Jiang Wanyue felt that she had to do this herself.
If you want to sell goods to foreigners, language is a big hurdle. Although the salesmen are all educated youth, not much English is taught in those days. Moreover, so many years have passed and they are not in that environment, so it is difficult for them to have the level to communicate with foreigners.
It's time to go to the provincial capital.
One is to open the market for canned fish.
The second is to buy some books in English and ask a few salesmen to pick up English.
To do this, she had to make some preparations.
Fortunately, she had studied abroad and had some understanding of foreign cuisine.
The only foreigner she knew was Smith, and she didn't mind using Smith as a bridge.
Smith is French, so he might as well learn some French cuisine.
French snails, this dish is known to almost everyone. Jiang Wanyue has also eaten it and knows what it should taste like.
Snails are easy to find in the countryside, but only one kind can be served on the table, called the white jade snail, which is very difficult to find. After finally finding one, I quickly put the plump little snail into the cornucopia for infinite reproduction, and then used these snails to try the dishes.
When Song Huaizhi saw the basin full of snails, his scalp tingled. When he saw his own mother picking the snails and pouring them into the pot, his eyes were stunned.
"Mom, we don't lack meat at home..." He swallowed his saliva and said, "We don't need to eat snails..."
"The snails actually taste pretty good. This is my fifth attempt, and it's barely a success." Jiang Wanyue took the snails out of the pot, put them on a plate, and said with a smile, "Huaizhi, Yingzi, come, each of you try one."
Song Yunying kept backing away: "Mom, I'm not hungry, so I won't eat."
Song Huaizhi could only bite the bullet and pick up one. He smelled it and it didn't seem to have the fishy smell he thought it would. He licked it carefully and it tasted a bit fresh... He took the meat out of the snail shell with chopsticks, took a bite, and his eyes lit up: "It tastes really good. I didn't expect snails to be edible."
"Only this kind of snail is edible. Others are not. Don't catch them randomly to cook." Jiang Wanyue said with a smile, "If there is butter and cheese, and red wine, it will taste better."
Song Yunying tilted her head and asked, "What is red wine?"
"Wine made from grapes is red, so it's called red wine." Jiang Wanyue tapped her nose, "But children can't drink it. You should have a chance to try it when you grow up."
That was in the 1980s and 1990s. The economy was developing rapidly and buying a bottle of red wine was no longer a difficult task.
Jiang Wanyue tried to cook a few other foreign dishes at home, but due to her limited skills and lack of ingredients, the dishes always seemed a little lacking in taste.
Fortunately, there are no foreign restaurants in China nowadays. Even if it can only be done like this, it should be unique in the eyes of foreigners.
After everything was almost ready, when Jiang Wanyue was about to set off, she saw Xiang Lingxiao riding a bicycle quickly towards her from the country road.
Before the bike came to a complete stop, Xiang Lingxiao got off the bike. He didn't care about the bike falling to the ground, and said quickly, "Director Jiang, a foreigner called me at about one o'clock last night!"
The bamboo weaving factory’s phone number is at the commune’s main factory, where there is a warehouse and there are people on duty every night.
The staff on duty heard the phone ringing and hurried to answer it. However, he couldn't understand a word. Fearing delay, he went to find Xiang Lingxiao overnight.
Xiang Lingxiao was woken up from his sound sleep. He put on his clothes and rushed to the factory to answer the phone, but the other party had already hung up.
He wanted to call, but he couldn't speak English and it would be useless. He had no choice but to wait until dawn and ride his bike to find Jiang Wanyue.
"It should be Smith." Jiang Wanyue said with a smile, "Let's go and call and ask what's going on."
She pushed out the bicycle from the factory and rode to the bamboo weaving factory of the commune with Xiang Lingxiao. They went into the telephone room and dialed the number that had called last night.
A standard Mandarin voice came from the phone: "Hello, this is the Hubei Foreign Guest House..."
After finishing a sentence, he immediately repeated it in English.
Jiang Wanyue said directly in English: "Hello, I am the director of Xiaojing Non-staple Food Processing Factory. Please let Mr. Smith answer the phone."
Unexpectedly, Smith came to China again not long after returning to his country.
And after coming to China, I called the bamboo weaving factory, which means that the previous batch of goods must have sold well.
Soon, Smith's familiar and enthusiastic voice came from the microphone: "Jiang, is that you?"
"Mr. Smith, I'm sorry. The person who answered the phone last night was our grassroots staff. He didn't speak English and neglected Mr. Smith. I'm here to apologize on behalf of the bamboo weaving factory." Jiang Wanyue said with a smile, "I wonder what Smith wants to talk about?"
"Jiang, I've sold out 3,000 bamboo clutches in just half a month since I came back. Do you know how much ladies in our country like these oriental-style bags?" Smith said excitedly. "I'm calling to place an additional order for three styles, 3,000 each."
Jiang Wanyue was suddenly delighted.
Three thousand bamboo bags would cost more than 100,000 in foreign exchange.
Considering the entire provincial capital, this amount of money is definitely not a small sum.
She remained calm and asked with a smile, "When will Mr. Smith want this batch of goods?"
"I must pay the expedited fee this time. I hope to see the product within a month." Smith said, "The ladies in our country can't wait too long. I'm afraid I won't be able to sell it after this wave of craze passes. Jiang, please."
"Three thousand of each style, that's nine thousand pieces. One month is very tight for us." Jiang Wanyue paused and said, "Mr. Smith, why don't you consider developing new styles? This way, consumers will always have something to look forward to. Each product will keep up with the trend and never have to worry about being outdated."
Smith's eyes lit up: "Jiang, your suggestion is very good, can you design a new style?"
"Of course." Jiang Wanyue smiled, "I have already drawn the sample drawing. Why don't we go to the provincial capital today to show it to Mr. Smith?"
"Great!" Smith was delighted. "When will you arrive in the provincial capital?"
Jiang Wanyue glanced at the time. It was just past six in the morning, which was really early.
She said, "We can arrive at the foreign guesthouse at eleven o'clock."
"Then I'll make time to wait for you."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Wanyue told the whole story.
Xiang Lingxiao's mouth opened wide: "Another, another 9,000? Do people in their country like these small bags that look good but are not practical? Smith must have had to pay a lot to ship them back from China. How much does he sell them for in France? How much can he make from one?"
Jiang Wanyue estimated that the price of domestic products shipped across the ocean would more than increase tenfold, otherwise Smith would not be so excited. The price might even increase a hundred times.
Sometimes, it’s just so easy to make money from women.
Moreover, France plundered so many things, and their people were rich. The per capita income in France in the 1970s had exceeded 20,000 francs.
It’s really a piece of cake to spend this little money on a bag.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
