In 2011, during Liu Chen's summer break in her third year of university.
Due to Liu Chen's new product bonus system, Meimei Food Company had launched two more single products in the past six months: milk-flavored cotton candy and strawberry-flavored cotton candy, both of which were very popular in domestic and overseas markets.
In the same six months, Liu Chen independently developed and launched a sanitary napkin.
Ultra-thin, instantly absorbent, and able to maintain dryness.
And today was the regular Saturday weekly meeting.
Yes, Meimei Company's weekly meeting was held on Saturday mornings because their founder was attending classes in Beijing on weekdays and could only be present consistently on Saturdays.
At nine-thirty in the morning, sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains of the conference room, casting itself onto the large, solid dark brown conference table.
Liu Chen entered the conference room wearing black high heels, and everyone quickly stood up to greet her.
Initially, Liu Chen was very unaccustomed to this and asked everyone not to engage in such formalism. However, the executives, who were usually very obedient, defied Liu Chen's wishes for the first time. Seeing this, Liu Chen no longer insisted.
Liu Chen sat down at the head of the conference table and placed the briefcase she was holding onto the table:
"Everyone, please be seated. Today I have a new product for you to see."
As Liu Chen spoke, she gestured for Yu Bing to open the document bag she had taken out.
Yu Bing began participating in a university program in City C in the latter half of last year.
Little did they know, after the two got married, her ex-husband took his entire salary to pay off loans, and the family's living expenses were entirely borne by Xiao Juan.
Xiao Juan eventually couldn't tolerate her ex-husband's temper and scheming, and they divorced. After three years of marriage, she had nothing when they divorced. Calculating it, she had spent over a hundred thousand yuan on her ex-husband during those three years.
Xiao Juan attended university in City C and would take the bus home to stay for two days each week, helping her mother with chores, buying groceries, and fixing things around the house.
Upon returning home, Xiao Juan saw ten packs of sanitary napkins placed on the coffee table. She also loved Meimei sausages and immediately recognized them as Meimei's products, with their unique packaging color, there was no mistake.
"Xiao Juan, your aunt just came by and said the supermarket probably priced them incorrectly. Each pack of sanitary napkins is two yuan and five mao. She quickly bought some more, since they can be used slowly."
Xiao Juan nodded upon hearing her mother's words. Perhaps influenced by her aunt, she had been a meticulous manager of household finances since childhood.
"Two yuan and five mao per pack, ten pieces per pack, which is several times cheaper than the normal market price."
"Also, your aunt said to buy a house near where she bought hers. She'll get the two thousand yuan rebate and a rice cooker directly if she brings us along as new buyers."
Xiao Juan, who was about to object, thought about it. Her mother and aunt were almost semi-retired due to poor health. She was majoring in food science but was only in her second year. Buying a house would put them in a tight financial situation.
But Xiao Juan then remembered what she had seen on the Meimei Company's official website regarding their recruitment requirements, and the cooperation between their university and Meimei Company, where they could visit for internships...
"Mom, then let's buy it. We can sell this old house, add the money we have, and get a loan for a three-bedroom apartment."
"This, this, why do two women need a three-bedroom apartment? When you get married, where will I live alone?"
Xiao Juan held her mother's hand:
"Mom, don't worry. Meimei Company is constantly expanding, and our university's food science department is number one in the entire S Province. My grades are good, and my family background is clean. I have an eighty percent chance of getting in. Once I'm in Meimei, our living costs will be almost zero. Paying off a loan will be very easy then."
With her only daughter so confident, the mother naturally agreed.
The next day, Mrs. Xu excitedly took her second sister to look at houses. The second sister waved her hand and paid the deposit for a three-bedroom apartment, then returned to list their old house for sale.
She had lived with her second sister for many years. After discussing it with her husband, she also listed their house for sale and followed suit to buy a three-bedroom apartment.
Meanwhile, Liu Chen's low-priced sanitary napkins quickly attracted the attention of all women who needed to purchase them. Initially, everyone was hoarding them madly, worried that Meimei Company would increase prices after the promotion.
Upon realizing this, Liu Chen posted on her Weibo:
The price of Meimei sanitary napkins will not change for five years. Even if we lose money, I will not increase the price.
Only after seeing this Weibo post did people stop hoarding sanitary napkins. However, overseas students then discovered that Meimei sanitary napkins had been stocked.
The extremely low price even sparked a wave of discussion globally, leading to a worldwide debate: Why? Why would Meimei Company produce such cheap sanitary napkins?
Was it because the materials were too poor?
In response to these doubts, Liu Chen snorted coldly and then accepted an interview with a mainstream domestic media outlet.
"The birth of Meimei sanitary napkins was to address the current habit of many women being reluctant to change them. Because a single sanitary napkin costs around one yuan and five mao, according to recommendations, women should ideally change one every two and a half hours.
However, according to research, most women, for various reasons, use them sparingly, changing one every five to six hours, which can lead to many gynecological diseases.
Therefore, when researching sanitary napkins, we thought about our goals: cheap, thin, and odorless.
Now, sanitary napkins priced at three mao each can be purchased by most women without pressure, allowing them to change every two and a half hours. As for the price, this is our cost."
Liu Chen produced a cost accounting sheet, which clearly showed that the production cost of one Meimei sanitary napkin was two mao and five fen.
"But the unit price of Meimei sanitary napkins is also two mao and five fen?"
The female host immediately raised a doubt.
Liu Chen smiled and nodded:
"In the past, people said that businesses should give back to society. However, I'm not very good at donating money, so I do what I can."
After the interview, the segment was quickly translated into various languages and circulated abroad.
Thus, not only domestically but also internationally, people learned that the boss of Meimei Company was someone who, after making money, was willing to give back to society.
The online doubts were completely dispelled after Liu Chen's cost accounting sheet was released.
Liu Chen hadn't thought much about it when she did this; she just wanted sisters to not have to worry about the price of sanitary napkins.
She never expected that after her death, for this very act, she would be written into history books in various countries and be rated as one of the top ten influential women of the 21st century.