Xu Shuai wanted to see what was written in the letter, so he told Xing Baohua to hurry up and get the money.

The municipal machinery factory invited all the leaders and foreign guests to the main canteen for a welcome reception.

The provincial leaders, the city's main leaders, and the leaders of the bureaus all gave speeches in turn, with the factory director of the machinery plant giving the final speech. The timing was also very precise, right around lunchtime.

They can serve the food directly without even moving the place.

The three foreign guests who came to repair the equipment were accompanied by a female translator from the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, who also translated the leader's speech.

The content of the leader's speech is really difficult for the accompanying interpreter. Many words are not easy to translate, and if you force a translation, the meaning will be different.

After the warm reception, the three foreign guests were somewhat numb, and the leaders' speeches left them bewildered. Coupled with these tedious lectures, they were also feeling very stifled, and could only pray that the speeches would end quickly.

“George, I thought coming to work in the Red Country would be a pleasant trip.” The speaker was Petermont, who was in his thirties. He was slightly overweight, with a slightly large belly.

George turned his head and replied, “Petemont, that’s their style. You have to be patient. As long as we get our work done quickly, we’ll have plenty of time to travel around this wonderful country.”

“I think so too,” said another foreign guest, Reeber. Clearly, George was the leader of the three.

Pitmont said impatiently to the female translator, "When will this damn speech end?"

"Sorry, it should be almost over." The female translator replied immediately, then quickly glanced at her watch and said, "It's almost lunchtime. It should be almost over."

“Petermont, don’t rush, be patient. Also, you’re being very rude to this young lady,” George said.

“Damn patience. George, we’re here to fix equipment, not to listen to speeches. I hate these politicians’ speeches, including our own members of Congress,” Pitmont said.

The female translator looked very uncomfortable listening to their conversation.

Originally, this trip involving foreign affairs wasn't her responsibility. The translators in the Foreign Affairs Office had other jobs, and there weren't enough translators, so she was pulled in from the Provincial Foreign Language Institute to fill the gap.

It's obvious that the Foreign Affairs Office didn't take these repairmen seriously.

However, the provincial government issued a document requiring the reception of guests. The local authorities then took it seriously and created this set of reception arrangements.

Actually, there was something else the female translator didn't know: the newly appointed city leader took this opportunity to inspect the city's machinery factory. In essence, two separate matters were combined into one.

Finally, it was time to eat. The meal was served in the standard style, with four dishes and a soup.

A soup with two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a lion's head meatball.

It was a bit awkward for the three foreign guests, as no cutlery was served. Clearly, the factory canteen had never served foreign guests before, and this was a mistake; only chopsticks and porcelain spoons were provided.

The female translator was also a bit troubled, as she had never encountered this situation before. She was also embarrassed to report it to her supervisor.

The three foreign guests looked at each other, but didn't take it seriously, and silently picked up their spoons and started eating.

Reeber, who was slightly younger, picked up the chopsticks and gestured with them, saying mockingly, "I still don't understand how it gets food into its mouth."

“Shut up, I just want to finish eating and rest.” After saying that, Petermont turned to the female translator and said, “Miss, could you please bring a fork and knife for dinner? Even a fork would be fine.”

"I'm sorry, I'll have them prepare it in a bit," the female translator replied.

Petermon pointed at the lion's head and said, "Can you tell me how to cut this meatball?"

“You can use a spoon, like this.” The female translator picked up her spoon, scooped out the meatballs, and taught them how to eat them.

The female translator didn't know how to translate "lion's head," so she could only translate it as "big meatball." If she translated "lion's head" as the actual name, it would become "lion's head" or "lion's head."

The female translator felt a cold sweat break out; this translation job was just too difficult.

What surprised her even more was that the leader came over to offer a toast.

This made her even more nervous, clearly indicating a lack of understanding of social etiquette.

The leader coming over to offer a toast was just a formality; there were photographers present. They took a few photos, finished their drinks, and left.

The female translator also translated the leader's words of blessing, which wasn't too difficult this time.

To everyone's surprise, wave after wave of leaders wanted to show their faces for photos, and toasts came one after another. The three foreigners were also very particular about etiquette, downing each drink one after another. They almost vomited up from the strong liquor, but in this formal setting, they could only grit their teeth and endure it.

If a seasoned official from the Foreign Affairs Office had been there, these three wouldn't have been so drunk they'd passed out.

The factory office staff had no experience, and the translator was even less experienced. They didn't even ask if the foreigners could drink baijiu (Chinese liquor). Even preparing some beer wouldn't have resulted in all three foreigners getting drunk.

Getting drunk is so common; you can just sleep at a guesthouse and it'll be fine.

The factory office called over several employees, two of them helping one person to the guesthouse to rest, and the female translator also hurriedly followed.

Xing Baohua placed the recliner and small round table that Liu Quan had brought by the door, and even set up a parasol. He settled down comfortably, but suddenly felt something was missing.