Chapter 1796 — The Situation Is Dire, Part One
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
But who could have known that Kang Divine Physician Pharmaceutical Company would thrust a spoke in the wheel, leaving him now stuck astride a tiger with no way down? If Wei Zhao could roll out a few more specific medicines, then even if the wound medicine turned no profit, it could still be sold. But at present, Dr. Guan Pharmaceutical's entire revenue stream consisted of the wound medicine and the painkillers, and those two were precisely the products for which Kang Divine Physician Pharmaceutical Group had exact counterparts — at half the price of Dr. Guan's!
This was plainly aimed at Fatty Lai, and Fatty Lai was certain that if he cut his prices, Kang Divine Physician Pharmaceutical Group would dare to sell even cheaper. After all, they had other flagship products to prop them up: the deluxe edition Golden Wound Salve and the weight-loss pills alone had already earned Kang Divine Physician Pharmaceutical Group a fortune in silver. The Golden Wound Salve and the All-Pain Relief were merely auxiliary products.
"What's wrong?" Tang Zhi had caught the hesitation in Fatty Lai's voice and asked, a little puzzled.
"Nothing..." Fatty Lai smiled bitterly and said, "I'll think of something else. If the boss has a moment, please ask him to call me back as soon as he can..."
"All right, I understand!" Anxious as Tang Zhi was, nothing mattered more at this moment than Wei Zhao waking up. If the company lost money, it could earn it back; but Wei Zhao's condition admitted not the slightest delay.
Fatty Lai sighed. Though he had no idea what exactly had happened to Wei Zhao, if even now he could not take a call, then things must truly be bad...
"How did it go?" Guan Xuewen might only hold a nominal post at the company, but the company was Wei Zhao's after all, and he still cared deeply about it.
"The boss didn't pick up — he's probably caught up in something more important," Fatty Lai said with a bitter smile. "I've already told big sister to have the boss call me the moment he's free!"
"Mm... then let's hold on for now. Hold on until Little Yi gets back — he'll surely have a way." Guan Xuewen had faith in Wei Zhao. "The formulas in Little Yi's hands are more than just these — there are many more, and every single one is a treasure beyond price!"
"For now, holding on is all we can do!" Fatty Lai nodded. So long as they gritted their teeth and weathered this storm, once Wei Zhao returned, they could launch a desperate counterstrike against Kang Divine Physician Pharmaceutical Group!
But... the situation seemed even worse than Fatty Lai had reckoned. He had assumed that even if Wei Zhao did not call today, he would call within two or three days at the latest. Yet no call came. Worried as he was, Fatty Lai had no choice but to grimly announce that the factories would halt production for the time being.
Even with production halted, however, the workers would still draw their wages — unless they were laid off. But many of the workers had only just signed their contracts, which had not yet expired. Dismissing them would mean paying a hefty penalty for breach of contract, and for Dr. Guan Pharmaceutical at this moment, that would be an enormous sum.
So for now, they could only shut down the lines, not let anyone go. Fatty Lai figured that so long as they held out until Wei Zhao returned, none of these problems would be problems anymore. But if the workers were dismissed — though he might scrape together the severance money for the moment — what then?
After Wei Zhao came back, how would the factories resume production?
While production was suspended, Fatty Lai, with no other choice, could only lower prices to boost sales. Dr. Guan's wound medicine, originally ninety-nine yuan, was now on promotion: buy one, get three free — which worked out to thirty-three yuan a bottle.