Chapter 224: Operation as Fierce as a Tiger

The Stuttgart Athletics Championships concluded on the 22nd.

The situation of the Chinese team in Germany could be summarized in one phrase at this point—People's Heroes.

Chinese sports have never been purely for the people.

In any era, they have always been intertwined with politics. After a century of poverty and weakness, enduring the trials of war, civil strife, and the storms of the newly established nation, since the reform and opening-up, people who had their basic needs met began to have higher demands.

It could be said that from the leaders to the common people, there was an urgent need for a way to let the world see, understand, and recognize China.

This demand was driven by a strong sense of national pride—hence the two wars chosen by the Germans.

And China chose sports.

In the early days of the nation, table tennis became a calling card for China to present itself to the world, leading to "ping-pong diplomacy." Later came the women's volleyball team, which led to volleyball courts in universities persisting for over twenty years. Then gymnastics, diving, and swimming followed.

There was once hope for football, but that is another story.

However, athletics had always been a sore spot for the Chinese before the rise of the Ma Family Army.

In a field where success is based on instinct and racial talent rather than technique, China had little achievement. Many times, foreign media would evaluate Chinese athletics with racial theories.

But in August, the flags waving on the podium in Stuttgart were undoubtedly a deep-water bomb, shattering the racial theories and the hidden connotation of "sick man of East Asia" to pieces!

In just a few days at the World Championships, the performance of the female athletes deeply touched tens of millions of compatriots in the country. For this proof, this display, people were both madly enthusiastic and deeply invigorated.

With the closing ceremony, the athletics team boarded the plane amid the cheers of over three thousand people who had specially traveled to Germany to support the Chinese team.

The next day, the Boeing 727 landed slowly at the Capital Airport in Beijing.

As soon as the plane landed, the entire delegation was surrounded by flashing lights. Outside the airport, more than a thousand people held banners and handwritten signs, cheering and jumping as if welcoming warriors who had slain a dragon.

Little red flags formed a sea, and the enthusiasm of the people was enough to melt the scorching August sun.

Accompanying the delegation to Stuttgart and witnessing the Ma Family Army's transformation from an unknown small athletics group to nationally revered heroes, Rong Jingyu, the deputy manager of Hengyuan's business department, was unable to calm her emotions.

Thinking about the tasks Li Xian had assigned before, she shivered.

In front of her, the Ma Family Army athletes were lined up, answering interviews from various news stations.

After a moment of glances and shyness, they began to hold hands.

"Quiet, quiet! The girls have something to say!"

Seeing this, all the reporters in front of the airport raised their cameras, and the thousands of spectators present fell silent.

"Every time I am strong in solitude, every time, even when deeply hurt, I don't shed tears. I know I always have a pair of invisible wings, carrying me through despair…"

Outside the airport, a tune with no accompaniment and, to be honest, average singing skills began to play.

Yet, in this context, such a melody and lyrics made everyone present clench their fists!

The song not only touched the crowd but also affected the Ma Family Army girls themselves.

As the song progressed, some team members recalled the hardships endured during years of training and daily struggles, their faces stained with tears.

Past sufferings often make present success more moving.

But after finishing the song, the girls did not forget their mission.

In front of all the watching crowd, they raised their right fists together;

"Thanks to Hengyuan Company for the strong support. Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins, empowering women's wings! Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins, making us stronger!"

In the next second, thunderous applause erupted on-site.

Monstrous, truly monstrous…

Looking at the scene, Rong Jingyu thought of her boss, and the only words that came to mind were these two.

...

Monstrous, not. Li Xian didn't feel particularly impressive.

But since the Ma Family Army swept the women's 3000 meters with gold, silver, and bronze in Stuttgart, and the entire nation went crazy overnight, the company's management had already elevated him to the status of a god.

In 1993, with a lack of entertainment activities and limited national information access, the sudden rise of the Ma Family Army sparked a nationwide sports celebrity craze.

To what extent?

Even some qigong groups with tens of millions of followers were trying to ride the Ma Family Army's coattails, claiming that the athletes in the Ma Family Army were disciples of certain qigong schools—otherwise, they couldn't run so fast.

But this was not officially confirmed, and what was confirmed, and widely publicized, was the prominent display of Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins in the photos of Wang Junxia draped in the national flag after the 10,000 meters final.

To be blunt, the current popularity of the Ma Family Army in China was no less than any star from Hong Kong. Even if both Little Tigers and the Four Heavenly Kings appeared on the mainland at the same time, the Ma Family Army might still have higher popularity.

In these times, rational celebrity chasing was secondary; national glory was paramount.

Thus, what seemed like a pointless and even foolish sponsorship of the Liaoning Athletics Team now appeared to be an incredibly cost-effective marketing investment!

Not only the sponsorship but even just the photo of Wang Junxia draped in the five-star red flag with Weini's advertisement after the 10,000 meters final had already justified the one million yuan sponsorship fee.

Since the 17th, the sales of Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins, which had been declining for two consecutive weeks, began to rebound nationwide, whether in first or second-tier markets.

After the photo of Wang Junxia was frequently reprinted by CCTV and major newspapers like People's Daily, the name of Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins became unparalleled.

In cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, where market share had shrunk to 18%, it rebounded to 32%—the same as before An'erle had been introduced—in just a few days. And it continued to climb at an astonishing rate.

In second-tier cities, Weini Guardian had emerged as a new force, selling out in many places, and numerous second-tier cities without Weini agents frequently called or even came to Binhai City to inquire about agency matters.

In terms of market presence, Weini Guardian had completely overshadowed An'erle, which had just recently entered the market.

Moreover, the song "Invisible Wings," which the Ma Family Army girls sang at the airport that morning, quickly spread through television and radio. After learning that this song was the original song for Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins' "Rainbow" advertisement, several domestic singers and their agents, including Li You's dream lover Mao Amin, contacted Binhai to purchase the song's rights.

However, Li Xian did not sell.

He wanted to keep the song to find a children's choir to record it, using it as both a promotional song and as an anthem for Hengyuan Company.

Moreover, considering the likes of Mao Amin and Tian Zhen, the song didn't quite suit their style. Also, ten or twenty thousand yuan was not worth the effort.

At this time, copyright was very cheap, with little value.

What was more pressing was the influx of requests for distribution rights.

Though the sales of sanitary napkins had risen, the previous sponsorship of the athletics team had depleted the company's funds. Li Xian needed to replenish the funds to accelerate factory construction, add equipment, and expand production to safeguard the results of this marketing effort.

The premise was still money.

Previously, the agency rights for Weini Guardian in first-tier cities were 150,000 yuan for five years, but as the saying goes, times have changed.

Back then, Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins had just been introduced, with only a wave of advertisements during CCTV's morning slot.

Now, Weini Guardian Sanitary Napkins were known nationwide due to the sponsorship of the Ma Family Army.

He wanted to make a big move.

"What?"

In the office, Siyang and Shang Fei were astonished when they heard Li Xian's plan to auction the provincial-level agency rights for Weini Guardian.

Auctioning agency rights?

They had only heard of auctions for antiques; this was new to them.

Li Xian chuckled, thinking to himself that they had encountered a good time and hadn't seen auctions for first nights at venues.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be so shocked.

He told them this just to make them take the agency rights seriously.

According to Li Xian's plan, the Stuttgart Athletics Championships were just the beginning. With the upcoming 7th National Games and other international events, the Ma Family Army's glory would continue.

So, the true value of the Weini Guardian brand was still to come.

Having persuaded his two key team members, he immediately contacted Chen Dongsheng.

Chen Dongsheng was in Beijing. Since the end of the last Jiade Auction, his career had taken off. He had held two more successful auctions.

For Li Xian, who had helped him during his toughest times, Chen Dongsheng was extremely grateful and was eager to repay him.

Upon hearing that Li Xian wanted to auction the agency rights for Weini, Chen Dongsheng promised to send someone immediately and invited Li Xian to Beijing for a meeting to properly thank him for the previous help.

Thinking about recording "

Invisible Wings" with a children's choir and wanting to know the value of his antique collection, Li Xian agreed.

Meanwhile, the Jiade auction team had just boarded the train. Li Xian, having arranged company matters and especially instructed Yan Shilin to stay low-key and avoid showing off in Binhai City, booked a flight to Beijing.

When Yan Shilin expressed disappointment and questioned why not use this rare opportunity to enhance the company's reputation further, Li Xian could only reply that moderation was key.

He wouldn't tell Yan Shilin that in the coming week, top national figures would be coming to Binhai City to visit the Ma Family Army.

A small-time faker like Yan Shilin would probably find it hard to cope with the attention.

That evening.

At the Capital Airport, Li Xian met Chen Dongsheng who came to pick him up.

"Hey, Chen Ge! You've been doing well lately!"

Apart from the airport, under Chen Dongsheng's guidance, Li Xian arrived at a brand-new Mercedes-Benz 560.

This was a rare item, as the latest flagship model of Mercedes-Benz had just emerged abroad. In China, it meant only one thing—huge money spent on buying it abroad and importing the whole vehicle.

You couldn't get it without ten to twenty thousand U.S. dollars.

Chen Dongsheng laughed, "Little brother, you're overestimating me. This isn't my car. I didn't expect you to come today; I was just hosting a friend. I mentioned you when my friends were together, and my buddy heard you were coming and came along to meet you—the person who managed to get an ad on the Ma Family Army."

Hearing this, Li Xian scratched his head, "This buddy… who is he?"

As they spoke, the door of the Mercedes-Benz 560 opened. A shiny, large head emerged, almost dazzling Li Xian under the airport's night lights.

Once adjusted to the light and seeing the person's face, he gaped.

Huh? Ha!

Is it really him?

So this guy is that rich?