Volume 1, Chapter 27: Revealing the Pill Formula
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The Li Group’s product launch venue was nearly deserted.
Compared with the Zhou family’s event, where guests had flooded in and the atmosphere was lively, the Li family’s gathering was conspicuously cold and quiet.
Among the guest seats beneath the stage, only a scattered handful of people were present. Most were small distributors with little influence, or representatives sent by major distributors merely to make an appearance.
There were even a few idle onlookers of uncertain identity who seemed to have come from nowhere.
The small number of reporters in the corners fiddled with their cameras and recording equipment, waiting listlessly for the press conference to begin.
Every so often, they would glance around, apparently harboring little hope for the event.
If not for the promise of a few red envelopes, they probably would not have wasted their time coming to join in the Li family’s festivities—which were not festive at all and had nothing worth reporting.
…
At precisely ten o’clock, music began to play softly.
Despite the lack of attendance, the Li family’s press conference began on time.
The host walked onto the stage and took a deep breath, as if trying to steady himself.
He glanced helplessly at the sparse audience below, then cleared his throat.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending the Li family’s product launch on this special day.”
“Today, we are pleased to introduce a brand-new product: the Youth-Retaining Pill!”
The few guests below were stunned.
“The Youth-Retaining Pill? Wasn’t it called the Age-Defying Pill?”
“That sounds vaguely familiar…”
“Right. They mentioned the Youth-Retaining Pill at the last launch.”
“Isn’t it just an improved version of the Age-Defying Pill? More or less the same thing as the Zhou family’s Beauty Pill—slightly higher production costs, then a change of name…”
“I thought the Li family would bring out something new. Turns out they’re using the same old trick as the Zhou family.”
“Looks like the Li family is completely finished…”
“How boring. We might as well have gone to the Zhou family’s launch to watch the spectacle.”
The few guests below began whispering among themselves, their words filled with disdain.
The host coughed twice before continuing. “Our Youth-Retaining Pill is vastly different from the previous Age-Defying Pill. In fact, even the formula is entirely different…”
“It was personally overseen and produced by Master Alchemist Ye Tian, whom our Li family specially appointed. It represents the utmost sincerity on our part.”
“Master Ye possesses profound expertise and unique insights in the field of medicinal-pill development. This Youth-Retaining Pill embodies an immense amount of his effort, as well as countless trials and improvements conducted by our research team…”
“Its effects are several times stronger than those of our previous Age-Defying Pill.”
“It can be said that this marks a major breakthrough for the Li family in the field of beauty-enhancing medicinal pills!”
The moment those words were spoken, the murmuring below ceased. Everyone lifted their heads curiously.
The host paused before announcing loudly, “In addition, we have another surprise for everyone today.”
“The price of this Youth-Retaining Pill will be exactly the same as the original price of the Age-Defying Pill!”
The guests below were dumbfounded.
“You’re not joking, are you? More product for the same price?”
“The effects are several times stronger, and the price isn’t going up?”
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“Is the Li family trying to wage a price war against the Zhou family? A final struggle before death?”
The audience erupted into discussion.
Before they could recover from their shock, Li Qingcheng strode onto the stage.
Today, Li Qingcheng wore a simple yet elegant black dress. Her gaze was firm and confident, and her steps were steady and purposeful.
After giving the audience a slight nod, she turned toward the large screen behind her. The formula for the Age-Defying Pill appeared, along with detailed instructions for its preparation.
“That’s the formula for the Age-Defying Pill?”
“What… what is the Li family trying to do?”
“They actually published the formula? Are they planning to perish together with the Zhou family?”
“That’s insane! The Li family has gone mad! If they make the formula public, how will they earn money in the future?”
Several distributors in the audience stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
They fixed their eyes on the contents displayed on the screen, their faces filled with shock. Even their voices trembled.
Li Qingcheng watched the commotion below, a meaningful smile appearing at the corners of her lips.
“As everyone knows, the Li family has always upheld the business principles of honesty and benefiting the public. We have never pursued profit to extremes.”
“We have always believed that beauty is a right belonging to all humanity!”
“In the beauty-medicine market, quality products should not be enjoyed only by a select few.”
“Our products should also benefit consumers who are struggling financially.”
“That is why we have decided to make the formula for the Age-Defying Pill completely public, allowing more people to benefit from it.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the entire audience erupted.
The atmosphere in the venue immediately boiled over.
The reporters excitedly began photographing the screen while frantically drafting their news reports.
The guests, meanwhile, launched into heated discussion.
“With the formula, many small factories will be able to produce the Age-Defying Pill themselves! This is a tremendous opportunity for all of us—a chance to lower the barrier to entry!”
“Exactly. Everyone knows that the Zhou family’s so-called Beauty Pill was actually made by stealing this formula from the Li family. In substance, the product is exactly the same as the Li family’s.”
“This move by the Li family is absolutely devastating!”
“The key is that the Li family still has its own new product, the Youth-Retaining Pill—and it costs just as little as the original Age-Defying Pill…”
“The Zhou family is going to be in serious trouble. They’ve invested a great deal in the Beauty Pill, and they’re sitting on a huge amount of unsold inventory…”
“The Li family has really made an enemy of the Zhou family this time.”
“Regardless, the Li family’s move is truly admirable. By making the formula public, they’re giving everyone a chance to compete. That’s far nobler than the Zhou family’s underhanded theft of the formula.”
“Notify the boss immediately. Under no circumstances should he sign a contract with the Zhou family…”
The venue had descended into frenzy and chaos.
The audience suddenly became a complete madhouse.
The distributors quickly relayed what had happened to their respective networks.
A dozen minutes later, the businesspeople who had originally been attending the Zhou family’s launch came rushing over in droves.
Everyone was stunned by the explosive news.
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The formula for the Age-Defying Pill had actually been made public just like that?
No one could believe it was real.
But the facts were right before their eyes.
The entire venue erupted.
…
The explosive news soon swept through the business world of South River City.
At the same time, all kinds of rumors began spreading everywhere.
An anonymous source revealed that the Zhou family’s new Beauty Pill was actually the new Age-Defying Pill previously launched by the Li family, and that the Zhou family had merely stolen the formula through despicable means.
Quite a few people knew the truth, and many had witnessed it firsthand.
With the explosive news serving as a prelude, these revelations and rumors naturally seemed far more credible and persuasive.
Countless businesspeople familiar with the inside story began discussing the matter within their own circles.
Some mocked the Zhou family for trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice, while others reveled in their misfortune after they had spent huge sums producing the Beauty Pill and ended up with massive stockpiles.
Still others praised the Li family as the conscience of the industry and celebrated the opportunity to claim a share of the market.
For a time, the Zhou family was pushed to the center of the storm by one rumor after another, becoming the laughingstock of the entire industry.
Did they really think the formula they had stolen was a treasure?
Look at that—the Li family had brought them to ruin with a single move!
…
Conference Room of the Zhou Group.
Zhou Yunyi’s face was livid with rage.
“What is your public-relations department even doing? We’ve spent so much money managing the media, and you still can’t suppress these negative reports?”
“What is the marketing department doing? Can’t you even finalize the contracts you negotiated with those distributors?”
“And where are the sales figures? Why are there no numbers at all? What do all these strings of zeroes mean?”
The many senior executives around the conference table sat in terrified silence.
After a long while, Zhou Chen finally spoke.
“Grandfather, I’m afraid we can only sell off the inventory at a loss…”
“Those consumers are far too shrewd. Anyone with money is buying the Li family’s Youth-Retaining Pill, while those without money are waiting for the cheaper Age-Defying Pill to come onto the market…”
“At this point, we have no choice but to lower the price of the Beauty Pills in our warehouses. Otherwise, they simply won’t sell, and no distributor will be willing to take them.”
“If we reduce the price, we can at least recover some of our capital and minimize our losses…”
“We’ve suffered a devastating defeat this time.”
Zhou Yunyi let out a helpless sigh.
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