"Hello, Chairman Kong." Luo Jimin shook hands with Kong Xiangde in a proper manner. "What are you saying, Chairman Kong? We're all in the same industry, just trying to make a living. The market is so big, everyone's rushing to grab a piece of the action."
After Luo Jimin finished speaking, he sat down, not wanting to continue talking to the man. After the price bureau came to his door last time to ask for a price increase, he had found out Kong Xiangde's background. He knew that the other party was definitely not friendly today, and he didn't need to spend his time trying to get on good terms with him.
"Mr. Luo, when there's something good, everyone should share it. You can't get fat by eating alone." Kong Xiangde continued to tease him, half-joking and half-seriously, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Why don't you name your price and let me learn the recipe? All the people in my factory will remember Mr. Luo's great kindness."
"Sorry, the family recipe is not passed down to outsiders." Luo Jimin was too lazy to even say anything. This kind of person's attitude was very obvious; he was just looking for trouble. Was the theme of today's banquet really that blatant?
"President Luo, always leave yourself an out. It's better to meet again in the future. My factory workers are starving, and they'll all be begging at Minhong's doorstep." Kong Xiangde's tone turned somewhat sinister.
During this period, his Dujiangyan pharmaceutical factory did not sell a single box of medicine. On the contrary, distributors from all over the country requested to return the goods. This was because Kong Xiangde's main market was in Sichuan. Minhong's children's cold granules were inexpensive and had amazing effects. Even though the distribution channels had not been expanded to the whole province, they had already occupied most of the provincial market.
"Don't you dare refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. If you piss me off, you'll regret it," Kong Xiangde thought to himself, secretly hoping he could get his hands on Min Hong's prescription. He was confident he could sell the same product for thirty yuan a box. Like other commodities, medicines, once marketed and packaged well, and marketed as high-end premium drugs, would be in high demand by patients. "Brain glass" was a prime example of this success.
With his brother-in-law's connections in the government department, Kong Xiangde wasn't afraid of failing to bring down Minhong. At most, he would have to wait until Minhong went out of business before trying to get the prescription. However, things were tough right now. The factory had already shut down its machinery, but the money was still being spent every day.
Luo Jimin glanced at Kong Xiangde indifferently, said nothing, and picked up the chopsticks on the table to eat.
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Chapter 202 Showdown
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"Come, let me toast the most beautiful lady tonight." The pot-bellied Ma Yibiao lifted his fat buttocks, got up from his seat, and went to Lin Hongmei to offer her a toast, his smile looking very lewd.
Lin Hongmei frowned, glanced at Ma Yibiao, then picked up a piece of braised beef and put it into Lin Yao's bowl. "I dare not accept such praise. I cannot afford Mr. Ma's wine. Mr. Ma's family is wealthy and powerful, and his medicinal herbs and wine are expensive. We ordinary people will only eat the dishes and will not join in the fun."
Seeing her husband's previous behavior, Lin Hongmei thought that since she was going to have to tear off the mask and fight with these people tonight anyway, there was no need for her to be polite to others. She didn't need to give a nice face to an annoying guy like Ma Yibiao.
"Haha, President Lin is so humorous." Ma Yibiao laughed heartily, appearing very open-minded and generous. His expression seemed to completely disregard the barb in Lin Hongmei's words, instead offering good-natured advice, "Chuanlong and Minhong can form a strategic partnership. You see, our strengths complement each other perfectly. I have a wide supply of medicinal herbs, control the distribution network throughout the province, and have brotherly relationships with major national distributors outside the province. Let's not hold a grudge about the previous misunderstanding. In the future, we can all make money together."
Apart from Zhang Fan from the Market Supervision Section of the Municipal Drug Administration, who had just been introduced, the rest of the people at the table were pharmaceutical manufacturers and drug distributors. Ma Yibiao knew Zhang Fan, so he spoke without any restraint and directly called out Min Hongjun.
"I would be very grateful for your offer. Minhong is too weak and unable to handle unexpected events involving raw material shortages. Mr. Ma, you should find someone else to cooperate with." Lin Hongmei directly rejected Ma Yibiao's suggestion and then picked up another piece of braised beef for Lin Yao. This time it was a large pile of beef, which made Lin Yao frown. The beef didn't taste special and was as bland as plain water, with a faint gamey smell. He couldn't eat it.
Ignoring the adults' argument, Lin Yao thought his parents were behaving well and he didn't need to interfere. As for Ma Yibiao, he already had his eye on him and would make him regret it later.
Picking up a piece of crystal-clear Korean braised pork belly and stuffing it into my mouth, the sweet aroma of fatty oil permeated my senses. The taste was simply amazing! No wonder a small plate like this costs hundreds of dollars. Just look at the paper-thin knife skills and the flavor—it's worth it. Of course, it's worth it to pay for someone else's money. If he had to pay for it himself, he'd be better off going to "Shuadu" near Rainbow Bridge for snacks; it's cheap, delicious, and lively there.
"Is Mr. Lin planning to refuse a toast only to suffer a penalty shot?" Ma Yibiao's professional smile vanished, his face falling and looking quite unpleasant.
Ma Yibiao had lost patience. He had tried all his previous tricks, but they hadn't worked on Min Hong. This time, he spent a lot of money to invite many friends and associates. He originally thought that with so many government departments attending the banquet, Min Hong's people would at least give him face and back down. But to his surprise, they shut him down right away. He didn't believe that Luo Jimin and Lin Hongmei couldn't see through the purpose of this banquet.
Since that's the case, Ma Yibiao decided to start threatening them directly, lest this family become arrogant and ignorant.
Lin Yao put down his chopsticks, raised his head and glanced at Ma Yibiao, his tone even colder, "We won't accept a toast, nor will we accept a penalty drink. Whoever wants to eat can eat. Anyone who tries to mess with Min Hong will definitely not have a good ending."
"Oh dear, this bastard is quite arrogant." Seeing that the pretense had been broken, Ma Yibiao stopped pretending and abandoned his image as a successful businessman, directly starting to curse.
Ma Yibiao's Chuanlong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. was the distributor for two brands of "Children's Cold Granules" in Sichuan Province. Due to the impact of Minhong, they suffered huge losses. This banquet was organized and initiated by him, albeit under the guise of the Provincial Drug Administration. In order to unite various forces to put pressure on Minhong, he brought in Kong Xiangde of Dujiangyan Pharmaceutical Factory. Through Kong Xiangde's brother-in-law's connections, he could rally more functional departments to act together.
This banquet was the final showdown. Ma Yibiao's plan was this: if Luo Jimin and his group backed down, Chuanlong Pharmaceutical would cooperate with Minhong and become the exclusive distributor of Minhong's products nationwide. He had already decided on the price: 40 yuan per box. The efficacy of this medicine had been proven, and with just a change of packaging, it could be sold all over China.
If Luo Jimin continues to act willfully and unites with various forces to defeat Minhong, and then takes over the "mess" himself, he can acquire the formula and production technology for "children's cold medicine" for very little money. The fixed assets alone, which are like freebies, are enough to tempt people, not to mention the formula that will generate wealth.
Upon hearing Lin Hongmei and Lin Yao's answers, Ma Yibiao completely lost his patience and decided to abandon the idea of cooperation, instead focusing on defeating Minhong Pharmaceutical. As for Vice Mayor Duan Qing, who had consistently supported Minhong Pharmaceutical, he already had a plan in place; bringing in someone of higher rank than Duan Qing would easily resolve the situation.
"I thought you just looked like a pig, but I didn't expect your words to be even more disgusting than pig shit." Lin Yao stood up abruptly, his anger rising even higher. These people were all picking on Min Hong, causing trouble time and time again. He had no choice but to stop.
"You little bastard, who are you calling names? You're so young and you have no manners at all! Believe me or not, I'll slap you across the face!" Ma Yibiao's face was contorted with rage as he glared fiercely at Lin Yao.
"Whether he has good manners or not is none of your business. If you dare lay a hand on him, I'll send you packing!" Luo Jimin slammed down his chopsticks, jerked back his chair, and charged to Lin Yao's side like a tank. He had protected his son for decades; how could he allow anyone to violate him? Lin Yao's body was the most precious thing to him and his wife. Even though Lin Yao no longer needed protection, he still couldn't tolerate anyone violating his son, not even a verbal threat.
"The young one is rude, and the old one is no better!" Seeing Luo Jimin's domineering attitude, Ma Yibiao was a little intimidated. He was not good at fighting, so he decided to hold back for now and use tricks to kill this family after they left the house. "Your Minhong has violated industry rules. Just wait until you stop production and close down."
"Stop production and close down?" Luo Jimin glanced at Ma Yibiao with disdain, understanding the other party's intention. "This is not for you to decide. We have nothing to hide and we are not afraid of troublemakers."
Feeling the warmth of his father's love, Lin Yao was deeply touched. But when he heard Ma Yibiao's threat, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the leaders of the functional departments at the table on the stage were all looking in his direction. This gave him a better idea of what to do.
This is a trap. The pharmaceutical company and distributors have brought together key officials from relevant departments to pressure Minhong into accepting their terms. If they don't reach an agreement today, people will likely start coming to cause trouble tomorrow. The fact that Duan Qing and Chairman Chen, who have always supported Minhong, didn't come shows that these people have bypassed Minhong's assistant. They are not afraid of Duan Qing's position as vice mayor, since there are many people with higher ranks than the vice mayor in charge of medicine and health.
Lin Yao slowly turned his head to look at the seats next to the podium. Before Director Yu, who had gotten up and rushed over, could get close, Lin Yao squeezed out the words from between his teeth, "Min Hong welcomes anyone who comes to conduct inspections and research according to the rules. If anyone tries to cause trouble, we will not allow them to bully us. We will never tolerate anyone who makes things difficult for Min Hong or sets up obstacles for us. No matter how powerful you are, we will accept it."
Director Yu's expression changed as he approached. Lin Yao's voice was not low. After the conflict at the table, everyone at the banquet stopped talking. The entire banquet hall was quiet. Everyone clearly heard the threat in Lin Yao's words and thought to themselves that Min Hong's child was really ignorant. He actually dared to threaten the engineering staff leader directly. Did he really think that the person was a public servant?
"How did such a nice banquet turn into such an unpleasant occasion? Everyone, sit down and have some drinks and food." Director Yu smiled and tugged at Luo Jimin's arm to get him back to his seat. "Today, let's just drink. Put personal grudges aside. We're all big and successful business owners, so let's not cause any trouble that would make us a laughingstock."
Luo Jimin returned to his seat. He understood the principle that the common people should not fight against officials, and at this moment, he had to give Director Yu face.
Lin Yao didn't care about all that. Since he had decided to act in a high-profile manner, these rules and regulations could no longer restrict him. He thought to himself that his family would never evade taxes or break the law, and he was not afraid of trouble. In this world, nothing can be argued with reason. If you are in the right, you have nothing to fear.
“Uncle Yu, it’s not that we’re causing trouble. This Mr. Ma is threatening to shut down Minhong Pharmaceutical. We don’t even know which government department he’s affiliated with, but he acts more arrogant than the mayor.” Lin Yao provoked Ma Yibiao in a nonchalant manner, but he smiled as he faced Director Yu.
Unable to save face, Ma Yibiao gritted his teeth, pondered for a moment, and then said, "The government only manages macro-control; market sales are not under their jurisdiction. Let's see how you sell your medicine. No distributors across the country will cooperate with you. You might as well close down as soon as possible."
On the surface, Ma Yibiao only used market means to threaten Minhong, but in reality, he wanted to use connections and find fault to operate. The defection of distributors in Hunan and Beijing has already aroused the alliance's vigilance. This alliance relationship, which is maintained purely by interests, is also easy to be broken because of interests. In order to obtain huge profits from Minhong, he will use all means at his disposal, and he has also contacted extremely powerful public and private forces behind the scenes.
Lin Yao had already sat back down in his seat. Hearing Ma Yibiao still spouting nonsense, he couldn't help but want to provoke him again. After making up his mind, Lin Yao was unwilling to suffer any more verbal losses. "Don't bother with this. We'll still sell even without distributors. Online sales are more profitable, and we'll keep the profit margin ourselves since no one wants the distributors."
Director Yu simply stood aside, offering no further words of comfort. The conflict was already under control and was not his concern in the first place; he wouldn't benefit from it. He had only organized the banquet because of instructions from his superiors, and he didn't want to offend anyone, not either side.
“Document No. 1185 of the Health Office [2009] and Document No. 1144 of the Food and Drug Administration [2010] stipulate that it is illegal for any medical unit or medical research institution to sell drugs online. Your plan to sell drugs online must be stopped. Don’t go against the national law.” Zhang Fan, the head of the Market Supervision Section of the Municipal Drug Administration, who had not spoken until now, suddenly interrupted, his face full of righteous indignation. This greatly pleased Ma Yibiao, and his expression became even more arrogant.
"Idiot!" Lin Yao cursed inwardly. Even Director Yu of the Provincial Drug Administration hadn't spoken, so why should this lowly section chief from the Municipal Drug Administration have a say? He couldn't even see the situation in this setting. He had no idea how this young man had climbed to such a lucrative position.
What impressed Lin Yao was that this young Section Chief Zhang could readily recite the relevant documents, even the document numbers were clear and accurate. It seemed that this person was not entirely without ability.
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