Huang Meng was sitting in his office when he learned that his wife had gone to Zhao An's house, and Zhao An had also returned home. He felt a surge of unease. Despite having prepared himself, the news still unsettled him. Why? Because he hadn't yet experienced the thrill of being cuckolded, nor did he feel the intense pleasure of witnessing his wife being raped.
Huang Meng forced himself to ignore these thoughts and instead focused on the sales of the leukemia drug. Zhao An's research could be delayed, but the patients couldn't wait; they had to buy the medication.
A single bottle of the drug was expensive, costing 30,000 yuan and only lasting a month. Even wealthy people would be financially ruined, let alone ordinary people. It was simply unaffordable.
However, Huang Meng recklessly started taking out loans to buy the drug in installments. While the cost of each bottle was only a few hundred yuan, what about the research and development expenses? To recoup costs, the price would inevitably have to be increased.
Otherwise, the company will continue to suffer losses, and there's also the harm of piracy. If everyone pirates, then no one will innovate. In the end, it's a slow death, and even a doctor would only offer the standard three-part diagnose: "No hope," "Just wait to die," and "Goodbye."
High prices are one aspect, but Huang Meng's underhanded tactics are truly ruthless exploitation. Just selling one bottle of medicine, even if it's on installment and he can't pay it back, already makes a considerable profit at 3,000 yuan. The rest is purely a long-term strategy to reel in bigger profits. The more installments, the more he earns.
He's never lost money from the beginning; this is clearly a scapegoat he's chosen. Such a vicious business strategy is bound to be despicable. Huang Meng is already a eunuch; shame is irrelevant to him. If you want to make money, you have to abandon the issue of face; otherwise, all that talk is useless.
Seeing the recent sales volume of the medicine, a stable 100 bottles per day, that's already quite good. At 30,000 yuan per bottle, ten bottles would be 300,000 yuan, and 100 square meters would be 3 million yuan. Although the number wasn't large, the initial hype, coupled with news advertisements for Zhao An's drug, led to a large number of patients observing the situation.
However, Zhao An's drug lacked a specific release date; it might just be a newly created folder. It would take some time before it was officially released, and this drug would definitely require patent applications, a process that would take at least six months.
Six months is too long; by then, the drug would be too late, and people would be dying. What use would a drug be then?
Not taking the drug means waiting to die; taking the drug means continuing to wait to die, being dragged down by debt. The former is one person dying alone; the latter is dragging the family down with them. This approach is even more insidious, using high-interest loans as a form of disguised lending, leaving the family to repay the debt after death—this is extremely excessive.
They all use legitimate channels. Either don't buy it at all; no one is forcing you to buy it. If you buy it, you have to pay—that's a matter of course.
This is why, despite knowing Huang Meng's malicious intentions, no one stood up to oppose him. Because the other party was essentially engaging in legal thuggery, there was nothing that could be done. After all, there's only one disease in the world: poverty!
"How's the distribution in the south?" Huang Meng's mood improved unusually; this was a good sign. Making money from this drug was possible, but making a fortune was unrealistic.
"It's alright. Currently, the distribution rate has reached 90%. The remaining 10% is under negotiation and selection. Some areas are difficult to distribute to; the locations are too scattered, requiring further planning," Gong Xin replied. As his trusted advisor, he was always by his side.
"Very good." Huang Meng tapped his fingers on the table, then picked up the phone. "James, do you have time? This is Huang Meng. Let's go for a drink."
"Of course I have time, my friend." James was also monitoring the situation here. The data wasn't ideal, but it was still much better. The inland population was large, and the economic level was high; this market still had a lot of room for development.
James was responsible for more than just this one drug; there were other drugs as well, and selling them together was the main source of revenue. The leukemia treatment drug is more of a "star product," something to look at rather than directly sell for profit. It's more like a prized possession, generating a small profit and improving appearances.
The two met soon after. Huang Meng cut to the chase, saying, "The drug market is now open; all that's left is gradual promotion. I've inquired; that new drug will take at least six months, which is enough time for us to seize the market. And once their views are firmly established, they won't have the right to compete with us for market share."
"I know, but the current results aren't ideal. Headquarters looks at the data, not other metrics; they want sales and revenue. You need to work harder on that. I'm entrusting you with the market distribution rights; it's a complete sign of my trust in you." James still carried a hint of arrogance; in his eyes, the other was merely a representative of a backward and ignorant upper class.
Huang Meng felt displeased. "This takes time, and you've seen the results yourself. Okay, let's talk about something else. I heard you're in the car sales business. The car industry isn't doing well now, but new energy vehicles are a very promising sector. Clean energy will definitely be profitable in the future. You've seen it too—the mainland market is saturated, and you've seen my strategic planning. Give me the dealership rights for new energy vehicles, and I'll help you expand into the mainland market."
James was annoyed. Wasn't this a threat? "Are you threatening me?"
"Heh, don't misunderstand, my friend. I just want to tell you that our competitors have already started researching new energy products. Zhao An's electric scooter is just a trial run. You don't naively think he just wants to make a little money, do you?" Huang Meng began to use deceptive tactics, employing various threats and intimidation. For a fleeting moment, he was even grateful to Zhao An for giving him a chance to coax and deceive him. But it was only for a second. An enemy is always an enemy; that will never change, nor will it ever change.