"My name is George."

"Hello Mr. Dumpling, I'm the manager of the department store. How about we go up to the conference room and discuss this in detail?"

As Manager Gao shook hands with George, he muttered to himself: How could someone be named Dumpling?

At first glance, Manager Gao thought he wanted to eat dumplings.

"Okay, let's go upstairs and talk more then."

George was naturally willing to go up and talk; there were too many people and too much chatter here, it didn't seem like a good place to discuss business.

Upon hearing that he was willing, Manager Gao immediately took the lead and said to Huang Qinqin, "Qinqin, you come up with us too."

Huang Qinqin was already preparing to leave, as she found communicating with foreigners quite difficult, even with a translator.

However, after each speech, she had to wait for the translator to relay the message, which made her feel somewhat uneasy.

The Koreans' situation just now is a case in point. Although the outcome was good, it doesn't excuse the fact that the translator might misinterpret your words.

If anything goes wrong in the process, they won't even know there's an error unless the translator is honest.

Huang Qinqin followed behind, pondering as she walked. She wondered if securing more orders would allow the department store to raise the price for Huangjia Village.

Although Huangjia Village could make a profit even at 15 cents a bottle of pickled vegetables, the profit wasn't much.

If there are indeed a large number of orders, then Huangjia Village will definitely need to spend more time and more manpower at the workshop.

Adding a little money shouldn't be too much, right?

Or, if we don't have to pay extra, it would be good to have Manager Gao pull some strings and get electricity connected to Huangjia Village.

During each spring and autumn harvest, most villagers have to work through the night to harvest the rice. Because visibility is low at night with candles lit, the harvested rice can only be threshed during the day, which lengthens the harvesting time.

If electricity were available, other elderly, weak, women, and children could also thresh rice at the threshing ground at night, which should save a lot of time.

When she had something to ask for, Huang Qinqin's mindset immediately changed. At this point, she no longer found communicating with foreigners troublesome and was only thinking about how to trick them into spending more money!

After all, if you want Manager Gao or someone above you to help you, you have to make them feel that they won't lose out by helping you.

...

"Hello Mr. Dumpling, may I ask what you do for a living?"

After Manager Gao sat down, he didn't immediately ask George how much he wanted to buy. He wanted to find out first what George did for a living and what he intended to do with the pickled vegetables.

George took a sip of the tea Huang Qinqin had brewed for him, moistened his throat, and said, "I own restaurants in the United States; I have more than a dozen."

When Huang Qinqin and Manager Gao heard that George owned a restaurant, they immediately perked up.

Opening a restaurant is great!

Since George owns a restaurant, it means he intends to buy pickled vegetables to sell in his restaurant.

This could very well be a big fish—oops! A big client!

Manager Gao said with a beaming smile, "Mr. Dumpling is indeed a promising young man. How much pickled vegetable would you like to buy?"

"You've tried our pickled vegetables, and they taste great. I think they'll be very popular in the US if you take them back."

George thought the same way, which is why he wanted to discuss cooperation with them. However, despite his thoughts, he still maintained an indifferent expression.

When negotiating matters, the worst thing you can do is to show your emotions. The more indifferent you appear, the better you can maintain the initiative.

"It's hard to say, after all, no one in the United States eats these kinds of pickled vegetables."

"I was just thinking of buying some to try it out, but I don't know if I'll be able to sell them. So I was wondering if you could give me a discount if I buy a lot?"

George, being a businessman, and a fairly successful one at that, naturally wouldn't tell them the truth.

He was confident that this pickled vegetable would definitely help him bring back lost customers and even attract more people to his restaurant.

Nobody in the US eats pickled vegetables because nobody knows how to make them, or rather, nobody knows how to make them well.

However, in front of Manager Gao, George should definitely try to sound as unconfident as possible.

George was certain that as long as he didn't show that he was definitely going to buy it, the department store would give him a discount.

The reason why China has had people accompanying them around all this time is simply to get them to buy goods in China.

George wasn't worried at all. If the department store couldn't offer discounts in the end, he wouldn't lose anything. If they could, he would make a profit.

Manager Gao lowered his head and pondered for a moment before cautiously saying, "I still need to consult with my superiors about this matter."

"May I ask how much pickled vegetable Mr. Dumpling needs? Is he planning to buy from us long-term?"

"I need enough information to apply for the discount from above. I hope Mr. Dumpling will understand."

George nodded. "Of course, I understand."

"For my first purchase, I'll probably need around a thousand bottles. As for whether I'll continue buying them long-term, I'll have to wait until I get back to China and see how things go before I can decide."

"Okay, I understand. I'll go make a call to the higher-ups first. Mr. Dumpling, please have a seat and rest for a while."

Before leaving, Manager Gao called Huang Qinqin out and said, "Qinqin, talk to him and see if you can get him to buy something else."

"Yes, I'll try my best."

After watching Manager Gao leave, Huang Qinqin planned to return to the conference room. However, she remembered that George had said he owned a restaurant, and suddenly had an idea, so she turned around and went downstairs.

...

When Sister-in-law Huang saw Dundun return with a huge pile of food, her face darkened.

Dundun was completely unaware of the danger approaching, and happily handed the fruit leather he couldn't finish to Sister Huang.

"Mommy~ Eat~ This is delicious~"

Sister-in-law Huang smiled gently at Dundun and asked, "Is this for Mommy? Isn't Dundun going to eat it?"

"Mmm~ DunDun's tummy is full, I don't want to eat anymore. Give it to Mommy~"

"Is your tummy full? Can Mommy touch it?"

Okay~

Because Dundun loves to jump around, and it's difficult to buy fabric in the village, the clothes that Sister Huang makes for Dundun are all on the looser side.

Dundun was still standing, and Sister-in-law Huang couldn't tell whether his belly was bulging or not.

After touching Dun Dun's belly, Sister Huang was certain that he must have eaten a lot of snacks.

Dun Dun is very sensible when it comes to food; he usually won't overeat.

To be able to eat until your stomach is this full, you must have eaten a lot of snacks after the meal!

"DunDun, do you want some stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork?"