Chapter 1797 — The Situation Is Dire, Part Two

In other words, a customer who bought any of those four medicines would receive a free bottle of Kang Divine Physician Golden Wound Salve or Hundred Pains Relief. And the Golden Wound Salve and Hundred Pains Relief were themselves buy two, get one free! That is to say, buy two bottles of Golden Wound Salve, or two bottles of Hundred Pains Relief, or one of each, and you would get one more bottle of either.

That being so, Fatty Lai's sales tactics were scattered to the winds. Even after the price cut, all they offered was buy one, get two — which came out one yuan dearer than Kang Divine Physician Pharmaceutical Company, with none of the flexibility of choice, and without the old-brand prestige of Kang Divine Physician besides.

Under such circumstances, Fatty Lai truly had no move left to make. The current price was still some distance from cost, but a product's launch could never be reckoned on cost alone; one had to take the wholesale price, subtract cost, then subtract channel and promotion expenses — only that was the product's final profit.

And now, with buy one get two, there was essentially nothing left to be made. You could hardly expect the retail pharmacies to sell your goods for nothing, could you? At the very least a certain margin had to be left for them, or who would carry your product?

Fatty Lai had in fact long since foreseen that Kang Divine Physician would pull a trick like this, yet there was nothing he could do about it. Dumping inventory at low prices was the only way he had left; the funds in hand were barely enough to last until this month's wages for the workers, and work on the newly built production line had long since halted.

Set against the hardship on Fatty Lai's side, the Kang Divine Physician household was celebrating. After so long under Dr. Guan's oppression, they had finally won themselves a fine comeback battle and seized back Dr. Guan's market share in one stroke.

Golden Wound Salve and Hundred Pains Relief were consumables, to be sure, but no one could buy them every day — a family might purchase them once or twice over a stretch of time. Still, in any household someone would be buying Kang Divine Physician's weight-loss pills or rheumatism ointment, or the deluxe Golden Wound Salve and the special stomach remedy, and the free gifts that came with those medicines were enough to cover the whole family's needs.

Add to that Kang Divine Physician's aggressive promotions, and hardly anyone was choosing Dr. Guan Pharmaceutical's products any longer. Looking at the mountain of stockpiled inventory, the Liu family's faces were all gloom. Most of the distributor refunds had been advanced by the Liu family, because Fatty Lai simply had no money left — every last cent was tied up in building the production line.

But however rich the Liu family was, its liquid capital was finite. Faced with a growing flood of returns, the Liu family had in one stroke emptied out its entire reserves, and this stirred up a measure of internal strife within the Liu family as well.

The first to take offense was the Liu family's second son, Liu Tianli.

"Father, Dr. Guan Pharmaceutical's bankruptcy is only a matter of time. Why are we still pouring money into it? That money is gone for good!" Watching the Liu family's savings being sunk into the venture, Liu Tianli, who managed the family's business, naturally spoke out in objection.

"Tianli, what is this compared to that?" Liu Zhenhu shook his head. "You did not attend the Great Family Assembly. You do not understand how important Wei Zhao is to our Liu family. So long as Wei Zhao returns, every problem ceases to be a problem. The money you have lost will be earned back in time."

"And if Wei Zhao does not return? Even Fatty Lai says he cannot reach Wei Zhao now — who knows where he has run off to?" said Liu Tianli. "Father, Wei Zhao may be a cultivator and formidable with it, but our Liu family has no cultivators; we have always lived by trade. If we go bankrupt over this, then in the future..."

"Enough, Tianli, say no more!" Liu Zhenhu waved a hand. "That we have no cultivators now does not mean we shall never have any. I say Jingjing is a fine prospect. I hear Divine Physician Lin is also an alchemist — if he refines a Foundation Establishment Pill, and we obtain one for Jingjing, then once Jingjing becomes an expert, our Liu family will truly take its place in the Cultivators Association. That is the true foundation for standing firm in the years to come!"

"..." Liu Tianli wanted to say more, but hearing his father put it that way, he could only give it up.

"Tianli, you must remember one saying: coal in the snow warms a man for a lifetime, but flowers on brocade buy only a moment's goodwill..." Liu Tianyi said. "Divine Physician Lin has not returned. If we help Fatty Lai now, Divine Physician Lin will surely remember our kindness. But if we stand by and do nothing, then in the future... heh heh. The Yu family was once such a mighty presence; today its people are dead or crippled, with only the crippled Yu Kun and the outsider Yu Haitian left to take charge of the Yu family. Their holdings may keep them comfortable for life, but to become a great family again — that is likely impossible."

Liu Tianli's expression shifted, bright and dark by turns, but since his father had spoken so, he nodded all the same. "Very well. But our family does not have much money left now. If this goes on, I fear we cannot hold out much longer..."

Liu Zhenhu did not concern himself with the family finances, but hearing Liu Tianli say this, he knew how grave matters were, and could not help sighing softly. "Jingjing, what do you think?"

"Melt down the pots and sell the iron — stake everything on one throw," Liu Jinghan said after a moment's thought. "Our Liu family has no way back. Either we withdraw now, or we hold out to the end. Once Wei Zhao turns things around, he will not treat us shabbily."

"But... what if he cannot turn things around?" Liu Tianli asked.

"At worst we start over from the beginning," Liu Jinghan said with a shrug. "Dad, relax. If we truly lose it all, you and I will simply begin again, father and daughter!"

Liu Tianli nodded. Since his daughter had said so, he had no choice but to keep supporting Fatty Lai.

The original wholesale price had been high; now that the products had been discounted for promotion, even if the distributors did not return the goods, the Liu family would still have to make up a large sum in price difference to them. That money, Fatty Lai could not produce, for all the funds in his hands had gone into the new production line and the factory buildings. So it fell to the Liu family, as the general channel distributor, to put it up for the time being.

But as the returns kept mounting, it was not only the Liu family — even Fatty Lai was beginning to fret.

Dr. Guan Pharmaceutical had had its glory days, but its pedigree was still too shallow. How could it compare with an old established firm like Kang Divine Physician Pharmaceutical Company? The outcome of this market war was all but decided: Kang Divine Physician would be the victor.

Fatty Lai lived each day as though it were a year, yet he gritted his teeth and held on, for he believed that once Wei Zhao returned, all difficulties would dissolve of themselves.

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