Never Heard Such an Outrageous Request

The price proposed by the negotiating team immediately sparked a wave of astonishment in the livestream.

"Holy shit, is that price for real?"

"Damn, cancer treatment for just over 200,000? I can't even imagine it!"

"Eagle Country's price seems to be over 800,000 dollars, right? That's more than twenty times the difference."

"President Wei agreed to bring it below 300,000. I thought the cap would be 300,000, but I never expected it to be cut to just over 200,000."

"Would President Wei agree to that price?"

"I think President Wei would probably counter at around 280,000."

"At that price, Sanqing would basically be doing charity! How much would they lose?"

"They wouldn't lose money. China sees more than four million new cancer patients every year. At 200,000 per patient, as long as they open up the market, Sanqing's annual revenue would still be considerable—not to mention overseas income."

"At that price, it crushes every imported drug. Hahaha, Sanqing is awesome!"

"Exactly. As long as it's that price, I'll definitely use Sanqing's medicine. Even paying out of pocket, my family could afford it."

"This price is much better than I expected. My family still couldn't come up with it all at once, but we could scrape it together by borrowing a little from relatives and friends. At least we wouldn't have to sell our house."

"Yeah. The treatment cost dropped from the million range to the hundred-thousand range all at once. That's a massive concession."

"Team Leader Chen is impressive too, as expected."

"Negotiating team, 666."

"Now it depends on whether Sanqing agrees."

At the negotiation venue, Wei Kang sat behind the conference table, smiling as he faced everyone's gazes.

He did not give an answer immediately.

The room fell silent, and the atmosphere grew tense.

Everyone looked at him in confusion, silently urging him, "Either make a counteroffer or agree already. Why are you playing riddles? Say something!"

Chen Linghui also began to feel uneasy. Was Wei Kang expressing dissatisfaction?

Should they make another concession and set the price directly at the 300,000 threshold? The gap was not that great anyway. As long as they could get the Sanqing Anti-Cancer Drug included in the medical insurance catalog, this trip would already be a success.

Suddenly, Academician Qi gave a soft cough and said, "As for this price, I think it's somewhat inappropriate. Is it perhaps too lo—"

Before he could finish, Wei Kang suddenly cut in with a smile.

"I also think Academician Qi is absolutely right. This price is somewhat inappropriate."

Academician Qi had opened the subject and stated his position. Seeing Wei Kang take over, he did not continue, instead sitting back and leisurely sipping tea.

Everyone present relaxed inwardly. Wei Kang was going to counteroffer. There was still hope.

Chen Linghui immediately grew tense. His expression turned grave as he looked at Wei Kang and asked, "Oh? What exactly is inappropriate about this price?"

Wei Kang looked around, then suddenly laughed. "I think the price is too high."

"Huh?" Everyone froze, only coming back to their senses after a long moment.

But everyone was utterly bewildered, not knowing what to say.

What did Wei Kang mean by that? It came out of nowhere and made no sense.

A trace of displeasure flashed across Chen Linghui's face. He said sternly, "President Wei, please don't joke around."

"If you think we've pushed the price too low, you can say so frankly. It's not as though we can't negotiate. There's no need to say the opposite of what you mean."

Wei Kang looked surprised. "I'm not joking. I genuinely think the price you named is a little high."

Seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces, he turned serious. "Team Leader Chen, you can cut the price even lower."

Everyone: ???

Why were his words becoming harder and harder to understand?

Could he please speak plainly?

Even Chen Linghui was completely dumbfounded, staring at Wei Kang without being able to say a word.

Meanwhile, the livestream comments had already exploded.

"Holy shit, how is someone selling a product and asking the customer to bargain the price lower?"

"Did President Wei spend all night talking his executives into it?"

"The person above is wrong. President Wei is the major shareholder with over a 90% stake. He can set whatever price he wants."

"I was wrong. I thought President Wei was just talking big. Who knew he was serious?"

"Over 200,000 was already absurd enough, but President Wei is asking them to cut it even further. This is absurdity opening the door for absurdity—absurd all the way home."

"Exactly. In the past, pharmaceutical companies would beg them not to cut prices any further. Now President Wei is begging them to cut more."

"Is this the conviction of someone who developed a miracle anti-cancer drug? I finally understand the gap between President Wei and me."

"I have never heard such an absurd request in my life."

"This is fucking absurd!"

"I'm fucking confused by humanity."

"Mom, come out and see God!"

The comments scrolled frantically, and the netizens were just as dumbfounded as the negotiators at the scene.

Wei Kang finally laid his cards on the table. Thinking that the price-cutting request he had proposed was indeed rather unusual, he carefully explained.

"Team Leader Chen, the price in Sanqing's mind is somewhat different from yours."

"My offer is that, whether it's employee medical insurance or resident medical insurance, the price should not exceed 200,000."

"Employee medical insurance provides more national reimbursement, and patients generally have better incomes, so it can be set at 200,000. As for resident medical insurance, I can offer a price of 150,000."

"The specific reimbursement rates can be decided locally. That way, after insurance reimbursement, patients' out-of-pocket expenses can hopefully be kept within 100,000."

"That would achieve what I said before—making sure everyone can afford treatment and afford medicine."

"I can't speak for other pharmaceutical companies, but I can guarantee that every patient will be able to afford Sanqing's medicine."

"This is Sanqing's sincerity, and it is also the greatest concession I can offer."

Light gleamed in Wei Kang's bright eyes as he broke into a wide grin.

"See? I told you I'd do my best."

"Team Leader Chen, are you satisfied?"

Chen Linghui opened his mouth, but no words came out.

This was the second time he had been left speechless today. Wei Kang's words had completely stunned him. Truly, he had never seen such an outrageous pharmaceutical company, nor had he ever heard such outrageous words.

Yet for some reason, warmth filled his heart, flowing through his chest as though he were soaking in a hot spring.

He had underestimated Wei Kang. He had never imagined that the other man would be rushing to lower the price of an anti-cancer drug. The bargaining power filling his entire body suddenly had nowhere to go.

Wei Kang truly was a Chinese entrepreneur with a great love in his heart. He sincerely wanted to bring down medicine prices so that no patient would have to worry about the cost of treatment.

An entrepreneur like this deserved to be treated well. He had to do everything he could to push for the anti-cancer drug to be included in medical insurance, increase its sales, and let Sanqing recover its costs as soon as possible.

Having a company like Sanqing was China's blessing.

Sanqing absolutely could not be allowed to lose money.

Countless thoughts churned through Chen Linghui's mind. When the last of them faded, he finally came back to himself.

His face immediately split into a smile as he nodded again and again. "Well said, President Wei. We are very satisfied. Then let's proceed according to Sanqing's quoted prices."

"Next, we'll discuss some of the details and finalize the centralized procurement plan as soon as possible."

The two sides smiled at each other, then quietly conferred with their respective companions and began discussing the details of the plan.

Suddenly, a round of applause slowly began.

It was sparse at first, but quickly became enthusiastic and sustained.

The loud, orderly applause echoed through the hall, lingering for a long time.