Chapter 217: Wise or Not Wise

Train 5776 was a classic slow train, an old green model that stopped at every station, with major stops longer and minor stops shorter. It barely had time to accelerate before screeching to a halt with a loud "chirp" of the brakes.

The speed of such a train was hardly worth mentioning.

Li Xian had bought a hard seat for his journey to Ice City but found himself needing to upgrade to a sleeper due to the long wait times.

Trains these days were like a zoo, with all sorts of oddities on display. Li Xian had already experienced the full range of unpleasantness in the hard seat carriage—crowded with various human conditions and the smell of urine. The sleeper car wasn't much better; apart from being able to lie down flat, it was similar to the hard seat car.

After paying an additional five yuan, Li Xian managed to get a lower berth.

He had anticipated encountering crying children, smelly adults, and unpleasant odors. But upon entering the sleeper car, he was taken aback.

Although the carriage was populated, it was surprisingly orderly!

If it weren't for the fact that he had clearly stepped into the year 1993, he might have thought he had time-traveled.

In the aisle, a neat row of people stood, young and old, men and women. Regardless of whether they wore button-down shirts with thick black glasses or ragged shirts with some basketball team's logo, their actions were remarkably synchronized. Each person had their eyes half-closed, performing Tai Chi movements, rubbing their hands, and stamping their feet, exuding the demeanor of martial arts masters.

The scene reminded Li Xian of—an otaku self-entertainment area at a comic convention.

It had an inexplicable sense of embarrassment.

Clearly, these people were together. Even those who weren't part of their group quietly watched from their berths, respecting the spectacle.

When these people were demonstrating their movements in the aisle, even the ticket inspector stayed outside the carriage, unwilling to disturb them.

There was even a hint of reverence in his eyes.

Li Xian had seen Qi Gong practitioners before, back when he was at the Forestry Bureau. However, due to the small number of people there or perhaps the lack of funds, he had never seen such a grand display of Qi Gong before.

There were plenty of practitioners in the industry, but in areas like Zhushou Village, where even meals were a problem, Qi Gong was mostly practiced by amateurs. It was akin to the later generations of elderly people dancing in public squares; after dinner, with nowhere to stroll, they took up Qi Gong—something that had become popular.

Indeed, it was popular. During the same era, many Hong Kong gambling films featured special abilities and villainous Qi Gong masters. 

In the era before public square dancing, Qi Gong was one of the primary outdoor activities in China.

It was quite impressive.

After more than ten minutes, the twenty or so people finally finished their practice, their faces glowing with health as they returned to their berths.

Li Xian then found his own berth along the now-empty aisle. As he was about to settle in, he noticed a middle-aged man across from him, wearing glasses and reading a book titled *"Chinese Health Benefits—Auxiliary Engineering Edition."*

Noticing Li Xian's curiosity, the man gave him a slight smile.

He appeared to be a cultured person.

"Young man, interested?" 

Seeing Li Xian nod, the man put down his book, got up from his berth, and cheerfully asked, "Interested?"

Not at all! Scared stiff!

Li Xian shivered and quickly retreated to his berth, pretending to sleep.

Noticing Li Xian's apprehension, the man smiled lightly and returned to his book.

The journey was excruciatingly long. Whether or not he had a mobile phone, Li Xian, unable to resist the curiosity about Qi Gong—a fleeting trend in New China's history—eventually struck up a conversation with the man across from him.

Through their conversation, Li Xian learned that the man's name was Li Jinsheng. He had been a teacher at a middle school in Jixi but had quit his job to join a local Qi Gong association after becoming fascinated with the practice.

This trip was to attend an exchange and learning session with the Qi Gong association in Binhai.

Listening to the theoretical jargon and feeling the man's enthusiasm behind his cultured exterior, Li Xian shivered in the sweltering July heat.

After spending what felt like an eternity, the train finally arrived at Binhai Station.

Late July was a peak tourist season in Binhai. The station was bustling with people. Li Xian searched for a taxi for a long time but ended up taking a human-powered tricycle. He gave the address of Hengyuan Company and slowly set off.

As the tricycle passed a street corner, Li Xian saw Li Jinsheng standing in front of a phone booth, looking impatient and agitated.

"I'm practicing Qi Gong for the good of the family! Once I master it and establish my own school, I can cure mom's illness and let you two enjoy a good life. You don't understand, so stop complaining. I saw you had over seventy yuan when you left. This exchange has Master Zhang personally guiding us; it's a rare opportunity. Let me go back and talk then!"

Hearing this, Li Xian shook his head inwardly.

He knew Master Zhang from when he was in elementary school, having seen his name in anti-superstition education films.

Master Zhang, the founder of Chinese Health Benefits Qi Gong, had been quite popular across China. It was rumored that during his demonstrations, he could heal accident victims who had lost all vital signs, kill animals with his mind, and move half-ton stones. At his peak, he had over 100,000 staff members and amassed a fortune through selling books, secrets, and tapes.

Ironically, Master Zhang later fled to the United States and died in a car accident with his female secretary—his Qi Gong couldn't save him.

A fraud who never stopped cheating.

On the slow-moving tricycle, Li Xian spat on the ground.

...

Hengyuan Company was facing a grave challenge.

As a newly established company with less than three months of operation, it was clear that the management team lacked experience in handling competition.

To put it bluntly, they had been accustomed to sailing smoothly under Li Xian's leadership. Suddenly facing a top-level competitor, they were nervous and trembling, even hesitant to make a move.

Panicked.

When Li Xian entered the office of Si Yang, the management team was in a meeting discussing whether to offer policy discounts to agents to prevent potential sales declines.

Upon seeing Li Xian arrive, everyone found a sense of reassurance.

Li Xian was already aware of the situation from the phone call. He smiled and waved his hand in response to the team's anxiety.

"The sanitary napkin market is vast. Even if our sales are affected now, so what?" 

Li Xian had his reasons for confidence.

Seeing the shock on the faces of the team at the words of the company's actual boss, Li Xian pointed to the whiteboard. "Do you remember the industry report you did before? The target market demand for sanitary napkins in China is over 60 billion pieces annually. What does this mean?"

He picked up a chalk and wrote four large characters on the office whiteboard—"High-frequency Necessity."

"But right now, the total production of all sanitary napkin manufacturers in the country is only in the tens of billions. In such an environment, our competitor isn't just one manufacturer or one product. Our competitor is the entire market's awareness of sanitary napkins during menstruation!"

Li Xian's words immediately jolted the young team members who had been anxious for days.

"But President Li, what about the immediate situation? Anle is clearly targeting us. With both CCTV ads and new protective wing products, we've just established ourselves in the market. This time, we might not be able to withstand it."

"We can handle it." Li Xian chuckled, "Anle wants us to retreat from the first-line market? We don't need to worry about them. They may have the same protective wing sanitary napkins and CCTV ads, but can they push us out of the first-line market? Even if they can, we still have the second and third-tier markets to explore."

After patting everyone on the shoulder, Li Xian made himself comfortable in Si Yang's chair.

"Go, call a meeting for the sales department. Starting today, Weiyu Wing will expand horizontally. Let our competitors see just how big this market is. They'll understand... whether it's wise or not!"