Ch 167: I Might… Be Dying

Young Master Cao had warned him once before.

Unfortunately, Paul didn’t take it to heart.

Business wars are merciless, aiming to eliminate the opponent.

However,

suddenly feeling abdominal discomfort, Paul suddenly remembered what Young Master Cao had said to him after the press conference.

Quickly, Paul went to the nearest hospital and began a full body checkup.

After the checkup, he had to wait for the test reports.

Paul had no patience.

Now that his abdominal pain had subsided, he didn’t think much of it.

…

He left the hospital by car.

Paul asked his assistant secretary, “Regarding the raw material supplier’s formula, is there any news yet?”

The secretary shook her head. “That factory is too small. Besides CEO Li, there are only a few researchers, and they are all CEO Li’s staunch supporters. They won’t budge and refuse to discuss the formula.”

Paul frowned. “Inflexible.”

The secretary said, “Mr. Paul’s idioms are really good.”

Paul was not in the mood to enjoy the flattery. He said seriously, “Here’s what you do. I’ll give you the authority; use as much funding as needed. You must get the formula as soon as possible… This formula doesn’t seem to have a patent yet. Once we get it and apply for the patent, then… we won’t need to work for the rest of our lives.”

“Then…”

Paul painted a rosy picture. “We will establish our own raw material enterprise, and you will be in charge of management; you will be the CEO.”

“Thank you, Mr. Paul,” the secretary rejoiced.

…

Afternoon.

Paul took a nap.

He felt his spirits had been a little high lately, but his energy was waning; every afternoon, he felt a sense of fatigue.

Ring ring—

A sudden ring startled him awake.

“Hello~~” Paul’s tone was somewhat stiff as he answered the phone groggily.

“Hmm?”

“This is Paul~~”

“What? Now? It’s serious?”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Paul quickly hung up the phone. It was a call from the hospital. The report was out, and the nurse directly notified Paul to go for a follow-up consultation.

They said the test report was somewhat serious.

But they didn’t say what exactly.

Paul looked at the time; it was around three in the afternoon.

He summoned his driver and secretary and went straight to the hospital.

In the hospital room.

The personal secretary was dismissed by the doctor, leaving Paul alone.

“Do you speak Chinese?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, the situation is very serious…”

“Doctor, just tell me what the problem is.”

“Cancer.”

“??”

“Stomach cancer.”

“???”

Bang—

Paul slumped to the floor.

…

Paul’s luck was good; he discovered the illness early.

He also had to thank Young Master Cao’s reminder.

If it weren’t for Young Master Cao’s words, the previous twinge of pain might not have caught his attention.

After all, he did have some stomach problems.

Now, the doctor’s plan is that it’s still in the early stages; the cancer cells are still under the mucous membrane, and it can be surgically removed; the chances of a cure are very high.

Including his early physical condition, he can withstand some changes after surgery.

If it were any later… it would have been too late.

It can be said.

Young Master Cao has a life-saving grace towards him.

In the evening.

Paul, with a pale face, returned to his mansion.

His Chinese wife and mixed-race daughter noticed something was wrong.

“Darling, what happened?”

“I might… be dying.”

“Ah?”

When the family learned that Paul had cancer, the sky seemed to fall.

Paul, on the other hand, comforted them, “Fortunately, it’s early-stage, and there’s a high probability of a cure. The problem now is that we may have to go back to Europe; the medical conditions there are a little better than here; at least psychologically, I feel it will be better.”

His wife and daughter didn’t object.

But Paul…

After pondering for a while, he shook his head. “But I have work in hand. It’s at a critical moment. In your country’s words, it’s like I planted the tree, watered it, and someone else picked the fruit when it bloomed; this fruit concerns our family’s wealth for the rest of our lives.”

His wife asked, “If you stay and continue to work, causing your condition to worsen, I don’t know if we’ll have wealth in the future, but you might not live that long!”

“…”

Paul suddenly understood.

Then he understood, and then he cried his eyes out.

A middle-aged, balding man, sitting on the floor of his home, cried like a child.

Hilarious!

But after crying, he seemed to have made a decision.

Paul took out his mobile phone, searched his contact list, and dialed a number.

“Hello, Mr. Paul? Have you decided to sell Olay? How much are you asking for?” A chuckling voice came from the other end.

Paul sighed. “Mr. Cao Cheng, I’m very grateful to you. I went to the hospital today, and the doctor told me I have stomach cancer.”

“Hee hee hee, early stage, right?”

Paul exclaimed, “You’re amazing! In Chinese, it’s called ‘foreseeing the future.'”

Cao Cheng said, “I know a little about Traditional Chinese Medicine. I can tell from your complexion where you’re unwell. However, you’re calling so late; it’s not just to thank me, is it?”

“…”

Paul pondered for a long time. “I might have to leave Olay’s core leadership. I need to go back to Europe for treatment. What I want to tell you is about the supplier issue. I’ve contacted CEO Li and bought all of the X essence.”

“Baka yarou, it’s actually you! Why don’t you just die?!”

“??”

“Sorry, I got carried away. I’m watching a movie, a Japanese one, so I was affected by it, and my mood is a little irritable.”

Paul instantly understood.

After ten years of being a China expert, he still knew some memes.

“It’s okay. You’re right to be irritable, and you’re right to scold me. I’m truly sorry. It was business before; it was a business war, and I was just doing my job.”

“If I had known earlier about my health problem, or if I had listened to you earlier, we might have become good friends, and I wouldn’t have cut off your supply of raw materials,” Paul apologized.

Cao Cheng scoffed. “Did you really think you could cut it off?”

“Ah?” Paul was startled.

Cao Cheng said, “You actually cut it off. Amazing! But this isn’t urgent. People from our country are good at turning defeat into victory. Just watch how I turn the tables… When are you planning to leave?”

“Tomorrow’s flight.”

“Then… safe travels.”

“Thank you. Also, I’m very sorry.”

“Just focus on treatment. Once you’re cured, you can be our miracle regional president in Europe.”

“…” Paul was stunned for a long time, then finally nodded. “If you can really promote the product to Europe and America, I’ll consider it. But first, you need to handle the essence issue.”

“Also, after I return to headquarters, I’ll try to recommend someone less rigid to take over my position, hopefully, that will help you.”

They chatted for a while longer.

He hung up the phone.

Paul didn’t mention asking Young Master Cao for help with his illness; he probably didn’t think Young Master Cao could cure him.

Young Master Cao didn’t offer either.

Respecting others’ fate, you know.

Moreover,

telling him this a few years earlier already showed his appreciation of his abilities; it was out of love for talent.

This guy has helped Olay expand its territory for half a lifetime.

He single-handedly opened up all the channels in the cosmetics market of the entire Eastern country, becoming the top 1 in just a few years!

Although the Olay platform provided a lot of help.

But it cannot be denied that his decision-making and patience are strong.

Of course,

Young Master Cao definitely wasn’t doing it for his mixed-race daughter.

He simply valued his abilities.

In the future, he would let him help him expand in Europe and America… ‘Using barbarians to control barbarians’ is very necessary.

…

He hung up the phone.

Cao Cheng tossed his phone onto the coffee table.

In the distance, the eldest sister, who was pretending to read a book, looked up.

“Paul?”

“Yes, leaving for Europe tomorrow, stomach cancer!”

“Ah?”

The eldest sister didn’t expect this to happen.

The eldest sister worried, “After he leaves, Olay headquarters will send a new CEO. Will that hinder your plan?”

Cao Cheng shook his head. “Even a China expert like Paul couldn’t see the problem. What kind of obstacle could a foreign devil who needs a translator even to speak create? However… Paul’s departure has indeed disrupted my plan a little.”

Before.

Cao Cheng was returning a favor, preparing to help Paul with his treatment, as a life-saving grace.

He could even team up with Paul to plot internally and externally, swallowing Olay.

The help of an insider would be even better, at least faster.

Who would have thought he would wait so long to get a checkup.

And after the checkup, he directly wanted to go back to Europe for treatment.

However,

Cao Cheng’s plans always have several interconnected layers; even if one link has a problem, it won’t affect the overall goal.

Cao Cheng said, “Samples and reports of the essence have already been sent back to Europe, including a new batch of essence, which is about to be used in Olay’s new top-tier product. This is irreversible.”

“Even if someone spots a problem, it’ll only be a small fraction of extremely intelligent people. But… as long as the profit is large enough, Olay’s upper management won’t stop the new product from coming out. Who can refuse hundreds or thousands of times the profit?”

“And, I don’t believe they can see through my calculations.”

“They don’t have that kind of brainpower.”

Cao Cheng smiled. “Paul’s departure will create a leaderless vacuum in Olay’s operations in China…”

“Just right, let’s have CEO Li talk to the other tycoons, find an excuse to give the essence to other tycoons. Olay can’t be the only one to have it, right?”

“What I want is a full bloom.”

“Only when other tycoons get the essence will Olay not have time to think too much. They will only focus on launching the product as quickly as possible to seize the top-tier market.”

“This is called introducing a catfish, also known as using a tiger to devour a wolf.”

Cao Cheng stroked his chin.

He had no beard.

But that didn’t stop him from strategizing and winning thousands of miles away.

The eldest sister put herself in his shoes and thought about it, and instantly was shocked.

Young Master Cao’s methods are straightforward.

But they are really effective.

Once the essence, due to Paul’s departure, falls into the hands of other cosmetics giants and quickly becomes popular throughout Europe and America, then Olay won’t have much time left.

They can only take the next step and soar.

Accelerate the R&D of new products, launching new products before others even have products on the market.

Afterwards,

it will be a mutual attack by these giants.

Continuous mutual spending, even price wars.

After they have occupied all the mid-to-high-end and top-tier markets, and things have settled down, Cao Cheng only needs to cut off the supply of the essence.

Then…

Hiss~~~

The eldest sister couldn’t imagine what would happen.