Chapter 223: At This Moment, the World Belongs to Women

Although Hengyuan's public attitude towards the Ma Family Army's situation was nonchalant, Li Xian was meticulous in his operations.

Upon learning that the Ma Family Army would soon be heading to Stuttgart, Germany, for the World Athletics Championships on August 13th, he immediately arranged for capable personnel from his company to handle the promotional activities for the team.

Particularly concerning Liaoning Province's track and field athlete, Wang Junxia, Li Xian gave special instructions.

Siyang and Shang Fei, among others, were puzzled by Li Xian's attentiveness.

Corporate sponsorship of sports is not uncommon, and a significant portion of domestic sports funding comes from corporate sponsorships. However, track and field, especially women's track and field, has always been a weak spot in Chinese sports.

They couldn't understand why spending one million yuan to support a track team that had only achieved modest results domestically was worthwhile.

In their view, one million yuan could be better spent hosting more health seminars in second-tier cities or competing with Heng'an for market share.

Li Xian could only repeatedly remind the team accompanying the Ma Family Army to Stuttgart to stay vigilant and smiled without saying much.

Recently, as Heng'an An'erle's branded female health consultations and seminars expanded to second-tier cities nationwide, the initial advantage of Weini had completely vanished. Without adequate follow-up promotion, the surge in sales had led to a decline.

People in the company were anxious.

However, after arranging the sponsorship for the track team, Li Xian felt quite relaxed.

So relaxed that he thought it was necessary to discuss the market, the future, and possible cooperation with Heng'an.

Hengyuan Women's Care Products Co., Ltd. had its origins in the Binhai City Honghua Sanitary Napkin Factory. As one of the few major sanitary napkin manufacturers in the country, it had previously interacted with Heng'an during various exchanges and studies.

Li Xian easily obtained the phone number of Heng'an's General Manager Xu Lianjie.

When he called, Xu Lianjie seemed to be in a noisy meeting.

Upon hearing Li Xian introduce himself, Xu Lianjie found a quiet spot and said, "Mr. Li, sorry, I'm at a friend's child's wedding and am very busy. Please be brief."

When informed that Li Xian wanted to discuss the current market and prospects for sanitary napkins, Xu Lianjie laughed: "Mr. Li, you still sound young. If you were ten years older, you probably wouldn't be making this call. Heng'an is currently a rising star in the market, holding nearly 45% of the national market share. Do you think there's a need for me to discuss things with you at Hengyuan?"

Li Xian was undeterred and stated his request: "Mr. Xu, I think your perspective is somewhat flawed. We conducted a survey, and the total market for sanitary napkins last year was 2.2 billion pieces. However, there are nearly 300 million women of appropriate age in China. The average usage of less than seven pieces per person per year indicates that the market depth is far from what is currently perceived. So, I believe it's unwise for your company to focus solely on competing with Hengyuan in the first and second-tier markets.

Currently, international brands like Kao and Procter & Gamble have entered the Chinese market. As a local Chinese enterprise, Hengyuan and Heng'an should join forces to develop the market and establish the credibility of our national brands. That's what's most important."

In a star-rated hotel in Guizhou.

"Old Xu, what's the matter with you? Everyone's waiting for you. Why are you hiding here? Hurry up!"

Hearing the call from behind, Xu Lianjie turned around and waved with a smile.

Li Xian's call was intriguing to him.

At a time when Heng'an An'erle was making strides in the first and second-tier markets, achieving continuous success and holding nearly 47% of the mid-to-high-end sanitary napkin market share, a call from a competitor like Hengyuan was surprising. The young man on the other end was audaciously advising him to look at the bigger picture…

Absurd.

Coming from a rural background and transitioning to running a business, Xu Lianjie had always believed one thing—whoever has more money and strength has the say!

"Youth, huh?"

As Xu Lianjie walked back to his table with the phone, he reflected, "Young people have great ideas and dare to dream. But Heng'an doesn't lack credibility or brand influence. As for foreign investment, it's not something for a company like Hengyuan with less than 10% national market share to worry about.

Young man, let's not even discuss whether this call is a desperate attempt to negotiate under competitive pressure. As for foreign market entry, they are still unfamiliar with the Chinese market. By the time they mature, Heng'an might already hold 60% of the market. At that time, what's there to fear?

As someone who's been through it, I'll give you a piece of advice."

"Don't have too many assumptions. In business, first think about how to survive."

The call ended.

Xu Lianjie shook his head, returned to his seat, and raised his glass. The room buzzed with clinking glasses.

On the other end, Li Xian, listening to the busy signal, rubbed his tired face and looked at the calendar.

Hmm, alright.

We'll see.

...

The World Athletics Championships, while a specialized event, held significant international status. As an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the championships showcased the world's fastest athletes.

Since its inception in the early 1980s, nearly 60% of the world's athletics records have been set at these championships.

However, the attention given to such an international event in China was not high.

Since participating in the first edition in 1983, the Chinese team had actively taken part in the championships, reaching its fourth edition by 1993. Participation was emphasized, but medals were scarce.

In the forty-plus events, including men's and women's 100, 200, 500 meters, 4x100 relay, 10,000 meters, high jump, long jump, marathon, discus, shot put, javelin, and more, the Chinese team had only earned one gold medal in javelin, one silver medal in the 10,000 meters for women, and two bronze medals.

Thus, this time, when the Chinese athletics team set out, domestic media did not pay much attention. Apart from the sports bureau's accompanying personnel, only three sports reporters from CCTV traveled with the team to Stuttgart, Germany.

Everyone was unaware.

A small group of Chinese spectators visiting Germany, the reporters, and even the Chinese athletics delegation and their staff were unaware that this place would soon become the focus of the entire country.

On August 13th, the opening ceremony of the competition was held.

The next day, in the women's discus event, which began around 9 a.m., Min Chunfeng threw a distance of 65.26 meters, securing a bronze medal and opening the Chinese team's account at the championships.

This result was not surprising. Min Chunfeng had previously thrown 65.11 meters at a domestic youth athletics meet.

However, the discus seemed to carry a certain spell, destined to make this year's championships marked with a significant Chinese touch.

That afternoon, the shot put event saw another victory.

Huang Zhihong successfully defended her title with a distance of 20.57 meters, winning her second gold medal at the athletics championships since 1991!

With one gold and one bronze in hand, the entire Chinese team was ecstatic! The CCTV reporters immediately wrote a detailed news report and sent it back to China with the event photos.

The next morning, as newspapers reported the Chinese team's two golds and one bronze, the entire country was in a frenzy!

But this was just the beginning. On August 16th, after missing out on all the men's and women's 100 meters, 200 meters, 500 meters, and 4x100 meters relay results, the Ma Family Army suddenly surged!

First, team leader Liu Dong won the women's 1500 meters final with a time of 4:00.50.

Soon after, Qu Yunxia broke the women's 3000 meters world record with a time of 8:28.71, winning the gold medal! Zhang Linli crossed the finish line second with a time of 8:29.25 to take the silver, and the youngest member of the team, Zhang Lirong, followed closely to win the bronze with a time of 8:31.39!

The Chinese team swept the top three positions in the women's 3000 meters!

This time, the accompanying reporters didn't even have time to write a news report. They directly used international long-distance calls to relay the results back to China, with CCTV News urgently inserting this update into their 30-minute broadcast.

August was just on the verge of autumn. However, the Chinese team in Stuttgart had completely driven away the slight chill of the autumn breeze!

Upon hearing the news, the entire country felt as if it was under a blazing sun. At the Binhai City athletics training base, countless citizens poured into the streets, holding high national flags and shouting encouragement towards the empty track, hoping the athletes far away in a foreign land could feel the warmth from their homeland.

In the capital, large banners reading "China, keep going!" and "We can!" were raised in front of the Capital Gymnasium, reflecting the sudden surge in enthusiasm.

Across the country, newspapers featuring the Stuttgart Athletics Championships nearly sold out! The pages documenting the achievements of the Chinese athletics team became highly sought after!

Many who had initially

 had no intention of going to Germany to watch the competition bought tickets, calling their colleagues and friends there to help secure tickets while boarding flights to Europe.

Just as these people had hoped—miracles were not over.

After a brief silence of two days, on August 18th, in the women's 10,000 meters final, the Chinese team once again shocked the world.

Athletics star Zhong Huandi from PE City in Yunnan Province led the race with an absolute advantage, finishing with a time of 31:12.55 to win the silver medal.

Meanwhile, Wang Junxia, who had been unable to train for six days due to a fever and had only recovered two days before the preliminaries, still suffering from calf muscle pain until the final day, surged ahead in the final moments. She broke the world record with a time of 30:49.30 and won the gold medal!

After crossing the finish line, Wang Junxia draped herself in the five-star red flag and ran a lap around the track. This scene was captured by a reporter's camera.

At the moment the shutter was pressed, the reporter could not have imagined that this image would become one of the most classic shots of the women's athletics team's history, and perhaps of all time.

In the photo, Wang Junxia's face is full of excitement, tears welling up in her eyes. Behind her, the five-star red flag, stained with sweat and tears, fluttered gently in the breeze.

As per the sponsor's request, before taking this photo, Wang Junxia had specially changed her bib number.

In addition to the "3154" athlete number, the two lines of Chinese characters stood out:

"Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins"

"3154"

"Empowering Women's Wings"

At this moment, Chinese women conquered the world!