Chapter 216: The Competitor Has Arrived

Liang Yonghe's resignation was both accidental and inevitable.

The accident part was that recently, the Rural Credit Union had held an internal performance evaluation. Outstanding performers were eligible for advanced accounting training in the provincial capital. Given Liang Yonghe's performance, this opportunity seemed almost certain.

But, unexpectedly, he encountered a setback.

Since joining the Rural Credit Union, Liang Yonghe had been working overtime even on weekends, shouldering all the dirty and tiring tasks alone in the credit department. He was a tireless worker who had never taken a day off.

Although his hard work and diligence were frequently praised by his superiors, the most capable employees were often the least valued.

In this evaluation, the credit union used Liang Yonghe's recent personal issues as a reason to nominate someone else—specifically, a leader's nephew.

From that point, Liang Yonghe began to question whether he had made mistakes before.

Previously, he had thought that getting a good job at the Forestry Bureau and bringing his parents to live there, so they no longer had to toil in the fields, was his ideal life.

But unfortunately, after a four-wheeler overturned on a mountain road, his parents died under the vehicle. Without any future plans involving his parents, Liang Yonghe had lost his motivation and patience at the Rural Credit Union.

Thus, resignation became inevitable.

Inevitable in the collapse of his idealistic path.

After a few drinks, Liang Yonghe and Li Xian were both a bit tipsy.

The dishes on the kang table had barely been touched except for the peanuts. The two of them picked up the peanuts, leaned against the window, and chatted casually while looking at the distant mountains outside the house.

"Xianzi."

Liang Yonghe, with a flushed face like a child with prickly heat, held a bottle of liquor.

Li Xian, with blurred eyes, replied, "Hmm?"

"Remember, I used to think the Forestry Bureau was huge. I had so many things I wanted to do: the whole house, finding a partner, getting married, having children, bringing my parents over. It seemed endless... But now it feels so small. Like... like..."

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Liang Yonghe was at a loss for words.

Li Xian, swaying slightly, took the bottle and smiled, "Like seeing the end in sight. Work, marriage, and then living like that for a lifetime."

"Yeah!" Liang Yonghe slapped his thigh, "I think life is too simple. Without my parents, it's really meaningless here. But I can't figure out what I can do outside. I've always thought about having success, but I never thought about how I would achieve it. Do you think I lack ambition?"

Li Xian grinned.

Damn, what's going on lately?

Is life really pushing me to be a mentor?

But Liang Yonghe's question resonated with him deeply.

When he was young, teachers would ask students about their future aspirations, and they had to write essays on "My Ambitions."

At that time, some kids wanted to be police officers to catch bad guys, some wanted to be doctors to save lives, and others dreamed of becoming scientists and landing on the moon. Although Li Xian already knew that becoming a scientist would only get you as far as sending monkeys and humans into space, not to the moon, he was wise beyond his years.

But it didn't help—he still got beaten.

He was envious of a guy in Pig Hair Village who drove a van delivering goods to various stores. This guy, not very honest, often pocketed a few items—either soda or popsicles. Little Li Xian thought this might be the happiest life ever—getting free tasty treats.

However, this ideal was mocked by the whole class, and after being told off by his teacher, he got a big spanking.

Later, with a swollen face, he changed his essay to "My Ambition is to Become an Honorable Teacher."

It was well-written but had a hint of flattery.

After reading the essay that excessively praised the status and role of teachers, the homeroom teacher was thrilled and praised Li Xian, saying he would surely achieve great things in the future.

It was as if she, a teacher, had already become a winner in life.

Li Xian's father, Li Pi, was also pleased, thinking that a good spanking had redirected his son's life—Li Pi had become a proud history teacher after graduating from Lin Tech with a teaching qualification.

Six-year-old Li Xian had used this essay to please two people who could easily control him, but he still hadn't figured out his own ambition.

Even through college, he had no special plans for his future.

He envied those of his age who had clear goals and worked hard for them.

Unfortunately, he had never been an ambitious person. When the topic came up, he felt confused. He had been confused for over a decade, and even after returning, he hadn't found his so-called life goal.

Seeing Li Xian frown in silence, Liang Yonghe scratched his head and asked, "Xianzi, what are your ambitions? Have you achieved them now?"

Li Xian, thinking about the spanking he received as a child, grinned.

He pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know. I don't know what I want. But if I have to talk about ambition, I only know what I don't want... I don't want to be stuck in one place, living like a walking corpse for a lifetime."

He patted the thoughtful Liang Yonghe, "Let's go, Seven-Inch. The Forestry Bureau is too small. Whether you look back or forward, you can see the end. Go out and experience life with no visible end."

Liang Yonghe nodded. For the next hour, neither of them spoke.

...

That day, both were quite drunk and ended up snoring on Li Xian's kang.

The next morning, Li Xian received a phone call from Hengyuan.

Such calls usually came once a week, reporting on the company's past week. But this time, it was a bit different.

The call came from Si Yang, who was in charge of company operations, not from the finance manager, Shang Fei.

"President Li, we've got trouble."

Groggily answering the phone, Li Xian heard this.

"What's going on?"

Recently, with the new ad campaign on CCTV, the novel "Weiyu Rainbow" had received a strong response in first-tier cities. Coupled with the good quality of Weiyu Wing sanitary napkins, Hengyuan's development had been promising.

Previously, Li Xian had set a profit target of 2 million yuan, which had already been exceeded. In the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, Hengyuan's business units not only actively engaged with agents but also secured several large supermarkets, further expanding Weiyu Wing's market share. In less than two months, the market share in these cities had increased from 16% to 31%, almost doubling.

Additionally, the Honghua Factory in Binhai had secured a 7 million yuan bank loan with the guarantee of the investment office, introducing a new production line to increase capacity.

Both the development and outlook were promising.

"President Li, haven't you been watching TV these days?"

Si Yang's voice came from the other end.

Li Xian quickly got up, walked barefoot to the living room, turned on the TV, and was stunned.

A large circle filled with colorful blocks and black bars appeared on the screen.

On Tuesday morning, all channels were showing one program—television test cards.

"What the hell!"

"Just tell me what happened!"

"Anle has also launched a wing-type sanitary napkin and is advertising on CCTV! They even bought ad slots in 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea 2'. President Li, Anle's sales channels and momentum are much stronger than ours. This will definitely affect us. We're considering whether we should move our ad slots to prime time or simply increase our ad spend."

Hearing this, Li Xian felt a bit embarrassed.

He had anticipated competition when entering the paper and sanitary napkin industry. But he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.

And the competitor was the current leader in the domestic sanitary napkin market—Anle.

"I'll go."

After thinking for a while, he responded with this.

That afternoon, Li Xian and Liang Yonghe boarded a train to Ice City, though one was heading north and the other east.

At the small square outside Ice City Railway Station, it was packed with people.

Li Xian tossed his cigarette butt and, among a crowd of travelers carrying large bags and enveloped in the smell of sweat, shook hands with Liang Yonghe, "Seven-Inch, really don't need to? You know, I'm not short on money right now."

Liang Yonghe had only 3,000 yuan on him for this trip, which was not enough for Li Xian's two-month spending. But Liang Yonghe refused all his good intentions, including the offer to help with starting a business.

"Xianzi, I appreciate it. But I owe you too much. No worries, I have a phone. If I can't make it, I'll definitely call you."

Liang Yonghe smiled sincerely but with unwavering determination.

"Okay."

Li Xian didn't say more.

"The 5776 to Dalian is now boarding, check tickets!"

At the ticket check area, a person with a loudspeaker shouted. The crowd moved, and Li Xian was swept along like seaweed.

"Go on, Xianzi. I'll call you when I arrive!"

Liang Yonghe gave Li Xian a big hug, patted

 his back, and then pushed him into the flow of people.

In the crowd of triangular pouches and large travel bags, Li Xian was carried forward while glancing back at Liang Yonghe.

The crowd was so dense that Liang Yonghe quickly disappeared from view.

Through the gaps in the luggage, all Li Xian could see was the sunlit sky and a few tower cranes standing atop buildings.