Chapter 549 — Where Did the Formula Come From?

This was Fatty Lai's second time on the auction stage. Such treatment was denied even to ordinary family heads, yet the Yu family had granted him the courtesy! Of course, the courtesy was extended for Guan Xuewen's sake. Only for Guan Xuewen could such exceptional treatment be shown!

"Distinguished guests, greetings to you all. I trust everyone is wondering—what exactly are our company's Wound and the concentrated Wound Formula?" Fatty Lai spoke with easy confidence. "Allow me to enlighten you!"

Naturally, the guests below were divided: apart from Divine Doctor Kang's family, who were thoroughly dismissive, the other great families and wealthy merchants were all keenly interested. Even if it was identical to Divine Doctor Kang's Golden Wound, they paid close attention all the same. After all, there was now one more Doctor Guan to turn to, which meant one more option—no longer would they have to go begging to Divine Doctor Kang's family.

"Thank goodness we came out with the Beauty-Nourishing Golden Wound; otherwise, this business of promoting to a great family might well have met with trouble!" Divine Doctor Kang was gnashing his teeth in fury. "How could they have a formula?" he said through clenched teeth.

"Probably just some slapdash concoction," Kang Guifeng said. "Knockoff products can't withstand the test of the market."

"If it really were something ineffective, they'd hardly dare put it on display!" Kang Jinglong saw the matter clearly. "Grandfather is right—we truly have outplayed them. Bringing out the Beauty-Nourishing Golden Wound was impeccably timed; it puts us ahead of the rest!"

Fatty Lai naturally had no idea what the Kang family was saying; had he known, he would have laughed his teeth out. "The purpose of this Wound is to stanch bleeding and nourish muscle, allowing wounds to heal quickly without leaving scars..."

Fatty Lai's words set the whole hall abuzz! Was this not the very same efficacy as Divine Doctor Kang's Golden Wound? Divine Doctor Kang's face went ashen. Suspecting a thing was one matter; having it confirmed was another. His expression could hardly be pleasant!

"Anyone can boast—what matters is whether it works!" Kang Guifeng snorted coldly.

"Grandfather, does Kang **'s family have our formula?" Kang Jinglong had just thought of something else—whether the formula had been leaked!

"They shouldn't have it... You suspect they have a formula too?" Divine Doctor Kang immediately grasped the implication in Kang Jinglong's words.

"Yes. Kang ** is on very good terms with them. I fear the formula was leaked through Kang **!" Kang Jinglong frowned. "Otherwise, why did they wait so long to found Doctor Guan's Medical Company? Why only after meeting Kang ** did they start the company—and bring out something identical?"

"The leader shouldn't have seen the formula..." Divine Doctor Kang shook his head. Though he had fallen out with his elder brother, it was precisely over this formula that they had quarreled. Back then he had wanted to use the formula to make a fortune, while his brother insisted the formula must not be touched, must not even be glanced at—and that was what created the rift between the two brothers! If his brother had seen the formula, there would have been no need for the quarrel at all; the two of them could have made their fortune together, and things would have turned out very differently.

"Not seen it, but how could such a coincidence exist in this world?" Kang Jinglong clearly did not believe it.

"This... I'll go back and ask my brother," Divine Doctor Kang said with a frown. If the formula really had been given away by his brother, then there was little he could do—the formula was not his alone, after all! But if his brother had not given it away, then a thorough investigation was in order.

Kang Jinglong said no more and looked up at Fatty Lai, wondering what he would say next.

"The standard version of Wound will be fully launched on the market within a month, and there will be no shortages! The retail price is one hundred ninety-nine yuan." Fatty Lai slowly drummed up advertising for his company's forthcoming product, confident that before long its price and efficacy would spread from these people's lips and be known to more and more. Word would pass from person to person, one to ten, ten to a hundred, and soon Doctor Guan's Wound would be a household name!

Moreover, its advantages over Divine Doctor Kang's Golden Wound lay in its low price and ample supply! When people could not buy Divine Doctor Kang's Golden Wound, they would settle for the second best and choose the untried Doctor Guan's Wound—and once they had used it and found its efficacy no inferior to Divine Doctor Kang's Golden Wound, whether they would come back for more went without saying.

"No shortages? Big talk!" Kang Guifeng sneered. "All the raw material suppliers in the country have been sewn up by our Kang family. Where are they going to buy their materials? Even with Guan Xuewen's reputation, that won't get them far!"

"That much is true. If we had enough raw materials, we wouldn't be running out of stock either—who would leave money on the table? Unless the materials are too expensive and the cost doesn't add up... But then, if they bought raw materials at high prices and still sold at one hundred ninety-nine, wouldn't they lose even more?" Divine Doctor Kang shook his head, unable to work it out. Even the Kang family could not guarantee nationwide supply without gaps or delays—so on what grounds could Guan Xuewen?

"Big talk? I doubt it," Kang Jinglong said, shaking his head. "First, they've already made the claim publicly. If they can't keep up supply, their reputation will suffer—and for a newly founded company, that could be fatal! If they lie about one link in the chain, they'll lie about the others too, and once the media seize on a weakness and attack, their name will be ruined! Second, if they couldn't keep up supply, why advertise on an occasion like this? Insufficient capacity naturally means little profit—especially at such a low price, when it's hard to say whether the cost is even covered. With an opportunity like this, wouldn't it have been better to advertise their other products?"

Hearing Kang Jinglong's words, Kang Guifeng nodded as well. His son was right—but the more so, the more puzzled he became.

Divine Doctor Kang, meanwhile, looked at Kang Jinglong with gratification. "Zhaolong still sees things most thoroughly! So then—they really do have stock?"

"I'd guess they do!" Kang Jinglong said. "Either they bought up a large store of raw materials at high prices, enough to squander for a while, all to lose money and build a name—or they have some other channel for acquiring materials."

"Yes, well said!" Divine Doctor Kang nodded. "It seems our opponent is formidable indeed. We underestimated them."

"Heh, there is no need to worry." Kang Jinglong, however, shook his head.

"Oh? How so?" Kang Guifeng looked at his son with some astonishment.