After some inquiries, I learned that there was a similar machine in Guangzhou, but I wasn't sure if they had any repair personnel from abroad. The problem was, there was no phone number for the model year, and I hadn't been able to get in touch with them before. In desperation, the factory sent a technician to Guangzhou by train. The technician was a bit apprehensive, so he told his boss and took Xiao Yu with him. This was Xiao Yu's first time on a train, and even his first time traveling far away, so you can imagine how exciting it was.

Jiang Huashu was transferred from the county by Jiang Shaoming to the Kyoto Foreign Trade Department, and the time just happened to coincide with the opening of the Canton Fair.

The Canton Fair, founded in 1958, is held twice a year: the Spring Fair, held from April 14th to May 4th, and the Autumn Fair, held from October 14th to November 15th. It is a crucial export and foreign exchange earning event for our country.

Although Jiang Huashu had the Thirty-Six Stratagems and the Art of War flowing in his blood when he was transferred here, in the eyes of the native people in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, he was just a small-time jobber, a country guy who got in through connections. How could he be expected to attend such a big event as the Canton Fair?

Well, you're right, Jiang Huashu was really lucky. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had its own permanent translator. The day before leaving, translator Lao Huang was hospitalized with acute appendicitis, which immediately put the people who were going there in a dilemma.

Do you think that the translators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are just tools who translate what others say into English and speak it to foreigners?

wrong!

Diplomatic translators are not just translators, they are also responsible for our country's diplomatic work. Every translator must have a certain level of patriotism to be selected.

In short, to work as an interpreter at the Canton Fair, isn't it just a matter of finding a foreign language teacher at school to follow you? Back in the 1970s, such jobs required an investigation into the family and various other surveys. Only after everything was clear could you be assigned to interpret, and you had to think through every sentence before speaking it out loud.

There were quite a few college students their age in the Foreign Trade Department, but most of them could speak Russian, and only a few could really speak English. Just when everyone was getting anxious, Jiang Huashu, who had just been working for two days, weakly raised his little hand and said, "I can speak English."

Jiang Huashu himself is not well educated and his English is only sporadic. In modern times, Jiang Huashu initially started his business in China, but later found that the business was not interesting enough in China and started to expand abroad.

Because he often interacted with foreigners at that time, whether it was parties, golfing, or bargaining, he had no choice but to learn English. However, he only knew a few words of spoken English, focusing on making sure they could understand him. He had his secretary by his side when he was asked to review contracts.

But in this day and age, knowing English is a big deal. Besides, you are one of us in the Foreign Trade Department, so everyone is happy that there is no delay. Who cares whether you are scattered or not?

At that time, train tickets were not real-name-based like they are now. So, for example, Lao Huang's sleeper ticket could be used by Jiang Huashu. Besides, the Foreign Trade Department used soft sleeper trains, so the boarding system was a formality. Basically, no one checked. As long as the number of people matched the number on the letter of certification, it was fine.

So Jiang Huashu went to Guangzhou with them. To be honest, Jiang Huashu was really looking forward to it and wanted to see what Guangzhou looked like in the 1970s.