The all-purpose agricultural tractor was ready, and the Canton Fair was about to begin. Preparing to move south, the First Machinery Factory didn't hold any ceremony. Just like last time, they drove the tractor to Old Man Sun's fields. After using it from morning till night for a few days and finding no problems, they contacted the Ministry of Railways and had it disassembled and shipped to Guangzhou.
Due to the tight deadline and heavy workload, the factory quickly assembled a list of participants for the Canton Fair: Director Guo, Secretary Xiao Zhang, Zhu Youliang, and maintenance worker Xue Yi. Originally, the city had only allocated three spots, but Director Guo, relying on the fact that agricultural tractors were Sanshui City's flagship product for this southern trip, insisted on an extra spot, bringing Zhu Youliang along as well. It wasn't that he was being sentimental; it was simply because these tractors had only recently been produced. He was worried that if something went wrong, all his efforts would be wasted. A standard agricultural tractor would still sell well domestically. An all-purpose model was too expensive and likely wouldn't sell well.
The Canton Fair started on April 15th, and Zhu Youliang and his group set off on the 8th. Trains were running slower at that time, and the venue had to be set up, so they had to go early.
Before leaving, he and Liang Yuan returned to their hometown and brought back a large bag of headwear: hair ornaments, hair bands, hairpins, barrettes, and even brooches. They took everything with them to the Canton Fair. Liang Yuan had begun preparing at the end of last year, designing a series of slightly more upscale headwear. Their earlier simple designs had already been imitated by others. To that end, Zhu Youliang also took advantage of his business trips to bring back pearls, broken diamonds, inexpensive gemstones, colorful glass beads, and sequins from Haishi. Finally, seeing that he had more material, he even made some unique brooches.
Huang Mei, along with Song Hehua and Miao Miaomiao, put considerable effort into creating these samples. Since her own hands were too clumsy to embroider, she hired someone skilled in embroidery to help. This time, Zhu Youliang brought not only samples but also an exhibition brochure designed by Liang Yuanhua, featuring the samples, to show to foreign guests.
Earlier, thanks to Wu Dahai, he finally got through to the municipal textile factory. The factory said that if their headdresses were sold, they would agree to let them register as a subsidiary.
As a researcher, Zhu Youliang didn't need to interact much with other departments, and he wasn't familiar with Xue Yi. So, he fell asleep as soon as he got on the train. Director Guo and Secretary Zhang, on the other hand, were very busy.
Soon, they arrived in Guangshi. It was indeed quite different from the inland areas, already hinting at the appearance of a modern city. They didn't wander around much after arriving. After dropping their belongings at the guesthouse, they went to retrieve the tractor parts that had been shipped in earlier. It took several days just to install the two tractors.
On the 14th, the tractors arrived at the convention center early. Looking at the two tractors, Guo Daqiang was filled with emotion. After his sigh, he picked up a rag and began to clean the tractors. Beside him, Xue Yi was performing a final inspection to ensure everything would be ready for tomorrow.
Guo Daqiang was wiping when he paused as if remembering something. He glanced around but didn't see Zhu Youliang. He asked Secretary Xiao Zhang, "Xiao Zhang, do you know where Engineer Zhu is?"
Xiao Zhang was fiddling with his camera when he heard the question and quickly looked up. "I went to the textile factory to check out the booth. Director Guo, you haven't seen the headdresses and brooches that Engineer Zhu brought, have you? You know what? I've never seen those headdresses made by his company before. They're even more novel than those in Hai City. If they weren't all samples, I'd have wanted to pick a couple for my partner. I think we might actually be able to earn some foreign exchange, hehe..."
Zhu Youliang had just returned from the textile factory booth and upon hearing this, he said, "Thank you for your good wishes."
Guo Daqiang asked, "How was your visit? Do you want me to help you?"
"No need, I've already told them. By the way, Director Guo, if I'm free tomorrow, I might go to the textile factory and stand there for a while." Zhu Youliang said hurriedly.
"Okay, just do whatever you want. Mr. Xue, don't wipe it anymore, it's bright enough. Come on, I'll treat you to a restaurant today. After eating, we'll go out for a walk. We'll be busy from now on." Guo Daqiang waved his hand.
Xue Yi chuckled and said, "That's great! My wife even asked me to bring her two new clothes."
Zhu Youliang said from the side: "Director Guo, when I first went to the textile factory, I saw some booths with roll-up banners, posters on the walls, and some even printed small brochures. Do you think we should also print some English brochures and give them out to people? The kind that can be taken away." He had mentioned this before coming. However, Guo Daqiang was a practical man and felt that all these things were useless. As long as their tractors were useful, it would be fine. Or perhaps he was thinking about saving money, so apart from a big red banner and two detailed information sheets introducing the new agricultural tractors, he didn't do anything. Of course, this was not his fault. In previous years, not to mention the County Machinery Factory No. 1, there were not many companies in the entire Sanshui City that were qualified to participate in the Canton Fair. It was because they had no experience. Besides, although he himself was confident in the all-round tractor, Guo Daqiang and the others did not have much confidence. After all, foreign countries have always been at the forefront of technology.
If anyone else had said this, Guo Daqiang would have directly asked why all that fancy stuff was necessary. But since it was Zhu Youliang who said this, he had to be more tactful and say, "Aren't there two brochures? Is that stuff you're talking about really useful?"
"Of course it's useful. Even if the wine is good, people have to know that you have wine for sale. Director Guo, if you really don't want to do it, I will pay for it myself. I just hope you don't think I'm overstepping my authority." Zhu Youliang insisted.
Guo Daqiang waved his hand and said, "How can I let you spend money? Go ahead, who said we won't do it. After dinner, Xiao Zhang, go with Mr. Zhu to the printing shop to print some flyers."
After Xiao Zhang agreed, the four of them walked outside the exhibition and had a Cantonese-style tea. After eating, Guo Daqiang took Xue Yi shopping first, while Zhu Youliang took Xiao Zhang to the printing shop. He had already prepared the brochure, and originally planned to print it when he arrived, but who knew he forgot about it when he arrived. He only remembered it when he saw someone else's brochure in the evening. At that time, it was still the old-fashioned lead type printing, so there was no design. There was a picture of a tractor on the top and a general introduction below. There were only three pages of paper stapled together. Because it would take a while, after Xiao Zhang paid, he let him go shopping first and he could go back by himself later.
Guangshi, in April, was already bustling with activity. After returning the brochure to the reception center, Zhu Youliang changed his clothes and headed for a nearby small commodity market. Reform and opening up had been underway for several years, and while the inland areas hadn't yet seen the same signs of prosperity, Guangshi was already showing signs of prosperity. Everyone was bursting with energy, which was inspiring to watch, and made him sigh with a sincere sigh: "Great!"
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