Chapter 158
Xia Juhua nodded seriously: "Okay. But in that case, I think you don't need to compete with Roberts anymore, because his price will definitely be lower than yours. You don't have to think about those two years anymore."
Tel's mind was working rapidly. He was thinking of a possibility. That is, after Roberts lost the Chinese market within two years, his fund recovery might be a problem. In the third year, he would not be able to purchase rubber. In that case, Roberts took the initiative to not participate in the bidding, and it would have nothing to do with him.
Once the greedy idea takes shape, people are always willing to plan in the direction that is closest to their own wishes. Tel gritted his teeth and asked, "So will the 30,000 tons of rubber contract signed between L Province and Roberts be fulfilled?" If it is not fulfilled, it will definitely be a heavy blow to Roberts' capital. Tel believes that after returning chain to China, he can use this to hype it up and give Roberts' company a heavier blow.
Xia Juhua felt that Ter must have been greatly stimulated: "Of course we have to fulfill our promise. Haven't I always told you that China is a country that values integrity and that we will abide by any contract we sign with anyone? As for the possible price reduction of the 50,000 tons of rubber, it is because you have made new demands on China. In order to meet your demands, we took the initiative to reduce the price."
Ter could not refute Xia Juhua's words. He wanted to refuse the bid, but he was afraid that Roberts would use this opportunity to expand his company and put his company in a difficult situation. He was not sure whether Xia Juhua would tell Roberts her bid price because of their long cooperation.
So he simply expressed his concerns to the person, and the answer he got was that Xia Juhua had always been fair and would not leak the bid price to him in the future just because she had cooperated a lot with Roberts.
In order to reassure Terr, Xia Juhua even suggested that she could call Roberts in front of Terr and tell him that she would compete with Terr starting from the third year, that is, 1980.
Director Yang and Xia Juhua gathered together to discuss in a low voice. Tel listened carefully and heard that Director Yang thought that the call should not be made in front of Tel. If Roberts disagreed, then China would have no bargaining chips to restrain Tel, which would be obviously disadvantageous to China.
Tel thought that Director Yang reminded Xia Juhua in retaliation for his coldness over the past two days. He wanted to make amends but didn't know where to start, so he could only sit in his seat and worry.
Fortunately, Xia Juhua seemed to have more say than Director Yang. She ignored Director Yang's reminder and after finishing her conversation with Director Yang, she looked at Tel, and it was obvious that she wanted to ask for his opinion.
Tel was naturally willing to let Xia Juhua make the call in front of him, but Xia Juhua's requirement was that both parties should first draft an agreement to avoid the situation where she called Roberts and Roberts agreed with her opinion to participate in the bidding, but Tel went back on his word. In that case, her call would be in vain and she would also expose her weakness to Tel.
Tel was somewhat reluctant to accept Xia Juhua's caution, but Director Yang's expression made Tel sign the agreement. From Director Yang's reminder to Xia Juhua, it seemed that he really disliked Tel. So Tel had to hold on to the other person who had a say in China's rubber procurement, Xia Juhua. If he didn't sign the agreement, even Xia Juhua would dislike him, which was really a loss.
Before the call was connected, Terr still held out a glimmer of hope, that is, Roberts would not agree to bid because China would not purchase rubber from him within two years, so whether he signed the agreement or not would not affect future trade.
But Roberts' performance made Ter want to fly back to Africa immediately and ask him in person what was going on in his mind and why he agreed to Xia Juhua's bidding request so readily? Was it because Xia Juhua told him that the 30,000 tons of rubber trade would continue?
Now Tel had no choice but to accept the agreement he had signed with Xia Juhuacao. The two of them formally modified the contract. The price of the rubber that had all been shipped to China was reduced from 280 yuan per ton to 245 yuan, and they guaranteed that the price of rubber would not exceed 245 yuan per ton within two years.
China is not allowed to purchase rubber from Robles for two years. After two years, based on the country's rubber demand, Tel and Robles will determine the supplier through bidding. If there is a breach of contract, the breaching party will pay the other party 30% of the price of 50,000 tons of rubber as compensation.
After the two signed, Ter asked Xia Juhua unconvincedly: "Xia, how do you know that Roberts will agree to your request?"
Xia Juhua shook her head: "No, I'm not sure at all."
Tel didn't believe it: "Then you dare to call him directly?"
Xia Juhua smiled: "Although I am not sure at all, before Roberts left L Province, I reminded him that 90,000 tons of rubber is enough to support the production of China's rubber manufacturing industry for one and a half years or even longer, so he does not need to rush to purchase new rubber after returning home. I think Roberts agreed because he has not yet tied up the funds for the purchase of rubber, right?"
Another reason was that because Roberts' company transported rubber, he found that the profit of the transportation industry was no less than that of buying and selling rubber. He once mentioned to Xia Juhua that he was interested in investing in domestic shipping. His partner who was able to get low freight rates had shares in a shipping company, and if he wanted to invest, the man was very willing to accept it.
The cargo ship that Tel used to transport the rubber this time was the company that Roberts mentioned last time. Xia Juhua was kind enough not to mention it to Tel because she was afraid that he would have a heart attack.
Even so, Tel still wanted to smash the cup in his hand: he had only been supplying the Chinese market for two years, and half a year was gone in an instant. In the remaining year and a half, he would earn even less!
Although Tel's skin was too dark and Xia Juhua couldn't tell whether he was blushing with anger, Tel's neck was noticeably thicker and his hands kept clenching and unclenching the cup, and then clenching it again.
"Te'er, this is the meeting gift you gave me. I must return it to you in person."
Looking at the box in front of him, Tel did not open it in front of Xia Juhua: No one opened the box when they received the gift, and it would seem too petty for him to open it and check it now.
As a mature businessman, Ter quickly adjusted his mindset - even if the profit was reduced by 5%, being able to put it into his own pocket and in his safe was much better than having a high profit but not being able to get it - and he extended his hand to Director Yang: "Yang, we are going to have a long-term cooperation from now on."
He seemed to have forgotten his indifference towards Director Yang in the past two days.
Director Yang shook the hand that Terr extended to him, and a long-lost smile appeared on his gloomy face at the negotiation table: "Yes, we want to have long-term cooperation. After all, Comrade Xia Juhua's main business is still in Ping'anzhuang Brigade."
Although Director Yang had a smile on his face, poor Tel was still stunned for a moment, then shook hands with Director Yang vigorously, indicating that he understood what he didn't say.
Xia Juhua didn't care how those two people were stirring up trouble. Her main mission in Guangzhou had been completed, and she had to deal with her own affairs. However, she still had to attend the farewell banquet for Tel and his group. After negotiating with Tel for a while, she finally sent them on the plane.
"What are your plans next?" After seeing off Tel, Director Yang visibly relaxed and his smile became sincere.
It was impossible not to be sincere. It was the right decision to invite Xia Juhua to Guangzhou. When they were in the ministry, they expected that Tel would ask for long-term cooperation, and they were prepared to squeeze some benefits out of Tel. However, in their expectation, the benefits that could be squeezed out were all in future cooperation, not in reducing the price of the contract that had already been signed.
The price of 50,000 tons of rubber was reduced by 35 yuan per ton, which saved the country a lot of foreign exchange!
Moreover, the rubber price will be subject to bidding in the future, which is equivalent to letting suppliers compete with each other. The biggest benefit is that they don't have to waste their breath on negotiations. Director Yang has even thought about whether other bulk materials needed by the country can be purchased in the same way as rubber.
However, that herself would be a matter for further study after reporting to the leaders in the ministry. Now Director Yang wished that Xia Juhua could make some requests, so that the reward he had painstakingly thought out would not be what Xia Juhua wanted.
Unexpectedly, Xia Juhua did not make any request, only saying that she did not see Yangcheng well last time, and wanted to stay for two more days this time. Director Yang said, "Well, I will give you the phone number of the leader of the Yangcheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Whenever you want to go back to Ping'an Village, just call him and he will buy you a sleeper ticket. You can stay as many days as you want, and you don't have to worry about the guesthouse expenses. The ministry will settle the expenses according to the number of business trip personnel."
He made such an arrangement for a reason, because he had heard from his secretary about the difficulties Xia Juhua encountered on the train when she came. Although the train conductor was no longer a train conductor after returning to the unit, and the railway department was undergoing rectification, Director Yang was still unwilling to let Xia Juhua be embarrassed by blind people on her way back after making such a great contribution.
Then we have to arrange someone to send Xia Juhua and others on the train, and we also have to communicate with the train conductor in advance to take good care of Xia Juhua and others along the way.
Director Yang originally wanted to arrange a car for Xia Juhua to facilitate her travel in Guangzhou, but was rejected by Xia Juhua. Knowing Xia Juhua's temper, Director Yang did not insist, but only told her that if there were any problems that could not be solved, she could find the leader whose phone number he left behind, and then he hurriedly boarded the train back to Beijing - although he had already reported on the phone, he still had to report the results of this time in detail to the old leader in person.
The achievements were too great to just report to a leader. Director Yang had to organize the wording of his report along the way and also think about how to reward Xia Juhua so that he could give appropriate advice when the leader asked questions.
Xia Juhua, who had no idea that Director Yang had to work hard all the way, finally reunited with Qi Weidong. As soon as they met, she found that Liu Xi's mental outlook had changed a lot. His eyes were no longer as carefree as when he was in Ping'an Village, but he was always observing the situation around him. His back was unconsciously straightened, and he spoke much more concisely.
Qi Weidong seemed to have not changed much since he was in Pingde County. Only careful observation revealed that he grinned more often and his eyes looked sharper and less indifferent.
Xia Juhua was satisfied with their changes, but she didn't point them out. Instead, she asked, "Tell me, how have you two been doing these past two days?"
Qi Weidong was very happy: "Very good. I think people in Yangcheng are more pragmatic and courageous than people in Pingde County. Auntie, come with me later and see for yourself. They dare to set up stalls on the street. Many of their goods are said to be shipped from the port city. Some of them I have never seen before."
It is inevitable that people in Guangzhou are bold, and their geographical advantages determine everything. Xia Juhua is more concerned about: "Have you found the source of goods?"
Liu Xi had not gotten in a conversation the whole time, but this time he answered, "Brother Qi said there's no rush, and we'll confirm after you've seen it."
It turned out that it was not that he couldn't find it, but that there were too many to find. Qi Weidong couldn't decide on his own and was waiting for Xia Juhua to make the final decision. After asking about the price, Xia Juhua knew why Qi Weidong had a hard time choosing:
Before they came, they had agreed to ship some dried seafood back, but when they arrived in Yangcheng, they found that there were not only abundant seafood here, but also some industrial products with a wide variety and low prices. If they were to ship these back to Pingde County, they would be snapped up even if they were offered at double the price. Compared to industrial products that can double the profit, the price of seafood is much lower, although it is profitable.
After hearing what they said, Xia Juhua could no longer sit still in the guesthouse, and followed the two men to the place they had chosen earlier. This was a long street, and just as Qi Weidong had said, on both sides of the street people had spread cloth on the ground, on which they placed the things they wanted to sell.
There were quite a few people on the street, and many of them spoke with accents from other places, which surprised Xia Juhua again: it seemed that she was indeed ignorant in her previous life. It turned out that in 1977, there were already people from other places coming to Guangzhou to seek their fortune.
What was she doing in 1977? She was still working in the fields to earn work points and never left Pingde County!
Without worrying about her own backwardness in her previous life, Xia Juhua looked at the things on the stalls: Looking back from the perspective of her previous life, the things on the streets of Yangcheng now are still very backward, and many of them will be eliminated in a few years. But now these things look so advanced, and many of them can only be bought in Pingde County by waiting in line for half a year with an industrial ticket.
Xia Juhua whispered to Qi Weidong: "They just put things like this, no one cares?"
Qi Weidong shook his head and told Xia Juhua that he had been to many places in the past two days. Not all streets in Guangzhou allow stalls to be set up like this. Only on this street can people set up stalls openly, so here it is like a gathering, with people crowded together.
"Auntie, put your money away." Qi Weidong reminded Xia Juhua in a low voice. When there are many people, good and bad people will mix together. Yesterday he saw a group of people stealing the money of a foreigner, and the man squatted on the ground and cried loudly.
Xia Juhua had thought of this before she left the house. She had plenty of time and only wanted to take a look today, so she only brought less than 100 yuan with her. After hearing Qi Weidong's reminder, she just nodded and glanced at Liu Xi who was following behind the two of them.
Liu Xi also smiled and nodded to her, meaning that he heard her Christmas with Qi Weidong and that the money had been put away, which made Xia Juhua even more satisfied. Liu Xi's performance proved that although he was also interested in these products, he knew where to focus his attention.
"Auntie, do you have anything you like?" Qi Weidong was eager to try, thinking that any of the things in front of him could make him a fortune if he brought them back to Pingde County.
Xia Juhua still prefers seafood in her heart, mainly from the perspective of increasing the flavors of instant noodles: if a reliable and stable source of goods can be found, instant noodles can have one or even several seafood flavors.
As they watched and talked quietly, they didn't notice a thin figure who followed them after they walked into the street. Xia Juhua squatted in front of a stall selling dried shrimps and was about to pick up the dried shrimps on the stall to take a closer look when the thin figure suddenly stepped forward and stopped her.
Before the figure could stop Xia Juhua's movements, Qi Weidong and Liu Xi realized his presence, but they didn't have time to stop him from approaching Xia Juhua. Xia Juhua was also surprised when she saw the big hand suddenly stretched out in front of her. She looked up and felt that the man looked familiar.
Seeing Xia Juhua looking at him, the man smiled at her, pointed at himself and said, "Amu."
"Amu?" Xia Juhua called out along with him and suddenly remembered who Amu was.
During the Expo, Xia Juhua bought 150 kilograms of dried shrimps from the supply and marketing cooperative. Wasn't it Amu who helped her carry them to the guesthouse? Xia Juhua remembered that at that time, the city of Guangzhou stipulated that tricycles could only charge 50 cents per trip. She felt that she had too much stuff, so she gave Amu one yuan and he even carried the sack to her room.
Unfortunately, the two people's accents were too different and they couldn't communicate smoothly. She only understood Amu's name.
When he heard Xia Juhua still called out his name, Amu smiled, completely forgetting that he was the first to call out his name. Xia Juhua was naturally happy to see someone she knew, and she stopped looking at the goods on the stall, stood up and said with a smile: "Amu, it's you, I didn't expect to see you here, are you still pulling a tricycle?"
Seeing that Xia Juhua was chatting with Amu, the stall owner was a little unhappy and said in stiff Mandarin: "Do you want to buy it or not? If not, don't block others."
Amu actually glared at the stall owner and said, "I'm not buying it." Then he waved his hands at Xia Juhua and said, "I have one too, go to my place."
Xia Juhua actually understood everything he said. It seemed that Amu's Mandarin had improved a lot in the past six months. Hearing that he had fans of Haimi, Xia Juhua wanted to go and see him. Of course, Xia Juhua trusted Amu more than the unfriendly stall owner, since she had dealt with him once before.
The stall owner's face became even gloomier. He yelled at Amu in the local dialect, but Amu yelled back even louder. Finally, he pointed at Xia Juhua and the other two, looked at the stall owners around him viciously, and said loudly, "My friend." It was hard to believe that his thin body could make such a loud noise. After making such a loud noise, no one came forward to argue with him.
Instead, the stall owners around them changed their eyes when they looked at Xia Juhua and the other two. Even the stall owner just now sat down next to his stall angrily without saying anything else.
Amu smiled at Xia Juhua and led the three of them to the end of the street. When they were almost at the end, Amu pointed to a stall and told Xia Juhua proudly, "It's mine."
It was a stall, but it was just a piece of cloth spread on the ground, with dried shrimp, seaweed, salted fish and other dried goods on it. Xia Juhua asked curiously, "Your stall is here, how did you find ours?" They had just come in from the end of the street, and Amu's stall was already at the end of the street.
Amu patted his chest and said, "I am the first one to set up a stall here."
Xia Juhua was a little bit unconvinced that Amu was the first person to set up a stall on this street. But she thought about it and understood: during the Expo, when others were still digging for food in the fields, Amu dared to come out to pull a tricycle, and he also fought for greater rights and interests in front of the salesperson for his extra work, so it seemed normal for him to dare to set up a stall.
Xia Juhua squatted down and wanted to see the quality of the things on Amu's stall. Amu had quickly moved the small stool from the stall over and insisted that Xia Juhua sit down. He handed the things to Xia Juhua one by one.
Every time he delivered the same thing, he told Xia Juhua what it was and how much it would cost. After he finished quoting the price, Qi Weidong quietly pulled Xia Juhua and whispered in her ear that the price Amu mentioned was much cheaper than what he had inquired about in the past two days.
Xia Juhua was even more curious about how Amu got the money to set up his stall and how he dared to quote such a low price. Amu told her that during the Expo, he rode a tricycle in front of the supply and marketing cooperative for a few days. Although no one offered to pay more like Xia Juhua, the income was still much better than farming, which made him want to leave the land.
Seeing that most exhibitors bought some seafood to take home, Amu quietly asked the people he had recruited during the last two days if they wanted seafood that was cheaper than what was sold at the supply and marketing cooperatives.
Those people did not disappoint Amu. They bought up all the dried goods that Amu's family could not eat, allowing Amu to earn his first pot of gold. This also strengthened his determination to leave the land and make money by selling seafood.
There are no crops growing in the land near the sea, and the food produced by the land is not enough to fill your stomach. Most people in Amu Village will fish in the coastal waters to supplement their lives. In the past few years, the supervision was strict, and everyone went out to sea secretly. Starting this year, there are obviously fewer people supervising, so Amu's family has so much inventory.
After selling out the stock at home, Amu thought of buying all the dry goods from his neighbors with his first pot of gold. Unfortunately, after buying all the dry goods, he found that the expo had already ended.
In order to not let his first pot of gold turn into a pile of seafood that he could not finish eating, Amu had to squat at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative and sell his products to people entering and leaving the cooperative at a price lower than that of the supply and marketing cooperative.
As a result, after the supply and marketing cooperative found out, they almost confiscated his goods. Thanks to his great strength and fast running speed, he managed to keep his goods. However, he could no longer sell goods at the supply and marketing cooperative, and saw that his first pot of gold was about to be lost.
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