Chapter 150: To Protect or Not

In this era, a woman's menstruation is still considered a sensitive topic. During a recent free paper giveaway event, Li Xian nearly got beaten up for eavesdropping on a few women discussing their periods.

After all, this was a time when hooliganism was still a crime, and severe offenders could be executed by firing squad.

Now that there was someone voluntarily offering information, Li Xian wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by.

From Wang Zhiye's bashful responses, Li Xian learned about the current situation regarding menstrual products for women:

Firstly, most women during their periods used toilet paper.

They would fold the toilet paper into strips and use it in conjunction with a menstrual belt, placing it inside their underwear to absorb menstrual blood. The menstrual belt was essentially like a loincloth, with two cloth pockets at the bottom for securing the toilet paper. You'd change the paper without changing the underwear, allowing for repeated use.

Because it was cheap, this was the most widely used method among women.

This situation had somewhat improved with the introduction of more finely textured toilet paper like Xinlang Special, which was relatively more skin-friendly. However, it was still inconvenient because, although finely textured toilet paper was gentler on the skin, its absorbency wasn't much better than that of coarse paper.

Moreover, both finely textured and coarse toilet paper shared a fatal flaw—they were not breathable.

Therefore, some women from better-off families would opt for something more expensive but more comfortable to use during their periods: sanitary pads.

These pads were specifically designed to be used with menstrual belts, essentially two pieces of gauze with cotton wadding sandwiched in between. This made them softer and more breathable.

But despite sanitary pads being a step up from toilet paper, they were far from perfect. The limited effectiveness of the menstrual belt's fastening could cause the relatively thicker sanitary pads to shift around inside, leading to leaks and embarrassing situations.

When Li Xian asked earnestly, "What do you use?" Wang Zhiye blushed.

"Say it. Didn't you say you would answer whatever I asked?"

Seeing that she was silent with her head down, Li Xian applied some burn ointment to his red face and hissed.

Hearing the hissing sound, Wang Zhiye looked up slightly. "I use... sanitary napkins."

Li Xian paused, thought for a moment, and said, "If there are sanitary napkins available, why do others still use toilet paper? Compared to paper and sanitary pads, sanitary napkins are better at absorption, right?"

"You seem to know quite a lot..." Wang Zhiye quickly glanced at him and muttered.

Li Xian gave a cold smile, not saying anything, just looking at her.

Wang Zhiye thought it over and nodded, "You're right. Sanitary napkins are much better than sanitary pads and toilet paper. But they're more expensive, about 1.5 yuan for a pack of ten, and some places sell them for 1.7 yuan, and often they're hard to find."

Upon hearing this, Li Xian looked up at the ceiling.

After calculating the cost of materials for sanitary napkins, he silently clicked his tongue in amazement.

The profit... is not small!

Then, he focused back on Wang Zhiye. "Do you... have any with you?"

Wang Zhiye immediately frowned, "Why do you keep pushing your luck?"

Seeing her anger, Li Xian extended a finger, "First, you told me to ask. Then, you promised to answer everything. Lastly, I have no intention of disrespecting you or women, nor do I have any dirty or curious thoughts. I'm just interested in this product and think it could be included in our New North Paper Industries' business line. You're an educated, modern woman; please don't be so resistant, okay?"

Upon hearing the words "educated" and "modern woman," Wang Zhiye raised an eyebrow.

After a moment of contemplation, she broke through her psychological barrier. Blushing, she pulled out two neatly folded pieces of something from her coat pocket, turned her body, and handed them over.

Li Xian's eyes lit up as he took the items and carefully examined them.

His first impression was—they were different from what he had seen before.

It was still a long strip, about 25 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide. The surface was made of non-woven fabric, and the backside had an adhesive strip for securing it to the underwear. The paper packet used for folding and packaging had "Anle Sanitary Napkin" written on it.

On the side that touches the body, there were two stitched lines.

It felt quite thick in his hand.

As Li Xian studied it, he kicked off his slippers and pointed to Wang Zhiye's feet, which were only covered in socks, "We only have one pair of slippers at home. Put them on; the floor is cold."

Ignoring the surprise on Wang Zhiye's face, he turned his attention back to the sanitary napkin.

Hmm...

This thing seemed alright, but why didn't it have the little wings that he remembered?

In Li Xian's mind, a sanitary napkin should be something like a "T"-shaped item with wings on the sides to prevent leaks, like the ones in Whisper commercials that could even fly.

"Are all the sanitary napkins on the market like this?" he couldn't help but ask.

Feeling the warmth from the slippers, Wang Zhiye's expression softened as she nodded, "More or less. Anle Sanitary Napkins are longer. Sometimes my mom sends me Whisper and Laurier from Japan. They're more comfortable than Anle, but too short."

Huh?

"You still have to get these things mailed by your mom?" Li Xian was shocked. She's a total mama's girl.

Seeing the undisguised disdain in his eyes, Wang Zhiye wrinkled her nose, "They're hard to buy around here! Neither the supply and marketing cooperatives nor the stores have them."

Hearing this, Li Xian tore apart the sanitary napkin in his hand, examining the cotton structure inside. He had a rough idea.

It seemed that although sanitary napkins were already on the market, they were still in a fairly primitive stage of development. Yet, despite the market not being fully developed, foreign investments had already started to infiltrate.

There was no need to say much about Whisper—Procter & Gamble was a well-known giant that Li Xian had heard of. Although he hadn't heard of Laurier, he thought of "Kao" when considering some Japanese companies entering China at that time.

To be honest, he was tempted by such a blank yet promising market.

But based on the information Wang Zhiye provided, he had some reservations.

If nothing unexpected happened, within the next few years, foreign brands like Procter & Gamble and Kao would dominate the Chinese market, marginalizing local brands and embarking on a 20-year-long journey of success. Given New North Paper Industries' current scale, entering the market now would be like facing a blue ocean, but the window of opportunity was very narrow, and the time available for development was tight.

Investing in menstrual care products was different from investing in toilet paper. It involved a lot of raw materials, and the production process was relatively complex, requiring strict conditions for production lines, facilities, and even raw material sources.

In summary, based on the information available, the profit potential was significant, but so was the risk.

Noticing that Li Xian was lost in thought, Wang Zhiye gently tapped his knee, "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Snapping back to reality, Li Xian looked at her and murmured, "I'm wondering whether or not... to protect the dignity of Chinese women over the next 30 years."