Little Guli kept giggling as he tossed small steamed buns around, while Lin Yao held him tightly around the waist, letting him lean close to the gunwale to feed the fish, while he himself was lost in thought.
Although Minhong Pharmaceutical no longer lacks funds for production and sales, in practice, the production cost of the drought-resistant beverage has reached 1.25 yuan, exceeding the budget by 31.3 fen. While this excess may seem small, based on a production scale of 100 million bottles, Minhong Pharmaceutical will suffer a massive loss of 31.3 million yuan. Even if the ex-factory price is set at the previously promised maximum of one yuan per bottle, the company will still incur a loss of 25 million yuan.
The new costs were just calculated by Lin Hongmei today, due to the rising prices of raw materials for Chinese medicinal herbs. Yunnan and Guizhou are well-known Chinese medicinal herb cultivation bases, accounting for a high proportion of the national total output. Now, due to drought, many Chinese medicinal herbs are facing foreseeable underproduction. The price of Panax notoginseng, mainly produced in Yunnan, has even surged fivefold in the national market, driving up the prices of all Chinese medicinal herbs and causing a sharp increase in the cost of drought-resistant functional beverages.
What to do? Lin Yao was worried. He had promised online that the highest ex-factory price would not exceed one yuan per bottle, but he hadn't expected the price of medicinal herbs to rise so sharply, far exceeding the actual situation. Lin Yao felt very passive and secretly hated those unscrupulous merchants who hoarded medicinal herbs and artificially controlled price increases; these people had no conscience.
By the time the beverages allocated for sale reached the rural towns and brigades where the disaster victims were located, the cost had already reached 1.723 yuan. If the selling price were still set at 1.5 yuan, the loss would be less compared to distributing to the donors, with a loss of 22.3 yuan per bottle. However, this was still something that the civilian pharmaceutical industry could not afford. Lin Yao's family only had 16 million yuan in total funds, and even if they did not care about personal gains or losses, it would not be enough to cover the losses.
The preparatory team members currently have two opinions. One is to announce the actual situation online, letting the people of the whole country know the reasons for raising the ex-factory price, since the overall price increase of Chinese medicinal materials nationwide is a fact, and everyone should understand. The other opinion is to not break the previous commitment, and Minhong Pharmaceutical will solicit sponsorships from the public. These special sponsorship funds will be used specifically to make up for the losses caused by the increase in raw material prices.
Lin Yao felt that neither of the two plans was perfect. The first was a price increase that was inconsistent with his promise. After all, the people of the whole country did not know the specific costs of Minhong Pharmaceutical, and the company could not publish its financial situation in detail on the Internet. If it were to publish, the formula would have to be listed. Even if Lin Yao did not mind publishing the formula, it could not be used by other pharmaceutical companies because it lacked the key catalytic enzyme. Those counterfeit products would not only have no therapeutic effect, but would also have huge toxicity. This toxicity would develop slowly and would cause incalculable harm to all consumers.
The second scenario is also not feasible: raising funds from the public without giving out shares. This approach is legally unacceptable due to the numerous clauses involved, which would complicate matters significantly. Some might even argue that Minhong Pharmaceuticals has not actually paid any price and that the entire operation is funded by donors. If a lawsuit were to break out, Lin Yaojia would be in a very passive position.
Lin Yao could only hope that the think tank of the preparatory group could find a way to implement the first plan, he thought helplessly.
The enormous financial losses were unsolvable, and even raising funds as an angel investor wouldn't provide a fundamental solution. Donating all his family's money to disaster relief wasn't Lin Yao's initial intention. He had already sacrificed immeasurable amounts of catalytic enzymes, and losing his startup capital wasn't part of his plan. This money was intended to be used to purchase pharmaceutical factory equipment for future production. Disaster victims needed aid, but other patients also needed help.
The first children's cold medicine to be launched will benefit millions of infants and young children. Currently, the effect of traditional Chinese medicine in treating children's colds is not significant. Many doctors often prescribe antibiotics in conjunction with traditional Chinese medicine, and even prescribe cephalosporin antibiotics.
Cephalosporin antibiotics are highly effective, far superior to penicillin. However, after using cephalosporins, the efficacy of penicillin is significantly reduced. China has the highest average dosage and frequency of antibiotic use in the world, leading to strong drug resistance in domestic viruses and bacteria. This also weakens the body's own immune system, which is extremely detrimental to human health.
Some cephalosporin antibiotics can induce gallstones in adolescents and children, and cause serious damage to the liver and kidneys in everyone. Antibiotics have the greatest impact on minors, and can even cause their bodies to stop growing and developing.
Most doctors in China overuse antibiotics because they are fast-acting and effective, and antibiotics are highly profitable, with doctors receiving substantial commissions for prescribing them. Private clinics can profit from antibiotic use at rates ten to dozens of times higher. The situation is even worse in some high-priced hospitals, where a single infant's pneumonia caused by a cold or fever often requires treatment costing one or two thousand yuan, leaving the child with a weakened constitution even after recovery.
Doctors abroad are very strict about the use of antibiotics. When Zhu Jianhua, the former world high jump champion, moved abroad, his child had a severe cold and fever, but the doctor did not use antibiotics. Instead, he used conservative medication and relied on the child's own immunity to recover. This is a difference in medical philosophy and attitude towards the health of patients.
Given these circumstances, Lin Yao must accelerate the production of traditional Chinese medicines with no or minimal toxic side effects in order to help his compatriots to the greatest extent possible.
Just as Lin Yao was making up his mind to support the preparatory group in adopting the first plan, Xiao Guli's childish voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Dad, look at those two older sisters, they're so pretty!" Little Guli said, then immediately shouted to his right, "Hey, beautiful older sisters!"
Lin Yao broke out in a cold sweat. This little guy was too flamboyant, and had once again put him in an extremely embarrassing situation. No one would believe that a four-year-old boy would flirt with a beautiful girl on his own; they would only think that the adults next to him had instigated him.
Lin Yao was troubled and regretful. One day, while out on the street, Xiao Guli asked Lin Yao how to greet people. He casually joked, pointing to a young woman walking towards him, and said to Xiao Guli, "When you see a pretty lady, just say 'Hi, beautiful lady.' That's all."
Lin Yao's joke had serious consequences. From then on, whenever Xiao Guli saw a pretty woman, he would say the same thing, making Lin Yao very embarrassed. No matter how hard Lin Yao tried afterwards, he couldn't correct this flaw, because Xiao Guli found it very funny, and the beautiful women laughed happily. Lin Yao could only sigh that the old saying was true: "It takes a lifetime to learn good things, but only a minute to learn bad things."
To the right and slightly ahead was a pedal boat of the same shape as the one Lin Yao and his son were riding in, from which came the sound of silvery laughter. Lin Yao looked up, and his pupils immediately contracted.
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Chapter Fifty-Eight: A Second Encounter (Thank you!)
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Three people, one man and two women, were sitting on the pedal boat ahead, laughing heartily. Lin Yao didn't pay attention to the meaning behind their laughter, nor did he hear what Xiao Guli in his arms was saying. He only felt his head explode – it was his pink girl!
The whole world suddenly fell silent. There was no sound, no warm breeze, no fresh and pleasant fragrance, only a smile. The bright smile shook Lin Yao's heart, like a holy light appearing in a silent film, gathering all beauty together, so pure, so unique.
His brain had stopped functioning, and his heart seemed to have stopped beating. In that instant, Lin Yao's breathing instinctively stopped, as if any slight movement would ruin this beautiful moment. He just stared blankly at the smile five meters away, thinking and doing nothing.
The three people on the opposite pedal boat also made a move. Two girls were talking, their faces close together, clearly trying to avoid the man next to them. Then, the girl in pink lowered her head shyly, while the girl next to her burst into laughter, a laugh that was somewhat alarming.
Lin Yao still didn't hear the other girl's loud laughter; his gaze and entire mind were fixed on the pink-clad girl's face. The pink-clad girl lowered her head, and his mind followed suit. The slender neck he saw had turned pink, no longer its former whiteness. He didn't think about anything; his mind was still in a daze, and he just stared blankly.
"Dad, Dad..." Xiao Guli's voice grew louder and louder. He twisted his body vigorously and finally woke Lin Yao from his dementia.
"Hmm, what's wrong?" Lin Yao felt his voice was very dry. He looked away from the pink-faced girl and looked at Xiao Guli, feeling very reluctant to part with her.
"Those two beautiful ladies like me. They smile when they see me." Little Guli was very proud. The pride that a child feels when they are valued was evident on his face. He turned his head proudly and looked up at Lin Yao.
Lin Yao knew that Xiao Guli was waiting for his praise, and he was secretly grateful to the little guy. If it weren't for his "rogue" behavior, he would have missed the chance to see the pink girl again.
"Yes, Lili is the best-behaved. All the beautiful ladies like you." Lin Yao didn't hold back his praise. He really wanted to praise this little guy. He tightened his arms around Xiao Guli and lowered his head to give his pink little face a big kiss.
With a giggle, little Guli squirmed excitedly in Lin Yao's arms, his joyful voice echoing across the lake, filling Lin Yao with a sudden feeling of happiness. This world is so wonderful.
"Handsome boy, were you trying to get to know me?" The one who spoke was Xiao Qing, who was sitting next to Xia Yuwen. She was laughing so hard that she felt weak and had to lean all her weight on Xia Yuwen.
Lin Yao looked up and saw the woman next to the pink-clad girl speaking. The girl was dressed in a dark, fitted outfit and looked very energetic. Her short, neat hair and pretty face made her clearly a dynamic beauty, Lin Yao thought to himself, feeling like he had returned to normal.
When Lin Yao hurriedly shifted his gaze to the pink figure next to the voluptuous woman, his mind began to fog up again. However, this time the situation was much better, and he was still able to retain a barely conscious state.
"Yes, beautiful sister, you are very pretty, I want to get to know you. My name is Lili, what's your name?" Little Guli responded loudly in what he thought was a very mature tone, making Lin Yao feel a little annoyed. The little guy had changed a lot these days, and he had flirted with no less than twenty beautiful women. Fortunately, he was young, so Lin Yao only had to endure the embarrassment and didn't have to be scolded or reprimanded by the beautiful women. Of course, there would be some contempt, after all, being called "Dad" by Little Guli would make others think that they had a great responsibility to educate him.
"My name is Qingqing, handsome Lili, how do you want to get to know me?" After saying that, Qingqing turned her head and whispered in Xia Yuwen's ear, "Xiaowen, here are your husband and son. I think your husband doesn't look like a hoodlum anymore, he looks like an idiot."
Xia Yuwen's face, which had just recovered, flushed red again, like a lotus in full bloom, making Lin Yao, who was not far away, even more stunned. "Get lost, he's not my husband. Didn't you admit last time that he was your husband? You even blamed me for wasting time and not letting you recognize each other. Now you can recognize each other. There's plenty of time. He can't run away on the lake. You also have such a big son now. I can be your aunt now."