Pharmaceutical Negotiator - Chapter 6.1

Qi An is just unwrapping the takeout and is a bit surprised to hear Zhang Sitan offering her a day off. She looks up and meets Zhang Sitan’s eyes.

“No need, Sister Sitan. I haven’t done much every day. I’ll still come over to help you tomorrow.”

Zhang Sitan chuckles, gives Qi An a pair of chopsticks, and pushes the tissue box towards her, explaining:

“Haha, really no need. I plan to take a day off myself tomorrow and sleep in my room.”

“Oh, okay.”

Qi An’s tone is a little disappointed. Zhang Sitan smiles slightly  “Others can’t wait to jump for joy when they hear about a day off. Why are you reluctant to take a break?”

“Because I don’t feel this is a job. I come here every day to chat and eat and drink. Even sorting out documents feels like a novel experience.”

“I have never thought of Sister Sitan as my superior. I’ve always thought of us as friends.”

Zhang Sitan picks the chili out of her lunch box, lowers her head to scoop up the rice, and mixes it with the vegetables.

The white rice grains are stained with the color of the vegetable sauce, mixing with the greens, making it look a bit more appetizing.

If it were anyone else, Zhang Sitan would definitely follow up with “Of course we’re friends,” and then say a few pleasant words to further strengthen their relationship.

But the person opposite her is Qi An. A sincere young woman who offers to blow dry her hair and says, “I’ve always thought of us as friends.”

Zhang Sitan forces a smile: “This is your first job. When you’ve worked for two more years, you won’t think this way.”

“No way. I love my job now. I will definitely keep working with passion in the future.”

Zhang Sitan, who had only been wearing a perfunctory smile moments before, genuinely laughs out loud now, looking at Qi An’s earnest demeanor.

If it weren’t for Qi Shenli, Qi An, a recent graduate, wouldn’t be her assistant. If it weren’t for Qi Shenli, Qi An’s job would definitely not be just eating, drinking, sorting out documents, and chatting.

And if it weren’t for Qi Shenli, Zhang Sitan might have even less patience and would not engage in much conversation.

Around four o’clock in the afternoon, Zhang Sitan puts a stack of documents into a file bag, sends a message to Su Wei that she is about to leave, and while waiting, she applies foundation and light makeup.

Su Wei still hasn’t replied, so Zhang Sitan heads directly to the door, intending to go to her apartment.

Just as she pushes the door open, Su Wei’s young apprentice conveniently opens her own door and comes out.

Zhang Sitan is startled at first, remembering that Zhou Yangyue left Su Wei’s apartment on bad terms that morning.

“I was just about to look for you all. Professor Su hasn’t replied to my messages.”

“Yes,” Zhou Yangyue nods. “Professor Su said she would be out in a moment.”

“Oh, then we’ll wait for you downstairs.”

Zhang Sitan inexplicably feels the atmosphere is a little awkward. The elevator arrives just in time. She greets Zhou Yangyue and leads Qi An into the elevator.

The elevator space is small, plastered with large posters of Taiyong Group’s slogans and promotional pictures.

She presses the button for the underground parking lot, where Qi An’s car is parked.

Zhang Sitan gathers her hair, adjusts her bag strap, and then lets her hair down again.

This time, she isn’t carrying her large black bag. She chose a small, designer bag from her limited collection to go with her milky-white collared suit. She looks sharp and refreshed.

In her hand is a kraft paper bag containing a wristwatch. There is also a perfume gift set, also wrapped in a kraft paper bag.

If the watch she previously gave Qi An was a representative model casually chosen from the counter, the wristwatch in her hand now is one she genuinely put effort into, having bid for it at an auction.

The rectangular watch face is surrounded by a circle of outwardly protruding gold foil. Roman numerals are distributed at the four cardinal points of the dial, and the strap is made of wrinkled genuine leather.

The wristwatch is in a plain box. This is Zhang Sitan’s meeting gift for Qi An’s father, Qi Zhiguo.

After waiting for a while in the parking garage, Su Wei and her apprentice finally arrive.

Su Wei’s apprentice, Zhou Yangyue, has her own car, a black Jeep driven all the way from Beijing, with a “Jing” (Beijing) license plate.

Su Wei calls out to Zhang Sitan before even getting close, then nods to Qi An on the side.

“Sorry, sorry, I was tied up with something and didn’t check my phone.” Zhang Sitan shakes her head, smiling to indicate she doesn’t mind. The four of them, in two pairs, head to the Qi family home.

Su Wei is the oldest among them and has previously collaborated with Zhang Sitan twice. She is very humble and refined. Zhang Sitan has always had a good impression of her. Her apprentice, on the other hand, is someone Zhang Sitan is meeting for the first time. She has a somewhat unpolished feeling, but she doesn’t seem like a bad person.

While Zhang Sitan considers the two of them, the car quickly arrives at the Qi family home.

The Qi family’s house is not too large, a standalone villa, but the decor is in a vintage style favored by intellectuals.

Qi Shenli and Qi Zhiguo have come out to greet them and invite everyone in. Zhang Sitan gives the gifts in her hand to Qi Shenli and Qi Zhiguo respectively. Su Wei also places a bottle of red wine on the coffee table.

Qi Zhiguo is nearly fifty, but looks somewhat older for his age. His salt and pepper hair is neatly trimmed and stands upright on his scalp. His attire is very plain, contrasting with the glamorous Qi Shenli beside him.

The Qi home is meticulously well-kept, and there are no servants. The large table of dishes is all prepared by Qi Shenli herself.

After some polite small talk, everyone takes their seats.

“Come, thank you all for coming. Let’s have a toast first.” Qi Shenli raises her glass of beverage, gesturing to everyone at the table.

Some raise their beverages, some their tea. Qi Zhiguo and Zhou Yangyue are drinking the red wine Su Wei brought. They all clink their glasses together. The pendant lamp above the dining table has a ceramic glaze shade, emitting a warm amber glow. The shifting light and shadows create a harmonious atmosphere.

“This wine has a smooth texture,” Qi Zhiguo says, taking a sip of the red wine and praising it.

“Your Medical Insurance Bureau has truly gone to great lengths this time. My wife and I are especially grateful to everyone.”

Zhang Sitan smiles: “Professor Qi, please don’t say that. This is what we should be doing. However, the battle line has been drawn out a bit long. The instruction from above is to withdraw the team by the end of June.”

Qi Zhiguo pauses, looks at Qi Shenli, then turns back to Zhang Sitan: “You’ve been reviewing the company’s industrial situation for a while now there’s no cash flow. My experiments are also intermittent. The cooperation with the Medical Insurance Bureau is actually hoping for more financial support.”

Zhang Sitan nods. Su Wei interjects: “Professor Qi, we have already considered the financial aspect. We cannot let the company operate at a loss, nor can we let the public shoulder high drug prices again.”

“We’ve been reviewing the situation these past few days, hoping to make the company’s accounts look good, and also to prevent the static funds from becoming a loophole for the opponent to press down on our prices during the negotiations.”

“United against the outside,” Zhang Sitan adds with a deep-set smile.

The goal of all of them is to increase their chances of winning at the negotiation table and secure a larger price reduction for the Chinese enterprise. Therefore, although the preliminary preparation work is arduous and demanding, it is worthwhile as long as all conceivable loopholes are plugged, making them unassailable in the negotiations.

Qi Zhiguo laughs heartily and raises his red wine glass: “United against the outside.”

They clink glasses again.

Zhang Sitan wants to bring up the significant shortage of Atenolol she discovered during her field research, but her intuition tells her this is a topic that requires in depth discussion.

She glances at Qi An sitting across from her, who is looking a bit dull, burying her head in a large bone in her bowl. After some thought, she decides the topic is not suitable for the dinner table and swallows the words back.