Chapter 106 Maintaining National Dignity

A middle-aged man walked in with six or seven blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigners. The middle-aged man was wearing a neat suit and had a Canton Fair exhibitor badge pinned on his collar.

Their appearance made the originally bustling restaurant quiet in an instant. Many diners put down their chopsticks, their eyes filled with curiosity and vigilance.

"Welcome!" the old guy behind the counter greeted in broken English, then quickly turned around and called out in Cantonese: "Ah Zhen, quickly call Ah Lang over!"

Wu Huiting frowned and whispered to Jiang Haitang, "During the Canton Fair, state-owned hotels have fixed arrangements for receiving foreign guests. How did they find this place?"

The foreigners were clearly drawn to the dim sum on the table. The man leading the group walked straight to Wu Huiting's table and pointed at the honeycomb taro balls in broken Chinese: "Is this delicious?"

"Of course." Wu Huiting, a businesswoman, smiled. "This is a local specialty, very famous."

A middle-aged man who looked Chinese came forward and said in fluent Cantonese, "It's really Tao Tao Ju's craftsmanship! I heard the taste hasn't changed after the change."

He glanced at Wu Huiting and took out his business card. "Are you also a merchant attending the Canton Fair? My name is Robert, and I'm from Taishan. This time I'm bringing American clients to see the delicious food from my hometown."

Jiang Haitang noticed that the expressions of the diners around her were becoming increasingly solemn.

Although the Canton Fair is very lively and has been held for many sessions, ordinary people still remain wary of foreigners.

In the corner, a few workers were whispering to each other. Someone muttered, "How can they just let foreigners in? Aren't there designated reception areas for foreigners attending the Canton Fair?"

Robert seemed oblivious to the change in atmosphere and enthusiastically greeted his companions, "The shrimp dumplings and rice rolls here are very popular. Their fried taro balls are also very pretty!"

The other foreigners also gathered around and looked at the dim sum in the steamer from left to right.

Such behavior obviously seriously affected the mood of Jiang Haitang and others while eating.

Lu Liangchen's face became increasingly gloomy, but because the other party was a foreigner, he couldn't say anything.

Jiang Haitang felt even more psychologically uncomfortable.

Have their manners been eaten by dogs?

But there were two foreigners who were very rude in their words. One of them was a young man in his twenties, who kept saying that these snacks did not look as delicious as the cakes they usually ate.

Yes, Jiang Haitang can understand English. She is not good at speaking, but she has no big problem with writing and listening.

These were skills she learned in her previous life, but she was too self-conscious at the time to speak out, which resulted in poor oral English.

Jiang Haitang originally didn't intend to say much, but the two foreigners who were commenting on the matter obviously thought that the people here didn't understand English, and they became more and more presumptuous.

Later on, it even included some insulting language.

Robert just listened quietly with a smile on his face, and had no intention of refutating what the foreigner said.

A foreigner did advise, "Leonard, this is China. Don't go too far. If they hear you, you'll be in trouble."

"So what if this is China? How can lowly yellow people compare with us noble white people?"

"They don't understand our noble language at all. Even if they could, they would still ask us to buy things. We are their gods!"

The young man looked at people with disdain, and it was obvious that he did not take the other people present seriously. He even said several insulting words in a provocative manner.

Jiang Haitang finally couldn't bear it anymore, she clenched her fists and stood up.

"Mr. Leonard, if you don't like the dim sum here, you can go to the designated reception restaurant for Western food. There's no need to disparage our Chinese cuisine."

"You should know that when our Chinese ancestors were enjoying delicious food, your ancestors were still eating raw meat and drinking blood. So, you are not much nobler than us."

"Also, in China, disturbing others while they are dining is extremely rude. Please do not disturb other guests."

Jiang Haitang spoke very seriously in not very fluent English.

At this moment, Jiang Haitang's face was full of determination.

Several foreigners, including Robert, obviously did not expect that anyone here could speak English.

Moreover, he had the courage to refute Leonard's words.

After all, they come to the Canton Fair every year, and the Chinese people treat them like gods and dare not say a harsh word to them.

"You lowly Oriental woman, how dare you contradict me? Aren't you afraid that I won't buy your stuff?"

"Mr. Leonard, there's a saying in China: 'When friends come, we offer wine; when jackals come, we welcome them with hunting rifles.'"

"We welcome foreign friends to the Canton Fair and engage in friendly trade with us. But if Mr. Leonard insults China like this, I believe no Chinese would allow it."

"Can you take responsibility for breaking the deal?"

Leonard's face instantly turned the color of liver, and he kicked over the chair angrily.

The old wooden chair legs made a harsh scraping sound on the bluestone floor, which was extremely harsh.

The diners around all put down their bowls and chopsticks. The old man wearing glasses at the next table pushed his glasses frame, and an old lady clenched her bamboo spoon. The air seemed to freeze into ice at this moment.

"Do you know who you're talking to?"

Leonard loosened his tie and approached Jiang Haitang, the scent of cologne mixed with whiskey hitting her face.

Obviously, Leonard had been drinking and might have been half drunk.

It was difficult to explain to such a person, and Jiang Haitang was worried that today's trouble would get worse.

But even if she had to do it all over again, she would still stand up to defend the dignity of her country.

"I'm here on behalf of the largest department store in the United States! We signed a three million dollar order at the Canton Fair last year. Your governors have to smile at me!"

Leonard was almost certain that no one would dare to offend him, his biggest customer.

"However, Chinese woman, if you can sleep with me, I will forgive you this time." Leonard showed a lewd expression on his face.

Lu Liangchen didn't understand what Leonard said, but he could understand people's expressions.

Leonard's face showed a lewd and lascivious expression, and Jiang Haitang's expression suddenly changed. He roughly guessed what Leonard had said.

He clenched his fists and stood in front of Jiang Haitang. "Sir, we will not do business with anyone who disrespects our people, especially our women. I believe even our governor would say the same thing. If you continue to show off your power, we will call the police."

After saying this, he looked at Robert and said, "Translate this to him."

Although Robert is Chinese, he has been abroad for many years and does not have a strong sense of identity with his motherland.

When Leonard said those insulting words, he did not stop or object, and even maintained his usual smile.

But suddenly a little girl bravely stood up to refute Leonard's words. He was shocked and ashamed.

When Lu Liangchen asked him to translate in a serious tone, he saw murderous intent in Lu Liangchen.

Although he didn't know the man's identity, he felt that this man should not be provoked, and he was enveloped by fear for a moment.

He hurriedly grabbed Leonard's arm: "Enough! We are here to discuss business..."

"Business?" Leonard shook off his hand and slammed the table. "If Huaguo still wants to do business with me, this woman must kneel down and lick my shoes and sleep with me, otherwise I won't do business with her."

Leonard was fearless. He looked at Jiang Haitang provocatively with an expression that showed he was determined to win.

He must let this Chinese woman know that noble merchants cannot be offended. He believes that China's leaders will also compromise for the sake of US dollars.

Jiang Haitang felt her heart throbbing as the scene of workers sweating profusely as they set up the Canton Fair exhibition hall appeared before her eyes. She couldn't become the sinner who disrupted the Canton Fair's transactions, but she couldn't pretend not to hear her friend's insults against China either.

"The dignity of our Chinese nation cannot be violated! I can take responsibility!" Jiang Haitang finally said in a resounding voice.

Suddenly, there was a loud "clang" from the kitchen, and a chef wearing a white hat rushed out holding a rolling pin.

Behind him, there was a group of young men and women.

These people surrounded Jiang Haitang, looking like they were ready to fight at any time.

"Damn it, you bully people right to their doorstep?"

"Girl, we heard what he said. Don't be afraid. We won't let you be bullied."

A young man spoke to Jiang Haitang in not very standard Mandarin.

Leonard's companions began to whisper to each other. It was all Leonard's fault, but they were distinguished guests. Did these Chinese people want to fight?

Robert was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. He began to regret why he brought these people here.

If this matter gets out of hand, he won't be able to bear the responsibility.

"I'm going to complain to your Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation!" Lundner continued to shout.

Seeing so many people staring at him covetously, he felt a little scared. With his face flushed, he took a half step back, but knocked over the tea table behind him.

Jiang Haitang suddenly calmed down at the sound of the bowl breaking.

"Mr. Leonard, your company purchased $3 million worth of products from China last year. I believe that your company must have made a profit by coming this year. After all, Chinese products are of high quality and low price."

"If you choose not to purchase Chinese products this year, I believe other companies will."

Leonard's expression changed again and again as he listened to Jiang Haitang's words. What this Chinese woman said was the truth.

The goods purchased from China last year made the company more than ten times the profit, so this year he came with a larger order.

Moreover, because their company made a lot of money last year, the other two department stores also came to participate in the Canton Fair this time. It is said that they will also purchase a large number of Chinese products this time.

He can look down on people from China, but he cannot look down on his own company.

If he damages the business due to his personal reasons, he will be fired by his boss and will probably have difficulty finding a job in the future.

Leonard's expression kept changing, and Robert's expression also looked bad. He grabbed Leonard's arm.