Chapter 157
Director Yang both admired and amused Xia Juhua's prudence: from the necklace that Tel prepared at the beginning, it is not difficult to infer that the thing in the box was what he actually wanted to give to Xia Juhua. Could the things at that time be cheaper than the necklace?
This item was obviously not cheap, but Xia Juhua handed it over without even looking at it. It was really rare.
He couldn't help but joked with Xia Juhua, "Why don't you take a look at what's inside? It's not too late to regret now." Then he opened the box.
As soon as the box was opened, a dazzling light gathered in the center of the box. It turned out to be a few polished diamonds. Xia Juhua couldn't tell how big the diamonds were. She knew diamonds because in her previous life, when Liu Baoguo got married, his wife bought him a diamond ring.
"It's quite big." Xia Juhua commented. She remembered the diamond on Liu Baoguo's wife's ring, which was about ten cents and cost nearly 10,000 yuan. These diamonds in front of her were so big, she didn't know how much they were worth.
Director Yang knew the value of diamonds, so he thought more about it: "You have to be careful with your attitude in the next negotiation." Director Yang didn't believe that Tel had no ulterior motives in giving such an expensive gift, and he reported the situation to his superiors immediately.
The instruction he received was that whatever gifts he received from Terr, he had to return to him when he returned home. As for the negotiation, according to what Xia Juhua said the night before, she explained to Terr and others the method of redemption, and Xia Juhua was still the main negotiator.
Whether it is possible to make Tell accept the proposal of redemption, instead of angering him and withdrawing from rubber supply to China, and let Roberts succeed Tell to become the only one in the market and control the pricing power of rubber purchases, depends on Xia Juhua's ability. Only when Xia Juhua, the black-faced person, can sing no more, Director Yang can come forward to save the situation.
Teln was able to purchase 50,000 tons of rubber at one time. When others were still keeping their distance from China and Roberts only dared to make arrangements quietly, he announced to the outside world with great fanfare that he would sell rubber to China. Naturally, he was not as emotional, rash and impulsive as he appeared, and he did not make decisions based on his mood.
Just look at the meeting gift he prepared for Xia Juhua, which seemed to be praising first and then demoting, but was actually demoting first and then praising, and you can tell that his success is not achieved just by having resources.
As soon as he saw where Xia Juhua and Director Yang were sitting at the negotiation table, Tel knew who he had to deal with mainly today. He waved at Xia Juhua and asked loudly, "Xia, are you satisfied with the gift I gave you?" He ignored Director Yang who was standing with Xia Juhua.
When they entered the negotiation room, Xia Juhua, Director Yang and others had already stood up. Xia Juhua couldn't help but smile when she heard this question: "Thank you for your gift." Director Yang didn't respond.
Xia Juhua's smile and Director Yang's silence gave Ter great courage. He even stretched out his hand to Xia Juhua: "Then, I wish us a successful negotiation in advance."
Both parties knew that negotiations were about to begin, but Xia Juhua pretended to be confused: "Negotiations, why do we have to negotiate again? Aren't you here to bring the rubber we agreed on at the expo? Now we are sitting here, probably waiting for the cargo ship to dock together."
Tel looked at Director Yang, whom he had ignored, with some surprise: "Yang, I thought..."
Director Yang smiled slightly, his face was completely cold, and he shook his head slowly: "Comrade Xia Juhua came to Yangcheng because in our last contract, you required her to be present when picking up the goods. Tel, I'm also wondering what you mean by negotiation. Is it that there was a problem with the transportation of rubber, or that the price fluctuated after the end of the expo, which made you think we should renegotiate?"
Under the double blow, Tel was dumbfounded: "Xia, Yang, I thought we had a tacit understanding between us."
Xia Juhua shook her head decisively: "We have only met once, and I really don't have much tacit understanding with you. If you don't put forward your ideas clearly, I can't guess what exactly you mean by negotiation."
In a business, whoever starts talking about the substantive issues first has lost half. Whether the other half can be recovered depends on one's ability. Comrade Xia Juhua, who has a lot of experience in buying vegetables in her previous life, did not even respond to Ter's words.
Tel quietly sat down at his seat, quickly regained his smile, and said to Xia Juhua: "Xia, I think I must see you this time. You should be able to guess that I want to see you for more than just a gift."
Xia Juhua was still smiling: "Yes, I was also very surprised. Although our contract does require me to be present when the goods are delivered, I thought you should take my actual situation into consideration and not be too harsh on me in this regard. Who knew..."
Tel glanced at Director Yang helplessly and found that Director Yang had stopped looking at them since Xia Juhua had talked to him. He didn't know whether he thought Xia Juhua was capable enough to handle him, or he was dissatisfied with Xia Juhua and didn't want to see her, or because of his attitude in the past two days, he thought he valued Xia Juhua more and had an opinion of him.
Tel didn't think that Director Yang didn't want to see him - he was a major rubber supplier to China, and no matter which government purchased him, he would be willing to make friends with him. Now Director Yang was so cold to him, it must be because of the last reason.
Thinking of how he was treated in other countries and in order to ease the misunderstanding between him and Director Yang, Ter deliberately said to Xia Juhua with some dissatisfaction: "Xia, I always thought that the Chinese were warm and hospitable, so I was willing to sell rubber to you out of friendship. Who knew that this time, I found that I was the only one who valued our friendship. I have never seen a partner in other countries who is so cold to friends as you are."
Are you trying to use other countries to put pressure on yourself? Xia Juhua didn't buy it. She kept smiling: "Maybe the customs of different countries are different. Since other countries are more friendly partners, I made you feel unhappy, which is really embarrassing."
The last word "sorry" was not taken seriously. Even after the translation, Ter understood that Xia Juhua did not think other countries were a threat. This set off alarm bells in his heart: during the Expo, China needed rubber the most but could not get it, so Director Yang invited him to negotiate again and again after the price negotiation failed.
Now they won’t even admit to negotiating. Why? Because they are more confident. They have found another supplier with a lower price.
The supplier was found by Xia Juhua.
Based on Ter's understanding of China, Xia Juhua completed the work that Director Yang failed to do on the rubber issue, and she will definitely be more valued by their superiors. Director Yang will be criticized by his superiors, and because of the difference in attitude between him and Xia Juhua, Director Yang will not speak for him now.
So the person he had been talking to today was Xia Juhua. Director Yang didn't say a word except to say hello. He didn't immediately change his attitude towards him because of his complaint against Xia Juhua.
Although it was Xia Juhua who talked with Tel at the expo, at that time Xia Juhua would look at Director Yang from time to time to get the next instructions. Now she doesn't look at Director Yang at all before she speaks. It seems that she can make decisions independently.
As Tel kept evaluating the position between Xia Juhua and Director Yang, his attitude changed. The corners of his mouth that had been grinning since he entered the room narrowed, and his eyes became scrutinizing: "Xia, you know I don't mean to compare you with others, I'm just not used to your way of cooperation."
Xia Juhua just nodded, as if ready to listen to his story, which made Ter even more confused. However, he was a mature businessman and would not change his purpose just because of a disagreement: "Although I am not used to your cooperation method, I like your payment method, so I hope to continue to cooperate with you."
If devaluation doesn't achieve the goal, then just brag. In order to make Xia Juhua believe what he said, Tel even sold it badly and exposed his own shortcomings, telling two stories about how he was cheated and ultimately didn't get paid.
Perhaps these two experiences were really tragic, or perhaps women are really soft-hearted, Xia Juhua showed sympathy on her face: "It's not easy for you to do business."
"Yes," Tel said quickly, "So I don't want to go through that experience again. This time I came to China, I want to continue to cooperate with you."
Xia Juhua was a little embarrassed: "But we already have enough rubber this year. Starting next year, we will also be able to produce rubber in our own rubber plantation."
When she mentioned China's rubber plantations, Ter's disdainful expression reappeared: "No, Xia, I think you have some misunderstandings about rubber production. It is not the case that the rubber plantations in your country that have just been harvested can supply such a huge market in China. Please believe me, if I don't buy rubber for you in Africa, your factories will still lack raw materials."
Xia Juhua did not deny this. She said, "Even if I must buy rubber, I have other ways to get it at a much lower price than you sell it to me. Why should I buy yours instead of the cheaper one? I have already compared them. The quality of the rubber you bring is the same."
Terr paused for a moment, and looked at Xia Juhua with a more scrutinizing look in his eyes: "Xia, I know the other channels you mentioned are Roberts. I admit that the quality of the rubber we both have is similar. But I can tell you responsibly that I have many more supply channels than he does, and he can only get the rubber by paying a higher price than me."
"But the price he sold it to me was much lower than yours." Xia Juhua pointed out this fact bluntly, leaving Tel speechless for a moment.
談判就是這樣，大家明明都知道目的是什麽，卻都在外圍迂回，誰也不先碰觸實質性的東西。現在夏菊花已經拿價格說事，就是要進入實質性階段，特爾要想好了再回答。
他今天是來尋求長期合作，不能一開始就被夏菊花在氣勢上壓倒，想了想後，特爾攤了攤手：“看來我們很難再合作了。”
夏菊花微笑：“看起來是這樣，你又要經歷可能收不到貨款的噩夢了。”
一句話讓特爾的臉上笑容完全消失：“難道你不因此同情我，反而嘲笑我嗎？”
夏菊花用十分同情的眼神看他：“我當然同情你，可我們只是有過一次合作的生意夥伴，我的同情還不足以讓我出讓國家的利益。除非你能拿出讓我們國家受益的誠意，我的同情才能讓你遠離噩夢。”
“如果，我是說如果，我們要長期合作的話，你是不是就不再與羅伯斯合作呢？你知道的，夏，非洲的橡膠産量每年只有那麽多，不止我與羅伯斯收購，其他人也在收購。收購的人多了，橡膠的價格就得提高，與其這樣，還不如讓羅伯斯以後不能參與收購橡膠。少了一個收購大戶，我的成本可以降下來，賣給華國的價格自然就會低很多。”
這麽紅果果的排擠生意對手的話，特爾說得面不紅心不跳，夏菊花卻替他臉紅：“現在羅伯斯賣給我的價格就比你低得多，我為啥不讓他繼續收購？”
特爾狡黠的一笑：“我可以用他一樣的價格，把橡膠賣給你。”
夏菊花不為所動：“可是他已經用比你更便宜的價格，賣給我四萬噸橡膠，只比你少了一萬噸，我相信用不了多久，那一萬噸的差額他就能補齊。”
如此直白的當着特爾的面，擡高羅伯斯，如果是一位談判高手的話是不會采用的，甚至讓特爾心裏對夏菊花的定位又拉低了一點。
可是夏菊花說的卻是實情，特爾不能不回答這個問題：“夏，為了展示我的誠意，我甚至可以把這一次交貨的橡膠，就按羅伯斯的價格給你。只要你答應從此以後只購買我的橡膠。”
夏菊花頭一次看向了楊司長，随着她目光一起轉向楊司長的，還有特爾。他的目光裏有着明顯的歉意，似乎是在向楊司長表明自己如此捧着夏菊花，是不得已而為之。
雖然在他的不得已而為之後，按一般情況來說，楊司長的處境會比之前更加艱難。
博覽會上明明給出支票的是楊司長，特爾竟然還當着他的面主動說出降價，眼神再歉意有什麽用？楊司長不屑的別開眼睛，不與特爾對視，反而堅定了特爾心裏，關于夏菊花話語權更高的判斷。
哪怕發現了夏菊花最後關頭看向楊司長，特爾還是繼續游說她：“我自己就有一個大橡膠園，産量每年可以達到一萬五千噸，所以我只要再收購三萬五千噸。可是羅伯斯沒有橡膠，他得全部收購。所以長期來看，他的成本肯定會高于我。”
“一個暫時價格低的生意夥伴，還是一位長期保持低價的生意夥伴，夏，我想你應該知道怎樣選擇。”特爾全然一副替夏菊花着想的模樣。
遺憾的是，夏菊花再一次看向楊司長，也不知道她在楊司長眼中看到了什麽，得到了什麽樣的暗示，對特爾的游說竟毫不動心：“我與你只合作了一次，包括腰果在內，與羅伯斯合作了三次，他出的價格一次比一次低，你也能做到嗎？”
特爾被問得猝不及防：“夏，你應該知道，大宗物資的價格不是憑想象定的，要随着全世界貿易市場的價格波動。”
“如果羅伯斯退出收購橡膠，那波動不都由你說了算嗎？”夏菊花似笑非笑的看着特爾：“你剛才也說了，特爾。只有與華國做生意，你才能在貨物沒有瑕疵的情況下，拿到全部貨款。哪怕是價格低了一些，可你還是賺錢的。”
“而我呢，萬一聽你的話，不再購買羅伯斯的橡膠，你忽然把價格提上去，華國的橡膠制造業咋辦？”到最後，夏菊花的表情已經嚴肅起來了。
特爾沒想到夏菊花把問題說得這麽直白，連忙向她保證，哪怕羅伯斯退出供貨競争，他也不會随意漲價，只有國際市場橡膠價格上漲的時候，他才會提出漲價的要求。
夏菊花卻不同意他的觀點，畢竟她只是一個農村婦女，平時關心最多的就是自己眼前的一畝三分地，對于外面世界大宗商品的價格，如果沒人特意提醒，她都不會注意，那還不是特爾說漲就漲說跌……估計特爾永遠不會說橡膠價格會跌。
特爾很想問一問楊司長，既然夏菊花只是一個農村婦女，為啥華國還讓她擁有采購橡膠的話語權？你老老實實種好自己的一畝三分地不更好嗎？
可惜楊司長一直陰沉着臉，眼睑低垂看着面前的桌子，特爾怎麽看他都沒有反應，讓特爾十分後悔自己的态度，心裏不自覺想讨好一下楊司長。
偏偏現在夏菊花還在，不是向楊司長示好的時候，特爾只還要面對夏菊花：“如果你這麽擔心的話，我可以考慮送給你一臺電視機，這樣你就可以及時了解大宗商品的行情了。”
夏菊花覺得特爾在跟她開玩笑：“華國的電視節目很少，裏頭沒有關于大宗商品的內容。”
特爾沒法子了：“那麽你覺得怎麽辦好？如果你相信羅伯斯的低價，難道就不怕他會跟你擔心我一樣，讓我的公司破産之後，也随意擡高橡膠的售價嗎？”幹嘛只擔心我一個人，就不擔心羅伯斯呢，他同樣是一個商人。
夏菊花再次微笑：“所以我希望你們兩個都能為華國提供橡膠。每一年我會把華國需要橡膠的數量告訴你們，你們在自己能接受的範圍內競标。這樣不管是誰競标失敗，下一年仍然有機會，不用擔心自己的公司，只是一年沒有賣出橡膠就破産。”
說是這麽說，特爾太明白真按夏菊花所說競标的話，他與羅伯斯就得競相壓低價格，利潤會大幅度降低。
“如果這樣的話，夏，那麽這一次的橡膠，我就沒法給你優惠的價格了。這可是五萬噸橡膠呀，你算過如果按羅伯斯的價格購買的話，會給華國省多少錢嗎？”特爾的話是對着夏菊花說的，眼睛去瞟向楊司長。
他相信，如果楊司長真的與夏菊花之間存在競争的話，自己剛才提出的條件，他應該可以用來做為向上反擊夏菊花的武器。這可以算是對楊司長示好了吧？
楊司長果然看了特爾一眼，問：“你是說包括六月份運到的橡膠，全部都按二百四十五噸的價格嗎？”
特爾得到的消息是，羅伯斯只有後期與L省交易的三萬噸橡膠，是按照二百四十五塊錢一噸，博覽會上的一萬噸是按二百六十五塊錢一噸。
可是為了加大自己的籌碼，他考慮了一下便向楊司長點了頭——如果能把羅伯斯擠出供貨行列，少賺五萬噸的錢與日後年年的收益比起來，還是可以接受的。
楊司長便向夏菊花低語了兩句，特爾眼看着夏菊花的表情由平靜到憤怒又歸于平靜，可惜兩個人的聲音太小，他和翻譯一句也沒聽清。
只能通過表情判斷，兩個人之間的意見不一致。
最後夏菊花站了起來，看向楊司長的目光裏充滿了無奈：“兩年，最多兩年！”她向楊司長低聲說，由于她是站起來才說的這句話，特爾這次聽清了。
卻更糊塗了，兩年什麽？
楊司長自己為特爾解惑：“特爾，夏菊花同志的意思是，如果你真的能把五萬噸橡膠的價格，降到二百四十五塊錢一噸，那麽兩年之內，華國可以只從你手裏采購橡膠，不過價格不能高于二百四十五塊錢。”
他說完之後，夏菊花重重坐回椅子上，憤憤的看了特爾一眼。
特爾卻想罵人：這麽半天，兩個華國人竟然就吵出這麽一個結果？兩年之內價格不高于二百四十五塊錢，還得在五萬噸橡膠剩下的三分之一貨款裏，把差價扣出來，那他親自來華國為的是什麽？虧錢嗎？！
他沖着楊司長搖了搖頭：“楊，你這個提議我不能接受。”
楊司長為難的看向特爾：“夏菊花同志說，羅伯斯早在L省的時候，就已經答應以後橡膠的價格，不會高于二百四十五塊錢。因為他得到的消息是，非洲有好幾個國家，仍在增大橡膠的種植面積。”
廢話，要不是那些人不停的種植橡膠，特爾也不至于一聽羅伯斯再次降低價格後就坐不住，特意飛來華國。到華國的簽證，真那麽好簽嗎？！
Tel felt that he was in a dilemma. Considering their costs, they could still make money at the price of 245 yuan, at least 5% higher than selling to other countries. But compared with the profit from selling to China before, it was hard to accept.
If he did not accept Xia Juhua's conditions, he would immediately keep his profit of more than 20%, but it would mean that he would give up the entire Chinese market and would once again have to argue with those dishonest American or European merchants over the quality of the rubber, and would receive the payment very late or simply not get paid at all.
"Can the price of 50,000 tons not be lowered?" Tel asked Xia Juhua almost pleadingly.