Wild Ambition Bloom Episode 19 Recap
> Wild Ambition Bloom Recap
Wen Zhiqiu, accompanied by Chu Shaohua, arrived at Jujing Apothecary for a meeting with Xia Yuan. Upon entering, Wen Zhiqiu deliberately feigned timidity and a lack of worldliness, openly critiquing Jujing Apothecary's medicines and furnishings, despite manager Mei Sandu's repeated emphasis on Xia Yuan's significant status in the pharmaceutical industry.
Xia Yuan then laid out his initial terms: Qingshen Pills could be sold at Jujing Apothecary, but they could no longer use Wen's branding and must be produced using Jujing Apothecary's raw materials. Wen Zhiqiu, to Chu Shaohua's dismay, agreed to all these conditions without hesitation. Xia Yuan then presented an even harsher term: within a year, Qingshen Pills must capture 30% of the market share for refreshing prepared medicines.
If this target was not met, the formula for Qingshen Pill would become his. Wen Zhiqiu immediately balked at this, arguing that such a condition would force them into a direct confrontation with the established Western Bunao Pill, which Tian's Apothecary sold. He likened Wen's Pharmacy to a "small fry" that Mr. Tian could "swallow whole" and declared the negotiation impossible. Wen Zhiqiu quickly shifted tactics, proposing a compromise.
He suggested that if they were to source raw materials from Jujing Apothecary, Xia Yuan should offer a 30% discount on the market price. This, he explained, would allow them to lower their prices and "cause trouble" for Tian's, even if they couldn't outright defeat them. Wen Zhiqiu pointed to a painting on Xia Yuan's wall, noting its value in "tens of thousands of silver dollars," implying that a small discount should not be an issue for him.
Xia Yuan counter-offered a 20% discount. Wen Zhiqiu then escalated his demand, asking for 100,000 silver dollars in exchange for a 10% stake in Wen's Pharmacy. He asserted that if Qingshen Pill achieved 30% market share, Wen's Pharmacy would be worth millions. With these funds, he vowed not only to "cause trouble" but also to make Tian's "suffer." Xia Yuan agreed to provide 100,000 silver dollars but demanded a 20% stake in return.
Seizing the opportunity, Wen Zhiqiu insisted that Qingshen Pill should retain Wen's branding, arguing that as a new shareholder, Xia Yuan would benefit from promoting Wen's brand. Xia Yuan conceded to this but added one final condition: if the 30% market share target was not met within a year, Wen Zhiqiu would have to repurchase the 20% stake at the original price. After the intense negotiation, Chu Shaohua confessed to Wen Zhiqiu that she saw no reason to celebrate.
She believed Xia Yuan was merely using them to combat Mr. Tian. If they succeeded, Mr. Tian would suffer a significant blow, allowing Xia Yuan to take his place. If they failed, they would be forced to buy back the shares, leaving Xia Yuan unscathed. She pointed out that they would still be purchasing raw materials from him and that he would receive a 20% share of their profits, essentially taking full advantage of them.
Wen Zhiqiu, however, revealed his true strategy. He explained that they had achieved all their objectives: gaining a platform to sell their pills, boosting their revenue and fame, and ensuring they wouldn't suffer losses even if they had to repurchase the shares. He further elaborated that securing a 20% discount on raw materials from Shouyuan Apothecary and receiving 100,000 silver dollars earlier than his three-year goal for a new store was a clear victory.
He confidently declared his intention to achieve 40% market share within a year. Chu Shaohua, realizing Wen Zhiqiu's deliberate deception, exclaimed that he had been deliberately pretending to be timid and unsophisticated, and expressed her admiration for his cunning strategy. Later, Xia Yuan confided in his manager, Mei Sandu, that Wen Zhiqiu had merely been "acting like a total fool" from the moment he entered Jujing Apothecary and had gotten everything he wanted.
Xia Yuan admitted he became certain of Wen Zhiqiu's true nature when he asked for the 100,000 silver dollars. He recognized Wen Zhiqiu's unprincipled yet effective approach, unlike Mei Sandu's rule-abiding nature, and planned to leverage him to challenge Mr. Tian. He foresaw that the more he gave Wen Zhiqiu now, the greater his future returns would be. Chu Shaohua proposed renaming Qingshen Pill to "Oriental Bunao Pill," directly challenging Tian's "Western Bunao Pill."
Wen Zhiqiu, far from being concerned, expressed that he eagerly anticipated Mr. Tian's retaliation. He explained that by being recognized as an opponent, even a smaller one, they would gain recognition and fame, much like a nobody challenging a martial arts master. Both Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua then dedicated themselves to the production of the new medicine. Chu Shaohua diligently oversaw the workshop, instructing workers on the decocting process.
She later found Wen Zhiqiu asleep in his office due to exhaustion. Waiting for him to wake, she then presented a revised processing flow and suggested repositioning several stages. Wen Zhiqiu, upon waking, acknowledged the time and asked about collecting the flyers, which Chu Shaohua offered to handle so he could rest further. At the printing house, Chu Shaohua oversaw the preparation of 20,000 flyers. Overwhelmed by fatigue, she nearly fainted but brushed it off as mere sleep deprivation.
On her way back, she dropped off 5,000 flyers with Cheng Hui at Wanzhu Primary School, along with funds to pay his classmates who had eagerly volunteered to distribute them the following day. Upon reviewing the remaining flyers, Wen Zhiqiu discovered a critical error: the "Oriental Bunao Pill" advertisements had mistakenly incorporated the template and advertising copy of Tian's "Western Bunao Pill."
He immediately called the printing house and learned that the mistake occurred during a two-color printing process, where Tian's Apothecary also printed their advertisements. The factory apologized and promised to deliver corrected flyers in three days. Chu Shaohua then remembered giving 5,000 copies to Cheng Hui. Worried that some might have already been distributed, as tomorrow was the planned distribution day, Wen Zhiqiu rushed to the school.
Cheng Hui informed them that three Grade Five students, having no classes that afternoon, had already taken 100 flyers to distribute. Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua spent the entire night, from dusk till dawn, meticulously searching door-to-door in the areas the students had covered, managing to recover 96 of the misplaced flyers, including one that had been used to wrap a bun. Four flyers remained untraced, causing concern.
Chu Shaohua, blaming herself for not inspecting the batch more carefully, offered to forfeit a month's salary as punishment. Wen Zhiqiu dismissed the idea, instead assigning her the task of drafting a comprehensive sales plan for Oriental Bunao Pill. He explained his intention was not to alleviate her guilt with a financial penalty but to instill a lasting sense of responsibility to prevent future errors.
The next morning, Chu Shaohua presented her sales plan, which included running newspaper advertisements for Oriental Bunao Pill for a month to build momentum. Her more ambitious proposal was to then promote the medicine through the Shanghai TCM Guild to over 200 apothecaries, explicitly excluding Tian's Apothecary.
She acknowledged the significant cost and Tian Tongdao's position as the Guild's chairman, but expressed confidence that the other 200 apothecaries were not a united front, and Tian Tongdao's unpopular character would create opportunities for them. Wen Zhiqiu, while acknowledging the plan's ingenuity, dismissed it as "too costly" and "slow-acting" for their needs, discarding it into a trash bin. Instead, Wen Zhiqiu bought Chu Shaohua a pair of comfortable leather shoes, then outlined his own aggressive sales strategy.
They would personally visit 15 apothecaries each day, aiming to cover over 200 in Shanghai by the end of the month. As they tirelessly went door-to-door, offering a generous 15% commission (compared to Western Bunao Pill's 5%), initial free stock, and a 10 silver dollar bonus for every 100 bottles sold, along with free home delivery for orders of ten bottles or more, they made significant progress.
However, while taking a short break, they were confronted by men from Tian's Apothecary, who accused them of encroaching on their territory and threatened them with violence. Chu Shaohua, enraged by the insults, grabbed a large stick and chased after the men, while Wen Zhiqiu, picking up a brick, prepared to join the fray. The men, startled by their unexpected ferocity, quickly fled.
An argument ensued between Wen Zhiqiu and Chu Shaohua; he chastised her for her recklessness, reminding her they were in business and should avoid direct confrontation. Chu Shaohua retorted that cowardice would only empower their adversaries and that they must fight desperately to earn respect and prevent future intimidation. She asserted that the men now feared "her", not "them".
Meanwhile, Kang Erniu overheard her colleagues discussing that Tian Tongxin had no intention of marrying her and that her supposed engagement was a fabrication. She confronted her colleagues, dismissing their remarks as jealousy. Determined to prove them wrong, Kang Erniu sought Sun Longyin's help to take "family-like" photos with the Tian family at Second Grandaunt's birthday banquet.
Sun Longyin, despite his own feelings for Kang Erniu, cautioned her against acting too hastily, but she insisted that the photos would "silence many people." At the extravagant birthday celebration, attended by Shanghai's elite, Kang Erniu made a grand entrance. Tian Tongxin, caught off guard, reluctantly allowed her to sit beside him. Kang Erniu then confidently raised a toast to Second Grandaunt, wishing her a long and prosperous life, while Sun Longyin discreetly captured the moments.
Later, seeking some fresh air, Kang Erniu encountered Mu Ziru, Mr. Jin's fourth-ranked disciple in the Qing Gang, eating pan-fried buns in the hallway. She joined him, sharing a bun. Over the next month, through their relentless efforts, sales of Oriental Bunao Pill surged in 90 Shanghai apothecaries, exceeding their initial projection of 8,000 boxes by a significant margin, with a total of 11,311 boxes sold across 129 apothecaries.
Wen Zhiqiu, delighted with their success, treated Chu Shaohua to breakfast, envisioning Wen's Pharmacy becoming Shanghai's top pharmacy within five years. Chu Shaohua shared her dream of Chichun Apothecary, her family's ancestral business, someday becoming China's top pharmacy, revealing it had gone bankrupt and its brand was likely held by Xia Yuan. Wen Zhiqiu encouraged her to buy it back.
Their celebration was abruptly cut short when a newsboy announced the front-page headline: Tian's Apothecary was suing Wen's Pharmacy for infringement. They immediately consulted a lawyer, who explained that Tian Tongdao, acting on behalf of Professor Claudy, the American inventor of a brain supplement, had filed a lawsuit. Tian's sought an immediate ban on all sales of Oriental Bunao Pill and demanded 200,000 silver dollars in compensation from Wen's Pharmacy and another 200,000 from Wen's to Professor Claudy.
The lawsuit cited the misprinted flyers, which contained Professor Claudy's image and Tian's advertising copy, as key evidence. Although the printing error was not their fault, the lawyer clarified that Wen's was liable because their employees had distributed the flyers. He confirmed that Tian's had recovered two of the four missing flyers. He warned that such lawsuits could drag on for months or even years.
Chu Shaohua immediately offered to take full responsibility, but Wen Zhiqiu sarcastically suggested she marry Mr. Tian as his concubine to resolve the issue, further asserting that as a mere manager, she couldn't shoulder the burden, questioning if she should be called "boss" instead. Later, a distraught Chu Shaohua went to the riverside. Kang Erniu, having heard the news, found her and offered assistance.
Chu Shaohua explained that despite Tian's numerous attempts to suppress them, the misprinted flyers provided Mr. Tian with leverage for this lawsuit, and he would not let them off easily. Kang Erniu insisted on helping, stating that "your matters are my concerns." She then revealed that the Tian family had accepted her, with Mrs. Tian even inviting her for afternoon tea.
Chu Shaohua, realizing this, strongly advised Kang Erniu not to interfere, fearing it would jeopardize her progress with the Tian family. Meanwhile, Xia Yuan learned about the lawsuit.
His associate, Xu Hongnian, advised him to withhold further payments to Wen Zhiqiu and find a way to reclaim the initial 30,000 silver dollars, as he believed Wen's Pharmacy had no chance of winning the case based on Western legal precedents, though the court might not support all of Tian's exorbitant demands for compensation and a complete ban.
