Chapter 313: I’ve Taken Initiative on My Own Again
Section Chief Zhu naturally had no inkling of Li Xia’s internal mental activities; he was brimming with absolute confidence.
Although he had also heard that the An County Textile Factory had signed a thirty-thousand-dollar foreign trade order for hair ornaments, in his eyes, it was merely a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse!
Wasn’t it just broken hair ties?!
Unless someone was completely full with nothing better to do, who would order this stuff in massive batches?!
Was hair twine not fragrant enough, or were rubber bands not durable?!
A textile factory still had to rely on its main business. Items like their factory’s twill and plain cloth were sturdy and durable, and their patterns closely followed foreign fashion trends. They would bound to achieve a massive harvest at the Canton Fair!
Tong Zhen was highly satisfied with Section Chief Zhu’s declaration. After offering a few words of encouragement, he went to talk with Section Chief Jin from the sales department of the Chucheng Food Factory.
“Old Jin, the An County Food Factory secured an exhibition slot this year too. I heard they have no small amount of ambition, wanting to claim a massive order. Our Chucheng Food Factory needs to put in extra effort as well—don’t let the other party leave us behind!”
Section Chief Jin was even more arrogant than Section Chief Zhu!
Upon hearing Tong Zhen’s words, his mouth twisted into a wide curl of disdain!
“Deputy Director Tong, the An County Food Factory is merely a county-level food factory. To put it bluntly, it’s just a tiny small workshop!
“Lately they’ve started tinkering around with instant noodles, but that stuff consists entirely of items discarded by the Shanghai Food Factory!
“The Shanghai Food Factory started exporting White Rabbit creamy candies how many years ago? If instant noodles could truly be exported, would they have refrained from doing it themselves?
“They truly assume meat pies can just fall from the sky!
“If nothing else, the taste of foreigners is completely different from ours.
“I dare to leave my words right here today: their An County Food Factory won’t secure a single order!”
Tong Zhen was highly satisfied with Section Chief Jin’s declaration, and what Section Chief Jin said was precisely what lay in his own heart.
Although instant noodles suited the tastes of domestic citizens, foreigners wouldn’t necessarily like them.
Besides, they ate steaks and bread for every single meal; how could they possibly prize a thing like instant noodles?!
Wanting to rely on instant noodles to earn foreign exchange? Truly daydreaming in broad daylight!
He didn’t bother to go talk with the people from the Chucheng Handicrafts Factory because An County fundamentally didn’t possess any handicrafts, unlike their Chucheng straw-woven products which had already been exported for several years.
On the other side, Su He took down the box containing the instant noodles from the luggage rack, while holding a separate cloth bag in her hand.
Director Tian’s eyes lit up, and he asked Su He in a lowered voice, “Are you planning to gift them to the train conductor?”
Su He nodded. “En.”
Director Tian hurriedly said, “This box of instant noodles is quite heavy anyway. Let me help you carry it over.”
Su He didn’t refuse either, walking in front while Director Tian carried the instant noodles on his shoulders right behind her.
Director Tian endured but couldn’t help himself. “Little Su, look, it’s entirely thanks to my thorough planning, right? Otherwise, where on earth would you go to fetch instant noodles?!”
Su He said with a beaming smile, “Director, in reality, when I went to rendezvous with you all, a box was already placed in the trunk of the car. But seeing that you were carrying one on your back, I felt too embarrassed to pull it out.”
Director Tian: “…”
Well, look at that. You’re treating me exactly like a foolish young lad!
In reality, on second thought, this girl Su He handled matters with absolute prudence, so she naturally wouldn’t pin her hopes entirely upon other people.
Su He located the train conductor. Her rhetoric was largely identical to her prior trip on the Jingbin line—first expressing a wave of gratitude, and then proposing to sponsor the train crew with complimentary instant noodles.
The train conductor, Wang Qiang, weighed the pros and cons. In any case, with the precedent of the Jingbin line before him, even if the higher-ups truly investigated, it wouldn’t be anything major, so he agreed.
The core of the issue was that the fragrance of these instant noodles was far too rich!
When he went on his inspection tour at noon, he had swallowed his saliva several times.
Su He opened the cloth bag once more, pulling out a dozen or so packs of tomato egg and braised beef flavored instant noodles from within.
“Uncle Wang, these two types are instant noodles we specially developed to target the tastes of foreigners.
“I noticed quite a few foreign guests boarded from Chucheng Station. Could I trouble you to place our instant noodles on the dining counter as well, for them to freely take and try?”
Wang Qiang gave a vague murmur of agreement. The meals supplied to foreign guests in the dining car might not be described as exceptionally lavish, but they were still quite decent, so there was no necessity to offer any instant noodles.
He fundamentally hadn’t intended to actually display them.
Just as he was planning to invent a pretext to escort his guests out, Su He lowered her voice and said, “Uncle Wang, I see that the vast majority of those foreign guests should be heading to participate in the Canton Fair. Perhaps we can reach an agreement of intent ahead of time.
“Let me reveal a bottom line to you: regarding the Canton Fair, our factory has proposed an incentive system, utilizing zero-point-five percent of the order amount as a commission reward.
“In other words, for a ten-thousand-dollar order, fifty dollars can be pulled out as a reward.
“I know you are a public worker, so it isn’t easy to accept this reward. It doesn’t matter; we can gift cloth or canned goods of equal value instead, which happens to seek some welfare for the comrades of the train crew.
“Uncle Wang, we are also forced by absolute helplessness. Our An County is far too poor. If nothing else, my grandmother can chase me for three days and three nights just for a single poached egg…
“Therefore, we must seize every single opportunity we can possibly strive for.
“In addition, we also desperately want to contribute to our motherland’s export foreign exchange earnings… See if you can help us with this favor?”
Wang Qiang smacked his lips. “Whether there’s a commission or not is a minor matter anyway. The core of the issue is that I feel the common people of your An County endure far too many difficulties. How about this: I’ll place them up there to give it a try. Whether it succeeds or not depends entirely on luck!”
Su He was instantaneously filled with thousands of thanks, and she further placed several heavy, high hats upon Wang Qiang’s head—spouting things like his heart being bound to the people and possessing a grand macro vision.
Consequently, Wang Qiang nearly blurted out that he didn’t even want that tiny fraction of commission!
Upon emerging from the train conductor’s office, Su He asked Director Tian with a beaming smile, “I’ve taken initiative on my own again just now. You don’t harbor any thoughts about it, right?”
Director Tian: “…”
You even explicitly used the word ‘again’. This isn’t your very first time performing a deed like this, so what on earth are you putting on a show for?!
Besides, he wasn’t small-minded like Old Feng; if you don’t bait the hook, you won’t catch the fish!
It’s just, can an order truly be signed?
I think it’s highly unlikely!
Very quickly, dinner time arrived.
Wang Qiang truly exerted his absolute best. Not only did he display those few packs of instant noodles on the dining counter of the soft-sleeper carriage, but he further introduced them personally to the foreign guests who showed interest.
Human beings always possess curiosity, particularly when there were only a mere few packs on the dining counter—scarcity increases value.
Very quickly, those few packs of instant noodles were all taken away.
Wang Qiang further helped steep them personally, lacking only a fork to feed them straight into those foreigners’ mouths.
However, even though the flavors had been modified to target foreigners, not everyone liked them.
Only a single foreigner named David expressed an interest in cooperation.
Wang Qiang lost no time in sending someone to fetch Su He over.
Su He was currently eating dinner with absolute ease and leisure, whereas Director Tian wore a face completely out of sorts.
When Principal Chen and the others asked him what was wrong, he refused to speak.
One moment he was fantasizing about the glorious scenery of clinching an order, and the next moment he felt he was daydreaming in broad daylight.
Beholding the train attendant come over to fetch Su He, he eagerly trotted along right behind her.
His little heart drummed violently. Could a foreigner truly want to buy our instant noodles?!
