although we have signed an exclusive agency agreement for our facial masks, we still have many other flagship products. If you are interested, why not sit down and have a good chat?"
It seems that once things go well, the next thing will trigger a chain reaction like dominoes. Boss Chen never dreamed that after the successful sales of traditional Chinese medicine facial masks, other pharmaceutical products would also find a way out.
However, this time he did not sign any exclusive agency contract with anyone. Instead, he gave the interested chain drug stores a price, a psychological price that he and Shen Jiang had jointly agreed upon.
Boss Chen: "Everyone, rest assured, all partners will receive the same price. If you can accept this cooperation price, not only will this cooperation go smoothly, but Kunyuan's Mingxintang Chinese medicine mask will naturally be indispensable to your help in a year."
Kunyuan's herbal face masks were like a carrot dangling before everyone's eyes, full of deadly sweet temptation. Market research had revealed that no other herbal face mask on the market could replace Kunyuan's, especially those imitating Mingxintang masks. This not only gave customers a deeper understanding of the Mingxintang masks' effectiveness, but also led to a better reputation for their quality.
At present, the most popular facial mask on the market is undoubtedly this emerging Chinese medicine mask.
Boss Chen negotiated the cooperation agreement very smoothly. To prevent the drug shortage from happening again, he said boldly: "Except for the first month, the number of agreements will be 1,000 per year. It's just a formality."
The buyers were originally hesitant, but when they heard this unbelievable number, they immediately became happy. Signing the contract was almost the same as not signing it at all, and they could also get the priority cooperation rights for facial masks one year later. It was really a lucrative deal.
Boss Chen was secretly delighted. With the face mask incident as a lesson learned, he realized that exclusive agency and minimum supply requirements were all traps he'd dug himself into. Gone were the days of begging for favors. Now, he had to think differently. Their medicine was sure to sell like hotcakes, and sooner or later, these stores would ask him to increase supply, just like Jiaren Beauty had done. He definitely wouldn't fall into the same trap twice!
These days, Chinese herbal facial masks have suddenly emerged and impacted the beauty market. Then everyone discovered that in addition to facial masks, this brand also has many Chinese patent medicine products.
Yu Xiaochang is a loyal customer of Mingxintang's acne-fighting masks. Ever since entering adolescence, she's been plagued by a serious problem: frequent acne breakouts. Despite numerous tests from her mother and a steady diet of steroid medication, nothing has helped. She also tried traditional Chinese medicine, but the bitter herbs not only didn't heal her acne, they even left her constipated.
Yu Xiaochang was immediately attracted by the acne-removing mask she saw online that had good reviews.
No need to take medicine, and you can see the effect in one go. Which girl suffering from acne can resist such temptation?
There are many acne-removing products on the market, but this is the first time she has seen an acne-removing mask. With the idea that it would not be a bad idea to try it for 39 yuan, Yu Xiaochang bought a Mingxintang acne-removing Chinese medicine mask to try.
Once we try this, we will be out of control.
The facial mask used by Yu Xiaochang is a simplified version of the one used by Yao Qian, because Yao Qian's symptoms are so severe. Normally, even if an ordinary person has an acne face with a severe acne outbreak, the symptoms would be much milder than Yao Qian's.
After just one use, Yu Xiaochang noticed her previously red and swollen pimples had deflated, and the acne scars she'd previously experienced had also faded considerably. Not to mention the comforting aroma of the herbal remedies she found while using it.
Yu Xiaochang was so surprised that she used her lucky money to buy 20 facial masks to store at home. When the large package arrived at her home, she was criticized by her mother for spending money recklessly. However, because she bought so much, the online store gave her a hydrating Chinese medicine facial mask as a gift. Yu Xiaochang was stunned for a moment, but without hesitation, she took the hydrating mask to her mother and gave it to her as a token of her filial piety.
Initially, her mother had no desire to use her daughter's extravagantly purchased "three-no" products, considering she already used thousands of yuan worth of high-end skincare products. However, her daughter thoughtfully prepared the mud mask and offered exceptionally attentive service, ultimately forcing Yu Xiaochang's mother to give in and let her apply the mask.
Yu Xiaochang guessed that this moisturizing mask should be effective. Sure enough, after applying it, her mother asked her where she bought the mask, which was uncharacteristic of her.
After the mother and daughter successfully became loyal fans of Ming Xin Tang facial masks, they discovered while shopping one day that Ming Xin Tang's Chinese patent medicines were also sold in pharmacies.
Yu Xiaochang remembered that her grandmother often took a medicine called Musk Heart Pills. She asked, "Mom, what brand of Musk Heart Pills does grandma take?"
"It seems to be Su Kang's, what's wrong?"
"I see this Musk Heart Pill is from the same brand as our facial mask. I want to buy some for grandma to try."
Yu Xiaochang's mother picked up the medicine and took a look at it. She found that it was indeed Mingxintang brand and immediately agreed.
Many customers who clicked on Mingxintang's online flagship store to buy facial masks also found that the store has started to add a lot of new Chinese patent medicines, including Xiaoyao Pills, Yimu Granules, Shenling Jianpiwei Granules, Jinhua Xiaoacne Pills and dozens of other Chinese patent medicines for different problems.
The page is concise and clear, and each medicine is accompanied by text explaining the efficacy of the medicine. Even people who don’t understand Chinese medicine can easily choose the medicine that suits them.
Based on the trust accumulated by the facial masks, everyone came up with the same idea: before they run out of stock, they should quickly stock up on some essential medicines and keep them at home as a backup.
With so many tempting delicacies these days, it's easy to overeat. Try Wu Shi Cha. It not only treats internal injuries and food stagnation, but also treats colds, abdominal pain, and diarrhea—it's truly a multi-faceted remedy. Heatstroke is a common remedy in the summer, so try Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui, a heat-relief remedy... Before you know it, your shopping cart is overflowing with medications, making it hard to choose.
Half a month later, Su Kang Pharmaceutical held an emergency meeting.
Su Xingran sat at the top, his finger tapping the table paused, and he looked down at the managers in front of him who were lowering their heads and trembling with fear.
As the helmsman of the group, Su Xingran rarely comes to subsidiaries like Su Kang Pharmaceutical in person, if it weren't for this quarter's financial report being so unbearable to look at.
Su Xingran suddenly asked in a deep voice, "Su Kang's performance in the group has been a complete mess recently. What have you been doing lately?"
Feeling the pressure, the marketing manager quickly shifted the blame: "Boss Su, our colleagues in the department have tried their best. Last week, two employees were hospitalized for gastric lavage due to alcohol poisoning. Our products simply aren't as strong as our competitors', and those partners are unwilling to continue working with us..."
The Su Kang Product R&D Manager wiped the sweat from his forehead and took the lead in explaining, "Boss Su, recently a few small pharmaceutical companies have suddenly developed several Chinese herbal facial masks to seize the market. Don't worry, we have already worked hard to develop similar products..."
Su Xingran sneered, his voice cold and ruthless. "If you're not even up to par, yet you're still imitating others, then what do you think Su Kang is? A brand even worse than being down to par? Did I pay you to come here just to be decorations? If you don't have market value, then go create it. Do I really need to teach you such an obvious principle?"
After hearing his words, the product development manager fell silent, not daring to say another word, fearing that if he said one more word, he would be immediately fired.
Su Xingran turned around and confronted the first marketing manager: "You, pack up your things and leave."
When the others saw that the boss started to criticize others without hesitation, they understood that this was a warning to others, and they all chose to remain silent. After all, if everyone was criticized together, it didn't seem so unbearable.
Seeing that these guys were silent, Su Xingran sneered again and pointed to a familiar face: "Manager Liang, please tell me why there is such a significant decline in this quarter's financial report."
Manager Liang, the general manager of Su Kang Pharmaceutical, had no choice but to speak up when the boss mentioned him. "Recently, the purchase volume of major hospitals has dropped significantly. This is a key project for our company. I've sent people to inquire, and they've reduced their staff due to the lack of patients in their Traditional Chinese Medicine departments, so their supply of medicine has been affected. Other sister companies should be experiencing similar situations. As for the market, we have a new product coming out soon, and I believe we can regain the market share."
Su Xingran threw the document in his hand and said sternly: "Since you know where the problem is, why don't you solve it and report it!"
…
After the meeting, many people left with a look of trepidation and defeat on their faces. Su Xingran abruptly dismissed several departments, including the marketing department, leaving only the key personnel from the product development department to continue the meeting.
Su Xingran's face was sullen. His sister's sudden paralysis had already caused unrest in their family, and now Su Kang was facing new problems. The company, which had been thriving, was facing a serious financial crisis.
He seemed to be having a bad year recently and was even having a conflict with his girlfriend. His girlfriend misunderstood his relationship with the blind date arranged by his family and, to irritate him, deliberately got too close to her childhood sweetheart, which made Su Xingran very angry.
Last night, he went to look for her, but unexpectedly found that she had not returned home all night. Su Xingran was so angry that he sat at her door all night.
Su Xingran's thoughts were interrupted by Dr. Zhao from the Product R&D Department. "...Mr. Su, our lab has developed a special medicine for the X virus. Don't worry, this project is kept strictly confidential. Except for the members of our lab team who have signed a confidentiality agreement, no one else in the company knows about it."
Su Xingran lowered the finger that was pressing on his solar plexus, tapped the table, and a hint of smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Very good, now it's time to test the results. I hope everyone's hard work has not been in vain."
Mingxin Hall.
Shen Jiang was seeing patients as usual when she suddenly received a call from Mr. Lu, asking her to bring her grandmother to see a critically ill patient.
Shen Jiang was puzzled. It was medical consultation time. Logically, Mr. Lu shouldn't have asked her and her grandmother to go out at the same time.
Mr. Lu on the other end of the phone said in a serious tone, "Come quickly. This patient's condition is very special, and it's not the only case. This matter is becoming increasingly difficult."
Shen Jiang was startled and immediately didn't want her grandmother to go. She tentatively asked, "Can I come alone?"
Shen Anlian had heard the entire conversation from the side. She said seriously, "Don't waste time. I'll go with you to take a look."
Shen Jiang had no choice but to inform his employees to close the store temporarily and ask them to comfort the few scattered patients waiting to see a doctor.
This was the first time Godwin realized that his followers had gone out without him, so he opened the car door and got in: "I want to go too."
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