Li Wenya looked at the silent An Wuyang. A trace of helplessness flashed through her eyes, but she continued, "Actually, the Group's situation is far worse than you know. We just never told you."
"For example, the Group's operations haven't been doing well over the past three years. Sales have declined year by year, while net profits have fallen even more. If we factor in R&D spending, the Group has actually been operating at a net loss since the year before last." Li Wenya added an even worse detail.
So the family business that had once earned at least fifty million a year was already teetering on the brink?
An Wuyang felt somewhat enlightened.
"So our family is bankrupt?" An Wuyang looked at his mother.
"That depends on what your father thinks." Li Wenya looked at An Huchun.
"Although Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group is our family business, and your father serves as its legal representative, it's also a limited liability company. Its registered capital is only one million Xia Guo Yuan." Li Wenya added an explanation.
An Wuyang immediately understood what Li Wenya meant. If their family severed ties with Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group and initiated bankruptcy liquidation, the problems plaguing Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group would not affect their family.
In fact, this was also the choice made by most "limited liability companies." After all, the liability was limited!
An Huchun spoke softly, "Wugengtian was your grandfather's life's work. It's also the life's work of our An Family. We've invested far too much in it. I..."
"I want to..." An Huchun didn't know how to continue.
An Wuyang took the initiative to ask, "Mom, if the Group doesn't choose bankruptcy liquidation, what will happen?"
"The outcome will be quite bad." Li Wenya summed it up first.
"For the Group, the first step will definitely be large-scale layoffs. The new plant will cease operations and be sold off to generate cash flow." Li Wenya explained.
Li Wenya added, "Actually, the predicament the Group faces today isn't simply because your father invested a large amount of money into R&D."
"The fundamental reason is that the Group lacks core technological competitiveness." Li Wenya pointed out the core issue.
"Another reason is our failure in the pharmaceutical procurement bidding. On the second of this month, the Fifth Pharmaceutical Centralized Procurement officially began. This round covered sixty-two drugs, and our Group bid for the centralized procurement qualification for Sodium Esomeprazole for Injection." Li Wenya explained in detail.
"In the bidding for the centralized procurement qualification for Sodium Esomeprazole for Injection, we lost to Caimai Pharmaceutical." Li Wenya sighed.
"Caimai Pharmaceutical? Our old rival?" An Wuyang frowned.
Caimai Pharmaceutical was also a pharmaceutical company in Shengqing, and it had long been a rival of Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group.
"Mm." Li Wenya added helplessly, "They directly quoted 44.3 yuan for a ten-vial pack of Sodium Esomeprazole for Injection, with each vial containing 40 milligrams. We quoted 59.8 yuan."
"Are they crazy?" An Wuyang complained.
Under normal circumstances, a ten-vial pack of Sodium Esomeprazole for Injection, with each vial containing 40 milligrams, sold for more than 100 yuan. In some regions, it could even sell for as much as 200 yuan.
Yet Caimai Pharmaceutical had lowered its centralized procurement bid to 44.3 yuan. This was simply—
Although the court's organization of centralized pharmaceutical procurement was fundamentally intended to obtain lower drug prices and thus benefit more ordinary people, such an extremely low bid meant reduced profits for pharmaceutical companies.
Some might think pharmaceutical companies were simply making blood money and that their profits deserved to be cut.
However, the issue wasn't that simple.
Take Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group and Caimai Pharmaceutical as examples. Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group was an R&D-oriented pharmaceutical company, while Caimai Pharmaceutical was a generic-drug manufacturer.
Caimai Pharmaceutical had no R&D expenses. It only needed to reproduce drugs whose patents had expired, so its overall costs were much lower, giving it greater room to bargain.
Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group was different. It invested a large amount of money every year into developing entirely new drugs.
Even when Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group failed to produce any results, it still invested massive sums in R&D.
Once Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group's overall profits declined, it would either transform into a generic-drug manufacturer like Caimai Pharmaceutical, go bankrupt and shut down through liquidation, or reduce its R&D spending and struggle on.
Didn't all these outcomes amount to bad money driving out good?
"Although the results of the Fifth Pharmaceutical Centralized Procurement won't be announced until three days from now, we've already obtained the results in advance. In fact, all the companies have gotten them ahead of time." Li Wenya sighed again.
"For our Group, this result is the final straw that breaks the camel's back. Through marginal costs and human-resource costs, it has completely crushed our Group." Li Wenya spoke with deep regret.
"Given the Group's repeated failures in pharmaceutical centralized procurement, and your father's desire to preserve the Group, my preliminary estimate is that, aside from selling the new factory's property rights, we'll probably have to lose the vast majority of our family assets." Li Wenya added.
"Also, your father once promised to buy you a sports car after your College Entrance Examination. But under the current circumstances, he'll have to break that promise." Li Wenya added another point.
The family business was about to go bankrupt. What was the point of buying a sports car?
An Huchun picked up the conversation. "We're now facing two choices."
"First, we liquidate the Group through bankruptcy. By doing so, we can preserve most of the family's assets. Although we'll lose the Group, you'll live without worries for the rest of your life." An Huchun explained.
The first choice was clearly more beneficial to An Wuyang.
"Second, we save the Group. This path will be extremely difficult, and we may even end up deeply in debt." An Huchun deliberately made the situation sound even more serious.
"Your mother and I have discussed it. This time, the choice is yours." An Huchun indicated that An Wuyang should make the final decision.
Ding!
The Choice of Fate has begun!
**Plan A: Choose to liquidate Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group through bankruptcy.** **Reward A: The system will assist the host in opening up a new commercial territory.** **Plan B: Work with An Huchun to save the family business, Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group.** **Reward B: Based on the specific rescue plan and its execution results, the host will receive a comprehensive reward.**
The Happy Life System suddenly issued an information prompt in An Wuyang's mind. An Wuyang pretended to be thinking, while actually examining the information displayed by the Happy Life System in his mind.
The Happy Life System. An Wuyang sighed inwardly.
He had initially thought it was nothing more than a useless little trinket. But now that the family business, which earned half a billion a year, had encountered a crisis, the Happy Life System had suddenly become important.
It seemed he would have to work hard!
Otherwise, how could he turn the tide after its collapse and support a building that was about to fall?
Before you continue