Chapter 38: Stick With Me, and You'll Find It Hard to Lose Even If You Tried

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Upon hearing that the slimming pills were produced by Sihai Group, Pang Di felt some hesitation; she knew that if she became the spokesperson, she would have to try the pills herself. Yang Chen noticed her concern and smiled reassuringly, “The product is definitely reliable. We have plenty of experimental data. But ultimately, the decision is yours. If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you.”

While Pang Di was still wavering, Yang Min said, “Chairman Yang, why not let me do it? I have no reservations at all.”

This made Pang Di anxious. She quickly said, “I’m willing, I’m willing.”

Yang Chen smiled and said, “Da Min Min, you’re not fat enough, so the effect wouldn’t be obvious. This endorsement will go to Pang Di, but there will be other endorsements for you later.”

Yang Min and Pang Di nodded, accepting Yang Chen’s arrangement.

At that moment, Chang Sheng, the president of Sihai Health, arrived with two bottles of slimming pills.

Based on experimental data, each bottle contains 14 pills, with one bottle constituting one treatment course. Noticeable effects appear within a week. For users who are mildly overweight, one bottle is sufficient to return to normal weight. For severe overweight cases, the pills can be taken continuously, but no more than three courses are needed to achieve satisfactory results.

In extreme cases, such as individuals weighing over 300 pounds or more, medication alone is insufficient; medical interventions are necessary.

However, the medication instructions exclude such cases and target only those who are obese under normal living conditions.

Yang Chen handed a bottle to Pang Di, instructing, “Take one pill every morning after breakfast, and record the process on video, especially daily weight changes and diet details. Remember, maintain a normal diet — no special weight-loss or nutrition meals. Our customers are ordinary people; they can’t afford such diets. We want to prove the slimming pills work, not just starvation. Understand?”

Pang Di nodded in agreement. “Alright, Chairman Yang, I will remember.”

Yang Chen nodded and told Guo Yi to take Yang Min and Pang Di away.

Once the three had left, Yang Chen asked Chang Sheng, “Are all the product filings ready for the slimming pills?”

“They’re ready. I filed under your name and Sihai Group’s, and approval went smoothly. We can start mass production and market release immediately. But our company’s reputation is somewhat tarnished. Even if the slimming pills work well, consumers might not trust them,” Chang Sheng said anxiously.

This was indeed a major problem. Besides making money, Sihai Group’s top priority was to restore its reputation and regain consumers’ trust in the brand.

Yang Chen sighed lightly. “Communicate well with the pharmaceutical factory and start by producing 10,000 bottles. As for how to make consumers believe… hmm, I need to think this through.”

Chang Sheng nodded. “Okay. I’ll leave now. Call me if you need anything.”

Yang Chen smiled and nodded as Chang Sheng turned to leave.

There is a common saying: building a brand takes a hundred years, but destroying one takes only a single night. It’s easy to imagine how difficult it would be to win consumers’ trust back in Sihai’s brand.

While Yang Chen pondered strategies, Chen Xi knocked and entered, saying, “Chairman Yang, President Chang brought a guest who wishes to see you.”

Yang Chen nodded. Chen Xi hurried to escort Chang Sheng and the guest in.

The guest was Huang Wenbiao, chairman of Jiangte Pharmaceutical Factory.

Sihai Health only handled research and development; production was completed by Jiangte Pharmaceutical.

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Unsurprisingly, Jiangte was also one of Sihai’s creditors, owed a staggering 780 million yuan.

Upon seeing Yang Chen, Huang Wenbiao immediately sought help.

“Chairman Yang, help! Help!”

Chang Sheng quickly introduced, “Chairman Yang, this is Chairman Huang Wenbiao of Jiangte Pharmaceutical Factory.”

Yang Chen stood to shake Huang Wenbiao’s hand and invited him to sit down.

“Chairman Huang, what’s the matter? Please explain.” Yang Chen said.

Huang Wenbiao nodded and carefully explained the situation.

Jiangte Pharmaceutical was not satisfied with merely earning from processing fees; they also wanted to profit from full-channel sales.

At that time, a diabetes medication called Ozempic by Novo Nordisk was found by some patients to have excellent weight-loss effects. Even the famous Tesla CEO, Master, endorsed it for slimming and released before-and-after photos clearly showing significant weight loss.

Many domestic people blindly admired Master and believed that any drug he promoted must be effective. Many obtained the drug through friends, relatives, or overseas purchases and genuinely experienced weight loss.

Huang Wenbiao decisively traveled to Novo Nordisk’s headquarters to negotiate the agency rights.

After negotiations, Jiangte Pharmaceutical secured the exclusive permanent agency rights for China at a price of 250 million euros.

The 250 million drained Jiangte Pharmaceutical’s entire cash flow. Huang Wenbiao even used the factory’s land and buildings as collateral to the bank to raise the funds.

Initially, Jiangte made substantial profits from this drug. At the time, micro-businesses were very popular, and almost all micro-business social circles promoted this drug. Thanks to the inventory-pyramid sales model, the drug’s distribution volume was enormous.

However, the good times lasted less than two years. Customers gradually exposed severe side effects such as gastritis and cholecystitis caused by excessive use.

At first, few customers reported these issues, and most did not experience them, so no one paid much attention.

But from the end of last year to early this year, side effects erupted in large numbers. Thousands of customers complained to authorities, accusing Jiangte Pharmaceutical of failing to clearly list possible side effects in the instructions, causing many to suffer from gastritis, hepatitis, and cholecystitis.

Authorities immediately ordered Jiangte to halt production and recall all drugs, and issued public warnings advising consumers to stop taking the medication.

After six months of investigation and evidence collection, authorities confirmed the drug’s severe side effects, including chronic gastritis, hepatitis, and cholecystitis from prolonged use.

Consequently, Jiangte Pharmaceutical was fined 560 million yuan, penalized 120 million yuan, and obliged to cover all consumers’ medical and lost wages expenses.

This penalty was effectively a death sentence for Jiangte; the brand was completely ruined.

Huang Wenbiao came today to ask Yang Chen to withdraw the stock market earnings and first repay the 780 million yuan owed by Sihai Group.

Yang Chen said helplessly, “Don’t even think about it. The bank is watching, they won’t let me withdraw that money to pay you. Even if I did, I’d have no capital left. Besides, this debt belongs to Sihai Health, a subsidiary, unrelated to another subsidiary, Sihai Investment. You’re the company head, you should know the law. Do you really think I can misappropriate Sihai Investment’s funds to repay Sihai Entertainment’s debts? You want me to go to jail?”

“But I’m really at my wit’s end. I’ve tried everything and can’t borrow money anywhere. How about this: count it as a loan from Sihai Investment, okay?” Huang Wenbiao pleaded.

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Yang Chen shook his head. “Absolutely not. What are you thinking?”

At that moment, the system issued an alert:

“The host refuses repayment to Jiangte Pharmaceutical Factory. System rewards the host with a super potent [Breast Enlargement Medicine], including formula, production method, clinical data, etc.”

Yang Chen felt something in his pocket. He reached in and found a USB drive, presumably containing the data.

“What am I supposed to do now? Am I doomed?” Huang Wenbiao said mournfully.

Yang Chen reassured him, “Not necessarily. I’ll call the city government and ask them to allow you to pay in installments and continue operating, but you can only produce slimming pills for Sihai Health until all issues are resolved. Go back and concentrate on producing the slimming pills. I guarantee you’ll be able to pay off the fines, and Sihai Health will soon repay the production fees owed to you. Trust me on this. If you don’t, there’s nothing I can do. But for now, Sihai Health has no money to pay you.”

Huang Wenbiao immediately asked, “Our slimming drug just blew up. You want to produce slimming pills now? Do you think people will buy them?”

“Consumer demand is always there. Whether they can take them or not depends on their ability. Your brand’s scandal is your problem, not ours. But Jiangte’s brand is tarnished; you’ll need to register a new company to be our manufacturer. Understand what I mean?” Yang Chen said.

Huang Wenbiao hesitated but eventually nodded in agreement with Yang Chen’s plan.

“Alright! We’ll follow your plan, Chairman Yang. I hope we can win this gamble. Otherwise, I’m truly doomed,” Huang Wenbiao said, worried.

Yang Chen remained calm and cheerful. “Don’t worry. With me, losing is almost impossible.”

Huang Wenbiao forced a smile but quickly asked, “Will the city government listen to you and delay the fine execution while allowing my factory to operate? I’m ready to kneel and beg, but the authorities won’t be lenient.”

Yang Chen immediately called Huang Zhenhua, put the call on speakerphone so Huang Wenbiao could hear.

“Hello, Mayor Huang. We’ve just developed a slimming drug with excellent data, planning to have Jiangte Pharmaceutical produce it. They’re the only ones willing to produce on credit. Please hold off on punishing them for now. I’ll help them pay fines gradually. Is that okay?”

“Alright, I’ll inform them not to enforce the penalty for now. But slimming drugs have a bad reputation now, so be careful and don’t make mistakes.”

“Ha ha… Thanks for your concern, Mayor Huang. I’m confident before I act, you can rest assured.”

Yang Chen hung up and smiled at Huang Wenbiao.

Huang Wenbiao smiled and said, “Chairman Yang, your status is truly extraordinary. What I couldn’t achieve even by kneeling and begging, you solved with just one call. Then it’s settled. I’ll bet on you.”

Yang Chen stood and patted Huang Wenbiao’s shoulder reassuringly. “Relax. As long as you follow me, big problems become small and small problems vanish. But from now on, just be a good pharmaceutical factory and don’t mess around. You won’t get money you’re not supposed to.”

Huang Wenbiao sighed, “Sigh… I used to be ambitious, but now I’m at peace. I’ll follow you from now on, no more wild ambitions. Thank you, Chairman Yang. I’ll go back and start the production line right away to make slimming pills for you.”