137 old colleagues
Guan Yuehe was even more surprised than Wang Zheng, "Our factory's order is in there too?"
"Yes! It's a German order, and we're short of translators everywhere. There aren't many people who understand German... This is the first day of the third phase, and if we close this deal, it'll be a great start."
"Okay, I'll go in first. Sister Wang Zheng, wait for my good news!"
Wang Zheng, who remained outside the negotiation room, laughed. He was still the same energetic and spirited Comrade Guan.
"Is there good news?" Section Chief Long hadn't received any news about the signed contract yet, and seeing Wang Zheng smiling here, he immediately thought that there might be good news.
Wang Zheng replied, "Our Section Chief Guan is here to help with the negotiations. You just wait and call the factory manager over to sign."
When Section Chief Long heard the title "Section Chief Guan," he almost forgot where this new Section Chief Guan had come from in the factory. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and said with a smile, "I'll wait here. I'll go and call the factory manager as soon as I get any news."
Wang Zheng said, "Then I'll head back to my booth. That lady from this morning might come back..."
Section Chief Long waited outside for more than half an hour, wondering what was going on, when their factory's salesman opened the door and excitedly exclaimed, "This order is done! It just needs the factory manager's signature!"
"I'll go call her!" Section Chief Long quickly turned his legs and headed straight for the booth to find the factory manager.
In the negotiation room, the German businessman was discussing the current foreign investment policies with Guan Yuehe, and they were not in a hurry to sign a contract immediately.
During the contract negotiations, he assumed the translator was from the Zhuoyue Garment Factory and didn't need to ask the salesperson next to him, who didn't understand foreign languages, to confirm the situation.
After the discussion, he casually asked about Beijing's investment policies. He was surprised that the translator knew so much about them. More importantly, they could communicate directly without worrying about miscommunication.
As soon as the door to the negotiation room opened, Guan Yuehe introduced, "This is Zheng Xingmin, the factory director of our Zhuoyue Garment Factory."
"Factory Manager." Guan Yuehe raised an eyebrow at Factory Manager Zheng with a smug look, showing off that she had just signed a big order.
Factory Director Zheng smiled at her, saying there was no need for formalities among family, and that he was busy signing contracts with the foreign businessmen first.
The signing of the subsequent contract was a natural consequence.
After seeing the foreign businessmen off, Director Zheng finally had a chance to greet her, saying, "I didn't see you the other day, and I thought you weren't coming this time."
On the train from Beijing, Section Chief Long joked, "It would be great if our factory's translator, Section Chief Guan, were here too."
But when they came to set up the exhibition a couple of days ago, they didn't see Guan Yuehe at all. Guan Yuehe's name wasn't on the list of staff members of the organizing committee either, so they thought she probably didn't come.
Unexpectedly, we still ran into each other.
"I went on a business trip to Shanghai a few days ago," Guan Yuehe said, effortlessly offering her sweet words. "I just arrived in Guangzhou this morning. I knew our factory would have a lot of orders, so I rushed over to help. I really landed a big order!"
Factory Director Zheng chuckled; Comrade Xiao Guan certainly had a sweet tongue.
Seeing that other factories were bringing foreign businessmen to sign contracts, Factory Manager Zheng patted her arm and said, "You go ahead and do your work. We'll talk again tonight when you have time."
I also asked Guan Yuehe which guesthouse she was staying at.
As soon as she saw Director Zheng off, Guan Yuehe smiled at his departing figure.
If you round it up, she could be considered to have helped the factory manager promote the Zhuoyue brand internationally and extract foreign exchange from foreigners!
Guan Yuehe took a few deep breaths outside the negotiation room to calm herself. After half a minute, she went back into the negotiation room to continue working.
Around 6 p.m., Guan Yuehe saw the foreign businessmen out of the negotiation room. The Beijing Daily Chemical Factory's exhibition group was waiting. Seeing that the translators, salespersons, and foreign businessmen all had smiles on their faces, they knew that the deal had been signed.
The foreign businessmen had barely left when the people from the Beijing Daily Chemical Factory received the contract. After tallying up the contract amount, the group cheered.
Although the cheers weren't for the Zhuoyue Garment Factory, Guan Yuehe had also worked in a state-owned factory and could particularly understand their excitement.
She had imagined many times that when she graduated and returned, and when Zhuoyue Garment Factory had set up a booth at the Canton Fair, she would wear her Zhuoyue Garment Factory work badge and work hard with her old colleagues to close deals...
Just as I was reflecting on this, someone came over to remind me, "Director Guan, there's a meeting at the guesthouse conference room at 7 p.m. tonight."
"good."
When we came out of the exhibition hall, the sky was filled with colorful clouds.
One of the comrades who walked by said, "The sunset is beautiful tonight; our factory is sure to have a new breakthrough tomorrow!"
As Guan Yuehe walked, she would occasionally look up to admire the sunset. Her colleague beside her could tell from her expression that she was in a good mood. "I heard that we signed several big deals with Germany today."
"Really? That's great!"
She also contributed to the signing of these large orders.
I'm so happy.
The organizing committee actually brought in quite a few translators from various places, but with so many booths in the venue, it was impossible to assign a translator to each factory. If some foreign businesses had hired translators, that was better; at least they had someone to relay their messages. But if neither the factory nor the foreign business had a translator, they had to rely on gestures.
Some translators also fail to communicate effectively when transmitting audio, so when it comes time to sign a contract, they still have to negotiate the order quantity, price, and contract terms with the foreign business owner bit by bit.
There are few translators who understand German. Guan Yuehe didn't even have time to go to the toilet all afternoon. Before she could finish talking to one person, someone else was already waiting outside to come in and talk.
One of her colleagues in the office upstairs was fluent in French and seemed to have stayed in the negotiation room all afternoon.
Just as we arrived at the guesthouse where the organizing committee was staying, my colleague, who was fluent in French, hurried in and went straight to the first-floor restroom.
Guan Yuehe's stomach also began to protest.
Guan Yuehe had just gotten her food and was looking for a seat when the deputy minister leading the team walked in and stopped the others from standing up to greet her, saying, "Hurry up and eat. There's a meeting upstairs in the conference room at seven."
Guan Yuehe glanced at her watch; it was already 6:45. She found a seat nearby and sat down.
The colleague sitting opposite her was half full and wanted to ask her a question, but when he looked up, he saw that Director Guan was focused on eating and quickly finished a large plate of food.
Before her colleague could speak, Guan Yuehe had already taken her plate to the food window, ordered half a portion, and continued eating.
colleague:"……"
Guan Chu can really eat! No wonder he's so energetic despite working non-stop.
Guan Yuehe came to the Canton Fair mainly to help with translation and negotiation. But after finishing her work at the venue each day, she would return to the guesthouse and continue with meetings and debriefing sessions, leaving her with almost no free time.
She only had free time in the evenings as the exhibition drew to a close.
She also had a stack of foreign exchange certificates in her bag, and she didn't know when she could buy black soda.
Thinking of this, she remembered the camera in her bag.
Before she left, Lin Yiku reminded her not to forget to take some photos as souvenirs. There were already photos of her attending the Canton Fair in 1974 and 1977 at home, and she needed to have photos taken for each of her future trips.
I had just finished writing my work summary for the day when my roommate came back and reminded me, "Comrade Yuehe, someone's looking for you downstairs. They're from the Zhuoyue Garment Factory. Do you know them?"
She is also from Beijing, and her brand of sportswear and sneakers has always been popular.
She thought that it was because Comrade Yuehe had secured a big deal for them that she had come to express her gratitude.
Guan Yuehe's eyes lit up. While packing her things, she replied, "I was also a worker at Zhuoyue Garment Factory before I joined the Foreign Trade Department. I'm going to see my old colleague, Hongyun. I'll be back later."
Comrade Hongyun was surprised. She had no idea that Comrade Yuehe and the Zhuoyue Garment Factory had this connection!
No wonder he rushed to see his old colleague.
—
"Comrade Guan Yuehe is here," Wang Zheng reminded the others.
A dozen or so people looked up at the stairs, and Guan Yuehe waved to greet them before she even got close.
"I was thinking of going to the guesthouse where you're staying tomorrow night to find someone, but you came over tonight!" Guan Yuehe said with a look of surprise and delight.
"What does this mean? It means we're on the same wavelength!" Section Chief Long joked.
"Haha, that makes sense!"
"Stop laughing, come on, come on, the factory manager has ordered a table full of food, just waiting for you to celebrate together."
Guan Yuehe was pushed forward by Wang Zheng, and she did not forget to turn around and call for the factory director to catch up.
Zheng Xingmin watched everyone cheering and laughing with a smile, feeling quite cheerful.
Including Guan Yuehe, there were a total of fourteen people. It was a bit crowded to sit at one table, but no one suggested splitting up to two tables.
Congratulations to Zhuoyue Garment Factory on its outstanding achievements at this year's Canton Fair!
"No, no, it's that we achieved excellent results on our first participation in the Canton Fair! Our factory ranked second in the garment category in terms of transaction volume. We must keep up the good work next year and take first place!"
"The factory manager would also like to say a few words!"
Zheng Xingmin held up his glass, thought for a while, and finally smiled and said, "Everyone is saying exactly what I meant!"
Guan Yuehe laughed and immediately praised, "Our factory director is a man of action, he doesn't like to talk nonsense."
We're continuing our exhibition tomorrow, so we didn't order any alcohol.
But looking at her flushed old colleagues, Guan Yuehe thought they were all drunk from drinking soda.
Just like her father, she blushes after taking a small sip and then starts reminiscing about the past.
"Back then, we didn't even have a factory name. Our factory manager was a women's federation worker from Changhu Subdistrict Office, and she led eight temporary workers."
"Later, when they were building the factory, there were eight permanent employees and twelve temporary workers. Yes, our little Guan came in around that time, working under my mentor, Master Qin, who operated the sewing machine. He was always the first to arrive and the last to leave, and he didn't talk much..."
Wang Zheng didn't believe him. "Old Wang, are you drunk? Are you talking about Comrade Xiao Guan?"
Comrade Old Wang frowned, pointed at Guan Yuehe, and said, "Comrade Guan, tell me, am I right?"
Guan Yuehe was holding a chicken leg when her name was called, and she nodded.
However, the actual situation is somewhat different.
"Sigh! Back then, I thought that if I performed well, there would be a spot for permanent employees in the factory." As a result, after she became a permanent employee, she would arrive and leave work on time every day and rush to the canteen every day.
Back then, all I could think about when I opened my eyes was food.
"So you're all happy now that you've been promoted, huh? You're the number one freeloader," Old Wang joked.
The others burst into laughter.
—
The people from Zhuoyue Garment Factory escorted Guan Yuehe to the entrance of the guesthouse before saying goodbye.
"Comrade Xiao Guan, see you back in Beijing!"
Guan Yuehe nodded repeatedly and agreed.
The guesthouse staff called out to Guan Yuehe, who was about to go upstairs, and gestured with her chin towards the door, "Comrade Guan, are those all your friends?"
"yes!"
The waiter understood. "No wonder! They came over every night a few days ago to ask if you had a meeting. I said I was passing on a message for you, but they wouldn't let me say it..."
Guan Yuehe blinked, her eyes feeling warm.
She actually had a lot to say tonight.
I wanted to say that she was able to go from being a junior comrade to the current Director Guan, and that she should thank Zhuoyue Garment Factory, Director Zheng, and every colleague who had helped her. But while chatting and laughing with everyone, I couldn't find the right moment to say these sentimental words.
There was a fleeting opportunity when everyone egged her on to say a few words.
Just as she was about to speak, Director Zheng looked at her with a beaming smile, patted her on the shoulder, and suddenly said, "Our Comrade Guan is like a child of our Zhuoyue Garment Factory. We are all happy to see you doing better and better. We hope our Comrade Guan will continue to work hard!"
"Absolutely! Our Comrade Guan is always referred to as Director Guan outside!"
"Haha!" Guan Yuehe laughed and raised her hand to signal everyone to keep a low profile; she wasn't really good at being praised.
After Director Zheng finished speaking, she felt that she couldn't say what she wanted to say for the time being.
She will continue to improve, and the Zhuoyue Garment Factory will get better and better.
She felt that there would be a more appropriate time in the future to express her gratitude.
—
After a last-minute, specially arranged gathering, Comrade Xiao Guan, full of renewed energy, headed straight to the negotiation room and secured several deals in a row.
"Yuehe! I knew it was you!"
Author's Note: [Covering face and peeking] I should be able to go home tomorrow night.
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