Chapter 549 — Where Did the Formula Come From? Fatty Lai Was Eager for This Opportunity as Well, and Since Giving the Company a Bit More Publicity Was a Good Thing Besides, He Rose and Walked Toward the Auction Platform

Fatty Lai mounted the auction platform for the second time. Such a reception was not even granted the head of an ordinary great clan, yet the Yu family had bestowed that face — and naturally the courtesy was extended on Guan Xuemin's account. Only for Guan Xuemin would such transcendent treatment be accorded.

"Distinguished guests, good day. I believe everyone is wondering what exactly our company's Trauma and its deluxe edition really are." Fatty Lai spoke with unhurried poise. "Allow me to put your doubts to rest."

Of course, among the guests below, only Divine Doctor Kang's family looked on with utter scorn; every other great clan and wealthy merchant burned with keen interest. Even if it proved identical to Divine Doctor Kang's Gold Wound, they still watched closely — for with Doctor Guan there was now one more option, and they no longer had to go begging to the Kang family.

"Thank heaven our Beauty-Nourishing Gold Wound came out when it did; otherwise this business of ascending to great-clan status might well have gone awry!" Divine Doctor Kang gnashed his teeth in fury, and spoke with some bitterness. "How could they possibly have the formula?"

"Probably fiddled it out by blind luck," Kang Guifeng said. "Copycat products can't stand the test of the market."

"If it truly did nothing, they wouldn't dare put it on display." Kang Zhaolong saw the matter clearly. "Grandfather is right — we were a move ahead. Developing the Beauty-Nourishing Gold Wound came at exactly the right moment, leaving us ahead of everyone else."

Fatty Lai naturally had no idea what the Kangs were saying; had he known, he would have laughed his head off. "The purpose of this Trauma is to stop the bleeding and nourish the flesh. It lets a wound heal quickly and leaves no scar..."

Fatty Lai's words threw the entire hall into an uproar. Was this not the same curative effect as Divine Doctor Kang's Gold Wound? As for Divine Doctor Kang, his face had gone ashen — suspicion before was one thing, confirmation quite another; naturally his complexion would not improve.

"Anyone can brag. What matters is whether it works!" Kang Guifeng snorted coldly.

"Grandfather, does Kang **'s family have our formula?" It was something else entirely that occurred to Kang Zhaolong at that moment: had the formula been leaked?

"They shouldn't have... You suspect that they have the formula too?" Divine Doctor Kang grasped the meaning of his grandson's words at once.

"Yes. Kang ** is on very good terms with them, and I fear the formula was leaked by Kang **!" Kang Zhaolong frowned as he spoke. "Otherwise, why didn't they set up the Doctor Guan Medical Company sooner? Why only after meeting Kang ** did they found it — and come out with something identical to ours?"

"The head of the family shouldn't have seen the formula..." Divine Doctor Kang shook his head. Though he had fallen out with his eldest brother, it was precisely over this formula that they had quarreled: he himself had wanted to use it to make a fortune, while his brother insisted the formula must not be touched, nor even looked at — and that was how the rift between the two had come about. Had his brother seen the formula, there would have been no need to fall out with him in the first place; the two of them might have grown rich together, and everything would have been different.

"He hasn't seen it — but where in the world is there such a coincidence?" Kang Zhaolong was plainly unconvinced.

"That... I will go back and ask my eldest brother." Divine Doctor Kang frowned. If the formula had indeed been handed over by his brother, there was truly nothing he could do about it — after all, the formula was not his alone. But if it had not, then the matter warranted a thorough investigation.

Kang Zhaolong said nothing more, but raised his head to look at Fatty Lai, wondering what he would go on to say.

"The standard version of Trauma will go on sale nationwide one month from now, and there will be no shortages. Retail price: one hundred and ninety-nine yuan." Fatty Lai advertised his company's forthcoming product with slow, deliberate ease, confident that before long its price and efficacy would pass from these people's mouths, and that more and more would come to know of it. Person to person — one tells ten, ten tells a hundred — and soon Doctor Guan Trauma would be known in every household.

Moreover, his advantage over Divine Doctor Kang's Gold Wound lay in price and supply: cheaper, and ample. Whenever Kang's Gold Wound could not be had, people would settle for the never-yet-tried Doctor Guan Trauma; and once they had used it once and found the effect no worse than Kang's, whether they would buy it again next time goes without saying.

"No shortages? Blowing hot air, more like!" Kang Guifeng laughed a cold laugh. "Raw-material suppliers the whole country over have been contracted by our Kang family. Where would they buy their materials? Guan Xuemin's reputation won't carry them far!"

"That much is true. If we ourselves had materials in abundance, we would have no stockouts either — who leaves money on the table? Unless the raw materials grew too expensive to cover the cost... But in that case, if they bought in at high prices and still sold for only one hundred and ninety-nine, wouldn't they lose even more?" Divine Doctor Kang shook his head, somewhat unable to make it out either. Even the Kang family could not guarantee undelayed supply across the whole country — on what grounds could Guan Xuemin?

"Bragging? I doubt it." Kang Zhaolong, however, shook his head. "First, they have already boasted it publicly; if supply falls short, their reputation will suffer, and that is fatal to a newly founded company. If they will lie about one link in the chain, they will lie about the others; let the media seize upon a weakness and attack, and their name will stink. Second, if they truly could not supply, would they still advertise at an occasion like this? Would that not be strange? Insufficient capacity naturally means little profit, and at such a low price it is anyone's guess whether the cost is even covered. He has this opportunity — wouldn't it be far better spent advertising other products?"

Kang Guifeng listened and nodded. His son was not wrong; but the more right it seemed, the more puzzled he became.

Divine Doctor Kang regarded Kang Zhaolong with gratification. "Zhaolong is still the one who sees things through! So you are saying they really do have goods in stock?"

"I believe they do," Kang Zhaolong said. "Either they hoarded a large quantity of raw materials at high prices — enough to squander for a good while — purely to buy reputation at a loss, or they have other channels of supply."

"Mm, well said." Divine Doctor Kang nodded. "It seems the competition is a strong one. We underestimated him."

"Heh, no need to worry." Kang Zhaolong shook his head.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Kang Guifeng looked at his son in some surprise.

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