Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 637: Chapter 637: Wishful Thinking

In her video, the blogger "A Bald Girl’s Guide to Saving Herself" lifted her bangs, revealing a hairline that was once bald but was now covered in fine, downy hair.

"Look, everyone! This is after just half a month. My hair is really growing back, and my scalp isn’t oily anymore! I must have been a complete fool to believe all those rumors. Ding’s Shampoo, I owe you an apology."

The video resonated with countless people.

Many people bought it, thinking, ’I’ll just give it a try,’ and ’It’s not that expensive anyway.’

And when they tried it, they instantly became converts.

"Holy shit, this stuff is amazing for dandruff! Ten years of flakes, gone in a single wash."

"It smells amazing. Feels like I’m giving my scalp an herbal spa treatment."

"My husband’s hair gets so greasy, but with this shampoo, he can actually go three days without washing it. It’s a miracle!"

Word-of-mouth reviews snowballed.

People went from doubting it, to trying it, to being shocked by the results, and finally to passionately recommending it to everyone they knew.

Ding’s Natural Herbal Shampoo had finally broken through the clouds of slander and was having its moment in the sun.

Sales skyrocketed. The factory had to switch to a three-shift system, running the machines around the clock, but they still couldn’t keep up with demand.

Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory, the General Manager’s office.

Ding Kaifang stared at the sales chart, which was shooting straight up. Grinning from ear to ear, he called Li Xu. "Doctor Li, we did it! We absolutely crushed it! Not only did we turn the tables, but we basically climbed to the top over the corpses of those big factories. We’re the new kings of the shampoo market now!"

Li Xu smiled. ’A good product will always shine through in the end.’

...

The atmosphere at the Cosmetics Association headquarters was grim.

In the spacious conference room, representatives from several personal care giants all wore miserable expressions.

Their recent campaign to take down Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory had not only failed to inflict the slightest damage but had backfired spectacularly. They were the ones left severely weakened, with plummeting stock prices and damaged brand reputations. It was a classic case of shooting themselves in the foot.

The association’s president, Gao Tang, sat alone in his office, his brow deeply furrowed.

Although the scandal hadn’t directly implicated him—after all, as president, he was slick enough not to leave any direct evidence of his involvement in the smear campaign—the association’s prestige had still taken a massive hit.

"Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory..."

Gao Tang muttered to himself.

This herbal medicine factory, once dismissed by them as an amateur and a disruptor, had now grown into a behemoth they could no longer ignore.

Its Aloe Vera Frost had swept the skincare world, and now its shampoo had ripped a huge gash in the personal care market. The company’s voice was carrying more and more weight.

’We can’t keep ostracizing them.’

Gao Tang was a shrewd operator who knew how to read the situation. ’It’s better to guide a force than to block it,’ he thought. ’Since we can’t crush them, we’ll bring them into the fold.’

If they brought Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory into the association, made them "one of their own," any future issues could be handled behind closed doors. That was far better than letting them run wild, flipping the table and putting everyone in an untenable position whenever they pleased.

Having reached this conclusion, Gao Tang immediately convened a meeting with the representatives of the industry giants.

Although companies like P&G and Unilever were dead set against it, they couldn’t help but think about Ding’s terrifying R&D capabilities. What if they quietly dropped some miracle toothpaste or body wash on the market one day? How would the rest of them even compete?

After weighing the pros and cons, they all held their noses and agreed to Gao Tang’s proposal: invite Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory to join the association, even promising them a seat on the council.

Gao Tang immediately had his secretary draft a sincerely worded and highly enticing invitation, which was then sent to Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory.

However, days passed with no response, as if the invitation had vanished into thin air.

Gao Tang had his secretary call to follow up, only to receive a single, icy reply: "President Ding says he’s not interested in joining."

’Fine. If he won’t take the easy way, he’ll get the hard way.’

Gao Tang was furious, but he wasn’t ready to give up.

This was no longer just about saving face; it was a matter of strategy.

"Get the car. I’m going to Feng City myself."

...

The next day, a travel-worn Gao Tang arrived at Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory in Feng City.

In the general manager’s office, he met Ding Kaifang.

"President Ding, a pleasure, a real pleasure."

Gao Tang’s face was plastered with a smile as he extended a hand. "I’ve heard so much about you. Seeing you in person today, I can see you’re every bit as young and accomplished as the rumors say."

However, Ding Kaifang didn’t stand, nor did he offer his hand. He merely shot Gao Tang a cold glance before looking back down at his documents.

"What do you want, President Gao?"

Gao Tang’s hand froze in mid-air. He pulled it back awkwardly and chuckled sheepishly. "President Ding, I’ve come in good faith. After careful consideration, our association has decided to invite your company to join us. We’d also like to appoint you as a standing director. This is the highest honor in our industry! We’ll be one big family, sharing resources for our mutual benefit."

"One big family?"

Ding Kaifang finally looked up, a cold, mocking smirk on his face. "You’ve got a terrible memory, President Gao. Half a month ago, who was it that hired an army of trolls to slander us online? Who forced supermarkets to pull our products from their shelves? Who made it so that no celebrity would dare sign an endorsement deal with us?"

"The police might not have found any dirt on you, but I know exactly who to blame for all that."

Gao Tang’s face fell. He quickly stammered out a defense, "President Ding, that’s a misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding! That was just some subordinates acting out of line, or perhaps the actions of an individual competitor. It had nothing to do with the association..."

"Enough."

Ding Kaifang slammed his hand on the desk, cutting off the performance. "Stop with the act. You’re making me sick."

"We at Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory may have started in medicine, but we intend to make our money honestly, with our heads held high. We have no interest in joining some corrupt, backstabbing association, and we certainly don’t want to be ’brothers’ with a bunch of treacherous lowlifes who’d stab you in the back."

"The door is over there. See yourself out."

Ding Kaifang pointed to the door, ordering him to leave.

Gao Tang’s face went from red to white, and his whole body trembled with rage.

He was a titan of the industry, for god’s sake! Everywhere he went, people fawned over him.

When had he ever been humiliated like this?

"Fine! Just fine! Ding Kaifang, you’ve got guts! Real guts!"

Gao Tang pointed a trembling finger at Ding Kaifang, his teeth clenched. "I try to be reasonable and you spit in my face. We’ll see about this. Just you wait. Let’s see how you get by in this industry from now on."

With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

...

In his private car, Gao Tang was still seething, his chest heaving with rage.

"Back to the provincial capital! Now!" he roared at his driver.

He couldn’t stand to be in Feng City for another second.

However, just a few minutes after the car pulled away.

"HNNNG—"

Gao Tang suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, his entire body instantly curling up into a ball like a cooked shrimp.

A piercing, agonizing pain struck without warning. It started in his right testicle and shot up through his groin into his lower abdomen like a venomous snake.

The pain was so intense it felt as if someone were ripping his nerves apart with a pair of red-hot pliers.

"Nnngh... Ahhh..."

Gao Tang was drenched in a cold sweat, his face ghastly pale. He was in too much pain to even speak.

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