NOVPUBChapter 101: Chapter 100 Modern Business Models
Chapter 101 -100 Modern Business Models
Shandela dismounted and casually patted a member of the crowd on the shoulder. When the latter turned around and saw her uniform and badge, his smile immediately froze on his face, “Do, do you need something from me?”
“Don’t be nervous, I’m not here to arrest you.” She nodded toward the Yeni Temple’s main entrance, “I want to ask, what’s going on here?”
“Oh, you’re asking about this…” The fear in the man’s eyes eased somewhat, “I heard there’s a pharmaceutical company officially opening for business, holding some sort of opening ceremony. Right now they’re giving away sugar, and later they’ll also distribute medicine for free.”
An opening ceremony?
This event seemed quite novel.
In the past, Shandela had only seen ceremonies for launching ships. It was her first time seeing a company’s opening ceremony, not to mention such a loss-making activity as giving away things to the general public.
Merchants appeared to be inherently sensitive about making losses.
“Giving away medicine? What kind of medicine can be given away for free?” Woody, too, approached leading his horse, “It’s not some toxic stuff, is it?”
“Just take it first, no need to hurry and eat it,” the man said apologetically, “The nun just said there’s medicine for colds and coughs, and also for diarrhea and stomachaches. I’ve been having some stomach pains recently, so I’d like to grab some to keep on hand.”
Woody leaned into his superior’s ear and whispered, “Nine times out of ten, it’s just a gimmick.”
“How so?” she asked.
“Ansheng Company also has a remedy for diarrhea, and they sell a bottle for fifteen Serir! Even if they wanted to promote their product, they would only give it as a gift to the nobles, not distribute it on the street for free,” Woody explained, “If that company really dares to give away a large quantity, then their boss is either insane or a swindler, fooling people with placebos.”
However, commercial disputes weren’t the main focus of the city guard’s duties.
As long as the medicine wasn’t poisoned, it was considered a legal product—after all, the effectiveness of a medicine varies from person to person. If someone got scammed, they could only blame their own foolishness.
Just as Shandela was about to leave, the noise from the crowd suddenly elevated a lot!
She looked ahead and saw several nuns pushing trolleys appearing at the entrance of the temple. These trolleys were actually piled up with colorful boxes that looked quite beautiful.
“Thank you for waiting, everyone, we will start distributing medicine soon! Also, please don’t forget to promote our Gate of Destiny Pharmaceutical Company. Our most popular product is a special remedy for the Scarlet Curse. If you know someone around you who has contracted this disease, remember to let them come to Yeni Temple for treatment. With just a word from you, they might very well survive!” the nuns shouted energetically.
“Alright, hurry up and distribute the medicine!”
“If it works, I’ll help promote you!”
“Right, let us try it first!” the crowd clamored.
But to Shandela’s ears, these words were akin to a bolt from the blue!
“What is she talking about… a special remedy for treating the Scarlet Curse?” Woody also displayed a look of surprise.
This disease, which greatly resembled a curse, had always been a major headache for troops, especially after the widespread use of firearms and steam guns. Many people would not die immediately on the battlefield but instead, die later from irreparable deterioration of their wounds after being rescued. Of course, the priests and Divine Envoys of the Mechanical Sect could eliminate the curse with some secret Divine Artifacts, but not every military unit was fortunate enough to receive support from the church, at least not frontier cities on the new continent like Magnificent Castle.
For example, during the recent crackdown on the miners’ gangs, many city guards died in the camp after being shot and infected. All the city guard could do was have these men take painkillers provided by Ansheng Company, trying to reduce the suffering before death as much as possible.
“Go and get some medicine.” Shandela instructed.
“Yes,” Woody handed the reins to his superior and pushed his way through the crowd with effort. It took him nearly five minutes to return to his superior’s side, drenched in sweat, “They’ve limited the number, only one box per type allowed! But there’s still a huge pile on the handcart, I reckon there must be over a thousand boxes!”
Shandela took the paper box and noticed that these medications actually had a refreshing and refined quality.
Indeed, refreshing and refined—the medicines were packed in small square paper boxes only three to four centimeters in size, appearing quite delicate. What was even more exquisite was that there were different colored patterns on them! For example, the words ‘Gate of Destiny’ were in gold, the gate was green, and the other text was in black.
Just the cost of printing these boxes must have been a significant expense!
She had only seen similar designs before on the packaging of some high-end gifts.
“They even wrote the instructions on them!” Woody exclaimed, “Don’t they know that over half the residents of Magnificent Castle are illiterate?”
Shandela also saw these instructions; for example, under “Gut-Clear Tablets,” it said to take twice a day with warm water; please keep out of reach of children, etc., making it seem as though the sellers were very concerned about whether the patients could get effective treatment.
Upon opening the box, there was only a thin packet of paper inside. She unfolded the paper packet, revealing the golden-yellow pills inside, accompanied by a strong spicy scent that assaulted the nose, yet was not off-putting, smelling somewhat like raw garlic. If they were swindlers, they clearly wouldn’t have bothered adding scent to starch tablets.
“I am wondering… if there’s another possibility…”
“What?” Woody turned his head to the side.
“Aside from the boss being a lunatic or a swindler, there is another possibility—that the person truly hopes their products can help more patients, even if it means making less profit,” said Shandela slowly.
The deputy was taken aback and didn’t respond.
It was evident he didn’t believe it.
Shandela smiled slightly but didn’t continue the topic, and yet the previously somber sky seemed to regain a bit of brightness. Undeniably, there were still people in this city who hoped for a better future, such as the nuns of Yeni Temple, and perhaps… herself.
“I remember there are a few soldiers in the camp who contracted the Scarlet Curse, right?” She secured the medicine boxes, mounted her horse, “After searching the residences on Oak Street, send them to try the treatments at Yeni Temple.”
“My lord, isn’t that inappropriate?” Woody frowned, “Only miners and the poor are thrown to Yeni… We have our own healers and plenty of medicine. Sending them there might seem like abandonment to the other soldiers.”
“We do have everything, but we can’t cure the Scarlet Curse, can we?” 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
“And what if the temple can’t cure it either? Everyone knows the Scarlet Curse is difficult to treat. If they die in the camp, it just means bad luck,” the deputy tried to persuade, “But if they die in Yeni Temple, it could damage your prestige!”
Shandela looked at Woody.
Her gaze was sharp and authoritative, with an indescribable dignity. After a moment of eye contact, Woody couldn’t help but lower his head.
“More than that bit of prestige, I need my subordinates to survive. Do you understand?”
This time, the deputy offered no further objection.
“Yes, I will obey.”
