Chapter 133 Barter (Revised)

After concluding their initial site visit to Akmantan, the two sides finally sat down at the negotiating table to begin formal discussions on cooperation.

The negotiator sent by Akmanstein was Megerdinov, the general manager of the Mineral Distribution Company of the Ministry of Industry that Xie Xun had mentioned earlier. He was said to be a very capable and well-connected guy.

Despite his exotic-sounding name, Megerdinov has a round, doughy face, yellow eyes, and a stronger Asian than European ancestry. He also speaks Chinese and appears friendly and approachable.

Megerdinov's favorite saying was, "Don't treat me like an outsider, we're all one of us."

Xie Xun asked him half-jokingly, "You're a foreigner now, how can you not be considered an outsider?"

Megerdinov laughed heartily: "Although my nationality is Akmenstan, my heart is with my country!"

He deliberately lowered his voice and whispered, "Actually, my father is from Zhongguo. He fled here thirty years ago, so I'm from Zhongguo too."

The members of the Zhongguo business group all laughed, neither saying whether they believed it or not, but they became even closer to each other afterward.

Megerdinov is a very easy person to talk to, and he becomes even easier to talk to when it comes to the details of the collaboration.

"Our first shipment consisted of 10,000 tons of tungsten ore, accounted for in Swiss francs, in exchange for an equivalent amount of sugar, flour, cooking oil, and clothing and footwear. The value of this single trade exceeded 40 million US dollars."

The business delegation members were excited. Even though they knew that this trip to Akmantan would be very profitable, they never expected that their first deal would be a huge one worth more than 40 million US dollars.

Everyone got excited, eager to sign the contract right away, have both parties sign and stamp it, and immediately secure this big deal.

Xie Xun's eyes lit up as he quickly calculated the profits from the trip. If everything went smoothly, he could earn at least ten million US dollars.

However, He Changyi poured cold water on the idea at this moment.

"There's no rush yet."

She smiled and looked at Megerdinov: "The tungsten ore you mentioned, is it raw ore or tungsten concentrate? Is it wolframite or scheelite? And what is the tungsten trioxide content?"

Megerdinov was clearly prepared beforehand, and replied immediately, "Of course, it's tungsten concentrate, wolframite, with a content of over 65%. You know, Akmenstan has the best tungsten mines in the world; even the Americans want to get our tungsten mines! For you, this is definitely a very worthwhile cooperation!"

He Changyi remained noncommittal, then asked, "What is your price per ton of tungsten concentrate?"

Before Mederdinov could answer, she added, "If I remember correctly, the current price of tungsten concentrate on the international market is $45 per ton."

Upon hearing the technical term "ton-degree," Megerdinov's smile froze for a moment. He looked at He Changyi carefully before saying, "Of course, it's forty-five US dollars per ton-degree. Our prices always follow the international market."

Ton-degree is a unit specific to mineral trading, referring to the purity of one ton of a substance. The price of one ton-degree is calculated by multiplying the grade of the ore by its purity.

In other words, based on $45 per ton, the price of one ton of standard tungsten concentrate is approximately $45 * $65 = $2925 per ton.

He Changyi said, "If you calculate it all, the initial trade volume is less than 30 million US dollars."

Before Mederzinov could find a reason, she suddenly smiled and said, "But even if it's only a little over 29 million US dollars, it's still a considerable international trade transaction."

Megerdinov forced a smile onto his doughy face and praised, "Miss He, you are truly an expert. I think no one here is more professional or knowledgeable than you. Even Mr. Xie would have to take your orders."

That's a rather harsh way to put it.

Historically, Central Asian countries were nomadic societies with strong patriarchal ideology, tradition, and conservatism. Even after serving as subordinate states to the Allied powers, they were unable to reverse these old ideas and still held serious patriarchal beliefs, emphasizing that men should be responsible for external affairs and women for internal affairs.

If He Changyi weren't a foreigner and a wealthy businesswoman who could bring scarce resources to Akmantan, a woman like her, who showed her face in public and had affairs with foreign men, would have been locked up at home to give birth and beaten three times a day according to local customs.

During his visit to Akmenstan, He Changyi met with many local officials, but there were no female high-ranking officials among them, and the vast majority of their secretaries were also male.

In a country where the custom of bride kidnapping still exists, unmarried, strong women are outcasts rejected by society. If there is a stake, they will be tied up and used for a barbecue.

Ackermanstein's courteous treatment of He Changyi was entirely due to her substantial financial resources and status as a seasoned multinational trader.

If they had a choice, they would prefer to host a male businessman couple – double the masculinity.

Megerdinov said with a mix of teasing and encouragement, "Mr. Xie, are you going to listen to Miss He all the time? You're a man, after all!"

Xie Xun gave He Changyi a half-smile and said, "There's nothing I can do but listen to her now."

Megerdinov sighed with regret and pity.

“A beautiful lady like Ms. He should be enjoying her life at home, playing games with her children on the carpet, instead of going out and working hard to earn money like a man.”

He Changyi said with a smile, "Since you're enjoying life, why don't you live such a good life? Besides, women can endure the pain of childbirth, so it's okay for them to endure the hardship of earning money."

While Mederdinov stared in disbelief, He Changyi calmly delivered the final blow.

"Next time, why not have your wife participate in the negotiations? Women always get along better. As for you and Xie Xun—"

Xie Xun smiled and said, "I'm already quite used to being led by women."

He Changyi smiled and glanced at him, then continued, "Mr. Megerdinov, you can now personally sit with the child on the carpet in the sunlight and play games!"

Megerdinov looked at He Changyi, then at Xie Xun, and finally managed a weak smile.

“Miss He, your joke is really funny. That’s why the Premier praised you as ‘half the sky’.”

He Changyi raised an eyebrow and stared at him for a while until Megerdinov lowered his head sheepishly. Only then did she generously let him go and steer the conversation back to cooperation.

"A clause should be added to the contract stating that if the tungsten concentrate delivered subsequently has insufficient grade or excessive impurities, which affects subsequent smelting, it will be considered a serious breach of contract on your part, and we have the right to terminate the cooperation directly."

Megerdinov quickly said, "Miss He, I guarantee you with my integrity that this will absolutely not happen!"

He Changyi wrote a line of meeting minutes and said without looking up, "If the sugar, flour, and other products we provide also have quality problems, you can terminate the cooperation at any time."

She put down her pen and looked up at Mederdinov.

"That way you don't have to worry, and neither do I. Our personalities can remain intact."

Megerdinov said with a wry smile, "Now I can understand why Mr. She also listens to you. You really are a Wu Zetian."

He Changyi carefully corrected, "Considering our current geographical location, it seems more appropriate to use the name Catherine here."

Xie Xun chimed in, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

The two men looked at Mederdinov simultaneously: "What do you think?"

Megerdinov muttered, "I don't think so... You're truly the most difficult woman I've ever met..."

In the ensuing negotiations, He Changyi pressed his advantage, dominating all sides and seizing the role of the client.

The most common problem in cross-border trade is credit issues. Sometimes it's the quality of goods not meeting the agreement, sometimes it's a shortage of goods, and sometimes it's the other party running away with the goods/money, which is pure commercial fraud.

Although Akmenstan is unlikely to be a country-wide fraud, He Changyi was still very careful, going through every single clause in the contract meticulously, sometimes even scrutinizing the wording.

From the quality and quantity of goods to pricing benchmarks and logistics, she even meticulously considered the potential risks of policy changes between the two countries and fluctuations in international tungsten ore prices.

The final draft of the contract was more than twice as thick as the initial version.

She even split the contract into three versions in Chung A-E's languages, and emphasized that "in case of any dispute, the Chinese version of the contract shall prevail"—look at her, is there anyone who is so unwilling to give an inch and fights for every bit?

Moreover, He Changyi also brought technical experts to the tungsten mine in Akmantan to inspect the goods and take samples for testing. Only after the test results were sent back from China did she proceed with the next step of cooperation.

Megerdinov had never been so busy; in the time since the arrival of the Zhongguo merchant group, he had practically done a year's worth of work.

Even so, He Changyi was still not satisfied.

"It's too rushed to start with a barter transaction worth 30 million US dollars. How about we start with 300,000 US dollars to test the waters?"

Megerdinov: "...Ms. He, you know that if it's only $300,000, we don't necessarily have to choose to cooperate with you."

He Changyi said calmly, "Trust between strangers needs to be built through a series of successful transactions, but we haven't been able to build any trust between us yet."

She changed the subject: "How about this, why don't we both take a risk?"

Megerdinov asked suspiciously, "What risk are you willing to take?"

He Changyi said with a smile, "Of course it's a trust adventure."

In barter transactions, who ships the goods first is a major issue. After all, the party who ships first bears all the risks, because if the other party fails to fulfill their shipping obligations after receiving the goods, the party who shipped first will face the desperate situation of losing both money and goods.

This is especially true when the partner is another country.

If Akmenstan fails to comply with the agreement, can He Changyi still take the case to the United Nations?

Even if the International Court of Justice rules in her favor, He Changyi can't exactly expect the US military to magically appear in Akmanstein and enforce the judgment.

Therefore, it is best to nip the risk in the bud, leaving it no chance to develop.

"I have a good idea."

He Changyi said confidently, "Mr. Megerdinov, you send the ore first, and after the ore arrives in Zhongguo, I will send all the sugar and other goods at once. I guarantee that I will definitely act in accordance with the contract."

Megerdinov stared at her in disbelief and roared, "He! Chang! Yi! You're ruining Ah Zhong's friendship! You're actually making us bear all the risks of the deal!"

Xie Xun smiled and advised, "Don't get angry. You represent Ackermanstein. Don't forget your image."

Megerdinov was so angry he was panting, and his doughy face turned bright red.

"In short, I will never agree to it no matter what! Don't even think about it! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

He Changyi asked, puzzled, "What are you worried about? You represent a country. If I breach the contract, you can immediately send a regiment of special forces to collect the debt. It can make personal risks seem insignificant compared to national risks. You're not going to say you're the princess and the pea, are you?"

Megerdinov glared at her fiercely with his yellow eyes.

"Either we ship the goods at the same time, or you'll have to go back to Oros!"

He Changyi readily agreed, "Okay, let's ship them at the same time then."

Megerdinov: ...Why does he seem to have a feeling of being deceived?

Xie Xun, who was standing to the side, held back his laughter for a long time before finally managing to suppress it.

On the day the two parties officially signed the contract, Megerdinov was almost moved to tears.

finally!

Finally, I don't have to deal with He Changyi anymore!!

Who on earth attracted this troublesome woman?!

-----------------------

Author's note: Progressing through the new map is proving difficult!