Chapter 344: A Human Sieve
Lin Shu recalled exactly what Su He had said to her at the time: “Sister Lin, I have a feeling they’ll definitely set the price at 30 yuan per kilogram. That way, it lands right on our baseline.”
“Although it will dilute the profit margin, overall, it won’t result in a loss.”
“If they do that, it just shows they’re being unscrupulous, and us swindling them can be considered as delivering justice on behalf of heaven.”
Lin Shu: “…”
“Little Su, but… what if they set the price below 30 yuan?”
Su He smiled faintly. “If they do that, we’ll leave them a bit of inventory so they can have a sip of soup along with us. However, based on my judgment, there is a 99% chance they will open their mouths like a lion.”
Although their interaction had been brief, it was easy to gauge just how grand a person’s vision was.
The people in charge of those two farms had limited horizons and could only see the immediate benefits in front of their eyes.
Sure enough, the progression of events was exactly as Su He had predicted.
After that moment of reflection, Lin Shu hurriedly went out to make phone calls and arrange the relevant matters.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t anxious. But risks and rewards were often directly proportional; sometimes, one simply had to have the courage to take a gamble.
Of course, the prerequisite for any gamble was that it had to be based on sound theoretical logic.
As Lin Shu was heading out, she “happened” to run into Director Feng at the main entrance. She quickly raised her right hand and touched her nose, just as they had previously agreed.
This feels like underground comrades meeting up for a secret exchange! Lin Shu thought.
However, the marketplace was a battlefield, so the principle remained the same.
Upon seeing Lin Shu’s gesture, Director Feng hurriedly lowered his head to tie his shoelaces, signaling that he had seen her.
The old man sighed to himself—it was a good thing he wore shoes with laces today, otherwise he truly wouldn’t have known how to play this game.
On the other side, Su He brought Director Tian to the translation department.
Most of the translators were foreign language teachers and outstanding students pulled from various major universities; only a small portion were professional translators from the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
The professional translators and teachers from the Ministry usually arrived only after the exhibition commenced, so those present now were primarily students.
Although their foreign language skills were excellent, they were strangers to certain professional terminology, so they had gathered in advance to exchange ideas.
Su He knocked on the door. “Pardon the intrusion, I’m a representative from the Anxin County joint delegation. I’d like to consult on a few questions regarding English.”
Before the people inside could react, Director Tian, trailing behind Su He, began distributing Little Rabbit Milk Candies to everyone.
“It’s scorching hot today, everyone is working hard. Just a small token of our appreciation.”
Little Rabbit Milk Candies were considered quite high-end at this time, and plus, both Su He and Director Tian were incredibly skilled at building rapport, so the atmosphere in the room instantly became much warmer.
Su He selected a few questions that were challenging but not overly difficult to ask, while casually showering praise on their English proficiency.
She then expressed her deep admiration for university students and her personal regret at never having attended one.
Once again, this pulled her closer to the students.
Young people were naturally prone to hitting it off quickly. Furthermore, Su He was a master at probing the human heart. By the time she left, she was already on a first-name basis with the dozens of people in the room.
On this point, Director Tian was impressed to the point of throwing his entire self into admiration!
Forget about dozens of people—if he could remember seven or eight, he’d be doing well!
Then again, back in Anxin County, she had so many relatives she claimed to have, yet she had never once misremembered the title of a single great uncle, second aunt, or third cousin’s husband.
Perhaps this was what they called being born with an extraordinary gift!
On the way back, Director Tian rolled his eyes. “Little Su, tomorrow when the instant noodle samples arrive, let me send a few cartons to the translation department! Those kids are at the age where they’re still growing; they need constant nutritional replenishment.”
Su He pursed her lips and smiled. “That’s exactly what I was thinking! I didn’t expect us to be on the exact same page!”
Director Tian felt instantly brilliant!
The talk about nutritional replenishment was a lie; the real goal was the disguised advertising!
He walked with his hands behind his back, saying, “Little Su, let me tell you, I’m just a bit long in the tooth now, so my brain cells probably aren’t as active as they used to be. If I were as young as you, I’m not bragging, but I’d have a brilliant new idea every blink of an eye…”
Director Tian rattled on for a long while before realizing Su He had led him to the public negotiation area for handicrafts.
The layout inside the public negotiation area was very simple, consisting of some round tables and chairs.
Su He sighed. “The chairs are completely bare. It’s quite painful to look at. Why don’t we sponsor some straw-woven cushions? They’d be cool and look nice too!”
Director Tian: “…Your imagination is certainly beautiful!”
“The critical thing is whether the organizers would even agree!”
“If they allowed donations, people would have broken their heads scrambling to do it long ago. Would it ever be your turn?!”
Su He nodded. “You’re right, the organizers definitely wouldn’t agree. But what if it were something the translators brought in themselves?”
“There’s no rule saying a translator isn’t allowed to bring a chair cushion, right?”
“Tomorrow, when we send over the instant noodles, we’ll bring a few straw hats and chair cushions along for the ride.”
“Although we can’t guarantee they’ll all bring the chair cushions, even if just a few do, it will still achieve a promotional effect.”
Director Tian: “…”
A human sieve, she really is a human sieve!
At best, he could see three steps ahead; she could see a hundred thousand miles in a single stride!
That afternoon, Su He and her group arrived at the single-story house rented by Director Gao and the others. They drew up a list of items and instructed them to deliver it the following noon.
The reason they chose noon was because there were massive crowds delivering samples in the morning, and there was no need to squeeze in with them.
The single-story house had a kitchen. Yu Guodong, the logistics director of the Food Factory, bought quite a bit of produce, putting together an entire table of dishes.
Although many items required coupons or a ration book, it was the same old story—matters were always open to flexibility.
Yu Guodong and Director Gao had also been tempered through experience. To be more precise, Su He had opened the floodgates of their minds, and they finally knew how to be flexible.
While eating, Su He said to Director Gao and his team, “Once the official opening begins, send someone to guard the area outside the venue to act as a messenger and runner.”
At this time, communications were underdeveloped, so this clumsy method was the only option.
Returning to the guesthouse that night, Su He hadn’t even entered her room before she heard Luo Dongchuan calling her.
“Little Su, what have you been busy with today? I checked your booth and didn’t see you anywhere.”
Su He chuckled. “I took care of a few small matters, and then went to have a meal at the office.”
Luo Dongchuan looked puzzled. “Office? Does Anxin County have an office in Guangzhou?”
“It’s not our Anxin County office; it’s the office for our Anxin County joint delegation. The people who came over earlier rented a single-story house.”
Luo Dongchuan: “…”
You truly dare to say anything! I suspect if you hung a sign on the door of a public restroom, you’d be able to pass it off as a fertilizer factory!
