Chapter 43 Online and Offline Distributors Seek Agency Rights

Compared to Chang Sheng’s excitement, Yang Chen appeared remarkably calm. After all, everything was proceeding precisely within his expectations. What he had been waiting for was precisely this first wave of public exposure and word-of-mouth validation from internet influencers and skeptical consumers to ignite the sales of the Sihai Slimming Pills.

"Stay calm. Wasn't this all part of our plan?" Yang Chen said with a smile.

"That's true, that's true. Then should we immediately list all of our current inventory? With just this single product, we can easily wipe out our debts, and who knows, we might even make enough profit to help the group clear its liabilities. Haha..." Chang Sheng said with a laugh.

Yang Chen immediately stopped him, saying, "Don't list everything. Just put up one thousand boxes. We need to let everyone see how popular our product is, while still keeping the market unsatisfied. We will wait for the distributors to come knocking on our doors begging for a partnership, and then we'll squeeze a hefty agency fee out of them. I'm going to make money from selling the medicine, and I'm going to make money from the agency fees too."

Chang Sheng burst into laughter and said, "Understood, understood. Chairman Yang is truly a marketing genius. Sihai Healthcare is about to take off big time."

True to Yang Chen's instructions, Chang Sheng immediately listed one thousand boxes of the slimming pills. They always say that women's money is the easiest to make, and sure enough, the diet pills priced at 1288 per box sold out in the blink of an eye.

Netizens who failed to grab a box flooded the comment section of Sihai Healthcare's pinned video, demanding an increase in supply.

"What the hell! Do you guys have 6G internet speeds? The moment I looked away to top up my balance, all one thousand boxes were gone."

"You people are so two-faced! You were the ones questioning and cursing them, and now you're the ones fighting us for the pills."

"Seriously, with so many people begging for the pills in the comments, what is the point of only listing one thousand boxes? If the rival companies see this, they'll think I can't afford it. Put up another thousand boxes—one thousand boxes for each person. Idiots."

"There's no need to play this hunger marketing game when selling diet pills, right? Release as many as you have. Sihai needs money, and we need health. Why hoard the stock?"

...

Apart from consumers pleading for the product, the comment section was also crowded by representatives from major pharmaceutical distribution channels.

Seeing tens of thousands of comments begging for the pills, these distributors grew deeply tempted.

Some of the more cunning distributors worried that the comment section might just be filled with paid shills hired by Sihai Healthcare, so they decided to post comments to test the waters.

For instance, Xu Qianni, a manager at Baixing Pharmacy, posted a comment reading:

"The comment section is such a mess. Are there any sisters who have actually used this who can vouch for whether it's truly effective? I'm 155 centimeters and 155 catties. I'm quite insecure and genuinely need a safe and effective weight-loss pill. Thank you."

Soon, enthusiastic netizens replied to her, even attaching their physical examination reports.

"I've actually used it. On the day of Fat Di's livestream, I bought it along with others just treated it like a financial investment product, waiting for the debunker bloggers to expose it so I could apply for a refund of three times the amount. But after getting my hands on it, I couldn't resist trying a few pills, and the results were truly instantaneous. I lost 10 catties, and my digestion, which used to act up constantly, now feels comfortable and smooth. I think everyone should drop their prejudices. Just try it and you'll see how amazing this weight-loss pill is."

"My husband used it. He took seven pills and lost 13 catties without any strict dieting. I took him for a fatty liver checkup this morning, and it has improved significantly. I was planning to buy him two more boxes, but unfortunately, I missed out, and offline pharmacies don't carry it either. There's a reason why it's expensive; health is priceless."

...

Seeing dozens of comments accompanied by genuine medical examination reports, Xu Qianni's doubts vanished. It was impossible for hospitals scattered across the entire country to forge documents to help Sihai Healthcare commit fraud.

Just like the suspicious Xu Qianni, online channel procurement officers from JD Pharmacy, Alibaba Pharmacy, and Meituan Pharmacy also probed the comment section for a long time before confirming that these netizens were genuinely desperate to buy the Sihai Slimming Pills.

These online and offline distributors had already obtained the inspection reports for the Sihai Slimming Pills, confirming that the diet pill was safe, reliable, and free of side effects. Their only remaining concern was whether consumers would accept such a steep price tag, but it now appeared that this worry was entirely unfounded.

A decade ago, many people certainly would have begrudged spending this much money on a box of diet pills.

Nowadays, however, many people have chosen to lie flat rather than grind away, and men have stopped acting like desperate simps. People's primary priority has shifted to treating themselves and their parents well. As long as this medicine was as miraculous as advertised, a price tag of 1288 was not an issue at all.

At 10:00 AM, Yang Chen walked out of the Sihai Investment Department's office floor on schedule and returned to his chairman's office.

Chang Sheng was waiting in the lounge area on that floor. Seeing Yang Chen step out of the elevator accompanied by his six beautiful assistants, Chang Sheng immediately stood up and hurried over.

"Chairman Yang, haha... My phone hasn't stopped ringing since last night. Baixing Pharmacy, Tongrentang, JD Pharmacy, Alibaba Pharmacy—over a dozen online and offline distributors have been consulting me regarding the exclusive agency rights. You truly possess god-like foresight, predicting that they would proactively contact us to seek exclusive agency rights. My admiration for you grows stronger by the day," Chang Sheng said excitedly.

"Just get straight to business, spare the flattery. Send a notice to all the interested brand representatives stating that we will host an auction gala this Friday at 8:00 PM at the Jiangcheng State Guest Hotel. We will auction the online and offline agency rights separately. Of course, if any company has the financial muscle, they can bid for both. The starting bid for the online rights is 1 billion, and the starting bid for the offline rights is 1.5 billion, valid for life," Yang Chen instructed.

"Ah?" Everyone gasped in astonishment.

They had anticipated that Yang Chen would demand a hefty authorization fee, but they never dared to imagine he would ask for such an astronomical sum.

With a shocked expression, Chang Sheng asked, "That expensive?! Will they even accept that?"

Yang Chen analyzed, "The unified national retail price is 1288, and our supply price to them is 998. I've checked the data: the number of overweight and obese patients in the Dragon Kingdom reaches a staggering 340 million, and that doesn't even include patients needing treatment for conditions like fatty liver disease and hyperlipidemia. If you factor those in, there is a rock-solid market demand of at least 400 million people. Even if we calculate it based on the conservative standard of a single patient needing only one box, they only need to capture 1% of the customer base to break even and turn a profit. Now that we have a medicine that is this comprehensive, effective, and side-effect-free, patient acceptance is bound to be extremely high, and capturing 1% of the market is not difficult at all. Do you still think this agency price is expensive?"

Hearing this breakdown, it was far from expensive—it was practically a steal.

Zhao Jing asked, "But what if they still think it's too pricey and nobody shows up at the auction venue?"

"Wouldn't that be even better? We can just sit back and enjoy ourselves with food and drinks! Chen Xi, contact the State Guest Hotel immediately to book the venue. Make sure the food and beverage options are high-end; we mustn't shortchange ourselves," Yang Chen said with a smile.

Huang Wei chimed in immediately, "Why do I feel like the auction is just a pretext, and your real intention is to wine and dine? You always use work as an excuse to indulge in personal pleasures."

"You're looking at it the wrong way. I'm a human being, not a machine, and humans need a balance between work and rest. I work so hard making money for the Sihai Group, isn't it completely reasonable for me to relax a little bit occasionally?" Yang Chen replied. He then tapped Huang Wei lightly on the forehead and scolded, "After training you for so many days, you still haven't caught on. When talking to your boss, you need to be tactful and subtle, not so blunt. Someone like you won't get anywhere in the banking sector unless you're willing to submit to the hidden rules of the bank president."

"Haha..." Everyone covered their mouths and laughed.

Huang Wei stomped her foot in frustration and retorted, "I spent twenty years studying hard through bitter winters and scorching summers, graduating with a Master's degree from a top-tier 985 university. Do I need to submit to any hidden rules?"

Yang Chen gave a dismissive smirk and said, "Psh... Everyone knows the financial circle has the most chaotic romantic relationships. I knew a teacher once who said that girls from ordinary families shouldn't study finance unless they are exceptionally pretty and willing to throw caution to the wind; otherwise, it's virtually impossible to survive in this industry. If the five of you ever encounter any hidden rules in the future, don't give in—resign immediately and come to me. Rather than letting others take advantage of you, you might as well let me subject you to the hidden rules."

The five beautiful investment consultants instantly raised their dainty fists and chased after Yang Chen to beat him up.

"Don't run away! Let's have a serious talk about the specific details of these hidden rules!"

"I knew you were a lech, and you wouldn't even admit it!"

"Your appetite is quite something else, aiming for all five of us. Can your frail little body handle that?"

...