Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 628: Chapter 628: Exorbitant Termination Fee

"So sudden?"

Ji Youyou was a little surprised as she took the folder. "Did something happen? Is there a problem with the endorsement?"

"It’s not a problem. It’s... how do I put this... a massive windfall, dropped right in our laps."

Xiao Ya helped her open the file, pointing to a few places marked with a highlighter. "Look here, and here."

Ji Youyou glanced at it, and her beautiful, wide eyes instantly widened. She was stunned.

Originally, her endorsement contract with Bawang was for thirty million over two years. While not a top-tier price in the industry, it was still quite good. According to industry norms, the penalty for breach of contract was typically 30% of the endorsement fee, which would be nine million.

But now, on this new supplementary agreement, the endorsement fee had skyrocketed to—eighty million.

This was an insane increase, nearly triple the original amount.

But when she saw the breach of contract clause that followed, Ji Youyou couldn’t help but gasp.

Breach of contract penalty: Ten times the endorsement fee, which was... 800 million!

Moreover, in the special terms section, there was a line in bold text: [During the endorsement period, Party B (Ji Youyou) shall not, in any form (including but not limited to social media, public appearances, being photographed in private, etc.), promote or recommend any other brand of shampoo or hair care products. Otherwise, it will be considered a fundamental breach of contract, requiring full payment of the penalty.]

"This..."

Ji Youyou was speechless. "Isn’t this a bit too tyrannical? An 800 million penalty? Are they trying to make me sign my life away?"

These kinds of terms were practically an indenture contract, completely defying normal business logic.

Xiao Ya smiled and explained from the side, "Sister Youyou, it’s precisely because the terms are so harsh and unreasonable that they proactively raised the endorsement fee so high. It’s what you call high risk, high reward."

"And I found it strange too, so I made some calls to friends in the industry. And guess what?"

"What?"

"It’s not just us. Right now, almost every celebrity in the industry with any clout who has a shampoo endorsement has received a similar amended contract. The big companies like P&G and Unilever have all changed theirs too."

"I heard it’s because the hair care industry is about to enter a new round of all-out war, and the competition is incredibly fierce. Those big companies are afraid their endorsers will ’defect’ to the enemy, get poached by competitors, or be used to ride their coattails, so they had no choice but to resort to this strategy to lock people in."

After hearing this, Ji Youyou, though she found it a bit exaggerated, accepted the explanation.

After all, when it comes to business competition, there’s always an endless array of tactics.

She thought for a moment.

’I’ve been using Bawang for so long, and it’s been fine. I have no plans to switch endorsements.’

’Besides, eighty million... ’

’That’s real money.’

’Who’s going to say no to that?’

’As for that 800 million penalty, as long as I don’t breach the contract, it’s just a number meant to scare people.’

"Alright."

Ji Youyou picked up her pen. "Since everyone else is signing, I will too. It’s not like I was planning to switch shampoos anyway."

With a few quick strokes, she signed her name at the end of the contract.

...

「Feng City. Tongming Media Culture Co., Ltd.」

Although the name sounded quite grand, it was actually a company specializing in online astroturfing.

The office was thick with cigarette smoke, and dozens of computers hummed.

The company’s director, You Hao, had his legs crossed, boredly surfing the web.

Business had been slow lately. Aside from a few jobs smearing minor celebrities, there were no big projects.

"Sigh. These days, it’s not easy being a hater for hire."

You Hao sighed.

Just then, the landline on his desk suddenly rang.

You Hao lazily picked up the phone. "Hello, Tongming Media. Who’s this?"

A deep voice came from the other end of the line. "There’s a big job. You in?"

「A few minutes later.」

You Hao put down the phone, suddenly amped up, as if he’d just had a shot of adrenaline. His expression was energized, and his eyes were practically glowing.

"We’re gonna be rich, boys! We’ve got a job!"

He slammed his hand on the desk and roared, "Everyone, to the conference room, now! Code Red!"

Soon, the company’s dozen or so core members were all assembled.

You Hao stood in front of the whiteboard, saying excitedly, "I just got a job from the higher-ups. This one’s a super big project. The commission is five times the usual, and it’s paid in full, upfront."

"We have only one target—to sabotage the new shampoo that Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory is about to release."

"The requirements are simple: Even before the shampoo hits the market, we need to muddy the waters. Once it’s launched, we start a full-blown smear campaign online. Hormones, carcinogens, hair loss—make up whatever disgusting lies you can think of. We’re going to completely destroy its reputation."

"Also, keep a close watch on all the major e-commerce platforms. If you see any positive reviews, bury them immediately! And push the negative reviews to the top!"

"Now, immediately summon all the part-time astroturfer groups and send out the assignment. The copywriting team gets to work right away. I want a hundred smear articles written and posted by tonight."

"Yes, sir."

The employees below were all rubbing their hands together, like a pack of sharks that had smelled blood in the water.

...

「Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, President’s Office.」

Sales Manager Wang Lei walked in excitedly with a document. "President Ding, good news! The registration for the shampoo just got approved. Our ’Ding’s Natural Herbal Shampoo’ has officially been greenlit."

"What’s more, the workshop has been very efficient. We already have a hundred thousand bottles stocked in the warehouse, ready to be sold at any time."

Ding Kaifang was overjoyed at the news and slapped his desk. "Good! That’s great! Everything is ready."

He stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the bustling factory grounds with soaring ambition. "This time, we’re going to fight a beautiful blitzkrieg."

"Wang Lei, go contact the purchasing managers of the major supermarkets right away, especially the local ones in Feng City like Hualian and Da Runfa. Tell them our new product is about to launch, and they need to stock up quickly and save the best shelf space for me."

"We need to launch simultaneously online and offline so consumers can buy it right away."

Wang Lei nodded, then asked, "President Ding, what about promotions? What’s our strategy this time? Are we going to do a slow buildup like before?"

Ding Kaifang shook his head. "No. This time, we’re going to ride the momentum—a huge wave of it."

"I’ll contact Ji Youyou myself. She’s an old friend of ours, and a huge star. If she just posts on Weibo or casually mentions it in a livestream, the traffic will be explosive. Combine that with the strength of our product, and it’ll be hard *not* to become a hit."

"Alright, I’ll get right on it." Wang Lei accepted his orders and left.

Back in his own office, Wang Lei immediately started making calls.

As the sales manager, he was on familiar terms with the buyers from all the major supermarkets.

He made his first call to Manager Zhang in the purchasing department of Hualian Supermarket, one of the largest supermarket chains in Feng City.

"Hey, Manager Zhang! It’s Wang Lei from Ding’s Pharmaceutical."

"Haha, long time no see! I have some great news for you. Our company has developed a new shampoo with absolutely incredible results. It was formulated by Divine Physician Li himself! We just got the approval, and since we go way back, I wanted to make you our top priority for supply."

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