Chapter 105 A mother who's too biased worries too much; her son is just too easily defeated…
Aunt Liu's vineyard covers thousands of acres, and during the harvest season, she simply cannot manage it all by herself.
Chen Mian and her family have been there for four or five days and have already joined the "management team".
Each person is responsible for the work statistics and scheduling of a small team.
Liu Qiaofeng was straightforward and easygoing, and she was about the same age as Yan Yuhua. They got along quite well after spending a few days together.
"Sister, let me tell you, if a mother worries too much, her son is likely to be a coward."
Liu Qiaofeng held onto Yan Yuhua's hand tightly, saying, "My son is fine with doing chores, but if you ask him to take charge of anything, he's incompetent at everything."
The daughter is a workshop director at a cotton factory in the city, which makes her more successful than her son.
But I've never been very close to her, and I blame her for being biased.
Liu Qiaofeng was aware of her own shortcomings. Her husband died young, and she was left to raise two children alone, earning money and supporting her family. She couldn't possibly have time for anything else.
Daughters will eventually marry, but sons are the husband's only bloodline.
Liu Qiaofeng said helplessly, "Plus, my son is a disappointment, so I inevitably have to take extra care of him. Sister, your family is in a similar situation, you should understand me, right?"
Yan Yuhua just smiled and didn't reply, continuing with her work.
She couldn't understand it at all; if you're sexist, just say so, why make excuses?
However, Liu Qiaofeng cannot be entirely blamed; she was also a woman with a tragic fate.
Thinking this, Yan Yuhua took the initiative to comfort her, "Don't worry too much, sister. In a few years, they will understand your good intentions."
That makes sense.
As the two were talking, Liu Qiaofeng's son walked over with a middle-aged man.
"Mom, Brother Jia is here again."
The man had deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, a long beard, hair wrapped in a white cloth, and wore a royal blue robe.
He doesn't look like a local; his skin is darker than most people's.
As soon as he opened his mouth, it was indeed punctuated with tildes.
Jalal, in his broken Mandarin, once again tried to persuade Liu Qiaofeng.
"Wind, your grapes are sweet, your wine is good, and I'm rich!"
Yan Yuhua couldn't quite understand what the man was saying, so she asked curiously, "His surname is Jia? What dialect is he speaking?"
Liu Qiaofeng explained, "This is a foreigner who has been pestering me to do business with him ever since he drank my wine."
"I'm just a grape farmer. The wine I make is only enough for my own family to drink. How could I possibly have any extra to sell?"
Liu Qiaofeng's son also had a bitter face. "It's all my fault for being so talkative. I drank too much with my friends at the tavern that day and bragged that my mother's wine is the best in the world."
This guy happened to be in the tavern too, and he overheard me and started bothering me.
Liu Qiaofeng said irritably, "Can you even understand what I'm saying? People who run the brewing business all have their own factories at home. You should go to them."
I'm just a grape grower; I don't sell wine.
Jalal persisted: "Your wine is delicious~ I can help you build a factory~"
"I told you I'm too lazy to bother with all this, go find someone else..."
After Liu Qiaofeng finished speaking, she glared at her son and said, "Get him out of here right now, he's so annoying."
Chen Mian came to visit her grandmother at home for dinner and happened to witness this scene.
She stepped forward and comforted her, "Auntie, please don't be angry. This person probably doesn't speak Chinese well and can't understand what you're saying."
“I happen to have a friend who owns a factory. I can help you get rid of him.”
When Liu Qiaofeng saw Chen Mian arrive, she breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Then thank you in advance, Mian. You are very capable and know many friends."
Chen Mian and her grandmother exchanged a glance, and Yan Yuhua understood what she meant. She then carefully inquired about the whole story from Liu Qiaofeng.
Chen Mian led Jalal toward the edge of the farm, asking him about his situation along the way using simple English words and gestures.
Only then did I learn that Jalal was a wine merchant from Uzbekistan.
He came to Xinjiang to buy fine wines and sell them to Middle Eastern countries.
He was very satisfied with the wine made by Liu Qiaofeng.
"If it tastes good, you can make money; cider is fine too."
Chen Mian understood what Jalal meant. Merchants are profit-driven. Although he came for the red wine, good fruit wine could also bring him good profits.
That's exactly what she saw in Jalal; she wanted to do more than just the wine business.
Chen Mian smiled and offered the bait: "I have a large peach orchard at home, and we just made a batch of peach wine this year..."
Jalal's eyes lit up, and he pressed on, "Are these copycat wines just as good?"
“I think it’s great.” Chen Mian didn’t mince words with the foreigners, who couldn’t understand her roundabout way of speaking.
"Let's hurry up and go, Mian!"
"Wait here for me for a few minutes, I'll go and call my grandma to go home together."
The Chen family's dinner tonight was exceptionally lively.
Everyone stared curiously at the only foreigner on the table.
"I see foreigners on TV with blond hair and white beards, how come he has a black beard and no hair?" He Maimiao asked curiously.
"And he can even speak Chinese."
Lin Junhui smiled smugly: "I never thought I'd meet a foreigner in my lifetime."
"Look at you, so useless!" Lin Shanhu complained about his son, but he himself was also quite fond of Jalal.
Lin Shanhu: "Xiao Jia, how long have you been in China?"
“I’ve been in China for two years, Uncle,” Jalal replied, word by word, to show his respect for his elder.
He felt that as long as he spoke slowly enough, others would be able to understand him.
"Oh, so you take your father's surname, Jia?" Lin Shanhu asked.
Jalal's deep eyes were full of doubt, clearly indicating that he did not understand the question.
Chen Mian explained, "Grandpa, Jalal is his translated name; his surname is Muhammad."
"Oh, I see. That name is way too long."
To entertain the guests who had come from afar, Yan Yuhua personally cooked several hearty dishes.
Braised pork knuckle with rock sugar, stewed pork ribs with sauerkraut and vermicelli, braised pork belly, and braised chicken with noodles.
Worried that he wouldn't like the food, I also prepared several Chinese salads, including cucumber salad and eggplant salad.
Of course, there's also the star of today's gathering: peach wine.
As early as when Chen Mian took Jalal to visit the peach orchard, Yan Yuhua was whispering to her daughter in the kitchen.
"Do you think this person might have been secretly hired by your dad so that he can drink openly in the future?"
Lin Huijun chuckled helplessly, "Mom, how could you think like that? That's too outrageous."
Yan Yuhua said with a serious face: "Don't you think this is very strange? I don't allow your dad to drink alcohol, but Mianmian secretly gave him peach wine behind my back."
"This is the first person to come today, saying they want to collaborate on brewing wine. Will your dad be able to resist his cravings in the future?"
"He's definitely sleeping at the winery," Yan Yuhua concluded, then turned back to chopping vegetables.
Lin Huijun stood there, feeling both annoyed and amused.
It's said that as parents get older, they become like playful old children, and her parents seem to be competing with each other.
As soon as the peach wine, which had been fermenting for half a year, was opened, Jalal smelled a refreshing fruity aroma.
The sweet fruity aroma perfectly balances the coldness of the baijiu, leaving a lingering aftertaste, and it won't cause a headache even if you drink a lot.
Jalal was also very satisfied with Chen Mian's peach wine.
"Dear Cotton, do you sell your peach wine?"
He was warmly invited by Chen Mian to visit her home and enjoyed so many delicious Chinese dishes, which made him very confident.
Chen Mian: "Not for sale."
Jalal's smile froze on his face. "You say no?"
Chen Mian nodded.
She knew, of course, that her peach wine was delicious, but wine made from peaches was best kept for her family to enjoy; mass production would be too costly.
Jalal lowered his eyes, feeling like he had been tricked.
He politely thanked the Chen family for their hospitality and got up to leave.
Chen Mian calmly took out a list and handed it to the other party, on which a string of names in both Chinese and English were handwritten.
These are the items she just compiled by referring to an English-Chinese dictionary. They include food items such as goji berries, walnuts, and cantaloupe, as well as daily necessities such as cotton and fabric.
Chen Mian: "Mr. Jalal, Xinjiang has more than just grapes and wine."
"What business is it if it can make money?"
Jalal looked at the list in his hand and fell into deep thought.
A few minutes later, he asked, "Do you have all of these things?"
Chen Mian breathed a sigh of relief; she knew she had succeeded.
As long as you pique the other party's interest, you won't have to worry about making a sale.
Chen Mian continued, "I don't produce these, but I have excellent channels that can help you acquire these items."
"Whether you want cotton, goji berries, or even Aunt Liu's wine, or my peach wine, I can get it for you."
Jalal: "What are your conditions?"
“My condition is that we cooperate and open a foreign trade company. I will be responsible for purchasing and processing local specialties in Xinjiang, and you will be responsible for selling them abroad,” Chen Mian said bluntly.
Seeing that Jalal remained silent, Chen Mian continued to increase her stakes: "My partner owns a sauce processing plant."
I can persuade Aunt Liu to sell me her winemaking recipe and provide us with the raw materials.
"The reason I won't sell you my peach wine is because the cost is too high and it's not worthwhile. If you need it, I can grow a batch of ordinary peaches that are cheaper to make wine."
Jalal summarized: "You mean, you help me buy what I want, and then I'll help you sell your stuff abroad?"
“This is called a win-win situation. You win, I win.” Chen Mian stood up and extended her right hand, looking relaxed.
Jalal lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then glanced at the form in his hand again, gritted his teeth, and grasped Chen Mian's right hand. "OK!"
He has been in the wine business for many years, but he has indeed encountered a bottleneck in the past two years, otherwise he would not have come to Xinjiang specifically to find new sources of goods.
Although Chen Mian had never sold these things before, he had a feeling that this deal would work.
With the collaboration finalized, the Chen family members at the dinner table finally dared to speak up.
Everyone continued to enthusiastically invite Jalal to drink and eat.
Lin Shanhu also took the opportunity to smuggle in his own goods, using the pretext of entertaining guests to drink several glasses of peach wine with them.
Yan Yuhua and Lin Huijun were really good cooks. Jalal ate until his belly was round, and his big black beard was covered with soup.
Having learned from his previous rejections, he cautiously probed, "Could I invite these two beautiful ladies to open a restaurant abroad?"
"Your food is so delicious, you'd definitely make a lot of money abroad!"
Lin Shanhu and Chen Yongliang, their faces darkening, exclaimed, "No way!"
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Author's Note: Please ignore the awkward English in the text; it's mainly to show that the female lead's English isn't good. But she dares to say that she will specifically learn English in the future to earn money.
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