Chapter 329: Tacit Understanding
The shock to Director Feng was a bit too severe. As a result, he began to drift off course while walking, nearly wandering straight into someone else’s compartment!
Su He had no choice but to yank his arm. “Director?”
Director Feng glanced at her with a glazed look, completely dazed. “Huh?”
Su He: “…”
She finally understood what Fan Jin must have looked like when he passed the imperial examination and went mad with joy!
“Director, don’t just focus on being happy. Think about how we’re going to deliver the goods on time! If nothing else, we need to source a batch of standard-grade pearls immediately…”
Hearing her words, Director Feng finally regained a bit of composure.
The only thing was, where could they go to source pearls?
His mind was completely consumed by the massive order of one hundred and fifteen thousand three hundred dollars, to the point where his brain wouldn’t even turn.
He could only look to Su He for help. “Xiao, Little Su, how do you think we should handle this?”
Su He stated immediately, “There are quite a few pearl exhibition booths at the Canton Fair. We’ll pick and choose when we get there. Once we make our selection, we’ll have them arrange shipment right away. By the time we return, the raw materials will be fully prepared, and we can organize production immediately.”
Director Feng felt a wave of emotion in his heart. No wonder Little Su is ambitious—she really has the capability!
While speaking, the two returned to their compartment.
The moment Director Tian saw Director Feng’s soul-absent look, he asked sourly, “You must have secured a huge order, right?”
Director Feng was much calmer by now. In a fairly steady tone, he said, “Yes, we signed an order for one hundred and fifteen thousand three hundred dollars.”
Principal Chen and Director Hu looked completely shocked. Even though Su He had helped the Steel Mill secure an eighty-thousand-dollar order earlier, the Steel Mill had its own immense foundation and history, after all!
The Textile Factory couldn’t possibly compare to them!
Furthermore, the price of hair accessories couldn’t compare to steel either; it wasn’t even a fraction of their pocket change.
Yet, they had actually signed a massive order for one hundred and fifteen thousand three hundred dollars?
Even if they didn’t get any new orders at the Canton Fair, the Textile Factory had already far exceeded expectations this time!
Director Tian felt as though he were thoroughly submerged in a jar of sour sauerkraut!
From a big-picture perspective, he was happy for Director Feng. After all, they were all enterprises from Anxin County, and it was a unit where Su He held a part-time position.
But he still couldn’t help but feel a surge of envy, jealousy, and resentment!
If only our instant noodles could secure a massive order too!
In this regard, Director Hu’s perspective and vision were far superior to his.
He was happy for Director Feng and Su He from the bottom of his heart, eagerly pressing for details about how the negotiation went.
Director Feng couldn’t explain the sequence of events at all because, moments earlier, he had done nothing but shake and tremble.
Su He briefly recounted the process, then said to Director Hu, “I’ve already finished the component diagrams and the notes on key specifications for the brooches. Once we arrive in Guangzhou, I’ll fax them to the post office. You can have someone pick them up and then arrange personnel to organize production. As for the price, you can negotiate that with Director Feng.”
Fax machines were still a rare luxury in this era. Across all of Anxin County, aside from Lu Qifeng’s office, only the post office possessed one.
As Su He spoke, she handed the component diagrams to Director Hu.
Director Hu immediately pulled out his pen, paper, and the ruler he carried with him to begin calculating.
Among the three directors, Su He and Director Tian hit it off the best temperamentally, but the one she respected the most was Director Hu.
This Director Hu not only possessed a grand vision, but his capabilities were exceptionally well-rounded.
Not only was his management skill strong, but he was also highly proficient in technical matters and finance.
Take right now, for instance: he didn’t need to ask his subordinates for any data at all; he kept it all perfectly cataloged in his head.
To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t profitable for the Machinery Factory to manufacture components matching the hair accessories and brooches.
Because every single type required making a new mold, and the quantity wasn’t particularly large, it was highly likely they wouldn’t use them again in the future. They were doing this entirely to safeguard the Textile Factory’s export and foreign currency earnings.
Yet Director Hu had never uttered a single word of complaint.
Su He took all of this in.
With her, it wasn’t a matter of the squeaky wheel getting the grease; everything spoke through sheer capability.
While Director Hu was calculating costs, Director Tian was busy radiating the distinct aroma of an old sauerkraut stalk.
“Old Feng, you’ve really hit the big time now! Tsk tsk tsk, pulling in a hundred-and-fifteen-thousand-dollar order all at once. Even if you leave empty-handed at the Canton Fair itself, you’ve already made back your capital!”
“Not to sound harsh, but with that petty look of yours, it’s only because Little Su has a grand vision that she keeps helping you. Anyone else would have abandoned you long ago!”
“By the way, don’t pretend to be clueless. The fact that these accessories and brooches could be sold is entirely thanks to Little Su. If nothing else, you have to give her some design fees!”
“You’re in the textile business, so you surely know what design fees are, right? I don’t think you need to give too much—just hand over eight or ten thousand yuan!”
…
Director Feng: “…”
Eight or ten thousand?
Why don’t I just give her the entire Textile Factory instead?!
Still, what Tian the Cheapskate said did carry a bit of sense. He truly ought to give Little Su some rewards, but exactly how much would be appropriate?
While he was pondering over the reward, Su He had already tracked down Luo Dongchuan and informed him about the Textile Factory’s order.
Luo Dongchuan: “…”
Another, another, another successful negotiation?
And it’s a massive order of over a hundred and ten thousand dollars?
He recalled how he had told Little Wenzhong before that the Anxin County joint delegation was merely a sidekick playing along, yet now, before the Canton Fair had even commenced, they had already pulled in nearly a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in orders!
Counting it on his fingers, excluding the order from the Capital North Province Meat Processing Plant, their Northern Liao Province had already secured over nine hundred thousand dollars in orders right now.
If Director Xiao found out about this news, he would absolutely be dumbfounded!
By the time the Canton Fair concluded, his own promotion to Deputy Director should practically be a done deal…
The more Luo Dongchuan thought about it, the more wonderful it felt. He looked at Su He with even greater favor, finding her more pleasing to the eye than his own biological daughter.
However, remembering Shen Jiawang, his smile stiffened slightly.
Lowering his voice, he said, “Little He, paper can’t wrap up fire. I reckon the moment we step off the train, someone will report the news to Shen Jiawang.”
“He might try to trip you up. It’s easy enough for me to handle on my end—I can just feign compliance while secretly flouting his orders. My only fear is that he has arranged a backup plan.”
Su He let out a soft chuckle. “It’s fine. I’m actually looking forward to him having a backup plan! When the time comes, it’s hard to say exactly who will be tripped up.”
If time were wound back a few days, Luo Dongchuan would have definitely felt Su He’s words were overestimating her own strength. But now, he believed her a hundred percent!
He asked again, “Little He, then do you think I should report the news to him after we get off the train?”
“Report it! Take the opportunity to completely remove yourself from the equation. Say that my capabilities are simply too formidable, and furthermore, the people from the Steel Mill are shielding me, so you don’t want to court trouble. Therefore, you don’t plan to oppose me anymore, and you advise him to drop it as well.”
“Deliver it with absolute sincerity and earnest words. No matter whether he believes it or not, as long as you believe it yourself, it’ll work.”
Luo Dongchuan: “…”
When you fool other people, you probably do it exactly like this, right?
He and Su He happened to hold the exact same thought.
Even if he were to pledge his loyalty to Shen Jiawang right now, Shen Jiawang wouldn’t believe him anymore.
Because if he had intentionally created obstacles, Su He wouldn’t have been able to successfully secure so many orders so smoothly.
It was better to lay the cards flat on the table to avoid having to split his attention to deal with Shen Jiawang.
As for whether Shen Jiawang would retaliate against him, it would be a lie if Luo Dongchuan said he wasn’t worried at all.
But since he had already boarded Su He’s ship, he could only hope that Su He could shield him.
At this point, Su He said with a beaming smile, “Uncle Luo, Xiaoling and I are good sisters, and you’ve treated me very well. Whenever there’s a good opportunity, I will definitely keep you in mind! Work hard—as long as the performance metrics are produced, your steady rise is absolutely guaranteed!”
Luo Dongchuan was incredibly excited. His interpretation of her words was that Su He would ask her backing in the future to promote him.
Little did he know, the core emphasis of Su He’s words lay squarely on the phrase “performance metrics.”
You have to rely on your own performance to climb your way up!
Regardless of whether they interpreted it as the exact same meaning, the two smiled at each other with a perfect, tacit understanding, both thoroughly delighted.
