Chapter 319: Perfectly Understandable
Su He’s words stirred a commotion among the foreign guests.
What was their purpose in coming to China?
It was simply to make money!
Purchase goods at the lowest possible price, return home, and after a quick turnover, they would have stacks of cash in their pockets!
By that time, let alone all-night parties, they could hold parties for three days and three nights, and nobody would care!
Augustine was also moved.
He looked at Su He with suspicion: “You aren’t even from the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Can you pull this off?”
Su He smiled. “Effort makes things happen! If you all agree, I will communicate with Team Leader Ji.”
Augustine whispered a few words with the other troublemaking foreigners, then agreed.
Only then did Su He go before Ji Tong. “Team Leader Ji, shall we step outside to talk?”
Initially, Su He had addressed Ji Tong as “Chief.” But Ji Tong felt the title was inappropriate, so he had Su He address him as Team Leader Ji instead.
Ji Tong furrowed his brows, nodded, and stepped outside the soft-sleeper carriage.
The translator, Little Lin, had already relayed Su He’s words to him, and he felt it was improper.
Although they had previously made an exception for Su He to negotiate instant noodle business with David, that was merely small-scale tinkering.
But things were different now; if they proceeded according to Su He’s suggestion, the situation could become massive!
The Canton Fair hadn’t even begun, yet exhibition delegations from two provinces were conducting negotiations with foreign guests in advance—wouldn’t the other exhibition delegations and the foreign guests themselves have complaints?
The core issue was that there was no such precedent!
Su He guessed his train of thought and said with a smile, “Team Leader Ji, are you worried that other exhibition delegations and foreign guests at the Canton Fair might have complaints?
“But, haven’t you forgotten that you are leading a tourism group!
“If the guests of a tourism group want to discuss business, isn’t that the very reason why the Ministry of Foreign Trade organized the tourism group in the first place?!
“As for their insistence on signing pre-order contracts now and waiting until the Canton Fair to sign formal contracts, that is their choice, and we must respect them! So, how does this concern anyone else?”
Ji Tong: “…”
This is allowed?
Well, that’s true too. He had already led these foreigners to visit several scenic spots. If it weren’t for the fact that the Canton Fair was imminent, this group of people would have wanted to keep wandering around.
Su He continued, “Taking a step back, even if someone truly makes an issue of the Canton Fair, you have nothing to worry about.
“The core objective of the Canton Fair is to export and earn foreign exchange; naturally, one must seize every opportunity that can be seized.
“Now, the opportunity is right before your eyes—are you going to watch it run away right before you?!”
Using an inappropriate analogy, foreigners are like leeks in the field; once one crop is harvested, another crop can be harvested right after.
“Regardless of everything else, let’s harvest one crop on the train first. The money we actually earn and hold in our hands is the true silver and gold!”
Ji Tong nodded continuously, feeling that Su He’s words made perfect sense.
Of course, this was also because the personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Trade were relatively enlightened, with more forward-thinking ideas.
If it were personnel from other departments, it wouldn’t necessarily be this easy to talk them around.
“Little Su, in principle, I agree with your statement, but how do we operate this specifically?
“Let the exhibition delegation members enter the soft-sleeper carriage?
“That is absolutely forbidden!
“Although they are all accompanying personnel, after all, they haven’t received their Canton Fair credentials yet, and I cannot conduct a qualification check on every single one of them. Besides, if people all get mixed together, it won’t be easy to maintain order.”
Su He pondered for a moment and said, “How about this: I’ll talk to these foreign guests first to gain a preliminary understanding of their purchasing intentions. Then I’ll go and understand the situations of the two exhibition delegations.
“After a comprehensive comparison, I’ll arrange for them to negotiate in batches.
“The negotiation method will be the same as before: the foreign guests remain inside the soft-sleeper carriage while the exhibition delegation members remain outside, ensuring they have no direct contact.
“Furthermore, considering that the translator Little Lin has to look after other foreign guests, I will serve as their translator during the negotiations.”
Ji Tong weighed the pros and cons for a moment and nodded. “Alright, then we shall proceed according to what you say.”
He naturally knew Su He’s being this proactive was certainly because she wanted to pull more orders for her own factory—this was human nature and perfectly understandable.
The fact that she could still keep the Jingbei Province exhibition delegation in mind showed that she was a person of grand vision.
Once Su He obtained Ji Tong’s permission, she relayed the specific operational procedures to the foreign guests.
After finishing, she smiled and said, “Although we lack hand-ground coffee, I can prepare several types of fancy-style coffee for everyone to change up your tastes.”
Having said this, Su He had the train attendant fetch some materials from the galley, such as cream, granulated sugar, and chocolate syrup.
Su He prepared a few cups and let the foreign guests enjoy them at their leisure.
She herself proceeded to talk one-on-one with the foreign guests, starting with Augustine.
Su He asked the attendant for a pot of tea and poured a cup for Augustine first. Whether he drank it or not was his business; her manners had to be impeccable.
Unexpectedly, Augustine actually picked it up and drank.
Su He exchanged a few side pleasantries before asking, “I wonder what sort of merchandise you are interested in?”
Augustine sipped the tea. “Tea leaves.”
Su He: “…”
Neither Beiliao Province nor Jingbei Province produced tea leaves. If it were anyone else, they would definitely lose all interest in continuing the conversation.
After all, there was no wool to be fleeced!
But here with Su He, some sheep could be raised for a while; perhaps they could be fleeced after a period of time.
Therefore, she still chatted with Augustine for a good while, noting down his purchasing requirements.
After she finished chatting with him, it was the turn of the next foreign guest, Jim.
Jim didn’t sit down, instead hugging his arms and saying, “What I want, you don’t have! So there’s no need to waste each other’s time.”
Su He was amused. “Then why don’t you tell me what you want to buy?”
“I want to buy pearls. As far as I know, both of your exhibition delegations belong to the northern region of China, so you shouldn’t have pearls, right?”
Jim assumed Su He wouldn’t continue chatting with him anymore, but unexpectedly, Su He expressed a face full of admiration after hearing him:
“I didn’t expect Mr. Jim to be so knowledgeable about our country’s geographical distribution. You are truly highly erudite and talented!”
Jim dropped his arms from hugging his chest. After all, being complimented by a beautiful lady was a highly pleasant affair.
Su He continued, “Are you buying pearls to process them into jewelry?”
Jim shook his head. “No, I want to procure a batch of ordinary-grade pearls to make hair ornaments and brooches.”
Su He revealed a look of surprise. “You want to buy them back to process yourself?
“Forgive my directness, but the labor costs in your country are exceptionally high, and expenses like rent, water, and electricity are not low either. Haven’t you considered importing finished products directly?”
Jim curled his lip. “I have considered it, of course, but as far as I know, what you in China primarily wear is white, blue, and black. There is no decoration on your clothes or in your hair.
“I haven’t seen any related products at any of the previous Canton Fairs, so I have no choice but to take them home for processing.”
